<Bragging starts here>
I've been playing Orcs in the Box for a while now, and my only purpose was to create a tournament ready team. My second or third attempt was the
good one, and the team is as ready as a Box team can be. I'm not going to play them until the FUMBBL Cup since I'm pretty sure to be matched up with cPOMB heavy teams, which would be a recipe for disaster (NB: I have nothing against cPOMB, but I also want to keep this team in a good shape for the FC). One has to know when to stop prepping.
<Bragging ends here>
But when I look at that team, I find it boring. Sure, there are fancy stats, and I've spammed the most important skills IG, but there's nothing that makes it special. And it pretty much sums up how I build teams in the Box, unfortunately. I am for instance very likely to skip doubles on a BoB to take Block, Guard, or MB instead. In Ranked, I would have picked DT. If I look at the team I entered last year, my Ranked Orcs (who got crushed by
Azure's clawless dorfs), I find it so much more interesting. There were just as many +stats (on the blitzers / linemen), but they also had some extra skills that brought another dimension to the team - in that case, 3 Diving Tacklers that could completely lock the positioning game.
But it's not the only difference between both teams. If the New Waaaagh Order was a Ranked team, I would play a few more games to skill that last BoB, or even to try to get a few of them to 51 SPP for MB or BT. I may hire one or two more lino and try to give them DP as well. And maybe Kick.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying one division is better than the other. And I'm not saying Ranked Orc coaches are pickers: anyone who has ever played a 2000TV Orc team in Ranked knows you won't find any game except against other bashers. But in the meantime, you can choose to avoid cPOMB spam teams in Ranked when you're preparing for a tourney.
No, the question is: who has the advantage in the FUMBBL Cup: the Box teams who are not penalized for taking some of the strongest skills IG (Guard spam, Blodge spam, CPOMB spam, etc), or the Ranked teams who can develop further than the Box teams without fearing the next game may be the last one? Is there any stats showing how well both divisions do in combined tournaments?