Races Described - Team Picking Guide For New Players

by stygger 26 October 2011, 21:15

Welcome fellow Blood Bowlers!

This post is intended for players new to the game and aims to give a brief overview of what to expect when picking different teams. First I will present the two main factors governing a teams potential, followed by a brief description of the races' individual play styles and finishing with some general tips and links to detailed race descriptions. There are two main aspects which decide how a team acts on the field, the first is the manner in which they prefer to handle the ball and the second how resistant they are to taking damage. On demand a 3rd aspect of team abilities has been added, Team Mobility and Strength. Note: It is highly recommended to at least read the basic rules, first 15 pages of the Living Rulebook 5.0 (link), before continuing to pick a team! Legendary Edition uses the more up to date Competition Rules!

Ball handling
There are two extremes for handling the ball, a running game or a passing game. For running teams the strategy is to let one player run with the ball from your own side to the touchdown zone, passing is seen as an unneeded risk. Passing teams on the other hand prefer to move the ball more quickly to the touchdown zone by using either high agility (elves) or specialized players (throwers and catchers) to throw the ball between players while running. When learning the game it can be recommended to play a team using the less risky running game so you can focus on Blocking, Assists and defending your ball-holder. Below is a rough ranking of which play style the teams prefer, races bad at Passing become running teams by default. *Passing* Wood Elves > Humans > Skaven > Dark Elves > Orcs > Chaos > Goblins > Lizardmen > Dwarves *Running* Legendary Edition
*Passing* HE > PE > WE > Skaven > Human > DE > Amazon > Norse > Orc > Vampire > Chaos > Nurgle > Necromantic > Undead > Hafling > Goblin > Lizardman > Ogre > Dwarf > Khemri *Running*

Damage resistance
The common term used is how bashy a team is, which insinuates how much damage they can cause. However, it is more important to know how well your own team can take a beating! Even Elves can and should smash their opponents into the ground if given the chance. The damage resistance of a team is how likely you are to lose players when everything goes wrong and the opponent gets a chance to hurt your team.Your players Armour Value (AV) govern how damage resistant the team is (Goblins and Skinks take extra damage due to the Stunty ability). A high armour team can be seen as more forgiving and allows a coach to risk players taking damage in order to make life difficult for the opponent. When learning the game it can be recommended to play a team with a high Armour Value, such as Orcs or Dwarves, to avoid losing players early in the match when (not if) something goes wrong. *Damage resistance* Orcs > Dwarves > Chaos > Dark Elves > Humans > Lizardmen > Skaven > Wood Elves > Goblins Legendary Edition
*Damage resistance* Orc > Dwarf > Nurgle > Chaos > Undead > Necromantic > DE > Khemri > HE > Human > Lizardman > Norse > Amazon > Vampire > Skaven > PE > WE > Ogre > Goblin > Hafling

Advice to coaches who think they can win games by only hurting their opponents:
In most cases it is your opponent who decides how many chances you get to hurt them the next turn, so if you want to do damage then you need to force the opponent into placing their players close to yours. Threatening their ball-holder and making it hard for them to control the ball is a great start. In short, focusing too much on doing damage and ignoring the ball will most often result in fewer opportunities to do damage!

Team Mobility and Strength

Mobility is the ability of a player/team to move and Dodge to get into position, it should not to be confused with high Movement (MA). For example a Wood Elf Catcher has much higher mobility than a Human Catcher because of the extra Agility (AG) making Dodges easier and to a much lesser extent due to the extra Movement! Average Strength (ST) governs how well the team can stand toe-to-toe with the bulk of the opponents team without getting pressed back. Team Mobility governs how easily the players can move to new positions to assist, move the ball or limit the opponents options with tackle zones. It should be noted that most of the 9 teams of BB1 are quite mobile when compared to the

other 11 existing Blood Bowl teams implemented in LE. Even Orcs who are 2nd last are actually ok when it comes to mobility and only the Dwarves really suffer in this department. For a new player it is easy to mistake a high mobility team for a team "running away from the fight", indicating weakness. Instead they are rearranging and running to the important fights. All blocks are not equally important, a mobile teams can position themselves for maximum support where it matters and disengage where it does not. Playing a highly mobile team and never dodging is a huge waste of potential, so if your Elves or Skavens are constantly fighting the opponents head on, instead of using their mobility, then you would have been better off picking Orcs or Dwarves! In the same way, Strength teams need to pick their battles wisely and consider the consequences of going into melee, since players will most likely not be able/willing to disengage for a few turns. The best way for a Strength team to not suffer from their lack of mobility is to "simply" create a situation where the important blocks are where they have a lot of players. The classic boxing of a ball holder is one example. The importance of forcing the opponent to fight where you are goes hand in hand with my advice ending the Damage Resistancesection, seen above. *Mobility* Wood Elves > Dark Elves > Lizardmen* > Skaven > Goblins > Humans > Chaos > Orcs > > Dwarves *Strength* Orcs = Chaos (39) > Lizardmen* (37) > Dwarves (37) > Dark Elves (33) >Wood Elves (32) Skaven ( 31) Humans (31) > Goblins (28) Legendary Edition
*Mobility* WE > PE > HE > DE > Lizardman* > Skaven > Vampire > Goblin > Human > Amazon > Norse > Chaos > Hafling > Ogre > Nurgle > Orc > Necromantic > Undead > Dwarf > Khemri

*Strength* Khemri 41 > Orcs Chaos Nurgle Vampire 39 > Lizardmen* Dwarves Norse Undead 37 > Ogre Necromantic 35 > Amazon DE PE HE 33 > Wood Elves Skaven Humans 31 > Hafling 30 > Goblins 28

The number in parenthesis is the sum of the teams Strength when fielding 11 players, including all positionals. Due to a slightly difference in Big Guys the team Strength can be a bit missleading, so even thought the totals differ between Skaven, Humans and Wood Elves they can be considered equally strong.

*Lizardmen are an anomaly here since they have two types of players, all of them fast but with strong/un-agile Sauruses and weak/agile Skinks. It is hard to place them on any sort of scale, the team as a whole is very fast, but without skills (Break Tackle) a Saurus can easily get stuck in melee.

Races Described
Below follows a brief description of what to expect when starting the different teams, once you find a team you think would suit you then read the corresponding thread with detailed race information linked in the end of this post. But first a few words about Big Guys, a player-type which several teams can use. Big Guys or Loners are larger/stronger and extra expensive players which at first glance seem very good to use, but be warned, they cant always be trusted. The fact that they often fail basic actions due to Negative Traits and cant use rerolls like normal players can make them more harm than good when learning the game. Star Players are famous Blood Bowl legends that can be hired to play for your team during one match, note that stars have the Loner drawback since they aren't used to playing in your team. Some stars are race specific while others play for almost anyone, the superstar Ogre Morg'n'Thorg will join any team except Undead, Khemri and Necromatic! Legendary Edition offers a total of 20 teams which can make choosing a good team hard for new players wanting to learning the rules. If you are new to Blood Bowl my advice it to take an extra look at the following teams: Orc, Undead, Human and Skaven

Standard Teams The first four teams have slightly different strengths and are
all good for learning the game!

Dwarves:
Dwarves play the definition of running game and will seldom pass the ball once it is in the safe hands of a Runner. Their high armour and Thick Skulls combined with the Block ability on many players makes taking punches a minor problem. They would seem to be the perfect team for new players at first glance; however, their low mobility is an unforgiving weakness! A mistake when your team is clumped up can allow the opponent to run past the Dwarves, after which you might never have a chance to catch up. Star Player - Grimm Ironjaw, an extra stong and extra angry Dwarf Slayer! (Zara the Slayer added in LE) Advice Resist the urge to move all players together and fight in a pile; spread players

out to deny your opponent the ability to run around you freely.

Orcs:
Good at most things, excellent at nothing and really hard to kill. Orcs are the perfect team to start out with since they have a bit of everything, even a Big Guy Troll and Goblins it can eat! Their Throwers allow them to both play a running game and do the odd Pass, however, there are no dedicated catchers to receive the Pass. Four mobile Blitzers and four extra strong but slow Blockers give Orcs that extra punch when compared to the other Standard Teams. Star Player - Varag Ghoul-Chewer, an extra strong and skilled Orc Blitzer! (Scrappa Sorehead and Ripper added in LE) Advice Skip the Troll and the Goblins until you learn to fully utilize the other 4 types of players, enjoy!

Wood Elves (WE):

Nothing beats the Wood Elves when it comes to ball handling, movement and agility. Their high base agility and specialized players makes it very hard for opponents to stop them from scoring in two turns when holding the ball. However, their skill at the passing game does not help them as much when the opponent has the ball... The Wood Elves weakness is low armour and expensive players, which can make it an uphill battle to field 11 players each drive the first matches if "unlucky". Their Big Guy, the Treeman, is a good pick since it lowers the amount of damage taken at the line of skirmish after scoring goals. Star Player - Jordell Freshbreeze, an extremely agile and mobile Wardancer! (Eldril Sidewinder added in LE) Advice Spread to cover zones and dont let opponents fully surround your players, if trapped they can't use their agility to dodge away and lose the benefit of having a high mobility. (If you just stand and fight, you might as well have picked Orcs be used very aggressively to steal the ball and score! ) Rerolls are your friend since rolling 1 will happen, a lot. On defence Wardancers with Strip Ball can

Humans:
Humans are pretty good at most things but less suited for fighting than Orcs. The main difference between Orc and Human is that Humans have 1 more in Movement and 1 less in Armour. The other difference is that Humans have four weak Catchers with high Movement instead of the Orcs' strong Blockers with low Movement.

Star Player - Griff Oberwald, the best Human Blitzer in history, both strong and agile with a number of skills! (Zara the Slayer added in LE) Advice Humans greatest strength is their flexibility, adapt to your opponents weaknesses. Be brave when you have to do the super-human and a coward when you can manage without taking risks. If you test Humans and feel they lack agility then go Wood Elf, if you think they lack strength then go Orc and if you suffer lots of turnovers when blocking then go Dwarves!

Dark Elves (DE):

One word: Superior! Since they are better than everyone else they do not need a Big Guy or Secret Weapons. The team is filled with AG4, ST3, +6MA and predominantly AV8 players, all have General and Agility access. Dark Elves can hold their ground when needed, regroup for devastating pin-point attacks or humiliate the opponent by crowd-surfing their players. They have the potential to make real Jack of all Traits teams, something low AG effectively stops Humans from managing. Runners with Dump Off and Assassins with Stab give new flavour to the already popular black leather elves! Star Player - Harkon Heartripper, stabber extraordinaire! (Eldril Sidewinder added in LE) Advice Darkies are perhaps not an ideal first team since they lack the pre-defined roles of the other standard teams. However, once you grasp which fights are worth taking and when it's best to regroup then try Darkies. Guard is very much needed for their cocky play-style, but since it's a Strength skill you'll need to get lucky and roll Doubles!

Mutant Teams The infected teams are able to pick mutations when gaining skills,
they are slightly harder to master but also have the highest potential as they can create very specialized players!

Chaos:
You might have read or heard about how dangerous and brutal Chaos teams are, and it is true. A well developed Chaos team can be very good at hurting their opponents. However, a fresh Chaos team is rather weak when compared to Orcs or Dwarves. The players are expensive and lack starting abilities, apart from Horns on the Beastmen. Think of a Chaos team as Orcs without predefined specializations and slightly lower armour. If you want to master the physical aspect of Blood Bowl make an Orc team first and then try Chaos once you get the hang of it. Star Player - Grashnak Blackhoof, an extra strong and ferocious Minotaur, however, he

lacks Block and Wild Animal! (Lord Borak and Ripper added in LE) Advice Be patient and specialize your players, with time your strength will grow!

Skaven:
Skaven has a team with specialized players which have a chance to pick mutation skills on Double Rolls, but are not guaranteed access like Chaos. Skaven have a fast and spectacular play style, they are to Wood Elves what Chaos are to Orcs. Skaven teams can produce the most extreme players in the game, to bad they die so easily! Ask any old Blood Bowl player about famous Gutter Runners and you will hear stories... Since Skavens are fragile and most players lack high agility it can often be worth throwing a 1D block in the end of your own turn, instead of getting a 2D block from the opponent in their turn. This makes Block (or Wrestle) an extra important skill for Linerats! Star Player - Headsplitter, an extra strong and ferocious Rat Ogre, however, he lacks Block and Wild Animal! Advice Hurt them before they hurt you, Skaven can be very hard to play if you have fewer players than the opponent. Also try to spread your points and not always score touchdowns with the Gutter Runners if possible.

Stunty Teams Lizards and Goblins have ball-handlers so small they can slither past
opponents! They play quite differently to the other teams and are not really recommended for your first team.

Lizardmen:
If you want a team with two types of players, where the roles of who does what is clear, then the Lizardmen team is for you! Field up to 7 strong, tough and clumsy lizards focused on fighting and fill the remaining spots with dodgy, super fast and ball-handling Skinks. Lizards play quite differently from the previously described teams. Skinks are too small to Pass the ball safely but Handover can be used, resulting in a high paced running game. Skinks have the Stunty ability, making them take more damage on injury rolls, so keep them away from Dwarves and others with tackle! Star Player - Slibli, an extra fast and highly skilled Saurus! Advice Opponents will always target your Skinks; use this to your own advantage through smart positioning. Make sure your strong lizards do not get tied up by the opponents punching bag players, if this happens your fragile Skinks are left undefended.

Goblins:
One word, Comic Relief! In the computer game Im sure we will laugh our lungs out at the cute Goblins as they manage to chainsaw their own faces off. They have two Trolls and a lot of Stunty Goblins where four of them have brought illegal weapons to the pitch with the goal to reign supreme... However, if you want to win matches or learn the game then Goblins are not for you. The team is meant to be about high risk and high reward but in fact its mainly about high risk! Star Player - Ripper, an extra strong Troll, however, he lacks Block and Really Stupid! (Scrappa Sorehead added in LE) Advice Dont expect to win the match, aim for making the crowd love you!

LE Teams
Amazon:
The Amazon team is quite extreme, an all female roster with Dodge on everyone and with baseline stats, MA6 ST3 AG3 AV7. Two Catchers, two Throwers and four Blitzers that start with Block & Dodge (Blodge), with Agility, Passing and Strength access respectively. The team fears Tackle and the early results will depend on how much Tackle the opponent has, as they lose almost all of their advantages against Dwarves. Together with Norse the Amazons make up the alternative Human teams, note that they do have AV7 making them strongest at lower TV before Tacklers with Might Blow become commonplace. Star Players - Zara the Slayer, an extra strong, skilled and armored Amazon Blitzer, plays for many teams to hunt the undead with her Stakes! Advice Enjoy frustrating your opponents with skills like Wrestle and Fend. Agility 3 makes dodging and ball handling inherently risky but with Safe Throw and Diving Catch they can behave as budget elves!

Pro Elf (PE):

Also known as Elf, the Pro Elf teams have cheap linemen and extra flexibility at low TV. They field four of the best Catchers and two of the arguably best Blitzers in the Old World! The four Catchers with Nerves of Steal open up for some spectacular ball handling and starting without Dodge Pro Elf is able to skip the skill completely. Note that their linemen are 10k cheaper but have both low movement and armor! Star Players - Eldril Sidewinder, a skilled Elf Catcher able to hypnotize the opponents,

plays for all elf teams. Jordell Freshbreeze, the Wardancer. Advice This team can be played very similar to both Wood Elves and High Elves. Without Leaping Blitzers or AV8 the team can benefit from the combination Sidestep and Guard to reach the ball.

Haflings:
The ultimate challenge for the experienced coach, with MA5 ST2 AG3 AV6 stats the Halflings are beyond terrible. The team does however field two Treemen, but these are slow and are easily rooted or positioned out of the action. There isn't much good to say about the Halflings except for their chef which has the ability to steal Rerolls from the opponents team! Star Player - Deeproot Strongbranch, the strongest star in the Old World, skilled but still very slow. Advice Unless you are an experienced coach seeking a challenge or want to learn the game it's best to stay clear of Halfings.

High Elf (HE):

Undisputed masters of the long pass, and the most blue blooded of the noble. With AV8 on all but the four Catchers the team is both durable and mobile. Not as good at harassing the opponents as Wood Elves or as good at fighting as the Dark Elves, still the well balanced High Elves are very popular among experienced coaches. Star Player - Only Eldril Sidewinder is noble enough to play for the High Elves! Advice The most balanced and durable of the Elf teams, well worth trying even for new coaches. The team can be built in many directions, extraordinary skill rolls can open even more paths.

Khemri:
The Bad Boys of Blood Bowl, risen to destroy teams and frustrate opponents as they field four ST5 positionals! They are without any competition the least agile team with AG2 throwers. The team was hated for inflicting casualties but since the ST5 Mummies lost General skill access the Khemri have become less terrifying, their skeletons still make excellent Dirty Players! The least mobile and strongest of the undead teams, regeneration on all players but the skeletons are more fragile than Zombies! Star Players - Nebkehereth, an extra strong and skilled Blitz-Ra. Ramtut III, an extra strong Mummy with Breaktackle and Wrestle.

Advice With Agility 2 the team is hardly recommended for new players. If you want to feel the power of four ST5 players from the get go then give them a try!

Necromantic:
The most mobile and agile undead team with two fast Ghouls, two blitzer Wights, two roadblock Flesh Golems and two frenzying Werewolves with Claw and Agility access. The team offers a variation of the very popular Undead team, both which are strong at low TV. My personal favorite among the Undead teams and even more so since the Werewolves gained regeneration. All players except Ghouls have regeneration. Star Players - Nebkehereth, the Blitz-Ra. Ramtut III, the Mummy. Count Luthor Von Drakenborg, the extra strong and non-thirsty Vampire star! Advice Protect your Werewolves and mark up the opponents valuable positionals with your Zombies.

Norse:
The glass cannon team, almost every player starts with Block but with AV7 they can dish it out better than they can take it! Frenzy on five players makes the team inherently risky and fun/scary. The Yhetee Big Guy is a force to reckon with on this team! At higher TV they will struggle against Orcs and other more robust teams. Star Players - Icepelt Hammerblow, an extra strong Yhetee with Disturbing Presence, lacking Block. Zara the Slayer, the Amazon Blitzer. Advice Norse symbolize the high risk, high reward style of Blood Bowl. Everyone can enjoy the Norse team, both those learning the game and the experienced!

Nurgle:
The regenerating flavor of Chaos, with a tentacle Beast of Nurgle instead of a Mino, slower Warriors and only four "beastmen" called Pestigors, Rotters are the linemen with General/Mutation access. All the good positionals have regeneration while the Rotters have Decay which makes them take double damage when hurt. The main difference to Chaos is that both the Beast and the Warriors have Foul Appearance and Disturbing Presence which can disrupt both Ball handling and Blocking during the opponents turn. Star Players - Grashnak Blackhoof, the Minotaur. Lord Borak, the Chaos Warrior. Ripper, the Troll. Advice Just like Chaos they are weak without skills but can develop into a real powerhouse. If you can't decide when to use the Apothecary as Chaos you'll love

Regeneration on 9 players!

Ogre:
The Ogre teams have varied over the ages, historically they have been able to field 11 ST5 Ogres with Bone Head and have cooperated with Goblins. Currently the number of Ogres have been reduced to 6 and they now play with Snotlings which are even weaker than Halflings, but are almost impossible to stop from slithering through the lines. The team lands somewhere between the Halflings and Lizardmen, able to dish out some damage but with the even more fragile Snotlings to handle the ball. Star Players - Scrappa Sorehead, the Goblin Pogostick. Advice Not the team for new players, worth considering for experienced coaches seeking a challenge or as an alternative to the other stunty teams!

Undead:
The original Undead team, four fast Ghouls intended to handle the ball, two Wights for Blitzing and two ST5 mummies to hold the line. The Undead team can chose between both Zombie and Skeletons, all players except Ghouls have regeneration. A strong team at lower TV and very popular in short cups or leagues. Star Players - Nebkehereth, the Blitz-Ra. Ramtut III, the Mummy. Count Luthor Von Drakenborg, the extra strong and non-thirsty Vampire star! Advice A solid team for all players and well worth testing when learning the game! Since only six players are mobile and can handle the ball it's important to not let them get locked down or knocked out.

Vampire:
A very special team, on paper the Vampires are among the strongest positional in Blood Bowl. However, where other Big-Guys fail and lose their action the Vampires need to feed on their poor team mates, the Thralls, inflicting injury-rolls on them in the process. Recently the Vampires of Blood Bowl have gone through extensive courses to only Badly Hurt their team mates during feeding, significantly increasing the life expectancy of Thralls! A Vampire team starts each turn with lots of potential moves, but the plans will shatter along the way as the Vampires decide to feed... if you can live with the frustration then Vampires could be for you. Star Players - Count Luthor Von Drakenborg, the extra strong and non-thirsty Vampire star! Advice One of the most tricky teams to play well, try to position your Thralls so that

Vampires can move into beneficial positions even if they fail Blood Lust rolls!

Off-forum guides:
Bbtactics by Coach, note that these are detailed race descriptions for the complete LRB 6 rules.

See you at the pitch and please don't disconnect if I kill your favourite player!
Team Picking Guide For New Players Remember, any time your team gets ruined is an opportunity to rebuild the team or start a new one...

stygger Posts: 2 Joined: 15 February 2009, 08:34 T o p

Re: Races Described - Team Picking Guide For New Players

by stygger 26 October 2011, 21:15

General Tips for New Players

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When you creating a team it is worth thinking about how many rerolls and which positionals you really want since you can't get everything initially. If you start off buying your Big Guy and all the fancy positionals then there will most likely not be enough money to buy the rerolls. There is an extra incentive to buy the Rerolls at team creation since they cost double the price afterwards!

Take as few actions as possible to achieve you goals, the fewer actions you take the less that can go wrong and is the mark of a great coach. It takes a lot of experience to achieve this and, in my opinion, is always a learning process. For example perhaps it would be useful to make a gap to get a Runner into your opponent's backfield. A bad coach won't even see the option, a good coach may perform several 2D Blocks and a Blitz to achieve this, a great coach may realise a single careful Blitz with Frenzy is enough, an astounding coach may roll no dice at all managing to get the Runner through using a skill such as Sidestep in the

opponent's turn or positioning his players in such a way that the opponent leaves a gap.
y

Expect every roll to fail, even with rerolls, and plan accordingly. Obviously don't play so negatively that it is detrimental to your overall game, but always have a backup or safety net. Always do important movements of players which do not require any rolls first!

Don't Block with your Big Guys first, they are unpredictable and you're asking for an early Turnover.

Don't get carried away with bashing, many Dwarf, Orc and Chaos coaches can get lost in the brutality but remember, TDs win you games as does rolling the fewest dice to achieve those TDs. Do you really need to try for those "easy" 2D Blocks before scoring the winning TD, Double Skulls are not uncommon. Is Mighty Blow really the best skill for your dedicated ball handler? etc.

Focus on the ball, be it by protecting your ball carrier or pressuring your opponents. This wins or loses your games and all else should be secondary. For example if you have the option for a easy Crowd Push or Foul on your opponents star or Blitzing the ball carrier, the latter should always be your choice.

Know the rules. This will come with time and if new to the game they can seem daunting, however, at least familiarise yourself with them and know what each skill does before you take an action. You don't want to lose a game because you didn't know the wrestle skill would bring down your player and lose the ball, in this example experienced coaches would also do well to make note of changes from earlier editions.

Know all the options. This tends, again, to come from experience and is akin to expecting the unexpected, the not so obvious play.For example if your opponent has TZs on a loose ball you run up and do likewise, however there is also the option of bashing a player onto the ball for a scatter. Similarly perhaps you count how far away your opponent is from the End Zone and see they cannot reach it even with Sprint and Go For Its, however an experienced coach may see that through careful use of chain pushes this player could be in a scoring position, thus plan accordingly to avoid them. Some plays may be extremely unlikely for an opponent to notice, or be very risky to pull off, but entirely ignore defending against them at your peril.

Even if you play slow and steady, give yourself the option to score in the next turn! Placing players in reach of the TD zone is always good, since it forces your

opponent to spend energy on that player even if you aren't intending to pass him. This is especially important in the 2nd last turn of every half, you should always have a theoretical chance of scoring the last turn! Blood Bowl is an unpredictable game and you should try to give yourself good options even if you don't choose to use them!
y

There are several skills to pick between, however, Block (xor Wrestle) is a skill all players will want eventually, so when in doubt pick Block (xor Wrestle). Dodge is an ability countered by Tackle, most teams should get a few players with Tackle. This makes Dodge a somewhat weak skill unless you can get Dodge on more players than the the opponent has Tacklers. Ask experienced coaches for advice on skills until you get a feeling for them!

Spread your Star Player Points around. With dedicated Ball handlers these players can tend to become SPP hogs, likewise your melee oriented player can soak up all the Casualties, it's much better to have several players with a few skills than one or two with many. Key players can be taken out easily, so try to make all players "equally dangerous", it's the same in real sports. If everyone is able to score that goal then defending is a lot harder than if they only have one "superstar" to neutralize!

You seldom need 16 players. This will just inflate your TV (Team Value), remember only 11 will be on the pitch at any given time those those in the reserves box are adding nothing to your performance on the pitch. For teams with AV 8 or 9 and plenty of bashing skills you'll be unlucky to lose more than a few players per game, 14 should be the maximum for Dwarves/Orc/Chaos.

Try playing with both physical and mobile teams in order to learn the game. For example a die-hard Orc coach will see a lot of new options for his AG3 team after playing around a bit with Elves, similarly an Elf coach would learn a thing or two about fighting (the value of skills like Guard) after playing as Dwarves. It also helps you understand what the opponent wants to do in his turn, know thy enemy!

Don't blame luck for your defeats (Though it does occasionally play a part), the saying "A good coach makes his own luck" holds true. Even though there is a lot of dice being rolled this game is not about luck, the better coach will always win more, not every game but most! A critical look at what you did wrong often helps you improve more. Perhaps rolling those Double Skulls was unlucky, but then could you have scored by putting yourself in a position where the Block wasn't even needed?

The old cliche, have fun! You will have runs of horrible luck, your star players will die and you will be beaten badly on occasion. If you let any of these get to you perhaps it's best to take a breather, if you're not enjoying yourself there's also a good chance your opponent isn't if you make this fact known either through moaning on voice chat or throwing the game.