[Top 5] Retro Bowl Best Team Setups

Updated:

11 Apr 2024

What are the best roster constructions in Retro Bowl? It’s not easy to say. In Retro Bowl, just like in real football, there are many ways to construct a roster, some better than others. However, if you look closely, you’ll see that there are a handful of roster constructions that are more effective than the rest.

1) Balanced Team Comp (1QB, 1RB, 2WR, 2TE, 1K, 1DL, 1LB, 1DB)

Let’s call this the “Balanced” team construction, because it’ll give you a great balance of offensive weapons. This gives you good pass catching weapons, a quarterback to distribute the ball, a running back to pound the rock, and a kicker for last second kicks.

This is an excellent team composition to go for if you want a high powered, balanced passing attack. Your WRs and TEs will provide three quality routes ran on every play, which will make it so that you can air it out. Try to maintain a good balance of a passing and running attack, to keep the defense on their toes.

Balanced Team Strengths:

A Balanced team will have no major weaknesses
A Balanced team will have a wide variety of offensive weapons
A Balanced team will have an elite defense, given each player is a five star player

How a Balanced Team Works:

A Balanced team will seek to have a balanced passing and running game
Get quick receivers, who will be able to stretch the field and beat safeties
Get a good pass catching, fast running back who can catch passes out of the backfield
Make use of your tight ends for underrated routes, the straight line routes are particularly powerful
Your kicker may seem superfluous, but he’ll get you out of jams in a pinch

2) Power Run Team Comp (1QB, 1RB, 1WR, 1TE, 3OL, 1DL, 1LB, 1DB)

This allows you to control the line of scrimmage and get strong pushes. You can still have three quality passing targets, but the OL strength will increase the time you can pass, as well as create running lanes for your running back. This team excels at controlling the time of possession, allowing you to effectively burn clock to close out games. However, you should only attempt this strategy if you have access to a five star elite running back - a weak running back with this strategy will only result in pain.

Power Run Strengths:

Run the clock! Pound the rock and burn the clock, control when the game ends
Fatigue the defense, run more and more plays which will exhaust the defense
Utilize your powerful O-line to let your receivers routes develop

How a Power Run Team Works:

Bomb it deep! Your power run will set up your passing game
Get a strong running back! He needs to be able to stiff arm people into oblivion
Your quarterback will have more time to throw the ball because of your strong offensive line - that’s a great way to change up pace and punish defenses
Your tight end will also help block for your running back. This is all about creating and using running lanes.
Learn to stiff arm! Don’t just assume getting a strong running back will be enough, you need to master the technique.

3) Safety First Team Comp (2QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1DL, 1LB, 1DB)

This team won’t do anything special, but you will always be able to implement your gameplan. You’ll have a constant stream of quality players, so one injury won’t derail your game or your season. There’s nothing worse than losing a player for weeks to an injury just knowing that you’ll lose the entire time - this prevents that.

Your strategy will be similar to a balanced team, but you’ll have to adjust to a lack of resources, especially from the lack of those juicy reliable TE routes. You’ll need to get your bread and butter passes down, but if you do that you’ll have an excellent, reliable base for a team.

Safety First Team Strengths

Redundancy is the key strength of the team, everyone has a backup
You can carry different types of players on your team, not just one type per position
Defense! With a five star player in every defensive position, you’ll have the best defense available in Retro Bowl

How a Safety First Team Works

Focus on your bread and butter. Your team won’t be able to do anything fancy, so make sure your fundamentals are solid.
Don’t bother investing in rehab facilities all the way - you’re spending resources on injury mitigation via roster slots, don’t also spend coaching credits on it
Dump off the ball to your running back - you won’t have any tight ends, don’t limit yourself to just your wide receivers
Use your backup slots to stash young players you want to keep and develop
Make sure you’re throwing to both receivers on both sides of the field

4) Route Development Team Comp (1QB, 1WR, 5OL, 1DL, 1LB, 1DB)

The weaknesses of this team comp are many: you can’t run the ball, you only have one target, and your offense is literally one dimensional. However, as this experiment from Kofie Yeboah and Jon Bois shows, there is something to a team that only focuses on one weapon. This team, inspired by that very fumble dimension episode, is focused on letting your receiver have as much time to develop his route as possible. Behind five hosses on the offensive line, your quarterback will be safe from injury and have more time to throw than anyone else.

Route Development Team Strengths

Time in the pocket, which will allow you to throw the ball better
A perfect defense! Just get a five star player in every defensive slot
Great for running quarterbacks

How a Route Development Team Works

Let one dominant wide receiver carry your team - just let the offensive line give you the time
Use your quarterbacks legs - don’t think that you can’t run the ball just because you don’t have a running back
Don’t upgrade your OL’s speed, save that for last. It does literally nothing for you. This is even more important with this team, given that you have five linemen.
Get a quarterback with a big arm, you’ll want to make sure every pass you do get off gets you chunk yardage.
Invest in an excellent DB - making turnovers will be key to the success of this team.

5) Cupcake Team Comp (1RB, 1K, 1DL, 1LB, 1DB)

Now for one that’s a true challenge for only the most experienced Retro Bowl players. This team is an homage to the franchise modes in 2000’s Madden titles, where you could pick a “cupcake” team to rebuild. These “Cupcake” teams would have only one good player, just as you have only one good player to control - your running back. It’ll be you and your juking, stiff arming, and route running against the world. For extra challenge, try this one on expert difficulty, try and break the game so you can make it win.

Cupcake Team Strengths:

This is a great challenge for experienced players
A cupcake team is a way to increase the difficulty of the game after you’ve mastered it
Try playing on extreme for an increased challenge!

How a Cupcake Team Comp Works

The challenge is to win any game, it will be the ultimate test of your retro bowl skills. Play on extreme for a real challenge!
Use your running back wisely, he’s the focus on the challenge
Learn to utilize dump off passes to your running back
Don’t abandon wide receivers, even no-star receivers can still move the chains
Don’t forget your kicker! It’s the only other bit of grace you get, but it will allow you to kick game winning field goals when you have just a few seconds left

So, between these excellent team comps, every player is sure to find something they can use. If you’re looking for a leg up on the competition, or even just a fun challenge for a game you’ve mastered, try one of these. Variety is the spice of life, and even if you think you know everything about the game, trying to play it a different way might just show you something new.