This post is the highlight coverage of week three of the 2018 Drawbridge Blood Bowl League. This link has the full current standings . Don’t forget you can also view the League Rules and check out the Endorsements page, and catch up on all the action from week one here and week two here.

Chris Killingsworth: Well John, we’re back in week three. Before we get into coverage of the games, the big news is that there’s been yet another team poisoned. Gotta watch the contents of those Bloodwiser Kegs, guys.

John Flatten: That’s right Chris. The Orcland Stompas are more like the Orcland Stomach-pumpas. Eight of the team are dead, and their Troll is in jail as he liked the poison so much he drank it all down and asked for seconds.

Chris: Then why is he in jail?

John: He tried to take a crossbow onto a zeppelin.

Chris: It’s quite a sad turn of events. But it does open the way to a new team to join the league from relegation. This time The Sinatras move up–a Skaven team.

John: That’s right, Chris. They’ve been waiting in relegation for a long while, perhaps so long they might try to… poison their way on to the field?

Chris: John, I think you might… GACK! ACK! AUGH!!!

John: CHRIS!?!? AUGH, THEY’VE STABBED ME TOO. RUN. RUN FRIEND, RUN!

[Approximately one minute of air time is the distant sounds of clattering, a door slamming, and then movement in the studio]

 

 

Rat Summerall: I’m Rat Summerall. Welcome back-back to Drawbridge Power Rankings.

Myron Nope: Yoi-yoi, Rat. I’m Myron Nope. Us rat-things are take-taking the league by storm.

Rat: New team is Sinatras. Rat pack is back-back.

Myron: Box score says they lose-lose, but we know it was win-win for them.

Rat: See? Touchdown. Run-run score!

Myron: Yoi-yoi! They better than those Elf Yonkos they play-play. Elf Yonkos have, hmm-hah, six division wins. By next week, Sinatras have twelve-twelve you see-see.

Rat: Old Skaven team still good-good too. Skee-attle Squeakers face goblins in cut-cut match.

Myron: They win-win. Why league care about division win first? Dumb-dumb.

Rat: True-true. There any more-more powerful teams?

Myron: Nope-nope. Only Skavens. Best-best.

Rat: You heard it there first-first folks. Power Rankings Week Three. Stay tuned for more Skaven coverage of the Drawbridge, no… Skaven-Skaven Blood Bowl League 2018.

This post is the highlight coverage of week two of the 2018 Drawbridge Blood Bowl League. This link has the full current standings . Don’t forget you can also view the League Rules and check out the Endorsements page, and catch up on all the action from week one here.

Chris Killingsworth: Well John, we’re back again after another week packed to the gills with exciting Blood Bowl action.

John Flatten: That’s right Chris. We’ve had some thrills, spills, and kills this week. Plus ample actual fish gills because the Dark Elves brought a boat deck to play on.

Chris: Let’s get right into the week’s Power Rankings. While the Green-Grey Plaguers and Honest to Gob continue to lead the East and West divisions respectively, there’s a lot of rising teams that are starting to get hot.

John: Let’s hope they’re not too hot. Remember that use of fire, napalm, and burning oil was banned six years ago from the League for being too lethal.

Chris: Players were tougher back in our day, John. The occasional pot of boiling oil was the cost of doing business.

John: Speaking of business, let’s talk about a team that’s in the business of scoring touchdowns: the Leadbelching Manglers. This West Division team won its opening match against the Orcland Stompas, in large part with the classic “Goblin Toss” special play. The Troll picked up the goblin who had the ball, refrained from eating him, managed to throw him, and the goblin actually landed on his feet.

Chris: That’s a heck of a good play. Check out the telestrator: getting that Gobbo up well past the Stompas’ line made a real difference, and took the Manglers to a lead they would keep the rest of the game.

John: Yeah, with play like that, the Manglers are likely to be a nasty team to face. It’s one thing to face Orc muscle and armor, entirely another when they’re able to score on you.

Chris: Hold up John, let’s quick take a moment to talk about the next advertisement campaign from Hike, manufacturers of of the finest athletic boots for Blood Bowl Competition.

John: That’s right, Chris. Not only are Hike shoes the choice of Finn the Fierce, star Trollslayer of the Fort Tyr Miners, but they’re also apparently socially conscious now days.

Chris: Odd. I thought they were stitched together in a sweatshop that uses underpaid halfling laborers. But what do I know? At least the pair of boots looked good when Finn used them to kick in the teeth of a Goblin Fanatic in his last outing.

John: That’s right, the leather of every Hike boot is bloodstain-resistant.

Chris: Speaking of blood stains, let’s get to our next power ranking. I think teams really need to watch out for the Clar Karond Krakens. They’ve suffered some losses in their first few games, including some serious injuries to their players. Yet they won their most recent bout, and they’re looking tougher and tougher as a team.

John: Sometimes it takes a bit of adversity to really get a team going, Chris.

Chris: Tell that to Da Noo Orleans Scents… their mass poisoning should put them over the top then!

John: Except they’re all dead.

Chris: Speaking of the dead, I think it’s time we talk about our third power ranking this week. They’re a rising team to watch: the Karak Zorn Zealous Zoomers.

John: Wait, I thought they lost last week.

Chris: They may have lost, John, but I think they’ve got a key advantage to watch out for. Their coach went and sprung for a Deathroller.

John: I thought I smelled the aroma of fuel mixed with beer when I was standing outside the arena!

Chris: Exactly. That beer-steam-driven-machine is poised to wreck some players’ days. While they haven’t won yet, I still think the Zoomers are a team to watch in the coming weeks. When opponents start turning up in the casualty box covered in spiked tread marks, that opens the door to a few rushing touchdowns right quick.

John: And speaking of quick, that’s our power rankings for the week. Stay tuned for next week’s coverage. And remember: it’s not Blood Bowl till a fan throws a bottle at the pitch.

This post is the highlight coverage of week one of the 2018 Drawbridge Blood Bowl League. This link has the full current standings . Don’t forget you can also view the League Rules and check out the Endorsements page.

Chris Killingsworth: Well John, it certainly was an exciting week one of play in the Drawbridge Blood Bowl League.

John Flatten: It sure was Chris.

Chris: Before we talk our power rankings, do you have any thoughts about how the League is going?

John: Well Chris, it seems clear that the teams that are scoring more points are winning their games. My advice to teams not scoring points: score more.

Chris: Insightful commentary as always John. Okay, let’s get to our power rankings. Right now most of the action has happened in the East Division, but I know that this coming weekend the West Division is sure to heat up.

John: We’ve seen some great games already, and the rivalries are definitely heating up. Rising star Hrnnnrhnnhr from the Trauma Bay Buccaneers is in particular trouble for that aggressive Tweet he posted after their loss to the Green-Gray Plaguers on Sunday.

Chris: Oooh, yeah. This is a family game. There’s no room in Blood Bowl for that sort of language.

John: Well, let’s get to the power rankings. Number one has to be those Green-Grey Plaguers. They’re sitting atop the East Division with a 2-0 record in division play.

Chris: Remember, they’re playing from behind as well. They lost one of their Pestigors early on: the right blocker, Goiter. He suffered a savage kick to his goiter, no less, which took him out of action, permanently.

John: That kick was clearly a foul.

Chris: Well, the Pestigor was foul himself so it probably evens out in the referee’s eyes.

John: Second up in our power rankings is the leading West Division team: Honest to Gob. Their win over the Gorklue Enforcers proved that sometimes small is preferable to tall in the world of Greenskins.

Chris: I’ve got bad news for the West Division. You cannot let a goblin team get the lead in a League like this. Their sneaky, underhanded, nasty tricks are just what the fans love to see.

John: They’ve got the underdog feeling for an over dog team.

Chris: That’s also coincidentally what they served for team dinner after the match: Stewed Mushrooms Over Dog.

John: Third in our power rankings is the second place team in the East Division: the Orcland Stompas. They’re 1-1 so far in the Divison, winning their latest game against the Clar Karond Krakens thanks to a last-minute fumble.

Chris: Let’s look at the footage:

John: You see here, Chris? That dark elf handed the ball to the ground, not his teammate.

Chris: Astute commentary, John. Just because they won that game on a dark elf fumble doesn’t mean that they’re a fluke team. The Orcland Stompas are packing some serious stomp this season. Four Black Orcs and Four Blitzers means a lot of beef on the line.

John: That’s it for our top three in the power rankings. Let’s take a moment for the team that’s at the bottom of the heap right now.

Chris: I’d have to say that it’s Da Noo Orleans Scents, John.

John: Wait, I thought they won a game or two already?

Chris: Indeed they did, but during the victory celebrations for their second victory the entire team keeled over dead. DBBL investigators are still processing information, but initial reports indicate that their celebratory fungus beer contained highly lethal doses of poison.

John: If you want to keep living, don’t drink poison.

Chris: Too true, John. That’s a tough lesson for teams to learn. League officials still don’t know who poisoned the Scents, though this is a huge benefit to the New York Stone Giants who move up from Relegated status from the DBBL junior league to take the place of the now-deceased Scents. However, polling among DBBL fans shows that 95% of them are convinced that the New Elven Patriots must be behind the poisoning.

John: Well thanks for tuning in to our week one power rankings! Tonight week two kicks up, and Chris and I will be back to give full coverage of the weekend’s games!

The Fall 2018 Drawbridge Blood Bowl League (DBBL) is divided into two divisions: East and West. Teams improve with games against all teams, and overall record is tracked. However, within-division record is what matters for purposes of reaching the post-season. This has led to cross-league matches occasionally being mercenary in nature (called in to just do violence to a team), formally discouraged by the League but a valid tactic for enterprising Managers to see their hated foes lose a few star players. Note that the East Division tends to be weeknights for games, while the West Division tends to be weekends, though anyone can play any day or night they wish.

This page will reflect the current standings as best as I can update them. I’ll confer with Rico on Sunday nights most frequently and do my update then. The player sheets (held` at Drawbridge) will be the authoritative standings for the League at all times.

NOTE: Teams may still change, and Division assignments may adjust as well–doing by most to keep things even in terms of numbers while minding preferred playing times.  I expect a few  more players to join as well, which may make things shuffle around. We’re close to the lock point–so get those teams in asap. 

Standings current as of 9/26/18. Check the League Board at Drawbridge for the most current stats. And check here for coverage of week one and week two.

East Division

Team Name (and Race)	Manager	Division WL	Overall WL
Clar Karond Krakens (Dark Elves)	Steve Y.	6-4	6-4
Green-Grey Plaguers (Nurgle)	Tom K.	3-0	4-0
The New York Stone Giants (Chaos)	Andrew L.	3-0	3-0
The Nuln Oilers (Humans)	Kevin F.	2-1	2-1
The Forty-Miners (Dwarfs)	Tony B.	1-3	1-4
The Skee-attle Squeakers (Skaven)	Michael S.	0-2	2-4
The Sinatras (Skaven)	Ryan N.	0-1	0-1
The Trauma Bay Buccaneers (Chaos)	Matt K.	0-2	0-2
Nurgle’s Rotters (Nurgle)	Enrico N.	0-0	0-0

West Division

Team Name (and Race)	Manager	Division WL	Overall WL
Honest to Gob (Goblins)	Justin K.	3-1-1	3-2-1
The New Elven Patriots (Elven Union)	Kasey O.	1-0	1-0
The Leadbelching Manglers (Orcs)	Dean D.	0-0	1-0
The Fort Tyr Miners (Dwarfs)	Shaun S.	0-0-1	0-0-1
The Gorklue Enforcers (Orcs)	Sean O.	0-2	0-2
Karak Zorn Zealous Zoomers (Dwarfs)	Ty S.	0-2	0-2
Khaine’s Killers (Dark Elves)	Chris C.	0-1	0-1

These are the full league rules for the Drawbridge 2018 Blood Bowl league. They will use the league rules presented in the current Blood Bowl Annual (2018) with the modifications noted below. The Annual includes a streamlined and comprehensive version of the pre-and-post-match sequence for team management, and all team managers should have and familiarize themselves with the full league rules.

Critical Rule

We’re here to have fun and tell good stories about epic Blood Bowl games. If you’re here to win at all costs, this isn’t the League for you.

League and Divisions

The Drawbridge Blood Bowl League (DBBL) 2018  will run for 6 weeks, starting on September 6th, 2018. The All-Star game will happen the week before playoffs, and will be held on Thursday, October 18th. The Playoffs will happen on October 25th and 27th, with the Final Game on Sunday the 28th. NOTE: Currently those timings are only tentative–they may be adjusted depending on player availability and Drawbridge timings. 

Team managers will be split into two Divisions: East and West. Players can play any opponent in the League, but your in-Division standings will be what will determine playoff participation. We’ll endeavor to split the two Divisions by available times for games (roughly weekend players and weekday players), but I’ll also have to make the Divisions equal in numbers.

League Teams and Player Recruitment

Teams in the DBBL begin with the standard 1,000,000 gold coins and free Head Coach to create their team. All currently published teams are available to Team Managers. Note that this League DOES NOT USE STAR PLAYERS. They cannot be recruited at any point during play. Instead, players are encouraged to come up with identities of their own Star Players as the course of play runs onward. Note that we’ll have an All-Star game where coaches from each Division will contribute their top players to their Division team and run the game as a group against the other Division coaches (should be amazingly silly and fun). This also means that other named personas are not being used (referees, coaching staff, etc.).

Recruit teams young and old alike!

Note that if a team needs to be restarted, the rules presented for restarting in the Blood Bowl Annual will be followed. The short version is: new roster of recruits, keep current fan factor, can buy-in players with skills from old team at cost. We encourage players to not abuse this system unduly–if a pattern of frequent restarts for free fan factor is noted, expect suitable censure.

Playing Games and Progress

Team Managers are welcome schedule matches via online connection, or simply show up for games at the likely timings at Drawbridge. Team Managers cannot play a game against the same opponent twice in one week (Thursday to following Wednesday counts as the week each week). Division Standings will reward playing a lot of opponents (e.g. a player who is 2-1 would be ranked ahead of a player who is 1-1 but behind a player who is 2-2).

Specific League Rules

Special Plays: Special Plays are extremely limited in the DBBL. During the pre-game sequence, only a single Special Play card is drawn by each player–there is no roll to randomly determine number of choices. Additional pulls from the special play deck can be purchased through inducements as normal.

Weather: Yes, we’re using Weather. Roll on that table, and have some fun.

Expensive Mistakes: Yep, using this rule. Keep spending on the team.

Spiraling Expenses: And this one too. It’s hard to manage expensive teams.

Sponsorships: There will be a list of active Sponsorship deals maintained on this page. These will be one source of Special Plays, as well as other benefits (and drawbacks) for teams.

Inducements: The DBBL will use the inducements rules as normal to help balance teams of different value. Again, as the rules list: either Team Manager can purchase inducements in that phase pre-game, but the Team that has a smaller total team value gains the difference in team value as “free inducements” points for that match only.

• 0-2 Bloodwiser Kegs (50,000gp each)
• 0-3 Bribes (100,000gp each)
• 0-4 Extra Team Training (100,000gp each)
• Mercenaries (Various Prices)
• 0-2 Wandering Apothecaries (100,000gp each)
• 0-1 Hireling Sports-Wizard with the Fireball and ZAP! spells (150,000gp, Spike Issue 1)
• 0-5 Additional Special Plays (100,000gp each)

Coaching Staff: These rules are used as written.

Illegal Procedure: These rules are used as written. Don’t fuss about it. Accept that it’s a part of the game, and remember to keep the correct turn marked.

Exhibition Games, Piling On, Free Fan Factor, (In)Famous Coaching Staff, Famous Referees, Special Balls, and Blood Bowl Stadiums: All of these rules are not used in the DBBL 2018 season.

Painting Teams

Fully-painted teams are not required, but they do have rewards. First off, filmed games and commentary will only be done for teams that are fully painted. So you should want to get those colors on your models only for that. But there’s even more incentive: when you field a fully painted team, you get an immediate +3 boost to your Fan Factor for free. The value of the team increases accordingly, but you don’t need to spend the money from treasury to do it. Should you change team members or recruit others, note that you’d lose that +3 boost if unpainted models hit the pitch (so paint up those reserves too!).

Prizes and Trophies

Enrico at Drawbridge has some great official Blood Bowl prize support for the event: special coins, Special Play cards, special color roster sheets we’ll be using to track our teams, and more. There will also be a MVP Star Player award for the Star Player that is the biggest Star during the All-Star game (likely by making their foes see stars). And the overall league trophy for the winner of the big game at the end of the season. We’ll have additional prizes for “down on their luck” and best-painted team as well. And the final prize will be a random draw among all League participants who played at least five games during the season: you’ll get a plastic GW Blood Bowl team box of your choice.

 

Various companies are watching the Fall 2018 Drawbridge Blood Bowl League with excitement, and calls are coming in to the Commissioner’s Office with offers. This Fall, leading teams and top players will get a chance to secure these great endorsements to enrich their team. Check back frequently as more will be added as we go. 

Hike: Believe in Something

Hike (pronounced Hik-ey) a noted Athletic Boot manufactuer, just released the details of their new ad campaign. The company was concerned that their image was one of sweatshops and underpaid (and undersized) halfling laborers, so they wanted to show that they are more socially conscious. That meant an extensive campaign picking sports stars from a variety of sports and using a black-and-white “believe in something” tagline to support their brand’s image.

The Hike endorsement carries a one-time ad campaign signing bonus of 30,000gp. The Team Manager can immediately add that to their treasury. In addition, every time the player uses a patented Hike Boot (or footwrap, in the case of the partially-barefoot dwarf team) to stomp an opponent for a big highlight play, there’s an additional payout. That means that every time this player causes a casualty result of a 51 or higher on the casualty table when using the Foul action (not a regular football play, mind you–only on boot-stompingly-glorious fouls), the team immediately gains an additional 10,000gp.

Season Sponsored Player: Finn the Fierce (#10) for the Fort Tyr Miners. Finn came to the recognition with Hike for rushing right up to a goblin fanatic and having the courage to pulp him before the ball and chain got swinging. That’s why Hike has their eyes on Finn’s progress!

StoneBridge Wagon Wheels

Not to be confused with StoneFire Wagon Wheels, StoneBridge Wagon Wheels has been supplying the Drawbridge Football League with quality meat wagon wheels since the inception of the League. While carting dead players off the pitch may seem less glamorous, most fans of the sport arrive at the games in wagons with their own StoneBridge wheels, which helps cement the brand as one of Nuffle worshippers’ favorites.

StoneBridge tires gives their endorsement to the team who has suffered the most Dead! results on the casualty table for their team. The League starts with this endorsement not awarded, but after one team has more deaths than any other, they will receive the StoneBridge endorsement. Due to the extra footage of their dead players being carted away, the team becomes a fan favorite. The team does not adjust their Fan Factor, but any week they start with this endorsement they treat their Fan Factor as 1 higher than it normally is for all game purposes within the match (note, however, it does not increase the total team value). However, whenever a team gets more total deaths that they’ve suffered, then StoneBridge tires swaps their endorsement to that team for their next match.

Current Team: The Green-Gray Plaguers, for the death of their star Pestigor, Goiter (RIP 9/8/18 – 9/9/18). The celebrated first-game death of Goiter, and the subsequent win by the team, got the fans well behind the Green-Gray Plaguers. Stonebridge is happy to sponsor them until such time another team suffers two total deceased players and doesn’t fold and reform.

Nurgle King

Who knew so many blessings could fit between two buns? Nurgle King has been satisfying Nuffle fans with tasty treats in the stands for generations. From their patented “Glopper” burger to their tasty, always natural cut flies, Nurgle King knows how to satisfy. The player who gets the Nurgle King endorsement is set to earn some (un)healthy revenue… but it does mean the occasional advertisement where they actually take a bite. 

The first player to reach 10 Star Player points can secure the Nurgle King endorsement if they wish. Having the Nurgle King endorsement earns the player and team some extra cash each game. The team gains +10,000gp when determining their winnings after a match. However, the player that has the endorsement must immediately mark an N in their injuries box (counts as a niggling injury as normal). If another player earns more Star Player points than the current one Nurgle King is endorsing, they can choose to steal the endorsement. They then gain the benefits and drawbacks starting in their very next game. Note that the gifts of Nurgle don’t fade easily, so players who have lost the endorsement still retain the niggling injury they acquired when they took the endorsement. Nurgle King doesn’t mind this arrangement at all: they love having a different star shown in their ads every week, taking a healthy bite into their new breakfast Croissan’Itch.

Current Player and Team: Kas, star blitzer of the Orcland Stompas, is recognized as the “Have It My Way” player of the week. He’s a multiple scorer and MVP, and the center of that brutal Orcland Stompa running game.