Chaos Beastman Overview: #
Beastmen fill in the Lineman role for Chaos teams, though they can’t really be compared to a more standard Lineman type. They are slightly more expensive and have the advantages of starting with Horns and also get normal access to both Strength and Mutation skills as well as General. They don’t start with any ball handling abilities which is the biggest problem with a Chaos team and makes them hard to play early in development.
As Chaos have no standard positional players such as throwers and catchers, Beastmen have to fill in a lot of different roles on the team. Their skill access and the fact you have a lot of them means you can build the team up in a number of different ways to acheive this. Horns on all of them gives you an advantage over all other teams in that nearly every blitz you do will be at least ST4. This ability means you can build them into great blitzers, the skill access means you can build great ball carriers, fairly good recievers, blockers and defenders. Throwers are the only position you can’t really build easily as this requires doubles, however in my opinion Chaos teams don’t really need to build one anyway.
Ball Blitzing Beastmen: #
- Normal: Wrestle, Tackle, Two Heads/Frenzy, Strip Ball
- Doubles: Dodge
- Stat Increase: +ST, +AG, +MV
I recommend building two of these guys, so you can cover either side of the pitch. You want to start with Wrestle as your team has no Block or Wrestle to start with and it is the best skill for getting a ball carrier down. Tackle will also be useful as Dodge is a common skill choice on ball carriers. This combo is also useful it you want to get a receiver down if you can’t get to the ball carrier instead. Two heads will allow you to dodge better which will make getting to the ball carrier easier as well. Frenzy can also be considered to get more chances to knock the ball carrier down. Strip Ball can be useful early on in a league where other teams are less likely to have Sure Hands, though later on in development the priority drops. Double choice would be Dodge again to aid getting to the ball carrier and making it harder for the other team to get him off the pitch. For stat increases, +ST is obviously useful for anyone blitzing, +AG helps in getting there and perhaps picking the ball up afterwards and +MV lets you cover more of the pitch.
Ball Carrier Beastman: #
- Normal: Sure Hands, Extra Arms, Block/Two Heads, Fend, Kick off Return/Big Hand
- Doubles: Dodge, Sure Feet/Side Step
- Stat Increase: +ST, +AG, +MV
Again I think it will be useful to have a couple of these guys on the team but this would be to cover more of the backfield against teams with Kick. Sure Hands will let you pick the ball up easier as well as saving Rerolls and negate Strip Ball. Extra Arms has a few uses, primarilly in helping picking the ball up, but also aids in catching a hand off if you picked it up with someone else, or aiding a team mate trying to get a completion SPP. You can also use them in a pinch as a reciever, another reason to build two. After these two you have a choice whether you decide to go Block for protection or Two Heads to aid with dodging. I would probably learn towards Block as if makes him more useful in other situations and if you are running a cage well you shouldn’t need to be dodging anyway. Kick off return is useful late on but earlier in development you need the more basic skills other teams start with. Big Hand is another option if you want a guy who can recover the ball in a few tackle zones. Doubles as usual for ball carriers are Dodge for protection and dodging, then afterwards Sure Feet for greater ability to move or Side Step to prevent multible blocks against him and better positioning. The stat increases, +ST makes him harder to hit, +AG is great in that you wouldn’t need Extra Arms or Two Heads and +MV makes it easier to get him to safe squares or the end zone.
Utility Beastman: #
- Normal: Block, Guard, Mighty Blow/Claw/Stand Firm/Piling On/Tackle
- Doubles: Side Step/Dodge
- Stat Increase: +ST, +AG
As you will have quite a few who you aren’t specialising you should build some more general purpose guys who will aid either as part of a cage or on the line of scrimmage. Start with Block to avoid turnovers and help with hitting, then follow it up with Guard to take advantage of the extra strength of your team and help against other hitting teams. Past this there are a lot of choices you can do, Mighty Blow will help get players off the pitch and will combo well with Claw and Piling On. Tackle will cause other teams more turnovers and help hitting dodge players and Stand Firm combines really well with Guard and keeping a cage intact. Doubles can be used for either Side Step to control positioning and keep you in contact with the other team or Dodge to move easier and keep you on your feet more. Stat increases +ST is fantastic for hitting and being hit, +AG will allow them to specialise more and gives you another ball handling player. Later on in development you can take +MV or +AV, though they add extra team value compared to an extra skill.
Killer Beastman: #
- Normal: Block, Mighty Blow, Piling On, Claw, Frenzy/Tackle
- Doubles: Jump Up, Side Step
- Stat Increase: +ST, +AG
You can also build a couple of these guys who are really good at getting the other team’s players off the pitch, which will help with making it easier to move a cage. They will probably end up being targeted by the other team though! Start with Block for the usual reasons, then work on the skills which will hurt the other team. Mighty Blow first then Piling On as Claw doesn’t help against AV7 teams. After that either Tackle to take on Dodge players as well (pick easier targets until you do) or Frenzy to get that extra hit in. For doubles Jump Up is probably the first choice, especially if you are on the floor from Piling On and can let you get blocks in on the other team instead of using the blitz on some occasions. Side Step is also useful as you can stay next to opposing players. +ST is great for obvious reasons and while +AG doesn’t really help I wouldn’t skip on it and instead change this guy into a different build.
Defender Beastman: #
- Normal: Block, Tackle, Stand Firm, Prehensile Tail, Disturbing Presence/Guard/Pass Block
- Doubles: Diving Tackle, Dodge, Side Step
- Stat Increase: +ST +AG +MV
This guy is more of a luxury but can be really helpful for marking receivers. Start with Block to make it harder to remove his tackle zone, then Tackle to negate Dodge on receivers. Stand Firm will stop you getting pushed away on a blitz and it is unlikely you will get Side Step. Prehensile Tail to make the dodge away harder then you can consider a few skills. Disturbing Presence will make it harder for receivers to get the ball (and perhaps cover more than one), Guard cause you can never have too much, or Pass Block to cover more receivers against a passing team. Doubles you will want Diving Tackle which combines really well with Prehensile Tail for a massive -3 to dodge rolls. Then Dodge to keep him on his feet as Stand Firm will do just as well as Side Step. Shadowing could be useful at a pinch very late on but most the players you will be marking have a greater movement than you. Stats, +ST you rarely pass up, will make it even harder to blitz you away/down and let you hit back easier, +AG can help with picking the ball up if they fall over or let you turn him into a different build. +MV will let you cover more of the pitch and make even make Shadowing worth taking.
Passing Beastman: #
- Normal: Sure Hands, Strong Arm, Extra Arms, Kick Off Return
- Doubles: Pass/Accurate, Sure Feet
- Stat Increase: +AG, +ST, +MV
You can build a fairly good Passer with a Beastman despite their appearance. I’m not entirely convinced you need to do that though. A well built Chaos team should be able to cage really well anyway and you can perhaps get by making the odd pass if you need to without a dedicated passer who doesn’t add much else to the team. If you do decide to build one you may want to wait for one who gets a double for the first roll as they need one more than other builds. Otherwise start off with Sure Hands to pick up the ball, Then Strong Arm to aid passes of short range and above. Extra Arms makes the pick up easier (at a pinch can be used a ball carrier in a cage though he has neither Block or Dodge) and Kick Off Return to cover more of the backfield after a kick. For the doubles roll you can either get Pass for the reroll or Accurate would make the pass easier if you can keep a team Reroll spare. After that Sure Feet can make passes shorter as would +MV. +AG is great for all ball handling, but +ST kinda ruins it and early on I would go more a ball carrying route, late on I may even shock horror take the double instead. This is the danger of building the passer and then rolling +ST though!
Chaos Beastman Summary: #
As you can see there are quite a number of ways to build Beastmen and you need to have a selection of different types to get the best out of a Chaos team. I haven’t put Kick in any of the builds, though I will usually find room for it on every team. I suggest giving it to a Utility Beastman, perhaps even as his first skill or after Block, it is too handy not to have it somewhere on the team. Now mutations are normal rolls for Chaos and traits have been removed, the teams can be built a number of different ways. Personally I think it is best to remain fairly flexible and have players to fulfil various roles. I haven’t even covered every possible option as they can be so versatile, I would personally also try and get a few more players with Guard than I have outlined. However this is big enough as it is and listing every possible build would get silly! You have to adapt to the skill rolls you get, what you already have and the other teams in your league as well, so nothing here should be taken as gospel. One such I have overlooked for example is a crowd pushing guy with Frenzy and Juggernaut for example.
