“Tactical Takeaways-

1. Underworld Swarming

First game against Underworld with the new swarming mechanic. Very difficult to manage all those extra assists and screens all over the place. Luckily armor rolls were on our side, and it seemed like the little guys were very apt to get removed. Still, feels like if they get the 3 roll, you're at a heavy disadvantage. Black Orc Grab does play a big role against the side-steppers though I found. Often a cage corner marked by a snotling meant a KO the following turn.

2. Cage, Bash, Foul

We had a very typical opening drive. Slow 8 Turns, trying to remove as many as we could as we made our way down. Not very man casualties, but a decent amount of KOs. Ball felt safe most of the half. They took a cage dive the final turn after a -2D block on the troll, and had a shot, but we got away. We lost our SG early in the game which was unfortunate, but we traded him for their troll which felt good.

3. Lucky Claw Mighty Blow, and Armor Rolls in General

Their troll with Claw Mighty Blow put multiple black orcs down, the troll several times, and I don't know that he ever broke armor. Same with our goblins in general. They seemed to be taking hits a decent amount of the time, but just stuck around.

4. Surfing Confusion

Had a moment where it looked as if we were going to lose a Black Orc to some surfing, but it never was able to come through. Our lack of movement, players, and frenzy player made it seem like the sideline battle was one we were sure to lose - which we did.

5. Counter Square to Win

The crucial element of our counter square I'd say was removals again. As they started losing players, we were in a better position to keep pushing the cage. We managed to get the ball secured, and it stayed untouched until our final turn when their gutter runner took a dive at the cage. He made it in for 1D with a re-roll, but couldn't put him down. We were able to blitz off the markers, make a hand-off and get the score. ”