Naggaroth Nightwings

At last! All my Blood Bowl teams (18!) are now painted. The last one is the Naggaroth Nightwings. Nothing particular to say about this Dark Elves team. It was never as successful as the Darkside Cowboys. But this year, the team includes a Minotaur. Let's see if it will make a difference.

According to the recent background, it seems that the Naggaroth Nightwings have merged with the Naggaroth Nightmares recently. However, the Naggaroth Nightmares were not existing at all in the legacy background, so I decided to reject this new team name.

Usually, the Naggaroth Nightwings are painted in red/green. But I already have painted a team in these colours (the Avelorn Avengers). So I opted for a dark red and black/grey uniform and I'm very happy with the result.

Group Shots

Underworld Creepers

"This unlikely pot-pourri of Skaven and Goblins is a juggernaut of innovation in the field of dastardly tactics. If one of their ambitious plans backfires on the Gobbos (who usually get everything wrong, anyway), the Skaven just sit back and watch the stupid creatures hurt themselves - it appeals to their warped sense of humour."

Well, no more can be expected from the Underworld Creepers. In their division, they will be opposed to two of the most successful teams (Reikland Reavers and The Gouged Eye). They actually might win one or two games along the route, against teams of the same level. But not more.

Group Shots

Dwarf Warhammerers

"Arch-rivals of the Dwarf Giants, the Warhammerers are most interesting to us because of their perpetual insistence in breaking the rules in the most obvious and flamboyant way. Their use of explosives and high-calibre breech-loading cannon as part of their passing play is just one case in point. These guys are plain dangerous! What's worse, they don't know when to stop, which is when accidents always seem to happen."

Although, the Warhammerers have won twice the NCF championship (in 2473 and 2486), they did not manage to win the Blood Bowl.

Bright Crusaders

Another painted team for my Blood Bowl league! The Bright Crusaders. This team is built half from old school Citadel human players and half from new miniatures from Iron Golems. 

Originally, the Bright Crusaders are supposed to wear yellow/blue/white uniforms, as shown below:

I suspect that long ago, when Games Workshop's authors had created this game, some of them were loving these colours so much that they designed at least four teams wearing blue and yellow (Reikland Reavers, Dwarf Giants, Darkside Cowboys and, of course, the Bright Crusaders). As I did not want the Bright Crusaders to be confused with the Reikland Reavers, the other human team, I have decided to modify their colour scheme. I wanted the Bright Crusaders to be.... more bright!

Athelorn Avengers

This is my second Blood Bowl elven team. As most of my elf minis were used for the Elfheim Eagles team, I found cheaper minis on Comixinos (mainly linemen) than the (almost) unfindable or way too expensive old Citadel models. The team is completed by a mighty Treeman (from Willy Miniatures).

We'll see how they do this season in a division usually dominated by the Darkside Cowboys and in which they'll compete against other Treemen and Halflings (the Greenfield Grasshuggers).

Group Shots

Norsca Rampagers

Until season 2487 of Blood Bowl, the Norsca Rampagers were going by the name 'Vynheim Valkyries' and they have won 2 times the Blood Bowl.

To create this team I found norse players minis on Comixinos. They are coming from Meiko Miniatures. Apparently they are now cast in resin, but those I have are in pewter. I must say that they have very ugly mould lines that I couldn't completely make disappear without damaging the minis... I hope for those who will buy the resin minis that this would not be the case anymore.

Also, they are very tall (32 mm) compared to old Citadel players minis such as the human team or even elven team. But that is not an issue, Vikings were far taller than other middle-age civilisations.

Group Shots

The Gouged Eye

Led by the blitzer Varag Ghoul-Chewer, here are The Gouged Eye, the arch-rivals of the Reikland Reavers in the AFC Central division.

The miniatures are essentially from the second edition, except Varag himself, Rip Sorepain the blocker (black orc but considered as a normal orc), Cannonball Bennie the thrower, and Krug Painspear the blitzer.

Chaos All-Stars

 

One of the most iconic and feared Blood Bowl teams, led by the legendary Ogre Morg'th N'hthrog.

As I only owned a few of these chaotic minis, I had a hard time finding enough to build the team (and as you may know, the price for these rare minis is very high). Although some of them are not - historically - part of the team (e.g. Withergrasp Doubledrool is playing for the Middenheim Marauders and Slarga Fourstrike is playing for the Bluchen Berserkers), I had no other choice but including them in my only chaotic Blood Bowl team.

I have tried to stick to the original colour theme and I'm very happy with the result. At first, I wanted to paint the purple flames on the shoulder pads, but then I was afraid to mess up the paintjob. I could probably obtain a nice result on the big shoulder pads (of the Troll, Ogre and Minotaur), but the other ones are too small.

Greenfield Grasshuggers

Long time no Blood Bowl post. At last, here is one brand new painted team (the tenth): the GREEEEENFIELD GRASSHUUUUUGGERS !!! Terrific, no ? 😉

 

 

Okay, I know, I already hear you say "They have absolutely no chance to win a single game.". Maybe, but at least they'll try, these tiny joyful creatures are very courageous you know. And they are not coming alone. Thanks to the good relationship they maintain with the creatures of the forest, they have convinced two mighty Treemen to join the team.

Dwarf Giants

 

They may be slow and clumsy at passing, but the Dwarf Giants compensate these disadvantages by their toughness and strength. And the stats prove it: they won the Blood Bowl twice (2462 and 2484) out of four participations. 

Lustria Croakers

There are a few Slann teams playing Blood Bowl. The best of them being the Lustria Croakers. This team is reasonably good, especially at interceptions due to their leaping skill, although their throwing and kicking skills are quite weak.

There is little to marvel at in the Slann game. And their arrogance makes them pick the hardest games, nearly always including the Cowboys, the Reavers, the Gouged-Eye and the Chaos All-Stars in their itinary. Coupled with the fact that they already have the Giants and the Raiders in their division, this makes their chances of success always slight, although they have reached the Blood Bowl final once in 2479 at the beginning of the rise to power of the Reikland Reavers.

About the minis: I tried to find Slann Blood Bowl players but it looks like they were never produced by Citadel... So I looked for alternative minis and found some by Fanath Art Miniatures. Actually, these are called frogmen and that's exactly what they are. Their gear is also of Aztec/Inca style. So they will perfectly fit for the role.

Group Shots

Champions of Death

 

No Undead team has ever been successful in playing Blood Bowl, except the Champions of Death. As their coach and owner - Tomolandry the Old - can testify, building an Undead team into a power to be reckoned with on the Blood Bowl pitch is a long and hard road. But his hard work has been rewarded with two Blood Bowl titles (in 2466 and 2486).

Scarcrag Snivellers

Goblins... They also have the right to play Blood Bowl 😉 even though no Goblin team has ever had more victories in a season than losses. None has ever won its division. But they continue to play for the greate pleasure of their fans.

Goblins can actually do a good deal of damages to their opponents with the secret weapons they often use in match, such as chainsaw, bombs and so on. Trolls are also often hired by Goblin teams, they add considerable strength to the team.

I wanted to have a Goblin team in my league. At first, I opted for the Lowdown Rats. But finally I choose the Scarcrag Snivellers. The reason behind this choice is the team's colours. Lowdown Rats are in black and pink. Another team including Gobs will be part of the league: the Underworld Creepers (colours: black and red). I've painted the Scarcrag Snivellers in grey/green and purple/red colours. The result is OK.

The team is containing 9 star players! I know it's too much, but you may know that in Blood Bowl 2nd edition, Goblins and Halflings have twice less star player points than any other races (when you throw the dices for the number of SPP, you halve the result). And I wanted them to have a little chance to at least win one match (actually, they might do better... we'll see...).

Two (star player) Trolls are part of the team, as well as a Fanatic (pogo-stick). Two other Gobs with secret weapons (chainsaw and bombs) may join the team in the future. So I've painted these minis in the team's colours. I particullarly like the one with the chainsaw (its name is supposed to be 'Nobbla Blackwart', but in my team this name is already attributed to a star lineman).

For this new season, the Scarcrag Snivellers will be in the same division as the Chaos All-Stars and the Bright Crusaders... 😰

Group Shots

 

 

Skaven Scramblers

The Skaven Scramblers (NFC Eastern Division) are quite good for a Skaven team. They even won the Blood Bowl twice (in 2477 against the Middenheim Marauders and in 2478 against the Gouged Eye). Yes, twice in a row, it's the only team in the whole league which has achieved this exploit.

This season will be tough for them though. The two other teams of their division, the Vynheim Valkyries (last season finalist) and the Dwarf Warhammerers will be serious opponents.

As usual, the team contains enough players to allow for flexibility in the team creation. It is made of minis from 2nd and 3rd edition.

Group Shots

Darkside Cowboys

A lot of people don't like the Dark Elf minis for Blood Bowl 2nd edition. Some even convert (Wood) Elf minis (and even Wardancers) to stand for Blood Bowl Dark Elves. I was a bit mixed myself. In this team, I particularly like the Throwers, the Kickers and the Linemen. 

Match Report : Elfheim Eagles - Reikland Reavers

Ladies and Gentlemen, la 28e saison de Blood Bowl est sur le point de débuter !

Le coup d'envoi de cette nouvelle saison va être donné au stade "The Vale" en Laurelorn, fief des Elfheim Eagles. Et leur adversaire du jour n'est ni plus ni moins que le tenant du titre : les Reikland Reavers !

Beaucoup des fans des Reavers ont fait le déplacement. Il semblerait d'ailleurs qu'ils sont plus nombreux que les supporters locaux. C'est sans surprise que les 68'822 places du stade des Elfes aient toutes trouvé preneur, avec une telle affiche !

Et bien sûr, ce match sera commenté par les légendes de la Cabalvision : Jim Johnson et Bob Bifford ! Nous leur passons d'ailleurs la parole. Bonjour Jim, bonjour Bob, l'antenne est à vous. Bon Match !

Reikland Reavers

What esle can be said about the Reikland Reavers ...?

Theoretically, they are the best. Yeah, but that's in the Blood Bowl background. We'll see in this new season. For the team composition, I've stick to the one presented in Blood Bowl 2nd edition. Although the star player skills have been randomly determined (number per player and type of skills), Zug and Griff Oberwald have been particularly well served in this process.

This team is made of 2nd edition minis, except Griff Oberwald and Zug (3rd edition).

Ah and I finally received my Blood Bowl pitch (neoprene) from Comixininos.

Orcland Raiders

I've finished another of the Blood Bowl teams for my league: the Orcland Raiders. After a team of the AFC conference (the Elfheim Eagles), I decided to paint one of the NFC conference. And of course, the next painted team will be again an AFC' one (could be the Reikland Reavers, we'll see).

This team is one of the most successful, it has reached the Blood Bowl final twice and won it twice (2469 and 2483). Sitting in the same division as the Dwarf Giants, the great rivalry between these two teams will make sure that the head of the division will be disputed.

Blood Bowl !

After the Wood Elves, the Thugs and the Ogres I've painted recently, my initial plans were to get back to my Orc & Goblin army. But then I don't know what went wrong... Ah yes, maybe: I found an old Excel file I have created a long time ago and that contains a project of Blood Bowl league based on the second edition of this game (including the new rules from the Blood Bowl Companion book).

This file lists all the teams I can assemble with the BB minis I own (OK... for some teams I need to order some extra minis, which I did this morning... and a complete Norse team and a complete Slann team).

The league will be organized in two conferences (AFC and NFC), each containing three divisions (Central, Eastern and Western). Each division will consist of three teams. So if we sum up these, the result is 18 teams in the league! This will look like this: