Are you tired of all the articles on the so-called Un-scum TPs and kill-at-will strikers? While I always appreciate input from more experienced managers, it seems some of the best styles are completely passed over when the articles come out in the last couple pages of the newsletters. In this case, the lunger. In the first ten fights of my arena, lungers held an average of 55% wins, and had a kill rate second to strikers, tying with bashers (if killing is your goal). Experienced managers agree, starting with offensive styles benefits newbies, because they tend to be a little easier to run and more consistent at lower levels play.
In way of disclaimer, I'm by no means a mega-manager. I've been at this for a little over two years, and don't have a record that you'd write home about. This is because I do a lot of experimenting, DAing even a good fighter, just to try something new. Though I haven't run a lot of lungers, I have learned that they tend to do best with a fairly even spread of stats.
ST: Usually somewhere between 9-13, 13 is nice because it lets you use the long spear (an obviously superior lunging weapon), but 9 or 11 can free up the points for other stats, if need be.
CN: While everyone will tell you to never put points here, this is a style which, like the TP, can benefit from decent constitution. Try not to go any lower than 9, with something in the 13 range preferably. Given you can train this without skill loss, a 10 works all right, though you're going to have to finish your foes in the first minute.
SZ: 9 is all you need for any of the weapons, but it seems hard to get a good damage rating with anything under a 12.
WT: I've gotten some good bases with as low as a 12, and a 17 didn't seem to improve them appreciably. 15's seem to do pretty fair. Granted, given the quickness of their fights--if they're run right--they may take a little while to develop.
WL: As with con, you're going to need that drive and endurance. A 12 con, 12 will gives normal endurance, and even will as high as 17 doesn't seem to give them all that much more stamina, so again, I'd say in the range of 15.
SP: I'm an advocate of the low speed school, overall, and I've had them as low as a 7 with some decent response, but an 11+ is better, and they make use of speed better than most, given wit and deftness to use it.
DF: Again, 11+, I've heard that lungers favor the legs as a target, so you need to be able to hit a reasonably small, mobile target.
The really nice thing about lungers is their spread of skill bases. I've had four decent lungers, who ran in the .500 range, and probably could have done a lot better if I'd pegged their rhythm. My best overall spread of skills came from a 13-10-9-15-15-11-11, with 50% in initiative and attack, 30% parry, 35% defense and 20% riposte. I've had them go as high as 60% in riposte (9-15-8-15-13-11-13), but with no parry, it was sort of useless.
As one of the highest endurance burns in the game, obviously, the strategy is the key, and the one place I must admit lacking. I know the armor can make a big difference for them, so you want to go as low as possible, naked if you think you can get away with it. Like a striker, you really don't want to get hit at all. I usually run them hi-hi-mod (with exception of some of my defensives, I always run a 5-8 KD). Unlike strikers and bashers, they don't seem to respond as well to the hi-lo-hi in the later part of the fight. The weapons for a lunger are pretty obvious; epee, longsword, short spear, or long spear. If you build one with less strength and con, you can boost the speed and deftness enough to make the epee standards, but given my experience with their damage ratings, I'd advise against it. As I noted in the beginning, an even spread seems to work well, and one of my first ever was 13-12-12-12-12-12-11, with 65% ini, 35% att, 15% rip, 15% def. No godling, by any means, but could do some wicked things with that longspear, and very nearly won his DA match.
Again, I make no claims as being a great manager, only one with a lot of time on his hands, and one who saw a notable lack of info on what I consider to be one of the best potential styles in the game. Their flashy style can lead to great gains in the popularity and recognition, and their well spread skills can probably lead to great things in development. I would greatly welcome any form of questions, comments or complaints, and particularly other managers experience with this--or for that matter any other--style. Good fighting.
-- Elder Snorri, The Aesir (22), Miroi Chang (DM 79)