Guide d'équipe : Amazones

This thread lay abandoned at the very back of the board, and even though I am a lurker, I can allow my favorite team this indecency no longer. You are free to critique my guide as you please, though constructive criticisms and suggestions of what to add is likelier to be taken seriously! With that said:



So you're still here? K.

WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO PLAY AMAZONS?

Why wouldn't you? In all honesty though, the Amazons are a strong team, and start out as one of the strongest teams at the starting TV of 1000 due to their cheap rerolls, cheap players, and the ability to get the infamous "Blodge" synergy on their first skill rolls. The rumours are true, these vicious gals all start out with dodge on their sheet, and the blitzers also start out with block and make for powerhouses the moment they kick out on their career. The enemy will find fighting you frustrating, and you can rather reliably escape from engagements you don't want to be in. They also make for a strong defensive team, and play bashers just fine when/if you want them to.


THE BAD STUFF

As you can imagine, not all is orchids and skink-hunting for these elusive blood bowlers. The biggest fear the Amazons have, is Tackle. A player with Tackle negates the advantage rolled into the cost for our lustrian dames, and leaves them as below-average jack of all trades. Dodging suddenly becomes -a lot- riskier, and your players are suddenly considerably less safe in positions that leave them vulnerable to blocking. Which leads me to..

The stats of our Amazons are not very great. In fact, if it weren't for the low cost and the dodge skill, these ladies would be ground into dust in moments. Six Move across the team leaves them without enough steam to perform real running plays. Three strength and agility means they are basic and nothing else without the support of their skills, and finally low armour means that they are prone to injury or stuns when they do get hit.


THE LINEUP!

4 Blitzers
2 Catchers
1 Thrower
4 Linewomen
3 Rerolls
Apothecary
30 000 free GP

This is my own favorite starting lineup. Personally I consider the blitzers almost mandatory, and having three rerolls and the apothecary will save your valuable pixels' hides enough times for you to praise the decision. The catchers are a valuable addition for their increased cost, with automatic rerolls to failed catches that will hopefully give you a fair extra touchdowns. You can cut out any one thing from this chart and add an extra thrower, but honestly I don't see the need. One gal with pass is enough to get you started, and adding another passer early on is padding that to me is better spent on extra stopping power (blitzers). With a reroll to spare, they can all pass as good as the Thrower anyway, so if you were really crazy, you could cut it altogether. Adding an extra reroll at the demotion of something to a lineman is also an idea, if you want the extra safety. I find the three do just fine as long as you don't string six dodges in five tacklezones. (Don't.)

Feel free to add your own lineups, and I will add them to this. I feel like I have given quite a few options in my blob of text to get you started on modding your team!


DEVELOPING YOUR AMAZONS

The Amazons are one of the most interesting team to develop. If you’re going with a long-term strategy for longer leagues, you’ll want to develop your linewomen as quickly as possible. It’s very easy to get them their first skill with two TDs or a simple completion if they previously had a MVP. You should try to get a few of them in scoring position and then dump them the ball with a quick pass from your thower or a hand-off. If you can save your re-rolls for the catch, it should make scoring with them relatively straightfoward.

Be "warned" however that this tactic will get you ridiculously high team strength as your linewomen will be worth a lot in comparison to their TV. It also makes this team one of the best in terms of value/strength ratio. A well developed TV 1500 Amazon team will beat an Orc team of the same value any day. At least, that's what mine do.

For very high TV's, it is important to level your linewomen when they lag behind, so as to complement your team with skills of their own. You'll simply not be very competitive otherwise, as the initial boon of Dodge on your pixels will not be enough to compete among the teams that peak very late in their careers.


LINEWOMEN
6 MA 3 ST 3 AG 7 AV - General
Normal: Block, Tackle, Pro, Dirty Player
Doubles : Guard, Frenzy, Side Step, Dauntless
Stats Increase : Take all.

Block is really the only skill needed for these linewomen, but Tackle and Pro will give them some extra punch. Tackle is of course better against agile teams, while Pro is useful against stronger teams to re-roll your blocks if you only get a push. The combination of both makes for some pretty bashy girls. It can be worthwhile to give kick or dirty player as a second skill to one of them, depending on your preference. You might also give one sure hands to act as a backup thrower, especially to one with an Agility increase. Since Amazons are a bit slow, I would take movement over a skill on a double 5. Guard is the first skill that comes to mind on a double, but you may wanna choose Frenzy, Side Step or Dauntless to add some variety. If you find the space and want, Dirty player is not unwanted for a bit of fouling action. You never know when you find the need.


THROWER
6 MA 3 ST 3 AG 7 AV - General Passing
Normal: Sure Hands, Accurate, Block, Safe Throw, Kick(?!)
Doubles : Strong Arm, Sure Feet, Nerves of Steel
Stats Increase : Take all, except Strong Arm on a double 5.

The first pick goes to sure hands to prevent you from wasting re-rolls on pick-ups, which is very important at the beginning. Next comes accurate, for extra range and then safe throw or block depending on what suits your style best. Strong Arm is really good since it make you thrower very reliable at longer ranges. I also recommend sure feet as a possibility since extra movement will help your thrower get in shorter range and reduce your chances of failure. If you feel the need to stick Kick on anything, then put it on this guy, especially if you have a spare. You want to put him on the back lines anyway, right? It's either that or a moldable linewoman.


BLITZER
6 MA 3 ST 3 AG 7 AV - General Strength
Normal: Guard, Mighty Blow, Tackle
Doubles: Stand Firm, Frenzy, Dauntless
Stats Increase: Take all.

It has been said before, but let me say it again: you can never have too many guards. Now that we got this out of the way, it’s not a bad idea to get one of the blitzers tackle early on, before your linewomen start getting their second skill. It’s nice to have at least one guy who can reliably take care of those annoying gutter runners or wardancers. Stand Firm works very well with Guard, making those assists literally stick unless they can knock you down. Again, Frenzy and Dauntless can be taken for the sake of variety.


CATCHERS
6 MA 3 ST 3 AG 7 AV - General Agility
Normal: Block, Side Step, Diving Tackle, Sure Feet
Double: Guard, Jump Up, Nerves of Steel
Stats Increase: Take all.

Block comes first for self preservation. Catchers usually go deep and wait for the touchdown pass, which makes them common blitz target. Next, I like to have Side Step, which makes them more annoying and keeps you from being pushed back out of scoring range. It’s also good defensively to protect the sidelines. Sure Feet will also give you some extra speed for those two turn drives when you need them. Diving Tackle is another good defensive skill and works well with Side Step. Catchers are definitely not the center piece for Amazons, which makes their picks on doubles more questionable. I think Nerves of Steel is better for ag4 players, who can use it to reliably catch or throw of tackle zones, but this is more of a desperation tactic at ag3. I also think Jump Up isn’t as good since because of low av, you’re likely to get stunned or worst, reducing the usefulness of the skill. So by default, my pick goes to Guard, because well you can never have too many guards and that also works well with Side Step. For catchers, I would also choose movement over skill on a double 5, since they need all the speed they can get.
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I might do all manner of strategies and playbooks, but I feel this is a good enough start since the Amazons had nothing on the current forum. Comments, opinions, and your own strategies are welcome! I can't be the only one who likes the Amazons!

By SRM