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Sp00keh



Joined: Dec 06, 2011

Post   Posted: Feb 13, 2014 - 23:05 Reply with quote Back to top

There’s a lot of amazing things about Squigs, but as the guide says, a strong dose of negatraits. This is probably an understatement, or at least you need to take it seriously.

Firstly, a look at the lineup, then some analysis of how the team plays to show what the negatraits really mean.

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LINEUP

0-16 Squig Herder - 40k 6-2-3-7 - Stunty, Dodge, Right Stuff - A (GSP)
Standard goblin. So +1 move and +1 armor for +5k price compared to a halfling, which makes them pretty good linemen for stunty

0-4 Squig - 70k 5-4-4-8 - Blood Lust, Leap, Mighty Blow, No Hands, Really Stupid, Sprint, Very Long Legs, Claw - A S (GP)
Great stats and skills, but: No Hands, Bloodlust, and Really Stupid. Dodges on a 2+, Leaps on a 2+

0-2 Squig Hopper - 110k 6-4-3-8 Blood Lust, Leap, Sprint, Pro, Juggernaut, Two Heads, Very Long Legs. - A (GP)
Again great stats and skills, but Bloodlust - although this is partially mitigated by Pro. Dodges on a 2+, Leaps on a 3+

RR 50k, apoth YES

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DISADVANTAGES

Negatraits are a bit complicated and unusual if you’ve not played Vampires etc before, make sure you understand the implications otherwise like me, you’ll lose games learning this the hard way.

No hands - Squigs can’t carry the ball. They can’t pickup, catch, pass, anything.

Really Stupid is a 4+ roll, taken before any action. If failed it means the Squig will take no any action this turn, and exert no tacklezone until it recovers.
The roll can be improved to a 2+ by having a friendly Herder or Hopper standing in their tacklezone at the start of their action. (Other Squigs do not count)

Bloodlust is a 2+ roll taken before the start of a player’s action. If failed, they will need to either end their turn next to a friendly Herder (other Squigs and Hoppers do not count) and feed on them, which inflicts an Injury roll (not modified by Mighty Blow[?], fortunately) - the worst injury can be Badly Hurt, so it can’t kill your Herders. These injuries do not cause turnovers.
The 2D6 Injury roll for Stunty players is Stunned on 2-6 (41.6%), KO on 7-8 (30.5%), Badly Hurt on 9-12 (27.7%)

If you do not feed on a Herder, the player goes off the pitch into reserve and causes a turnover. If the player had the ball he will drop it. Crucially, this happens before a pass can be completed[?], and before your player can score

Bloodlust roll happens right at the start of their actions, so you can decide to use team RR or Pro RR, and then you can also decide to change your mind about where you want to move, or who you want to block. This means you can move (or block!) your Squig towards a Herder to feed, instead of whatever other plans you might have had.

Unlike the rulebook, the Bloodlust bite happens after the end of their action, (aside from passing[?] and scoring) - this means if you want to score with a Hopper, you should try and move a Herder next to the endzone line. Otherwise you’ll risk failing Bloodlust and being unable to score - even if you cross into the endzone your Hopper will just drop the ball and go into reserves, and no touchdown.

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PLAYSTYLE FACTORS

These factors need to be mitigated in your play, and in your roster.
Playstyle impact in a few ways:
A Squig works best with a Herder with him when he starts to block, and when he moves. If its crucial you move the Squig somewhere, this means he needs a Herder or Hopper available at his starting position (for Really Stupid) and a Herder at his end position (for Bloodlust)

If the starting position Herder / Hopper isn’t available, its a 50/50 cointoss if the Squig will take any action or stop paying attention at all.
Sometimes, the certainty of the tacklezones exerted by the Squig is more valuable than the risk taken in the re-positioning you might have done, and so it may be better to leave it stationary.

If the end position Herder isn’t available, you will have to reconsider where your Squig is going to go, and find a Herder to bite. However, sometimes it can be worth not biting and sending the Squig into the reserves box, if its the only player available who can blitz the opponent ball carrier for example - or if you’re drastically running low on Herders on the pitch. More on this later.

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Hoppers are great players.
They only suffer the negatrait of Bloodlust, but do have Pro which helps. No General skill access apart from on a double roll, and no Strength access at all.

Generally I’d use Pro rather than a team reroll for a failed Bloodlust, unless its crucial, or I've got plenty of team RRs left for the half.
Crucial times include:
-When trying to score and there isn’t a Herder available on the endzone line.
-If he needs to pass the ball for the team to score
-When there’s only very few Herders left alive, or there’s only 1 in range and you will need him later.
During a risky blitz on the opponent ball carrier, save the team RR for later in the action.

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Most of what has been said above is leading up to a conclusion, which is: Squigs are a destructive liability, and Herders are like currency for the team.



From your opponent’s point of view, the Squigs are armour-8 compared to the rest of the team’s 7, they’re scary to attack as a both-down or skull means their player gets Mighty Blow-Clawed. So they get attacked less. Hoppers are key players but again scary, so the easiest way to cripple a Squig team is to go for the soft targets and clear the pitch of Herders, then negatraits will see the other players become useless.

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ROSTER

So, the second aspect of negatrait-mitigation is the impact it has on your roster, specifically: the ratio of Bloodlust -vs- Herders.

Its possible with a starting team to take this lineup:
4 Squigs and 2 Hoppers, 7 Herders and 4 Rerolls for 980k.
I would not recommend this.
With 6 Bloodlusters running around you could see 1 failure per turn, potentially biting every Herder you have in the first half!
Even if you play more cautiously, once you add in CAS caused by opponent, its easy to see how the team can implode.

A cautious roster therefore would be:
2 Squigs, 2 Hoppers, 11 Herders, 4 Rerolls for 1000k
This is 15 total, so if you buy a 3rd Squig you no longer have room for any Star Players, which isn’t good for a rookie team.
If you want the 4th Squig, you’d have to wait until a Herder retires, though that is likely in the 5-6 games or so it’d take to get apoth and 2 squigs.

Middle ground roster, and what I’d probably take if I started a new team:
3 Squigs, 2 Hoppers, 9 Herders, 4 Rerolls, 990k

First purchase should probably be an apothecary, and then fill out the team to 9 or 10 Herders before getting the 3rd or 4th Squigs.

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OTHER NOTES

-Squigs and Hoppers aren’t Stunty, so they are better leaping rather than dodging *into* tacklezones. However, if you have Dodge skill it will often be better to dodge. (A 3+ rerolled is safer than a 2+)
-Leaping avoids Diving Tackle, but not Tentacles.
-Strangely, if you Leap away from Shadow, the opponent can choose to follow you but only 1 square, whereas you can Leap 2 squares away - meaning you escaped, even if they also followed you.

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TEAM ROLES

If you get an +agility or +move Herder, use him as a ball carrier. Otherwise, Hoppers are good at the job, they’re versatile and str4 is remarkable for a stunty carrier.
Maybe build 1 Hopper as a blitzer and the other as a carrier. Take Dodge on both early though.

Squigs can take Pile On and Jump Up on normal rolls, makes them fierce killers. It’s fairly easy to get 3 dice, just need 1 assist against str2. But even with 3 dice, they still need to roll Pows to use their scary skills, so doubles for Block and Tackle become very important - each of these skills will double your damage output chances.
Multiblock can be used to get 4 dice a turn from a Squig or Hopper, but increases your risk of skulls

With 2 or more Squigs, consider using at least one of them as a Guard. Its hard for most stunty teams to shift away a str4 Guard player, let alone one who might also have Sidestep on a later roll.

The Squig team is potentially the best in Stunty at attempting a cage-break. Squigs are better at leaping than Hoppers, and better at surviving a beating if the ball isn’t retrieved - going into the cage is risking a one way ticket. A leaping Guard will make it easy to get plenty of dice when attacking a caged up ball carrier though, and sending in a Guard helps protect other leapers who follow to make the hit or attempt the retrieve.
Use Squigs to hit the carrier, and keep Hopper or Herder around peripherals to try and scoop away the ball.

If you send in a Squig to a cage, or get it isolated behind opponent screen, its often better to just leave it as a major thorn in their ranks rather than risk trying to take blocks without Really Stupid / Bloodlust assistance.

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SKILLS

Hoppers: Normal rolls take Dodge, Jump Up.
Doubles take Block, Tackle, Frenzy
(On a ballcarrier take Sure Feet, Sidestep)
If a player has Jump Up, Diving Tackle synergizes nicely, but this is likely to be one of their late skills.

Squigs, if they roll doubles build them the same as Hoppers. Use one who has no doubles to go Dodge, Guard and Sidestep

Herders, take Diving Tackle and Sidestep. Probably DT before SS on all of them rather than a mix, because you want opponent to not be able to move away from your Squigs and Hoppers (to give you more free blocks)
Doubles take Block

Probably take most stats on most guys, apart from armor on a Herder. I would use 5+5 for Block rather than stat

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INDUCEMENTS

Definitely take babes if you can.
Odster Evil One, a goblin with a chainsaw at 50k is a bargain but fragile with no Dodge or Block, Squigs can bite him in an emergency too.[?]
Fumlig is interesting and cheap
But generally you want stars as line of scrimmage fodder and to fix problems in your roster, and for that job Mercenary Herders are probably the most useful, as Squigs can bite them

Probably best inducements is, in this order:
1 babe, Odster, 2nd babe, merc herders to fill out roster, then wizard and other stuff


Last edited by Sp00keh on Apr 26, 2014 - 10:01; edited 2 times in total
Bullroarer4



Joined: Oct 22, 2012

Post   Posted: Apr 25, 2014 - 04:25 Reply with quote Back to top

time for an update?

_________________
Tenacious doesn't begin to describe me. Never give up, never surrender Smile
Sp00keh



Joined: Dec 06, 2011

Post   Posted: Apr 25, 2014 - 20:41 Reply with quote Back to top

Please do Smile I've not played them since the change

Hoppers are now armor 8 and
Blood Lust, Leap, Sprint, Pro, Juggernaut, Two Heads, Very Long Legs.

They used to be armor 7 and
Leap, Blood Lust, Mighty Blow, Sprint, Pro, Claw - A S (GP)

They lost Mighty Blow, Claw, and all access to strength skills
They gained Juggernaut, Two Heads, Very Long Legs and +1 armor

Now they're more mobile so better at ball carrying
They're much less killy, but safer to blitz with.

So team will have to use Squigs to hit opposing big guys more.



As for skills, I'd still get Block and Tackle on their first doubles but if you get a 3rd, Frenzy is now very appealing, for a devastating crowd surfer.


Generally its the same as before though, you want 1 blitzer and 1 carrier hoppers. And I'd retire them (one at a time) at 16 or 31 spp if they get normal skills, to search for doubles.
With only Agility skills available on normal rolls, doubles becomes more important than ever.

I'd also retire gobs with 3 normal rolls, a 2 skill gob is same price as 2 gobs. If they've got DT+SS they're good but a 3rd skill isn't worth it.

Squigs don't retire until injured, they have plenty of decent normal rolls, and will skill up slowly.
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