Blood Bowl - ** f13 League, Season #2 ** (Over! We have a winner!)

[Falconeer]

Awesome, everyone. I am gonna validate all the matches in about half an hour.

I need Llyse - Eldaec replay, of course.

Matches validated! Including the BYE ones.

[Der Helm]

Helm get the box for Season 3, come on dood!

Someone gift it to me, I am broke. 


I am not sure you'd want that anyway. I'd probably reroll my Chaos murder squad. Claw mutation + frenzy on a mino = 

I think I made a few player cry in the public league. No one wanted a rematch because after all my big guys had claws, there usually would be almost no squishies left to pick up or throw the ball.

[Falconeer]

Hah, yeah Claw on chaos is a known problem.. for teams with AV bigger than 7, meaning it wouldn't affect my Amazons 

That said, it takes some time to develop a chaos team to that level, time you probably wouldn't have in our shorter League. And, it's not like I would be so bothered by watching you devastate dwarves and orcs team anyway.

[Comstar]

Can I play my next game now or do I have to wait?

[Falconeer]

You have to wait, because of the in-game system. It doesn't let us advance the calendar until all games are played :(

[Xuri]

This was a total massacre...

Pointy Hat Squad 3 - 0 North by Northwest

The butcher's bill:
North by Northwest: 2 dead, 1 badly hurt, 1 sent off the pitch for killing an opponent in a foul
Pointy Hat Squad: 1 dead, 4 badly hurt

[proudft]

My recollections are:

One Norse player killed on the opening turn.  An elf cruelly stomped to death later.  A second Norse player killed after he picked up the ball and got hit in the back by a fearsome elf blitzer.  Too many injuries to recall details - a random elf lineman got a broken neck and there were several miss-next-games.  And to top it off,  the Norse-leaning crowd turned ugly and pelted the elves with rocks as the game was winding down, injuring one of the noble elf throwers.

Exciting!

[Comstar]

I'm going to be AFK till the 5th of Dec - sorry about holding up the last week.

[eldaec]

There are three weeks left, plus playoffs, and it doesn't look you'll be holding the next one up very much by not playing till the fifth.

[Falconeer]

I should be playing my match with Avaia tonight. Then, Strazos should be back tomorrow and will have 3 days to play the last match of Day #4 with Megrim. After their match, there will be 9 days for Game Day #5, so no worries Comstar.

[avaia]

I should be playing my match with Avaia tonight. Then, Strazos should be back tomorrow and will have 3 days to play the last match of Day #4 with Megrim. After their match, there will be 9 days for Game Day #5, so no worries Comstar.

Another tie for me, but I put the hurt on Falconeer's amazons with 5 casualties.  Apparently dodge wasn't working too well today against the zombies.

[Falconeer]

5 casualties and 4 KOs for me (1 CAS and 1 KO for Avaia). I ended the game with 4 women on the pitch. First hit of the night has been a casualty, and things kept going pretty much the same way. If it wasn't for a lucky touchdown on Avaia's first offensive drive, I would have just lost badly. Given how things went, I've been very lucky to come out of that with a tie. Too bad three of my players (two of the Blitzers) will be missing the next match.

[Megrim]

Ok, we should be playing our game tomorrow. Sorry about the delay everyone.

[Falconeer]

You are playing tonight right? Right?! :)

[Megrim]

In about 30 mins.

Aaaaaaaaand... Morsel 2 - 1 Diplomatic Immunity. Straz can take comfort in knowing that he str busted one of my vampires.

[Strazos]

A depressing 2-1 Bloodbath. My dice only showed up briefly, he had tons of rerolls to blow, and Norse block was hardly a factor.

[Falconeer]

Great! Game Day #4 is over and we are on with Game Day #5. But where's my replay? I can't elaborate the Stats without it. Someone send it to me please! (usually it's the winner's duty)

Schedule for Game Day #5:

-Group A-

Modern Angel vs. Eldaec
IainC vs. Ezrast
Comstar vs. Teleku
-Llyse BYE


-Group B-

Ruvaldt vs. Falconeer
Xuri vs. Avaia
Strazos vs. Proudft
- Megrim BYE

All games have to be played BEFORE December 11th.

[proudft]

Strazos got his money's worth from Block in our game.  Clearly it was saved up from the vampire game to beat in the heads of the Pointy Hat Squad!  The Norse won 2-0 after some, er, early thinning of the elf team.  One near-death (saved by the apothecary), no 'real' injuries other than the assorted minor taken-out-of-games.

[Strazos]

To recap both of my matches:

The fight against Megrim was...frustrating. He made a lot of his rolls, my block was largely irrelevant, and I was tired at 6am so I made some early mistakes. For some reason I tried to lay off of him at first, but then he just based my Norsemen and I wasn't going to risk dodging away, so I gave up positioning early and often. It was almost a 1-0 loss, then almost a tie, then he made a great play late in the game to seal the win.

The game against Proudft was much more entertaining...at least for me. I won the coin flip, received, and got back to doing what the Norse do best - wrecking face. I pounded up the field, splattered a few elves, and walked in the TD. I kicked back to the elves and beat them up some more to end the half.

Second half I kicked off and the elves made a nice hole in my line, and looked to be off the races...except a few Norse were in good-enough position to recover, and smashed the ball carrier for the trouble. Norse took the ball back, marched back up the field and nearly cleared the elves off the pitch on their way to scoring a second TD to close out the game.

[Falconeer]

Game Day #4, Scores and Standings.



Scores:





Standings:





** All relevant info updated in the OP. You can always find up to date Scores and Standings there **

[Falconeer]

Player stats:







Team stats:





** All relevant info updated in the OP. You can always find up to date Scores and Standings there **

[Falconeer]

With only 3 Game Days left, and a maximum of 9 points available (to the teams that didn't have a BYE week yet, only 6 to the others), let's take a look at the tables and see what is gonna happen playoff-wise.

Only the first two teams from each group are advancing, which means that, alas... Teleku, Eldaec and IainC are already out from the playoff ballot no matter what will happen in the next three games (this doesn't mean they are allowed to slack! There's a difference between going out in style, and going out without your teeth). Actually, the whole Group A seems to be pretty much done, even though there are more than enough points for miraculous comebacks from Modern Angel (who just got his first win this week) and Ezrast, especially considering that both Comstar and Llyse have yet to have their BYE week, and are gonna fight each other on the last Game Day (#7).

Group B is a completely different story. No one seems to be able to get any kind of consistency going, and the only unbeaten team (Falconeer) is dangerously in love with ties. So, while technically at the moment the leader is Proudft, it's important to notice that he already lost his Game Day #5 match with Strazos (who virtually jumps to 7 pts with 4 games played), and that a mere win separates Avaia (7th placed) from a golden spot in the playoffs. This week, Ruvaldt (5th placed, 4 pts) will play Falconeer (3rd placed, 5pts) and whoever wins basically gets the temporary leading spot, while Xuri and Avaia could easily get to 7 and 6 points, which given the situation could mean a great placement. Things are incredibly tangled, and pretty exciting if you ask me.

[Falconeer]

We are currently Playing.....
Game Day #5
** All games have to be played BEFORE December 11th **


Group 1

Team Snoosnoo - (Modern Angel) vs. Silver Horde FC - (Eldaec)                1 - 1                                    
Spleen Flay Hackers - (IainC) vs. 6 Pools - (Ezrast)
F13 Catfighters - (Comstar) vs. Hazardous Hippies - (Teleku)                 2 - 1
- Alive Not Dead - (Llyse) RESTS


Group 2

The Denton Despoilers - (Ruvaldt) vs. The Bell Jar Utd. - (Falconeer)      1 - 1  
North by Northwest - (Xuri) vs. Necco Waivers - (Avaia)                       0 - 2
Diplomatic Immunity - (Strazos)  vs. Pointy Hat Squad - (Proudft)           2 - 0                    
- Morsel - (Megrim) RESTS


** All games have to be played BEFORE December 11th **

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** All relevant info updated in the OP. You can always find up to date Scores and Standings there **

[Strazos]

Loving this stuff, cannot wait for next season.

[Llyse]

Next season!?

I can't even wait for my next game... even if I need the bye due to work and real life creeping in 

[Falconeer]

even if I need the bye due to work and real life creeping in 

Being number one is exhausting!

[Modern Angel]

eldaec, you there?

[Ruvaldt]

1-1 tie with Falconeer in our game, and I just died a little inside.  

I had the first possession, but my offensive line was only able to push away a few Amazons.  In Falconeer's first down, first tackle he unceremoniously murdered my Black Orc, Murderpig.  Those Amazon girls know how to party.  After mourning Murderpig I moved the ball up a bit, had some trouble getting through a few Amazons, and started a mad dash with a goblin, which, to be honest, was a poor choice taken out of frustration.  The goblin was soon knocked out of the field of play, and the ball was placed back at Falconeer's endzone where, after a failed pickup and some dodgery, I was able to squeak out a TD.

Falconeer had three turns to score before Halftime, but he lost track of his turns and didn't make a final pass and play for a TD in his final round.

The second half went well for me after some inconclusive sparring back and forth, and I managed to break into a cage that Falconeer had going.  I picked up the ball with a goblin, and, fearing that he would knock me down in the next round decided to knock away an Amazon which was within striking range and put him into a safer position.  This was a mistake, and after using a reroll we both fell, the ball went out of bounds then to the middle of my field and landed right next to an Amazon, who picked it up.  This was the only place on the field the ball could've landed and allowed a TD, but there you have it.  I failed a GFI to blitz him for one last attempt to save a win, and Falconeer scored the game-tying TD in the last round. 

It was so close I could taste it, but still a fun game, and Falconeer gave me a fight to remember.

[Falconeer]

Guess what? I tied again! And this time I've been REAAAALLY lucky and undeserving.

A weird game between me and Ruvaldt's orcs. We've been both extremely cautious for a long while, trying to avoid blocks as much as possible and playing more Stare-War than Blood Bowl. As an Amazon, the strategy was good, and I managed to kill one of his Black Orcs on the very first block of the game (but then managed not to do much with it). Ruvaldt had the first possession and managed to lose the ball due to a dubious penetration on my right flank on turn 3. And here's where things get strange: I push his ball carrier out of bounds but I can't see the ball being thrown back in the pitch. I start panicking, message him on Steam asking for help and blaming a bug, but with the clock actually going down and 40 seconds left I throw a few random blocks but have NO IDEA where the ball actually is. Turns out, I didn't see it due to stupid snowy field, and the ball is lying 1 square away from my end zone! I am still way closer than the orcs, so I put one blitzer to prevent his only player in range from rushing the ball, and I go with the throweress to get the ball. Who, of course, is an idiot, so she fails to pickup and the ball scatters behind her, meaning in perfect walking distance of Ruvaldt's incoming blitzer. Which is marked, but still manages to shove away the Blitzer I placed in front of him, picks up the ball despite it being marked by my throweress, gets out of said throweress's dodge zone, and scores on turn 6. FUCK. IT.
Subsequently, I waste my three turns of possession dwindling in the middle of the pitch without realizing the clock is running down, losing my chance for a hail mary pass. Sadness, and very poor playing on my part.

Second half doesn't change much. I get my game together and move my Amazons in a reasonable and well protected cage position, while keeping a couple of random gals wide left for a possible desperation pass. Turns out a cage is never too solid with Amazons, since they have a tendency to KO when blocked hence leaving depressing empty spots in the formerly fortified cage. Orcs start bashing and getting in, and when they manage to strip the ball away from my throweress's hands, I have another chance to recover it for the afore mentioned desperation pass to that lonely couple of wide receiving women. Well, you think it's easy to pick up a ball with 3+, no marking whatsoever and a reroll, right? Wrong. Sylvia Plath, my glorified quarterback, fails horribly (AGAIN, what a night) and leaves the ball right there, for the orcs to pick it up, secure it, and let the clock run down.

So, Falc, how the hell did this end in a tie?

I am tempted to let Ruvaldt tell you, or to just have you all watch the replay. But I won't challenge your patience or interest that much, so here's a foggy, not-so-lucid and totall biased version of what happened:
There's an orc, a lineman, who goes for the loose ball, but fails to pick it up. Mind, even if he fails, he has superior umber and positioning, so it's not so bad even if he fails. So the ball goes crazy, sliding through many legs and many failed attempts to catch it, until one heroic goblin, behind the hard line of his own team, succeeds and picks it up for what is gonna be the final act of the game. This goblin is on the sideline but very well protected. None of my player can attempt any kind of blitz on him, not even with red dice, and all I can do is get some players around him to hassle things and force some miraculous mistake. Which is going to happen the next turn.

A small sequence of the last 3 turns:

Falconeer's turn 14: Pushes some orcs away and gets in touch with the ballcarrying gobbo but unable to block him.
Ruvaldt's turn 14: Slams one of my markers away and make sure that the only one still standing has red dice should she try to block the gobbo. Apparently though, he's not satisfied with this, and decides that the ballcarrying goblin SHOULD try to blitz his own marker away! It's a 1 die block, neither me or him have "block", he's on the sideline but has a reroll. Well, he gets a "both down", rerolls, gets another "both down". Goblin falls, loses the ball, the scatter goes OUT OF BOUND, ball gets thrown back into the pitch.... guess where? RIGHT IN FRONT OF THAT LONELY RECEIVER I LEFT WIDE FOR THE WHOLE SECOND HALF.

Falconeer's turn 15: Silly linewoman succeeds dodging away from her marker, fails a pickup but succeeds on the reroll, and runs in the far left corner of the pitch, giving only one Orc blitzer a desperate chance for a block which requires a go for it first. Orc fails the go for it. I score.

Unbelievable. Steal of the century. I am sorry. Nuff said 

[Ruvaldt]

I want to cry.   

[Strazos]

Not yet - we still need to play the next game day! 

[Ruvaldt]

Oh, I'd play tonight if I could!  I feel a dire need to avenge the tie with some bashing. 

[Megrim]

unceremoniously murdered my Black Orc, Murderpig...

[Llyse]

Unbelievable. Steal of the century. I am sorry.

You're not sorry at all! 

Hmmm my last two games are against Amazons, come on AV7! 

[Falconeer]

Llyse, fear the Blodge!

And Ruvaldt, I checked the replay. Your apothecary indeed saved Murderpig, he should have a broken hand and just miss next game. I have no idea why he stayed dead, but this is a bug and so yes you've been robbed even more tonight  

EDIT: Wow, I didn't notice this Ruvaldt. Apparently both your black orc Murderpig and Knobhead the goblin have been injured by none other than Virginia Woolf herself, who scored two casualties tonight. What a honour, don't you think?