Blood Bowl PlayBook

by Robert Arnholm (Blood Bowl Home of @rnholm)

The main problem with High Elves are the lack of Big Guys. All of the other team may begin with a big strong (stupid) guy, but not you. If your playing in a rough league with a lot Orcs, Chaos, Dwarfs and Undead teams this can be a problem. But remember, while you dont have an Armour Value[AV] of 9 you got somethine else.. With Agility 4 you can dodge out and minimize your opponents block opportunities. Overall the High Elves are fairly lowpowered, and their movment are generally insignifficant, but not that bad. With AV of 8 they can take a hit or two but they won’t survive in the long run.

by unknown (FUMBBL)

Dark Elves are the nearest thing you will find to a bashy elf team. However, they lack dedicated Catchers, and their Throwers are more expensive than their High Elf rivals. Dark Elves are quick, but not too quick, and can either play for the two-turn TD, or run the ball in over three or more turns, using a very mobile and adaptable cage until making the break for the endzone, with runners waiting in scoring positions.

by Andy Meechan, with Harald Hedlund (www.blood-bowl.net)

The following may be of use to you in a few ways: you’re a beginning Coach; you want to learn some new plays; or you want to see if your favourite cunning plays are original after all. This should be of use to you unless you fall into the last case; the Lateral Plays page is probably more your style – here we’ll see basic kick-off Offensive and Defensive setups and take you through a turn-by-turn guide on how the play should progress. If you’re a new Coach you’ll find the word ‘should’ gains more meaning as you get into the game: experienced Coaches know what I’m talking about.

by Asperon Thorn (Specialist Games Forum)

Human Teams

Humans
This team is an all around decent team. Thier strength lies in that they have no strengths or weaknesses. Everything is a 3+ roll. They have Movement 8 players, access to a Big Buy, access to all skills besides mutations. This team relies on its positionals but has enough of them to do what it needs to. In my opinion it is the best team to learn the game with because it can run, pass, bash, or finesse the ball into the endzone. After playing this team you can decide which part you like best and choose a team that is better for it. It is also a great team to revisit if you are bored with the one you chose, as it is a team that is decent with the style you like but refreshingly good at the parts you couldn’t do well before. It’s a good team throughout the TR ranges and don’t let anyone tell you different.

by Andy Meechan (www.blood-bowl.net)

You’ve played against the same Coaches with their same teams and their same tactics for a lot of games. You’ve no doubt sussed their favourite plays and have, hopefully, developed some nasty counter-plays of your own. You’ve also noticed that they use similar tactics no matter what race they Coach. No doubt they know the same about you.

What you need is to ‘throw them a curve’ in your plays, let them think and react and not respond like automata. Put some interest into your games again – this is, of course, where lateral thinking comes in.

by Brownrob (FUMBBL)

Looking around on the net you can find lots of strategy articles for playing the Chaos team. Unfortunately none of these have been updated to the new BB2k1 rules, so I think it’s time we revisited the Chaos team and see what options the new rules offer us.

by Andy Welton (www.blood-bowl.net)

Undead are too powerful!! This is a common opinion (and I repeat opinion). But contrary to popular belief, (especially in the Pegasus League in Madison WI), Undead can be beat, they do have disadvantages.

by Brownrob (FUMBBL)

I started playing Skaven in our league for the last season. I never played Skaven so far but was surprised by my overall success. I won 9 out 10 games and became League Champion. On the road to success I played against Dwarves, Orcs, Dark Elfs, Lizardmen, Human and Chaos. I wanted to compile my experiences in this guide which is meant for vanilla LRB coaches, though we don’t use stars. Some of my statements could sound strange to you, so constructive criticism is – as always – welcome.

by Mike ‘Da Boffin’ Brooks (www.blood-bowl.net)

Mike is a sort of strange cross between a ‘skateboarding dude’ and a hippy. He’s sixteen and from Ipswich, where he regularly indulges in games of Blood Bowl, Necromunda, and Warhammer 40,000. Blood Bowl remains his first love, however, and he even has plans to write an article based on ‘Star Commentators’, including the sheepskin overcoat-wearing Halfling, John Mootson .. .. Groan!!!

by Coach Blacknife with Mark Roberts (Coach Blacknife's Dugout)

The most basic of all Blood Bowl teams, the Humans get runners, passers and catchers combined with decent speeds and access to the right skill tables at the right times. Reputidly one of the easiest teams to Coach, this team can be very forgiving of early upsets and bounce back remarkably.

While not as specialised as other teams, Humans can provide their own challenge for league play as you will find it difficult to win against experienced Coaches. Oh, and they come free in the box!