In my last post I attempted to answer the question ‘Which is the best Team in Blood Bowl’ but quickly realised it’s more complicated than it first appears. While playing a team you are stylistically and aesthetically drawn to is probably ‘the best’ for you, I tried to break the question down and started by looking at Team Tiers, or the measure of how hard a team is to play. You can read the first part here: Which is the Best Team in Blood Bowl?
In this Part 2 we are going to look at the next main factor affecting team choice – styles of play. Certain races and teams lend themselves to certain ways of playing, and these are broadly referred to in BB circles as ‘Bash’, ‘Finesse’ or ‘Agility’, ‘Hybrid’, and ‘Stunty’. Taking each style in turn:
Bash
This isn’t a hard style to fathom, as it refers to a team’s ability to literally pummel their opponents into submission! Bash teams tend to prioritise brute force over speed and agility with a key objective being to overpower the opposition. If those tricksy Elves are leading 1-0 at half time but only have 7 players left, it’s much easier 2nd half to march down field and score back!
Bash teams typically have high armour values to give them good protection (e.g. AV 10) and high strength to let them dish out the knock-downs (ST 4). However, they also tend to be relatively slow (MA 4-6), and a safe ball carrier does not come as standard! (AG 4-5)
There are 7 teams who are regarded as Bash teams: Orcs, Dwarves, Shambling Undead, Necromantic Horror, Chaos Chosen, Nurgle, and Khorne.
Agility or Finesse
Agility teams are all about mobility. They typically lack the strength of Bash teams (ST 3) and will have lower armour values (AV 7-8), making them prone to being knocked down, knocked out or worse! But what they lack in power they make up for elsewhere.
Agility teams are fast (MA 7+), can usually dodge and sidestep, and can also pass and catch (AG 2-3) with relative ease. If running round, through and even over your opponent is your thing, then an agility team could be for you. Where a Bash team will need to grind down the pitch to score over multiple turns, Agility teams accentuate speed and can often ‘One Turn’ – that is, score in 1 turn, making them great for that come back score or even a sneaky last turn win. But beware – they will die in numbers due to that low armour!
Some Agility teams come with the option of a bit of extra muscle in the shape of a Big Guy. These include the Wood Elves, who get access to a Tree Man (very strong, very slow!) and the Skaven, who get access to a Rat Ogre (very strong, pretty fast, prone to doing things you don’t want him to do!).
Most Big Guys in Blood Bowl come with what is referred to as a ‘nega-trait’ – that is, a negative that balances out their strengths in game play (more about that later!) Big Guys lend a bit more strength to an Agility team, but not without some drawbacks.
Agility teams comprise Wood Elves, Pro Elves (Elven Union), Dark Elves, Skaven and Amazons.
Hybrid
Hybrid teams, as the name suggests, are a combination of Agility and Bash. This is a bit of a grey area to be honest, as you could argue that several of the teams listed above as Bash or Agility could equally be classified as a Hybrid, or vice versa (e.g. Norse, Amazons etc).
Some teams are obviously Hybrid in that they are a mixture of several races e.g. Chaos Renegades. Renegades are a mixture of Humans, Goblins, Orcs, Skaven, Dark Elves, Ogres, Trolls and even a Minotaur! If you can’t decide which race you like to play best, Renegades gives you a bit of everything!
A good example of a Hybrid team centred around a single theme is Lizard Men. They have access to a Kroxigor, arguably the best Big Guy in the game, and up to 6 Saurus. The Saurus have MA 6 (pretty good), AV 10 (tough), and ST 4 (strong). So in terms of being able to fight, they are solid. However, the Saurus are AG 5, meaning they are very unlikely to pick up or catch the ball, or dodge away from an opponent. The Agility part is provided by the Skinks.
You’ll have to take some Skinks in your team, typically 4 or 5 to start. Skinks are quick (MA 8), Agile (AG 3 plus Stunty & Dodge), but have low armour (AV 8) and strength (ST 2). These guys can pick up the ball most of the time and run, but if they get caught, they are going to be beaten up. To play Lizardmen well, you will need to combine the Saurus’ Bash with the Skink’s Agility.
And that goes for the other Hybrid teams too. For instance, Black Orcs are very similar to Saurus, with Bashy Black Orcs and weak but fast Goblins and a Troll for good measure.
Humans are all-round Solid. Average MA, ST, AV, and they can Pass and Catch. They have access to an Ogre for Bash and Halflings for Agility. When all their skills are combined, they can do everything pretty well. Hence why most Hybrid teams are classified as Tier 1 or 2.
As well as Lizardmen, other Hybrid teams include Imperial Nobility, Black Orcs, Chaos Renegades, Humans, Old World Alliance, Underworld Denizens, Vampires and Norse* (see above).
Stunty Teams
Stunty teams are the thematic teams in Blood Bowl. They are all classified as Tier 3, being pretty hard to play well, but are designed to be fun! Fat and slow Halflings, sneaky Goblins armed with tricks and weapons, or just crazy chaotic Snotlings!
Stunty teams will have low MA, ST, and AV. They do have access to Big Guys, but these are limited and hard to handle well. Stunty teams include Snotlings, Halflings, Goblins, and maybe surprisingly, Ogres (as half of their team are Gnoblars).
The inherent difficulty in playing Stunties is recognised in the BB world – they typically have their own ‘Cup’ in tournament play and to play Halflings or Goblins to a high standard competitively is a skill to be acknowledged! Once you’ve played the other teams and have won consistently, it may be time to take on the challenge and move up (down?!!) to a Stunty team.
Conclusion
Once you combine the concept of Tiers of teams with playing style, you should start gravitating towards a team you would like to play. To start, pick a Tier 1 team, and then combine that with your playing style – Bash? Go for Orcs or Undead. Dodge and pass around? Elves. A little bit of everything? Skaven could be for you. But be warned – Dwarves are regularly regarded as the most boring team to play against! Just saying….
