Blood Bowl Nurgle

They are finally done, its taken several months, but I can now show off my Nurgle Blood Bowl team a whole 2 weeks before the NAF Championship in Nottingham



Rotters (old picture before the bases and numbers were done, it started raining before I could get a new one done)

It's Snot Unusual

I don't normally post work in progress shots, usually saving the pictures for when I have finished all the painting, but I thought I would show you what I've been up to over the last few weeks.

In May I'll be heading to the NAF Championship in Nottingham, and once again have decided to create and convert a brand new team, this time its Nurgle...

I still have a little more work with the Green Stuff to do but these guys are essentially done.

Rotters

Pestigor

Nurgle Warriors

For my Beast of Nurgle I am using a base of Nurglings, and have prepped a base of face down and face up Nurglings for when the beast inevitably gets knocked down. I'll let you see them sometime in the future

Lone Wolves Challenge Cup Final

Last night saw the final of this years Blood Bowl league, with the Skaven of Th1rt3en taking on the Norse of the Dragon 'Ead Destroyers.

During the season the Skaven had won both meetings, although the Norse did open up pre season with a 4-1 thrashing of their opponents. Even Destroyer's head coach Lordybloke admitted voting for his rivals in the blog poll. It was looking like the writing was on the wall before it began.

It got even more scarier for the northmen as Binx rolled for 2 skill upgrades prior to the match, giving Guard to his Rat Ogre, but also getting +1 Strength on one of his Gutter Runners, Lordybloke was not impressed. He was even less so when he lost the coin toss too!

The teams line up at the start of the game

The whole game was played in Sweltering Heat, and a good start by the Rats saw two of the Norse in the KO box after only 1 turn. The Skaven made their numbers count and by half way through the first half they were up 1-0. The sun really had an impact before the next kick off with both teams reduced to 10 men out of their squads of 14 for the remainder of the half, which didnt see any more scores. The 2nd half did see the Rat Ogre of the Skaven Die! Luckily for them, their apothecary was at hand to patch up the furry beast and he was back on the pitch for the 2nd half.

'Snow Troll' Thrudd decks the Skaven rat ogre

 With the sun still beating down, a 2nd high kick of the game saw the Norse make a slow move down field. The Ratmen did not give up and managed to get the ball on the floor a few times, although the Norse refused to give up and with the last rolls of the game managed to get a short pass down field and into the end zone to make it 1-1 at the end of the game.

After much discussion, it was decided that the game would go to sudden death over time. The Rats once again managed to receive the the kick off but a slurry of injuries and the beating heat of the sun saw them down to 7 players vs the Norse's full team.

This didn't hinder the Skaven and after a couple of turns one of the Gutter Runners managed to break free and was on his own with the ball 2 squares short of the Norse end zone with only one defender within reach.
Then there was a moment of indecisiveness, Binx, the Skaven coach was undecided if he should go for it or not to give himself that little bit of extra room, with no re rolls this was a dangerous move, but eventually he decided he would risk it, after all it was anything but a 1!

The dice came down with one pip showing and the gutter runner tripped and fell spilling the ball and his guts at the same time. With even less players and with hardly any of them standing up the Skaven could do nothing as the Norse quickly scooped up the ball and trotted the length of the pitch for the Championship winning touchdown. A win for the Norse, a 2nd consecutive league championship for Lordybloke, who has now won 3 out of the 4 challenge cups.

Lonewolf Challenge Cup Result.

Overall Championship winner  - Dragon Ead Destroyers
League Champion - Th1rt3en
Wooden Spoon - Orcland Raiderz ( equal on points with Black Moon Rising but a far inferior TD differential)

Player Stats


Most SPP's - Prazsisk - Th1rt3en - 44...... 2nd: Firedrich 'Fang' Wolf - Black Moon Rising - 35
Most Touchdowns - Prazsisk - Th1rt3en - 11.... 2nd: Azhquol - Th1rt3en - 10
Most Casualties - Cnut Ylarson - Dragon Ead Destroyers - 8.... 2nd: Graz Nulhug - Orcland Raiderz - 4



See you next year Blood Bowl fans, with rumours of this the next league being done online, and maybe even in a dungeon, we shall wait and see what transpires.

What can be confirmed is that four of the league participants will be off to Warhammer World in May for the 2nd NAF Championship so stay tuned to see what happens there.

Tis the Season

Blood Bowl is back after the Christmas break, as the last of the games for this season are played out.

This week saw Th1rt3en narrowly beat the Dragon 'Ead Destoyers 2-1 taking them to the top of the league for the first time this year. This was followed by the surprise 4-0 win by Black Moon Rising over the Orcland Raiderz.

Below is the league standings with one game left for four out of the five teams. (still awaiting casualty confirmation from last nights game)  Even though the participants for the final have been known for some time there is still plenty to play for, with top and bottom positions in the league still up for grabs.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts		TD+	TD-	Cas+	Cas-
Th1rt3en	7	5	1	1	16		17	8	6	13
Dragon 'Ead Destroyers	7	5	0	2	15		15	7	12	6
Sinful Bliss	7	3	0	4	9		9	12	4	8
Black Moon Rising	8	2	1	5	7		14	19	4	8
Orcland Raiderz	7	2	0	5	6		4	13	11	2

Challenge Cup 2011 Update

With all the Bloodbowl games for 2011 done and dusted, I thought I would give you all an update on the league standings.

There are two more rounds to be played in January and February before the grand final in March

Remaining fixtures:

January:
Black Moon Rising vs Orcland Raiderz
Dragon 'Ead Destroyers vs Th1rt3en

February:
Th1rt3en vs Sinful Bliss
Orcland Raiderz vs Dragon 'Ead Destroyers

Halfway House

Well, we're halfway through the 4th annual challenge cup and here is the league after 4 games

The fixtures for the 2nd half of the season have been published and games are due to get under way any time soon.

Other stats of note (including pre season )

Most TDs Scored: Prazsisk, Gutter Runner, Th1rt3en - 7
Most Casualties Caused: Cnut Ylarson, Ulfwerener, Dragon 'Ead Destroyers - 5

That's No Troll

Bloodbowl season continues and the Dragon Ead Destroyers are doing alright and making cash along the way.
Time to hire another player.
So what's missing from the team? A bit of raw strength thats what.
Time for a Snow Troll!

I've wracking my brain over what to do for a Snow Troll for a while.
There's a few minis out there I like but would either involve a lot of work or too expensive.
Then memory from long ago hit me!

THRUD!

I've had this BB version of Thrud for ageeeesssssss (I think Binx got it for me when he was still at GW) but never finished painting it so a quick re undercoat (or varnish if you're Cortez!) and I painted him to match the Dragon'eads.

Rules wise he probably fits an Ogre better but looks wise I think he fits the Norse so he's in!

For those who are unaware of Thrud see below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrud_the_Barbarian

Challenge Cup 2011

At the request of Lordybloke, here is the league table after 3 rounds of the 2011 Lonewolves Challenge Cup.

With 7 rounds to go ( 5 games for some 6 for the others) there is still plenty to play for, at present its the Skaven and Norse in position to play in the final.

Three for all!

The final game of round 1 of the Lonewolves challenge cup is over and here are the highlights.

Under a sweltering heat an almost capacity crowd of 24,000 fans witnessed a classic encounter between the Skaven and Necromantics.
Last time out the Rats demolished the Undead 5-0, and it appeared history might repeat itself as Th1rt3en took a 2-0 lead after only 4 turns. The relentless heat hindered both teams, especially the dead guys as they had their Golem, a Werewolf and Zombie in the dug out suffering from exhaustion as the 2nd score went in.
With a full 4 turns remaining and 3 of the Skaven team off the pitch suffering from the temperature the Undead managed to grab a late score before the end of the 1st half to keep the game respectable. Meanwhile the Rats were the 1st team to suffer an injury of any note as Lineman Rhiak suffered an injured back and will miss the rats next encounter with the Dark Elves.

As the 2nd half began, so the sun went behind a cloud and perfect Blood Bowl weather greeted the teams, with the Necromantics receiving the ball this time, they slowly marched down the field, helped by a good pass from the crowd, to level the tie up 2 a piece.

With still a good number of turns remaining the Skaven knew they could still take the lead, but a dodge too many saw them drop the ball on half way, seeing their chance to come back from 2-0 down the undead attempted to scoop up the ball and run free to an opening game victory, however, a misjudged go for it saw their defences left wide open and the Skaven were soon 3-2 up with 2 turns left to play.

The Necromantics weren't out of it yet and with the Skaven fielding a very defensive set up, sent every skill player deep into their opponents half hoping they all couldnt be marked. And they were right, as the time ticked away on the game, a surge by a ghoul through the centre and a final push from a werewolf saw them level the game 3-3

A cracking game leaves the Norse at the head of the league after one win out of one.

Next round sees the Dark Elves begin their season against the Skaven and the Orcs take on the Necromantics. All games to be played by the end of May.

Get yer rat out!

With 3 weeks to spare, my Skaven Blood Bowl team is complete, ( I am doing a discarded bell to go on the base but that isn't important right now). And as it is a nice day out today, some photos taken outside in the sun.
1st game of the Lonewolves Challenge Cup proper is this Wednesday too, so nice to get them out of the way in time for that.

Two One? Who Won?

First match of the BB season proper saw the Dragon Ead Destroyers line up against the Orcland Raiderz.

When they last met in the pre season the orcs kicked the stuffing out of the of the Norse who just about managed to hold it to a draw.

What would the result be this time?

The coin toss was won by the Norse who received and attempted to get the ball moving, very slowly.

The orcs had brought the stuffing knocker outters again and by turn 3 of the first half the Norse were 2 players down on the pitch and remained this way (or much worse!) for the rest of the game.

However a runner managed to break through the orc line and wave frantically at the thrower who mistook the frantic waves for position instructions and promptly threw the ball to where he thought the runner was GOING to be. This ended up right in front of the orc thrower!

Having seen this one of the orc blitzers thought he copy the Norse runner and made a break for it waving randomly at the Orc thrower (who was confused by what skills he had picked up in the last game!) who promptly copied the Norse throwers actions perfectly!

With the ball on the floor in the Norse half Freykell the thrower was able to grab it again, move to a clear line and throw the ball (thank god for the accurate skill!) to the waiting runner who stormed off to the endzone just as the game entered the 2nd quarter.

1-0 Dragon Eads

The Norse kicked off (the KOed bunch staying in their comfy box) and the Orcs came back at them strongly. A spirited defence just managed to keep the orcs out of the end zone for the first half but left the Norse KO box more than a little crowded (at least 6 players!).

The 2nd half kicked off (Norse Ko box down to 3 players!) and again the orcs came on strong.

The lack of bodies on the pitch left the greenskins with plenty of openings to exploit and mid way through the second half they scored.

1-1

The Norse KO box stayed around the same level and orcs booted the ball down field once more.

The Norse had a plan, the old switcheroo!

Moving the ball from one side of the pitch to the other very quickly (and aided by a Troll turnover!) left half the orc team out of position and their greater numbers were unable to help.

Norse players threw themselves at the orcs allowing the runners to make their way up field and run in a winning touchdown in the dying seconds of the match.

Norse win 2-1 with a roller coaster ride of a game!

Six of the Best

With just over a month to go to the NAF Championship, I have managed to finish 6 out of the 14 Skaven I need.
6 Linerats, 1 Thrower and a Rat Ogre (although not actually in the team) to do.

Spect-Orc-ular!

Well last nights game of BB between myself (Cortez) and Lordybloke was not being looked forward to by me.............How wrong I was. Lordybloke's 1st turn came up to my expectations as 3 of my players ended up laying on the ground, then my 1st turn started and it all seemd to go down hill from there for Lordybloke, blocks and armour rolls were made left right and centre. No injury's but a few lying on the floor.
Through out the game the Orc's kept finding that little crack in the Norse armour and at one point there were only 5 Norse players on the pitch, 3 of which were taking a kip. Highlight of the game for the Norse had to be when, with only 6 players on the pitch a gap was left open and the lone runner was able to pluck the ball out of the air (at the 2nd attempt) to run in a TD.
At the end of the match I had 10 players left standing on the pitch, Lordybloke had......2 standing, 4 taking a nap, 4 with headaches (KO), 4 needing some surgery. 2-1 win to me.

Gate was the biggest we had seen so far for the warm ups, 22000.

Season proper starts in April! Watch the death count rise!

Hawaii 5-0

Last night was the final warm up game for Th1rt3en and Black Moon Rising, and what a belter it was!

The Necromantic's received the ball at the start of the 1st half and made a swift run down their right flank, this was blocked by a swift covering move by the Rats causing the ball carrying werewolf to double back to the centre of the field. Here he was set upon by a posse of 3 Gutter Runners who nabbed the ball off him and ran away out of reach to the endzone.

A similar thing happened when the Undead received the ball again and at half time it was 2-0 and the Rats hadn't even received the ball.

The 2nd half started with the Rats missing 2 line-men to injury and a Ghoul was on the sidelines for the Necro's.

2 turns later despite some heavy 2 on 1 marking it was 3-0 as the Skaven went the length of the field for the score with a pass and hand-off affair. B.M.R didnt have the ball for long again after the next kick off as two 1 dice smashes got the ball on the floor again and soon enough it was 4-0.

With only a couple of turns left and no re rolls the Undead made an attempt to salvage some pride but a 1 dice skull left a gaping hole in their defences through which the rats swarmed, taking out the ball carrier and scuttling in for a 5th score.

The Necromantic team didn't play badly and didn't do anything wrong but there isn't a lot you can do when you have the ball in your hands for only a few turns out of the 16 and the Skaven have all the luck.

Only one skill to report, a 3rd gutter runner gained Block even though he rolled 11 which gave the potential of agility 5.

One game left in the warm ups and then the season starts proper. The 1st week of the season sees the same match ups as the last games of the warm ups. Will the Necromantic team be able to get their revenge?

Mantic.... What?! I mean Necromantic...

So with the Lonewolves Challenge Cup proper only 1 month away and the NAF Championship 2 months away, its that time of year where I build and paint a new team.
So here is a Necromantic team I've painted for Cyrus! Next up are my Rats...

Warm Ups Pt2, subsection B

The second game of the second month of the pre season warm up games for the Lone Wolf Challenge Cup saw the Norse line up against the Necromantic abominations.
A wave of hysteria was following the Norse after their 4-1 win over the rats in the previous month, could they live up to the hype?

The first half saw the Norse receive and after an unforced and largely pointless "go for it" (classic 1, re roll, 1 situation!) Freykell the star thrower tripped over his ego and left the ball in the open in the Norse half. This was pounced on by the lurking Werewolves (Movement 8, really!?) who ran in an early score.
Necros, 1-0
The re set saw the Norse play a little more conservatively and got involved with a bit of bashing but not to any great damage. Suddenly a tag team of ghoul and werewolf saw the ball carrier knocked over and a ghoul racing for the Norse end zone!
It was looking like another score with only one norse player able to get anywhere near the ghoul.
Not only did he get near but he smashed the undead blighter to the ground spilling the ball into the crowd.
Luckily the Norse fans got a hold of it and threw it back up towards the Necro end zone. With a bit of dodging and help from the team the Norse Berserker, Harald Enoga, was able to grab the ball and race for the line. Several Undead threw themselves at him but with the Runners causing interference Harald made it in as the half came to close, and a riot broke out!
Halftime; Necro 1, Norse 1

Second Half
Both teams had players in the KOed box leaving 10 Undead facing 9 Norse with the Necros receiving.
An early shove saw an Ulfwerenar into the crowd leaving a massive hole on the Norse left flank. This was duly exploited by the ubiquitous ghoul and werewolf combo.
A few turns into the second half and a werewolf was standing, ball in hand 8 squares away from the end zone.
It was at this time that a shout came from the sidelines "give it to the ghoul" as the Necro coach wanted the ghoul to gain all the glory (and SPPs!).
The Werewolf looked at the coach, looked at the clear run to the endzone, then back to coach, confused.
Then the moment was gone as a Norse player barrelled into him freeing the ball.
The rest of the half consisted of a mad scramble from both teams (the Norse reduced to 5 men for most of it) to try and actually hang on to the ball, one brief moment of joy from a short lived breakaway by a Norse Runner and a lot of scattering and fumbling.

Final Score
Necro, 1, Norse 1

A draw and a valuable lesson learnt for the Necromantic coach (score when you can!)

Double Skulls

Not only does rolling double skulls mean you have to wear the wizard's hat....

 

Warm Ups pt2

With the arrival of February, came the 2nd round of pre season matches for the 2011 Bloodbowl Challenge cup. Only one game took place after the postponement of the game between the Necromantics and the Norse due to some late team meetings in the crypts of the undead.

Meanwhile the Skaven and Orcs took each other on whilst the head coach of the Norse watched on, taking notes and spouting tactics from the stands.

The Orcs received the opening kick off and after a quick snap managed to batter the front line of the Rats. Being a little too far from the ball the Orcs decided to leave it on the ground and concentrate on the beatings.By turn 2 they had regretted this as the Skaven went 1-0 up.

Despite the Orcs Troll spending most of the game picking his nose the Orcs continued to pile into the Skaven, keeping most of them on their back for the majority of the game.

1-0 soon turned to 2-0 but the Orcs continued to resort to fighting rather than scoring. The Skaven managed a few crazy one dice blocks to knock over the greenskin ball carrier but eventually the Orcs managed to get a score of their own with 2 turns left in the game.

The rats weren't finished and in the final turn of the game they scored their 3rd touchdown, scored by the third different gutter runner that game. It all finished 3-1 in TDs and 3-0 to the Orcs in casualties.

4 skills were granted after the game, 2 gutter runners secured block and an Orc blitzer gained tackle with the troll learning guard.

Warm Ups

The Lonewolves Challenge Cup started last Wednesday and with a change to this years format it all began with some warm up games.

This season there will be 3 months of warm up games (1 a month) between myself (Skaven), Cortez (Orcs), Lordybloke (Norse) and Cyrus (Necromantic) with Tomarse (Dark Elves) joining us in April for the league proper.

This Wednesday saw defending champion (and 2 time winner) Lordybloke take on me ( 1 time winner) in what turned out to be a very one sided affair. With Lordybloke rolling almost perfect armour rolls and me rolling more 1's than ever before, the Skaven struggled to hold back the torrent of abuse they were getting and it ended in a 4-1 win for the Norse.
With probably a world record amount of SPPs amassed in one game, the Norse Thrower Freykell learnt how to be more accurate, something that will come in useful next month against the Cyrus's Necromantic team.

In the game between the Orcs and the Necromantics, there wasn't too much between the teams, once the Orcs had realised that if they go too near the edge of the pitch they would get pushed off it by the Werewolves. (2 were beaten up by the crowd this way) 
Cyrus took a 1-0 lead into the 2nd half and never lost it as the Orcs struggled to get to grips with the ball, time ran out on them just as they were making progress.

Next months its winners vs winners and losers vs losers, but with only SPP's counting for anything its more about getting in some practiceand those new skills prior to the season proper.

B.B.W.I.P

With the 4th Annual Lone Wolves Blood Bowl cup entering the pre-season warm-ups I've been cracking on with my Norse team for this year.

Still very wip, all the models needing something adding or touching up, especially the Ulfs but ready for a game in their current state.

Keep a eye out for the goblin feet!

Berserkers (only have 1 in my starting team)

Ulfwerenar (need some fur added)

Runners

Linemen

More Linemen

I've got a thrower almost done too. Will fill out the rest of the roster in the hope I may get the team developed that far!

First opponent - Binx!

Update:

4-1 thrashing of Binx, who'd have thought it! 'ave it ratty!