Blood Bowl in the Playground II: It's Going To Be Elves Again, Isn't It?

[Brother Oni]

I can manage most times with a bit of planning, though evenings are the easiest. We're both on GMT so that should simplify things somewhat. I can be around on Steam this evening to arrange a specific time (or indeed play the game, if that works).

Playing the game this evening works for me. I'll keep an eye out for you on Steam.

Edit:

The Bloody Handed Angels 2 : Spartak's Blud Bowl Klub 1

A rather frustrating game for the orks where a reasonable turn 4 TD lead was undone by a comedy of errors resulting in a turn 8 equaliser.

I then lost the game on turn 9 when I failed to spot a blitzer TZ and moved a Black Orc through it by accident, a reroll not helping. Unable to get through the cage, I decided to try and injure as many players as possible, but with Tasroth rolling hot for his AV saves, that plan failed miserably (the witch elf took 3 turns, 5 players and two fouls to take off the pitch - AV7? Yeah right...), Tasroth wisely ran down the clock before scoring.

With only a few turns left, I set about injuring as many players while Tasroth hid all his valuable ones and fought back - when the final whistle blew, it was 3 casualties to 2 in my favour, so that tactic was useless as well.

It's games like this when I wonder why I'm playing Blood Bowl. Tasroth found it close and exciting - I just found it tedious to the extreme dealing with freaking elves.

[Silfir]

If ya can't beat 'em, join 'em - that's at least what I did in the other league I joined, the Big Crunch, with my wood elves of the Cedarwood Cricket Club. On one hand, it really is more exciting in a sense to be playing a side that often has a plan B (Strip Ball Wardancer, leap in!), and that can capitalize on enemy mistakes with relative ease. On the other hand, if you do get your heads bashed in by a superior bashing side while your elfy plays fail, you might find yourself playing the entire latter part of a half with four or five players stuck on the ground surrounding by markers while the ballcarrier is having a leisurely stroll downfield, and that's frustrating in its own way. Losing always is.

It's one reason I'm glad this particular league has a 2-week schedule - you get plenty of time to recover - and not so glad that it had fourteen teams. Having to drop out due to other commitments or simply because you're having the opposite of fun sucks for everyone involved.



Besides, there's still everything to play for. To reach a top four spot, you need to overtake three of the four teams in front of you. Let's say you win your remaining two matches against the two teams nipping at your heel, the Suns Children and Barovia World Tour (which will, conveniently, make sure they can't overtake you). That puts you at 22.

Team Hippy: 18 points, but will receive a last-day bye against the Darkworlders, putting them at 21. But that's still within reach. They do face Measured Response and the Pahuax Predators. Granted, they're ranking favorites against the latter and the former has failed to obtain the ever so crucial Block+Sure Hands Thrower, so winning against at least one of them (or drawing both) is more than feasible; but on the other hand, either team is still competitive. Measured Response at least - I am in the position to say - is quite motivated; they're not likely to relinquish the #1 spot without a fight just yet.

Imperial Space Corps: Also 18 points, but their remaining three matches, by all objective measurement, are going to be a significantly harder task to take on. Barovia World Tour has the tools to upset any team in the league, and they're facing the Corps (with a Blitzer MNG) at full strength. The Ironbeards await them after that. With both teams fighting for a qualifying spot just as you do, there's always a chance for a hard-fought draw, which you will not mind in the least. And for the last day, they face Measured Response, which we already discussed - Unless Euphonic Cadence somehow manages to utterly collapse over day 11 and 12, Response will need to win this game as well to have a shot at the top spot.

The Bloody-Handed Angels: I know, I know... If you're done with the cursing and spitting, hear me out for a moment. Yes, a bye against the Darkworlders will put them at 21. But their last opponent will be Euphonic Cadence, who currently occupy the #1 spot and are likely to feel exactly the same about the Amazons as the Amazons feel about them. So it's not too unlikely they'll stay at 21. And, as mentioned, you can make it to 22 through your own power.

The Ironbeards: They have 17 points, so if they only score a draw and a win out of their remaining three matches, you can beat them. Who are they facing? Granted, the Ulthuan Army Team hasn't looked the best so far, but elves can always pull something out. But then there's Imperial Space Corps. The ideal result for you there would be a draw, but at the very least they can only take three points in total out of that match. And then it's Barovia World Tour again. If you don't beat them up too badly (no last-turn gang fouls against these guys, eh?) they can pull it off.

So, Spartak's Blud Bowl Klub can still dream of the title; all they need is a three out of four in the above scenarios and to win their last two matches. After the bad luck you've suffered throughout the season, you owe it to them to help them make their own luck. Polish those steel-capped boots - let the rest of the league prepare themselves for mayhem and destruction. Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of waaaghh.

[Wraith]

What I'm hearing, then, is that the Vampires may well get to play King-maker of this league; they potentially hold the fate of the tough, all-rouWnder humans and the Dwarves - perfect foils to the dodging and running game of both the Elves and the Amazons - in the their cold, pale fingers.

No pressure, Shishnarfne.

It's games like this when I wonder why I'm playing Blood Bowl. Tasroth found it close and exciting - I just found it tedious to the extreme dealing with freaking elves.

In line with this statement, I had half a mind to upload a video of a game in which I played as Wood Elves versus Pro Elves.
It starts in comedic fashion as it reaches turn 5 before either team succeed in a dodge or a pick-up roll..... And it ends 4-0 to the Wood Elves with two dead opponents rotting in the dugout. It's ragequit material, though I suspect not particularly fun viewing as I stumble about the pitch, scoring every 3 turns virtually by accident.....

[Silfir]

Just for kicks, let's look at some more teams and their chances just before the league runs out:

Euphonic Cadence faces the Pahuax Predators (10th), Gimbatul (13th) and the Bloody-Handed Angels (5th, with an extra match in hand) in the final matches. Measured Response has to deal with Team Hippy (3rd), Leapers of Loren (12th) and the Imperial Space Corps (4th). At least on paper, the latter lineup is significantly more threatening. The Leapers may be third last, but they have several forfeits on their record and are still much closer to the Predators in ranking than they are to Gimbatul. Ultimately, of course, the truth will be decided on the pitch.

The side effect of these lineups is that all the teams lurking in the mid-table still hoping to qualify (6th to 9th) will have their fans turn out in support, strangely enough, of these same hated teams that managed to stump them throughout the league's course. (Though the Ironbeards and Barovia can claim to have taken a point off Measured Response, and the Suns Children have a draw against Cadence on the records, hailing from that oh-so-far-away Match Day One.) Even the Ironbeards will be in the uncomfortable position of rooting for Amazons to win, both against Team Hippy (which fortunately enough are blasted elves themselves, which dulls the pain) and very likely against the Corps. (I'm not saying I'm not deriving a misplaced sense of smug satisfaction from that fact.)

Another interesting fact, possibly: The teams that can achieve qualification for the playoffs under their own power, at the moment, are Euphonic Cadence, Measured Response, Team Hippy, Imperial Space Corps and The Ironbeards.

The Suns Children, of course, are still very much in the running for a top four spot. They face the Leapers of Loren and the Ulthuan Army Team, both significantly lower-ranked, before lining up against Spartak's Blood Bowl Klub, in what we could already rightfully consider one of the big nail-biters of Match Day 13. The fact that they get to dodge all but one of their rivals for the playoffs spot can be considered both a blessing and a curse; they might face an arguably easier opposition, but they cannot influence the point-scoring of the four teams in front of Spartak's at all. In this, at least, they are equal. (Not that the point difference between the two matters a great deal; a draw in their final match is liable to take them both out of the running.)

Barovia World Tour of course has their work cut out for them to make it from the 9th spot. Three wins might take them to 22 points, and conveniently they would have to dispatch three of their main adversaries to do so anyway: Imperial Space Corps, Spartak's Blud Bowl Klub and the Ironbeards. Though all three might keep themselves ahead still, and there are plenty of other rivals that would have to falter as well for the chips to fall into place. Still, a chance is a chance.

Bad news for the Predators, as the Darkworlders' early exit from the league puts them at least one point short of reaching #4 no matter how the math works out. They still get to play kingmaker, however, with an all-star lineup in the next two matches: Euphonic Cadence first, then Team Hippy. So they will likely find the stadiums they play in swell with a multi-colored array of unexpected supporters, orcs, humans (including amazons), dwarves and even fans of the Children, at least for Match Day 11 and 12 - on the last match day, while their match against the Ulthuan Army Team might decide the two teams' relative rankings in the final league table, the match will have no relevance for the playoffs.

The Ulthuan Army Team of course also has the potential to muck things up for teams at the top, as they could prove the bane of the Ironbeards as well as the Suns Children before the end.

The Leapers of Loren have been mentioned plenty, so there is little to add. They might provide a stumbling block for the Suns Children as well as Measured Response, so they will find ample support from elven brethren or not-quite brethren, be it from Euphonic Cadence, Team Hippy or the Bloody-Handed Angels. They play their final match against Gimbatul, which is unlikely to be relevant to anyone at this stage except those fans who care far more about orcs, a goblin and a troll squishing elves under their boots than fancy league magi-mathic.

All those looking for the ultimate underdog story, though, are sure to tune in for at least one more match played by Gimbatul: That against league forerunners Euphonic Cadence. If any of the remaining games not involving the Darkworlders seems predetermined with regards to result, this is certainly the one. But who knows for certain in this world of Nuffle...?



There's one more question to consider: Can Euphonic Cadence and Measured Response not still lose out on the playoffs?

And it's certainly possible. While both are clearly guaranteed to be safe at 27 points, 24 points is still not quite enough. Team Hippy, the Corps and the Ironbeards can score more than 24 points, though the Corps and the Ironbeards cannot do so at the same time. So in the worst case there might be a tie at 24 points in fourth* place for various constellations of teams that involves either Measured Response or Euphonic Cadence or even both, all the way down to the Ironbeards and Suns Children. With the tiebreak rules of the Cyanide engine being arcane at best and the fact that three losses vs. wins by the other teams can affect it in any number of ways, the end result of that is truly inscrutable. (As an aside, because the Corps and the Ironbeards cannot both exceed 24 points, 25, achieved with a measly draw, will ensure a spot in the playoffs for Cadence or Response.)

*Yes, a tie in up to first place at 24 points is also possible, with Cadence losing all, Response losing all, Hippy losing to the Predators, the Corps losing to the Ironbeards or to Barovia and the Ironbeards losing or drawing in at least one of their matches - it would stretch all the way down to fourth place at least, though, so by that token there would still be "a tie in fourth place". (Both Team Hippy and the Bloody-Handed Angels will have at least 24 points if Cadence and Response do lose their remaining games.)

[Wraith]

(Though the Ironbeards and Barovia can claim to have taken a point off Measured Response.....)

Hey! You get 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw - we both took *2* points off'f those blasted Amazons!

With the tiebreak rules of the Cyanide engine being arcane at best and the fact that three losses vs. wins by the other teams can affect it in any number of ways, the end result of that is truly inscrutable.

As far as I can tell, draws are decided by Goal Difference - whoever has had the MOST number of touchdowns scored BY them is ranked higher, and if that's the same, then number of touchdowns scored AGAINST them as the next qualifier. Although I haven't had much chance to test this theory, it seemed true of the Legacy League when the Destroyers, the Rampagers and the Adrastreia were all battling for 3rd and 4th place.

So if my theory is correct, the coveted 1st Place in the leader board is not yet safe. Assume that both Euphonic Cadence and Measured Response lose all 3 of their games....

If Team Hippy win 3 games, or win 2 and draw 1, they would go into first place on points.
If the Imperial Space Corps draw with the Ironbeards and win their other 2 games, they will jump into 2nd place.
If the Ironbeards draw with the Imperial Space Corps and win their other two games, they will be tying with Euphonic Cadence and Meaured Response on points, but could possibly jump into 4rd position if they score more than 7 touchdowns in doing so and thus overtake Measured Response.

This pushes the Elves and Amazons to 3rd and 5th, respectively. No, it isn't very likely, but it keeps the dream alive and makes it all that little bit more tense, I think. At least until the next match is played out....

(Incidentally, an excellent and very interesting set of analyses, Silfir - thank you very much for sharing them!)

[Silfir]

Losing to the Space Corps gives you a maximum of 23 points. I'd be very interested in how you're planning to finish above me or Euphonic Cadence with that.

All that ale and mathematics don't mix very well, do they?

EDIT: Sneaky, sneaky dwarf...

I'll add that I can contribute to making up the difference by losing by more than one touchdown in any of those three losses, of course, and that the Suns Children might rain on your parade at any time by winning three matches themselves and beating you on touchdown difference. You're both at +5, but they will need one more win to finish at 24 points anyway. In that case we're going to look right silly on #5 and #6. (The Bloody-Handed Angels are at +1 currently, so while they will have 24 points as well, TD difference will probably do them in no matter what if it comes down to it - provided it's not against Imperial Space Corps, who are themselves only at +2. Even if the Angels can beat Euphonic Cadence, they'll really want Measured Response to help stop the Hippies and the Corps from getting to 24. In a sense, that makes Tasroth and me symmetrical supporters; I want him to beat Cadence in his last remaining match, and he wants me to win two of my remaining three matches and is indifferent to the third.)

[Wraith]

EDIT: Sneaky, sneaky dwarf...

Sorry about that. Even though my previous post says "Edited at blahblah 'o' clock..." at the bottom, that really doesn't do justice to the previous 5 or 6 edits where I had to write it out, read it, check the math, re-reopen the first page to see the listings again just to make sure I wasn't tricking myself into delusions of adequacy.....

[LCP]

My message may have got lost in all the what-ifs: Thufir, when are you free to play?

[Thufir]

What I'm hearing, then, is that the Vampires may well get to play King-maker of this league; they potentially hold the fate of the tough, all-rouWnder humans and the Dwarves - perfect foils to the dodging and running game of both the Elves and the Amazons - in the their cold, pale fingers.

Yeah, I took a look at the probable results of the remaining games recently (though not in as much detail as Silfir just did) to figure out who will probably be in the playoffs, and Shishnarfne's Vampires were the team I picked out as most likely to cause a bunch of upsets and throw my calculations into disarray (Partly because Vampries can kind of do everything, and partly because Shishnarfne has proven his coaching ability in season 2 and in the Legacy League).

Also, re: tie-break, it has always appeared to me that Cyanide does the tie-break on the rather stupid, meaningless and arbitrary metric of which team has existed for less time. However, it is possible for a league owner (possibly commissioners as well) to manually edit which teams are in the playoffs, so in the event that we need one, we can potentially pick a fairer tie-break for ourselves.

@Pippington: Pretty much whenever. There aren't a lot of demands on my time.

[LCP]

I forget, sorry - what time zone are you in? I'm GMT.

[Thufir]

I forget, sorry - what time zone are you in? I'm GMT.

GMT also..

[LCP]

OK, great - I'll try to catch you on Steam.

[Brother Oni]

Losing always is.

I don't mind losing as long as it seems fair. As it was, the Dark elves out played me (fair enough, although a single mis-click being the cause of that is galling) and out fought me, which is the frustrating bit. Tasroth only failing a single Dodge roll all game was just the icing.

So, Spartak's Blud Bowl Klub can still dream of the title; all they need is a three out of four in the above scenarios and to win their last two matches. After the bad luck you've suffered throughout the season, you owe it to them to help them make their own luck. Polish those steel-capped boots - let the rest of the league prepare themselves for mayhem and destruction. Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of waaaghh.

Thank you very much for the analysis. I'll point out that Tasroth is short one player for the next game (he was down 2 thanks to my efforts, but managed to hire another witch elf with his winnings), which makes the bye very well timed.

I'll probably carry on with SBK in whatever league is set up for the more advanced teams, since I'm finding the crunching fun despite elves (I suppose I can always hope that the next elf team plays like your Amazons did ).

[Wookieetank]

After having played a handful of games of this now, I feel confident enough that I should be an easy win for most people. Put in a request for the Open League with my team Bearded Fistbeards (totally not a dwarven team ). I'm viersright on steam, feel free to drop me a line for a game!

[Science Officer]

The Ulthuan Army Team of course also has the potential to muck things up for teams at the top, as they could prove the bane of the Ironbeards as well as the Suns Children before the end.

Ha! Thank you for your generous appraisal!
Anyways, has the match week advanced? Do I have a match to play? Or have I already missed one?

[Silfir]

We should have sold tickets to this one.

First half. The Wood Elves receive first. Nothing out of the ordinary happens, really; Measured Response pressures to force a fast score or a chink in the defense, Team Hippy navigates the midfield, makes a surgical blitz, passes to nearby Catcher who runs downfield to hand-off to a Lineman to score the 1-0 lead. So far so good.

Turn 2, the Amazons receive. Everything's lined up to bash the elven bits of the line of scrimmage and get ready to collect the ball and caged up. And then the kickoff dice come up Blitz. Of course, the Wardancers rush in. This particular Wardancer has Side Step and refuses to get knocked over while pushing the ball around, so Measured Response tries to guard the ball as best as possible. They even decide to signal their Wizard to do something - anything - and he produces the weakest Lightning Bolt in recorded history. One turn later, after some defensive maneuvering, and after knocking over one of the defenders of the ball, the Wardancer goes for it. She leaps - picks up the ball - and rerolls her dodge to score the 2-0. So far, so absolutely outrageous.

It's crucial at this point to resist the temptation to crush your mouse between your palms and eat the bits; it's hard to play Blood Bowl without a mouse, after all. There are still twelve turns left to play. Just how screwed was I? Well, ultimately the "2-1 grind" strategy remains unchanged; score an equalizer in what remains of the first half, then score again in the second after stalling until the very last turn. Of course, That's twelve turns in which the Wardancers can roll their Leaps into the Cage and ruin everything at any second. My cage play has to be meticulous. In the 2-1 grind, if you don't quite make it, you'll still have a draw. No such luck here. And all I'm playing for is a measly draw. A draw that will qualify me for the playoffs. Well, might as well try.

Nerve-wracking seconds pass as the ball is kicked off again. This time, the roll comes up Quick Snap. I think. A reasonable, civilized kickoff result at any rate. Cage up... make sure a Guard player is helping... And try to somehow get through all the elves within the next five turns.

Somehow, I make it. The cage switches places a bit, then some of the elves run around the cage to threaten it from behind, and leave a gap that allows the Amazon ballcarrier to rush ahead and hug the sidelines in a half-cage. Not ideal, but it was what was available. The Wardancers do try to cause havoc, but this time, at least, it ends in turnovers. After an extra turn of stalling just before the endzone line, Aedon Pleiades can put the ball down for the 1-1. Phew, everything according to plan.

Oh, wait. It's only the 1-2. Curse word.

Second half. Measured Response receive again. Praises are sent to the jungle gods that the kickoff result was a mere KO rock to the head of a LOS linewoman instead of a Blitz. A cage is formed, and the back and forth of wood elf disruption and stabilization by the amazons begins. Wardancers fly about to be supremely annoying. And then an Amazon Blitzer rerolls double skulls into double skulls, with the ballcarrier wide open.

She is of course swiftly brought down and stunned. The other Thrower recovers the ball - and is brought down too. All hell has broken loose. The ball rolls out of the gaggle, still guarded by two Amazons, in the middle of the Amazon half (forget about crossing the halfway line!) and then by three Wood Elf Linemen. The defensive touchdown hangs in the air. But then the other Amazon Thrower succesfully makes an unskilled blitz against the bottom-most of the three ball-markers, brings him down with a Defender Down, and pushes the ball free to where Ktesippe Myrine herself can pick it up and place herself back somewhere in the middle of the fray, where it's hard to get at her without a dodge.

It's at this point that Team Hippy probably took a look at the watch and had a number of their players fall back to form a screen. The Wardancers fail to bring down Ktesippe, and she can recover into a cage, but then turn 15 is there, and she is still only slightly past the halfway line.

There's nothing else to do. Hypsipile Deinomache, the other Catcher, legs it downfield into scoring position, breaking up the cage. (Ktesippy does have Block. If she loses the ball, that's just how it goes.) But she is only one Amazon. Having just one receiver means that her getting brought down or marked dead will just end any chance to make the touchdown. There's only one other Amazon even in reach of a receiving position - Aedon Pleiades, Sure Hands Thrower and dedicated ballcarrier, who hasn't seen the ball since early in the half when she was left open and brought down and has tried to provide assists and man-marking wherever possible, and who is screened off by a bunch of linemen, one Blockier than the next. But she might as well try, mightn't she - And indeed, she blitzes, rolls a push, and dodges past a lineman to offer herself up for the ball. (You know things have turned awry for an Amazon offense when the dedicated ball carrier somehow ends up offering herself as a receiver.)

It looks like her efforts turn out not be in vain - three elvish lineman dedicate themselves to marking her in a triangle formation, making damned sure that she will not catch a ball and dodge out without the Dice of the Gods. There are only two players left that can deal with Hypsipile Deinomache now. They attempt to do so by way of a 2d blitz... And roll Defender Down, stunning her.

Now any and all hopes rest on Aedon Pleiades, triple-marked and lacking both Catch and +4 AGI. Ktesippe Myrine feels a Wardancer breathing down her neck, but she stays calm and waits for the two remaining blitzers to push one of the three markers out of the way. Then she runs into the gap to attempt the handoff into two tackle zones. Somehow, Aedon manages to grab the ball. She turns...

Spends her skill reroll on first dodge...

The last team reroll on the second...

And makes the GFI for the 2-2 equalizer. The crowd goes wild! The coach jumps off the bench and wildly fistpumps the air. They needed a three quarters of the entire game's length to do it, they were this close to losing hope and all chances for but a hair's breadth, but they did it!

BUT WAIT! The wood elves still get one more drive. Slowly, taking care to calm themselves any way they can, which is hard with the roaring of the crowd, the remaining Amazons (the game featured frequent injuries and knockouts on both sides) line up to screen off the endzone. Team Hippy bunches up, prepared to utilize the line of scrimmage in any way they know how. The referee blows the whistle, an Amazon Blitzer runs up to perform a massive kick...

And as the ball flies through the air, the fans storm the field, and when the dust settles, only three woodelves and a tree remain upright. One frustration KO caused by the tree and a SSP farming pass later, the game is over for good.



Easily the most ludicrous match of the season for Measured Response. The tension of recovering from that early 0-2 deficit inch by inch, knowing the slightest mistake might spell doom for any hopes of even recovering for a draw, just doesn't match anything I had to go through so far. And considering that same hard-fought draw also secured Measured Response a spot in the playoffs two match days before the end, I can conclude it's the winningest draw I've ever played. The fans seem to agree; Team Hippy drops a point of Fan Factor while Measured Response even gains one (this even though Response went into the match with a higher fan factor to begin with). Team Hippy's first Catcher was injured into retirement in his debut match (long before the 1TTD attempt) and a 0 SPP linewoman got crowdsurfed to death. Another linewoman leveled, and so, after eleven arduous match days, Measured Response finally picks up Wrestle.

Apologies to all those hoping on a Team Hippy loss to ease their odds of making it to the playoffs - I had to fight hard and get lucky just to keep them from making more than that one point, even if that one point might turn out to make all the difference.

And it has to be said - much appreciation for Qwaz, who made it a tremendous spectacle, and graciously congratulated me after the match for my efforts, proving himself to be a scholar and a gentleman. Sorry for crippling your catcher.

[Wraith]

Anyways, has the match week advanced? Do I have a match to play? Or have I already missed one?

See that 'bane of the Ironbeards' bit that you quoted?

Hi.

We are once again called upon to enact Dwarf versus Elf ultraviolence, that most famous of all grudges in the Old World, sir. Do you have a preferred day that you would like to play?

Put in a request for the Open League with my team Bearded Fistbeards (totally not a dwarven team ). I'm viersright on steam, feel free to drop me a line for a game!

Welcome to you and your glorious, traditionally-named team!
May I ask in which time-zone you reside? I can keep an eye out for you when I'm about, if you like, provided I'm on a day off.

[Wookieetank]

Welcome to you and your glorious, traditionally-named team!
May I ask in which time-zone you reside? I can keep an eye out for you when I'm about, if you like, provided I'm on a day off.

I'm CST (GMT-6?). I'm available most evenings other than Thursday, thats CK2 night for me and some friends.

[Luzahn]

You know, sometimes I wish I had Silfir's patience in typing up those recaps.

I'm just here to report that the Imperial Space Corps has proven victorious over the bloodsuckers in a 2-1 match. Clearly, this is a reflection of the skill and power of the Empire's finest, and has nothing to do with a freak blizzard or the enemy's excessive thirst for human blood.

[LCP]

The Pahuax Predators lost 3-2 to Euphonic Cadence. After going 2-0 down in the first half, the Predators managed a two-turn touchdown in the last moments before half time, and then comfortably equalised thanks to the growing number of elves in the KO box.

I probably should have dawdled on the touchdown line at that point, but with a fair bit of time left in the game it seemed unsporting to settle for a draw. Cadence sent three receivers deep into my half and left their thrower hiding at the back. With most of the KOs having come back on, I tried to mark the two catchers with skills as heavily as I could, and left the third, unskilled receiver open, figuring my chances were better if I forced a pass to the least likely elf to catch it, rather than spreading myself thin over all three and giving Thufir the choice of which one to free up. Unfortunately praying to Nuffle did nothing, and the line-elf caught the pass and scored the winning touchdown. In retrospect it was probably a bad decision... elves are pretty good at catching things.

Thanks to Thufir for a very enjoyable game - the computer gave it 20/20 so I think it agreed!

[Thufir]

I probably should have dawdled on the touchdown line at that point, but with a fair bit of time left in the game it seemed unsporting to settle for a draw. Cadence sent three receivers deep into my half and left their thrower hiding at the back. With most of the KOs having come back on, I tried to mark the two catchers with skills as heavily as I could, and left the third, unskilled receiver open, figuring my chances were better if I forced a pass to the least likely elf to catch it, rather than spreading myself thin over all three and giving Thufir the choice of which one to free up. Unfortunately praying to Nuffle did nothing, and the line-elf caught the pass and scored the winning touchdown. In retrospect it was probably a bad decision... elves are pretty good at catching things.

I think I would agree with both the question marks you place over your own play there, but neither was really a 100% unambiguous better play. If you dawdled on the touchline, even down a bunch of players, it's possible I could've knocked the ball loose. And if you marked my Lineman as well as the Catchers then having the Catchers less marked would allow them to more easily dodge away after receiving the ball (for which the marking is of course irrelevant thanks to Nerves of Steel). I mean, the whole point of sending a third receiver onto the other side of the pitch is to get you to split your resources like that. On the other hand again, if I'd had to score with a Catcher I might not have been able to delay that extra turn to put the equaliser completely out of your reach.

Oh, @Qwaz: I'm afraid I couldn't soften up the Lizardmen for you. I tried to break their fists with my elves' faces but to no avail. I just ended up with a bunch of unconscious or injured elves and a somewhat hampered ability to defend.

[Silfir]

You always have to assume you simply won't prevent an elf team from scoring if they get more than one turn to do it. It's just not gonna happen without unreasonable amounts of luck. So some degree of risk taken to delay and score on the last turn of the half will end up being worth it, even if you may lose the ball in the process and lose 1-2 or 1-3 instead of 2-3.

There is absolutely nothing "unsporting" about stalling for a turn 8 touchdown against an elven team! That's how you win against them or draw against them at all. The elf teams know that, too, and their players are more than mobile enough to make stalling out against them hard without a good screen or cage. So this is not a cheap or exploitative strategy or anything. It's simply forcing a fight on your terms if at all possible. Make them roll 1-d blocks and/or dodges into tackle zones instead of passes or catches.

It does take some roundabout thinking to look at the clock at turn 6 and refrain from going "Better score that touchdown while it's safe". But weigh your options carefully. A touchdown on turn 6 or even 7 against elves basically gives you zero points, or maybe 0.1-0.2. Even a turn 8 one only goes up to like 0.95, if you take Riot kickoff results into account and remember that elves are pretty decent at one-turning - but you can't do anything about either of those.

[LCP]

I can't remember how many turns there were left in the second half, but it was a few (and Lizardmen are just as good at scoring rapidly as elves, provided the skinks can pick up the ball). There were three or four elves in the injury box and four in the KO box, a defensive touchdown to give the 3-2 to me seemed possible. It just seemed off to deliberately stall for the draw... it seemed to me to be saying "I'd rather stop you winning than try to win myself," and make for a less enjoyable game. I don't mind losing that much, I'm not headed for the playoffs and those last few turns were a lot more tense and interesting than they would have been with a skink hovering on the touchline while 7 Saurus and a Kroxigor beat up a very depleted elf team. If I'd already been in the lead, though, I would definitely have stalled.

Who could have known that all four KO'd elves would wake up - they'd stayed stubbornly asleep through the all the previous kickoffs . But even so, the elf drive relied on a lot of dodge rolls and 1D blocks - one turnover in the right place and I might've got that third touchdown.

Blood Bowl auto-saves the replays, right? I might be able to put it up on Youtube or similar if people are interested.

[Wraith]

Blood Bowl auto-saves the replays, right? I might be able to put it up on Youtube or similar if people are interested.

Blood Bowl replays are basically .txt files listing names, places and dice rolls. To watch it back, it can only be run in Blood Bowl itself - to get it on YouTube, you'll need to record it manually with something like Fraps.

Alternatively, use something like dropbox to put the file online, then people can download and watch it for themselves. Which is something I might look into, once I get my head around the thing.

=====

Can anyone please tell me what Science Officer's name is on Steam? I'm pretty sure I have them on there, but I cannot for the life of me remember what their pseudonym is.

[LCP]

Unnamed Protagonist, I think.

[Thufir]

Blood Bowl auto-saves the replays, right? I might be able to put it up on Youtube or similar if people are interested.

Given the 20/20 match rating, that match went straight on my list of ones I intend to make videos of, so it will end up on youtube eventually.

[Wraith]

Science Officer and I are tentatively planning our match to be played on Saturday evening (EST/GMT-5), so apologies to anyone who was hoping to finish the round early and move on to their next game. I promise that I'll try to make the wait a worthwhile one!

Given the 20/20 match rating, that match went straight on my list of ones I intend to make videos of, so it will end up on youtube eventually.

I look forward to it.

[EDIT] cyanide plz....

Spoiler

Show

[Qwaz]

Popped online to mess around and saw two of the players with a match to play were in BB. Jumped in and caught the natch of Suns Children VS Leapers of Loren

So many injuries 0_0

Im not totally sure Maetherion has a team left now. Credit where it's due though....he scored on a drive with only 4 players to his name.

[SaruSama]

Suns Children Versus Leapers of Loren Final Score 3-1
The Game started off very inauspiciously for the leapers with a pitch invasion knocking down most of their players and leaving all but one of the lizards up. Than the Lizards did their best blender impression and quickly knocked out a bunch of players on the way up the field. They stalled until turn eight to get more hits in and avoid an elf style return. By the end of the half 4 of the elves and all of their positions were out, including the Wardancer with a miss next game. The only injury on the Lizard side was the Mighty Amun-Ra Kroxigor who also will be missing next game . Second half things went even worse for the leapers with 3 more elves being injured in quick succession. They were able to get a quick touchdown on their return through general elfiness but other than that they seemed to have no luck. Perhaps using actual dice made of ice was not the best plan . Then on the last lizard turn of the game Lugh the Saurus made the record books with the first recorded Saurus Touchdown ever.

All in all it was still a great game I just feel really bad for Maethirion as it wasn't bad play that brought him down just the dice, he literally couldn't pull of anything. Nonetheless I give him a lot of kudos for keeping his calm so well through that game. I'm fairly certain I would've been throwing couches halfway through.

[SaruSama]

So many injuries 0_0

Im not totally sure Maetherion has a team left now. Credit where it's due though....he scored on a drive with only 4 players to his name.

Yeah that game was a bloodbath, and the Suns Children strongly resent any implication that they bribed the entire other team .