Blood Bowl 2

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Djay

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I think Stalling is a viable tactic. I also think trying to foul and injure the other team to make them think twice about stalling is viable, as well.
But there are things I'll do in tournaments and playoff games that I won't normally.
Was playing a TT game last night as 1650 Amazons against 1590 Norse. I'm a better coach than the guy normally, but add on to that that I was rolling amazing and he was rolling horrible. I was up 3-0 with 4-0 casualties including his Yeti by turn 11. I told him if he didn't do anything the last 6 turns, then neither would I...I probably lost out on some SPPs, but better that than make someone sit through a miserable 30-40 minutes of getting crushed and not want to come back next week.
 

Khalan

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Yeah as a primarily skaven player, If you want to score quick you will always lose against me (Unless your skaven/elves etc). When I win I win like 4/5-3. When I lose it is 2-1 games only or games where I got beat by above average armour breaks.
 

Phazael

Confirmed Beta Shitlord, Fat Bastard
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Grinding down the field is different than parking the ball one square out with two guards and then spending the entire half raping someone's roster. I respect the cage grind and its the main way ball control teams win (Dwarves, Ogres, Nurgle, some Zon builds), but if you want to keep new people (and perpetual losers) returning to the game, that's not the way to do it. Plus a lot of the speed finesse teams tend to have casualty epidemics just from generic blocking, anyhow.

I am not someone who fouls, as a rule, unless fouled first. But I do make an exception for things like the 5 skill wardancer or one turn TD gutter runner if the optimum opportunity presents itself (rarely the way I play). Those are special cases, though, and I see it as punishing someone for putting all the eggs in one basket instead of spreading their SPP around.
 

Djay

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I don't want to start a new thread for a kickstarter, but I'm guessing the same people that like Blood Bowl probably liked Mutant League Football. The original creator is picking up the reigns now that EA has let the IP go finally.

 

Phazael

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The previous Mutant League Football game got sued to death by GW didn't it?
 

Vimeseh

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The previous Mutant League Football game got sued to death by GW didn't it?

Not sure, I know they had a cartoon as well. God I'm old.

I was shooting the shit with some of the Rebbl guys about what teams should take big guys or not. Thought I'd toss out my conclusions here if anyone wanted to chime in. Obviously stunty teams who have to use their big guys aren't included.

Teams that should take Big Guys:

1.) Lizardmen Krox. Probably the best big guy in the game, makes the already strong bashing of a Lizard team even stronger. Good strength, good armor, and decent speed. He also doesn't lose his tackle boxes with Wild Animal. He doesn't hurt your starting lineup and lets you get all your skinks as long as you are careful with them at 1000 TV.

2.) Human Ogre. Has a horrible drawback but allows for a more bashy game out of the humans at lower TVs until they can skill up some blitzers. Not much else to say.

3.) Wood Elf Tree. This one was a point of contention but I really love the Tree man for Woodies. He is basically the point around which your team pivots. Provides great screening and some much needed bash (especially against other agi teams) while being super durable. His drawback can be pretty bad but he doesn't lose tackle zones and once you get grab he can tie up a pretty hefty amount of defenders if you are good at positioning him.

4.) Beast of Nurgle. Central to the whole concept of Nurgle. Tentacles, presence, etc. Why play Nurgle if you aren't taking this disturbing space eater. Sometimes the best way to use a Beast of Nurgle is to never move them at all.

5.) Underworld Troll. Mutation access is huge for this guy and he meshes well with the Underworld playstyle. A tad slow but nothing you can't work around and really underworld isn't a team you are playing just for the wins.

Teams that shouldn't take a Big Guys:

1.) Chorf Mino. Just bad. Besides you are playing Chorfs for mutation access and Bull Centaurs.

2.) Chaos Mino. Better then the Chorf Mino, but I think he's just a pile of TV bloat when you can easily build Beastmen with just as much killing potential, more movement, and no negatrait.

3.) Skaven Rogre. I hate these guys. They basically play counter to everything a Skaven team wants to do and even if they can be effective with Prehensile Tail they will probably just Wild Animal or die on the next blitz with their low AV. They also make you either lose a gutter runner, a stormvermin, or an extra linerat at starting TV.

Teams that could go either way:

1.) Norse Yehtee. Stat wise they are pretty shit, but if you plan to take a Norse team in to higher TVs then I can see where they have their place to do some damage and release pressure against your regular lineup. Low TV no, high TV yes I guess?

2.) Orc Troll. I personally don't really like to play orcs this way but they do give you a viable passing option of a sort if you plan to field a goblin and they make good roadblocks. Also always humorous when your goblin gets eaten.

3.) Dwarf Deathroller. Usually not worth it but with a good TV difference that can net you the bribes it is technically possible to keep them on the field for the whole game. Plus its always amusing to drive over a skink or gutter runner.

Thoughts and opinions welcome.
 

k^M

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Deathroller's vs. skinks is definitely the greatest thing ever. I made an offline troll team just to screw around and see how the playstyle was, murderous rampage was a lot of fun
 

Phazael

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The biggest issue with the deathroller is that you need to dump bribe money to get full use out of it. Against teams that can score fast, the thing ends up getting tossed out after a couple turns, otherwise. I think its the worst big guy in the game on a team that absolutely does not need it.

I think the treeman is essential to the wood elves because it offsets every single weakness they have. Best roster in the game gets the best big guy.

I happen to like the mino for anchoring the center with chaos and pressing the STR advantage. Also, with horns, STR6 on the blitz is pretty nice to have.

Krox is well affordable, so no reason not to take one. Prehensile tail is baller and helps gum it up against elf teams.

Yhetties are mainly good for disturbing presence to help against pass happy rosters and tank big guys.

Human Ogre is a big liability to take early on a roster that needs all of its specialists to cope early on and is way to easily countered at all TV levels.

Skaven I agree with on both counts.

You missed Goblins and Halflings and I think it goes without saying they should take both big guys on their rosters.

Pretty much agree with everything else.

For my money, the best big guys in the game are:

1) Beast of Nurgle- Gums things up, Disturbing Presence exerts disruption to the passing game, regeneration, tentacles, and a really good statline. He is the entire reason you play Nurgle.
2) Treeman- Not strictly the best value, but you get what you pay for and he offsets the biggest flaws in the two rosters he appears in.
3) Trolls- Cheap, regeneration, and adds extra offensive ability to the teams he is on. He requires babysitting, but goblins are cheap and plentiful.
 

Djay

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I like the Chaos Minotaur and the Yhetee.
I think the Human Ogre is essential as a roadblock for that team.
Krox is one of the best big guys.
I take the Troll on Orcs as a roadblock and One-Turn-Touchdown threat.

I personally like the dynamic that big guys bring...I don't mind the negatraits so much, but I think I've reached the point where I won't take one in a tournament setting.

With the new D3 MVP rules on tabletop, it's a lot easier to level them up now, too.
 

Vimeseh

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This summer legendary edition comes out, for those who already have the base game you can buy the expansion pack which will include:

Amazons
Ogres
Goblins
Vampires
Halflings
Pro elves
Underworld
Kislev (slannesh with different models for some reason. Krox is a giant bear and whatnot)

If you buy the complete legendary game which I'm assuming is going to be 60$, then you will get those teams plus all the currently released teams plus the upcoming khemri and Chorfs. Unless you really hate the UI or something no reason not to start playing some online Blood Bowl once this edition/xpac comes out. I'm especially looking forward to the Pro Elves and finally having 'zons to fuck with pure bash teams at low TV on equal footing.

edit:

It also seems they are adding systems that will let you mirror tabletop rules exactly if you wish to along with an overhaul of the league system which is pretty cool.
 

Hatorade

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Below mode would be insane, all those options I don't even think I could do what was needed within the normal 2 min time limit. I look forward to goblin team the most.
Star Player team
  • Teams composed of 16 Starplayers.
 

Vimeseh

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Below mode would be insane, all those options I don't even think I could do what was needed within the normal 2 min time limit. I look forward to goblin team the most.
Star Player team
  • Teams composed of 16 Starplayers.

Yah lots of neat modes and features. I just figured people would be more interested in core teams and such then the mix and match race teams, all star player teams, etc. Had one guy talking about taking all the best parts of the elf teams and putting them together for some super elf bullshit in friendlies.
 

Hatorade

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Yah lots of neat modes and features. I just figured people would be more interested in core teams and such then the mix and match race teams, all star player teams, etc. Had one guy talking about taking all the best parts of the elf teams and putting them together for some super elf bullshit in friendlies.

With how long games take to play I seriously doubt I would spend the time playing unofficial games.
 

Cutlery

Kill All the White People
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3.) Wood Elf Tree. This one was a point of contention but I really love the Tree man for Woodies. He is basically the point around which your team pivots. Provides great screening and some much needed bash (especially against other agi teams) while being super durable. His drawback can be pretty bad but he doesn't lose tackle zones and once you get grab he can tie up a pretty hefty amount of defenders if you are good at positioning him.

Dode says stats from BB1 indicate the WE treant saves 1 cas per game.

3.) Skaven Rogre. I hate these guys. They basically play counter to everything a Skaven team wants to do and even if they can be effective with Prehensile Tail they will probably just Wild Animal or die on the next blitz with their low AV. They also make you either lose a gutter runner, a stormvermin, or an extra linerat at starting TV.

There was a dude in the BB league here that had a monster Rat Ogre who pissed everyone off with it. It's certainly hard to argue with after you see the results. In fact, my avatar came from my match with him.

Thoughts and opinions welcome.

My only other thoughts are that the reddit BB forums are fucking trash and the people that post there are mostly morons. Hivemind on reddit is complete shit.
 

Phazael

Confirmed Beta Shitlord, Fat Bastard
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Kind of a bummer they dumped out on the Khorne team (Slaan is never making it in to an official GW game again) as I found that roster to be a more enjoyable but less over the top chaos like roster, but I think that covers just about every other core official roster. Lets see if they can get the Goblin crap working right this time.
 

Khalan

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Rat Ogre is good for skaven, you just need to be smart with how you use it. I actually use mine defensively and never ever buy it to start, it should be be like the 14th player bought. At higher TV you need something with a little strength every once in a while. I usually use mine at the end of the turn and never start it on the LOS.
 

Vimeseh

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Rat Ogre is good for skaven, you just need to be smart with how you use it. I actually use mine defensively and never ever buy it to start, it should be be like the 14th player bought. At higher TV you need something with a little strength every once in a while. I usually use mine at the end of the turn and never start it on the LOS.

I could see doing that. My issue is that higher TVs you should have at least one natural one turner, a good sacker or two out of your gutters, and then one if not two storm vermin with ClawPomB to lay the hurt strategically when you need it. I still think thematically they don't fit the team vibe. To slow, too vulnerable and as a fresher piece they don't hit all that hard. Big guys are notoriously slow to level unless nuffle blesses your block dice especially if you take them late. I would ironically take them on a Skaven team I was running in a short term league as opposed to elevated TV levels because they do bring the muscle your blitzers don't have yet and can be a distraction from your very fragile pre blodge runners.
 

Djay

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My only other thoughts are that the reddit BB forums are fucking trash and the people that post there are mostly morons. Hivemind on reddit is complete shit.

I didn't think it was so bad there before the rerelease of the tabletop game, but it's pretty trash now. Talkfantasyfootball isn't much better right now. Luckily I have a couple really good coaches in my local league I can talk theory with.
Although, in terms of the recent topic, both of them tend to stay away from big guys because of loner and the negatraits. I think they're worth it if you use them right, though. At least for a perpetual league.
 

Vimeseh

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I think there might be confusion between the blood bowl general reddit and the Rebbl reddit which is a set of different leagues ranging from rookie players to vets with multiple seasons running. Most of the conversations are via the league discord.
 

Cutlery

Kill All the White People
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As much as I hate to be that old guy telling the fucking kids to get off my lawn, BB2 really fucked the community up hardcore. Every BB board now is infested with shitheads who really don't understand the game complaining about the wrong things and wanting things "fixed." With how shitty Cyanide is at game development, I want that signal to noise ratio from the community really honed in so that if and when they do decide to do anything at all with their games, they're addressing the actual problems rather than bullshit.

I love Bloodbowl, and the league we had here a few years back was probably the highlight of my gaming life. We had such a good time with that game, but I'm not sure how that ever happens again with how many incomplete products there are on the market now. I really wish Cyanide wasn't fucking horseshit and could just make a goddamned game complete, and then add whatever house rules they want in an alternate ruleset. I won't buy BB2, and that's where all the kids are these days, but BB2's art just reminds me of Everquest 2, and I'm just not going down that road.