“Round 6: Beards Upset Division Leader Nasty Boiz

For Round 6 of the NWBL the Beards were slated to play the undefeated Nurgle Nasty Boiz who have been on a tear through the division from the start. They also are the team of runaway league MVP Pestigor Spleenslaughter. The Beards elected to recruit the services of the chainsaw wielding Helmut Wulf to bring up the difference between the two teams. The Beards received and the Wulf immediately set to work putting his saw to the Boiz downed Rotspawn and sending him to the sidelines. The Beards secured the ball and continued to work effectively removing a key Bloater by the hands of Trollslayer Arngrim Adder. With the numbers advantage, the Beards were able to slowly pull themselves forward and break through the final defensive screen for a Belli Bonnlinn score turn 8.

The second half was marked by a deep kick and an early failed block by a Nurgle Bloater. This allowed the Beards to aggressively engage and to start to put pressure toward the ball. The Boiz were able to stabilize, and secure their ball behind a wall of Nurgle players, but they struggled to knock the Beards off their feet. The carrier moved from one sideline to the other, then back again looking for a crease, but never finding anything promising. Eventually the push was made late in the half, but the Beards were in position to capitalize on the carrier tripping as he tried to pull away. Belli was able to recover the dropped ball, and sprint away to kill the clock, winning the match 1-0.

Coach Buck Comments:

“Our guys played one of our best games this round, and we needed everything to work to have hoped to pull away from here with a win. The Nasty Boiz are undefeated for a reason: and it isn’t just their roster. They have great players for sure, but their tactics are top notch, the way they were shifting around the scrum, and timing their hits. Everything had to go just about perfect for us and it nearly did. Likely the biggest swing was the removal of Grimrot Turn 1. If that beast is around we likely just get caught up in a scrum fight the whole half. Arngim taking out that Bloater was also a big deal. Their half starting the way it did put them behind big time. Spleenslaughter took shots too, and each time I held my breath hoping our guy would get up, and we managed to just about every time. Like I said, we needed everything to work out for us to get this win, and it did. Really proud of the guys for this one.

Tactical Takeaways:

1. Fouling Chainsaw

I don’t actually know if it’s the best way to use the chainsaw by the dice, but I didn’t want to blitz with him, and it seemed like a good way to ensure an injury roll if nothing else. Not sure if it’s a good idea to start fouling T1 either, but the Rotspawn was there with all the assists, figured might as well try - had the dice. Curious what “optimal chainsaw play” looks like.

2. 1Ds and -2Ds

I’m still at this terrible road of 1Ds and -2Ds because everything I know about Blood Bowl tells me you’re not supposed to do these things. Playing Dwarves that shifts a little bit, and I’ve found that specifically against teams with limited block, I’ll throw those when it makes sense. I’m not sure it always does, and I got punished on a few, but oftentimes they work out. Main question I’m asking is “If this fails, am I in a terrible spot.” For example a 1D to free another dwarf away from a ST4 or ST5 feels like a good idea. Most often I find that I’m -2Ding big guys because I want to try and free up other players as well.

3. Apo on the Slayer

I thought about the BH on the Slayer and the idea that my APO is really only for our Runner, but I was chasing the win and I felt that without the Slayer and the Rotspawn coming back, all the ST4, I would really struggle, so knowing I could get him back from the BH it felt like the right thing to do.
”