SKABB League

I hadn't intended to go to UKTC this year. The date change from last year (April to August) and initially the thought it might clash with Thrudball meant that a number from our league were unable to attend for various reasons. Then two weeks ago I saw some messages from Mike (sann0638) and Alex (dementor/pegleg) saying that they were looking to put in a last minute team to even up the numbers. I looked into whether I could make the logistics work, and with a car share from St Albans with our other team mate Tom (chicken, 23rd of his kind) booked in, along with a little jiggery pokery with nursery pick ups from my partner, it became a possibility.  I rejigged my calendar of what teams I will be taking to what tournaments so I could use one that is currently painted and I settled on an amazon build with 2 blitzers (block and wrestle), 2 blockers (guard and block), 2 throwers, linewomen to 13 (1 with block and 1 with guard), 3 re-rolls, an apothecary and (apparently - I forgot about i...

 I’m looking at taking Amazons to a tournament soon and have been thinking about the best way to utilise the throwers’ innate On the Ball skill. Assuming I remember that they have it, that is. When I played Lizardmen recently I had to write a post it note and put it in my dugout to remind me. The first thing to think about is what the skill allows you to do. On a kick-off, a player may move three squares prior to the ball landing as long as there wasn’t a touchback, and it doesn’t allow a player to cross into the opposition’s half. There are then really two primary uses of this skill on the kick off. 1.        To reposition 1 player slightly 2.        To attempt to get nearer to – ideally underneath – the ball. Simple repositioning doesn’t need to be looked at in any great depth. It might allow you to do things such as screen where the ball is landing, or offer an assist for a key block without having to decide w...

Unfortunately, this isn’t a dissection of getting a good mentor to help you train for Blood Bowl in a Rocky-esque montage, but instead an analysis of the value of hiring a coach for your team. Like Einstein’s best theory, it is all relative. It really depends on the number of coaches you have compared to your opponent. If they have 2 and you have 2, then the net effect is the same as if you both hadn’t bothered to bring along any coaching staff. Let’s first consider when coaches come into play during the game. The only time that they directly affect the on-field game is when Brilliant Coaching is rolled on the kick-off table. This is a result of 7 which has a 17% probability of occurring, just below 1 in 5. When this happens, both coaches roll a D6 and add the number of coaches. If one coach scores higher than the other, they gain a re-roll for the drive. If both coaches score the same, then there is no effect. Below is a table which shows, based on how many coaches you have more...

Last year was my first time at Thrudball . I hadn't planned to go this year as it clashed with my wife's birthday. But then I accidentally won a ticket at Glowbowl  earlier this year, and she told me I had to go. Thrudball is an annual event held in Swindon each year, with a focus on raising money for charity along with promoting a family friendly inclusive Blood Bowl event. Last year, eight SKABB league members travelled up although for various reasons, this year it was just myself and Oli (eldritchfox). After a brief stop in Reading to pick up a stranded German (Joe aka Zallas) we arrived just in time for me to join in the Sevens event whilst Oli set up the items in advance of Saturday evening's auction.   I had decided to play vampires to get a bit more practice in with them. I'd used them in our between seasons Sevens league and found them to be very hit and miss, winning about half my games and losing the other half. The format of the event is that you get to assig...