“It seems lately that every time I make a basher-basher game offer, someone comes back wanting to play my squishy team with their bashers instead. I offered an even-up match with my chaos, but he wanted to give up a handicap to my shorthanded wood elves. OK, Game On!

The handicap turned out to be "Duh, Where Am I" which isn't exactly game-breaking (gave it to a Block/MB black orc, who spent much of the game unconscious).

The overriding theme of this game was that a pass-blocking, sidestepping, blodging, leaping catcher can overwhelm an entire team by himself, practically. The orc's first posession ended up in an interception by Bullet which was handed off to a nearby teammate for an easy TD. On 3 other occasions Bullet got himself into a TZ to disrupt a passing play, successfully twice (well, once failed on the other end, but he was a clear distraction...) and the one he didn't disrupt went for the Basher's first half TD.

The first half ended with a scramble for the ball near the orcs' end zone, after the reroll-depleted woodies couldn't get a long-bomb/leap/dodge play through without stumbling...at the end zone. The ball scattered into the corner, and the orcs inability to clear it out downfield didn't quite cost them when Chain Man (AG5 lino) was unable to pick the ball up and dodge out of a TZ with it to score.

The second half started with a quick TD by the Bone Snappers. Flooding players into the secondary of the Bashers, Yasuki spread his team out to double-cover the catchers and mark the rest while a black orc and troll moved up to force a throw. But you can't have orcs everywhere, and there was a lone woodie free in the middle: my DP. Another 3+ pass play and 2+ catch and Bomber walked in for a quick score. I'd considered trying a stall, but the bracketed coverage on my other players made it seem likely I'd fail a dodge before getting my ball carrier secure.

De-fense <*clap*clap> De-fense <*clap*clap*>

The orcs secure a short kickoff and cage up around their thrower (the skilled up one, with Safe Throw...lesson learned about pass block) for an apparent crushing push down the wide zone, sending the AG4 blitzer ahead in what appeared to be a potential setup for a passing play. I collected my linemen from their positions on the ground and built a 2-deep web in front to slow the cage, and blitzed a gobbo heading down the other wide zone with a friend (diversion? sneak-attack?), but just pushed it; my Tackling wardancer had already been badly hurt.

It turns out I was right to suspect. My gobbo-blitzing DP lino was handily knocked to the ground and stunned, and the cage shifted back to midfield. A black orc and troll were mashed up in the face of Bullet, either on general principle or specifically to tie him up to prevent another pass block, and the thrower made a pass to the gobbo. This is why Bullet has LEAP! He gives the -1 to the pass, and it bounces off the gobbo (I didn't check whether it was the thrower's fault or the gobbo's). Nearly my whole team is in the other wide zone, and a sea of green is between me and the ball. I move a bunch of my free players back towards the Bashers' end zone, and then...LEAP! Bullet hops over the thrower, dodges through the gobbo's tackle zone and then into 2 others to pick up the ball, dodge out, and throw downfield. I moved the rest of my team in to shield the ball carrier, and secured the game-icing touchdown.

Props to YasukiJeremy for the T16 TTM touchdown to make it 3-2. I checked the log at the end, and that also saved him from a -1FF with the bonus the second TD got him.”