Blood Bowl - Tips & Strategies

When a player levels up there is a baffling array of options. A really solid tactic, however, is to concentrate on either BLOCK or DODGE as your first skill upgrade for all of your players (unless you get really lucky and get an attribute upgrade like +1 Strength).

BLOCK changes a 1 block dice attack from* a 1/3 chance of success with an equal 1/3 chance of either suffering a turnover and a 1/3 chance of a push to a 1/2 chance of success with a 1/6 chance of suffering a turnover and a 1/3 chance of a push. Not much? Well if you are looking to use 2 block dice in the attack (and you should) it changes the average number of attacks you can make without suffering a turnover from 8 to 35, and on average will give you a knockdown every time. Perfect for any team that wants to stomp the opposition (Dwarves, Chaos, Orcs etc.)

DODGE is the defensive equivalent and should be the first pick for any team that wants to stay out of combat (Elves of any sort, Skaven etc.) Not only does it allow you to re-roll that jump out of the tackle zone which you want to make almost every turn, but if you are attacked it changes the results* of a block dice from being a 50/50 chance of your player ending up knocked down to a 1/3 chance. And unless the other player has the BLOCK skill that is likely to be a 1/6 chance as your opponent may want to re-roll a both down result.

*stats assume the opposing player has no skills unless otherwise stated.

The six sided block dice have 5 options.
1 attacker down
2 both down (BLOCK skill negates this)
3 push (two sides have this)
4 defender down unless he has the DODGE skill, then it’s a push
5 defender down

So if you can get a player with both block and dodge, your opponent can only knock him down on one side of those dice. Any player with both skills is a great guy to have on the line. Add the STAND FIRM skill and your opponent can’t even push him.

Some skills are only particularly useful for one particular thing, like PASS or ACCURATE for throwing, MIGHTY BLOW for hurting opponents, or CATCH for receiving the ball. But both BLOCK and DODGE have two uses. DODGE when you are moving out of an opponents tackle zone and when you are being hit. BLOCK protects you from being knocked down on a both down result when you are hitting and when you are being hit.

If it is your first time playing Blood Bowl, I would recommend trying the Orcs or Humans right out of the box. They are the base races and the most balanced and are a great way to get used to the rules/mechanics of the game.

After you have the basics down and feel confident, go ahead and try another race.

There are a lot to choose from: Elves, Dwarves, Skaven, Goblin, Undead, etc

When it comes to blood bowl, the skills can be the difference but what do you take when you skill up? Well that is a good question, there are a few things you have to ask first, what is my style of play, what do I want this player to do or what is my team lacking.

If your player doesn’t have the block skill consider it or it’s slightly different cousin wrestle. Read up on the skills before you pick them, it can make a world of difference.

There is strength in numbers.

If you have a combat advantage, either through race matchup, better skills or sheer numbers from opponents leaving the pitch early, don’t rush to score. Put your ball carrier right on the edge of the end zone and have him wait. This is a great time to run the clock and the opposing team down. Mercilessly attack him hoping to remove as many of his players from the game as possible. This will give you many opportunities to gain skills and hopefully enable you to maintain the number advantage for the rest of the game.

After brutalizing the enemy, run the ball in for the score right before the half ends.

When we play a league.. we keep track of fan fatalities. Whenever a player is knocked into the crowd, roll a d6 and add their strength to the die roll, the result is the number of fans that have perished as the player gets knocked off the field.

A simple rule.. but adds a little flavor.