Earlier this month, Warhammer World hosted Quick Snap – a one-day Blood Bowl Matched Play event. Local coach Adam Archer took to the gridiron, playing three games full of blood, violence, and touchdowns – here are the highlights.
Jim: Blood Bowl is a spectacle that deserves a grand venue, Bob.
Bob: Like Warhammer World, Jim!
Adam: I was really looking forward to the Quick Snap as the first Blood Bowl event at Warhammer World under the Third Season Edition rules. My only problem was deciding which team to play for the event – a common problem for me!
Fortunately, a friend solved this by saying they would pick and supply a team for me, with the roster revealed to me the evening before the event. When that evening duly arrived, the choice was revealed as Chaos Renegades with the Favoured of Khorne rule, Two Team Re-rolls and the following roster:
Ogre with Guard
Minotaur* with Block
Renegade Orc
Renegade Goblin
Renegade Skaven with Wrestle
Renegade Dark Elf with Dodge
Four Renegade Humans, two of them with Block
An interesting team with plenty of muscle in the form of four Big Guys, so a bit of unreliability traded for the ability to outmuscle all the teams I’d face.
Round 1
Jim: Tomb Kings is a tough match first up, Bob.
Bob: I’d be crying for my mummy, Jim.
When the day of Quick Snap rolled around, I arrived at Warhammer World and found I was first drawn against a Tomb Kings roster with the Star Player Wilhelm Chaney and four Tomb Guardians – there went my chances of winning a Strength battle!
The kick-off roll went to my opponent, who elected to receive the ball, no doubt hoping to inflict some early casualties on me. Some classic Blood Bowl moments followed, including Scyla leaving the pitch as a casualty after rolling a double player down and my previously well-behaved Minotaur angrily refusing the opportunity to push Chaney into the crowd. My opponent took full advantage by getting the ball to Chaney with a quick pass, and he raced away to score.
This left me one turn in which to attempt to score! Everything fell to my Troll, who scooped up the Goblin and made a superb throw down the pitch. The Goblin scattered towards the End Zone… then spectacularly crashed into the floor, ending the half. The second half was similar to the first, with us both trying to gain the upper hand with numbers and our position on the pitch. Finally, I managed to create some space for my Dark Elf to sneak through and score the equaliser.
A very enjoyable first game, with a final score of 1-1 being a fair result. I also picked up a bonus point for causing three casualties!
Round 2
Jim: Tomb Kings again in round 2, Bob.
Bob: Time to give them their just deserts, Jim!
I couldn’t face that much strength again, could I? Apparently, I could, as I was up against another Tomb Kings coach but with a different roster than my previous opponent, with more players and re-rolls over a Star Player.
Once again, my opponent elected to receive the ball and started the drive trying to push down the field. This led to a big brawl of Strength 5 players in the middle of the pitch, with my Minotaur stepping up and inflicting two casualties, one of which was a Tomb Guardian. This proved enough to get the ball loose, but I lacked the time to score before halftime.
Thankfully, my opponent had failed the regeneration roll on the Tomb Guardian, so I had a slight advantage for the second half. I slowly ground my way down the pitch, causing one more casualty to get a bonus point for three total casualties and then scoring on my turn eight, leaving my opponent without the time to equalise and earning myself an additional bonus point for not conceding a touchdown.
Final score: 1-0 to me.
Round 3
Jim: The Dark Elves are known for playing dirty, Bob.
Bob: That’s why they’re my favourite Elves, Jim!
I was hopeful that this would be the round where I could make the most of my four Big Guys. Thankfully, my opponent was fielding Dark Elves, who’d gone for an 11-player roster with three re-rolls and a keg of Blitzer’s Best.
Once again, I lost the roll-off and ended up kicking the ball to my opponent. He struggled to find a way through all of my Big Guys, which allowed me to apply lots of pressure and blitz his ball carrier. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fully protect the ball, allowing him to recover it and use his Elf agility to pass the ball and run straight to the End Zone. With one turn left to score, my Troll and Goblin pair failed their Throw Team-mate, ending the half!
In the second half, I decided to push for the win, so I needed to score early to allow enough time to try for a second touchdown. The Big Guys behaved themselves and knocked a number of Elves to the ground, sadly without causing any casualties, and this gave me the space to score in my turn four.
For the next Drive, I set up aggressively, with the intention of applying plenty of pressure as soon as possible, to hopefully force my opponent to make a mistake. A failed block by the Elves created an opening to steal the ball on my turn six and score a touchdown in turn eight. A time-out kick-off event prolonged the game and offered my opponent a chance to equalise, but they were unable to, securing me the win.
Final score: 2-1 to me.
Final Results
My games left me with five tournament points and three bonus points, placing me eighth out of 60 players. This was a result I was very happy with, having never played Chaos Renegades before. Even better, I had three great games against fantastic opponents, and it was awesome to be in Warhammer World when it was filled with Blood Bowl players!
Thanks, Adam! If you want to play on the legendary Warhammer World turf, keep your eyes on the events page of the website to see what tournaments are coming up…
* Or sports cow, as Adam likes to call them!
