DM 093 Newsletter

DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date : 09/15/2017 Duedate: 09/28/2017

NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA

DM-93 TURN-487

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

KOKOMO, IN
HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
(93-10093) [5-1-0,54]

Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY KOKOMO, IN
HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
(93-10093) [5-1-0,54]

Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite

MILFORD, MA UNRIPE
HOME SWEET HOME (1728) BASH BROS APPLES (1727)
(93-10090) [5-1-0,33] (93-10086) [2-4-0,13]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

HOME SWEET HOME (1728)

TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. BASH BROS APPLES (1727) 37
2. CHURCH OF UYPHY (1729) 34 IRON DRAGON (495)
3. HOME SWEET HOME (1728) 9 Unchartered Team
4. LEGION (1726) 9
5. ODD SQUAD (1712) 0 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1*HOME SWEET HOME (1728) 22 8 0 73.3 1/ 1*HOME SWEET HOME (1728) 11 4 0
2- 3*ODD SQUAD (1712) 20 18 0 52.6 2/ 3*BASH BROS APPLES (1727) 7 8 0
3/ 6*CHURCH OF UYPHY (1729) 5 5 0 50.0 3/ 6*CHURCH OF UYPHY (1729) 5 5 0
4/ 4*BASH BROS APPLES (1727) 14 16 0 46.7 4- 4*ODD SQUAD (1712) 1 3 0
5/ 5*LEGION (1726) 2 8 0 20.0 5/ 5*LEGION (1726) 0 5 0
6- 0*9 KOWLOON CLAN (1714) 0 1 0 0.0 6- 0*9 KOWLOON CLAN (1714) 0 1 0

'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank

TEAM SPOTLIGHT

NOBLISH ISLE GRADUATION FINAL EXAM

25 True/False Questions
80% = Passing Grade
Special Assist = All answers Are FALSE

1. D2 is all work and no play or fun.
2. You may bloodfeud only once.
3. The WF (war flail aka whiffle) is probably the best weapon available.
4. Scum warriors are not allowed.
5. A warrior's hit points are only determined by CON.
6. One must challenge warriors by name only on the strategy sheet.
7. D2 is only for those under age 30.
8. A warrior must be a designed godling to enter into tournaments.
9. All warriors are born with the same amount of stats and skills.
10. One cannot use a weapon unsuited to the warrior's style.
11. A manager may have only one team in D2.
12. Parry riposte (rippers), parry lungers (plungers) and parry strikers (pikers) are
the easiest styles to run.
13. Endurance plays no factor in D2.
14. Assur and The Consortium rep are allied.
15. There are four skill and eight stat types.
16. When a warrior dies, your team is reduced by one.
17. One secret strategy works best for each style of warrior.
18. All Face-To-Face Tournaments are held at the office headquarters in Tempe, AZ.
19. The arena Duelmaster may challenge any other warrior in the arena.
20. Female warriors are better than male or neutral warriors.
21. A warrior must wear armor.
22. In general old-time managers in the game hate each other and never communicate.
23. There are no luck factors in the game.
24. The RSI Customer Service people are mean and uncaring people.
25. The designer of this test has patent rights.

NOTE: Certain of these questions are discussed thoroughly in Noblish
Island Newsletters. So tune in!

Brought to you by Hobo (A wanderer, illiterate, and Consortium representative)
Interpreted and Edited by The Consortium Administrative Assistant

***---------*---------*---------*---------**---------*---------*---------*---------***

Basics of Strategy, part 3

Hybrids, (not including tank offensives):
Let's assume you've designed a great hybrid warrior, who has skills in all the
right places and the right mix of physicals for his style. There is not a 'catch all'
strategy for these warriors. In fact, one of the things that makes hybrids so hard to
run (even after you have the right design) is that not all hybrids respond the same to
the same strategy.
Offensive Effort is the 'easiest' number to decide on. Find what works for your
warrior and stick with it. Most hybrids operate best on the favorite Offensive
Effort. You can find other articles talking about favorites and what is likely for
your warrior. While usually avoiding 1-2 is adviseable, I've seen scum and parry
ripostes do nasty things at 1-2 offensive effort.
Activity Level is tougher. Higher is often better and it often won't hurt your
warrior to run at 10 AL. It makes your warrior move around, helping dodge and your
willingness to strike, but 10 AL will burn endurance fast and probably hurts parry.
For a Lunger with lots and lots of endurance, I highly recommend 10 AL. For a Parry
Striker that isn't learning defense skills, maybe not so much. Once again, if you can
find a number that works well, go with it. Assur starts most of his hybrids at 5-10
AL and works from there.
All that said, you might opt to run your hybrid differently in different minutes.
My comments above are assuming you are expecting a short fight (which is usually the
case). For a hybrid with high parry, you might go with a parry strategy minute 1 and
slowly wake up in minutes 2 and 3. For a lunger hybrid, you might opt for very high
numbers in minute 1, then go with some endurance conserving strategy in later
minutes. Work with your warrior and style and his strengths and weaknesses. And use
your challenges, avoids, and your alternate strategy to mix it up a bit.
Armor: DO NOT OVER ENCUMBER YOUR HYBRID!!! One popular formula for determining
your carry ability without penalties is to add your Strength to the lesser of
Strength/Constitution and subtract 6. This is the number of points your warrior can
carry. After you've determined the max you want to carry, that helps you decide your
armor/weapons. For higher dodge, Assur recommends ARM or lower, even if you can carry
more, in most fights.
Weapons: Feel free to try and find your favorite weapon, but most of Assur's
warriors use the best weapon they can use given their stats. SC, BS, BA, LO are all
great choices if you can use them and highly recommended. For basic strategy, it is
tough to go wrong with those weapons.

I am going to skip the counter strategy section against hybrids.
1) Different hybrids fight differently
2) It is pretty rare to find yourself against an unbeatable hybrid
3) Most of the time, it is combination of skills and luck that will determine the outcome of these fights.

If you do find yourself sharing an arena with one of the few hybrids that appears
to wipe the arena sands with anyone they face, I recommend avoiding that warrior.
These warriors are special and often look really mediocre until they get on the sands.

SPY REPORT

Like the magnificent Sun, rising upon the Dawn and exiling the Night for a Day,
I, Novgorodny Vir, return once again! What's a move up by 3 you ask? (alright,
maybe you didn't ask) Cause for celebration, according to CHURCH OF UYPHY. BASH
BROS APPLES had cause to celebrate, after PESTICIDES got 22 points by beating
MILFORD, MA. MILFORD, MA certainly had a baffled expression on his face, after
losing to PESTICIDES and losing 16 points in the process! Now I can't insult KOKOMO,
IN, as he has gloriously dueled to the top. Oh great new Duelmaster!!! (Stop me if
I lay it on too thick) Word has it one team in NOBLISH ISLAND is taking speech
lessons to try to bore their opponent to death. I'll bet it works.
My mother wished me to avoid conflict, and seek the gentle trade of Spyreporter.
But warriors aren't supposed to avoid fights! Like a horde of jackals fleeing from
the lion, so did the "warriors" in NOBLISH ISLAND avoid BASH BROS APPLES. Like a pup
with its tail between its legs, HOME SWEET HOME scurried away from BASH BROS APPLES.
Oh, the shame!
The moving sword slashes, and having slashed, moves on... Oh hard! that to
strike a flame, the match itself must needs be wasting!
All good things must come to an end. As the seasons change, and the creatures
of the wild change also, so do I feel a yearning to leave this place. Like a mixed
metaphor, and an overtaxed simile, I now bid NOBLISH ISLAND farewell-- Novgorodny Vir

DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
KOKOMO, IN 10093 5 1 0 54 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)

ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
PESTICIDES 10087 5 1 0 46 BASH BROS APPLES (1727)

CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
MILFORD, MA 10090 5 1 0 33 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
-OLIVE 10061 4 2 0 27 ODD SQUAD (1712)
LENEXA, KS 10092 3 3 0 24 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)

INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
EASLEY, SC 10091 5 1 0 23 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
RACINE, WI 10089 4 2 0 23 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
-MS. O 10073 3 2 0 22 ODD SQUAD (1712)
-JINXEE 9988 6 3 0 21 ODD SQUAD (1712)
-ODDO 10060 3 3 0 20 ODD SQUAD (1712)
SOUR 10088 3 3 0 19 BASH BROS APPLES (1727)
PRIESTESS IRIN 10099 2 0 0 19 CHURCH OF UYPHY (1729)

INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
MONK SABAOTH 10101 1 1 0 16 CHURCH OF UYPHY (1729)
-OAK 10062 4 1 0 14 ODD SQUAD (1712)
UNRIPE 10086 2 4 0 13 BASH BROS APPLES (1727)
-AUTUMNBE 9643 3 2 0 12 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
SISTER SURIEL 10118 1 0 0 10 CHURCH OF UYPHY (1729)
ROTTEN 10084 1 5 0 8 BASH BROS APPLES (1727)
SHOFTIEL 10100 1 1 0 8 CHURCH OF UYPHY (1729)
-DRAXXUS 9644 1 4 0 7 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
AZZUMI 10081 1 1 0 4 LEGION (1726)
CHARLIE 10080 1 1 0 4 LEGION (1726)
-SEARRUS 9645 0 4 0 4 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
-PERSEPHONE 9642 0 4 0 4 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
-AGRISEL 9646 0 4 0 4 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
AZAZEL 10097 0 2 0 2 CHURCH OF UYPHY (1729)
-VICTOR KOWLOON 10002 0 1 0 1 9 KOWLOON CLAN (1714)
BRIOSES 10129 0 1 0 1 BASH BROS APPLES (1727)

'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.

THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
APRIL 10082 0 2 0 LEGION 1726 SHEWISH GIANT 487 NONE
RUU 10083 0 2 0 LEGION 1726 BLACK ORC 487 NONE
TUESDAY 10079 0 2 0 LEGION 1726 SHEWISH GIANT 487 NONE

PERSONAL ADS

Har de har. That there DM done be clearin' out. Might git me some 'o them there
Champeens. Yup. -- Hobo

Great strategy articles, Assur. Great stuff. -- The Consortium Elders
P.S. You asked? Almost never do we run scum TP 1-1-1. In the 21 strategy spots for
OE/AL/KD, a standard strategy has a total of only 4 one's. And we use an awful lot of
P's.

Azakel, that was a great fight. I was lucky in that I won; I'll bet I have you out-
experienced, but not out-skilled. -- Easley, SC

Unripe, my lips are sealed. (Besides, I don't want to take a bite of that unripe
stuff.) -- Lenexa, KS

Welcome to the Church of Uyphy. Glad to have you on Noblish Isle. -- All the Home
Sweet Homers, including Manager Hobo
P.S. Sorry we were so hard on you this round. The random matchups were hard on you.

Monk Saboath, pray, my friend; pray. -- Racine, WI (often called The Belle of The
Lake)

Olive, man! I cannot believe I beat you. Whoooooooey! -- Milford, MA

Nikodemus, a slasher has something of an advantage over a lunger. It was a good
random match for me. -- Kokomo, IN

Y'all, I ain't seein' ya askin me'n that smart Assur questions. Ya shuld! We's here
ta hep ya. -- Hobo

LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

TUESDAY was viciously butchered by SHEWISH GIANT in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight.
RUU was slaughtered by BLACK ORC in a 1 minute gruesome Dark Arena battle.
APRIL was murdered by SHEWISH GIANT in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight.
MILFORD, MA slimly lost to PESTICIDES in a 2 minute bloody brawl.
KOKOMO, IN savagely defeated DANGEROUS CRIMINAL in a 2 minute brutal Title fight.
EASLEY, SC bested ROTTEN in a action packed 1 minute brawl.
RACINE, WI overpowered MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute one-sided struggle.
SOUR bested SHOFTIEL in a 2 minute competition.
LENEXA, KS overpowered PERSISTANT BEGGAR in a 1 minute uneven melee.
UNRIPE viciously subdued AZAZEL in a action packed 6 minute gory duel.
AZZUMI was vanquished by PRIESTESS IRIN in a 1 minute gory one-sided duel.
CHARLIE was overpowered by MONK SABAOTH in a 1 minute one-sided melee.
SISTER SURIEL overpowered BRIOSES in a 1 minute one-sided match.

BATTLE REPORT

MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 7 TOTAL PARRY 17 - 9 - 2 65 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 3 BASHING ATTACK 36 - 25 - 1 59 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 3 LUNGING ATTACK 15 - 11 - 1 58 |
|AIMED BLOW 2 STRIKING ATTACK 23 - 18 - 1 56 |
|WALL OF STEEL 2 WALL OF STEEL 13 - 13 - 0 50 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 SLASHING ATTACK 16 - 16 - 1 50 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 1 AIMED BLOW 15 - 22 - 0 41 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 2 - 3 - 1 40 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 4 - 12 - 0 25 |
|TOTAL PARRY 0 PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 6 - 0 14 |

Turn 487 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the
used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are:

SLASHING ATTACK 2 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 1 4 BASHING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 STRIKING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 4 - 3 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 2 2 WALL OF STEEL
AIMED BLOW 1 - 1 LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 SLASHING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL 1 - 1 TOTAL PARRY 0 - 0 1 LUNGING ATTACK
1 AIMED BLOW

TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
SLASHING ATTACK KOKOMO, IN 10093 5 1 0 54 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
BASHING ATTACK PESTICIDES 10087 5 1 0 46 BASH BROS APPLES (1727)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is MILFORD, MA 10090. The most popular warrior this
turn was UNRIPE 10086. The ten other most popular fighters were PESTICIDES 10087,
KOKOMO, IN 10093, MILFORD, MA 10090, EASLEY, SC 10091, SHOFTIEL 10100, RACINE, WI
10089, SOUR 10088, PRIESTESS IRIN 10099, TUESDAY 10079, and ROTTEN 10084.

The least popular fighter this week was AZAZEL 10097. The other ten least popular
fighters were BRIOSES 10129, CHARLIE 10080, AZZUMI 10081, APRIL 10082, RUU 10083,
SISTER SURIEL 10118, MONK SABAOTH 10101, LENEXA, KS 10092, ROTTEN 10084, and TUESDAY
10079.

REALITY SIMULATIONS E-MAIL ADDRESSES

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or any other requests, feel free to send us e-mail to this address:

CSR@REALITY.COM

Thank you. We wish you the best of luck in your games! -- RSI

A NOTE ON MAILMEN

In response to the articles on new fighting styles, those were good, but how can
you forget our most favorite warrior who has a style all his own? The Mailman! To
Duelmasters he is our most sacred person. I mean, how many of you managers out their
have sat down and calculated what day your Duelmasters will arrive and have sat
waiting for it to arrive, while unknown to you, your mailman is fighting away to get
your Duelmasters delivered. Let's review him...
ST - should be around 19. He needs to heft two medium bags, cloth mail armor and
a ton of rubber bands.
CN - 13, give or take a few. He does get bitten by dogs often.
SZ - Any.
WT - At least 10. He often likes to read the mail.
WL - Try about 20. He must endure all kinds of weather.
SP - 16 is good. He needs to run across streets in traffic.
DF - 10 is good. Sometimes he has to carry packages.
This setup should get you a good mailman but they are hard to come by. If you
can come up with any better, diplo me. I am:

Staple Gun
mgr. of Technet (3)
The New Deal (23)

I am currently working on the U.P.S. and Federal Express warriors.

"Strikers R Us"

Greetings, everyone. It is I, Talon, again. I am very glad to see everyone
participating in the arena and sharing their thoughts on styles and strategies. This
turn I will take on the striking attack style, which is certainly one of my favorites.
I believe the striker is one of the easiest styles to run, and one in which no
team should be without. A high-powered striker can diversify and empower your team.
A well run striker can beat any other style, period, at any level in regular
Duelmasters. In arenas where scum TPs are rampant, strikers are just the answer as
they can attack for up to 12 minutes or more. Strikers are versatile. They can do
exceptionally well with a dagger as a weapon or with a halberd. They can do well with
no armor or with plate armor.

Stats:

Biff Primal Solid Perfect

ST 5-21 9-17 13 15
CN 3+ 3+ 6 3
SZ 9-21 3-17 9 5
WT 3-17 17 + 17 21
WL 9-17 13 + 17 15
SP 5+ 5-13 9 8
DF 9+ 9-17 13 17

With the way I design strikers, there are essentially two strikers that evolve.
The BIFF and the PRIMAL. The Biff striker is typically one that is not looking long-
term, but one which I want to run and have fun with. With this striker, I try to have
one stat (wit, will, or deftness) which is extraordinary, one which is average, and
the other ends up being at some non-normal level. Some examples of the Biff are: 10-
10-11-4-17-17-15, 7-11-17-17-11-6-15, 9-5-14-17-11-13-15, 4-8-17-15-13-10-17, and 21-
3-15-21-5-8-11. With these warriors, the emphasis is on having fun and learning more
about the style.
The Primal is essentially a Primus-quality warrior. In this category, the
striker will be designed with stats that most other managers will gasp, "OH MY, WHY
DID YOU MAKE HIM A STRIKER?" It is also the warrior that will be Duelmaster for 8
straight turns and will go to ADM with a 16-4-2 record, with 4 Masters and an Ad Ex.
The key here is to create a warrior with AT LEAST a 17 wit and 15 deftness, along with
a 13+ will and who will do normal damage or better. The goal with the Primal is a 21
wit and 17 deftness, because this will ensure a great warrior.
Weapons and Armor: As for weapons, the best striking weapons that I have found
and used are the dagger, epee, scimitar, broadsword, quarterstaff, greatsword,
longsword, war hammer, and sometimes the short spear. I don't run my strikers with
shields or off-hand weapons, as it takes away from their attack. The heaviest armor I
will use is padded leather. Always wear a steel cap or a helm.

Strategy (general):

Min. 1 2 3 4 5 6+ Desp
OE 10 8 6 6 6 5 5
AL 10 5 4 2 2 1 8
KD 6 8 6 6 6 5 5
attack arms/legs/head -- take your pick
protect arms/legs/head -- take your pick
off tactic decise, slash, bash, depending on weapon
def tactic response is best; try dodge though.

With this strategy, a striker with a normal endurance should fight for eight
minutes as a scum TP and come out on top, outrageously victorious. Just match your
weapon with your tactic and only use the tactics in minute one or desperation.
If you have any further questions on this or any other style, feel free to diplo
me.

Talon, mgr. Eagle's Claw

HOW I MADE DUELMASTER IN THREE EASY STEPS

OR
a new look for Aimed Blows

Greetings and salutations, all. Here's a new twist on aimed blows I haven't seen
before....one that works, at least for me! Here's what I did with Rex Walters, my
first Duelmaster in the Free Blades transfer arena, DM 70.
ST: 17 (for good damage, attack and parry skills)
CN: 13 (gonna need every hit point he can get)
SZ: 4 (smaller the better!)
WT: 4 (overrated for aimed blows!)
WL: 21 (if ya try this method, 17 is a MINIMUM)
SP: 4 (ya want NO speed, none, nothing, zero!)
DF: 21 (better max this one out too, at least a 19)

You laugh at me? I started expert in both attack and parry! (OK, so I got lucky,
I didn't expect either one of em.) But both are in reach with a little luck. Hey, if
ya can get that strength to 21 you're almost guaranteed those experts... though a bit
more CON would be nice.
But how do I RUN this monstrosity, you may ask? Why, I'm glad you inquired!
LOTS of armor. The hit points combined with, say, platemail should win this character
a lot of fights. But, while I've picked up a few easy wins scumming, that's not
really what this character does best.
I use the only weapon Rex is well suited to: the bare hand. With an offhand
small shield or shortsword, so I can take advantage of that expert parry rating. So:
FI-SH, APM-H.
And I run him at a 4 offensive effort, with a matching 4 activity level. He can
last through the initial onslaught of nearly any offensive, then smash them.... like a
good waste. And with that monster endurance and good damage, no one scums this
warrior!
I attack and protect the head, usually, and keep the kill desire high... 5-7
generally. Now, how to become Duelmaster?
Well, step one is fight your first fight... and train your CON. Step two, now
that you're in the arena, is get a fight with an up-and-coming young warrior from the
Duelmaster's team... and kill them. (I randomly matched up with, and killed, a member
of the incoming Duelmaster's team...luck helps, ya know.) Offensives that wear
themselves out but haven't quite dropped are the easiest to kill.
Then, when the Duelmaster comes at you (bragging about how he "only" needs to
beat you twice to assure his ascension to the Isle) you stomp him. Badly. Once
you're on that lofty throne he won't even be able to bloodfeud you, since you can bet
he's not gonna be anywhere near the challenger champions after losing to a 2-fight
warrior (just ask Ciron of ENDS WITH IRON, now in AD).
There are drawbacks, of course. Once you get to that level, odds are you're
gonna get stomped like a stuck pig (I was most challenged 2 turns in a row after this
trick... Oo! I love mixed metaphors...) But... even a 4 wit warrior can learn skills
against gladiators with 50 fights!
Rex is now 7-3-1. All three losses have come against warriors now in AD. In
those ten matches, he's trained his strength and constitution once each, and learned
twenty skills, including his adex in both parry and attack. And boy, is it fun
humiliating some of those "gods" bound for AD!
What else can one do with this warrior? Well, Rex is, get this, well suited to
an off-hand epee! He wouldn't dare use one as a primary weapon, but its a great off-
hand toy...
Does he have what it takes to be a long-term winner? Who knows? He's probably
the DUMBEST aimed blow to ever make Duelmaster... He's in the Challenger Champions and
climbing....and he'll meet ya in AD!
Amazingly enough, this is not an isolated fluke. We entered a similar warrior
into Bloodgames (with the 4's as 3's, and a bit more CON). That warrior, Jalon, is
now in AD after going 9-1-5 and finishing on TOP of his Bloodgames arena.
Ah, just thought I'd mention I have had a second bare-handed Duelmaster, now...
Seeker Still Water in DM 74 is an open-hand lunger, Duelmaster at 8-1... but that's
another story...

--Khyron
mgr., Pitt Gladiators (2,29,56,103)
Jayhawks (70)
Silent Storm (65,74,75)
and numerous others....

THE WALL OF STEEL AS A BERSERKER

This article is for newer players; more experienced managers will, I'm sure, have
much more sophisticated ideas about warrior design and strategy. This will enable a
newbie to design a competent warrior who should be able to achieve a better than 50/50
record.
The wall of steel, or "waste," is often considered the second scummiest style in
Duelmasters. I love the style, but I don't run mine that way; I prefer to think of
the waste as a fierce dervish ripping into his opponent like an airplane propeller.
In accordance with this view, most walls of steel that I design couldn't scum if they
wanted to (well all right, sometimes it happens by accident if the opposing warrior is
going all-out and can't last very long). It's fun to run them fast; they get the jump
on people who don't expect it of them, and their fights are exciting. Mind you, they
don't win as much as if they ran more defensively, but the ones with good stats still
do okay (I'll make practically anything a waste and run it, but this article isn't
about the ones that a sane manager would DA).
So, here is a design for a competent wall of steel:

ST 13+ Needed for endurance, damage doing, and weapon selection.
CN 9+ You need a passably good con for endurance.
SZ 7+ Teeny weenie wastes don't hit hard enough or take enough damage. Real big
(15+) is bad because it hurts endurance.
WT 13+ Preferably 17. Like any other style, the smarter they are, the better.
WL 17+ Needed for endurance, damage-taking, and sheer grit. 21 is recommended.
SP 3+ Whatever.
DF 7+ Higher deftness is better, but you can get by without it.

As you can see, these are fairly easy requirements. Of course, the more wit,
will, and deftness, the better your waste will be (same as any other style). If you
don't end up with at least good endurance on the overview, the warrior probably isn't
going to do very well. With that high will, though, you can bump con a couple of
times and you might get good endurance, so there's still a chance.
Choose your weapons based on deftness, and your opponent's armor weight. I
normally use something like 0-8 SC, 9-12 BS, 13+ GA, backup SC or BS. No shield.
Some other good weapons for the waste are QS (only takes 11 ST, and can hit heavy
armor), MS, and BA. The war flail isn't a very good weapon, but you can play with it
against leather armor. For armor, I usually choose something middling like ARM & H,
but will go with APL & H if he has a lot of con.
For strategy--I heard a rumor (NOT confirmed) that a wall of steel gets a bonus
if his OE equals his KD. Since I don't like to use a kill desire above 6, I don't go
by that in the first couple of minutes. Keep the activity level moderate to low; the
waste doesn't need to jump around a lot and the way he keeps his weapon moving, he's
burning a lot of endurance without that added drain. Attack and defend the arms, like
a slasher; a waste is a sort of parry-slasher. A typical strategy for my wastes might
look like this:

Minute 1 2 3 4 5 6 Desp
Offensive 9 8 7 6 5 5 2
Activity 6 5 4 3 2 1 6
Kill des. 6 6 6 6 5 5 2
Att. loc. RA LA RA LA RA LA RA
Pro. loc. AM AM AM AM AM AM HE
Off tac. none -- -- -- -- -- --
Def tac. -- -- -- -- -- -- P

I play with the numbers a lot, depending on what the warrior seems to like. For
example, if he doesn't parry too well, I'll give him a more offensive desperation
strategy, like 8-4-8-slash. (If I really like a warrior I sometimes use a 7+ KD to
try and save his life.) If he never manages to get the jump on anybody, I'll try
running him more defensively, like with a first minute of 3-6-3. It's not as much fun
as going all out, but it's more fun than losing all the time.
You can challenge pretty much any style (lungers aren't recommended). When
fighting a warrior you know to be very defensive (a TP, or a scummy variety of PS, PR,
PL, or WS), slow down or you will be scummed. For the most part, though, an offensive
waste is very versatile and can beat any style. The better his important qualities
are (WT, WL, DF, endurance), the better the quality of warriors he can defeat. In
other words, if you have a so-so rollup that barely made the minimum requirements,
challenge so-so opponents. If you have a good rollup, go for the gold. Challenge
warriors with a few more fights than you, so you'll learn plenty of skills--but don't
challenge way way up in experience, because it's no fun to lose a good warrior.
For the most part, train skills--especially on your challenge strategy, when
you're going after someone with more fights! And for sure on the first fight, because
you'll likely be matched against someone who can teach you a lot. It's okay to train
con once in a while if you need more endurance and damage-taking; and if you have bad
luck on the rollup and get "does little damage" or something, you might have to train
strength once or twice (no more!). But it's best not to train any other stats until
way, way down the road.
Ask your DM sponsor or any experienced manager in your arena for more advice (if
they tell you I'm full of hot air, they're probably right). A little bit of good
advice from a more advanced player can make a big difference in your enjoyment of the
game!
If you have any questions or suggestions, you can diplo: the She-Puppy, mgr.
Mordant Prison DM-1, and others.