Team of the week

[Gandalf]

I couldn't be in charge of a Skaven team with no gutter runners. It would feel so wrong...

[notjarvis]

Is that 4 trolls you could have?

That'd be a horrible to face bashy team with a bit of lightweight pace.

[Raveen]

No, just the one mutating troll - I've added the player availability to the post (the spreadsheet I'm using doesn't have that information and the "New Teams" aren't in the main rules because GW doesn't make minis for them.

I've got to say that this isn't a team I'd choose to run, too much animosity and not enough quality. The troll though would be very tempting - a ClawPOMB troll with block on doubles is not something I'd want to face.

I guess the big question is would you run the ball with a goblin or a skaven? Using the thrower as a runner would be my choice I think. Maybe a dump off pairing of throwers like the Dark Elf runners would be a good idea?

Of course there's always the Throw Team Mate option but there's so much to go wrong with that, it's just a desperation play surely?

[Wyld Karde]

I'd play a running game using the blitzers to make a hole and the goblins for marking, screening and general distraction play.  I'd also use 'em for receiving passes if the ball carrier gets bogged down.  Slippery li'l buggers can pop up in all sorts of places.

[Raveen]

Using the goblins as receivers is an obvious play but you do run into Animosity which is a pain. The same problem applies to the thow a goblin tactic - it's one more dice roll to go wrong, on top of all the others.

[Raveen]

It's Friday and I've remembered so it's TEAM OF THE WEEK!!!

And this week it's...

...

...

NURGLE!!!!

Everyone's favourite diseased chaos teams!

Code: Select all

0-16   Rotter   40000   5   3   3   8   Decay, Nurgle's Rot   GM   ASP
0-4   Pestigor   80000   6   3   3   8   Horns, Nurgle's Rot, Regeneration   GSM   AP
0-4   Nurgle Warrior   110000   4   4   2   9   Disturbing Presence, Foul Appearance, Nurgle's Rot, Regeneration   GSM   AP
0-1   Nurgle Beast   140000   4   5   1   9   Loner, Disturbing Presence, Foul Appearance, Mighty Blow, Nurgle's Rot, Really Stupid, Regeneration, Tentacles   S   GAPM


[Raveen]

Ok, let's break it down.

Rotters at 5338 are pretty good for 40k. Decent armour is balanced by decay but 3 St and 3 Ag are great on this type of player (speaking as someone who manages zombies for fun). Also you stand a chance of getting free ones due to Nurgle's Rot which is a nice bonus.

Skill wise some form of Block/Wrestle combo is good as these guys are going to be line fodder most likely and at more than two skills I'd start wondering about cutting and rebuying, unless you get good rolls like +ST or +Ag (Rotter quarterback anyone?)

Pesti's are quicker but at Mv 6 this is never going to be a fast team. There's 2 ways to go here, a blitzer build with Block, strip ball, tackle and a ball retriever/runner with sure hands, big hand and so on. Probably 2 of each is a good call.

Nurgle Warriors - Hit stuff and use that disturbing presence and foul appearance to disrupt play as much as possible. I'd try to avoid the temptation to stick them on the line even though that'll give them free hits. I'd keep them back a bit so that you can either build your cage with them or get them where you need them on defence. Typical ClawPOMB skills seems smart to me.

Beast - Stick him in the line to grab and hold anyone trying to get away and use him as a pivot to move the play around.

[notjarvis]

I always find the Beast a nightmare to play against and really hard to pin down.

Nurgle teams I find a bit too slow really to play with. I've been trying a SP campaign as Chaos at the moment, and at least their basic unit can Move 6.

Pretty much a bashy team. I'd like to play and try and Nurgles rot some people on to  my team sometime :-)

[Wyld Karde]

Not much to add that Rav didn't already say.  They're a lot like the basic Chaos roster in some ways, definitely a bashy team.  Of course, some good level ups can turn the pestigors into elfball players if you want the flexibility option, but personally I'd be making the most of those horns and looking to turn 'em into blitzers.  Rotters make for great fodder.  They're cheap to replace and if you're lucky you'll be picking up some for free off the opposition, which is just as well as Decay can make for a very short career.  Put 'em on the line to hold up opposing bashers and use 'em for marking and general screening.
They're not a team I'd recommend for a beginner though.  Decaying rotters mean your roster may end up coming up short if your luck turns sour and your cash runs low, and a Big Guy with Loner in addition to Really Stupid makes him even more of a liability than most Big Guys.

[notjarvis]

[quote="Wyld Karde"]and a Big Guy with Loner in addition to Really Stupid makes him even more of a liability than most Big Guys.
[/quote]
Yeah. Loner and stupid are a real PITA, but i wouldn't view it as worse than others.

Trolls and Ogres have the same, and you basically can't count on them to do any specific action in a turn, so you end up having to keep a minder with them all the time
Minotaurs have wildanimal which isn't too bad if you always use them to blitz for victory (with Horns too they can be good), but it's still 1 in 6 chance of no use.

Treemen are probably the most reliable Big guys (and they still have take root to worry about)

[Wyld Karde]

Yeah, but if you're in a pinch and your Big Guy fails his 'do what I want this turn' roll you normally at least have the option of using a team reroll to try it again.  With a Beast of Nurgle you've got to roll to see if you can even use a team reroll!  Of course, if you're in a position where your only hope is a reliable Big Guy you're probably boned anyway, but Loner just makes things worse.

[notjarvis]

[quote="Wyld Karde"]
Yeah, but if you're in a pinch and your Big Guy fails his 'do what I want this turn' roll you normally at least have the option of using a team reroll to try it again.  With a Beast of Nurgle you've got to roll to see if you can even use a team reroll!  Of course, if you're in a position where your only hope is a reliable Big Guy you're probably boned anyway, but Loner just makes things worse.
[/quote]

Ummm, Loner is quite common for Big guys

Trolls, Ogres (when not in an Ogre team), Rat-Ogres, Kroxigor, Treemen all have Loner.

That is if I'm reading my rulebook right....
http://www.bloodbowlonline.com/LivingRulebook5.pdf

[Raveen]

You're reading the LRB right but you're not reading the right LRB

We're on version 6 now, put out by GW as the Competition Rules Pack or CRP (a optional). Mostly balance tweaks between the versions but it's worth being up to date. Oh and due to DramaTM they took out all the fluff and fun and pictures. It's 30 pages shorter as a result (if anyone wants a run down of said drama I'll start another thread).

Loner appears on most St5 guys along with another negatrait. Each has their bonuses such as Wild Animals retaining their tackle zones when Boneheads lose them and so on. Really Stupid is probably the worst (well, take root would be bad on a Krox, but on a Tree it barely matters) although Wild Animal could be a real PITA when you just need that guy to work and get in position.

The exceptions are the Khemri Tomb Guardians who have Decay but no loner and Undead Mummies who are the best blockers in the game out of the box.

Back to Nurgle, there's the bash game obviously and they're good at the slow, inevitable roll down the pitch, but there's also the control game. Disturbing presence, foul appearance and mutations like tentacles and prehensile tail can allow you to just shut down the pitch for the other guy. A control game like that can be devastating if you get it right but I suspect it's harder to do than it sounds

[notjarvis]

I like having Big Guys on my team, but I can certainly see there is a big case for going without them for more reliable players that are easier to skill up...

[quote="Raveen"]
Back to Nurgle, there's the bash game obviously and they're good at the slow, inevitable roll down the pitch, but there's also the control game. Disturbing presence, foul appearance and mutations like tentacles and prehensile tail can allow you to just shut down the pitch for the other guy. A control game like that can be devastating if you get it right but I suspect it's harder to do than it sounds
[/quote]

The control game is a difficult thing to pull off, and if you don't do it properly your team can end up too spread out to effectively threaten or defend the ball.

Bit like Barcelona last night really :-)

[Raveen]

The problem with the control game is that you're aiming for a 1-0 win so if something goes wrong, it's very, irretrievably bad for you. But I guess it's the best way to shut down a Wood Elf team and that's never a bad thing.