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The New Blood Bowl Vampires

Posted by johnnya10 on 23/09/2023
Posted in: Lists and Tactics. Tagged: , . 1 Comment

Hello sports fans! GW were kind enough to send me a box of the new Blood Bowl Vampire team to review (Fangs for that!) and while life as a new dad has left me with little time to work on the miniatures, I am writing this epistle to assure fellow veterans of the game that Blood Bowl Vampires just got a lot more interesting. Tempting even! 

Now I’m a sucker for new Blood Bowl team, and this one in particular has my veins pumping with excitement. You see, I had a Blood Bowl Vampire team about 4 years ago and do you know what? I hated them. Oh I had fun converting them, using Cawdor gangers for my thralls and Namartii for my Vamps (see below), that side of the project was great. But playing with them, I certainly got a lesson in why Vampires have always been seen as a team meant more for the game’s better players. 

They were always an unforgiving bunch, so much so that most tacticas would suggest playing no more than 2 actual Vampires and taking as great a throng of Thralls as possible and that kind of sucks when it’s the Vampires that are your real stars and the minis you want to play with. Thralls, in comparison were then (and remain now) pretty much the worst players in the game. No skills, the stat line of a hobgoblin, but for 40,000 a piece, you get what you pay for. They are only really there for one reason – they are walking blood bags for when your Vampires roll a 1 when checking for Blood Lust. 

That was another problem of the old team. Your Vampires are your stars and yet they have this flaw that they may have to end their turn injuring their own team-mates. And their stats, while decent, were not too much to shout about. You had to suffer through the first couple of games of a league season, carefully accruing star player points, in order to get Block and Dodge on them before you became confident in them being able to do what you needed to do. A Blood Bowl veteran would see this team as a cryptic challenge, but to a newer (or in my case “worse”) player, they just, well, sucked. 

Then you got the Season 2 Update a couple of years back that, I’ll confess, very much passed me by but it certainly didn’t seem to improve things. Animal Savagery replacing Blood Lust just seemed cruel and unnecessary so I was even less enthused to try and get some game time out of them. 

But oh what a difference this update has made! The rules for the team were the most interesting thing here for me and so, given that I’ve not had time to paint my Vamps, I can talk to you about why I think you have some really excellent options with this new box in terms of rules.

However, I will briefly say, before getting into the rules, that the new miniatures are fantastic. I get real 1990s Warhammer Vampire vibes from the befanged in the box, and the new thralls are just really fun. Great sculpting all round, and I will definitely be painting up this team at some point in the future. Now, back to those rules…

First off, having Vampire Positionals is huge. You used to just get Vampires, and in the Season 2 Update, Vampire “Blitzers” (which had no particular Blitzing Skills) but it was all very one dimensional. Now you have Throwers, Runners and Blitzers (who have Juggernaut, which, while not as good as just having “Block” does help a little more both on field and thematically). This means that you can tailor your team to suit how you want to play. Want to play an elf-like passing/running game? Take a couple of Runners and at least one Thrower, and you’re golden. If you want to take a bashing team, a couple of Blitzers and a Vargheist (sold seperately) and you can do just that.

Personally, I’d favour running the former option over a fighting style Vampire line. Your Vampires are too valuable to risk them in the scrum, and while having access to a Big Guy for the first time ever is great, I think they all suffer from having Blood Lust 3+ instead of 2+ (Throwers and Runners are still 2+, Vlad be thanked) and that suffering makes them too much of a liability. 

Also, a cheeky 10,000 knocked off the rerolls is a great boon to the team.

So here’s the team I’d take:

10x Thralls – 400,000

2x Vampire Runners – 200,000

2x Vampire Throwers – 220,000

3x Re-rolls – 180,000

Now, this is still early days, but I think this team has some balance, and while I still wouldn’t recommend the Vampires to brand new players, this is a great deal more forgiving than in the olden days. Ok, so you’re going to be a mainly S3 team, but the runners have an excellent burst of speed, and being able to use Hypnotic Gaze to neautralise threats negates their lack of S4 somewhat. 3 rerolls should also help you to keep some of the Vampire’s negative quirks at bay, and the Throwers look excellent with Pass and a PA of 2+. This also means that you’ve got plenty of Thralls to chew through, and 4 Vampires from the get go – not too shabby.

For Tactics, I’d probably have a single Thrower starting, both Runners and a big mess of Thralls to act as a screen/shield. Without the ball, I think things could get a little tough, and Hypnotic Gaze will do a lot of Heavy Lifting, but while carrying, you could tear through a defense with relative ease. Movement 8 on those Runners is immense, and a Thrower with pass of course means you could set up some really fun plays.

But is an all (bar the throwers who are S4) S3 team a bit risky? Let me know you think if I’m howling at the wrong moon on this one by leaving a comment below!

So to summarize, I’d say I’m cautiously optimistic for this team. Things have massively improved for the Vamps, and I think they still provide a stiff challenge for any coach willing to give them a try, though they will still provide a level of difficulty due to the unique way in which they play. But the new options really help to make them interesting again, and over longer leagues, I think they could have real potential to challenge the better teams. 

But if you’re playing for high stakes, the classic Vampire issues can still bite you in the… neck, I suppose. Onvards!

Blood Bowl – The Norse Have Landed!

Posted by johnnya10 on 16/04/2022
Posted in: Product Reviews. Tagged: . 1 Comment

Hello sports fans!The gridiron has grown cold and the Wolf God is prowling the stands as the brand new Blood Bowl Norse team has arrived and GW were sporting enough to send me the new team and some assorted goodies to take a look at and tell you all about. So strap on your big foam finger, get your peanuts ready, and let’s take a proper gander at what might be my new favourite Blood Bowl team.

blood bowl norse

I will confess that I am a huge fan of this team, and I’ve been waiting for them to get the plastic treatment for a very long time now. I had been planning on converting a Norse team several years back, but I never got round to it, so it’s a real thrill to have these volatile vikings to work on. Why do I like this team so much? Well, as someone who isn’t the best at tackling, having Block on all my linemen is a huge bonus, but I also get some hefty chaps to put some pain down, and a couple of swift Valkyries in case I decide to actually try and score. That fits my play style perfectly so the Norse were always on my radar (and also, I kind of look like one of them).

norse team

First and foremost, let’s talk about the minis. They look stunning. They capture that crazy, cold-ignoring, beer-chugging party monsters that definitely worship some gnarly gods vibe that you want from this team. There’s some fierce animal-pelts, beautifully braided beards and bone-breaking muscles, all of which you’d expect, and I think the sculptor(s) behind this kit have done a stellar job. And if any team was going to strap a keg of ale to a pig, it would be these guys. Personal opinion, but I think this is the best looking Blood Bowl team yet.

icebowl rules

As with all of these new teams, there’s a Spike! journal to accompany them and it is as full of flavour, rules and ideas as ever in this issue. I love the rules and ideas in the “Icebowl” section in particular, but they’re all good. Ruleswise,they are gloriously thematic, and you’ll be recounting many sagas of your games for sure. But there are some tricky nuances in there too. The beer-pigs are super-fun minis, and they can perform some useful tricks on the pitch, but they are super-squishy, so how many do you want on your roster? I like these fun sort of headaches as they provide some tactical nuances that even ham-fisted players like me can cope with.

yhetee blood bowl

And as an extra special treat, GW sent me the new big guy – the Yhetee. He’s got great rules, and honestly, he looks sensational. Easy to put together, buckets of details, and really, really fun. This Blood Bowl “bug guys” really remind me of old Warhammer in a way, when being slightly more than twice the size of normal dudes meant you were massive. I like that, and I thoroughly like this model. I’ve already got a team name, colours, player numbers and names all planned out – I’m going to take some time and enjoy this new team.

So that was kind of a brief review, but what else is there to say? I think this is a stunning set of products with fun, thematic rules, beautiful miniatures, fun art, and well-written words. When it comes to the Norse, pour me a stein, and count me in. This team is great.

Spike! Almanac 2021 – Top 5 Plays!

Posted by johnnya10 on 29/01/2022
Posted in: Product Reviews. Tagged: . Leave a comment

Hellooooo sports fans! This broadcast is brought to you by our fine friends at Games Workshop who were kind enough to send me a brand spanking new copy of the Spike! Almanac for 2021 (even though we’re now in 2022 but that still checks out). Alongside our sponsors, Orcidas and Cabal Vision, we’re going to bring you the top 5 plays from this hard-hitting, hardback tome for true sports fans just like you. So get your foam fingers and foam-domes out, put those team colours on and settle in as we hit the gridiron for the Spike! Alamanac Top 5 plays!!!

Spike! 2021 Almanac

Ok, enough of the sports enthusiast spiel – don’t expect much more of that in this post (sometimes I get too into doing things like that, so no promises). Let’s look at the five best bits, in my opinion, from this brutal book.

1 – The Comic Strips

blood bowl comic

Blood Bowl hits my funny bone so wonderfully with things like this. This is a very entertaining book, with lots to make you smile and giggle, and the handful of comic strips that run through these pages are delightful. They centre around (our heroes) Jim and Bob, and have a Bob Crumb sort of look to them (like a U-rated Fritz The Cat but set in the Blood Bowl universe). These are great at reinforcing the fact/idea that this game and its setting are ridiculous, hilarious and all about having fun. You may have brought this book for the rules (and there are a lot of those to go through), but I’m sure you’ll love the laughs that land on every page.

2 – The Illustrations

blood bowl illustrations

We’ll get onto rules in a moment, folks (I promise), but I just want to say that I am now 100% behind the illustrative style of this game’s official products and books. I’ve said it before here, but when I first saw the new look of this game, I hated it, but this book has wiped out the very last shreds of that opinion that has been worn down over time. You will find your eyes hovering over some of the incidental illustrations just because they’re so much fun. The player and star player art is great too, and props have to go to the people who created these images and put the book together. Well done to all involved – it looks smashing.

3 – Four Player Dungeon Bowl

dungeon bowl 4 player dungeon

I’ve been quietly enjoying Dungeon Bowl since its release, and boy is that enjoyment about to get loud. The idea of four players sending their teams to charge around a dungeon brings a sort of panicked delight to my heart. It will be pure madness, but is bound to be full of laughs too. There’s a nice section on the rules for this sort of game in the book, and a couple of example dungeons that just look like pain, laughs and smiles to me. My College of Beasts Team will certainly enjoy the madness of this sort of game, though I dare say the laughs will be balanced with a fair amount of tactical stress. This is a great thing to include in this book.

4 – All-Star Games

star player teams

This is a biggy. If you have been enjoying collecting Star Players for a while now, you may feel slightly aggrieved that you haven’t been able to use them too often in your leagues. I think Varag Ghoulchewer has appeared about three times for my Orcs in the last five years (but then my Orcs suck so I don’t hold it against him). Well, worry no more – you can now take on a friend in a non-league all star game where only Star Players take to the field. You might have Griff Oberwald, Morg n Thorg, Akhorne and The Swift Twins all in the same team, and that might just be your bench! The examples given in the book are frankly mouthwatering in their potential for delivering fun for all involved. Bring it on!

5 – Star Player Profiles

Grashnak Blackhoof

Sticking with the pricy-n-spicy superstar sports-folk that you can hire into your game (or take to one of the aforementioned All-Star games), there are some wonderful Star Player profiles in here, some of which, if you buy Spike! regularly, you’ll already know about, but I think there are a couple of new ones here too (I think – I don’t get Spike! every time it comes out). I really like how they do this, in that there’s a nice big illustration, the rules, and some back ground spread across two sides of A4. It’s concise, yet flavourful and lavish at the same time. And seeing the rules for Grashnak Blackhoof really took me back to my early days in Blood Bowl – that minotaur used to do a lot of heavy lifting in my teams. 

Those are my favourite five things, but this is a thick book full of rules, lore, laughs and information about your favourite game of fantasy football. It’s jam-packed and a real treat to dive into. If Blood Bowl is your game, you need this book, and you’ll love flicking through those glossy pages. Onwards!

P.S. – if you want a full, in-depth review of this book, done by true experts, check out the Both Down podcast – those guys are great and they know this game better than me too.

Let’s Unbox Dungeon Bowl!

Posted by johnnya10 on 27/11/2021
Posted in: Unboxing. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Hello sports fans! And magic fans too, I guess. Today, I feel like a very lucky boy indeed because Games Workshop have sent me a copy of the brand new Dungeon Bowl game to review and I am super, mega, wonderfully excited. Blood Bowl is one of my favourite games ever, and Dungeon Bowl, which replaces the gridiron with a network of magical rooms and portals is a legendary variant of the game that I am so happy to see brought back. If you thought Blood Bowl was crazy, wait until you give Dungeon Bowl a try.

For this article, I’m going to be doing a bit of a straight up unboxing, but then I’ll take you for a whistle stop tour of some of my favourite bits of the rulebook, and I’ll tell you a little bit more about the team I’m going to be putting together to play this game. Now, get your foam-dome hats on, find your big foam finger, and let’s get ready to *finds out the phrase “lets get ready to rumble” is owned by the WWE and they are very litigious when it comes to its use*…play ball! (phew)

dungwon bowl box cover

I will confess when the latest edition of Blood Bowl came out, I wasn’t in love with the illustration style, but it really has grown on me now. It gives this weird little alternative universe of the Warhammer Worlds its own identity, and the Dungeon Bowl set fits very nicely into this brand. And it’s a lovely, glossy box too – the sort of thing you’d expect from G-dubz. So we can say that the box looks great, now let’s rip that top cover off!

dungeon bowl sprues

Sprues! Lovely, lovely sprues. I do hope we’re past the days of hiding sprues in a separate box because it really does make all the difference to see them front and centre when one takes the lid off a fresh new set. My favourite reveal by far, and while only one of these six sprues shows anything new, it still makes it a wonderful gateway into the box. That new sprue features the components key to the Dungeon Bowl experience – treasure chests and portals. Just seeing these here takes me back to, and reminds me wonderfully of, the mayhem that this game can inspire (though I still have a minor fear of opening treasure chests thanks to this game – stupid booby traps).

One might argue that the lack of new miniatures in this box could be seen as a let down, but I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Sure, we like shiny, new things (people who do this hobby seem to share about 95% of their DNA with magpies), but we are getting new teams here, and the familiarity of these kits will come as a comfort when descending into the magical dungeons of this game. So while I could see it as a downside, I really don’t think it is here – everything about this feels very new (and yet oddly familiar to us older fans) anyway.

dungeon bowl team sprues

And here are those familiar sprues in not so familiar settings or colours. Beneath the components needed for the game, we have our teams: Ogres and Dwarves rendered in luminous coral (that’s pinky-orange to the uninitiated), while the Skaven and Dark Elves are wearing a fetching and vibrant purple. I think this is a really nice touch for this game which features very dark boards, and I know people who have limited vision will appreciate these colour choices if they want to get playing straight away.

dungeon bowl card insert

Then we have the divider that separates the sprues from the books. Not really much more to say about it so let’s get that to one side.

dungeon bowl book cover

The rulebook is chunkier than I thought it would be. Happily, you don’t need to own Blood Bowl before cracking on with Dungeon Bowl – all the rules for this iteration of the game are in this book, and that’s great. The book itself is full of great illustrations and has been put together to those usual high standards you’d expect from Games Workshop. We’ll look at this book a little bit more later in this post, so what other pages of things do you get?

dungeon bowl papers

Well, there are the assembly instructions (always useful) and, wonderfully, a cheat sheet – a must have, especially for new players and those who will forget rules constantly and get them confused with regular Blood Bowl (i.e. Me). You are allowed to fine me 10,000 gold pieces if at any point I try to do a weather roll – this will happen.

dungeon bowl boards, dice and bases

When we lift the cardboard out, we find our bases, some more vibrantly colourful Blood Bowl dice that match the team colours, and the boards. The boards are really lovely, with their thematic and charming illustrations set on thick card with a very pleasing satin-like finish, they are just lovely. You’ve got your dugouts too, but the rooms are the real stars of this box – a great headliner to hide beneath everything else as a final reveal.

dungeon bowl rooms

In regards to the box, I like everything about it. I always try and find something even a little negative in my reviews, just to emphasise balance and honesty, but I can’t with this one. It may down to the fact that I’m super excited for this game, but I’m seeing nothing but win here. Everything is top quality, the minis are great (even if they’re not new), the boards are stunning and the rulebook is nice and chunky too. Well done to the teams who helped bring Dungeon Bowl back!

A Little More About The Book

dungeon bowl book contents

This book is very good at not presuming that the person who purchased this set already knows all the ins and outs of the Blood Bowl setting. Dungeon Bowl uses the majority of the rules that long time BB players will be familiar with, but there are some very important distinctions that help to make this a truly magical game. It’s worth any Blood Bowl player reading all of this book very carefully because it will be like 90% the same as Blood Bowl and then something will catch your eyes that’s different. From the Treasure chests and Portals which are obvious, to not needing to worry about weather, or getting knocked into the fans. It’s also key for everyone to remember how important that first touchdown is, because it will be the only touchdown – first to score wins, so no “oh, I’ll get them on the next drive” thoughts.

dungeon bowl touchdown

One section of the book that has had me engrossed is the section detailing what happens in each of the different dungeon rooms. Each room in Dungeon Bowl has different rules, you see. Yes, you heard me. Each room is governed by the nature of the room and this can lead to some very tactical thinking and hilarious disasters too. You might try and strike it rich in The Treasure Room, or ensure you have a presence in the sewer where any players there gain the ‘Disturbing Presence’ rule, and you can even have a food fight in the kitchen. This is going to be so much fun.

dungeon bowl room rules

If you think Dungeon Bowl is to Blood Bowl what 3D Chess is to Chess, you’d be wrong. It’s actually what 3D Chess that’s on fire and everyone’s falling over and laughing half the time is to Chess. So much of that comes down to these rooms. There are lots of other enjoyable rules that go to make this game a great deal of fun, but you’ll soon learn that it’s all about location, location, location.

The other variable that will throw off any seasoned player is the make-up of the teams. Orcs and Humans teaming up will look very strange to many of us, but when you read through the rosters, you can see how it all makes sense. It’s bonkers, but it’s sense-making bonkers. I already know what team I’m going to be putting together because I a) came up with a pun name that’s wonderfully nerdy, and b) I found the college of magic that really speaks to me – The College of Beasts.

college of beasts dungeon bowl

So the team I’m taking will look like this:

7x Beastmen

2x Pestigors

2x Khorngors

1x Minotaur 

2x Team Rerolls

Everything has horns! So I’m calling it Round The Horn and they’ll all have names like Rambling Syd Rumpo, Julian, Sandy, Dame Celia Molestrangler… Basically, if you’re a fan of 1960s BBC radio comedies, you’ll be enjoying a sensible chuckle right now. And if not, well, you should be. And the fact that they all have horns and so tackle super hard makes them even greater in my beardy eyes. As with Blood Bowl, in Dungeon Bowl, I am rarely focussed on the ball. It’s also an excuse to try and hunt down this Oldhammer cutie to act as a manager:

oldhammer amber wizard

So, in summary, if you like Blood Bowl but wish it could be crazier, weirder and slightly different, this is the game for you. If you’ve never played a Blood Bowl style sort of game before, I would still probably suggest getting the basic game and trying out life on the Gridiron first with a more traditional team. Dungeon Bowl can be a bit full on for newer players, so that’s a reminder to all of us veterans to be good and patient teachers when introducing the uninitiated. And if you like try Blood Bowl, enjoy it, and wish that it could be nightmarishly hilarious and full of even more mayhem, Dungeon Bowl is absolutely the game for you.

I cannot wait to get going with this game, and I’m only two Pestigors (called Daphne Whitethigh and Seamus Android – again, listen to Round the Horne) from being able to field an unpainted version. And painting them will be great too – can you imagine the basing options!? Pick a room (or several) and work to that. This gets a bog foam-thumbs up from me, and I hope to get playing very soon indeed. Onwards!

Blood on the Pitch – Khorne arrives in Blood Bowl!

Posted by johnnya10 on 06/11/2021
Posted in: Unboxing. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Oh, GW, you do know how to make me happy. Only the other day, I was thinking that I hadn’t played Blood Bowl in far too long (stupid global pandemic) and that maybe it was a good time to put a new team together. As an Orc player, I like teams that hit hard and only really worry about the ball when there are no faces to smash – you can check out Da Mighty Redz if you’d like to take a look at my regular squad.

So I was delighted when Games Workshop saw fit to send me all the brand new Khorne goodies for me to review this week here on the blog. And boy do they look great!

khorne blood bowl team and accessories

I mean, how good does that all look!? This is absolutely perfect for me and easily one of the most exciting packages I’ve had delivered this week. As ever, the presentation of these products is perfect. The dice look great, the illustrations and design are top notch – nothing to disapprove of when we’re judging the look of these products while the cellophane is still on them, so let’s dive deeper and take a look at what’s inside the boxes, after a short piece of tactical analysis.

I love the look of how this team plays. All that frenzy! They are a team for people who like to hit hard and often, but the frenzy on the lower strength players balances this side out and forces the coach to think tactically because that can go wrong fast. So they’re not just a wild swing team, but they can be if you want to trust Nuffle (may he be praised) with your fortune. A fine addition to the game. Now let’s get into those boxes!

khorne blood bowl cards

I love these card packs. All the recent ones have been winners and this is no exception. I like being able to see my roster in card form and the basic player stat cards are great. Judging by those numbers, I am definitely going to be wanting a Bloodspawn for this team – what a beast! Akhorne is a charming touch, but I think Max Spleenripper is my preferred star player of the two. The special play cards are gloriously thematic, and while there are some strong and/or intriguing choices in there, if I had one minor complaint about this deck, it’s that some of them just felt a little underwhelming. Still great, but I wasn’t seeing anything in there that I’d be desperate to draw before a game. But I’m not a good Blood Bowl player (stupid dice), merely a passionate one, so what do I know? It’s usually after I say something like that that someone finds something completely game-breaking that I missed so I’m hoping that’s true here too.

khorne spike! magazine

I think Spike! magazine might just be one of my favourite things about the modern Blood Bowl era. getting an entire mini-publication devoted to a team works really nicely, and it beats having to wait for a book including several teams’ updates, so the more of these journals the better. Like usual, this is a solid issue with plenty to get your teeth (or claws or horns) into, and just enough flavour to inspire one to get on with building and painting the Khorne team.

I loved that my camera picked out Morg N Thorg’s face when I was taking the above photo – kudos to the illustrator there. It’s a good selection of Star Players, and while I like Mr Spleenripper, as I was once, very briefly, the voice of Lord Borak, I think I might have to pick him up for this team. Love that guy.

khorne blood bowl pitch and dugouts

In a way, I think the pitch might be my favourite part of this set. These pitches have come on leaps and bounds, and while I still enjoy my very old pitch, I will be using this for my Khorne games for sure. The finish on the pitch is lovely, it’s nice to have the double sided option, and the slim dugouts are a huge win for someone like me who likes playing Blood Bowl in a pub where table space is at a premium. I will probably be using the blood-drenched side more because (and this is another minor criticism), I find it almost impossible to find the squares on the skull side, and my eyes are pretty sharp. But hey, you couldn’t not have a skull side for a Khorne team, but I just wish it was easier to pick out the square markers on it. So blood-drenched side it is!

khorne blood bowl team sprues

Ok, the transfers are a nice touch. I don’t use the things myself, but I really appreciate those being included here. If you want good pictures of the sprues, go look at the ones on the GW site – they’ve got fantastically good photographers working there so I’m not trying to compete with that. You’ll have seen all of the pictures on Warhammer Community by now, so I won’t linger on this too long, but unsurprisingly, these all look great – I can’t wait to get started.

Now, I’ll be honest with you, when I heard there was going to be a Khorne team in Blood Bowl, I was pretty cold on the idea. A Nurgle team works because Nurgle has an inherent sense of humour to it as a concept, and Blood Bowl is a game that is all about fun and jokes. The hyper-violence of Khorne didn’t seem to fit to my mind back then, but as I was flicking through Spike! and looking at the cards and kit, I got a lot more into the idea. And little things like Akhorne, the Spike! illustrations, and even the wording on some of the cards really help to lift Khorne into the Blood Bowl dimension and give them a funnier edge that they typically lack. They’re still hyper-violent, but you can sprinkle it with enough silliness to make it work in this setting, and we, as players, can help add the final touches to it all with how we paint and name our teams.

So it works, and that’s great. But that leads me to my next point – Slaanesh and Tzeentch teams; when GW? When!? 😉

Overall, this is a great release and if you love a few games on the Gridiron, and you play Blood Bowl like a maniac like I do, then I think you’re going to love this set. Spike! is a great read, the cards a very helpful, the pitch set is fantastic (though with the caveat that the skull side is not the easiest to see the squares on), and the team itself is a triumph. Blood Bowl for the Blood Bowl God!

And as ever, have a wonderful weekend and week ahead full of fantastic hobby. Until next time, dear reader, onwards!

WIP: The Littlest Blood Bowl Team

Posted by johnnya10 on 19/03/2021
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: , , . 2 Comments

Stupid (yet entirely necessary and sensible) lockdown. There’s a brand new edition of Blood Bowl launched and I haven’t played a single darn game of it. Those nights, sat in Bugmans, enjoying some beers as my orcs were demolished by, well, pretty much everyone, were great fun. We will get there again. But, this break has meant that I’ve got time to work on a brand new team. However (boy, this opening paragraph has a lot of twists!) the team that I wanted to work on has spent a lot of time out of stock. I’m talking about the magnificent little Snotling team, who I think are just great. I know I’m unlikely to win a game with them, but I struggle to win with top tier teams, so I figure if I’m going to lose, I may as well have a lot of fun doing so. 

Like I said, the Snotling team have been out of stock for a while, and a little while back, I posted the above on Twitter, mentioning that I would reveal what it as all about. I can tell you now – I’m working on a Chaos Familiars Blood Bowl team. Here’s a few more of them:

Well, I had the minis. Most of them anyway, and it only took three ebay purchases to bring me up to 12 tiny dudes. Why 12? Well, because I’m going to be basing the way these guys play on the Snotling team and trust me, with the amount of dead snots you end up with on these super stunty teams, you’re going to want plenty of subs (especially as you can also swarm the opposing team with them when the ref’s back is turned). Anyway, these are the three retro dudes I picked up:

So, I had the basis of my team, but not all snotlings are created equal. As well as your bottom-of-the-bog standard linemen, there are Fungas Flingas (who essentially throw mushrooms like bombs at the enemy), Stilty Runnas (who have a little more speed due to the fact they’re on stilts) and Fun Hoppas (who, despite sounding like some sort of marital aid, bounce around on Squigs). These are pretty useful to have at your disposal in a team that needs every bit of help it can get, so I wanted to make sure my little weirdos had the same access to these types of players. Obviously though, I couldn’t mount any on squigs, and mushrooms, while kind-of witchy, aren’t really chaosy, so it was time to get the brain bubbling, and crack open the greenstuff.

Fun Hoppas were pretty easy. I wanted to give them wings, but not big wings that implied flight was possible, but more vestigial wings that with some frantic beating, might carry them off the ground for a step or two. I used the wings from the Graveguard banner pole on the tiny skeleton chap, and I used plasticard to fashion some small dragonfly like wings for the daemonette (who I also gave some clothes – because it’s 2021, and far more practical for Blood Bowl besides). 

Fungus Flingas throw bombs, so I just went with old-school cartoon-inspired round bombs with fuses. I piled up the round balls on the bases, glued on the fuse holes, and then finally the flimsy little fuses. All made from green stuff, and I’ve given these to the two most wizardy looking guys. It’s important in a game of blood bowl for your opponent (and for you) to easily work out which player on the team does what, and both the wings and bombs should do this pretty well.

The brainwave for the Stilty Runnas though is what I’m most proud of. I thought about making stilts but that just didn’t seem right for familiars. And then it hit me. Tiny Balewind Vortices. It will elevate them (like the stilts) and you could see these little dirt devils zooming around the pitch too. A twist of greenstuff and an eight pointed star from one of the Chaos vehicle kits, and there you go! I’d also suggest running a pin through these – I didn’t and they feel mega flimsy so I’m just waiting for them to topple over.

Here’s a close up of some of my favourite paint jobs. I’ve completed six so far, so we’re half way through the little guys!

The bases are representative of a lava-field – probably one of the few sorts of “fields” that are available to play on in the Chaos Wastes. The cracks represent the lines on the pitch, and the height of them help to make these teeny-weeny familars stand up a little taller (making them easier to see and pick up during the game). And you can learn how to create them in yesterday’s post!

There’s a lot more to come though. Along with the six more familiars, you’ll be aware that Snotling teams also get access to a couple of tamed trolls and, of course, the infamous Snotling Pump Wagon (again, two of them). I’ve got ideas for these but I’ll keep that to myself for just a little while longer – they should be a lot of fun though. But I can show you their manager:

So that’s one of the fun little projects I’ve got on. I’ll keep you posted with any more news. Fingers crossed, by the time we’re allowed to play Blood Bowl in Bugmans again, I’ll have a brand new team to enjoy. Until then, onwards!

Just finished this guy before publishing!

The Release Dump – New Things From GAMA!

Posted by johnnya10 on 15/03/2018
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment. Tagged: , , . 3 Comments
Well, we’re used to getting the occasional snippet from GW when it comes to new releases, but we’ve had an avalanche of information come through from Nottingham in the last 24 hours (and who knows if we’ll be getting even more soon). This is all down to GW’s appearance at GAMA, the big board games trade show, and it’s damn sporting of the company to share the official vids and photos with us, rather than having us all squinting at leaked, grainy bits and pieces. So, while I may go into a bit more detail in the future on all of these things (or at least some of them), let’s take a quick look at the massive dump of new delights that has graced us this week.
Chaos Blood Bowl Team
It’s great to see something new coming out for Blood Bowl. It feels like it’s been a little while since everyone’s favourite fantastical football game got something new, but that’s not actually true. It’s just that we’ve seen so much of everything being released lately, our brains are no longer capable of grasping the basic concept of time.
chaos blood bowl team chosen
chaos blood bowl team beastman
This looks like a team for brutal players who like an elite group of monsters who are seriously capable of stomping down the opposition. I don’t think Doom Lords players will be worrying too much about the actual ball in their games. I’m even tempted to pick them up and create a new incarnation of the legendary Chaos All Stars.
blood bowl chaos all stars
I’m liking the mix of Chosen and Beastmen in here. I dare say there’ll be some different roles involved, but combined with a Minotaur (or some sort of terrifying Warrior/Daemon special character maybe?), they’re going to be hard to knock over.
Kill Team
This is one of my favourites. I’ve always liked the Kill Team format because it’s so quick and intimate. It really feels like GW have been listening to the fanbase here. Blood Bowl, Shadow War and Necromunda have all performed so amazingly over recent months, that it makes sense for the folks in Nottingham to revive the long-running 40K skirmish game now.
Kill team is so quick and easy to play. It’s yet another great gateway game to get new people into the main game and its bigger battles, but its also great for us veterans too. If you’ve had a long game, but you’re still in the mood for more dice rolling, but the store is closing soon, Kill Team provides a great opportunity to get your gaming fix in.
And with 8th Edition rules, I dare say it’ll be even faster and more flexible. It’s a great game for learning the fundamentals of your favourite squads, and getting some insight into familiar and unusual opponents alike. I can’t wait to pick up this update.
Van Saar
van saar badge
Now, you know I’ll be talking more about this in a later post. Don’t worry, the name generators are being planned as we speak, and when I get some more images and insight into their background, I’ll put a full post together.
In the meantime, I’m enjoying the professional and polished weapons, sombre expressions, and fantastically manga-sci-fi-inspired armour of those survival suits. I love the multi-eyed helmet, and whatever that heavy weapon is… well, this has got me very excited. Regardless, this represents an amazing update on possibly the ugliest gang from the last iteration of the game. Frankly, they now look like one of the fanciest in the new game. Excellent stuff!
And There’s More…
tell me more gif
But I won’t cover any more of it in this post. If you want to read and see more about GW’s GAMA wares, and get the more official details, I’d suggest checking out the community website. You’ll find many fun things to ogle at. Add Forgebane to all of this, and we’ve got plenty to be excited about. I hope you are as giddy and gleeful as I am. And now that I’ve given you three posts in three days (possibly a record on H&H), I shall leave you to enjoy your toy soldiers in peace.

 

Blood Bowl Orcs Reinforcements – Troll & Goblin

Posted by johnnya10 on 27/10/2017
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: , , , . 2 Comments

blood bowl troll and goblin

You can never stop at just the boxed squad, right? Well, I’ve added to my Orc Blood Bowl Team, Da Mighty Redz, in the form of my new Troll and Goblin. The little and large duo move me a little closer to completing the project with plenty of time to spare before Necromunda hits in November, and I’m quite happy with how they both turned out.

The keen-eyed amongst you will notice that this is not the official Blood Bowl troll, but a Stone Troll (Sorry, ‘Rockgut Troggoth’ for those of you who speak Sigmarese) that’s been slightly converted and that’s because I’m not the greatest fan of the new Blood Bowl troll. While it’s of course a quality sculpt (what isn’t from GW these days, right?), I like my trolls to look like big, grumpy and fairly immobile brick walls, and not someone throwing out the first pitch at a Yankee’s game. Less dynamic, more static – which pretty much goes against my entire miniature design philosophy but I guess this is the exception that proves the rule.

So, I chopped off his bone-club (poor chap – sounds painful), and made a knuckleduster from some plasticard, green stuff and the spikes are actually from a Storm Raven’s missile launcher. I made some knee pads from green stuff, plasticard and green stuff made me the arm guards, and the shoulder pad is from the Chaos Terminator kit. There are a few green stuff leather straps and I had to hack off and rebuild half an ear to make room for the aforementioned shoulder pad. Oh, and he has a backplate that has been nailed into him because he’s a troll and he doesn’t mind that.

troll and goblin

The goblin was a tricky little bugger to paint. He didn’t take too long (I actually painted him in about 5 hours!) but it can be tricky to switch gears when you’ve been working on something as big as a troll. But that’s a super fun kit and I’m almost certainly going to be adding another gobbo in the near future. Not only because it was enjoyable to paint, but also because it’s pretty risky bringing a single goblin to a Blood Bowl game. They either get squished or the troll eats them so better safe than sorry.

And as you can see from the above snap, these guys are called Murvy and Owni which is my tribute to two Liverpool stars of my younger years – Danny Murphy and Michael Owen. Not exactly dead ringers, but Murphy does have a slightly troll like demeanour (and attitude) and Owen was (and still is) a bit short, so it kind of fits.

michael owen and danny murphy

In terms of tactics, the goblin is there to pick up the ball (because having played with Orcs, they’re practically incapable of this when you need them to) and the troll can throw him up the field to score me a touch down. Not particularly intricate tactics, but they’re a well used staple of the game. Looking forward to trying it out.

goblin troll height comparison

I just like this picture because it’s like they’re standing back to back with the Goblin saying something like “See, I’m definitely gettin’ taller!”. 😀 But it also shows off a bit more of the troll armour, and I love the look of the Goblin in profile – those helmets are awesome.

That’s your lot for this post. Well, except to say that the desk project has been delayed by just a couple of days while the last couple of stragglers get back to me. Early next week. I promise. Have a great Friday, a cracking weekend, and the very best of luck with all of your painting projects. Onwards!

Da Mighty Redz – Orc Blood Bowl Team

Posted by johnnya10 on 16/10/2017
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: , , . 4 Comments

I finished something! My Orc Blood Bowl team, Da Mighty Redz are now done! And what’s more, just to add a cherry on the top, my camera is working again, so I actually have half decent pictures of them. My cup (or Blood Bowl) runneth over. So here, in this post, I shall present to you the newest team to be taking to the pitch.

orc blood bowl team

blood bowl orc team names

Here are the first six. That’s Dag-Lash, Burnz, ‘Krazy Boar’, Hencho, Foula and Hip-Prya. And here come the rest of the team…

new orc blood bowl players

blood bowl orcs rear

Then we have the second six: Krush, Crag-Ghar, Jaw ‘Ard, Burga, Lonzo and Goblar.

I had a huge amount of fun painting this team and I really do love the miniatures. They’re excellently posed and with some great little details too. To think how far we’ve come since the old miniatures for this game! What a time to be painting.

I went a bit snap happy with the camera – it hasn’t worked for so long now and I wanted to make sure that I could do justice to all of the players here. What’s more, I wanted to further highlight what I talked about in my last post about this team – making duplicate pose figures look different. So let’s start with the linemen.

blood bowl orc linemen

I finished off these guys so long ago that I can barely remember painting them, but it’s nice to see them looking this good. I’m particularly fond of the “YNWA” (You’ll Never Walk Again) and “No Mersey” details on the armour. I also did the Orcidas symbol on one of these guys to go with the stripes. I’m also liking how the team symbol pops too – that nice flash of turquoise and yellow on each model really gives them something else.

blood bowl orc throwers

The throwers really highlight how the different green green skin tones can help to differentiate the two models. These guys were painted a long time ago so I don’t remember too much about them either – geez, I’ve really got to get better at painting fast just so that I can remember what I did to talk about it on here!

black orc blockers

The Black Orc Blockers were a huge amount of fun to paint, and all those flat surfaces give you so much room with which to have fun. And they are huge too – they really look good and intimidating. Can’t wait to see them holding up the line and stomping face.

orc blood bowl blitzers

And the Blitzers are done! I was thinking about giving them very vibrant plumes, but went with natural hair tones instead – it just felt a little better because these guys are already colourful enough. I do like Foula’s fancy purple boots though. Very fetching. These guys were a little tougher to paint than the rest of the team because that dynamic pose gives you some funny angles to work around. But great fun to paint too – those masks/helmets are great!

IMG_0298

That’s the team – Da Mighty Redz are now ready to take to the field. I think I’ve done both Liverpool FC and the Orc tribes proud. However, just because the core team is done, that doesn’t mean that this project is over. Oh no. For a start, you’ve already seen my Ghoul-Chewer and some of the peripherals:

varag ghoul chewer and peripherals

And there is more to come, but you’ll have to wait for that. I’ve still got a little time before Necromunda, so I have to fill my time somehow. But for now, this is your lot. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing the team in all their glory. Next step: the big leagues. Onwards!

=][=

Oh, and one more thing. A lot of you liked my post about the desk project. I’ve had some responses already, but I’d still like some more. A lot of you liked that post, so it’d be great to get a few more responses from you. Please take another look, and drop me an email if you can. Cheers!

Black Orc Blockers – Blood Bowl Continues

Posted by johnnya10 on 04/10/2017
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: . 2 Comments
Black Orc Blockers
I thought it had been a while since I showed you a proper update on where I’m at with my Blood Bowl team, Da Mighty Redz, and so I present to you my two Black Orc Blockers – Daglash and Burga.
Yes, those of you who know your Sports Ball will recognise those names as close approximations of Dalglish and Burger – two of my favourite Liverpool FC players. Their numbers even match, though Daglash is technically ‘Also 7’ as a lot of good players have worn the No.7 shirt at Liverpool so there’ll be another ‘7’ joining my team soon. There’s not much of a similarity in looks though…
dalglish and burger
But the other thing I wanted to talk about in this post is subtle conversions, and differentiating paint jobs that can help to add some individualisation and personality to your teams. My heart sank initially when I first learnt that all the teams were made up of 6×2 models – six pairs if you like, of identical players. I didn’t want to waste a lot of time doing heavy conversions and changing stances.
So in order to give them some individuality, I took a two stage approach – minor conversions, and paint jobs. And thankfully, Orcs are probably the easiest team to do this work on as they’re supposed to look a bit more battered and smashed up.
minor conversions blood bowl orcs
Minor Conversions:
  • Spikes – Add/Remove some of the hundreds of spikes that appear all over this team. Take one from a shoulder, and add it to a helmet. Take a couple from a knee pad, and add those removed spikes to a gauntlet or knuckle duster. Rinse and repeat.
  • Scratches – Using a craft knife, just cut a few additional scratches into the edges of the armour. Don’t go overboard, but a few here and there.
  • Holes – One or two only. Use something like the smallest bit in the citadel hand drill kit to make a couple of holes in the armour.
  • Green Stuff – Does he have a plume? Add a few more hairs to it. Does he have a bit of cloth hanging down? Make it a little longer. Keep it simple and small, and make sure it’s different on each model.
Do this to each pair (ensuring that you keep things different) and along with the basing, you can get some real individualism into each member. Some will say that without changing the poses, this won’t be enough, but remember this – as someone who has played both Rugby and American Football, I can tell you that individualism in your stance isn’t something that’s desirable. In fact, it can get you injured pretty quickly. Good form on a player looks pretty much the same for every player. There’s only one best stance, and your guys are both good at it (they’re pros) so that’s enough. It shows that they’re pros.
black orc blood bowl rear
Painting Changes:
*Remember, when it comes to colours, keep your armour all the same in terms of base colours and highlighting. In my team, this means red and silver with white details and the same ‘flaming torch’ emblem on their right shoulder. But everything else…
  • Boots – Have you seen footballers’ boots recently? The days of plain black boots are long gone, so go wild with the colours.
  • Trousers – You might want them a bit more uniform for other teams, but for Orcs, these can be changed around. Greys and Browns are your friends here.
  • Skin Tone – every race has a wonderful rainbow of skin tones to choose, so don’t stick to the same formula for each. (Black Orcs aren’t the best example of this as I wanted to keep them both dark, but other team members have more widely varying tones as you can see in this post)
  • Numbers & Details – Obvious one; each number gets a different number. And change where you put some of the other details. My ‘Orcidas’ stripes are a good example.
  • Effects – When adding mud, scratches or rust patches, you’ll naturally be a bit more random, and that’s great. Different locations for rust really helps to set them apart.
And that’s about it. Well, that’s how I’ve done it. I’m not trying to teach you anything advanced here, but the whole team is starting to really come together and thanks to these methods, there isn’t too much of a mirror-image-vibe going on.
Here are the two blitzers that I’ve just undercoated (they’re the final part of the boxed team left for me to paint) and you can see a couple of subtle conversions in there. As for the paint jobs, these Black Orc Blockers demonstrate how to keep them in uniform, but both individual.
unpainted orc blitzers converted
With that, I shall leave you for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed checking out what I’m working on, and that this gave you a few ideas to help make your identical duos a little less identical. Hopefully I’ll have the whole team ready to show you soon. Onwards!