Season 4 - League Champions - The Mighty Undercheesers

[notjarvis]

Domestic disaster.

Flooding in the bathroom. Broken taps

Doubt I'll be sorted soon. Might be around 9 or something if it's sorted easily.

[lawastooshort]

Poops - I'll come back and check mumble and the forums in about 45 minutes then... commiserations NJ!

[notjarvis]

Here now if you are about

[lawastooshort]

I predicted you to win, NJ! 2-0 to the Norse in a strange game - NJ could only start with 10 players, but scored in two turns, then lost 2 players to Sweltering Heat - and I lost 1 player to the Heat in the next half, when it was raining... The rain and the kick landing almost on the LOS on my drive led to the Underworld never really securing the ball, a 7 turn scrum developed during which the goblins ST2 and the Norses' Block eventually told and they managed to run in the second on Turn 16.

Well played NJ and good luck with the league lead

[notjarvis]

As Lawas said the Stags drunkenly stumbled to a 2-0 win over the Cheesers.

Setup.
I had bought a werewolf to replace the killed lineman from last week.
My other werewolf was out injured though, so I was down to 12 players.

I had about 270k inducements which I spent on a wizard, and some blood-weiser babes.

First Half
- I get to choose so choose to receive. Weather is sweltering heat.
- In set-up for some reason I can only place 10 players on field. I change formation a couple of times, but it doesn't help.
- Game starts with me having 10 on the field. Lawas has concentrated his team down the middle with goblins on the LOS. So I run runners down left and right and my MA7 lineman down the left too.
- I knock over some goblins. push forward a bit, and the Stag picks up the ball.
- The Underworld guys retaliate, but get double skulls second block (wasting a RR). They knock over a couple of Norse players, mark the two runners, and attempt to run a player next to the ball but he fails a GFI to get there and turns over.
- Unfortunately for La - he's left my MA7 lineman free with only one GFI to get to the line. So I knock over a few players run to make a short pass which is a Success! I say it again - the Norse succeeded in a pass! The lineman catches and has a straight run to the line to score with 1 GFI in the second turn.
1-0 to the norse after 2 turns
- 2 of the Norse go down with heatstroke, so I again start with 10
- I kick off aiming to land it away from the chap with sure hands. It goes off field, so the ball gets given to a goblin
- La then knocks over a few of my players, injuring one of my berserkers (only badly hurt so I let him go). he then tries to do some damage with the troll, but again rolls double skulls. And Loner foils the RR attempt!
- I hit back and manage to get a few tackle zones around the ball carrier. I also use a fireball on the ball carrier and the player next to him, but it only knocks over his friend without injuring him!
- But the sneaky Goblin slips free with some neat shuffling by La! and runs into my half with some covering players.
- I can do little except hit the odd player out of the way (injuring a thrower) and get a few tackle zones on/around the ball again.
- gladly for the Norse this time he fails miserably to dodge out of my players grasp, and also injures himself in the attempt!
- The ball scatters to the Stag again, who runs through the opposing lines, whilst the rest of the team set about the goblins and rats.
- Rather than run for the line though, with a rush of blood to his head (obviously taken with his earlier passing success) the stag attempts a short pass to one of the other players. This fails miserably and the Norse waste the chance to go 2-0 up, as La very cleverly closes down the ball with the Troll and his tentacles to stop the Norse retrieving the ball and getting it out.

Half time 1-0 to the Norse but the Cheesers are going to receive and it could all turn around

Second Half
- we start the half and one of my KOd players recovers, 1 of La's goes down to heatstroke this time. But he still has 11 (although with a higher percentage of gobbos now) versus my 10
- Now the weather turns to pouring rain - so no more elfballing happening I guess
- The kick of lands short. Really short - just over the line of scrimmage, within the tackle zones of 2 of Las players and 1 norse.
- The Underworld hit around and try to pick up the ball. And fail.
- The norse try and hit back and position with more cover around the ball
- Underworld hit back again, but again fail to pick up the ball (this time even Sure Hands doesn't let him pick up!)
- Much hitting happens around the ball with both sides trying to gain advantage over the ball. But the werewolf with his ST 4 and the preponderance of block means the Norse eventually grind it free. The Norse leading scorer ends up with the ball after another player gets hit onto it. And a path is cleared for him to run out of the scrum - scoring on the final turn

2-0 to the Norse

Play of the Match
Goes to the Norse 2 turn touchdown! The first pass ever made successfully by this norse team!

Notes On Dice
According to BBM - La had poor luck with the D6 overrall, and slightly poorer luck with the block dice.
But he also threw 3 Double skulls in the first Half! So he had generally poorer luck.
All his luck seemed spent on the troll succeeding really stupid rolls for 14 turns consecutively despite not having anyone near him for much of the time.

Other Notes
A good game - La played very well indeed, and I thought he had swung it quite a few times, only for the dice to fail him at critical moments. He only made one mistake I noticed all game - which was to leave my Lineman open to score, otherwise it was immaculate.
That Troll with Tentacles is an absolute PITA to get around but the second half played right into my hands as the close in scrum it turned to when the ball landed short on my right meant I could hit around and crowd surf the odd player, whilst someone else tied up the troll.

I started every drive (including the first one, despite having two players "on the bench") with 10 players.
My new werewolf played well was constantly involved and deservedly got MoM I think, sadly he's 1 point away from askill increase though

[id3nt1ty]

I'm already booked for the catch up week. If you want I'm available this week on any day that is not Monday or Wednesday.

Feel well!

Hi Idan I think you and I need a catch up. I'll see if I can find time Thursday evening?

I'll go for Tuesday if that's ok with you? 8pm?

[DaigaroOgami]

Right, Percy's going for a structured report to try and relay the match sufficiently...



Pre Match

The Ladz have mixed emotions when they rejoice at hearing there's only one Wardancer only to be followed by disappointment that they can't whip together to get Ripper the Troll on board for the match... they decide to lump all the cash at the ref, (along with a bag of mushrooms, obviously) and hired some rather attractive Lady Orcs to sway their bingo wings hips to wake up any mushroom-induced, mid-match comas. The elves dance about a bit and tut at the Ducklingz for being unable to turn at at the stadium on time for Kick Off (apologies for faffing about so much before we started).

Perfect weather and the Elves get an extra reroll to start things off.

First Half

The Ducklingz receive, and immediately single out Alan for the personal attention of Harriet the Elf Killer. Alan goes off with a smashed hand. WHACK. Gertrude lays Wall Prancer out. Reginald remembers promising his wife to the ref if he lets him stomp respect elves-who-are-lying-on-the-floor for the duration of the match. DEAD ELF. 1-0.. oh wait, an apothecary worked for once and he's back in the dugout ready for the next drive... More Elves get hit, Percy cuddles the Treeman mistaking his nose for a Mushroom, and Leroy blocks his way from the LoS... The Ladz are feeling smug nicely tucked up in the cage, then somehow the Elves pop PirlOrc out the cage and into another block, and the ball goes free. The crowd lob it back into play deep in the Wanderer's half... Elves get the ball, but can't protect the carrier, the Ladz make the most of the Super Speedy pre game 'shrooms (The Ladz only failed 1 out of 18 GFIs all game...) and Gurtrude & Leroy get the ball free; the Elves' lack of numbers show as they cant get enough protection on the ball, and the Ducklingz bash some room and try to cage up again. The Elves get a hit on PirlOrc again, but this time he manages to Dump Off the ball safely into the centre of the cage and Harriet grabs it. The Ladz clear out enough space for a TD right at the Death. 1(2*)-0 to the Ducklingz.

The Elves had one turn to try and score, all possible thanks to an MA9 Wardancer... But PirlOrc called the play, saw what was gonna happen and shifted his defence around to ensure it wasn't gonna happen (IF this game was a dead rubber I would've left my defence set up for you to try to 1TTD, but the league's still open and I didn't think it would be fair to 'gift' G a chance at scoring - plus they're Elves; I was expecting a few TDs in the 2nd half....)

Note - Really enjoyable first half (for both coaches I think); after G freed up the ball there was a mad scramble to gather it again, and it was very satisfying to get the ball over the line - after losing the ball in turn 3(?) my main goal was to just stop G from hitting me on the break; thankfully thinning his numbers meant he had to run his receiver back to try and get the ball, which left him with no outlet for a pass

Second Half

And things got a bit messy. The game Kicked off with Bee Tiered still in the changing rooms having his half time oranges... this left a whopping hole on the LoS which no elf wanted to cover, mainly because Percy was standing there... PilrOrc Yelled BLITZ! and Percy went for a wander into the Wanderer's half... Di Goblinio yelled for Percy to catch the ball, but it bounced off his head and landed next to his feet. The ladz got some tackle zones on the ball, stalling the Elves for a few turns; then the inevitable passing begun... but wait! the ball went free, and landed midway in the Ducklingz half next to the touchline... the Elf Killer Sisters stood guard, tempting in Elves to the ball... Ernie wasn't having a good day, and the ladz tackled him to the ground. Wall Prancer tried to come get the ball, but got tackled to the ground, where Reginald was perfectly placed to spend the rest of the match stomping respecting him to make sure he got to examine the finer parts of grass and soil interaction and didn't make any further contribution to the match. The Elves cleverly worked the ball free with some tactical pushing, and tried to work the ball to the opposite wing... then the elf forgot how to pass the ball (Neither of us could fathom if the ball carrier had done something already meaning he couldn't pass or if the game glitched out). Leroy & Di Goblinio did their best to get the ball free, Di Goblinio almost broke free to attempt a score, but got smacked down, G got the ball and had an elf close to my endzone, but PirlOrc got a last ditch tackle zone on him and he couldn’t catch the ball. Harriet the Elf Killer finally failed to kill and elf with a block, but got him out the way, and I though an AG4 Sure Hands from PirlOrc followed by a glorious long pass to Di Goblinio was going to be the Icing on the cake (Can't remember the last time to Ladz scored more than once in a game...)but PirlOrc failed to pick up the ball, and it scatters off the field, and was thrown back in dead centre of my half… G’s final turn meant he could still THEORETICALLY score; but I had the elves marked up so he need to make some dodges and GFIs to get to the ball... it was tense... the Elves couldn't break free and the unthinkable happened and Ducklingz managed to keep a clean sheet.

Play of the Match

It's gotta be stomping respecting Wall Prancer, keeping G Wardancer-less for nearly the whole match. G worked the ball free well a few times, and the Ladz worked the space well for the TD, but I think keeping the Wardancer out of the game had the biggest effect.

Notes on Dice

I (finally) got very nice dice, and when the dice failed me the skills covered up. I made 17/18 GFIs, which was lucky, and rolled a lot 5s (1D6), and 9s (2D6)... G did get a more 1's than anything else... which, I know from experience, is very demoralising.

Other Notes

I was mega chuffed with killing another elf, (Two saved DEAD Wardancers in a week!? That's where all your Nuffle blessing went!) but do feel for G firstly getting his Treeman glitched out at the start of the 2nd half and then having a problem with his passing.

Overall it was a really enjoyable first half, and it was nice that the Elf Killing Sister builds paid off.

Thanks for the game G

[Gandalf]

Your second half report contains many inaccuracies and omissions - let me correct the record.

The game Kicked off with Bee Tiered still in the changing rooms having his half time oranges... this left a whopping hole on the LoS which no elf wanted to cover, mainly because Percy was standing there... PilrOrc Yelled BLITZ! and Percy went for a wander into the Wanderer's half... Di Goblinio yelled for Percy to catch the ball, but it bounced off his head and landed next to his feet.

Taking advantage of glitches in the game (my treeman randomly appeared close to my own line) falls way short of the standard of sporstmanship I've come to expect from RT. You should not have blitzed through a hole that wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for a problem in the program code.

then the inevitable passing begun... but wait! the ball went free, and landed midway in the Ducklingz half next to the touchline...

The ball was passed and caught successfully. The catcher then needed a single 2+ dodge to score but rolled a 1 (turn 10 I believe).

Wall Prancer tried to come get the ball, but got tackled to the ground

Wall Prancer knocked an orc to the ground with block, that was the best he could get from a 2D block - if he'd managed a push of some sort then a ball-scatter would've occurred. It was the turn after that he got knocked over. He wasn't stood on for the whole reminder of the game - he could've got up but I didn't want to risk a dodge to get out of there, given what the dice were doing to me and given I had other players who could do what I want.

then the elf forgot how to pass the ball (Neither of us could fathom if the ball carrier had done something already meaning he couldn't pass or if the game glitched out).

He had no movement spaces left (still 2 GFI's if needed) and had stood up that term - neither of which should stop someone from passing - so I'm calling this a glitch unless anyone can state otherwise. As a game glitch - it again shouldn't have been taken advantage of for sportsmanship reasons. I was trying to do a 2-sqre pass which wouldn've meant no-one on your team could reach the ball carrier on your next turn.

Leroy & Di Goblinio did their best to get the ball free, Di Goblinio almost broke free to attempt a score, but got smacked down, G got the ball and had an elf close to my endzone, but PirlOrc got a last ditch tackle zone on him and he couldn’t catch the ball.

There was no tackle zone on him - the nearest orc was at least 6 squares away - it was an inaccurate pass (either 3+ or 4+ required).

You omitted the next turn when I had a 3+ pickup followed by a 2+ dodge to score. The pickup failed. It would've been a 2+ pickup to score if you hadn't rolled your 16th and 17th consecutive successful GFI's to get a tackle zone on the ball.

Harriet the Elf Killer finally failed to kill and elf with a block, but got him out the way, and I though an AG4 Sure Hands from PirlOrc followed by a glorious long pass to Di Goblinio was going to be the Icing on the cake (Can't remember the last time to Ladz scored more than once in a game...)

That was still odds-against, I had some players round your goblin, I could still have scored on my last turn even if that pass had worked.

G’s final turn meant he could still THEORETICALLY score; but I had the elves marked up so he need to make some dodges and GFIs to get to the ball... it was tense... the Elves couldn't break free and the unthinkable happened and Ducklingz managed to keep a clean sheet.

Oh so very inaccurate. I worked out the chances of me scoring, it was about 65%, so "THEORETICALLY" isn't really appropriate as that makes it sound unlikely. You had one elf of the two marked (not "elves"), I needed 1 dodge (not "some dodges") and no GFI's.
What I needed was a 2+ pickup, a 2+ dodge (with dodge skill), a 2+ pass and a 2+ catch (with catch skill). No GFI's required.

Darn right it was unthinkable. I did the maths on my chances to score in turn 14, 15 and 16. The chance of me failing all of them was a shade over 5%.

You also made a last turn foul on my wardancer. May I point you in the direction of the "House Rules" thread?

It's not the losing, or the utterly awful dice rolls that I care about, it's the poor standard of sportsmanship. I thought we were better than this. It has tainted the season.

[notjarvis]

my treeman randomly appeared close to my own line

Not entirely sure what happened here.
Did the treeman just move after you placed him or something?

From my point of view it's always a bit difficult to judge what to do when there are glitches etc. in the code, and what would be fair from the opponents point of view.

It is a glitchy game (there were glitches in my game too).

You also made a last turn foul on my wardancer. May I point you in the direction of the "House Rules" thread?

To be entirely fair - Raveen himself has done similar to me in the past (fouling players on the last turn or 2) with the (fair) justification that the rule was kind-of rejected by RT in the ensuing discussion

[Gandalf]

my treeman randomly appeared close to my own line

Not entirely sure what happened here.
Did the treeman just move after you placed him or something?

From my point of view it's always a bit difficult to judge what to do when there are glitches etc. in the code, and what would be fair from the opponents point of view.

It is a glitchy game (there were glitches in my game too).

The treeman was not appearing on field when I was setting up my lineup. Once the half started, he appeared in a random position, about 8 squares from the LOS.

I always try to be fair, eg I was playing someone the other week who only had 10 players for no good reason (much like you last week) so I placed one of my players in the far corner, out of the way, to level things up. Other people have done similar things to me in the past when I've been disadvantaged.

Having your big guy - who stands front and centre on the LOS, disappear, is pretty far up the scale of glitches though. We should be competing against each other, not the software.

[Raveen]

Being fair to Daigoro, you didn't suggest any balancing mechanism like "please don't hit that thrower because of the glitch" until well after the fact. We all know the game is glitchy but without an agreed course of action between the coaches I would always suggest that you should pay the game that's in front of you.

Regarding turn 16 fouls, I put it out there and it was rejected by pretty much everyone who commented and for good reason. Same applies to the no stalling rule, and than goodness for that because it's my one and only tactic now

[Gandalf]

Being fair to Daigoro, you didn't suggest any balancing mechanism like "please don't hit that thrower because of the glitch" until well after the fact. We all know the game is glitchy but without an agreed course of action between the coaches I would always suggest that you should pay the game that's in front of you.

Let me get this straight.

You are saying "sportsmanship should not be offered unless asked for" ? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?

Just to clarify for those who weren't there, this was the situation.

The ogre had no-one in front of him at kickoff, 100% because the treeman was not available to be placed. My treeman is always front & centre.

A blitz is rolled as the kickoff, and the ogre charges at the wardancer 4-5 squares away - who was standing right where the ball was due to land - and knocks him over.

This situation would - one hundred percent - not have occurred if the glitch had not affected me.

There is no ambiguity here. I never asked him not to do blitz through that gap - because it's blindingly obvious what the correct sporting course of action was.

Rav - please take back your suggestion. I don't want to play in an RT-sanctioned game where the official guidance is you should "play the game that's in front of you" rather than do what is sporting. It's against everything RT is supposed to stand for.

PS - Diagro took those actions pretty quickly after the incidents occurred - there was never a chance to discuss it.

[id3nt1ty]

It sounds like the blindingly obvious thing to do would have been to make sure there was at least a tackle zone in the way so that the AG1 Troll couldn't get through... You cannot start the game until you have three players on the line of scrimmage, so you had a full two minutes to identify the problem and discuss it if you wished. This glitch has happened to most of us at some point or other and it's not been an issue before. There is even a post explaining how it happens.

All games have some variation on play the game that is in front of you. Do you realise how unsporting you come across complaining about the way that you lost?

[Gandalf]

It sounds like the blindingly obvious thing to do would have been to make sure there was at least a tackle zone in the way so that the AG1 Troll couldn't get through...

lol

Do you realise how unsporting you come across complaining about the way that you lost?

You clearly did not read my first post properly.

[id3nt1ty]

You clearly did not read my first post properly.

Actually I read it quite a lot because you made me cross.