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New Year Blitz! @ Warhammer World

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:18 pm
by Jip
tl;dr the day was lots of fun, not £25 worth of fun, comparatively, but I'd signpost WHW Blood Bowl events for new players or those who aren't looking to take the game that seriously, which I guess is what they're aiming for. Potentially a bit of a culture shock for regular NAF tournament attendees. Don't think I'd go again, but that's more the distance than the event itself.


Anyone else go to this, yesterday? here is some more info, for those interested.

Was my first WHW tournament; it's about a 2½ hour drive from my way so, along with having a smattering of third party miniatures in most of my teams (rendering them, fairly, unusable at GW tournaments), their stuff has never really been on my radar. However, I got a ticket to a WHW event of my choosing for my birthday last year, so signed up a few months ago.

It was interesting to see how a non-NAF tournament runs. Each coach was allocated a number, then they listed all the numbers and tables between rounds. Score sheets were handed in between rounds, then a final summary was handed in after game three. I think we were one short in the end, as a GW staffer stepped in on the table next to me in game one. I heard later in the day that someone hit the Bugman's a bit hard the night before and hadn't made it to the event, hope the hangover was worth it! :lol:

There was a very mixed skill-set in the room, it's actually helped me understand GW's attitude to Blood Bowl a little better if that's the demographic they have on their doorstep - that may seem like a snide comment, which it isn't intended to be.

To give examples, some games were being called in turn three or four of the second half, despite there being a 2hr15min limit. In game three a coach on a table nearby was pulled up by his opponent for having used a banned deck of special play cards in game 1 and 2. One of my opponents had been using Horatio wrong (just one scatter, instead of three), round three saw several draws of mirror matches from a previous round, so we had to swap amongst ourselves (which could be open to abuse) etc. etc.

The other side to it is that the gulf between experienced coaches and newer ones was even more pronounced than at NAF events I've been at, to date. Several coaches had 'forgotten' their Special Play cards, or suggested to opponents they weren't used. Presumably in an attempt to reduce the deviation in the game. It would be perfectly plausible for several NAF (or Blood Bowl in general) veterans to descend on a WHW event and clean up across the board. I'm not even that good and still felt a bit sharky when talking to some players between rounds about their interpretation of the rules.

I finished on 2-1-0 which, if my NAF results are anything to go by, is an incredible deviation from the norm! I'm not ignorant enough to think that's a fair reflection of my ability, so this is definitely not a brag - bit of false hope ahead of attending the Welsh Open next weekend, perhaps!

Given the hype and coverage of the Warhammer Underworlds tournament the day before (live streaming, 175+ [I think?] players, new releases announced on the day, branded lanyards etc), there was a murmuring that Blood Bowl remained the unwanted bastard child of GW as there was a definite drop in the glitz and glamour of the event, in comparison. I felt a bit for the lads on the results desk, as the 45-minute break after the final match meant most players didn't hang around for the awards and stuff - hopefully everyone that stayed came home with gold and riches galore to reward their dedication.

I think future events would be great intro tournaments for newer or returning players, or younger players taking their first steps into the game. I'd definitely recommend them to newer players I meet who don't mind the travel. I really enjoyed the day! The cards and rules (e.g. I didn't take Nurgle, but being able to raise a Rotter in-game rather than after just seems to make sense and I wish the rule had made it into the Nurgle Spike! Journal) were really fun, but that's easy for me to say as I got all three games finished in time and played against opponents that had a reasonable grasp of the ruleset.

With all that said, I might've just caught 'em on a dud day. Anyone else had different experiences with this one, or previous events?

Re: New Year Blitz! @ Warhammer World

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:40 pm
by sann0638
Jip wrote:. I felt a bit for the lads on the results desk, as the 45-minute break after the final match meant most players didn't hang around for the awards and stuff - hopefully everyone that stayed.
Nice write-up, was there a bit missing from this sentence?

Re: New Year Blitz! @ Warhammer World

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:18 pm
by Jip
No idea what you're talking about, bruv... :oops:

Re: New Year Blitz! @ Warhammer World

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:41 pm
by howlinggriffon
Just to say, the link to the rules document needs a password?

Cheers for the write up. If I lived closer to WHW I might have been tempted. I'll stick with the NAFC :)

Re: New Year Blitz! @ Warhammer World

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:52 pm
by Jip
Have added a more accessible link. Think the rules are on that one (can't access it at work).

Re: New Year Blitz! @ Warhammer World

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:23 am
by Loki
Jip wrote: In game three a coach on a table nearby was pulled up by his opponent for having used a banned deck of special play cards in game 1 and 2.
Out of interest, did you see was that one of their 'new' ones (Team Titans) or an old one ('commercial' printing from CRP rules) or one of their promotional cards (Blitzmania giveways)?

Re: New Year Blitz! @ Warhammer World

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 2:26 pm
by Danny
Did you have to use special play cards?

Re: New Year Blitz! @ Warhammer World

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 2:29 pm
by CharlieBanks
It was the Miscellaneous Mayhem deck he was using - he pulled a couple of them out against me in Round 3 but I’d actually read the rule pack lol

I enjoyed the day - very different crowd to NAF (although I saw a few familiar faces) I would like to see a return to the bat shit crazy events though

Re: New Year Blitz! @ Warhammer World

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 2:41 pm
by Loki
I see.

Leap for reference the rules were...

During step 3 of the Pre-Match Sequence, each coach gains 2 points to spend on cards from the various Special Play card decks. Each coach rolls a D6 and whoever scores the highest spends their points first. To spend points, a coach can buy cards from any of the available Special Play card decks, in any combination. Each deck has its own cost per card, and the decks available are as follows:

Benefits of Training - 2pts
Heroic Feats - 2pts
Magical Memorabilia - 2pts
Dirty Tricks - 1pt
Random Events - 1pt

Card decks should contain a minimum of 10 cards. Once a coach has finished drawing their cards, they may return any one of them to the bottom of its deck, and draw a replacement from the top of the same deck.

In addition, Limited Edition cards are allowed. Simply add the card to the appropriate decks.

Re: New Year Blitz! @ Warhammer World

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:25 am
by Vanguard
Loki wrote:Card decks should contain a minimum of 10 cards.
In addition, Limited Edition cards are allowed. Simply add the card to the appropriate decks.
Given that this suggests there's at least an element of deck building in play, there's nothing saying you have to have ten different cards in your deck... :evil:
One for a future rulespack possibly.

Re: New Year Blitz! @ Warhammer World

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:50 am
by Jip
That’s something that was mentioned by several more experienced players on the day, yes.