I hate clawpomb!!

Who doesn't? But shoot me if I take Chaos or Nurgle and try to win by pitch clearing. But I really like the slow, methodical grinding of those strong sides. Where position matters.

When I decided to take Orcs I knew that Guard was going to be a large part of my plans. If I could have my 9st access (Plus perhaps a linemen) rocking guard then those pesky clawpomb sides are going to have a hard time hitting me. I'll just line up in front of you and you can spend your time trying to find the weak spot. Hopefully use a lot of player's turns trying to out position for one or two blocks.

And what goes well with Guard? Stand Firm has always been one of my favourite skills. All my Blitzers and Black Orcs are going to take Block, Guard, Stand Firm.

Okay I thought, the issue here is that I am going to have a dearth of Tackle. I will take that on my linemen first, I will follow up with wrestle. If I get a double on the first two rolls I can take Guard then get Block instead. And on Blitzers as a third skill. Except one will need Sure Hands because...

Why would I want a thrower? I just look at it and think 'I am not going to pass the ball'. That pass skill is a total waste. And they are going to need Block, so why wouldn't I just give a Blitzer Sure Hands and use them as a ball carrier? I would prefer a Linemen on the field getting hit (av9) so I decided: no throwers.

Frenzy might look good too down the track, Blitzers can surf, Black Orcs can crash through packs. I will win the positional battle.

Finally what to do with doubles? Dodge seems like it would fit right, except I have two concerns:
1) At the time SWL Premier had a few very beastly Chaos Dwarf sides, and I don't like that match up. They have Guard and Stand Firm too, but also clawpomb, plus loads of Tackle.
2) What about the fast sides? This whole strategy is to outblock strong sides, they will just run around me. Plus my second favourite skill of all time is Diving Tackle, and I can see how well this will fit into a Guard/Stand Frim side.

I still have the file from my notes, copy and pasted:

Black Orc:
Block
Guard
Stand Firm
Frenzy/Tackle
(doubles – Diving Tackle)

Blitzer
Guard
Stand Firm
Tackle
Frenzy
(doubles – Diving Tackle)

Linemen
Tackle
Wrestle
Fend???? Kick? Sack?
(Doubles Guard)

Troll
Guard
Stand Firm
Grab? Sack?

As you can tell I am strong in my theme. No Clawpomb at all! However, how honest am I being with myself? I mean, I can't take Claw. And no Piling On, whilst this is a ripper skill, I hate it and it also doesn't suit my side, as they clearly need to keep their feet, out Guard their opponents and hopefully outnumber them too.

But Mighty Blow?

That is going to be tough.

Next Time – From Theories to Reality, what I kept and what I didn't.