Resurrection Battles - Rez in Groups vs. Rez Individually

Rez in Groups or Individually

So this question has come up a few times recently and the answer is, it depends entirely on the level of the fighter, specifically regarding field awareness and understanding of their job on the field.

During an text exchange last night with Anglesey's most experienced melee fighter, we were discussing the tactics of 2v2 fighting, and this is what I had to say (paraphrased):

There are three approaches to this scenario:

Beginner - don't fight a 2v2.  Instead, reform with your unit.  This is, by and large, what the SCA does with the bulk of their fighters who mainly practice singles and have fewer than 4 years experience.

Intermediate - charge if you have the advantage.  This is ideally where you would want your unbelt champions team to be on a tactical level. 

Advanced - understand the advantages and disadvantages of splitting your unit, dragging fighters out, turning the corner, drawing a charge and turning your opponent into your teammate, etc. and being able to to accomplish all of this quickly and without thinking about it.

Any tactically fluid sport (basketball, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, etc.) is going to have fundamentals that are applied differently at different levels of play.  The lower levels typically must have simpler, more structured fundamentals that can be executed without making mistakes.  At the high levels, more flexibility is given to the individual to improvise knowing that they will improvise well, and that their teammates will also know how to react to the improvisation accordingly.


Applying this to Resurrections

Fundamentally I am opposed to resurrecting in groups.  Rather, you should resurrect immediately and then go and find a group to join.  Many fighters fail horribly at the second part, which is why they are told to resurrect in groups.

Singles fighting teaches you to fight every fight with the intention of trying to win regardless of the insurmountable odds.  It also doesn't prepare you for thinking tactically, so a person resurrecting by themselves may walk into a field, come up upon a knight, and engage in a fight that he will ultimately lose.  If that person had waited to walk in with a group of three people, they can defeat the knight. 

The problem with waiting is that there are people in the battle who need support, and the longer a person waits at the rez point, the longer they are without support.  Ideally a fighter would resurrect immediately, walk out into the field, come up upon a knight, and simply avoid fighting him until they either find a group of fighters to join or until a group finds him.

So in a nutshell, beginning fighters probably should be resurrecting in groups.  I am of the belief, however, that one should attempt to learn how to be effective without doing this, but if you rez by yourself, make certain that you know what you are going to do.

Green gains a +2 number's advantage because their fighters did not
wait for a triad to forum before returning to the battle.