WUBBLE Blood Bowl Game 2: Sandhill Serpents (Lizards) vs Da Basha Boyz (Orc)

In a game that took 5 Drives (and over 4 hours, including Air and Smoke Breaks), the Sandhill Serpents with Skink Replacement Bo Ah Jr (#8) and 2 Journeymen Skinks took on Da Basha Boyz (their 1^st game) in the Karak Azgal Arena in the Dwarf Mine (Cave?) of Karak Azgal.  As expected in the Cave, the weather was “Nice” throughout the game!

The Guardian of Karak Azgal 

The Sandhill Serpents, having lost 4 players (3 dead and one retired after a Broken Neck) in their last game, started the game with 1 new Hire (Skink #8, Bo Ah Jr, taking his father's number), 2 Free Journeymen Skinks, as well as an Extra Re-roll as an Inducement.  23,000 fans showed up to watch a lively show! 

Da Basha Boyz won the coin toss and elected to Receive.

First Half, Drive 1:
During the Kick-Off, cheering fans encouraged the Serpents to go harder (Gained an Extra Re-Roll for the ½).  Boyz Thrower “Flinga” picked up the ball and headed towards the line of scrimmage on the south side of the field while 2 Skinks circle from the North side of the field, headed towards the Thrower!  At the line of scrimmage, players are knocked down back and forth until finally, the 2 Skinks from the North and 1 Skink who snuck through the Orc Tackle Zones, combined their tackle and knocked down the Thrower, scattering the ball!

As both teams fought over the ball, Da Basha Boyz’ Troll, “Pretty Pete,” KO’d Serpent’s #14, “Vip Er.”  Then Serpents’ Saurus #4, “Krash,” blitzed an Orc onto the ball, scattering it into the surprised arms of Orc Lineman #9, “Joe”!  Before Joe had a chance to do anything, the Skinks swarmed him, knocking the helpless Orc over, while Skink #12, “Co Bra,” picked up the scattered ball and made it successfully into the End Zone!  Touchdown for Sandhill!!!

Co Bra for the Touchdown!

Drive 2:
Sandhill’s “Vip Er” woke up from his mud nap and staggered onto the field for the next play.  As the Serpents kicked the ball, it scattered off the field, giving Da Basha Boyz a “touchback” – awarding the ball to the Thrower “Flinga”!  (I didn’t record the Kick-off result, but I believe it was Brilliant Coaching and a tied roll: both players got another free re-roll for the half.)  Sadly for Da Boyz, the Troll “Pretty Pete” got confused and missed the initial snap. 

Flinga attempted to Blitz his way through the line of scrimmage, while Blitzer #4, “Doug,” kicked his foot through Vip Er’s rib cage, piercing his heart and killing the poor Skink instantly!  Vip Er should have stayed unconscious another round!  Angered, Saurus “Krum Ple” (with the help of his friendly Skinks) Knocked-Out the Troll, “Pretty Pete!”  Blitzer Doug, still on a roll, Knocked-Out Skink #12, “Co Bra,” making a gap for Flinga to run through with the ball!  The rest of Da Boyz then try to form a pocket around the Orc Thrower to protect him and the ball!

Flinga blitzing through Line of Scrimmage...

Flinga is almost there!  Stay on target...

In spite of the Orc’s efforts, 3 Skinks combined their tackle on to Flinga, knocking him down near the Serpent’s End Zone, scattering the ball into the arms of Orc Linesman #8, “Frank!”  The rest of the Serpents attempted to encircle the ball carrier to prevent a touchdown.  Frank tried to make a dodge around the Serpents and TRIPPED, dropping the ball yards from the End Zone as the gun fires, ending the first half!

Flinga is brought down short of the End Zone!

Second Half, Drive 3:
As the second half begins, all the Orcs are awake and ready to play, but Skink #12, “Co Bra,” is still napping in the dugout, leaving the Serpents 2 lizards short!

Da Basha Boyz do a High Kick to Skink #8 “Bo Ah Jr” who catches the ball!  A Saurus pushed one of Da Bashas towards the infield from the South Side, while the Skinks ran up through the gap, forming a corridor!  Da Basha Boyz desperately trying to respond, headed towards the south side, but Bo Ah handed off the ball to Skink 13, Journeyman “Rat Lar Jr,” who is able to reach the safety of the corridor.  With the rest of the team protecting him in the corridor, Rat Lar is able to run up into the Orc End Zone for another Serpent Touchdown!  2-0 for the Sandhill Serpents!

Drive 4:
Finally, Co Bra wakes up from his nap and joins the rest of the team on the field.  The Serpents are only short 1 player!

Again, the Serpents’ kick goes wild and scatters off the table.  With a Fiendish grin and glint in his eye, the Coach “LazyEyedPsycho” gets the Troll “Pretty Pete” to get the ball!  Uh-Oh!!!

The Kick-off results in a change of weather – NOT!!!

As the ball snaps into play, Pretty Pete walks over (on top of?) a skink at the line of scrimmage, stopping him after only 2 squares of movement.  The rest of Da Basha Boyz try to form a pocket around Pete while the Serpents form a wall one square away to limit the drive’s speed (and stall for time)!  The Troll shuffled forward, blitzing another hapless Skink, but opening himself to a Blitz from Saurus #4, “Krash,” who earned his name and knocked down Pete the Troll, scattering the ball!

Pretty Pete out for a stroll - with the ball!

In the scrimmage around the ball, a skink kicked the ball attempting to pick it up, scattering the ball once more.  Black Orc #6, “Lurp,” knocked-out Saurus #3, “Krum Ple,” while the Orc Thrower “Flinga” successfully picked up the ball and passed the ball to Goblin #12, “Splat”!  Co Bra trips and stuns himself attempting to get to the ball and Bo Ah is knocked-out in the same scrimmage, but somehow, "Splat is tackled and Goblin 11, “Squash,” manages to get the bouncing ball under control.  More pushing and shoving – Skinks knocked over everywhere until Lineman #7, “Lucky,” causes another casualty!  Skink #11 “Ma Mba” is shaken up and missed the rest of the game!

"I got the Ball!"

"No, I DO!!!"

"No, you HAD it!!!!"

And so on...

Finally, the ball end up with Flinga the Thrower!  The one who threw it in the first place!  Da Basha Boyz are on the board as Flinga reached the Serpent’s End Zone!  Touchdown!

Drive 5:
With only 3 turns left, the Orcs kick-off to the Serpents!  (Don’t remember what the Kick-off result was – bad notes at this point as we rushed the last drive of the game.)

Bo Ah Jr starts off with the ball and fumbled it trying to pass to Ma Mba!  The ball scatters only 1 square away from the line of scrimmage!  Pretty Pete, the troll, blitzes and knocks-out Bo Ah, freeing the ball from his Tackle Zone, while a Gobo causes a turn-over trying to pick-up the ball!  Ana Con Da weaves through enemy tackle zones and picks up the ball!

"We can get one more TD, Can't we?!?!?"

BUT...

My notes fail me and somehow Ana Con Da lost the ball.  Da Basha Boyz Bltzer, “Bob,” ends up with the ball and heads for the Serpent’s End zone but trips in the last play as the clock runs out – going for the tying touchdown.  What a heart Breaker for Da Basha Boyz!!!

Sandhill Serpents win 2-1!!!

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WOW!  Almost lost the win and was forced in to overtime in the last turn.  Close Game!

Serpents suffered 2 Casualties – but only 1 death (#14 – Vip Er). 

We rolled for winnings and Da Basha Boyz went home with 40,000 gold pieces and Gobo 10 “Squish” as the MVP and no change in Fan factor. 

Sandhill Serpents, now with a 1 win, 1 loss record, won 70,000 gold pieces, but had to spend 60,000 to keep Journeyman Rat Lar Jr (and the Star Player Points he earned with his touchdown).  This left only another 10,000 gold pieces for their treasury, bringing the total to 20,000.  It’s gonna be a while before I get that Kroxigor!

Serpents also got another Fan Factor, bringing them up to 6 and Skink #12 had enough Star Player Points to earn another skill (Catch).  Unfortunately, though I hired Rat Lar, I lost Vip Er and so I’ll still have only 9 players and be short 2 players next game.  Meaning, I’ll need to hire another 2 Journeymen Skinks.  (I’d rather have replaced Krun Chee the Saurus who was killed in game 1!)

Can I win a second Game or is this a False Hope for the Sandhill Serpents???

WUBBLE Blood Bowl Game 1: Sandhill Serpents (Lizardmen) vs Boulderfist Brawlers (Ogres)

For those who don’t know, Blood Bowl is a game released by Games Workshop ages ago.  Blood Bowl was a Fantasy (literally) Football game loosely based on North American Football.  The game became part of the “Specialist Games” line.  Blood Bowl still has a large following, even though GW has dropped the entire Specialist Line.

So, this was the first game in the new WUBBLE League.  Each team starts with 1 Million Gold Pieces (gp) to form a Blood Bowl Team.  Our House Rules state everyone starts off with 5 Fan Factor that comes free.  Otherwise, you buy players, Cheerleaders, Assistant Coaches, team rerolls and other “fun stuff”.

For my Lizardmen team, 1 million coins allowed me to purchase 4 Saurus Players, 8 Skinks and 3 Team Re-rolls, with a little left over (20,000) in the treasury.  Saurus are the big, brutal lizards; strong, tough but not very agile.  Skinks are the fast little guys that usually make the touch downs, but are “Stunty”, meaning they’re weaker and tend to be more easily injured.

My first Opponent, the Boulderfist Brawlers, had Ogres, consisting of (you guessed it!) 5 Ogres; Big, mean, strong, tough monsters (more so than my Suarus) and a bunch of little Snotlings (smaller members of the Goblin Family, even smaller & weaker than my Skinks!).  It “SHOULD” have been a close match…

We rolled to see how big the “Gate” was (22,000 fans) and Weather (Sunny – a -1 Penalty for any Passes).  Lizards won the coin toss and chose to start the game kicking to the other team.  This would make the Serpents receiving the ball in the second half.

And away we went…

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After starting with Kicking Team deploying first with 3 Saurus in the line of Scrimmage and Skinks one space back, 2 on each Wing, 2 deep and 2 behind the Saurus,  The Brawlers’ lineup had all 5 Ogres on the Line of Scrimage and 6 Snottlings scattered on the wings and playing deep.  On the Kickoff, the Cheering fans went wild (After rolling and bonuses, Ogres got an extra Team Re-Roll for this half).  The Ogres started attacking the Lizardmen’s Line of Scrimage and KILLED Player #1, a Saurus named Krun Chee!!!  OWWWW!  The Snotlings managed to pick-up the ball after one of the Lizards pushed a Snotling into the box the ball was sitting, causing the ball to bounce into the arms of a 2^nd Snotling!  About this time, Lizards called “Illegal Procedure”; the Ogres had forgotten to move their Turn Counter.  They chose to give up a Team Re-Roll rather than lose the rest of their Activation.  The Boulderfist Brawlers turn ended when a Snotling attempted to knock a Skink off the table, but knocked himself out instead.  The Lizardmen’s turn wasn’t very exciting.  Skinks quickly discovered Snottlings bathe in Axel Grease before a match and were slipperier than they were.  The Lizardmen Turnover occurred when a Skink got tackled trying to dodge out of a tackle-zone as he attempted to Blitz the ball carrier.

Taking advantage of the situation, the Snotlings all surrounded and kicked the prone Skink, stunning him (stunning means it would take an extra activation before the player could stand and do something).  Sadly, the Ref was looking at a particularly ugly Ogre Cheerleader and missed the foul.  After more pushing and shoving from both teams, Sandhill Player 8, a Skink called “Bo Ah” slipped and broke his neck, losing 1 point agility and the rest of the game while attempting to Block an Ogre with 3 other Skinks assisting!  Sandhill Casualties are piling up quickly!

Finally, in Turn 4, the Snotling ball carrier crossed the line, getting the Boulderfist Brawlers their first Touchdown!  As the fans cheered, the players from both teams that had been knocked out got to their feet and headed out onto the turf for the next kick-off.

Figlop the Indomitable goes for the Touch Down!

As the Boulderfist Brawlers kicked to the Sandhill Serpents, once again the fan’s cheering was overwhelming, once more getting a Re-Roll for the Boulderfist Brawlers.  As the play continued, there was a lot of pushing and shoving before finally Sandhill #12, a Skink called “Co Bra” managed to pick-up the ball and successfully pass to Player 10, a Skink named “Vip Er”, in spite of the -1 penalty for the Sun and an additional -1 for being “Stunty”!  After some more pushing around the Line of Scrimage, “Vip Er” attempts to hand off the ball to Skink “Ma Mba”, but Ma Mba fumbles and drops the ball!

Taking advantage of the confusion of the mishandled ball, the Boulderfist Brawlers manage to knock out a Saurus and 2 Skinks, then killed Sandhill Player 13, a Skink called “Rat Lar” in a furious scrimmage around the ball!  Sadly for the Boulderfist Brawlers, the Sandhill Serpents managed to wind down the clock before the Ogres could get a 2^nd touchdown in the first half!!!

First Half Ends!

At half time, the score is 1/0 for the Boulderfist Brawlers and everyone wakes up from being Knocked Out.  However, Sandhill was down 3 players out of the game!  Starting with 12 players and normally requiring 11 players on the field at a time, the Serpents will start off short-handed with only 9 players walking!

Second Half starts with the Ogres kicking to the Lizards.  The weather changes to “Nice” between the halves, meaning no penalties or advantages to the game.  Serpent’s #14 “Vip Er” successfully picked up the ball and held back towards his end zone; not seeing an opening through the line of Scrimmage.  Sadly, Serpents Player #3, Saurus “Krum Ple” managed to knock himself out while attempting to block another Ogre.  As the action alternated, the Serpents were unable to clear a path for the ball carrier, but Sandhill #10, “Ma Mba” finally wiggled past the line of scrimmage and got about half way down the field into Brawlers’ territory.  Seeing only one incredibly slim chance, Vip Er ran down towards the line of scrimmage and made a Long Pass the ball to Ma Mba and overshot the Skink!  The Snotlings managed to get to Ma Mba so he would need to dodge out of the Tackle Zone, but the Boulderfist Brawlers couldn’t reach the ball.  Ma Mba managed to successfully dodge out of a Brawlers’ tackle zone, pick up the ball and run into the End Zone: Touch Down!  The score was tied 1 All!

Ma Mba makes it a Tied Game!

As the Sandhill Serpents kicked to the Boulderfist Brawlers, we rolled a Perfect Defence on the Kick-Off table.  Unfortunately, the Lizardmen were down to 8 players and simply didn’t have enough players to take advantage of the situation without leaving large holes in the defensive line.

The Boulderfist Brawlers formed a pocket in the middle of the field, after a snotling successfully picked up the ball.  As the drive continued, another Skink was Shaken and carried off the field for the rest of the game and another Saurus was knocked out!  All the Sandhill Serpents could do was fall back and try to defend as their numbers dropped continuously.  Finally, making a desperate tackle for the Snotling carrying the ball, Sandhill player 7, “Ana Con Da” was killed by an Ogre protecting the ball carrier.  One last attempt to tackle the ball player was made but the Snotling, Figlop the Indomitable successfully carried the ball into the end zone, scoring a second and the the winning touchdown!

Boulderfist Brawlers Victory 2 / 1 over the Sandhill Serpents!

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In reality, we had 2 turns left to go, but we ran out of time.  I had told my opponent I had to leave by a certain time, but as we didn’t use the “Timed Turn” rules for this game, the game dragged on over 3 hours when it normally wouldn’t have.  The League Commissionaire ruled that it was a complete game instead of a forfeit due to the amount of time we had played and the fact the Serpents had been decimated (I believe I only had 5 players standing and neither side had a chance for another touchdown in 2 turns).

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WOW!  BRUTAL game!  I was worried having 4 Saurus on the team would be nasty but that was nothing compared to 5 Ogres!  OUCH!!!  Fortunately, he can only get 1 more Ogre.  In theory, I could have 6 Saurus and a Kroxigor!

Yes, the Serpents were decimated.  Nothing I can do about that.  Nor do I “fault” my opponent.  It was a great game and I did enjoy it!  It just means I’ll be in the basement for a while in this league as I attempt to rebuild the team.  I COULD retire the team and start over, but part of the fun of Blood Bowl and the League rules is trying to continue to build a successful team.  I was just proud of myself for scoring a touchdown in the second half with an under-sized team.

So, out of 12 players, I had 3 dead:

• Player 1; Krun Chee (Kroxigor)
• Player 7; Ana Con Da (Skink)
• Player 13; Rat Lar (Skink)

And 1 of the 2 badly injured players: Player 8; Bo Ah (Skink) will miss next game and lost an agility point, making him pretty much useless as a player and a candidate to retire right away.

That means I will be short 4 players for next game – leaving only 8 that can go onto the field.  From the Gate, the Serpents earned 50,000 Gold Pieces (gp).  That won’t replace 1 Skink (60,000gp) or a Saurus (80,000gp).  I’ll be forced to get some Journeymen (Temporary) players.  Fortunately, they’ll be free if I bring the team numbers up to 11 players at the start of the game.  Sadly, I can only get Skink Journeymen…

Anyway, Vip Er got “Most Valuable Player” for the team, not enough points for a skill level increase.  Ma Mba & Co Bra also earned points for their Touch Down and Completed Pass, so 3 players are on their way to earning more skills.

What would I have changed in my lineup?  Tough call.  I would have liked a Kroxigor, but sadly they’re horribly expensive – too expensive for a team starting out.  I could have dropped a Saurus and Re-Roll for extra Skinks, but I don’t think it would have made a difference.  Skinks are too squishy on their own and re-rolls double in price after the league starts.  3 Re-rolls is pretty much a minimum for a Lizardman team.  I find Apothecary to be useless as well.  At 50,000gp and only 1 POSSIBLE save per turn, they’re usually not worth it.  I always roll badly whenever I use one and the patient dies anyway.  I think I just had a really tough game and no changes would have helped me in the long run.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this report.  See you on the Grid Iron soon!

Just A Little Update...

Sorry, still no battle reports.  All my gaming time has been tied up in testing Dystopian Wars Ver 2 Beta!

Sadly, I cannot tell you anything about the changes or how the fleets have changed or stayed the same.  All I can say is I think most people will be pleased with the new rules whenever they are released.  Hopefully, sooner rather than later (and no, I don't have any information on that front either.  I'll know when you know!).

Meanwhile, I've updated the event page (link on the right).

The 40Kegger is coming up soon.  You have to be a member in advance so check them out or miss out!

Astronomi-Con, a Warhammer 40k tournament in Winnipeg has been announced for April - check out their web page!

WarPegs, a new Winnipeg Gaming Group is trying to start a Warhammer Fantasy Campaign.  Check out their info page (link on the events page)

WUBBLE  has announced a startup of a new Blood Bowl League.  They're kick-off is March 22, but check out their Web Page or Facebook Page for more info.

Links to all the events are on the Events page.

Good Luck!