Советы по игре лесными эльфами (англ)

[Vulpus Albus]

Сборник разнообразных советов по игре лесными эльфами собранный еще на заре RuBBL комьюнити из самых разных источников.

http://www.cyanide-studio.com/forumBB/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=382&start=230

http://www.cyanide-studio.com/forumBB/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=5991

http://bloodbowlplaybook.com/blocking-statistics-odds-tables/

http://www.cyanide-studio.com/forumBB/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6458

http://www.cyanide-studio.com/forumBB/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=6262

http://www.cyanide-studio.com/forumBB/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=5251&start=50

http://www.cyanide-studio.com/forumBB/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7092

http://fumbbl.com/help:WoodElfStrategy

http://fumbbl.com/help:WoodElfSurvey

I play a WElf team since thursday (played one in RL for quite some time) and I first was really surprised by the new assist rules, but I learned fast (one game lost, the next game blood was back in BLOOD bowl ;D) and now I hurt a lot with my elves. Smashed one orc team (got a little lucky with the injury rolls) so bad, he was surprised how hard elves could hit.
Most important thing: Dodge and run to help your buddies and don't allow your opponent more than a blitz per turn. If you try to avoid contact, he will search for it and you can smash the hell out of him getting as much blocks as you want (and can turn to your farvour by dodging/running to assist).

Don’t roll any dice until you have to.
I’m breaking my own rule first - this is basic advice that you see frequently, but it is so easy to forget when you get caught up in the moment that many experienced coaches still do it, so it bears repeating. This is first because it is the number one reason people lose of all experience levels – they make a die roll too soon and get a bad result, ending the turn early. Basically it means stand up all your players first (except for one that you are going to blitz with), move all your players who aren’t going to be blocking or dodging, make sure the ball carrier is safe when you have the ball, etc. Make it an automatic habit.

Always look for opportunities to push players off the pitch.
Every time an opposing player is 2 squares from the sideline and you have a standing player next to him, an alarm should go off: block -> pushback -> blitz him off the field. Can I do it without jeopardizing the game? If he’s standing next to the sideline, the alarm should sound like a fire detector. You don’t want to over-commit to this at the expense of your drive or stopping your opponent, but you want to always be very aware of it. I can’t tell you how many times I see people miss good opportunities to push someone off the pitch.

Wrestle

Its a nice counter to block. Especially on team like the Wood Elves, it helps open up holes in a line of, say, dwarves. Given that the elves don't want to try and grind through the dwarves (or any bashy team), and that most bashy teams have lines full of guys with block, wrestle gives you a means to open up a small gap in the line, which is really all you need. I won't say its better than block in general, since wrestle requires you to go down too, but against block-heavy teams, it can give you a sizable advantage. Also, unlike some skills like frenzy, you can choose whether or not to use wrestle, which is a bonus.

however the way i play in campaign atm wrestle is probably the choice on all wood elves and skaven linemen, maybe 1 or 2 beast men who are speccing as blitzers but most of the more hitty teams should stick with block. the reason i like wrestle and especially wrodge alot for weaker teams is that you are definitely more likely to benefit from the lack of an armour roll and the enemy is gonna be on the floor and is generally slow so you can get up and run away wheras, for example a dwarf blocker is gonna be using 3 of his 4 ma next turn just standing up

Love too. I've been giving all my line elves it over block and it has been working out pretty well. It works best when you are getting blocked rather than blocking them as then your players are getting up first and often don't even have to dodge anymore.

Usually using Wrestle on some Elf Linemen (not more than two) to clear the line of scrimmage or to get to the ball carrier. As second skill they get Tackle, then Dodge.
I don't like Wrestle on slow teams at all (Dwarf, Orc, Chaos). On Skaven I usually go with Block on linemen because that cannot get away from other players as reliable as elf linemen.

Mistake

The loss a 3-1 against a 1400 Orc team was not because I lacked RR, but that I got my ass handed to me by a superior team and a fatal careless newbie mistake (Saved line setups vanish after a game, which resulted in 8 people on the LOS+1 -> Defense Bonus round -> turnover on round 1 -> Result: 5 badly hurt elfs + 3KOs)

Elves


This is precisely why I turned two of my linemen into faux-dancers as well. I had two linemen who rolled +ST, so I gave them Strip Ball, Block, Leap, Wrestle, and Tackle. Now I rarely risk my dancers when breaking cages--one is still a dedicated cage-breaker, with AG5 for making Leaps I'm not sure about (say, if I've already used that RR), and the other is a dedicated ball-retriever (once the ball's on the pitch, she Leaps, Sure Hands, then Nerves of Steel/Safe Throws it out of harm's way, often to a catcher who's in scoring distance!).

As others have already said: Strip Ball is 'key' in getting the ball out of the hands of your opponent. Tackle, too, can be of great help, especially against 'Dodgy' teams w/a lot of Sure Hands players. Your Wardancers are the ones with the skills to get inside the cage and back out in one piece.

jump into the cage, blast the carrier then dodge out through the 2 tackle zones to safety.

I've taken wrestle/dodge (wrodge?) on a bunch of linemen and I don't regret it, however on any player that is likely to handle the ball I prefer block because you absolutely do NOT want them to go down, injury or not. For my woodelves I'm planning on turning at least one of my catchers into a dauntless "wrackle" (wrestle/tackle) player as backup against sure-hands players who will be immune to my strip ball tactics, I also have a +ST linemen who will also take the wrestle/tackle combo. Wrestle is an excellent skill against below average MA players like dwarves, chaos warriors or black orcs because they lose a huge percentage of their MA when standing up. This advantage is increased even further when you add jump-up to the wrestle player.

Also, people always leave the ball carrier within reach of my big guys, forgetting about break tackle, so i get an easy knockdown on the ball carrier often

Taking Dodge before Block on about half your lineelves or linerats is smart and has a few advantages over going all Block. The Dodge elves have an easier time staying on the pitch than the Block elves, which helps keep your numbers up - always important for Elves. It also helps reduce the chance of using rerolls. Elves tend to get their turns cut short more than bashy teams because dodging is more risky than blocking, plus they can't afford many RRs to start with - so that's a second advantage. Also, Dodge still adds to your offense - just not as much as Block. Dodge elves are better able to get in to an assist position than Block elves. You are going to be doing limited, strategic blocking with Elves and you are going to want it at 2 dice. The assisting elf doesn't need Block. Think of your Block elf and Dodge elf as a kind of two-elf team for blocking. Dodge elves also have a better chance of getting that critical Blitz hit in, although they do have a lower chance of knocking them down. Finally, you are getting the most out of Dodge by taking it first while the other teams don't have Tackle for a while and you are still getting Block second. Lineelves that live skill up faster than other races, so you are still getting to Blodge while most other linemen have one skill.

But yeah, normally I'd tend to mix up the Dodge and Block between the line elves alternating between the two as they skill up.
That way, if you play Dwarves or someone else with Block, you can stick your Block on the front line. And if you play someone without a ton of Block, you can put your Dodgers on the frontline and make it easier to extricate them from harm's way.

On offense I think going with only 2 or 3 guys downfield is not enough to put pressure on a defense. Your lineman are very capable of scoring so use them on offense. Generally I run 5 players down on offense and have them spread out all over the place but in range of scoring. I keep my thrower back and on turn two I will move him up to throw once I have blitzed a guy free.

A few things that are keys early for the elves.
1. Try to score with guys to give them skills or complete a pass. you need skills to help keep your team alive.
2. Avoid dwarves. They are a nightmare for you..
3 I dont start with catchers usually since your lineman can score so easily. Once you have catchers they eat up the spp so letting your lineman get points early is nice.
4. Early on I take dodge before block with my lineman. Most teams dont have many blocks so they wont select the both down results, and they dont have a lot of tackles so you can get the dodge result. Also since your tream does a lot of dodging you get extra use out of it.
5. On defense I just try to get their offense to spread out so I can use my speed. I don't guard lanes and just try to protect my players.
6. A lot of people will put one on one on your guys to try to tie them up. I try to dodge with one guy and move him over so the next guy gets a 2 dice block. means less dodging and you get some hits to try to get people out. If they want to stall just run to the other end of the field, protect your players and beat on the guys of his as you can. Usually you will get a shot at the ball at some point. Tie up the defenders and leap into the cage and try to knock the ball out. a wardancer with taclke, strip ball, wrestle, juggernaut or grab can be very useful for this.


Offense
Get 3-4 receivers down field in your first turn, bust one free of tz's in the second with a blitz then pass to them, even at a reasonable distance you'll pass on a pretty easy roll so don't worry about getting too close, run into the endzone for a score.

Defense
Bit trickier, tie up cage and leap wardancer into the middle, ensure no assists and 1d block the ball carrier to the ground (hopefully). ball ideally is either popped free of the cage or a 3+ pick up for the wardancer/other player. Go to Offense!

OT: OP, you could try PM'ing Enarion for some tips - he's bloody good with woodelves - takes my beardlings to task every time!


-ALWAYS leave a player in range of the opponents endzone even on defence - I've scored a ton of touchdowns in the same turn I managed to steal the ball - useful if you need to turn the game around quickly

Three basic tactics against caging teams:

(1) Slow them down.
(2) Bash the cage.
(3) Sneak through cage.

1. Slow them down. This is generally done when it is not the first drive of a half. So if a caging team is receiving and only has 3-4 turns left, one tactic that is low cost is to slow them down. Position all your players 1 space away from his guys - with them close enough that with his 1 blitz, he can not make a hole to push the cage very far downfield. On your turn, you blitz with your wardancer against one guy to limit the number of dodges needed and just dodge the rest of the guys away to position again just a space out of his block range. It is very important not to be out flanked here so he just runs that cage "up" or "down" on you and get around a side. This should not happen with wood elves as you have the mobility advantage. Also note - this does not work well when they receive on T1, as slowing them down for 8 turns is awful hard to do.

2. Bashing the cage is tough at TR 100, but the idea is to give an assist and then bash one corner of the cage and then mark up the entire cage with your players. The idea is that he will have lots of blocks - but will be unable to reform his cage. This is an expensive tactic as you give up an awful lot of blocks and with AV 7 this tends to be a bad tactic to use in the first half. Is great in the second half - especially last drive of the game, when you can go for broke. This becomes much more effective when you get sidestep. The goal of course is to bash down a corner of the cage and then mark everything so that opponent is forced to give you a shot at the ball or have to retreat.

3. Sneaking in to steal the ball is the most common wood elf trick since they start with wardancers. Use 1 elf to mark 2 corners of the cage if possible, then leap in with wardancer and take the 1d block. Also of note, you can dodge in as well if you want to try to conserve RR. Dodging is 5+ into a standard cage. With dodge RR (so does not work against dwarves) - that is 55% chance of working. Leap is a single 3+ roll (67% chance of working). Even without a leap or a dodge player, if opponent does not have guard on corners of cage and ballcarrier is ST 3, then a 5+ dodge followed by a 5+ 1d block works 1 in 9 times. Not great odds, but you can also dodge in...if fail, end turn...wait until dodge works (1 in 3 chance), once it works, use RR if needed on 1d block (1d block needing 5+ with RR is 55% chance of getting knockdown).

One other thing, don't kick off first if you can help it, especially against bashy teams. Letting them go first gives them at least 3 blocks and a blitz against you in that one turn. You should be trying to limit them to one hit per turn (blitz) so that is about 4 turns of damage you give them for free at the start of one of their drives. Games with Wood Elves are like fighting the clock, except every tick is another player off the pitch for KO/Inj. Get as many points as you can, as early as you can, before they can pound you down. Receive, score in 2 or 3 turns, then go on defense.

ST 5 Wardancer blitzes Minotaur/Ogre/Krox/Troll.. Elves cluster for the +3 or 4 AV you can give without being in other zones.. dedicated fouling machine comes in (blatantly dodging through umpteen zones with his 87 AG on this team mind you..) and lays in the boot to remove the strongest player on the opponent's team from the pitch (fingers crossed, but 30% chance to casualty with the right skills).
ST 5 Wardancer is now strongest player on the pitch.. begin domination.

I do say that I usually wait untell around 20 games before I get a thrower, so I am aware of their lackluster purchase value to start off on an elf team.

Thing to remember with wardancers is that they're not there to be pampered and protected by rest of the teams. They start with three good skills which makes them great players when bought and after one or two normal skills incredible players, so what you really want to do is to do risky moves with them. After all, if a war dancer dies, a new one can be bought and skilled up easily. Now if a war dancer was to roll +ST for example, then all bets are off. You'll have a demi-god on the field then, but until then, let wardancer take the beating instead of your linemen you've skilled up with great care(They don't come with three skills when bought!).

I would always take block first with treemen, knocking themselves over always causes embarresment (но нужен двойной рол на уровнеL)

I would strongly recommend that you always start your Wood Elf team with an Apothecary, since the cost of replacement players is so high.

Their combination of speed and agility makes Wood Elves the most mobile team in Blood Bowl, so make the most of that advantage. Use your mobility to keep the ball well out of harm's way until you've got a couple of Elves in striking distance (If you're doing it right, this should only take 1 turn). When you're ready to attack, use that mobility to keep your throws short, then hit the open man with the pass and get in for the score.

[Vulpus Albus]

Use your Wardancers to open holes in the opposition line, but take care not to leave them exposed; if you leave a Wardancer in a vulnerable position, he's going to get knocked down and gang-fouled. As for Catchers, they are at their most dangerous when they're used in groups (obviously this won't be an option until you've made some cash and added some new players). If you spread 3-4 catchers out across your opponents' backfield, it will be next to impossible for him to adequately cover them all, and as I mentioned, you can use linemen as receivers until you can afford your full compliment of Catchers.
Remember when I told you not to leave your Wardancers exposed on offense? That's because they're going to be sticking their necks waaaaay out on defense. Use your Wardancers as ball-retrieval specialists, and remember: if there's no way around, and no way through, just go over. There's nothing quite like the look on your opponent's face when your Wardancer vaults over his line, streaks across the pitch, flattens his thrower, and forces a fumble. 

If it looks like your opposition is going to pass, do your best to tie up his receivers and get some pressure on the ball, and make the most of your mobility. Clog up the passing lanes to give yourself a shot at an interception, since you've got a 1 in 3 chance with 4 AG. With your combination of speed and agility, you should never be out of position on defense, so don't be afraid to be aggressive against other speed teams (I wouldn't recommend being aggressive against bashy teams). I'm not a big fan of playing Catchers on defense unless they've been built for the role, and even then, I'd only play a defensive Catcher against teams likely to throw
If your opponent tries to run the ball, you're going to be hard-pressed to break a cage, so your best bet is to cut the ball off before the opposition puts it somewhere that you can't get it. If he does get the ball caged, use your agility to stay just out of Block range, and put your mobility to good use by positioning yourself so that he can't advance the ball more than 1-2 squares each turn. Hopefully you'll be able to either run him out of turns, or force him to try something risky. If he's marching on you and it looks like he's going to score, you can either just let him score and save your players a beating, or throw caution to the wind and chuck your elves up against his cage. Keep in mind that going toe-to-toe with Orcs or Dwarves is kind of like using a Troll Slayer to throw a Long Bomb...it should only be done as a last resort.
Wardancers should be taking Strip Ball, Tackle, Wrestle, and Mighty Blow on doubles. with their 8 MV, Shadowing can be a good choice, but I've always found that a player with Shadowing might as well wear a big orange vest that says "Hit Me First", and your opponent already has enough reason to target your Wardancers, don't you think? Fend or Side Step are also good options; Wardancers are hard to knock down, so you'll have plenty of chances to use those skills. 

Once you've got both your throwers, groom one for offense, the other for defense. Both Throwers should take Sure Hands, but your offensive Thrower should take Accurate and Safe Throw, with Strong Arm on doubles, while your defensive thrower should take Nerves of Steel and Hail Mary Pass, to get the ball out of those sticky situations down near your own goalline. 

As I said above, I wouldn't recommend playing Catchers on defense until they've gained a few defensive skills. Block and Dauntless gives you a 9 MV Blitzer, though there's always the chance that you'll pooch the Dauntless roll and weep as your Catcher cripples himself bouncing off a Lineman. Pass Block is a great compliment to your Catcher's starting skills, so if you want to play a Catcher on defense, this is the first skill to give him.
When on offense, note that the opposition will focus on your Catchers, which can leave a lineman open for an easy score. Don't be afraid to use your Catchers as decoys, luring the defense to one side, then having a lineman squirm free and break down the other sideline for the uncontested score. This drives slower, tougher teams crazy. On defense, be sure that you're in position to capitalize on loose balls and turnovers. Every player on your team is a receiver, and a thrower, so always leave yourself with a chance to turn a loose ball into a defensive TD. 

And on both sides of the ball, do what you can to protect your players. The only weakness that Wood Elf teams have is their AV 7, so don't let the other team hit you any more than strictly necessary, and save your Apothecary for deaths or Niggling Injuries/stat decreases. Your prize Catcher got a Miss Next Game? Well that's too bad, but he'll be back good as new in 2 games, so suck it up and save your Apothecary; your opponent is planning a massive foul on your Wardancer.
I'm making a guess here that the original poster doesn't have much experience with LRB 5. I'm deducing it from the skill choices he lists, which are very lrb 4 standard.
In lrb 5 some things change:
You take a thrower so you can get easy access to a Leader re-roll.
Wood elves can make great use of taking Wrestle on their linemen instead of Block. Wrestle is better then Block if you are the one taking hits instead of giving them. You need some Fend as well and you'll need to combine it with Block or Wrestle (not Dodge) to offset the Mighty Blow/Piling On combo that can decimate AV 7 teams.
If you plan on taking Strip Ball on a Catcher then it is a good idea to give him Wrestle first. Wrestle/Strip Ball is a very powerfull combo for elves (and gutter runners).
Frenzy is a superb skill for wardancers (usually my first pick on my first wardancer to get a skill). Immense mobility + frenzy = very big crowdpush threath, giving you the sidelines.
With AG4 Leap and MV8 though, Wardancers can effectively deny the wings to all players across most of the pitch, even in anti-frenzy defensive formations. They can also get SS handily and already have blodge to protect from the retaliation. A very common tactic is to combine them with a Guard player, run in the guarder, leap over the front player in a staggered formation (which is designed to stop Frenzy players) and push the back player into the crowd. Presto, 11-10 men on turn one.
I would take the move up for treemen(no more rolling to see if he can stand up)
I'm not a fan of taking AV over MA on positionals. A wardancer (or catcher) dying isn't a disaster for a wood elf team. Just buy a new one and due to his skills he'll perform ok right out of the box and will skill up quickly.(doesn't mean you should leave him inTZ's for no reason though) Wardancers are putting themselves into risky situations often (leap into cage) and will be targeted anyway so prepare to lose some. +AV doesn't matter much when there's 5 or 6 guys fouling your dancer.
Losing skilled line-elf is a lot worse as skilling up linemen at higher TV's is very difficult and out of the box line-elves are very vulnerable. Taking +AV on a line-elf is a very good idea IMO.
I didnt think of, leader however, I feel is a wasted skill choice
The point of leader is indeed to get an extra reroll quickly. A skill or 100k for a reroll, with a team like wood elves, which can always use more money taking leader early on is a good move.
One of the first skills I take with my WE team is Kick, the ability to pin point where the ball is going to land is very importent for a WE team.

You can ether put it in a corner, wich will isolate the guy picking it up or you can put it close to the LOS and hope for "Blitz", many Coaches favor one side of the field on offence, a well placed kick can leave them wide open for a quick TD.
I usually win my first game with 5-0 or more, and get myself two more players with BLodge (the two catchers)... After that game, if I was lucky, I got a leader re-roll and an apoth. In my third game, I buy my 1st re-roll, only 100k for woodies. As for losing linemen in the first couple of games, they don't get replaced, buying re-rolls, apoth, cheerleaders is a priority, I will do just fine with journeymen.
The more balanced rosters (2 WD, 1 Thrower, 8 line, 2RR or 2 WD, 1 Thrower, 3 Catchers, 5 Line, 1 RR) are probably the best starting rosters.
Here's my current roster:
Treeman 120k
Wardancer 120k
Thrower 90k
Catcher x3 270k
Linemen x5 350k
Reroll 50k
Вордансы быстро набирают опыт, энты нет.

[Vulpus Albus]

My personal opinion here is the same as noirs, Treemen and all big guys can be amazing players but they can be useless and in this case inanimate brutes that don't do anything for the whole game. Wardancers however are star players that you can keep and can be leveled very easily and win you your first 3-4 matches therefore allowing you to get your apoc and Treeman nice and quick.

The biggest challenge with a Wood Elf team is deciding that starting lineup and what to compromise on. If you forgo WD for linemen then sure you will get more RR but you lose two starting blodgers. However you do gain two huge targets so it ultimately comes down to your tactics and how you play your team.
Ok, so what I am looking at here is a high turnover in Line elves. That is good to know, it seems to point to the idea that getting blodge on at least 3 Line elves will signifigantly decrease operating costs for a WE team. With this in mind it would seem to be most profitable to power level Line elves as fast as possible. That seems to point towards a heavily line elves build.
You don't replace your crippled linemen, you keep putting them on the line of scrimmage till they're dead.
Imo, one WE lineman will be out in almost every matches and they will take hits for sure.
So i will always place my linemen with no SPP in LoS and try to have as soon as possible Wrestle on 3 of them
Wrestle for a WE lineman is very interesting because it avoids a armour roll and it left your opponent lineman on the ground as well. Against a bash team it means that more than 50% of his MV will be lost and this is what you want.
at the beginning, linemen are canon fodder and can be replaced with journeyman.
Also remember rerolls are half price at team creation, so you'll pay through the nose for them later.
Teams that don't take WDs early have (in quite a few cases I've seen) chosen to 'cash them in' for the discounted rerolls, and make it clear that they will be priority purchases. It's not like they are hard to skill up
While woodies shouldn't go toe-to-toe with other teams all the time, that doesn't mean they should avoid contact altogether. Instead, they should choose when and where to engage, and having a MA 9 guard helps a lot with this. Elves with a ton of guard make for a very dangerous opponent, as they can choose to bash back if need be and get the assists they need to open up cages. Besides, the whole team is AV 7 and your players will die sooner or later. I don't see the catchers as players that need to be given special protection, as you can get four of them, they're very easy to skill up, and they start with dodge which gives them a leg up on the line elves.
Quite simply, guard is the best skill in the game after block. I'd take guard on all doubles on all elves, except for some mighty blow on wardancers, witch elves, or other elf blitzers .

Yup, most of the top NAF coaches use a treeman. Most importantly he reduces the casualties you are taking because it's one less line elf that goes on the los each kickoff.
If you get the choice, always kick first. You can often delay them 4-5 rounds, and then score in 2-3, and then delay to finish the first half 1-1.
Why would the opponent score in the 4-5th round? He knows that you can score in 2 rounds. And he can beat the crap out of you as long as he has the ball and if you don't have any players standing he can wait till round 8 without any danger. And on your receive, you have 3-5 players left to put on the field with wich you are to defend the ball (not speaking from making a TD). Or if you handle to make a TD, he has another chance to throw 3+ blocks against your LoS AND blitzing one of your players.
Towards the end of the game, start to throw fouls (people don't expect it from elves) to get additional injuries.


You don't get SSP for injuries done by fouling. So what's the use, except to weaken the oppsing team for his next opponent? Maybe getting your own players to "safety" when they are sent off by the ref?
If you get the choice, always kick first. You can often delay them 4-5 rounds, and then score in 2-3, and then delay to finish the first half 1-1.

You seem to play against other player which don't understand the tactics of the game. If I have a bashy team and can protect the ball for 5 turns, why should I score on turn 5 and not keep bashing you and score on turn 8?
I think strip ball is a must on the WD.
I've had good luck with 2 of my catchers taking wrestle and 2 taking block. The ones with wrestle are used for getting the ball from the opponent and the 2 with block get sure hands and are the carriers. It's been working pretty well.
3.) Your WD are fine the way they come, so every skill added is a nice bonus, but not really needed. So do what you have fun with. If you take Frenzy better be ready for some one dice rolls. Fend, Side-Step. Strip Ball and Tackle are my most used skills on WDs.
2. Guard is gold on agility teams

3. Sidestep gives you control in the opponents turn, place your WD next to a player without Tackle and you get a free movement without having to dodge!
ST > AG > Guard > Wrestle (or Block) > Dodge > Sidestep > Jump Up
You elf coaches are probably the right guys to ask. How do you stop (or even attempt to stop) an elf 2 turn touchdown with Orcs or Chaos? The elf thrower picks up the ball and retreats out of blitzing range then floods the endzone with catchers. Even if I put some pressure on the ball carrier hes got so many options on the second turn. He can handoff-then-pass, long-pass, blitz-a-catcher-free-then-pass. I feel like a spectator.
Grab it pretty nice, makes sure you have someone around you even if you get rooted, keep them in place! ^^
My elf team includes a catcher with a move of 10 and the sprint skill, which makes him a total 1-turn touchdown machine.
The play is simple;
I set him on the LOS in a widezone with a wardancer bodyguard
Thrower at the rear of the pitch fetches the ball from wherever it lands, runs over and makes a short/quick pass to the catcher. Between the Pass and catch skills and high AG, only a string of natural ones can fail this part.
Wardancer blitzes, runs forward and makes a hole in the enemy line, blodge and carefully positioned linemen make this one pretty safe, most of the time a pushback is all I need.
Catcher runs all the way to the endzone unopposed. This is actually the weakest part of the play because of the the 3 GFIs required.

I only use him when receiving so he's safe from assassination the rest of the time.
Catchers on the other hand, are great with Shadowing on Defence.
Strip ball is good for the other wardancer. Never take strip ball on high STR players. Build high str players to take down the opposition, that gets the ball loose as well. You will have 2 dice vs most opponents: make them count!
Strip ball is good for players hitting at 1 die or even half a die since all you need is a push. As such it's an absolute waste on a +STR player IMO.
STR 4 + Frenzy also really heps taking cages apart, you can blitz the corners off a lot easier so you don't need a leap to get at the ball carrier.
I had a MA 9, STR 4, Frenzy War Dancer once. That was probably the most game deciding player I ever had (and I play this game almost 15 years now). Even more so after he got Side Step.
I would develop a +AG catcher as a defensive player.

In fact, aside from a catcher who gets +MV (= 1 turn scorer) you should develop all your catchers for defensive play. Wood elves have no trouble when receiving the ball with AG4 and high movement across the board.
In terms of tactics for the team the following play is the default set up for the Sentinels and they allways prefer to kick in order to defend against the enemies cage while they remain at full team strength.

Further to this, wrestle is a great skill to have against being blitzed for the low strength wood elf catchers as in a 1 on 1 fight if it is block vs block you will both be standing only with a low strength you will not be able to push back the attacker in your own turn without help so you have to dodge away - possibly breaking up your lines and risking a turnover. With wrestle you put the attacker on the floor which means they cannot block you next turn so you dont HAVE to dodge away and it also removes their tackle zone if you do wish to dodge away. Also by putting the player on the floor it opens them up for a foul - especially when you have easy access to sneaky git to minimise the risk.
I disagree. Guard is the best skill in the game after block, and you should be taking it on almost every double. Sure, get MB on your dedicated blitzer (likely a wardancer), but guard on everyone else is a good policy. You can't count on getting doubles, your players are going to die, and there's no such thing as too much guard.

Now in terms of stand firm, it is a great skill for containing the opponents advance. side step is great for slipping into the cage but by stepping around players you will let some slip through and also let the opponent follow up possibly creating a hole in your line. The great thing with stand firm is that it allows your line to not give an inch - it acts kind of like a combination of side step and fend. Combine it with jump up and you have linemen that will actually hold the line rather than giving up that 1 square a turn - all while being able to push back the opponent with a counter attack.
 
And every single team should have one dedicated fouling machine. Every team.
 
Wardancers: Tackle will be useful as they're your main hitters and strip ball is useful for going after ball carriers, or at least forcing your opponent to keep the ball on his sure hands player. Side step is pretty much a must at some point, as it protects them and makes them much more annoying. I'd probably take frenzy for one very soon, as an MA 8, AG 4, leap, frenzy player is a terror on the side lines. Dauntless might also be an option, but you're probably better off having it on a few catchers and possibly linos. Diving Tackle is also a good skill and fend might be worth it as well.

Right now, I'd probably build my wardancers like this, assuming they roll normal skills for the their first 3 skills:

WD1: tackle, strip ball, side step
WD2: frenzy, side step, tackle

MB would be my first choice at doubles, but guard is always good as well.

As for catchers, here a few builds I'd like to try:

wrestle, dauntless, strip ball (leap, side step)
block, side step, diving tackle

Guard on doubles for the catchers.

Sure feet and sprint are pretty useless for these players, unless you want to build a dedicated one-turner. However, this is not recommended as push backs allow you to make one-turn TDs relatively easily if you really need to score in one turn.
 
I'm not the most experienced player there is, but cages are far from unbeatable, especially if you're Wood Elves. If their cage is really tight, you can just block one of the corners and shove the ball-carrier out indirectly. By putting some of your own players on the opposite corner, you can even shove the ball carrier right into a swarm of your own team. If they're all the way back in the middle of their side (Or anywhere far enough that they're not breathing down your neck), you can spread your players out two squares below the cage. They'll only be able to move one square at a time, and can only block you once a turn with Blitzes. They'll never make it to the end zone, and will be forced to break the cage. Then they're yours.
 
This is where your wardancer comes in. If he has caged do not blitz a corner. Instead send in a sacrificial elf to negate assists and leap into the cage. With a reroll you should be able to get the ball lose. This is why you do not wait until turn 8. Hopefully it will work the first try but you want a second chance if it doesn't. This is also the turn where he will bash your elves so know it is coming and take your lumps. Once the ball is out it is a free for all where the elves have a good chance to get the ball due to their agility but if they cannot at least you have kept the orcs from scoring.

[Vulpus Albus]

про гномов I do agree that they can't dodge well, though. You got to use that fact to your advantage. I usually surround their cage loosely (learned that from a guide), so that there's one space between us. This way they can only blitz once to make an opening, and the rest of their team will have trouble moving up the pitch or dodging around your defense line. Great tactic for stalling.

I have a wardancer with +AG, +AV, +ST who absolutely dominates since he has a buddy line elf with +ST, Mighty Blow, and Tackle. The two together are so devastating sometimes it seems unfair.

Block is the most important skill for a Treeman player as it makes for a
solid defence for your team. After that, the Treeman would most
benefit from Frenzy, enabling him to make a second hit in case his
opponent retreats - although there is a risk that this needlessly
draws him away from the action.

It is possible to develop passing skills in Throwers but they don’t
necessarily need to focus on the obvious choices that the other teams
need to, so the Hail Mary Pass is worth considering as it allows the
Thrower to throw the ball beyond the typical throwing distance, but
only use this when you also have a Catcher with the Diving Catch
skill since the pass is never accurate.

If you are playing with a fast team
(Wood Elves, Skaven, etc), you have the speed,
for example, to perform a fake manoeuvre by
putting the majority of your players on one side
and then sprinting to the other side with one or
two when needed, either with a throw or a quick
move. Even if you have a fast team, you should
put your blockers at the front, ideally spread out
with Linemen for support to protect your fastest
and probably weakest players. This kind of team
should try to weaken the enemy team’s defensive
players by attacking first one side of their line and
then the other; so put your best fighters on one
side, gradually moving across as you take out
enemy players.

More subtle choices include Jump Up, as it limits
damage from a Diving Tackle, and it can be useful
for teams who lack Blockers. Finally, there’s
always the classic combination: Dirty Player and
Sneaky Git, which allows you to attempt a few
devious attacks without the risk of receiving too
much damage in return.

Sprint in one of the catchers is good though, he allows you to score in one turn if Quick Snap is rolled in the kick-off table (a lot of "ifs” in this…but it happens now and then: chance to roll 8 on 2d6 is 5/36, not too bad). If you enjoy a passing game maybe you should consider skills as Diving Catch or Nerves of Steel…these are not my priorities though.

+1ST or +1AG are a gift from the Gods in a WD, you might want coupling a +1ST with Diving Tackle or Frenzy, while the +1Ag works wonders with the skills he already has as rookie, and with Stand Firm. +1MA is not so good here, so if it is 5+5 I might get the double.
Basically, almost any skill is good on a WD as he already has the basic ones, just try to choose skills that work in combo and maximize each other.

LINEELVES
They should definitely get Dodge as first skill, then Block for the combo. On doubles get them Guard as they will be the ones holding the line and need as much help as they can get…I’m not a big fan of Jump up for low armour guys as most of the times they will either be face down or fouled out, if their 3rd skill is not a double get them Side Step.
Anyone that gets +1AG should go the Leap,Dodge & Block route (maybe in different order). Anyone that gets +1ST should consider either the Dodge+Block combo or Block+Diving Tackle or Block+Frenzy…all of them good.
+1MA is the worst roll for these guys, as it means delaying any combos.

 

Then if you left the prone guys prone at the start of the turn you can stand them up and try and dodge them out as well. Just a quick guide to stalling a cage, though ideally you want to kick deep and stop them even forming this far in the first place.

Oh yeah and another guy actually made room for me on the side of the field , stupid as I was I actually tried to go for it through there, four rounds later 5 of my dwarves were off the field, I'm not gonna fall for that again but not many people know this strategy.

I like to get in there and push pressure on the cage ASAP, if you can stop it forming all together then you're gold. 2 squares back from the LoS is ideal imo.

One setup I tend to like to use is this one:

___________________________._-> LoS
|_._._._|_._.X.X.X._._|_._._._|
|_.Y._._|X._._._._._.X|_._.Y._|
|_.X._._|X._._._._._.X|_._.X._|
|_._._._|_._._._._._._|_._._._|

Think this is probably my favorit defensive setup, used it alot over the years.
This is a pretty offensive defence style... so against quicker teams, that can slip through between the 3 on LoS and the 2 closest to them on either side, can cause problems.

This is one of the purpous of this setup, to force your opponent to go where you want them. You know where your enemy is most likaly going to try and go, and your going to have him surounded in such a way that you can easily choice where to strike... atleast against slower teams. Because all of your players will be in range to reach a potential cage being created in the center.

[Vulpus Albus]

Beating Dwarves with woodies isn't too hard, although you might need them to fail a pick up. Just don't score against them too quickly when receiving and don't give them too many opportunities to grind you down. The real trick is beating them and not getting mauled too badly.
In defence you wanna flat line them. This is all your players in a row, if they hit you or move up into contact then just remake the line so there's 1 square between them and your line. This controls how quickly they can move down the field. You will get players who fall over which is why you wanna get dodge for those 1's. They only get 1 blitz per turn so that's only one block per turn.
Mix in some wrestle as well. A player with "wrodge" (wrestle/dodge) is extremely irritating for a bashing/running team because it can mess up player positioning, knock down players with guard, and generally create problems for advancing down the pitch. "wrackle" (wrestle/tackle) is also a great tool to bring down a player with "blodge" (block/dodge). Fend is a decent 3rd skill, followed by jump up or sidestep.

Strip ball is the obligatory first skill for wardancers, tackle is also helpful as well as fend, side step, jump up etc. I would disagree that sure feet and sprint are good skills for a catcher. Every player on a Woodelf team is so agile and so mobile that there is really little need to turn your catchers into dedicated scoring SPP hogs, I've always found catchers are better at being developed with maximum annoyance in mind. Giving them skills like side step, diving tackle, wrestle maybe pass block will cause significant frustration for an opponent. A dauntless catcher could even be turned into a pretty decent blitzer. 

Guard is the doubles roll of choice for players like linesmen and catchers in my opinion. You won't be using it to out-bash anyone except goblins, skaven and other elves but it will allow you to make those critical strikes when you need them. Wardancers with mighty blow might help you score the odd casualty which is always welcome, throwers take strong arm to give them excellent passing range and ofc Treeman takes block on doubles. The ONE exception for this is double 5. If you roll double 5, TAKE +MA. +MA is the best skill possible for a treeman because it means he no longer has to roll a 4+ to stand up.
Remember that Elves scoring success rely mostly in punching holes as void from tackle zones as possible for your running, passing etc, so you do not care if the linemen creating it end up prone as long as they are not hurt in the process. Blodge can give you the same efefct aswell but as TV grows you will find more and more opponent linemen with block aswell and therefore negating your blodged hole punching effectiveness, hence wrestle as the more efficient (at least statistically) way to go.
Wrodge being the defensive approach to wrestle and wrackle being the offensive one, I would typically favour a mix of both in your team so you can use those according to your situation... i.e. use wrodge at the front of your stalling line in defense, and use wrackle to punch holes against blodge opponents, to screen your ball carrier creating dangerous tackle zones to cross, or to help WD assaults on cages.
Leave blodge rather for :

a) when you need a safety ball carrier that you know is going to suffer a blitz, or one that you think is going to need one to break free and move on.
b) or for taking an oppotunity blitz/block against non Block skilled opponents in your critical path or key weak link players such as dwarf runners etc (i.e. if a dwarf player with a lone sure hands runner has it prone or injured, who's going to pick up the ball? there).
Re catchers I also agree with Porkus on making them annoying rather than faster, plus 1 turn scorers tend to be marked for death and dont last long. I typically have my catchers with pass block (this one is a big annoying factor) and diving catch as first skills on normal rolls right away. The threat of 2 unmarked catchers spread in the field with pass block can reduce quite effectively the passing ability/willingness of your oponent, hopefully forcing him to carry the ball all the way through and hence slowing him down further.
Getting block/dodge or wreste/dodge (blodge, wrodge) on every elf is what makes woodelves so effective.
 
I am shocked that no one has mentioned this yet but any cage can be brought down with just 3 players on the cage and one to free the ball up. Here is how you do it. You need two players with the Grab skill and one with the Guard skill. So your cage has four sides and you can pick anyone of the four that is available so you use your Grabbers to move one side of the cage out (relying on the Guarder to give assits). Your Grab players can open the cage wide open then you blitz in with a blitzer and drop the ball carrier. I like to build my blitzers so that they are designed for one purpose, to free up the ball. For this I like to go Tackle, MB and Wrestle. Many people like Strip Ball which can be useful but several teams primary ball handlers have Sure Hands. With Strip Ball as well as Wrestle against a non Sure Hands player you have an 84% of freeing the ball. With Tackle and Wrestle, even against a Sure Hands player you have a 50% chance of freeing the ball up plus you bring down the ball carrier as well. Then you should have a nice big gap (because of the grabbers) to move in and pick up the ball.
If you have a superior cage (one with Stand Firm players) players with Wrestle will work in place of Grab. For the best specialized cage breakers go with Grab and Wrestle. For the best ball freeing blitzers go with (after Block) Tackle, Wrestle and Strip Ball but these make for a fairly specialized players. On the other hand the Grab/Wrestle players (I just use lineman) are also extremely good for opening running lanes on offense as well.
YEah but for Wood Elves two Grabs and a Guard would all require doubles.
1)      Stop the cage forming - take kick skill, kick deep and flood the backfield. 
2) Delay the cage - just dodge one square back, restricting your opponent to a single blitz per turn. They will eventually run out of time and need to push forward and offer better opportunities to turn them over. Wrestle/Fend/Sidestep are all great skills for slowing/delaying cages. 
3) Attack the cage with leaping war dancers. Do not do this very often. First of all it burns rerolls. Secondly it generally means you commit players to the cage - so giving your opponent blocking opportunities.
WD Take Piling On, then take Jump Up next level. Use Piling On for EVERY armor break that is not a KO or better. Keep an elf or two around her to stop the gang fouling and her ability to remove players from the field will go up dramatically.
Leaving players prone can be a valid tactic - standing them up only to get hit again should be reserved only when you want to hold up certain opposition players, or to prevent assists elsewhere. Alternatively, leave them down until the end of the turn, then stand them up and dodge them away.
Strip Ball is very useful on a Wardancer, even though you will be facing a lot of opponents with Sure Hands players. What you are aiming for with Wood Elves is to create tactical situations that can be exploited by you: You are forcing a caging team to pass the ball or suffer a 2-dice blitz on the ball by their turn two, you are splitting their team in two halves or you stall and give them 3 turns to score, so the normal sure hands ball-carrier cannot run it all the way etc. Lack of Strip Ball leaves you vulnerable to certain strategies: Elfball stalling on a Blodger, elfball two turns touchdowns by caging (teams with a weak thrower and a weak bashing game can often pass the ball in their first turn and make a cage on your field, from were its easy to score by turn 2) and Strong ball-carriers (mostly without Sure Hands)
Dodging away instead of using a two dice block to push the opponent away is generally more risky, for all that it offers more flexibility. For that reason, my tendency with Wood Elves is actually often to do the most risky, high-return things first. When on offence, assuming I have the ball safe and deep, I will frequently do my blitz - or other effort to create an opening for the score - before dodging my Line-elves away, or making any block actions I plan to make. Similarly, on defence, if I mean to make an attempt at going for the ball-carrier, I will often do this straight away, instead of saving this often risky move till last.
The reason for this is that all those dodges away are risky! Far more risky than two dice blocks, as noted above. I do not want a turnover before I get the chance to make my big move, nor do I want to end up wasting a Team re-roll on something that matters far less to me than that big move!
What is more, if the big move does come off, I want to have players who still have yet to act and can capitalise on its success.
 
Sometimes that Guard-packed cage with the Sure Hands ball-carrier is just too tough to attack. In such cases I recommend just ignoring the cage and blitzing and gang-fouling a selected opponent: Wood Elves who suddenly seem to ignore the ball and foul can provoke an angry response from the opponent, which may also mean a less well-protected ball next turn.
Many disciplined coaches won't care how much you foul though, and won't let it disrupt their plan. Sometimes you just can't break a cage: and there is no sense in man-marking with fragile elves in a futile effort to slow one down. If you feel lucky, and have your apothecary in reserve, throw the Wardancer in: but don't put the entire team at risk.
This style of Wood Elf game is much less effective against an opposing team which is comparably mobile and agile. Against other elves, Wood Elves at least still have a slight MA advantage, but Skaven are certainly the most fearsome opponents for them to face. (Please note that when facing other elves or Skaven, almost none of the above should be taken to be good advice!)
A Wardancer needs skills to help blitz the ball-carrier - Tackle and Strip Ball - and to keep himself alive - Sidestep (essential for minimising chain-blocks when you leave him close to the opponents). Sure Hands can also be a good choice, as a Wardancer will often end up holding, or wanting to pick up, the ball one way or another.
Mighty Blow is attractive on doubles as you might as well make your team's infrequent blocks count, and Wardancers do most of the hitting. Dauntless might seem useful for evening the odds against some teams, but remember that overall you will never dependably be able to match those teams at a block-based game. Frenzy can be effective if deployed carefully, but tends to lure a Wardancer into unsafe positions.
Catchers are a luxury on a Wood Elf team: you don't need them in order to score unless you have an unhealthy obsession with one-turn-touchdowns. Block is essential for their survival, especially given ST 2. Sidestep is again a default choice. Sure Hands can again be attractive as, with MA 9 and Dodge, a Catcher can reach a ball that has been knocked loose almost anywhere on the pitch.
Throwers are similarly a luxury item for a Wood Elf side, as any elf can pass reasonably and Throwers do not start with Sure Hands. A Thrower only generally becomes a key part of a side when he specialises by acquiring a few skills becoming either: a Long Bomb Thrower with Strong Arm, Safe Throw and Accurate; or more rarely the prime ball-carrier in a more adventurous running style, with the likes of Block, Dodge, Nerves of Steel and Dump Off. You have to give this guy the ball a lot of course, so he needs Sure Hands to help make this dependable; or alternatively Catch if you prefer to collect the ball with a Sure Hands Catcher, or with a Lineman you want to skill up.
Treemen are considered essential by some Wood Elf coaches, but in my opinion this is only the case if a coach is still wedded to the block-based game. Even with a Tree, winning the block battle will be a massive uphill struggle. At higher TRs, a Treeman does become ever more and more important for absorbing a little of the damage that can be dealt out by Claw/RSC monsters, Mighty Blow Tacklers, and Dirty Players. The usual Big Guy progression rules apply. Multi-blocking with a Tree is indeed cool, but is probably not something to base your plays on.
Linemen are critical players to the Wood Elf team, and never just LoS fodder. 7 3 4 7 is the stat line of a ball-playing dynamo! Faster than many teams' positionals, these players are well capable of doing almost anything, with only a little favour from Nuffle filling their sails. And once they get Block and Dodge ...
 
Standard Wardancer Carrier Blitz (equivalent strength block, WD ST3 vs carrier ST3):

1- Review oponent's cage and select an entry spot that allow your wardancer be in touch with the carrier with the minimum number of cage players applying tacklezone on her.

2- Move Linemen into tackle zones of said cage players so they can not assist ballcarrier anymore.

3- Blitz in Wardancer, using leap if it gives you better odds than dodge. For this to be successfull it is wise to have 1 or more rerolls handy. Try to execute the blitz pushing away from your TD zone, so if a push result is rolled then you can opt to push the carrier back, and maybe even opening the cage somewhat. Do not forget to push the blitz button before blitzing with a leap just in case... I ve flost count of the number of times I have started the attack with the WD only to realize I had forgotten to actually hit the blitz button...

This should give you either a single die block roll if the ball carrier is ST3 or 2 red ones if he has ST4 or more.

If carrier is ST3 the odds are not that bad, 50% (or 75% if you use re roll), specially if the carrier does not have block skills. If he has block then chances are 33.3% (or 55.4% with a reroll). These assume carrier does not have the dodge skill, otherwise your chances of a loose ball drop (pun intended) to 33.3% if defender does not have block (or 55.4% with a reroll) and 16.6% with block (30.4% with a reroll). If ST4 or more, as suggested above, I would recommend not to a blitz, but then again probably the carrier's MA is not that great so not such a bad idea to simply slow down the cage further by walling 2 squares ahead of it and forgetting about the blitz.

Now to maximize your chances of blitzing in successfully there is a skill that will help immensely your Wardancer: Strip Ball. This will increase your chances of a loose ball: 83.3% against your standard non skilled ST3 (and 97.1% with a reroll), or 66.6% if he has Block skill (88.7% with a reroll) in which case you can even risk a blitz into a ST4 carrier as the push results will also count as good: 69.4% chances of a loose ball to be exact (90% with reroll), or 44.4% if carrier has Block skill (69% with reroll). These asume nearby cage players have been covered by your own linemen as in step 2 above so unable to assist, or otherwise ensuring the difference in effective strength is kept at 2 red dice tops.