Blood Bowl PlayBook

by unknown (FUMMBL)

High Elves are arguably the best rounded elven team. With AV 8 on everyone except the Lion Warriors, and ST 3 catchers (4 players with Wardancer’s stats!) they can take more of a beating than Wood Elves while the 4 MA 8 players gives them an edge in speed and the long passing game over Dark Elves. In the early games, with few Catchers in the team, they will employ a mobile running game similar to the Dark Elves. As they develop, they become more and more a fast-scoring team, typically scoring in two turns, though they can delay against teams that aren’t likely to cause a rash of casualties.

by Milo Sharp (www.blood-bowl.net)

In the Old World the dead do not rest easy. Vampires lurk in haunted castles in the sinister forests of Sylvania. Necromancers seek to escape their mortality by searching for forbidden knowledge within the pages of accursed books. In lost pyramids buried beneath the desert sands of the Kingdom of the Dead, the Liche-Lords rule over legions of corpses, their servants in death as they were in life. In the musty crypts of dead noblemen, tomb robbers freeze in terror when they head the clink of silver rings and movement behind them. And on the Blood Bowl field, players who died long go return to the scenes of their former glory and play Blood Bowl once again…

by James Stewart (Games Workshop)

In this article veteran Blood Bowl coach James Stewart lays down methods for leading your Ogre team to victory on
the pitch, including team design, tactics, flying Goblins, and… philosophy?

by Chet Zeshonski (www.blood-bowl.net)

Norse and Human teams enjoy a number of advantages over most other teams. Chief among these is access to all mannner of skills save Physical Abilities. Norse and Human teams also have cheap Linemen, access to both Wizards and Apothecaries, and a large number of position players.

by Stephan Babbage (Paradigm Central)

So you’re interested in our secrets eh? Well, come and meet a nice female dark elf I know. She’s just dying to meet you. :)

In all seriousness, Dark elves aren’t the easiest team to play. Some days they have the habit of just dying by ‘the sword’. In Blood Bowl, the sword is the block dice and the die 6 you roll. Dark elves live by the sword more than most teams. And if you live by the sword, you die by the sword – as the saying goes.

That being said the dark elves are a lot of fun. They are stubborn and cruel enough to hit some teams hard. They won’t last long in a big brawl, but they’ll make casualties as fast as a lot of teams. They also have enough skill and speed to race the fastest of the Blood Bowl teams.

But don’t get the idea that they’re the perfect team. Long term, you’re in for a fight – and will have to use more than your stat line to win a game.

by Babs (Paradigm Central)

I’ve never thought of my Chaos Dwarf teams as the most successful teams I’ve coached – but over my entire 3rd Edition Blood Bowl coaching career – of the three times I’ve coached Chaos Dwarves – I’ve won the league three times. Quite suprising. I think that a primary reason (not the primary – but contributing) is that other players are not used to playing against the Chaos dwarfs and the element of suprise counts for upset win again and again.

by Aaron Thies (www.blood-bowl.net)

Get all your special (non-lineman) players first. I generally like this for any team. Emphasize acquiring both Storm Vermin ASAP to get them going. This is vital depending upon how your league uses Rat Ogres.

by AFK_Eagle (FUMMBL)

Humans are the great all-rounders of Blood Bowl; depending on their opposition, they can run the ball, pass it, or stomp some heads! This can even happen halfway through a drive, when a change of tactics is needed. They started off as the average Blood Bowl roster, but recently introduced new races have pushed them more towards the light-weight end of the spectrum.

by Matt Brown (Games Workshop)

“Dark Elves are renowned for being evil and depraved – and that’s just the Cheerleaders!”. So begins the “Did you know…” for Hubris Rakarth, star blitzer of the Cowboys, and, as a Dark Elf coach of some time, I know the cruel fate that would befall me if I were to divulge too many of their secrets (not to say the number of games I would soon start to lose). However, the great God Nuffle (and his pet minion, Andy) doth compel me to speak, so speak I must. Here then are some thoughts on the Dark Elves. Of course, these are not exhaustive and you may well, should in fact, find yourself developing a few tricks of your own – but this will certainly get you off to a good start. Enjoy… and if Rakarth comes looking for me, tell him I’ve joined the Khemri Foreign Legion.

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.