Casual CSW Blood Bowl League

[Mattias!]

Yeah, I think you can go ahead and add the 40,000 to your treasury. As for the TDs and Casualties, I did not record who got them unfortunately, but I don't mind if you want to just assign the SPPs to your players as you see fit.

I did some poking around in my leadpile and found that I really have quite a few teams to paint and/or convert! I've got:

Goblins
Undead
High Elf
Pro Elf
Ogres
Dwarves
Vampires
Chaos

[Michael S.]

Hello Mattias,
Thanks, I added the 40,000 to my team treasury. What I can do for the TD and Casualties is the next time I use this team I can use the numbered chits that come with the game to randomly assign them to my players. Yes it does look like you have your work cut out for you with all those teams.
See you on the gridiron,
Michael

[Jackswift]

Might be interested. Will see what I can put together for a team. Won't be for a month or two. Have never played though so new to the rules.

[Jackswift]

Have a chaos dwarf army in the works. Looking forward to playing.

[Mattias!]

Had another great game last night between the Manglers and the Gouged-Eye.

It was a beautiful day for bloodbowl and the stands were packed with Manglers fans, giving them a significant home field advantage. The Monks of Melee opted to receive to start the game. Thanks to the grace of Nuffle, in spite of a fierce blitz defense from the orc team, the Manglers were able to execute a picture-perfect drive off of a short pass, giving #7 Catcher Smit his first career touchdown! The orcs then had a tough row to hoe to try and get a touchdown before the end of the first half, but the Manglers defense held and the Gouged Eye settled for a few stiff blocks before the whistle.

The Gouged Eye received to open the second half and the holy brothers of bash were in for some penitence as despite their best efforts the orc offense ground them into the dirt, seriously injuring the human's first string thrower #1 Ober Underwald. A couple of unfortunate turnovers with half their players eating grass meant that Gouged Eye Blitzer Mug was able to stroll into the endzone and equalize the game.

This left only three turns in the half for the Manglers to play for the win, and to make things worse the weather turned VERY SUNNY, making a long passing plan more difficult to execute. They instead stacked the right side with blitzers to break a running path forward, bravely headed by rising star #5 Neil Tudorgroyne, who managed to badly hurt an opposing lineman. They were able to get the ball deep in the orc half of the pitch before the orcs blitzed down the ball carrier. However, a couple of lucky bounces put the ball within reach once more of Catcher Smit's catcher's mit, who jumped on it and sprang into the endzone just before the final whistle (after his blitzer teammates flattened everyone in the way).

On the human side, with his two TDs, Catcher Smit really showed his stuff and picked up the Block skill as a result. #5 Neil Tudorgroyne picked up the Strip Ball skill. Blitzer #3 Eberhardt Everhard was awarded MVP in recognition of his clutch support in the final turns of the game, which allowed for the winning touchdown. He didn't skill up this game, but we look forward to what he has to offer the club.

Both teams earned enough gold over the course of this three game series to hire Big Guys for their teams; a new Troll for the Gouged Eye, and a new Ogre--Brother Prodigious Gloat--for the Fightin' Friars of Synnetownne Abbey.

It was a nailbiter there at the end and an excellent game. Thanks Mike!

Updated roster here:

[Eilif]

I just noticed the nice writeups for your games. Can I just paste that into a blog post.

Michael has sent me 4 pictures of this week's game. Do either of you have pictures of the previous game. I think 2 games and 8 pics or so would be a good post.

[Mattias!]

I just noticed the nice writeups for your games. Can I just paste that into a blog post.

Michael has sent me 4 pictures of this week's game. Do either of you have pictures of the previous game. I think 2 games and 8 pics or so would be a good post.

Yeah cut and paste away! Unfortunately I don't have any pics though. Too focused on the end zone I guess

[Eilif]

Thanks! Lots of good copy to work with here and Micheal had sent me a few pics from each game.

Would either or both of you like to briefly comment on the rules you choose and what you like about them.

[Mattias!]

Would either or both of you like to briefly comment on the rules you choose and what you like about them.

Absolutely!
We opted to use the LRB6/CRP rules (i.e., Living Rulebook version 6/Competition Rules Pack (2010)), which was the fan-supported version of the game before GW re-launched in 2016. I like these mainly because they were what was in use when I first came to the game back in 2011, and they were what was used for the three Chaos Cups that I attended (which is where I played the majority of my BB games 'til now.) Also, they were completely free.

By contrast, the 2016 version was expensive and only really tweaked the core rules--apart from a few small changes, they were largely the same. My understanding is that the 2020 "second season" edition has made more fundamental changes. I don't know much about what those changes are except one, which is that a coach can use any number of re-rolls in a turn as they like. In LRB6/CRP, and I believe all previous versions of the game, rerolls were restricted to 1 per turn, which meant that they had to be dolled out very carefully. I really don't like this change in concept, and along with the price tag it is enough to sour me against the new version entirely, but maybe that's just me being a grognard.

There's also something that rubs me wrong about GW abandoning such a beloved game, only to return to it after realizing they can still profit off of it. I can't help but feel like they were able to "re-launch" Blood Bowl in no small part because a community of loving fans kept it alive for them, and perhaps even did the work of re-popularizing it*. Changing that game so they can then re-sell it back to those fans feels like salt in the wound.

Sure, there are a bunch of new teams and things now, but for my money LRB6 was/is possibly THE best gaming experience I've ever had. I know it's not perfect--there are aspects (like the skill combination of Claw/Piling On/Mighty Blow) that could come close to breaking the game in very extended league play, but any game will have SOME balance issues--and I'm sure the new version is no exception. I'll just stick with the PDF I have.

*Looking back at the Chaos Cup final rankings through the years https://chaoscup.com/hall-of-champions, the 2010 Chaos Cup (the last event run by GW) had only 34 coaches participating. By 2015, the last year before the game's re-launch, that number had more than doubled to 76. By 2020 (the last year for which I can find published standings, and possibly the last one hosted in the Chicago area) it was back down to around 50. I know this doesn't prove anything on its own about the game's popularity and who is responsible for it, but it feels at least relevant.

***I should note Mike and I have been using one house rule for MVP selection. In Rules as-written, The game MVP for each team is selected randomly from the entire team. Instead, we play that the coach selects three players from their team and then randomly selects between those three.***

[Mattias!]

The bells of Synnetowne Abbey tolled the loss of two brave bloodbowlers this week, giving a poignancy to the victory pennants that normally flutter so gaily after a Manglers victory.

The Manglers faced off against the Gouged Eye once more in this exhibition series, and at the outset it looked like it would be a fantastic game for the mighty monks. After kicking off to the orcs, the human defense put up stellar pressure. Blitzer #3, Eberhardt Everhard badly hurt an opposing lineman, and eventually forced a fumble from the offence. Fan Favorite #5, Neil Tudorgroyne dodged into the fray, scooped up the ball, and completed a pass to Blitzer #4, Stuttgart Strangl, who walked it into the endzone in the final seconds of the first half.

The second half saw things turn to trial for the holy ballers. In spite of Ogre #2 Prodigious Gloat's debut anchoring the human line, several players were knocked out in the first half. The Manglers were left short-handed to mount their offence. This was made even harder when a brutal block smashed lineman #12, Swif Uppercut Jr., to the pitch for the last time. Even still, with craft, patience, and sheer faith, the remaining players put up an impressive drive in Swif's name. Unfortunately, however, the losses mounted and their push ground to a halt in the face of a seeming impenetrable wall of orc fists. Things went from bad to worse then, as the orcs blitzed down the Mangler's ball-carrier, recovered the ball, and then pushed Blitzer #6, Spiek Pfiste, into the Gouged Eye section of the crowd. He was unable to recover from the orc fans rowdy reception and perished from his wounds.

Fortunately for the Fightin' Friars, there wasn't enough time left in the half for the Gouged Eye to get the equalizing touchdown, and the final whistle sounded with the score 1-0 in favor of the Manglers--but naturally, the celebrations were muted.

It was a painful reminder that Nuffle gives, and Nuffle takes away. Though the club can take some comfort in the fact that the winnings from the match were enough to recruit a new Blitzer, #6 Flint Locque, to replace the fallen Strangl. We pray that his career be a long one.

Meanwhile, a funeral mass (closed casket) was held for Stuttgart and Swif. They were interred in the baller's field, the cemetery consecrated specifically for the Abbey's fallen athletes. Their jerseys were hung above the chancel of the Abbey's chapel, alongside legends from the club's past: Bobby Yore; Swain Regretsky; Tragic Monson.

Updated roster here:

And some pictures showing the ill-fated Manglers second half offence: