Backbreaker is a 1-day, 4-game tournament organised by the Dragon Bowl League (DBL), London's largest BB league and probably one of the biggest in the UK. This year's edition was number five, and took place in an incredible venue, a private event room at the Jim and Tonic @ the Print House in Stratford, London. The Jim and Tonic is a Gin distillery and bar complete with a couple separate bar areas, three floors of event space and an outdoor area with food trucks and plenty of seating.
Aside from the great atmosphere, the private room we were playing in featured a dedicated bar serving great beer and a selection of spirits including entirely too many variations of Gin and Tonic for me to remember. Along with the drinks, the venue served pizzas directly to our tables, and had a number of food stands outside in case we wanted anything different. All in all, a pretty great place to run a tournament!
But this is a Blood Bowl blog, not the Michelin guide - onto the tournament!
The Roster
Backbreaker V featured a fairly simple ruleset. Only 3 tiers, broadly following GW's tiering (but with High Elves in T2 and Nurgle and Vampires down at T3), and a modest skill allowance of 5 primaries with an additional secondary for T2 and two secondaries at T3, no stacks. More interesting were the limitations on Star Players, or, rather, the lack thereof. Most stars had a 1-skill tax, with Megastars costing 2 skills. No further restrictions.
This opened up many possibilities, some fun and others terrifying. My first thought was that we would see copious amounts of Megastars, which had me considering a Dribl & Drull Amazons build to wrestle those pesky Megastars then foul them to oblivion. Ultimately though, the draw of the Megastar was too much, and we ended up with this build:
Player | Skill |
|---|---|
Ulfwerener | Block |
Ulfwerener | Juggernaut |
Valkyrie | Wrestle |
Valkyrie | |
Beer Boar | |
Berserker | |
Norse Lineman x6 | |
Hakflem Skuttlespike | |
2 RR, 1 Assistant Coach | |
Yes, I know, I know, but listen: I've never played Hakflem before, and very few tournaments allow you to bring him (for good reason!), so I figured I would probably not get another chance. Plus, after their last two disappointing outings I thought the Norse needed a bit more love, and a modest skill package is just fine for them as there's already more than enough Block on the team. I went Block on the first Ulf for reliable ST4 blocking, Juggernaut on the other for the 1TTD potential and surf threat, and Wrestle on a Valk for ball removal and a little bit of protection. 13 players in total gave me a bit of a buffer against the Norse's penchant for melting away, and 2 RRs were deemed sufficient given the amount of block, Catch/Pass on the Valks and Loner on Hakflem.
So how did Norseflem do? Well...
Round 1 - Cyritz (Orc)
First draw and it's a tough one for Norse. I find this is a team that really needs to be players up to do anything, and faced with a team with AV10 (almost) across the board that becomes a real challenge. Cyritz had decided to go with Mighty Blow on all the Big 'Uns, a risky choice but one which could absolutely obliterate my fragile team if given half a chance. Wanting to avoid giving that chance away too early, I chose to receive, and went hard into the offensive, throwing as many block dice at the Orcs as I possibly could to try and extract a CAS or two by sheer numbers. As the Norse kept throwing block after block, Hakflem easily recovered the ball from my backfield and held back in reserve, waiting for a clearer field before making a dash for it.
Unfortunately for my Norse, I do not manage to cause any removals, not even a surf, while the Orcs slowly but surely start sending more and more of my team into the KO box. At this point I am starting to feel I should be pushing forwards while I still have a team, but I'm clearly not fully awake yet and place Hakflem within easy range of a Big 'Un blitz. All my opponent has to do is block off the Lino marking his Big 'Un with another piece and he has a free run. I figure I might as well throw the -2d, it fails, and now he doesn't even need to do that! Cyritz needs a reroll to take Hakflem down, but take him down he does, and the rat is sent packing into the KO box. Oops!
For the next few turns, Orcs and Norse fight desperately for control of the ball, with it changing hands multiple times, but finally the half ends on a 0-0, with Orcs to receive. Most worryingly, a good 4 of my players have been KOd, including Hakflem, and not a one comes back. Things are not looking good as the Norse line up to get splattered, but then - Blitz! The kick is shallow, too, which means I can put pressure on the Orcs immediately and force them to do something other than punch the living daylights out of my team. Nuffle then throws me yet another bone, and the Orc thrower fails the pickup, which leaves the ball loose but in tackle zones. I fail the pickup, and suddenly we're back to earlier in the game, with a huge scrum forming around the ball. This time, though, the Orcs' lack of Block causes them trouble, and after a premature turnover the Norse manage to secure the ball and score shortly thereafter, burning all their rerolls to do so.
Turn 7, Orcs to receive and no rerolls on either team. The Orcs set up heavy on the flank to attempt a two-turner, but the attempt dies before it can start as the ball goes merrily in the opposite direction and a solid defence allows the Norse to capitalise. Despite Cyritz' best attempts, the Orcs can't quite do the Elf thing and the ball ends up in a Valkyrie's hands who rushes it in for a last-minute 2-0.
Final result: 2-0 win
This was one of those games where I feel I really got away with it. I played poorly in the first half, made more than a few mistakes and got only lightly punished for them, but Nuffle gave me a second chance with that blitz in the second half. I feel like my game tightened a lot after that point, but had the blitz not happened it would have been a feat to even defend the draw against a full Orc team with only 8 Norse on the pitch. The 2-0 result really does not reflect how close to disaster I really came! However, Nuffle's bill for that stroke of luck was about to come due...
Round 2 - SaltyMurcutt (Lizardmen)
Another tough matchup. Salty had gone with a pretty standard build of 4 block 1 tackle on the Sauri, leaving the Krox and Skinks bare. All that block would negate my team's main advantage, but at least the Tackle would be of limited use against my team. Not that that would end up mattering much as the Lizards' LoS blocks produced 3 stuns, with his turn 1 blitz CASing another player and leaving me 7 to play my turn 1 with. With limited options, I decided to not even try to stop him, instead safeguarding Hakflem and isolating a Saurus to try and foul/surf it out. Pig gets ejected on the first (unsuccessful) foul, surf fails, Salty kills a couple more of my players. By turn 5 it is obvious that the Norse are going to have one of their characteristic meltdowns this game, and I finish the half with a paltry 7 players including my reserves. Already not enough for the 1-turn, but Nuffle decides to add insult to injury as the kickoff results sees the weather change to Sunny, and the ball goes to the furthest possible square from both Hakflem and Thrower. A couple fruitless blocks are thrown, and we rack up for the second half.
Okay, things aren't looking great, but I still have Hakflem, I still have an Ulf, and I still have Valks. A couple good blocks off the LoS and OH WAIT never mind, it's a Blitz. The lizards swarm around my depleted line, putting two Sauri next to the ball and attempt to rush a Skink in for the pickup, but mercifully he fails and faceplants inches away from the ball. Hakflem's extra arms come in handy here, and I am able to pick up and spirit the ball away post-haste, but the Lizards have now based most of my players thanks to the Blitz and I can't properly protect Hakflem without dodging players away. One eventually fails, and Hakflem's tenure as carrier lasts a mere half a turn before the ball is popped and bounces onto a Saurus who (of course) immediately catches the thing. The Lizards are once again trundling downfield in their vengabus, taking out Norse as they go. With only a handful of bodies left, I go for broke and try to cagedive. I get a couple decent (read: not completely crazy) chances, including two 4+ cagedives with Hakflem and a 4+/3+ with a lino, but all of the dodges fail and the Lizards get the 2-0 in turn 16.
Final result: 0-2 loss
So, not a great game, and a perfect illustration of why the Norse don't come out that often any more. Critical team integrity failures are a fact of life for AV8 teams, but where 6 Elves can put serious pressure on an opponent and hold a draw even against a full team, trying to play 6 Norse against a full team of Lizards (or Chaos, or Orcs, or anything really) is extremely hard and often very demotivating. The silver lining this time was that the game was over very quickly, so I could go grab a beer and sit down to watch GreenskinPhil's Amphibian Inquisition's second ever game. Slann truly are a beautiful team to behold!
Round 3 - Wednesday (Khorne)
Second time running Norse vs Khorne, and having lost the first I was not especially hopeful. People often refer to Khorne as "Norse but bad" - I can see why, but people also point to Ulfwereners as being one of the best pieces in the Norse arsenal, and Khorne basically have 4 of them, and with AV10 to boot (and sure, a bit slower, but still!). At the very least, all that having to think about Frenzy from my own team would hopefully carry over to thinking about my opponent's team. Speaking of my opponent, this time I would be playing against Wednesday of the Preece Pack, one of the UK Blood Bowl scene's up-and-coming young players.
The game starts with Norse on offense, and right out the gate I lose a reroll to double skulls on the LoS. Not a great start, and none of the other blocks achieve much either, even against the blockless AV8 linos. The ball is recovered though, and is moved swiftly towards the end zone as soon as an opening materialises. Despite their best attempts, my Norse are just not punching hard enough and the Khorne team is still intact, and a couple of removals and stuns at bad times mean I cannot safely stall, so I bang it in far too early.
Now comes the hard bit. I can just about field a full team, but I'm about to take a face full of Khorne on the LoS, and then again for the second half, so that's not likely to last very long. I try to use my numbers to set frenzy traps, but Wendnesday sees every single one and skilfully disables them allowing her Bloodseekers to punch away happily at my poor linemen. However, this time their armour holds, and the midfield becomes a stalemate as the Khorne line and the Norse line fail to cause any damage to each other. Eventually, the opportunity comes for the Norse: the Bloodspawn goes silly, a few blocks go wrong, and the carrier is exposed. Ball Hawk Valk does her thing, Hakflem runs off with the ball with a thin but ultimately sufficient screen of Norse between her and her opponents. The half ends 2-0, with Khorne opting to smash instead of even attempting a one-turner.
Second half, and the Norse have taken a beating, while on the Khorne side only the ref has managed to do anything to trim their numbers. 2 TDs up but depleted and with many KOs still to return, the Norse put up only a token defense, focusing more on hurrying their opponents along than seriously attempting to stop their score. Sure enough, Khorne score after few turns, and the Norse team is somewhat replenished by the return of a few KOs, enough to execute a 2-turner with the help of Hakflem and the Valks. With 3-1 on the scoreboard and only 2 turns to go, the Khorne team decides that this whole ball thing is for other people and focus on inflicting as much pain on the Norse as they can. The Norse, for their part, put in a last-minute attempt at a 4-1 that fails on the last hurdle, sealing the result at a 3-1 for the Norse.
Final result: 3-1 win
I enjoyed this game a lot more than I expected from a Khorne matchup! A lot of working out frenzy outcomes and looking out for possible surfs. Wednesday was a great opponent, too: despite being quite tired and having a rough start to the game, she soldiered on and gave it her best for all 16 turns. She was exceptionally good at not falling in Frenzy traps, too, which was great (if a little frustrating!) to see. I heard similar things about the other Preece Pack representative, Titaniumboy. If these kids continue playing like this, they're going to wipe the floor with the rest of us in a few years!
Round 4 - Ahzek (Humans)
Round 4 of 4, and we're going in on 2-0-1. Tournament win is off the cards at this point, but 3-0-1 is still doable, and either way I'm looking forward to getting the post-tournament drinks with the Pitch Invaders. My opponent, Ahzek, has brought Humans with Zug - a solid roster, but I have yet to lose vs humans with my Norse. Admittedly, no Yhetee and no Borak makes it a bit harder, but Hakflem is still Hakflem!
The Humans choose to receive, hoping to follow in my previous opponents' footsteps and demolish the Norse before they have a chance to respond. He has a good start in this, stunning 2 linemen and KOing a third. Just like with the Lizard match, this makes it hard for me to stop him cold, but it does allow me to funnel him towards my right flank, exploiting Zug and the Ogre's relative lack of speed to separate them from the pack. Sure enough, he cages up nicely but leaves the big guys behind, giving me my choice of 2 die blocks on both of them.
Luckily for me, it only takes the one block for the Ogre to go down, permanently. Zug follows soon after, and though the block doesn't break armour, the subsequent foul does, and Zug is KOd. Humans are suddenly down both their big guys on turn 2, and the Norse can really put on the pressure now. It only takes 2 turns before the humans can't hold the stall and are forced to score, leaving me plenty of time for the equaliser. Worse, Zug stays out, so Ahzek has a rather diminished team to defend with, though he still has his Tackle blitzer to threaten Hakflem with. I start pushing slowly forward with the Norse, keeping the whole width of the pitch and putting a Valk either side within hand-off range of Hakflem, who stays well behind the main line. The formation advances square by square, taking down Humans as they go, but after two turns of this the offense stalls out as blocks result in pushes or both downs vs block. This leaves my line too close to the Human line, and Ahzek blocks himself an opening for Tackle blitzer to rush through. Hakflem is too far away to hit, but just far enough to base, and suddenly I'm looking at a 2+, 2+, 2+ with Loner to dodge him out and rush to the nearest Valk. First dodge is good. Second dodge is good. Rush fails. Loner fails.
Hakflem is down and stunned! Mercifully, this has happened well into the opponent's half and near my players, instead of happening far behind where Hakflem started, but this is still bad. The humans quickly recover the ball, only to then lose it again. The Norse attempt a recovery, which also fails. Now Ahzek is a 3+, 3+ away... pickup fails, but is rerolled into a success. Handoff... fails! Ball ends up in two tackle zones, but there's enough players nearby to form a box. A 1D blitz does the job and one player is powed down while the other is chainpushed away. The Valk who had previously attempted the pickup has another go, this time on a 3+, and makes it, then runs like hell to the other side of the pitch. Two rushes get her in position for a 4+ pass at the other Valk, which is passed with the help of the Pass skill, and is caught with the help of the Catch skill. Nuffle spares me the tripwire this time, and the Valk squeaks it in on turn 8 to my opponent's great disappointment.
Zug returns for the second half, but the humans have taken a serious beating by now and can only field 9 players, while the Norse are still somehow mostly intact. This exactly the position Norse want to be, and sure enough they start hammering at their opponents turn after turn, causing yet more damage as they push up the left flank. Once the remaining Human players have committed to that flank, Hakflem swings around to the right and hands off to a Valk who books it downfield and places herself out of everyone's reach, while her teammates clamp around the players on the left and continue their rampage. Ahzek tries a couple of clever plays to pop the ball, but the dice are not helping, and soon the Human team has been reduced to a handful of players scattered across the pitch, each surrounding by a mob of angry Norsemen. Zug very nearly kills himself on a double skull (his coach declines the reroll but rolls the dice anyway to see what would have happened - loner is passed, double skulls again), Hakflem throws a turn 7 foul, but otherwise little else happens this half and the Norse grab the 2-1. The Humans' T8 does not bring a timeout and a 1-turner is not in the cards, so they content themselves with trying to remove some more Norse and the game ends on a tight Norse win.
Final result: 2-1 win
Probably the most exciting game of the day, up until turn 11 or so. The first half was a constant back-and-forth, and though the double big-guy removal was huge, I had to work hard to push that momentum and force him to score, and even then it only took one turn of not advancing for the Humans to come within a hair's breadth of ending their half on a 2-0. I think the biggest factor in this game though was the difference between AV 9 and 10. I threw more or less the same number of blocks here than I did vs the Lizards or the Orcs, but I took out far more players - 5 CAS by the end of the game, more than I'd done in the other 3 games combined. As I said before, Norse need to be up players to work, but when they are they can be a real powerhouse.
Final Tournament Result: 3-0-1
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed Backbreaker! Beyond the games themselves, the atmosphere was great, and the venue was not only great to play at but was also a great place to stay after the tournament to drink and socialise with the other coaches. Will definitely be coming back next year. As for the roster, I am mostly happy with how it performed. Hakflem was a beast, as expected, but bringing him did have the side-effect of having to keep him away from danger at all times, which meant I was effectively playing 10 vs 11. It also meant I could not afford to bring the Yhetee, and though he's not that great as big guys go he does give Norse their only real weapon against high-AV opponents (well, that and fouling). I never got to even try the one-turn, so perhaps a second block would have been better than Juggs, or even Mighty Blow to help with the removal? Hard to say, and I'm sure if I'd gone up against 3 AG teams I'd be saying something completely different. All in all though, I don't think I'll be running Norseflem again any time soon, even if I do find a tournament that allows Hakflem. Might try Griff, though...
(J/K please don't punch me)
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