■ AndyDavo - I Just Blitzed Your Mum - Dark Elf
■ Zunk - Despized - Orc
■ TheMuffinThief - Long Gone and Reprosper - Necromantic
■ Everblue - The Grey Haven Guard - High Elf
■ Antonlunau - Ghouls Gone Wild - Undead
■ frubeng - Khorne Flakes Browl - Chaos
■ Aguelo - Neverending Rest - Khemri
■ Hobnail - Black Widows. - Amazon
■ Youleaf - Lesser Horned Ones - Chaos
■ Crunky Chops - Ecothermic Scutes – Lizardman
First thing’s first – only one orc team. That’s really good
given my recent history with orcs and the fact that they tend to be skilled up
to squash elves. The bad news is the coach is Zunk and the team is Despized.
Despized are I believe the oldest team in the league and have an unbelievable
roster. Otherwise in terms of racial mix it could have been a lot worse –
division 2B, for example, is 50% orc. 5 out of 10 teams are orcs.
Looking at the teams themselves 1) AndyDavo – I Just Blitzed Your Mum – Dark Elf – 1900TV
Andy is a stalwart at the UKBBL league, where he also plays dark elves. This team has come second twice and has been in tier 1 several times, while Andy has won the UKBBL and is looking good there this season too. Clearly therefore this guy knows how to coach dark elves.
This team is looking a bit battered, and with a fresh crop
of blitzers it is lacking a really solid core. There are signs that the coach
is particularly bashy, with a fouler lineman and a mighty blow/piling on witch
elf. There is also a ST5 lineman with blodge and side step, and presumably this
player can win games on his own!
That said, there is precisely zero tackle on the team
(presumably because it has all been killed off) and no diving tackle either. I
will therefore say that on paper I have an advantage over this team, but the
coach’s experience and ability will be a formidable obstacle.
2) Zunk – Despized – Orc – 2330TV (!)
Ugh. Really. I’ll just spell it out.
Three legendary blitzers on the team who have 50% more SPP
between them than my entire team, two of whom are ST4, all of whom have
tackle/mighty blow and two of whom have piling on? Check.
A full rack of skilled-up black orcs? Check.
A thrower with KOR to get the ball into the cage and passing
skills to threaten an offensive play? Check.
This team looks brutal. The team’s been to division 1 before
but never won the thing. My consolation is the lack of an explosive offence,
and so it strikes me that if I can score then I might be able to get a draw and
hope that the wizard comes through for me. Hey ho.
3) TheMuffinThief - Long Gone and Reprosper - Necromantic – 1790TV
A team that I don’t know much about really – it’s quite a
young team and has come up through the ranks (5 seasons old so far I believe).
Its fan factor is high and I see that it won five games in this division last
season, so it seems to me that this could be a team which got promoted to tier2
quite quickly and then just failed to get promotion to tier 1 in its first
season.
The best player by far on the team is a killer werewolf with
CPOMB and tackle, as well as blodge. An absolute bastard of a player and a big
target. Taking him out then there is a ST5 flesh golem but otherwise this team
could be relatively fresh.
My record against necro teams is abysmal, so we’ll see
whether I’ve learned anything in the meantime I guess.
4) Antonlunau - Ghouls Gone Wild - Undead – 2000TV
A really nasty undead team, and one that could mean a very
bloody match for my elves. Anton is another player who’s active in the UKBBL,
and again he plays undead there too and has won the league with that undead
team.
Added to all that undead coaching experience (and his team’s
stellar rise through the divisions) is a bastard of a team. There’s a blodge
mummy, two diving tackle ghouls and also the most vicious killer that the OCC
has ever seen – a wight called Ulric the Maimer, who is skilled to take on wrodgers
with tackle and juggernaught and then kill them with POMB.
Unusually, the zombie roster is very strong. There is a
special snowflake level 5 zombie with ST4, block, tackle and mighty blow who
will be especially difficult to take on. A really tough prospect here and
without even a TV deficit to get me a wizard (yet!) then any sort of result
will be difficult. There’s not even much claw in the league to thin them out
before I play them. Oh dear.
5) frubeng- Khorne Flakes Browl - Chaos - 1990TV (+80 from injured players, +2 skillups)
A somewhat battered looking chaos team that was in tier 1 last season.
I don't know too much about the coach, except that he must be pretty good to have been in tier 1. The team itself has a very new set of chaos warriors and has obviously had some bad injuries along the line somewhere.
The stand out player is a level 6 mino with block, claw, tentacles, guard and break tackle - I guess this guy does most of the heavy lifting on the team. There is also a MV8 blodger goat with 3 arms who looks a really good ball carrier. Other than that though, what good players there are appear to be carrying injuries, and there's no tackle on the team at all.
This match should therefore definitely be winnable - hopefully I'll play them early in the season before the killer teams thin out my numbers too much.
6) Aguelo - Neverending Rest - Khemri - 1860TV
I last saw these guys in tier 4 where I sneaked a 2-1 win in a very close match. The team is looking a little different - one of the blitz-ras is no longer there (the niggled one!), and they've lost one of their AG3 skeletons and the dirty player.
That said, the Tomb Guardian lineup is still very strong, including the ST6 block guy, and there's still Imoteph the hard-as-nails killer.
The coach knows what he's doing, but I do wonder how these guys will get on this season. There isn't much claw around, which is good for them, but I can see their games against the orcs and undead being quite bloody.
7) Hobnail- Black Widows. - Amazon - 1900 TV
BBTactics regular, self-styled grumpy sod and the winner of the OCC way back in Season 1, when men were men and Blood Bowl was played in black and white - Hobnail brings his amazons into the meat grinder.
I have never played Hobnail but I watched some of his games last season. He's a wicked fouler and more dedicated to the fight than the ball, which I guess is fine as a zon coach.
The team is quite tough looking - there are two ST4 blitzers, one of whom also has tackle and mighty blow. There are also a couple of dirty players and a nice sidestep / diving tackle catcher. Other than that, and perhaps an honourable mention should also go to the wrackle linewoman, there isn't much here. The ST4 killer is clearly a player to treat with respect, but my team have almost as much dodge, handle the ball better, have better armour, have our own ST4 players and are faster - so, umm, easy right?
I suspect not! This will be my first match against amazons with this team (and only my third ever) so really I don't know what I'm up against or how to beat them, all of which will be music to the ears of my opponent no doubt!
8) Youleaf - Lesser Horned Ones - Chaos - 1940TV (+180 from injured players)
Another team promoted from tier 3, and the one perhaps I know the least about. I had *thought* that this team were more focussed on ball handling than most chaos teams and were all about the AG4, but there's no AG4 on the team so I must have been mistaken.
The only real killer is again the mino, and there are some brawling chaos warriors with mighty blow, but no more claw.
The stand out player would have been a MV8 beastman, but he took a smashed ankle on the last game of last season and is now down to MV7. He may possibly be cut before the season starts therefore. There is also a tackle/mighty blow/wrestle elf killer. Otherwise though, this team is much less scary for me than the division killers.
9) Crunky Chops - Ecothermic Scutes – Lizardman (+140 from injured players, +1 skillup)
A team that finished 3rd ahead of me in division 3A last season, and who beat me in a brutal 2-1 encounter.
The Saurus line is still a work in progress, but the coach has managed to keep them alive thus far and so they are only likely to improve. There are two really good high level ball carrying skinks - one of whom with the critical AG4 - and a couple of annoying markers with diving tackle. Add that to the skilled up krox and the coach who has excellent game sense and knows how to beat elves, and you have a difficult match indeed.
Hopefully before we meet Despized can kill off a couple of skinks...!
5) frubeng- Khorne Flakes Browl - Chaos - 1990TV (+80 from injured players, +2 skillups)
A somewhat battered looking chaos team that was in tier 1 last season.
I don't know too much about the coach, except that he must be pretty good to have been in tier 1. The team itself has a very new set of chaos warriors and has obviously had some bad injuries along the line somewhere.
The stand out player is a level 6 mino with block, claw, tentacles, guard and break tackle - I guess this guy does most of the heavy lifting on the team. There is also a MV8 blodger goat with 3 arms who looks a really good ball carrier. Other than that though, what good players there are appear to be carrying injuries, and there's no tackle on the team at all.
This match should therefore definitely be winnable - hopefully I'll play them early in the season before the killer teams thin out my numbers too much.
6) Aguelo - Neverending Rest - Khemri - 1860TV
I last saw these guys in tier 4 where I sneaked a 2-1 win in a very close match. The team is looking a little different - one of the blitz-ras is no longer there (the niggled one!), and they've lost one of their AG3 skeletons and the dirty player.
That said, the Tomb Guardian lineup is still very strong, including the ST6 block guy, and there's still Imoteph the hard-as-nails killer.
The coach knows what he's doing, but I do wonder how these guys will get on this season. There isn't much claw around, which is good for them, but I can see their games against the orcs and undead being quite bloody.
7) Hobnail- Black Widows. - Amazon - 1900 TV
BBTactics regular, self-styled grumpy sod and the winner of the OCC way back in Season 1, when men were men and Blood Bowl was played in black and white - Hobnail brings his amazons into the meat grinder.
I have never played Hobnail but I watched some of his games last season. He's a wicked fouler and more dedicated to the fight than the ball, which I guess is fine as a zon coach.
The team is quite tough looking - there are two ST4 blitzers, one of whom also has tackle and mighty blow. There are also a couple of dirty players and a nice sidestep / diving tackle catcher. Other than that, and perhaps an honourable mention should also go to the wrackle linewoman, there isn't much here. The ST4 killer is clearly a player to treat with respect, but my team have almost as much dodge, handle the ball better, have better armour, have our own ST4 players and are faster - so, umm, easy right?
I suspect not! This will be my first match against amazons with this team (and only my third ever) so really I don't know what I'm up against or how to beat them, all of which will be music to the ears of my opponent no doubt!
8) Youleaf - Lesser Horned Ones - Chaos - 1940TV (+180 from injured players)
Another team promoted from tier 3, and the one perhaps I know the least about. I had *thought* that this team were more focussed on ball handling than most chaos teams and were all about the AG4, but there's no AG4 on the team so I must have been mistaken.
The only real killer is again the mino, and there are some brawling chaos warriors with mighty blow, but no more claw.
The stand out player would have been a MV8 beastman, but he took a smashed ankle on the last game of last season and is now down to MV7. He may possibly be cut before the season starts therefore. There is also a tackle/mighty blow/wrestle elf killer. Otherwise though, this team is much less scary for me than the division killers.
9) Crunky Chops - Ecothermic Scutes – Lizardman (+140 from injured players, +1 skillup)
A team that finished 3rd ahead of me in division 3A last season, and who beat me in a brutal 2-1 encounter.
The Saurus line is still a work in progress, but the coach has managed to keep them alive thus far and so they are only likely to improve. There are two really good high level ball carrying skinks - one of whom with the critical AG4 - and a couple of annoying markers with diving tackle. Add that to the skilled up krox and the coach who has excellent game sense and knows how to beat elves, and you have a difficult match indeed.
Hopefully before we meet Despized can kill off a couple of skinks...!
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