Blood Bowl Art - Moving a cage forward

How to move a cage forward

Here we are again discussing the eternal dilemma between ball security and freedom of movement! A cage is a simplistic compromise between the two, and it requires no less than five players confined in a 3 x 3 space. Hell, that is almost half of your team! Crazy, no? Bluntly, this is why it is not the best approach to reach the end zone. It also explains why the more a coach masters the cage and the more he prefers to run the ball. Nevertheless, to run, you must first learn to walk… in a cage.

The famous glorious cage!

Make no mistake, you must coach a very dissuasive and physical team to cage effectively. Part of the caging concept is that if your opponent puts a lot of pressure on it, you will not move forward, but you will extract a heavy toll! That is why Orcs with their Block skills, Strength 4 and additional strength skills create strong cages, and why Elves, or even rookie Chaos Chosen, largely prefer to run the ball.

Here, we will discuss the three main methods to move a cage forward. The one to choose depends on the game situation and the team you are facing.

BYPASSING THE DEFENSE

Your team is the fastest but not the strongest? Bypassing the defense is the way to go. Much of a coach’s success comes from his abilities to exploit his team’s advantages over the opponent’s weaknesses. Logically, it is very difficult to push through a stronger team than yours and as a result, you should use your speed to move around it.

When your team is the fastest on the pitch, set up a wide offensive (diagram A). Then, your players leading the line must work to envelop the opposite team while the other end of the line fluidly follows the movement (Diagram B). Of course, your cage will be vulnerable and likely under constant pressure. It is expected since you are not the strongest. As a rule of thumb, if your players are not made of elven stuff, caging against a stronger team is difficult and mostly unwise as you will have difficulties dodging your players to recreate your cage on the move.

Diagram A: White is receiving the kickoff using a mixed bag formation. Nothing unusual for a typically slow and sturdy team. It is without risks, but also without surprises. Black certainly expects White to consolidate at the line of scrimmage on his first game turn.
Diagram B: White wraps Black’s flank. White will continue to roll his way on Black’s flank during the following game turns until reaching the end zone. Of course, the example is squeaky clean. Also, experienced coaches will instead prefer to run the ball. Still, runs require a trained eye, and practicing cages is an excellent springboard to better coaching abilities.

If your opponent valiantly resists, destabilize him. To do so, develop a credible threat on a wing that he will have to shut down to maintain his defensive integrity. Then, consolidate at the center when he compromises himself. Continue your forced march to the other wing, using your speed advantage to distance his defense (diagram C). While doing so, take great care not to get bottled up on a wing. Instead, use other players than your ball carrier to develop your threat. Do not worry, achieving the right balance between eagerly pushing at the risk of being bottled up, and not being convincing enough at the risk of seeing your threat ignored will come with practice.

Diagram C: Here, White demonstrates a « Z » offensive benefiting from a minimal speed advantage over several game turns. (1) White rushes on a wing. Black parries. (2) White consolidates at the center. Black parries but loses some ground. (3). White rushes to the other wing. Black is distanced. (4) Touchdown!!! Once again, it is never that perfect, but you get the idea.

Bypassing is of very little use against a columns defense. But then, let’s bet that you are the strongest team at the party! This brings us to the next method…

GOING THROUGH THE DEFENSE

If you are coaching the strongest team on the pitch you will probably have to go through the defense. Or, more explicitly, you will have to flex your muscles and (wisely) beat the cr*p out of those elves until they let you through. For legendary coaches, it is an art that requires tremendous attention to detail! To achieve success, the players in front of your cage must attempt to dislocate the defense. Doing so, take great care to choose an angle of attack not covered by Stand Firm or Side Step nuisances.

Your goal is to dissuade your opponent from peacefully grazing in front of your cage. To instill fear and create space, your spearhead players should roll as many block dice and armors as possible. Be efficiently ruthless. Once space is created, blitz forward to gain some more ground. Finally, the cage moves in to fill the void created (diagrams E and F). Be careful not to let your players isolated or you will lose effectiveness. This kind of collective offensive effort requires that every single player works towards that single goal!

Diagram E1: Caging White Orcs benefit from an opportunity to reduce the defensive by compression.
Diagram E2: Boom! Crack! Blitz! The Orc cage moves a square forward.

Typically, your opponent will answer one of these two ways. Either he will defend heavily in front of your cage, or he will harass a flank of your vertical formation. Smile if he harasses the back because your situation probably improved as the fewer players in front of your cage the better. If he is equipped to efficiently defend the front with abundant skills such as Stand Firm and Side Step, consider bypassing his defensive using the first method while heavily (but wisely) tagging his most annoying players to hinder their mobility.

If he is pressing on your flanks, move from a vertical to a horizontal cage (diagram F). Then, continue to blitz forward while screening to prevent new flank attacks (diagram G).

Diagram F: When an Orc cage is harassed from a flank – or even both because some coaches are greedy b*st*rds – move from a vertical setup to a horizontal one.
Diagram G: As you move your cage forward, deploy a screen (dotted) to prevent your opponent’s flanking players from attempting their harassing tactic again. Good riddance!

Also, patience! Remember that the biggest mistake you can make is to move your cage forward at all costs. When the tempo allows, a game turn spent securely rolling Block dice and Armors may result in a useful numerical advantage. Moving your cage forward will then be easier.

TWO CAGES OFFENSE

Your opponent deployed a colorful tackle zones curtain that would make your auntie proud? Sure, it is vexing, but not insurmountable. First, relentlessly spend your blitzes on targets that may pay off. Ideally, roll two or three block dice with the Mighty Blow skill on skill-less targets sporting an armor of 7 or less. Even better if they have a niggling injury. Blitz players with the Dodge skill only if you have the Tackle skill. Avoid Wrestle-happy halfwits. If you repeat these blitzes often enough, chances are you will eliminate tackle zones. Meanwhile, wisely tag opponents with your players that are not on cage duty. Use your strength advantage to handcuff a maximum of skill-less players, compelling them to attempt a dodge not covered by a skill reroll.

Foul a player in the middle of a cage when relevant, especially if his armor is lowered to 5 or less. As a bonus, a stunned player sometimes usefully occupies a square which temporarily frees a player for you to deploy elsewhere. 

Then, patience. The defensive will eventually fail something of significance, especially if you are carefully positioning your Guard and Tackle players. Take advantage of this moment of weakness to organize a second cage further in the opposite half. Here you go! Now your opponent must defend against two cages!

In a two-cage offense, a ball carrier can drop some – or all – of his immediate cover to run into a new cage (diagram H). After this, if the opportunity allows, the abandoned covering players prepare a new cage for the following game turn. Repeat this modus operandi as long as it floats your boat – or as long as your opponent lets it float!

Diagram H1: Oh yeah! An elf fizzled his dodge! Party time!!!
Diagram H2: White blitzes an opening and creates a second cage behind the Black defensive curtain. Note that they did not move in their ball carrier. This restraint will allow then to benefit from more tactical choices during their next turn.
Diagram H3: After seeing Black (very, very, very stupidly) restore his defensive integrity, White has two choices. Either cover a lot of ground by moving the ball carrier into the new cage (1) or move the ball carrier and his covering players (2) to further destabilize the defensive equilibrium.

UNSTUCK AN IMMOBILIZED CAGE

You played poorly and your cage is now immobilized. Even worse, it is bottled near the sideline! Of course, you should rather coach as not to end up in this ugly situation. If your opponent knows what he is doing, you will have a hard time coaching your *ss out of trouble. Anyway, it is better to have a bad plan than none, and here are some avenues to explore.

One solution is to move players behind the line of defense with the idea of opening a small hole to sneak in the ball carrier (diagram I). It is often useless to attempt to squeeze an entire cage in a hole because it requires a hearty mix of go for its and dodges. Remember that three players are often enough to cover a ball carrier and that even a pair of players can form a half-cage along the sideline (but while doing so, beware of Leap or Stunty players that could easily push your ball carrier into the crowd).

Diagram I: White chooses to open a path for his ball carrier by attacking the back of Black’s defensive line. It will not be an easy game situation to securely restore, but it is better to fiercely attempt something than to stew in your juice.

If you have a few agility players on your roster, another mistake is not to multiply your tactical possibilities. It is wise to create additional threats so that your opponent does not only have to worry about your cage. In short, complicate his life. For example, moving an agility 3 or better player in a scoring range can create some space to breathe for your ball carrier (diagram J). If you move more than one credible threat in scoring range, leave two squares between them to force your opponent to send more players to cover them.

Diagram J: White moves two players in scoring range, leaving two squares between them. Of course, it is not statistically brilliant, but it has the merit of pushing Black to attempt something.

Whatever you choose to do, do not sacrifice your positioning for the sole purpose of strengthening a cage. Does integrating a 6th or 7th player in your cage is the best use of resources (diagram K)? Sometimes, but far more often, you will miss their tackle zones to apply screens or help hurt players elsewhere. When so many resources are confined in a 3 x 3 space, you leave the control of the pitch to your opponent… and it helps his defensive effort.

Diagram K: Sometimes, a coach is short of tactical possibilities because he has too many players compacted into his cage.

Lastly, remember the wise words of many cage-loving coaches: « There is no hurry before the 8th game turn of the half »


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