Introduction
First and foremost I’d like to state that I am not an expert. While I used to be pretty damned good at Blood Bowl, I’ve played almost ZERO games of the new edition, with most of my play time coming in the past month as I prepare for a league. You can see one of the many League Update Videos I’ve made on my channel…. HERE!
I say this because I don’t want to give the false idea that I’m speaking from a position of authority. I do NOT have the table time that I do with my Drukhari in 40k, so everything I say is conceptual, and I’m still learning. It is also based on my local play group and is not indicative of what would work in yours, or any other play group.
Really what all of this means is, I’m doing this trial and error, and while I know I can simply “look up” what is “best”, that’s boring, and stagnates play. I’d much rather find things that fit me and my playstyle than just “chase the meta”. I’ve always been an advocate that if you just “git gud” the wins will come, and you’ll be able to play with a lot more options.
I appreciate candor and discussion, however, so if you see something I’ve done, and have a suggestion, make it. And if you see something you’ve not thought of, let me know, and give it a try. I’m heading to Tampa this year to play in the GW Blood Bowl tournament, and I plan on playing Old World Alliance. They seem fun, they seem like they have a high skill floor and a high skill ceiling, which is how I like to play!
The Old World Alliance
I have no clue how new this team is as an official team. I stopped playing not too long before the fire, and didn’t really get back into it until recently. Seriously. Its been probably 2 years since I played a game of Blood Bowl, and I forgot how fucking fantastic this game is. There are quite a few teams that now have official support, from the Bretonnian team effectively becoming the Imperial Nobility to the Underworld and Old World teams, there are plenty of options.
Skill Floor? Skill Ceiling?
What the hell does that even mean? Really its just a fancy way of saying that the team is really hard to use at an effective level, but if you learn how you can do some real damage with it.
The skill floor is high because … well… Fuck rerolls. Amirite? If it isn’t a human player, it is going to have Loner. The dwarf players are 3+, the big guys are 4+, though I suppose the Haflings don’t have it, but the only rerolls I think you’d generally want for them would be on dodge attempts.
So you COULD simply play humans and haflings, but that’s not really why you are playing this team. You like the idea of having some caked-up dorfs clapping meaty cheeks on the line of scrimmage while the Ogre is hafling hucking and your scrawny cather is streaking down the pitch awaiting that bomb from your thrower.
The skill ceiling SEEMS high, and what I mean by that is that if you have a DEEP understanding of the game and how to build your team, it really seems like you can do a variety of things with this team. Granted you are going to be at the mercy of the dice a bit more than your opponents, but hey, you play this team because you want a challenge. If you wanted an easier go at it you’d play some boring undead or elf team.
Click the pic to get yours!
The Positions
There are a lot of options, but also a LOT of limitations. Again, they are interesting, and I love them. I’ve had 2 total games with the team, my 3rd is tomorrow, and happens to be my first match-up into the league. We will see how that goes.
Human Lineman (0-12)
They are cheap. They have average stats, solid armor, and don’t really bring anything to the table other than they are cheap, and get the job done. Most teams linemen are the unsung heroes, taking the brunt of the casualties and holding the line. These are a solid option to have on the team.
Human Thrower (0-1)
Animosity is funny, and is probably going to work like this:
3 straight games it will never be an issue, but that 4th game, in the league championship, he’ll fail EVERY animosity check
Other than that Pass and Sure Hands are clutch. There won’t be many rerolls to go around, (I just don’t see the point in wasting a ton of money in them, since only a few players will actually utilize them) so having reroll skills is important. And I’ve failed enough 3+ pick-ups to appreciate the value in Sure Hands
Human Catcher (0-1)
These fellas are awesome. Sure they are S2, but just like their regular human counterpart they get catch and dodge. Oh and animosity. Oh well. But hey, free rerolls to catch and dodge are handy, and they are fairly cheap. The only real drawback is that you can only take 1
Dwarf Blitzer (0-1)
With a 5 movement, he’s a little slower than most of the team, but armor 10+ and BLOCK. Thick Skull is handy also. Loner 3+, so he’s not getting many rerolls wasted on him. I like this take a lot, I’ll need to play it for a bit to see what skills I like, but I could see dauntless, Guard, Frenzy, Stand Firm, and Mighty Blow all being good for him, depending on what you want his role to be.
Dwarf Blocker (0-2)
Now I’ve heard a lot of people complain because its “worse” than the regular dwarf blocker. By heard, I mean read on a few intro to the team articles. Sure he doesn’t have block, but he still has armor 10+, thick skull, and access to General and Strength skills. So you can give him block if you want. Brawler is interesting. rerolling a single both down result when you block can be a gamble, but statistically it will pay off. And he gets access to a reroll, even if its only 1 die, and only sometimes. Arm Bar is weird. I don’t know how often it will come up, but again, it does seem funny. I could see stand firm working well on him, keeping opponents in his tackle zone so that he can constantly use brawler and constantly try to force Arm Bar into working.
The best part about him, to me, is that you can take 2. I do like this position, but it will take me some time to sort out how to use him.
Dwarf Runner (0-1)
Armor 9+ and movement 6, he’s a bit more expensive than the thrower, but again, I think he’s worth. Thick skull and another Sure Hands player gives you more free-rolls for picking up. I’m not saying you NEEED one, but I just don’t think its a detriment to the team to have one.
Human Blitzer (0-1)
These fellas are still good. Sure they get animosity BUT they have Block, Movement 7, and 9+ armor. Its such a great chassis that lends itself to multiple builds! This, to me, is an auto-take
Troll Slayer (0-1)
I’d take this even if it were terrible. Block, Dauntless, Frenzy, Thick Skull! Chef’s Kiss to having this dummy thicc, caked-up barrel with legs smacking at opponents. Frenzy can be a detriment if you are sloppy with positioning, but if you play it well you’ll be able to chain push opponents right off of the pitch.
Mighty Blow seems to be the auto-take for him, though grab an frenzy could get nasty as well.
Hafling Hopefuls (0-2)
They’re cheap, they’re haflings, and they give you stunty and dodge for some reliable catchers that can out position and screen opponents. You CAN throw them with your big guys, but to me that’s a desperation play (Or a really funny one). You definitely want 1-2. Can always give one Dirty Player if you’re that type of person.
Ogre OR Treeman
You can take one or the other. The Ogre tends to be a little more independent, as if he falls down he’s not stuck having to roll extra dice just to get up (He’ll need his bone head roll still)
Treemen are S6, So they cand really hit hard, and with guard they can be downright nasty BUT all it takes is for that stupid bastard to take root 1 time before you realize that he’s not that hard to game plan around, especially when you only have 1. My preference is the Ogre, but I don’t think either is a bad choice.
My Starting League Roster
Troll Slayer
Ogre
Catcher
Dwarf Runner
Dwarf Blocker
Human Thrower
Human Blitzer
Human Linemen x4
Hafling Hopeful x2
1 Team Reroll
One of my first pick ups will be a dwarf blitzer. I’m not sure how/what I plan to level up, but when I do I’ll let you know!
But Chris! Only 1 Reroll.. You fucking savage!
Nah. I just figure if most of my team needs to roll a loner check just to use it, why even bother having them. Only time will tell if my strategy is sound!
My first game is against Vampires tomorrow. A team I have struggled against historically. Hypnotic Gaze can drink piss. (Not really, its actually a pretty fun match up)
Let me know what you think in the comments!