“Tactical Takeaways:

1. Strength 5 Everywhere

Crazy to see so much strength 5 all over this team, plus brawler and sure feet. That means they move pretty decently. Dice were heavily on our side here, and all that strength 5 regularly resulted in 1/9s for our opponent, so we really didn't get to see its true strength. As far as combating it, I really didn't have a sound plan because it meant our Black Orcs were out classed, as well as our Troll who risks really stupid when he moves. We were able to get an early casualty on one of the bigs that followed up into the back line of hobgoblins, which was nice, and the opponent left some on the ground following terrible double skull luck. We tried a little bit of marking with Hobgoblins as well.

2. Removals

As this team has much in common with Black Orcs, the same applies: a good deal relies on removals. We were able to get them and the start of the 2nd half got two additional on the line of scrimmage. With the numbers advantage we put the defense in the difficult spot to defend, especially when their lower agility players could be easily marked.

3. Shifting the Cage

Our drive in the second half our opponent committed heavily to one side, and we were able to utilize some formerly stunned players to create a new cage opposite the first. Defense followed, and then we doubled back and were in great position to re-establish the first cage from there to continue the push. Eventually we found a crease back across the field which we were able to screen off for our second score. It felt like a much more dynamic caging than I've done in the past.

4. 2nd Game of Secret League, Black Orcs vs. Hobgoblin Slavers

First game I played with the Forest Goblin team and didn't really understand what they were trying to accomplish. To contrast, this team just feels like a different version of Black Orcs which I'm becoming quite comfortable with. The team I played against felt like it had superior stats, but for that Ag 4+. I like that this team has Av 10+ on 5 players. The St 3 Hobgoblins are also a nice difference. I did find myself wanting Dodge, so that is a skill to look at into the future. I'm also still unsure as to how good the Stab/Dodge/Sneaky Git player is. I like the Dodge and the Sneaky Git, but I don't like that he's 80k. I'd rather have one or the other for 60k because I don't like my fouler being so expensive. Something to think on. ”