New Season starts for Odinn's Champions!

The new Blood Bowl Season started with a Krrrrunch! this weekend: Odinn's Champions' match 1 being vs Leigh's seasoned dwarf team "Crimson Breweries".  Dwarves are a tough matchup for Norse and these guys bristled with guard, stand firm and mighty blow! Reilly had $550k in inducements, and after considerable thought wisely maximised for survival - taking 2 blood wiser babes, a spare apothecary and star Yeti player Icepelt Hammerblow. Weather was fine, Lee won the toss and chose to receive, and also won FAME with his 7 Fan Factor.

The teams line up to start the match

The Norse kicked deep to cheering fans (both teams got a reroll) and the very first dwarf block KOed a Norse Lineman. The second block injured the Norse Lineman next to him - miss next game. Hmmm... A dwarf runner scooped up the ball and mad a short pass to the other runner (ST4), who was protected behind the strong dwarf line.

The Norse started moving up to meet them but the dwarves were strong with all that guard. The Dwarves shifted to play to the right hand of the field and a nasty looking troll slayer ran in to badly hurt a Norse blitz - 3 players down in only turn 2! Plus another couple stunned. Shaping up to be a tough game. Luckily the dwarves started to really focus on Icepelt, isolating him and ganging up for blocks to get him and his claws off the pitch. A least that kept them off the Av7 Norsemen, whose blocks went doing much at this stage, but then Icepelt got smashed up by a troll slayer and badly hurt. Reilly wisely saved the apoth for his own players but the team was evaporating fast with just 6 men left on the pitch for Reilly's turn 4. (Note: turns out you cant use an Apoth on a Star Player - thanks Leigh, we didn't know that!)

The Dwarves push forward against a much thinned Norse defence

Undaunted, the Norse crowded in on the ball carrier to get some pressure on but the Yeti remained ineffective. Another Berzerker was stretchered off KOed, and with a corridor free the Dwarves went for a hand-off but  fumbled it. A Norse thrower dodged through 3 Dwarf TZs but couldn't pick it up and it scattered away. Another lineman went to the casual box (another Miss Next Game) and still Right Stuff held on to his apoth in case the remaining valuable players get killed. Wise play. The Norse thrower followed him off the pitch to the KO box on the next block. The Yeti also followed, KOed on the next block. Down to only 2 Norse players, the dwarves scooped up the ball, completed a quick pass and scored. All the Norse returned from the KO box and it looked a lot healthier now with 8 facing the Dwarves with 3 turns to half time.

The Norse sprinted a runner and a blitzer downfield, scoped up the ball and did a quick pass to grab the completion SPP. The Dwarves intercepted the Norse scoring threat, KOing the Norse runner and dropping the Berzerker to the ground. The Yeti lept up, actually dodged away from the Dwarves around him and ran down field to assist, only to trip over his own shoelaces and stun himself! The Dwarves swarmed down onto the ball carrier - a  last Norse minute glory play failed and the half time siren sounded.

The 2nd Half commences!

The second half began with the 8 Norse receiving -  runners ran deep on the left side and there was much excitement as the first dwarf armour broke for the game...but it was only a stun. A Norseman tried to scoop up the ball but wasn't able to control it. The Dwarves surged to the right and Reilly tried the old switcheroo to the other side with the Yeti and the other runner. Nuffle didn't favour the play though and the runner failed to go for it... Meanwhile the Norse were outnumbered and getting crammed into the far sidelines, where one got surfed into the crowd. Meanwhile the Norse retrieved the ball and got it to their thrower, poised mid way in the Norse half. A Dwarf blitzer with jump up appeared from nowhere to sack the ball carrier and ran it up, until the yeti decided to tear chunks off him and sent him to the casualty box badly hurt - finally a Dwarf leaves the pitch! A Norse lineman scooped it up, sprinted and spiralled an accurate short pass downfield to a runner who caught it nicely but got blitzed to the ground. Meanwhile the crowding continued and two Norse couldn't stand up to 8 stunties and went into the crowd KOed. The Dwarves scooped it up and fired a pass to a do a downfield troll slayer - Norse interception!!! Now what could they do with it with just 4 players remaining...

Running downfield the Norseman with the ball swung right but was all alone in enemy territory and got sacked by a troll slayer. The Dwarf str4 runner grabbed it up and started the long road downfield to glory. He passed to a troll slayer who was in position to score next turn. The Norse thrower based him while another lineman was badly hurt, but was apothecaried to the reserves box...followed rapidly by the Yeti who was badly hurt as the troll slayer dodged around but then tripped over the line trying to score! The ball went out and was thrown in - a chance existed for the Norse to tie it up with just 2 players left on the pitch!

On the last turn, the Norse thrower dodged away, picked up the ball and fired a pass to the Norse runner in scoring position...interception by a troll slayer!!! He then ran down to try his own passing play to a waiting runner in scoring position - makes he throw, inaccurate, reroll- accurate! But its not caught and bounces away.... Dwarves win 1 nil, inflicting 6 casualties on the Norse and taking just one.

The Norse got 50k in winnings, just 10 short of the much desired Ulfwerner, so next game should see the purse big enough to attract one to the team.  MVP went to one of the runners, and one Lineman skilled up with the Tackle skill.  Overall a good result against a tough team - 2 Miss Next games, no niggles, no stat breaks and no deaths.  Cant complain about that!  Next game is against the 'Brutle Orcs'.

Thanks for a great game Leigh and I hope Crimson Breweries do well.  
And good luck developing that 3Ag Leaping Deathroller you want to build!!!