Tactics and Strategies for Wood Elves

[Fletch]

I'm really struggling with my Wood Elf team. Already deleted the first attempt due to injuries. Armour 7 is just lethal! I regularly have deaths and persistent injuries of linemen and key players, making it extremely difficult to field a team as they are quite expensive.

I try to stay out of tackle zones. Start of most games usually goes very well but then it falls apart as my player numbers dwindle. I don't have a treeman, are they recommended?

I need help, has anyone got any hints?

[Snorri Nosebiter]

Read this.[plasmoids.dk]

It's one of the better Woodie playbooks out there.

The advice I'd give is to focus on the ball when you're on defence. A team that's worried about possession is less concerned with reducing your team to elf-flavoured paste.

Try to prevent a cage from forming, and get Kick on a lineman as soon as possible. This way, you should be able to pressure the opponent's ball handler deep in their own half.

[DarthPhysicist]

Originally posted by Dave Hedgehog:

Read this.[plasmoids.dk]

It's one of the better Woodie playbooks out there.

The advice I'd give is to focus on the ball when you're on defence. A team that's worried about possession is less concerned with reducing your team to elf-flavoured paste.

Try to prevent a cage from forming, and get Kick on a lineman as soon as possible. This way, you should be able to pressure the opponent's ball handler deep in their own half.

This is all very sound advice and the plasmoids guides are great. Welcome to one of the best teams there is, and one of the most frail. You will win big, and you will lose badly, but on the whole, you'll win. Its stressful, which is true of any passing team and is the reason so many people (including myself) eschew the passing game for the running and caging game. Playing elves means living on the edge and playing every turn like its your last. Protect your guys, create space, and get on that ball ASAP. I just slaughtered a Wood Elf team with humans 10 minutes ago who had a treeman, so don't think that will save you!

[RodHull]

Get your wardancers leveled asap and only use apos for them until you have other positionals or leveled line elves.

Even if you get brutalised you will win most games cause there is simply imo no better team at harrasing and scoring quickly. Your high MA across the board allows you to constantly out maneuver your opponent.

Also dont do what I see other WE teams do, do not get desperate and base lots of their players or youll have lots of injured elves. In defense your priority should be stalling their cage (if they have one) Or ignoring their LOS and running everyone at their ball carrier and creating a sort of screen between him and his team mates. Basically you want his priority to be protecting his ball carrier and making himself safe, NOT hitting you.

On offense score quick and often imo I know many like to stall but imo stalling with WEs can really backfire on you.

[Dode]

Originally posted by RodHull:

do not get desperate and base lots of their players

This is sound advice for all teams.

[Tack]

Nix your catchers, get catch on your wardancers.
That'll free up more gold for rerolls/treeman, and with S2A7, they were gonna die anyway.

Possibly surrender all games vs dwarfs.

[VonFIDDE]

Get the ball and run for TD! do it 2 times quickly and the opponent will concede if you fail your team will die.

[DarthPhysicist]

Originally posted by Tack:

Nix your catchers, get catch on your wardancers.
That'll free up more gold for rerolls/treeman, and with S2A7, they were gonna die anyway.

Possibly surrender all games vs dwarfs.

Sorry but that's terrible advice on all levels.

[khornight]

I don't agree with the score quickly brigade, each time you score, you are giving the opponent 3 linemen to hit on the kick off.

Do score, but not as fast as posible.

[Snorri Nosebiter]

Originally posted by Tack:

Nix your catchers, get catch on your wardancers.

Immediately ignore any further BB advice this man may give you.

Catchers are invaluable, and not just for the skills- as the second fastest player in the game, they add even more speed to the team, and can be developed in the same ways as Gutter Runners.

[Snorri Nosebiter]

Originally posted by Tack:

S2A7, they were gonna die anyway.

Dodge and being one skillup away from Block or Wrestle means they're actually very survivable.

Leaving them out of the team means that you may have one extra reroll, but you need to spread it out over a bunch of unskilled linemen.

As Woodies, the majority of your RR will be spent on AG actions. The more Dodge and Catch you have, the less RR you're going to need.

Without Catchers, your overall effectiveness on attack is reduced, your pitch coverage on defence is reduced, and your Wardancers (who've now been relegated to hanging around in the backfield performing anything but their ideal role) now have even bigger targets painted onto them.

Catchers are also a single level away from reliably being able to move up to 11 squares, if you're happy to develop them that way.

[PapaNasty]

Originally posted by khornight:

I don't agree with the score quickly brigade, each time you score, you are giving the opponent 3 linemen to hit on the kick off.

Do score, but not as fast as posible.

They'll get to bash those 3x linemen anyway, as unless you are about to score on the very last turn of the half, your opponent is going to get some free hits in.

Scoring carefully is the most important part, delaying a turn is ok if your ball carrier is super safe & most of your team is out of tackle zones, since it gives your opponent less time to score again. But if you've got 2-3 guys shielding your ball carrier, that means your opponent probably has a 3-4 man advantage, and can cut out escape routes etc for your other players really quickly.

Also never underestimate the ability of nuffle to bless your opponent with a super blitz that can take down your "protected" ball carrier, any elven team can do them, WEs most of all, and many of the others too. I've won/drawn games quite a few games, which I should have drawn/lost, because opponents were delaying scoring vs me (And not just on my elf teams either).

[drake_hound]

You want wrestle more then block on your Wood Elves. for the simple reason of cage breakers.
That is what makes the huge difference on a good woodelves team or noob wood elves team.

It infuriates your oppenents to no end, since nothing beter then seeing Dwarfs with blocks having to get up and unable to move far :P
But do expect a lot of fouls incoming once they notice that tactic!

[RodHull]

Wood elves are all about doing as much damage as possible before you are reduced to 6 players, which almost definately will happen :)

Most games if you can go 2-0 up in the first half against slower/bashier teams youve basically won already.

[DarthPhysicist]

Scoring fast gives you a chance to unload the KO bin. Scoring fast gives you another chance on ball. Don't be stupid about it of course (there's no reason for a 1 turn score on turn 1 or 9) but scoring fast and often is your strength.

[Azulus]

WE are the best team (at leat for me), just don´t let youreself hit to often :) I took the treeman and he is a big asset especally against unexpericend coaches. They usally try to bash the tree and the WD and catcher can wreak havoc behind the lines. Against seasoned coaches the tree is mutch less usefull because the usally just ignore him and there is a big chance that the 170+ TV Standing around idel.