What to take? You decide.

As you know a few intrepid KUBBL coaches will be heading the HeadBanger Ball IV in Batavia, IL on May 10.  The event is growing near and I for one don't know what team to play.  I've narrowed the field down to two teams.  I have played both of them in other editions of this tournament with different builds but I can't pick.

Past HBB Performance
The two teams that I am considering are Harvester of Sorrow (dark elf - Metallica themed) and Leaper Messiahs (slann - Metallica themed).  (Do I like Metallica?  Maybe.)  I took the Sorrow to the first HBB.  They performed admirably going 2-1-1 and winning the Flying High Again award.  The Messiahs were brought to HBB II.  They also went 2-1-1 but appeared on the top table match with Xtreme's fabled Da 40 Miners (their heavy metal squad); the Messiahs got squashed.  Even though they didn't take home the Flying High Again award they did score one more TD than the Sorrow had the year before.

Uniforms
Each team is sporting a different color scheme than when they played in their respective HBB's before.  The new brown and copper scheme that the Harvester of Sorrow is now sporting has only seen the pitch for practice.  The new scheme for the frogs has seen the pitch twice since in tournaments and is sporting a much less than impressive record of 2-8-2.

Pros and Cons
These are two of my favorite teams to play.  I love the mobility of the Slann but they are quite squishy.  I love the agility four catchers but the strength two armor seven make them fly off the pitch.  Their lack of standard starting skills tends to be a detriment too.  Block and dodge may be "boring" but those skills are necessary in the game  The skill money is used just to make them tournament playable.  I tend to favor defensive builds over offensive because the mobility makes scoring the easier of the two.  The leap aspect often confuses opposing coaches, of course most just smash the catchers and take care of that.

The dark elf team, like all elf teams, has the wonderful stat of 4 agility across the board.   The players are more expensive to hire, as they should be, leaving less room for re-rolls and no room for reserves.  The special Iron Maiden inducement helps but it cant help with casualties.  Again the skill build for the team can favor defense because the AG 4 does most of the ball handling.

Another thing to consider is the tournament scoring.  Bonus points are awarded per touchdown and per casualty causes by a block.   Neither of these teams will cause many casualties and they both can score but the Slann are able to score easier.

I don't know who to take so I'm asking for your help.  Let me know what you think in the comment section. I'll go with the team that is picked the most and do a recap of their performance after the tournament.   Thank you.

*** A few people read this but no one answered.  A non-reader suggested DE so that's it.***

For Those About to Rock...

Oh man, it has been a while.  The KUBBL has been on an extremely long hiatus and it looks like that will continue for at least the foreseeable future; however I think we are progressing a bit.  Some of our coaches are starting to get the Blood Bowl bug once more. 

Three of us will be traveling to HeadBangers Ball IV, this year being played at Draxtar Games in Batavia, Illinois.  This is obviously the fourth installment of this heavy metal themed tournament run by Zlurpcast Main Guy, Jonny P.  The tournament features special weather and kick-off table as well as a special appearance by the Guitar Hero.  Special rules for the event can be found here.  This is only a club show and therefore has Sold Out. 

Oh you forgot to get your tickets?  You’re out of luck! 

One thing this intimate venue will have, that all great shows have, is some killer mosh pits!  Watch out for the Guitar Hero’s supply of super shredding axes.  It’s not uncommon to see and BC Rich Warlock smashing some hippy elf skull.  Along with the flying guitars, we should see plenty of kicks, elbows, and bottles.  And if it’s too loud you’re too old!

Hopefully this tournament can light a fire under us KUBBL guys and get the league going again.

More Tourney Time!

With Dog Bowl II one week away let's look at some more records.

This time we look at Touchdowns.

Total:
Delevus 26
Flyingdingle 22
Falcon 21

Most TD's in a Tournament:
Flyingdingle 12 @ Special "K" Cup II
Delevus 11 @  Special "K" Cup I
Falcon 11 @ Special "K" Cup I
Flyingdingle 11 @ Dog Bowl I

Most TD's in a Match
Siggyllama 7 @ Special "K" Cup II
Flyingdingle 7 @ Dog Bowl I
Delevus 5 @ Special "K" Cup I
Flyingdingle 5 @ Special "K" Cup II
Falcon 5 @ Special "K" Cup II

Watch for Casualties later this week.

Tourney Time!

Dog Bowl II is just over a week away!  There has been a lack of Blood Bowl action for the KUBBL lately so having a tournament to tide us over should wet some pallets for this game.  This will be the fourth tournament we will be hosting in Kalamazoo.  The first two were Special "K" Cups and now the Dog Bowl has taken over as our tournament so that it can coincide with the Marmalade Dog.  The Marmalade Dog is a gaming convention put on by the West Michigan Gamers Guild.

Let's look back on the past three tournaments to get some statics and records for Kalamazoo Ultimate Blood Bowl League tournaments.

Winners:
Special "K" Cup I:  Beaux
Special "K" Cup II:  Delevus
Dog Bowl I:  RowdyKatie

Runners Up:
Special "K" Cup I:  Falcon
Special "K" Cup II:  Flyingdingle
Dog Bowl I:  Delevus

Most Touchdowns:
Special "K" Cup I:  Delevus
Special "K" Cup II:  Falcon
Dog Bowl I:  Flyingdingle

Most Casualties:
Special "K" Cup I:  Randroid
Special "K" Cup II:  DarkOrk20
Dog Bowl I:  DarkOrk20

Wooden Bowl/Hind Dog (last place):
Special "K" Cup I:  Richlelieu
Special "K" Cup II:  Valdric
Dog Bowl I:  Valdric

We have yet to have a back-to-back champion or a repeater.  We'll see if Rowdykatie can follow-up last years dwarf roll or if Beaux or Delevus can step it up again.

We're looking forward to Dog Bowl II!  Get out here!

Dog Bowl II - Coming Up

The Dog Bowl II presented by KUBBL

Where:  WMU Bernhard Center http://marmaladedog.org/maps.php

When: February 8^th, 2014

Cost:   $10 is the entrance fee for the convention, there is no fee for the tournament!

            http://marmaladedog.org/placeandtime.php

Registration:  9:00am Michigan

Things to Bring:

Your Painted Team

2 copies of your team’s roster

Blood Bowl Board, dugouts, and templates – if you have them.

Copy of the LRB 6.0/C.R.P. (Available to download from GamesWorkshop Site)

The three new races (Chaos Pact, Slann, and Underworld) are allowed

Tournament Rules:

4 Games of Swiss Pairing, first round is randomly paired

Build Rules, Underdog teams have been given special treatment.  Everyone knows that certain breeds are just inherently better so favor is being shown to the lesser breeds:

 

Level 1:  $1,000,000 to build a team of at least 11 players.  Four single roll skills and one double roll skill may be given. No player can be given more than one skill.

Level 2:  $1,100,000 to build a team of at least 11 players.  Six single roll skills and two double roll skills may be given. No player can be given more than one skill.

Level 3:  $1,200,000 to build a team of at least 11 players.  Eight single roll skills and four double roll skills may be given. No player can be given more than two skills.

Level 1 Teams:  Undead, Necromantic, Dwarf, Chaos Dwarf, Wood Elf, Dark Elf, High Elf, Pro Elf, Norse, Amazon, Orc, Skaven, Lizardmen, Chaos

Level 2 Teams:  Human, Khemri, Vampire, Slann, Chaos Pact, Underworld, Nurgle

Level 3 Teams:  Halfling, Ogre, Goblin, all other stunty teams

Weather decided by top table - 7 on the kick-off table becomes:

Marmalade Dog - The Marmalade Dog runs onto the pitch.  Each coach rolls a d6 plus fame, the team with the highest score calls the Marmalade Dog to attack the opponents, roll a d6 for EACH player on the opposing team.  On a 6, that player falls.  Roll on the player’s armor with the Claw modifier.  If the armor breaks roll on the injury table.  These casualties count!  If a 1 is rolled for any player, the dog is distracted by a Big Moot Sandwich in the crowd and ends the event. On a 2, 3, 4, and 5 nothing happens

Apothecaries work on a 3+ and will result in the player remaining on the pitch in the stunned position.  Apothecaries cannot be used on Star Players

Tournament will be a resurrection style tournament. So any injuries your team suffers will not

carry over to the next game, and any SPPs earned will also be erased.

Final rankings will be based on total tournament points.  Tie breakers will be decided by the TO.

No skills can be given to Star Players

Stunty Bonus: All stunty teams get an agility boost in addition to their tv.  The boost can be given to any player.  Stunty teams are Ogres, Goblins, Halflings, Underworld without Skaven, and Lizardmen without Saurus. 

Allowed Inducements:

Bloodweiser Babes

Bribes

Extra Team Training

Igors

Master Chef

Star Players (from C.R.P.)

Wandering Apothecaries

Inducements NOT allowed:

Wizards

Special Play Cards

Mercenaries

Journeymen

Scoring:

Tournament points

Win = 60 pts

Tie = 30 pts

Loss = 10 pts

Bonuses

Kept it close (lost by 1): 2pts

1 more CAS then the opponent: 2 pts

2 more CAS then the opponent: 5pts

Won by 2 or more TDs: 2pts

Won by 3 or more TDs: 5pts

The Murder Mitten:  All Casualties Count, if you cause the armor/injury roll your team gets the credit for the casualty. 

Additional Rules:

Painting:

Paint your team. No bonus points, no penalties, just do it.

Sportsmanship:

Be a good sport. No bonus points, no penalties, just do it.

NAF:

This is a NAF tournament. If you’re not a NAF member, bring $10 for a membership and dice.

Awards:

Best in Show (First Place)

Second Place

Junkyard Dog (most casualties)

Greyhound (most TD’s)

Hind Dog