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Pelzmuff



Joined: Jun 23, 2004

Post   Posted: Jan 25, 2005 - 13:46 Reply with quote Back to top

I like to have half of the vamps on pitch with pro. Three DPs are okay, just make one a blodge vampire. You can move this dirty sucker to exposed positions and foul away and he will most likely stay on the field longer than thralls.

Another thing I do most of the time is to kick when i win the coin toss. Vampires are strong on defense and, at least in the beginning, weak on offense IMO. So i kick and go for the sack to play a break.
origami



Joined: Oct 14, 2003

Post   Posted: Jan 25, 2005 - 17:01 Reply with quote Back to top

I plan to get both thralls and vamps with who have tackle/strip ball. That way, you have the str 4 hitter who can leap into cages, etc, while also having the much more dependable thralls for when you just can't afford to roll for ofab or have set things up so that you don't need to.

I tend to play my vamps as support for my thralls. With excellent movement for a str 4 player, they work well at running up the field to act as a screen for the ball carrier as well a potential scoring threat if they receive a pass. This also allows them to act as the rear of a cage if you use a RR early in the next turn and are hesitant to move them forward. I'm also considering a few skills like diving tackle/pass block/shadowing that allow them to be a major annoyance without having to risk an OFAB roll.

Also, remember that just because a vamp fails his OFAB roll, it doesn't mean that he needs to feed on a thrall. There are many situations where it's better to just let the vamp run off of the field.

BTW, 7 RR should be plenty. Usually one of the kickoff results during the match will give you that eighth RR.
Uber



Joined: Mar 22, 2004

Post   Posted: Jan 28, 2005 - 12:11 Reply with quote Back to top

Update report on the vampires. Well I've posted earlier what happened to me. Started with two vampires, but then the 2nd one aged after his 3rd skill and then the 1st dies on the pitch the game after. Then complete thrall breakdown. Death, ageing, nigglings, apo failed, you name it.

I was starting to get back on my feet, but then again as my second vamp reaches 31: ageing. I just want to kill someone. I can barely field 11, and now I need to replace more vampires again. The struggle continues... The Evangelists are tourists...

As far as team development is concerned, I will say this. I think Pro is best used as a 4th or 5th skill. The reasoning behind this is that Pro just isnt reliable enough to take the chance when it's necessarily needed. It's only used when you've actually burned a re-roll and need to dodge a bullet by re-rolling ofab or a missed gfi for a TD. That being said, I think that Block and Dodge, in that order, should always come first. Block is a must for blocking reliability and also help the Vamp survive since it's so easy to take down someone without it. Dodge than gives him the freedom to move anywhere he pleases. The third skill will then define his main function.

I got doubles on 3rd skill to my first vamp(well actually 3rd if you count the dead/retired idiots) and I gave him pass to make him *gasp* a passer! My second(or fourth) vamp to get his 3rd skill got himself guard which is never a bad choice. The thralls definitely need assistance to be able to do something meaningful. Other good third skills are tackle with mighty blow as fourth or vice versa. That makes the perfect blitzer, takes care of annoying wardancers and such.

The only other skills left that I think are worth mentionning are Sure Feet and Side Step. Vamps are not the fastest of players and they always need at least one extra step to reach the end zone in 2 two turns. Also, since they're doing most of the job they need to be all over the field, so yes the extra mobility will make an incredible difference. Side Step on the other hand is always good, especially combined with guard.

Doubles give you a few more options, but I think the best are Pass, Nerves of Steel, Stand Firm and Jump Up. Pass and NoS are really great because you need to be able to move the ball and a passer is great for that. NoS makes sure you'll be making an easy roll and is great for a catcher type of player that can blitz his way out of mostly any situation. Stand Firm is great in the sense that it prevents turnovers and allow you to take a "safe" gamble that can pay up tremendously.

Finally, I haven't got any stats increase on them yet, but I'm sure they'll fit very nicely. I'm just praying for that AG5 hypno gaze and those 2+ short passes. Let's hope I can keep it going a little bit more.

_________________
Recovering FUMBBL addict.
Pelzmuff



Joined: Jun 23, 2004

Post   Posted: Jan 28, 2005 - 12:19 Reply with quote Back to top

Quote:

I plan to get both thralls and vamps with who have tackle/strip ball. That way, you have the str 4 hitter who can leap into cages, etc, while also having the much more dependable thralls for when you just can't afford to roll for ofab or have set things up so that you don't need to.

Why would you leap into a cage with vampires? Gaze one edge of the cage, maybe even two and walk in for the easy sack. It's so easy and guard doesn't help against it. Twisted Evil
AvatarDM



Joined: Aug 02, 2003

Post   Posted: Jan 29, 2005 - 01:32 Reply with quote Back to top

I think Pro is the most important skill for Vamps. It helps to reroll an OFAB roll on a non-critical action and you can use it to reroll a Hypnotic Gaze roll too.

On that subject: I've noticed that some Vampire coaches don't use Hypnotic Gaze at all. It's the reason to play Vamps imo Very Happy
Guvnor



Joined: Sep 07, 2003

Post   Posted: Feb 09, 2005 - 00:13 Reply with quote Back to top

One thing that I am trying to figure is whether RRs should be used up first on failed OFABs. And then when these are used up rely on Pro. Because Pro will not always work for you as I am sure we have all found out. So as a poor second cousin to the RR, the Pro skill should be the back up to the RR and not be the first option.
I guess it also depends on how vital making that OFAB is/how many thralls you have left/how many RRs you have left.

I am learning the usefulness of feeding on stunned thralls. They are down anyway, so KO'ing him when he is already at half move the next two turns isn't that bad, and TDs usually come thick and fast to help get him back on the pitch (My Vamp team is my highest scoring team*game ratio yet).
Of course if I ever get a few skilled thralls (so far only one skill and that was KICK KICK KICK!) I will not be able to choose so freely and will have to remember to head on over to the 0spp thrall first.

After a passed OFAB roll at the end of a Vamps move I will always try the Hypno gaze just to get into the habit of using it. It gives my opponent one more thing to get worried about, and I like yellow dots
too! Shocked

Oh, one other thing. I have always been putting my 3 vamps on the los and nothing else. This way I save my thralls for my Vamps. Ok I have to trust to Nuffle a lot, but if you have blodging(sidestepping?) vamps this can work out well i reckon. Later on in their life when they are more precious and skilled and the opposing line scarier ( not the cherrypicked elf teams I play ) I will be asking for trouble. But so far the only injuries my vamps have sustained is a ng when ageing his second skill.
This tactic also ties up his team in the line a lot more. Sometimes because of the 4str it takes longer to bring them down and keep them pinned down the next turn and sometimes coz everyone likes to beat up on a Vamp. This means you can spread out your thralls in the backfield, compensating for their average Move as they are already set up all over the field.
So you have elves ( I played Chaos once and once only) caged around str4 players in the middle using up their go and a big screen of thralls in the backfield, waiting. Safer than having a big hole in the middle when your thralls are broken in two on the los and relying on passed OFABs to set up tackle zones against fast teams.
Morgy



Joined: Apr 23, 2005

Post   Posted: May 19, 2005 - 00:01 Reply with quote Back to top

Having read this and other threads about this subject i made my first Vamp team last night and played 2 games with them....very challenging indeed....I am 0/1/1 but have score 2-3 TDs and i could have won the draw if not for some positional errors, of which i learned some lessons anyway.......my startig roster was 2 vamps, 11 thralls 4 RR and 6FF.....the extra thralls was very handy!......during the first game one of the vamps was KOed very early and so i played the game with only one and came very close to winning......second game was against Amazons and I was happy to lose 2-1 seeing as at one point i had both vamps in the KO box and only 4 thralls on the pitch!........i have taken all people advice and am now saving for a new reroll and then a vamp.....
http://fumbbl.com/FUMBBL.php?page=team&op=view&team_id=169993 my team as it stands at moment.......I will avoid playing bashy teams until i can get block on some vamps I think Smile

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cheers

Morgy
nin



Joined: May 27, 2005

Post   Posted: Jul 03, 2005 - 19:26 Reply with quote Back to top

Apothecary: Think of it vampire way, you don't use it to heal thralls, you use it to save money, only for rip results.
Well may be if you ned that particular thrall in order to do something, like dining or scoring I mean...
Extra tralls are not so much important, money is much better. So try the apo.
SolomonKane



Joined: Jul 21, 2005

Post   Posted: Jul 29, 2005 - 07:39 Reply with quote Back to top

Now, first off, I have to admit to being a complete newbie at long-term BB play. I've played some games over at OLBBL, but I have yet to play a game with the LRB in its current mutation.

That said, allow me to forward this question as food for thought (or fuel for flaming, whichever Smile), which was inspired by an old Chaos Dwarf article I found which mentions starting a team with all Hobgoblins:


Has anyone ever considered starting the vampire team with all thralls? The way I figure it according to Scribe, is that you can start with 6 RRs, 9 FF, and 12 Thralls (with 10k leftover). That takes care of the issue of RR costs, allowing one to save for Vampires. Another positive point to this setup would be the obvious point that only the Thralls would gain any SPPs for the first two and maybe three games, allowing you to ideally build up something of a core of thralls by the time your first Vampire joins the team.

Obviously, the major drawback is the fact that your team isn't going to handle the ball well and will be lucky to not get dead early on - mandating one to be choosy about initial opponents, I suppose. Also, it would be imperative to hire an Apothecary after the first match. Too, one might argue that having 6 RRs so early just might inflate your TR unnecessarily, so maybe it's better to dump 2 RRs and have at least one vampire to start with, which means this team would start with 13 players.

So here's what I'm pointing out, and asking...would either of these teams be very wise initial choices?

12 Thralls 480k
6 RRs 420k
9 FF 90k
Total 990k

-OR-

1 Vampire 110k
12 Thralls 480k
4 RRs 280k
8 FF 80k
1 Apo 50k
Total 1000k
Tommi



Joined: May 17, 2004

Post   Posted: Jul 29, 2005 - 08:53 Reply with quote Back to top

Quote:

Has anyone ever considered starting the vampire team with all thralls? The way I figure it according to Scribe, is that you can start with 6 RRs, 9 FF, and 12 Thralls (with 10k leftover).

Well, you will end up with a team that will not win matches. That means that you will get less cash, and you will end up with a lower FF, which will mean with losing even more cash. All this will mean slower team development.
Positional players are the ones in every team that will win the matches, and it is important to get them boosted with skills as early on as possible, to keep your team valid on against teams of it's own TR.
If you don't mind losing, heavy av teams can very well take defeats, as they have low upkeep costs and can keep on with the low winnings and build up slowly, but I doubt it will happen with wampires, which will have very high basic upkeep - those wins and the extra cash coming with them is really needed.
As for using APO for only deaths it will mean saving 50k when a death occurs, if it occurs in the game. But if you use it when a mng occurs, it's still +25k (cost of a freebooter). I would use it on every mng, and sometimes in a critical situation even on a bh.
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