* f13 MatchMaking Feeder League *

[Llyse]

Anyone up for a game in the next hour or so msg me on steam!

(Ruvaldt killed 2 of my players 2 days ago so feel free to join  )

[Ruvaldt]

If it makes you feel any better, the two I killed played very well for my Nurgle team against Paelos tonight.

[Paelos]

If it makes you feel any better, the two I killed played very well for my Nurgle team against Paelos tonight.

And I murdered one of Ruvaldts guys on the last turn. 

[Llyse]

If it makes you feel any better, the two I killed played very well for my Nurgle team against Paelos tonight.

And I murdered one of Ruvaldts guys on the last turn. 

This I like.

Also sadface, no responses for Feeder league, but I guess Deus Ex is as awesome as it should be.

More Drunken blood bowl next weekend!   

[Ruvaldt]

Yes, Paelos excels at random murder.

[luckton]

Alright, because I have no expectations of actually winning, I've applied for the league with my team of Halflings.  Will be on tonight around 8ish EST to allow anyone to beat up on me 

[Ruvaldt]

Are you sure you want to do that?  A lot of the "joke" teams are actually playable given enough practice and some luck, but Halflings are probably the least capable of ever doing anything of substance on the pitch.  Goblins can win, and when they don't they can at least make their opponents pay for their victory.  Ogres can win given the proper rolls on boneheads and a ball-carrying Ogre.  Halflings, on the other hand, are pretty much just screwed from the very beginning, and exist mostly for masochists.  We've yet to have a Halfling team in the regular season, in fact.

I would advise Orcs or Dwarves.  If you're feeling daring, maybe Wood Elves, because they can actually pull off some amazing plays without a lot of development.  It's up to you though, my Nurgles will play you regardless!

[luckton]

Oh I figured I'd get my feet wet first just to see how things pan out.  Maybe get serious later down the line.  The Halflings though...they just seem to fit me, for now.  We'll see how it goes.

[eldaec]

Just don't draw any conclusions from playing halflings. It is unlikely the game will seem much fun unless you get inducements right straight away.

I'd recommend submitting a bunch if different teams, and see which work for you.

Avoid...

Halfling
Goblin
Ogre
Vampire
Dark elf
Nurgle
Khemri
Chaos

Until you are confident you understand the game.

Best newbie teams include orc, undead, Necromantic, norse, lizards, possibly human. Especially orcs.

Don't play dwarfs. Everybody hates dwarfs and they aren't much fun.

[Ruvaldt]

Frenzy can get new coaches into trouble, but yeah, Norse can be good for a beginning coach.  In that same vein, I think Amazons are reasonably good for new coaches and a new Amazon/Norse team can do things that new Undead or Human teams can't.  I wouldn't advise Lizards, mostly due to their lack of ball handling skills, possible frustrations from skinks getting injured or dying regularly, and also their complete lack of the block skill at team creation.

I still think Dwarves are a good team to play as a new player, though they are boring.  It's probably best to play them against the AI though because it is true that your fellow human players would frown upon your team choice.  I generally won't play against Dwarves unless I have to in a league match or I just really like the coach who is handling them.

[luckton]

Advice taken...I'll browse around and see if something else peaks my interest...though a couple of the AI matches I've had so far with the 'flings, while unsuccessful from a touchdown view, were still fun to play, even for the sake of seeing Dark Elf after Dark Elf get tripped up and eventually sent off the field 

[HaemishM]

Just remember, no matter what team you start out with, YOU WILL SUCK. You will get beaten handily and scoring a lone TD in a game you lose 3-1 will be a victory.

[luckton]

Just remember, no matter what team you start out with, YOU WILL SUCK. You will get beaten handily and scoring a lone TD in a game you lose 3-1 will be a victory.

No doubt...I have no hope at all that I'm just gonna waltz in and start kicking ass.

...but I do hope to make you lot 'earn' that victory over me 

[Sky]

I did way better my first season. Then I tried to actually score instead of just bash the crap out of people. I lost something like 7 or 8 games or 8 of 9 or whatever, in season 4. For season 5, back to bashing!

[Ingmar]

Dwarf haters. 

Anyway I wouldn't personally include dark elves on a newbie 'avoid' list, you should just stay away from their weirder pieces like assassins and maybe witch elves.

[proudft]

Yeah, one of Coach's Dark Elf starting rosters is 10 lineman and 1 runner, and you can't get much simpler than that.  Pretty flexible, too, since they are agile elves with not-completely-terrible AV.  I would totally take them as a first team.

I also (mostly) disagree with lizards.  They get you into the good habits of hitting with your hitting players and moving the ball with the ball-movers, and you'll never be confused about who is supposed to be doing what.  The sauruses can be pretty vicious too, as long as you have 4-6 of them out there.  

There are two caveats to lizards, though.  You can get into a bad dodging habit with them - my first team was lizards, I hadn't noticed that Stunty makes dodging through tackle zones way way easier, so my next team (some kind of elf) took a horrible beating until I figured out WTF was going on with that.  And the other thing is that sauruses need some skills to go against the TV 1500-ish block-heavier teams without embarrassing themselves, but that's what the feeder league is for, rite?

Edit: Wait, lizards WAS on the recommended list.  Well, I recommend it too, then!  Reading is hard. 

[Sjofn]

Just remember, no matter what team you start out with, YOU WILL SUCK. You will get beaten handily and scoring a lone TD in a game you lose 3-1 will be a victory.

You're crazy, I totally tied my first game of last season!    I'm actually getting my ass kicked way harder on my stupid high elf team in the pre-season fuckery. I am terrible at elves.


As for the whining about dwarves, ignore it. They're a good starter team precisely because they are boring. They aren't very fast, though, so you have to like long, grinding drives and be good about your placement (which I am bad at).

[Paelos]

Don't start with Chaos.

I started with Humans, learned the game and made some switches. It was a good way to learn.

[Ruvaldt]

Like Chaos, Humans take a little growing into, but it's far less extreme.  As I'm learning from my Emperors in the D&M tourney they can compete with any other team on the pitch, but their players sure won't blow you away based upon stats alone.  Having a Thrower with Sure Hands and four blitzers with Block from the very beginning make them friendly to new coaches because they at least have some safety net, but at the same time you won't get used to pulling off crazy bullshit plays or absurdly well-skilled starting Dwarves; both of which are good things.

[eldaec]

The thing about all the teams I listed above is that they teach how to play the game properly.

Humans are one of the best examples of that.


Also, if someone wants a feeder league game ping me on steam. Will start randomly messaging people soon.

[eldaec]

My Skaven just tied with Ruvaldt's Humans 2-2.

Conclusions:

I still hate tackle.
Rats get a nosebleed if forced to hold the ball longer than one turn.
4 defensive touchdowns is the best number of defensive touchdowns.

[Ruvaldt]

Fun game.  My catchers proved their usefulness, but Maximinus Thrax continues to underwhelm.  Only one dead Skaven at least, and we're both set for the sixth D&M game.  Bring on the  !

[luckton]

Finally got my initial 'Fling team to play Eldaec's Gobbins.  I made a number of mistakes and the dice were not kind on some of my non-mistakes, but every failure helped reinforce a proper playstyle and prioritization.  I am learning 

In both taking his advice and reviewing some TV strategies, I trashed the team and submitted a new Fling team along with a basic Human team.  I'm willing to take on all challengers that want to kick my ass to help me learn the game    Friend me up in Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197963229509

[eldaec]

If someone wants to play some BB, ping me on steam.

DO THIS NOW

[Sjofn]

Did this accidently get set to allow 4 minute turns? 'Cause Strazos and I just had a game where it was 4 minute turns.

[eldaec]

I played last night and only had the one true 2 minute turn option.

In other news, I'm looking for blood bowl matches tonight if anyone wants some feeder league action.

[eldaec]

I should clarify that in my timezone, tonight is round about now.

[Llyse]

I'm back online now and will be pestering people for feeder matches quite often. 

[IainC]

Just had the weirdest match vs ben.skelly (Canklebiter). I meant to play him with my throwaway Chaos team but wasn't paying attention and went ahead with Fianna Chulain instead - who I'd just finished carefully pruning down to size for Season 5. He was playing a fresh Undead team (the team being the fresh part not the undead...) and took all 560k of his inducements as rerolls.

I choose to kick first and he starts off by tearing chunks out of my Elves. By turn 6 he has his first touchdown and I have eight elves KOd or injured. Despite only having five players on the pitch for the return kick, Elven Bullshit brings the score level at half time. Things aren't much better for the second half as far as ambulatory Elvishness is concerned. I start the half with 6 players on the pitch and both Wardancers KOd. The kick is very short so I grab the ball with a catcher and throw it backwards to my thrower then try and move the rest of my players out of danger. The Undead move in and try to surround the Elves causing another injury in the process but I break out and score a second touchdown after trying to stall a bit. I have seven Elves for the next drive and the kick off event is a riot which I didn't really want to see. At least both of my Wardancers are back on their feet again. Some ill advised ball handling by the Undead sees the ball hit the pitch but it's covered by tacklezones so I leap a Wardancer onto it and then dodge away with the ball. A Wight blitzes the wardancer but can't get anything other than a push and I walk in a third TD with three turns to go. The third drive starts with another very short kick, the Elves grab the ball and run with it. Again the Undead manage to get a blitz on the ball carrier but again they can only get a push and I run in a fourth TD on my last turn. THe very last Undead turn of the game is unventful and the whistle blows.

Now though I have a bunch of MNGs to deal with as well as two level ups that upset my carefully pruned team. My Nerves of Steel/Fend catcher hit level 4 so I gave him Leap and a Wardancer went to level 2 and rolled a double so I gave her Mighty Blow. The replay is on BB Manager and is worth watching if you are a fan of seeing Elves getting their shit pushed in.

[luckton]

Elven Bullshit

 

Wow, yeah, you got served right off the back, but came back in style.  Well played.

The cynical part of me is thankful that you now well exceed the 1300 TV entry ceiling 

[Llyse]

Happy to play feeder matches this weekend although I live on the other side of the world so timing's aren't great but definitely post or hit me up.

[luckton]

Between the time of this posting and approx. 2 hours hereafter, my 'flings are available for tackle practice.  Send me a PM via here or Steam.

[luckton]

Between the time of this posting and approx. 2 hours hereafter, my 'flings are available for tackle practice.  Send me a PM via here or Steam.

And once again, tonight my wife will be away, so I'll have this invitation open once more starting at 7PM EST. 

[eldaec]

I too, am available for blood bowl tonight (now).

[luckton]

It's up to you though, my Nurgles will play you regardless!

So, we actually just played this match up...my Halflings vs. Ruv's Nurgles, and we tied 1 to 1.  There's was actually a grand opportunity for me to make it 2-0, but my newbness fumbled the execution of playing my 'flings strategically.  Still, a well played match, I'd say.  Match was uploaded to the BBManager if anyone wants to watch the 'flings take a beating :P

I'm out for the night...maybe some more action this weekend 

And for the number munchers: