Tactic: "The Gate"

Also known as a blockade.

I am surprised more people don't do this. On nearly every map, there are only 3 or 4 squares directly leading into your endzone (some maps only have itty bittle 2 block corridors!). This means essentially only two guys can hold down the fort, because it'll force a dodge roll or two if anyone tries to sneak past, and they should still be able to group up to help each other not get overwhelmed by bashers.

Basically, hang your big guys out near your end zone. If there's a teleporter nearby, park them near it until they are needed to move again. I am playing with a Jade Wizard team right now, and have a black orc/troll be the Gates of Mordor for my team. It's saved my butt a bunch of times already and I'm only 5 games into this team's career.

I see people keep trying to move their big guys inward to help bash over the ball, but because of how teleporters work, it's pretty impossible to cage effectively, or simply have more guys in any given area than the other team. Their guy with the ball can hop in and just pray he makes it somewhere safer.

But your gates? They are still there to serve as your Oh Crap guards should that happen.

I think people realize they can do this. It is, however, a total drag for both coaches involved.

For game balance, every map should have 3 ways to go to TD and no one square corridor.

Good plan

Yes holding your endzone so nothing can enter is a good tactic. Teleporters change games and indead shutting them down is essential if you want no surprises. I guess the balance is that if you hold back you wont have much defence for your issolated players yourself, so you need to group them when possible.

(I did predict once people get used to the game that grinding each other to death would be a popular way to win)

This tactic does work, but it also limits your on pitch effectiveness, especially on large maps. It can work, but really gives the opponent team free reign to demolish the other players, and not worry about your heavy hitters till he needs to score.

Especially with the current game rules (once one team has his last player removed past the turn 24 mark it counts as a concession) its not advantageous to wait too long. One team can simply gain a numbers advantage and wait things out.

This tactic is most effective for maps with tight entrances, but don't let more of the team than necessary get hung up in it..

the only time I do this is with treemen, basically as if they move too much they get stuck anyway

I quite like putting my strongest units next to teleporters. For example, if I have a Deathroller miles from the action, I'll park it on an important (IE: near my end zone) tele.

That means my opponent has a 1/x (x = number of teles) of ending up stuck next to a STR 7 MB player if he wants to risk using a tele, plus a 1/x chance of getting lost in the warp too. From then on I prefer to try to pressure my opponent into using the teles more to get around the rest of my squad.

A high Strength player can pretty much shut down any blockage, as far as I've seen yet anyway. If people try the "two Black Orcs in a corridor" thing on me, I usually send in the Roller/Ogre backed up with Guard if I have it, and it's not long before I have a chance to shove said "blockade" backwards into a trap, dice permitting.