Wulf Space Jam – Match 4: Vs Ragnarite Pythons (Norse)

Match 3

Match 5

Our trip through the Shamoose Invitational Championship has gone pretty good so far. Three 2-0 victories, acquired by fighting tooth, hoof and horn for it. So it’s kinda depressing to look at the division stats for the previous matches and see that the computer teams somehow managed a couple of 6-3 results. That’s 9 TDs in 16 turns, and I have no idea how they pulled it off. I suspect the computer is cheating and doctoring the results.

Well, we’ll now be facing a Norse team, the Ragnarite Pythons, and honestly I’ve not gone up against the Norse very often either. I know that all of their regular players start with Block, with the exception of the Werewolves and the Yhetee. And they’re good at punching, but have pretty low armour values so they can’t really take a punch.

They lost against Southstorm Squig Chasers, won against Bugmans Best and won against Arnheim Seahawks, the High Elf team whom we will face last in division 4, i.e. next time.

As usual, let’s start by taking a look at their team roster.

No huge surprises or upsets here, really. Every class except Runner and Yhetee have a level 3 player, which is sorta bullshit, but nothing we can’t handle, especially since none of them seem to have had great rolls when leveling up. No stat increases, or unusual skills. And the Yhetee is still level 1, which I appreciate.

He has Frenzy, Wild Animal and Loner like Auluff, and then there’s Claw. This means he only needs a roll of 8 on Armour to break it, meaning he can easily injure those he knocks down. We should also be aware of Disturbing Presence, and make sure he’s not close-by when we try to pick up the ball.

There are two Werewolves, though one is level 1, so only has Frenzy, and is not a huge threat to our Dorfs. There’s still the Strength 4 to be aware of, of course, so we might need Puttymaker and Auluff to stay on top of these guys. This level 3 one has Block though, and Guard, something neither Auluff or Pink have. So we might just have to surround him with Dorfs. While fast enough, with Agility 2 we shouldn’t be too worried about these guys taking the ball.

This guy should be kept away from our ball carrier at all costs. Strip Ball is amazingly annoying, especially since none of our Hobgoblins have Sure Hands. And even though the other Berserker is just level 1, they both have Jump Up, meaning that knocking them down won’t necessarily slow them down. Their stats are very average though, so they shouldn’t last long in a brawl, even with Block.

I am not sure why the Runners come equipped with Dauntless, but these guys will most likely be the ball carriers for the Norse. If we can, we should try to have a Dorf intercept them, since even this guy with Dodge won’t have a chance, but I’m aware that with Movement Allowance 7 that might not be possible. Kinda wish we had a second Bull Centaur about now.

Something about seeing an enemy player with Leader makes me want to murder them horribly. I will try to refrain from doing anything stupid, but I will go for this one if I get the chance. They seem to have set him up as the guy to pick up the ball, and with Pass he might well succeed at throwing it as well. Whether his target will be able to catch it is another story. The other Thrower is just level 1, but still has Pass, so should be kept an eye on.

And here we have the footsoldiers. They have a total of five Linemen, two of which are leveled up. Both of them have been given Dauntless, and this one has Fend as well, meaning we can’t follow up. I think that even cancels out Frenzy, so he won’t be Auluff’s main target.

Compared to the earlier matches, I am feeling remarkably non-worried here. Which does kinda worry me, as that would be the perfect match for us to suffer our first loss. It would have been really handy for Pink to have Block here, but ah well.

Topic of the Day: Leveling Up

Last time we spoke about the sought-after Star Player Points and how to get them. This time we’ll talk about what they’re used for. Namely; leveling up. Getting to level 2 is fairly cheap, but the cost ramps up exponentially from there.

To reach:

Level 2 – 6 SPP
Level 3 – 16 SPP
Level 4 – 31 SPP
Level 5 – 51 SPP
Level 6 – 76 SPP
Level 7 – 176 SPP

Those familiar with the board-game might notice this differs somewhat from that. First off level 7 is 176, rather than 126, and I think level 7 is max in the videogame. If I’m wrong, I’m sure someone will yell at me. And there’s no aging roll.

So what can you get when you level up? Well, a 2D6 is rolled, and on a result of 2-9 you get to pick a new skill; a 10 will let you choose +1 MA, +1 AV or a skill; an 11 will let you choose +1 AG or a skill; a 12 will let you choose +1 ST or a skill.

If you look at your players’ detail screen, the five skill categories will be listed in the top left: Mutation, Strength, General, Agility and Passing. These will be marked with Normal, Double or No (the latter usually reserved for the players that can’t be mutated). Normal means you’ll always be able to pick a skill from this category when you level up. Double means that if you get a double result (two 1s, two 2s, two 3s, etc) you’ll be able to pick a skill from this category when you level up. If you are lucky enough to get a double, you might want to take the chance to get an unusual skill. No means you’ll never get to pick a skill from here.

Leveling up also increases the player’s value, and with it your team value. Player value is based on their cost. As our Chaos Dorf Blockers cost 70 000, their starting value is listed on the roster as 70.

A new Normal skill gives +20 value.
A Double skill gives +30 value.
+1 MA or +1 AV gives +30 value.
+1 AG gives +40 value.
+1 ST gives +50 value.

Hint of the Day

Did you know: You can Blitz players right next to you? While you’d normally use Blitz to attack someone who isn’t right next to you, you can also just click the Blitz button in the right-hand vertical bar, and then attack an enemy player right next to you.

There are basically two main reasons to do this. One is if you want to knock an enemy out of the way, and still be able to move afterwards. A player who is Blitzing does not automatically end his turn by blocking an enemy, and can move to the end of their MA and even do go-for-its after blocking. A good way to score that Touchdown you’re craving, perhaps?

The other could be if you have a skill that gives you certain benefits when Blitzing, like Horns which grants +1 Strength while Blitzing, or Juggernaut which negates Fend, Stand Firm and Wrestle, and can treat Both Down as Pushed, while Blitzing.

– – – MATCH BEGINS! – – –

They have a team value of 1570, which I was somewhat surprised by. Compared to our 1260, that gives us 310 000 GP to spend on inducements. I figure we’ll go safe and get one Wandering Apothecary, and two Extra Re-rolls. Pretty much everything they have is faster than us, so yeah.

And we are up in the Norselands *again*. Fucking fantastic. At least it’s appropriate this time, as they are set as the home team. Ah well, I’ve picked up a little trick that I can mouse over the dice-log button to make the whole box easy to read.

And for the first time we’re encountering non-standard weather. It’s raining, which means the ball will be slippery. All catches, intercepts and pick-ups will suffer a -1 penalty to their rolls. Not ideal for my plan for today, but I’m gonna go ahead with it anyway. More on that later.

We are graciously allowed to pick the coin toss again, and are presented with this screen.

While we can’t actually say “tails never fails”, at least it didn’t fail this time. Which means that not only do we get to receive the ball, but we get to set up our team after they’ve set up theirs, which is nice too. We might be able to get some nice, early damage in.

I do remember to hit G and double N to get the grid and player names this time, and we set up the standard formation. Auluff goes in the middle against Dragmáll Frostmane the Yhetee (gods, the spelling on these names seems less Norse and more how people who have no clue think Norse spelling would be), Alexander goes to his right, and Silas to his left, both now equipped with Guard. Jar takes the left edge of the frontline, and Brutus the right edge. Then Darken covers the left flank and Jay-P has the right. Pink goes into Blitz position behind Auluff, and the three Hobs are set back to cover the back field.

With everyone back on the field now, we actually have a reserve. Here’s where my plan comes in. Bran will come in for the first half, and aim to score a Touchdown, since he already has 3 SPP from the first match. More leveled up Hobgoblins are good. Lovecrafter will be going out as a reserve. Would be nice to get him leveled up as well eventually, but he has 0 SPP as of now. Maybe next game.

I’ve noticed some confusion around how reserves work in Blood Bowl. I might make that the next Hint of the Day, but let me mention it briefly here as well. If you look at that screenshot, you will see a name in the top right. Clicking on that, and then clicking on one of your players on the field will swap them. Your reserves are otherwise invisible until the drive starts, and then you can see them on the sidelines.

The ball flies, and… we get our Kick-Off Event! Brilliant Coaching, which earns our team an extra re-roll. That’s six re-rolls. With the rain, we’ll probably need them.

Turn 1

The ball lands perfectly between Bran and Physik, and bounces right below mister Bowie. Perfect position to attempt the pick-up, but first, what sort of damage can we do? Auluff rolls against Dragmáll.

Putting players with Wild Animal on the ground is very helpful, so I’m happy. Jar smacks down Agni, and then Brutus tries against Vigfússgeirr. You know what, I’m just gonna call him Vig from now on. The best he can do is a Both Down, so Alexander tries as well. Pushed and Both Down. Right. Well, I don’t really want to let these guys get away from me, so Both Down it is.

I still have my Blitz, and I’m pondering whether to let Darken or Jay-P use it, as they both have 4 SPP. In the end I go for Jay-P. I send Pink up to Drífta to assist, and then have Jay-P Blitz up. It’s a Defender Down!

Jay-P jumps and headbutts Drífta with the spiky rim of his helmet, and fractures the Runner’s skull. The Norse coach brings the Apothecary on the field, but as you can see the best the quack can offer is to put Drífta out of his misery. So the Fractured Skull is kept, 1 AV is lost, and next game is missed. Good job, Jay-P! You now have 6 SPP.

I send Darken up to tie up Geirrólfr (seriously what is up with these names?) and Silas moves up one square so Agni gets up into a tackle-zone. Then we move the Hobs into position, and Bran goes for the pick-up. Argh! A 2! Okay, re-roll. Another 2?!

This is not helping… alright, time to see what the Rags can do. Seriously though, the dice-logs shortens their team to RAG. We’re SPA. So I’ll be calling them the Rags from now on. (And of course Chaos Dwarves go to the spa. How else would they get such finely groomed beards?)

Dragmáll is asked to get up, but he rages out instead. Getting up without a Blitz is a 4+ roll for a player with Wild Animal. (He also rolls a 2, so he must have picked the same die as Bran.) Hrafn the Lineman moves down to Jar, and so does Hálfdanfiâr the Berserker. I think Hálfdan will do for future reference. Then Rakr the Werewolf Blitzes our mister Entropy.

A KO? Oh come on! Bloody Norsemen. They don’t even have proper werewolves. Look at that lack of snout, and no Regeneration on offer. Pitiful.

Then Afi the other Norsewolf moves down next to Auluff and Alexander, and Grettir the Berserker moves down next to Brutus and Pink. Vig attempts to knock down Alexander, but only manages a push. Good. Another KO might have caused a rage-quit. Maybe.

Bersi comes down to assist Geirrólfr, and Darken is knocked flat, unfortunately. I won’t be getting him back up until I can clear up that position. Being knocked into the crowd is hazardous.

Turn 2

Okay, we can still salvage this. Brutus tries and fails to knock down Grettir, and then we have Auluff go after Vig. Double Pushed. Well, that’s alright, we have Frenzy. Double Attacker Down?! Ngh… I was hoping to save the re-roll for picking up the ball, but I guess I have to burn it now.

Loner proc?! Why hast thou forsaken me, Nuffle? Was my sacrifice not good enough? Auluff goes down, but luckily his armour holds. It’s still a Turnover though, and a chance for the Rags to screw us over.

Geirrólfr, Rakr and Hrafn all move down close to the Hobs and the ball, but actually not getting into anyone’s tackle-zones. Curious, but good for us. Hálfdan moves over to Jay-P, and Vig, the rotten bastard, stuns our mister Hurtington.

Afi knocks down Alexander with his Frenzy, Grettir ties up Pink and then Agni tries to dodge away from Silas.

And promptly gets knocked flat. That’s a KO, and a Turnover. Good riddance.

Turn 3

Darken is now free to get up, and Alexander too. Then I contemplate how to get Auluff up. The Wild Animal works against us as surely as it does Dragmáll (who is still down, it should be noted). Do I really want to burn my Blitz on this?

Thanks to Auluff’s Horns, that’s a three-dice, though since I got two Defender Downs, I didn’t really need it. Vig goes down, and Brutus is now free to go say hello to Hálfdan. Pink can get a two-dice vs Grettir, and though it’s still a bit risky since the Berserker has Block, I go for it. That’s another Defender Down, and a Stun! Excellent.

Right… picking up the ball actually seems like the least risky thing to do now, so I try it.

Of all the worst… phew. At least the re-roll worked this time. Got a 6, so I guess Nuffle had his fun. None of the Hobs are in tackle-zones, so I move Bran up to the left side. I don’t really want to put any of them in tackle-zones either, so I risk a go-for-it, which succeeds with the very least margin it could. Physik and Sumanai form a half-cage towards the Norsemen, and I try to see what else I can do to make things safer. Nothing really, so I have Alexander try a one-die vs Afi. It results in a Both Down, and annoyingly this Norsewolf has Block. Ah well, I tried.

Hrafn moves back towards our end-zone, possibly in anticipation of them getting the ball. Geirrólfr moves around the cage, as expected, and then puzzlingly puts himself next to both Bran and Physik. Maybe he’s afraid I’d Blitz and push him out of bounds next turn? Rakr Blitzes against Sumanai, which produces a result I’d never before seen, or even knew was possible.

You might think he just rolled Attacker Down on his follow-up, but no. He first got two Both Down, used a re-roll, got Pushed and Defender Stumbles. Sumanai has Dodge though, so he could only push him. And the Norsewolf has Frenzy, so he’s forced to follow-up. But! That apparently uses from his Movement Allowance. Which he’d already spent. So he had to go-for-it. Which failed. So now they have a Stunned Norsewolf, and Physik can get a two-dice against the remaining Runner.

Turn 4

Right. Risk assessment. Having Auluff attack Vig should be largely risk-free, and probably fun, so let’s do that. Yus, Defender Down.

Hahaha. Vig got his comeuppance, and I don’t have to worry about spelling his name again. No long-term effect, but Auluff does now have 6 SPP, which is excellent. That means they’re actually down three players already.

Brutus can do a one-die against Hálfdan, and I figure that it’s fairly safe with Block in the picture. I get Both Down, and nothing was gained or lost. Fair enough. I could have assisted with Pink, but I have another plan for him. Time to see how great the Sprint + Sure Feet combo really is. I move to the end of his MA, and do one go-for-it. Safe. Another. Still safe. One more.

Sure Feet saved the day! Okay, time for Physik to throw that two-dice, even though Geirrólfr has Block. It’s a Defender Stumbles! And the Runner is Stunned! Muahahahaha! Bran is free to run for it. I move Sumanai up to help Darken push Bersi out of the way, before moving Bran up between them.

Finally Alexander one-dies Afi to the ground, and I can hand over the turn.

Those who aren’t Stunned get up, and Dragmáll knocks down Silas. Hálfdan moves up to tie down Sumanai, and then Bersi dodges away from Darken and Blitzes into Bran. It’s a red two-dice, but…

Accursed Block. It takes some deliberation, but in the end I’d rather fall straight down than be pushed back as well. Luckily it’s a simple knockdown, so we’ve not lost yet.

Turn 5

Okay, time to get these Norsemen out of the way. Pink Blitzes Hálfdan, and pushes him out of the way, so Darken is free to punch Bersi. This allows Bran to get up and pick up the ball, even though it burns another re-roll. So be it. I move him away from the edge and have Sumanai block off the lower side. Pink’s positioning means they won’t get in from the side either, and they don’t really have many players in their own half of the field.

I manage to move Auluff down to tie up Hrafn, though I have to risk a go-for-it. Luckily the Minotaur is sure enough on his feet to roll a 3. Last thing I really can do is have Jay-P move in to the centre, Brutus push Afi to box him in further and Physik move up to help defend the ball.

Their players get up, Rakr moves up, and allows Hálfdan to knock over Physik. Curses. That does mean he can’t move closer though. Then Dragmáll attacks Alexander. He somehow still gets a two-dice in that cluster.

Alexander will have none of it, and knocks the Yhetee down so hard he scores a critical success against its armour and Stuns it. (I’d call double 6s a critical success at least.)

Turn 6

Brutus pushes Afi some more, Darken Stuns Bersi, and Bran runs further up the field. I have Pink and Sumanai follow to form another half-cage, which should be good enough in this circumstance.

I try to get Auluff to attack Hrafn, but he rages out and I don’t care to risk a re-roll versus his Loner again. I’m fairly certain players who rage out due to Wild Animal still keep their tackle-zones, unlike with Bonehead and Really Stupid.

That’s really all I can do, so I hand the turn over.

With the help of Rakr and Grettir, Afi is able to knock down Alexander. Hrafn dodges away from Auluff and runs up to the left side. Then they just move around a little and end the turn.

Turn 7

Our scoring is pretty much guaranteed now, barring any Turnovers. I know I probably shouldn’t be risking stuff right now, but I still want to punch someone, damn it.

Hrafn is nicely in place for a Blitz, but since I’d rather have SPP than knock him out of bounds, I have Darken come at him from the top. It’s sadly just a knock-down. I get Physik up, since Hálfdan ran away for some reason last turn. I also try to have Auluff move up to support the middle Dorfs against the Norsewolves, but he’s still too angry.

Alexander gets up to annul Afi’s assistance, but Jay-P can still just get one die against Grettir, even with Brutus’s assist. Unless the Yhetee can somehow annul assists from a prone position, I attribute this to the game glitching out on me and leave it. Instead I move Pink down so Jay-P gets two-dice against Afi instead. Defender Stumbles will do.

That’s Jay-P’s second injury caused this match, and the Rags lost their star Norsewolf. Good job!

This lets Brutus knock over Grettir with little trouble, and with nothing else to do, Bran can just run!

I had this worry that this game was the one we’d be trashed in, since I didn’t feel as worried as I did with the other teams, and those went pretty good. Seems my fears were unfounded.

Okay, time for the KO rolls. Agni gets up, but Jar doesn’t. You’d better get up for Half-time, or so help me…

Not much to change about the formation. Sumanai takes Jar’s place, as Dodge is almost as good as Block. Lovecrafter comes on, and I set all Hobs into more offensive positions. While a two-turn TD is unlikely from the Norse, I won’t rule it out. Physik takes the kick!

They’re allowed to move one square, which actually could have put Bersi in catching position for the ball, but they choose not to, for whatever reason.

First thing that happens once their turn truly starts is that Rakr Blitzes Jay-P.

Bloody Norsewolf. Okay, it’s just a KO, and it’s almost Half-time, which will hopefully get him back up. It sucks to be down two Chaos Dorfs, but I’d rather save my Apothecaries in case something worse happens.

They try to have Bersi pick it up with his Sure Hands, but in the rain that’s not enough.

Not sure why they didn’t try a re-roll, since they’d be refreshed after Half-time anyway, but their loss.

Turn 8

Final turn, and I have one re-roll left. Very good.

Now, for revenge I have Pink Blitz that blasted Rakr. The Norsewolf has to sit down like a bad dog. Lovecrafter can now get in Geirrólfr’s face, while Darken and Bran tie up Grettir and Hálfdan on the other side.

Okay, time to punch things. Auluff knocks down Dragmáll, and Brutus rolls against Hrafn. Which results in Pushed and Attacker Down. Well, I do still have that re-roll…

Sadly no injury, but it was satisfying nonetheless. Then I have Sumanai attack Agni. The reasoning was that if he just got Pushed, he could at least push him into Auluff, which would still let Silas punch. It worked out though, and now Auluff is surrounded by napping Norsemen.

I move those left over up a little, and hand the turn over. They won’t be scoring anyway, but that’s no reason to take it easy on them.

The players around Auluff get up, and then Ãlfrbera tries futilely to dodge away from Alexander, who knocks him down and causes a Turnover.

– – – HALF-TIME! – – –

Well, that was certainly an interesting half. Our volunteer cheering squad are once again in place, but this time they’ve set up a bonfire to ward off the chill from the rain. They still seem in high spirits.

Jar and Jay-P both get up, which returns us to a full compliment. Jar is back in his place, and I swap Bran for Lovecrafter. If I get the chance to score, I’ll be taking it with Physik this time, since he’s more assured a successful ball pick-up. And also because that would get him to level 3.

The kick-off flies, and this time the buggers get High Kick, so they can move one player in position to catch the ball. They pick their reserve Thrower named Hall Sigurôarson. And the bastard pulls it off flawlessly. I hate him so much right now.

Turn 9

Hall moves up, Dragmáll knocks down Jar and they start to form a cage around Hall.

They manage to push back Silas and Alexander, and move up their guys before they hand the turn over.

Now I try to see who I should attack. Auluff can still two-dice anyone around, but his Frenzy could get him in trouble. However, Agni has Fend, so Auluff won’t be able to follow up anyway. Let’s go for it.

Agni goes down, and Auluff gets to stay where he is, which is exactly what I wanted. Dauntless players could spell trouble for him.

Right then, we can now move Lovecrafter up next to Hálfdan, and now Darken can Blitz in from the side! Defender Down, but no armour break. Well, at least we now have a player next to the ball, even if he’ll probably get attacked next round.

I can’t really get any support up there right now, so hopefully nothing horrible will happen. Pink helps Alexander Stun Hrafn, and Sumanai and Jay-P move up to help block off Rakr and Bersi. Lastly I try to have Silas one-die Grettir, but he only manages to push him away.

Turn 10

I end the turn, and of course the first thing they do is knock Darken down. With the assists they managed to set up, I’m surprised it wasn’t a three-dice, but they still got a Defender Down, so yeah…

Dragmáll attacks and Stuns poor Jar, so they have a free lane to move into our half. Sigurôrvaldr moves through, and then Rakr gets the idea to attack Brutus. He only gets a Pushed at first, but then his Frenzy follow-up happens.

That’s a double Attacker Down, that they don’t re-roll. The Norsewolf goes down, gets a Pinched Nerve, so he’ll miss next game, and Brutus gets a well-deserved 2 SPP for a spectacular defensive action.

I have Jay-P Stun Bersi, so Sumanai and Brutus can both move closer to the ball. Pink Blitzes and knocks down Dragmáll, then moves to plug up the hole in our line. I try to get Auluff to attack Geirrólfr as well, but he just rages out.

I figure it’s safe enough to get Darken up now, and I check my options. Nothing more I can really do. Lovecrafter can only get one die against Ãlfrbera, and without Block on the Hobgoblin I decide against it. End turn.

Turn 11

While they still have the ball, they haven’t been able to move it in the past two turns. Let’s see if they fare better on this one.

Dragmáll is too angry to get up, so Hálfdan dodges down to where Physik is holding up Sigurôrvaldr. I expect them to actually attack but the Rags just pause for a few moments, and then Sigurôrvaldr attempts to dodge away from Physik.

Physik won’t allow any such nonsense, and Siggy is Stunned.

I have Jar get up, and then go-for-it over to Hálfdan. Possibly Physik can have some success with a two-dice, but let’s find something possibly less risky to do first. Oh hey! Auluff can three-dice Geirrólfr! Sure!

Good thing we had that third die. That’s another Pinched Nerve, so that’s three players they’ll be without in the next match. They can’t be happy about that.

I move Jay-P in to assist, so Alexander can get a two-dice against Agni, but I only manage a Both Down. So I move Sumanai next to Hall with the ball. With Pink and Lovecrafter’s help, Darken can knock down Ãlfrbera, and now Silas can just Blitz in like a maniac.

Ah well, at least it’s gonna be tricky for Hall to get away. As a final action I let Physik throw a two-dice against Hálfdan, but he only get a Pushed and an Attacker Down. Ah well, end turn.

Turn 12

Dragmáll manages to get up this time, as does everyone else who isn’t the Stunned Sigurôrvaldr. Grettir manages to knock down Darken, and Hálfdan manages to dodge away from Physik and Jar and make it so that Agni gets a two-dice against Alexander.

Yeah, Nuffle didn’t approve of that. Agni is stunned, and we get our turn.

 

Hm… let’s try to get Hálfdan!

Not ideal. Jay-P tries to take down Hrafn then, but all I get is a Both Down. Alexander manages a Defender Stumbles though! Finally!

I think Alexander might have kicked him in the shin, because Hrafn ends up with a Fractured Leg and will also miss next game. Man, we’re just ruining their chances for that game.

Pink pushes Ãlfrbera out of the way so Silas can two-dice Hall again.

Well, time to use a re-roll. Which does give us a Defender Stumbles, and loses them the ball. Now we just have to find out how to pick it up. I have dumbly moved Physik a bit far away, but he still has the best chance.

Lovecrafter knocks over Grettir and uses his falling body to push Ãlfrbera even further away. And with Brutus’s help, Auluff can Frenzy Dragmáll down and clear the way for Physik to get to the ball.

Turn 13

Everyone gets up, and Bersi somehow manages to dodge past Physik. Hálfdan pulls off the same trick by dodging away from both Physik and Jar. At least the two of them are free now, which was a dumb move from the Rags.

They don’t really seem able to do anything else, and just hand over the turn there.

I have Auluff attack Dragmáll again, which gains two pushes. At least the Yhetee is even further out of the way.

Now we can clear up around the ball, and I manage to get Pink a 3-dice against Grettir.

It seems I didn’t really need it, but I prefer to be as safe as possible. Grettir goes down, and Hall is next! But even with Alexander’s assistance, Silas only gets a Both Down. That sucks. Sumanai manages to knock over Ãlfrbera with Lovecrafter’s help though, so that’s something.

I move in Jar and Sumanai closer to the ball and end the turn.

Turn 14

Grettir gets up, and Ãlfrbera tries to Blitz his way up.

Lovecrafter refuses to let him get away with it, so it’s our turn now.

I start with having Auluff attack Dragmáll again. Sadly I only get two Pushed, which means I’ll need to do a Frenzy one-die to try to get the Yhetee out of bounds. Both Down, d’oh! Okay, please have the re-roll work this time.

Fabulous! Even KO’d the sucker, though I am not totally sure KO’ing counts properly when knocked out of bounds. Not that we have too many turns left though, so it probably won’t matter.

Brutus moves up to negate Sigurôrvaldr’s assist, so Darken can two-dice Grettir, and finally KO that annoying Berserker. And Silas manages to knock down Hall this time, so Physik is free to pick up the ball. He effortlessly rolls a 6, and I move him as close to the end-zone as I can without go-for-its.

I form a complete cage around him because I can, try to knock over a few more Norsemen, and then end the turn.

Turn 15

Hall moves up, and Ãlfrbera Blitzes Alexander, which has the result of pushing him back. The Norseman even follows up, putting himself in excellent punching position for our turn.

And then Hálfdan tries to dodge away from Jay-P.

Yeah, that’s another Turnover, and we are in a great position.

I try to tell Auluff to walk up to Sigurôrvaldr, but he refuses. Jar comes over instead, and Brutus throws the dice. He manages to Stun the Lineman, though I was hoping for SPP, of course.

Silas moves up to Hall, which lets Darken get a two-dice Blitz.

Hall goes down, but no injury there either. Worth the attempt. I have Alexander Stun Ãlfrbera, and Physik is yet again free!

I could run it in now, but I still have one more turn, and re-rolls, so why not see about doing some more punching first? End turn.

Turn 16

And none of them bother getting up. It seems they sensed my plan.

Only one thing to do, then.

That’s our second Touchdown scored, and it also means…

– – – END OF MATCH! – – –

Well, that was certainly a feisty one. Seems Norsemen are almost as squishy as Goblins. Okay, now to look at the results.

We win 70 000 GP, which means we now have a total of 120 000. 10 000 short for our second Bull Centaur.

Our Fan Factor goes up to 4.

Jay-P Hurtington is elected MVP, and with two casualties caused in addition, that’s +9 SPP, netting him a total of 13 SPP, and a level-up.

Auluff also scored two casualties and got +4 SPP for a total of 8 SPP, and a level-up.

Physik Bowie scored one TD and got +3 SPP for a total of 17 SPP, and a level-up.

Bran Aldowyn scored one TD and got +3 SPP for a total of 6 SPP, and a level-up.

Alexander Bloodthirst scored one casualty and got +2 SPP for a total of 11 SPP.

Brutus Bashings scored one casualty and got +2 SPP for a total of 4 SPP.

Everyone else is unchanged.

Level-ups

Physik Bowie reaches level 3, but no exceptional dice-rolls this time, so I give him Block. He also gets an upgrade to his look, including a bitchin new hat.

Bran Aldowyn reaches level 2, gets a mundane roll too, and is also outfitted with Block.

Auluff and Jay-P Hurtington both reach level 2, and I give them both Guard.

Skills of the Day

Almost every team has some kind of Big Guy, and the vast majority of them are outfitted with some sort of limiter skill. The three most common are Bonehead, Really Stupid and Wild Animal, but there’s also Take Root for Treemen and Blood Lust for Vampires. I figured I’d do a bigger column this time and explain the difference.

Bonehead

This is a simple 2+ roll every time the player attempts to take action. If a 1 is rolled, the player spaces out, and loses all ability to catch, intercept and assist, and no longer has a tackle-zone. The effect is persistent until the next turn they’re able to roll 2+. For instance Ogres and Kroxigors have Bonehead.

Really Stupid

Basically a worse version of Bonehead. It needs a 4+ for the player to be able to take action, or they will space out like with Bonehead. They do however get +2 to the roll if a smart team-mate (one without Really Stupid) is next to them, which makes it a 2+ roll so long as they’re not alone. For instance Trolls and Beasts of Nurgle have Really Stupid.

Wild Animal

Like Really Stupid it needs a 4+ for the player to be allowed to take action. They get their +2 modifier if that action is a Block or a Blitz though. So they don’t need to be kept company, they just need to be allowed to punch something. If Wild Animal does trigger, the player will rage out and refuse to perform the action, but they will keep their tackle-zone, and they can still assist, catch and intercept. For instance Minotaurs and Yhetees have Wild Animal.

Take Root

A 2+ roll before action. If a 1 is rolled, the player will be rooted in place. This basically treats them as if their MA is 0, and no go-for-its are allowed. They still have their tackle-zone, and can still block and assist, but only against players that happen to come close to them. They can also catch and intercept, but why would you want them to? This effect persists until the drive ends, or the player is knocked down or placed prone. Treemen have Take Root.

Blood Lust

As far as I know, this only applies to the Vampire team. Vampires are powerful players, but must roll a 2+ before every action. If a 1 is rolled, they have to be standing next to a Thrall team-mate at the end of their action. So they can still move, and even possibly block, so long as a Thrall is nearby. Before they take that final action, they will drain blood from the Thrall, which will knock that Thrall down, and roll an injury roll. Typically I’ve seen them get stunned from being fed upon, and then KO’d if they get fed upon while on the ground. If there is no Thrall nearby to feed on, the Vampire will run off the field and feed on a spectator. This will also put them out of the match until the next drive.

—

We have managed to quite decisively hold on to our place as 1st of Division 4, and crushed the Ragnarite Pythons.

Next match is against a High Elf team: the Arnheim Seahawks. Those more familiar with Warhammer than me can probably tell me whether Arnheim is an actual place in that world.

I am actually rather nervous about this next match. There are two teams that have managed to win against my Nurgle team. One was a Dark Elf team, the other was a High Elf team. Elf Bullshit is real, and annoying.

Match 3

Match 5

~Wulf