Wycombe Warband Blood Bowl League
Season 1 Game 2
Our league is
in full swing and I'm fielding the orc team
Scary Wunz. Their second opponent is league leaders the
Cow Boils. We'd met before in a friendly, and I was not looking forward to another game of chasing dirty rats around. With the rats a game ahead, the orc coach elected to spend the inducements on a wandering apothecary and a Bloodweiser keg, hoping these would even the match up.
Setup
The orcs won the toss and elected to receive the kick. The Cow Boils set up a solid midfield with the orcs deciding on a deep deployment which worked against the
Scalies.
1st Half
The rats got stuck in, flattening the orc line of scrimmage - this is not permitted! The orc backfield however made good progress collecting the ball and caging up, ready to rumble down field towards the end zone.
Seeing the devastation ahead, the orc maul rolled to the left. The rats scambled to reorganise lines of defence to slow it down. Masstak the Rat Ogre meanwhile ran headlong for the weak corner of the cage, smashing the orc lineman to the ground and everyone winced at the sound of several bones snapping. The thrower carrying the ball was thrust dangerously out the cage.
The orc coach wasted no time sending the wandering apothecary he'd bought with his inducements. Fortunately this particular apothecary trained under the healing wizard Boopah, and he quickly turned a mortal crushing blow into a light stun. The elephant in the cage, as it were, remained a great threat to the orc advance.
Kuulg Bear-Ripper, the black orc blocker in the #2 kit sat up in the middle of the pitch, shaking his head to clear what cobwebs dare be spun in a orc's skull. The rats line of scrimmage had abandoned him. Seeing his buddies in grave danger he hauled his bulk up on to his feet, and with a bellowing cry blitzed towards Masstak, the two blitzers pinning its arms back for him. With a tremendous thud he smashed the enormous rat to the ground. Freed up, the cage reorganised but only made two squares progress, a hole was going to have to be made.
Noticing the centre was only being held by a Gutter Runner and a linerat, the orcs mauled their cage to the right. The resurrected lineorc recovered enough to keep Masstak busy while Kuulg lumbered back to try assist the cage.
The rats fell back again, forming a more solid line of defence. Only seven squares away, the end zone beckoned.
An awful time of deliberation commenced. If the cage sprang open, the ball carrier could reach the end zone if he Goes For It twice. However a failed roll would spill the ball and with the orcs congested the rats would have no trouble dancing across the field for a touchdown. So, putting Elven fancies aside and with a Rat Ogre on the left only just being held by a lineorc,
the orc cage elected to roll again to the right. Time was running down quickly, they were desperate to force their way around and get to the chopper end zone! The battle for the right corner of the pitch began as the cage slammed into the ratmen's line.
The front of the cage mushroomed against the rats, and Vogash Man-Splitter the orc #1 blocker barrelled into the rat's thrower, hoping to drive a wedge through the line for the thrower to slip through.Unfortunately for Vogash, while he's clearly adept at splitting men, this is a rat, and with some swift underworld street fighting moves the Cow Boils thrower upended Vogash and wrecked the orc charge. The cage was split and the precious ball carrier dangerously exposed.
Eyeing the ball with his beady little eyes, yes beady even for a rat, Skryite the linerat with hopes and ambitions above his station launched himself forward in a counterdrive against orc blitzer #7 Vashnak Earth-Cracker, assisted by the thrower. Instead of tasting victory, Skryite was tasting grass, the blitzer having stopped his charge in its tracks.
His reputation in tatters, Vogash Man-Splitter the orc #1 rose to his feet, determined to take the rat thrower down with him. This freed up the two orc blitzers to tag-team the linerat at the end, slamming him back into the end zone. A path cleared, Runk Axe-Breaker sprang through it and into the end zone - touch down Scary Wunz!
2nd Half
The orcs kick the ball down to the Cow Boils, who start the second half in furious form. Hur Nose-Hunter the orc lineman #10 had paid for holding back the Rat Ogre in blood, having left the game badly hurt and unable to return the rats now had the numerical advantage they wanted.
A strong push in the centre saw the orc line of scrimmage buckle but stay on their feet, while on the right wing gutter runners and linerates duelled with orc blitzers who were hard pressed to mark them. The rat throwers gathered the ball, now dangerously able to fling it downfield.
Hurtling downfield with his ears pinned back, Lashutch gutter ran his way through the orc defence to finish in the corner of the end zone, ready to receive the pass and score a touch down.
The orc thrower and two blitzers, seeing the obvious danger, legged it towards the corner. An enviable number of Go For It rolls were passed. Pinned between the thrower and a blitzer, Lashutch could only stare in horror as Kagor Talon-Smasher came hurtling towards him, smacking him off the pitch and into the fans. This never ends well, and the 10,000 rats and 90,000 orcs watching the match made sure to punch past his armour and send him to the medical pit.
The orcs tried to reorganise, that threat was gone but they had abandoned their coverage of the rest of the field.
Fortunately in the centre the blockers had managed to down Masstak and counter the drive.
The rats, noticing the left half of the end field was entirely open, moved a linerat into position, and skittering round the fighting masses the thrower curled the ball back and unleashed a long bomb pass. Players from both sides stopped and stared as the ball arced over the field, looping gently into the arms of the linerat!
For the orcs, it was on like Donkey Kong. Both blitzers hurtled across the field, burning through Go For Its which thankfully all passed, and tip-tackled the ball carrier, spilling the ball.
The battle had shifted across the field in the blink of an eye. Dirty rats!
The centre was a war zone, though failed Wild Animal rolls kept the Rat Ogre down and allowed the black orc blockers to gain the upper hand.
Both sides rush reinforcements to the ball, the rats scooping it up ahead of the orcs but dangerously close to the baying fans.
The orcs in the centre took the kid gloves off and started filling up the medical tent, rat fur flying with each crumping tackle.
Before long the remaining Gutter Runner was knocked out and two more linerats were badly hurt. The middle ground belonged to the orcs.
Rats were flooding towards the ball though, and as already shown they can slip by the orcs like eels
Seeing the rat ball carrier dangerously close to the sideline, the orcs renewed their attack, knocking rats flying left and right and spilling the ball. Again.
Raising himself again from the dirt, Runk Axe-Breaker the thrower and the only orc qualified to pick up the ball trotted over to it and scooped it up.
Disaster strikes the orcs as the rats rise up and smash the orc ball carrier to the ground, the ball bouncing wildly before leaving the pitch! The crowd, their blood up, hurl the ball into the mid-field fully intending to help the orcs, but landing it right at the feet of an unengaged linerat. The only unengaged linerat on the field. The 10,000 rat fans erupt as the linerat scoops the ball up and passes it to the lone receiver waiting in the end zone - touch down Cow Boils!
We set up for another drive, and ten panting orcs, lungs burning, square up to eight rather knackered looking rats.
The line of scrimmage looks forboding, nothing good can come of this.
The orcs collect the ball with the thrower and cage him up with blitzers. Meanwhile on the line of scrimmage the rats are getting reacquainted with the dirt. Three black orc blockers find themselves surrounding the prone figure of a Rat Ogre, and the temptation is just too great. Kuulg Bear-Ripper, the #2 who smashed the Rat Ogre out of the cage and began their blood feud, cannot resist going rat ripping. Raising his enormous armoured foot, his comrades pin Masstak's leg before him and he stomps down hard, smashing the ankle. With a bellow of rage and pain, Masstak is off to the medical pit.
The post match rolls were carnage, and I sat horrified as John's results came in: one Gutter Runner killed, a Rat Ogre with a smashed ankle and two linerats missing the next game. As if Nuffle hadn't beaten them up enough, the rats only scored 20k in winnings. While still top of the league table, they were in a precarious position for their next match with only one Gutter Runner and no big guy. The orcs for some reason did well, the injured lineorc only being badly hurt and gaining 90k in winnings. Things were looking bright for the Scary Wunz.
Final Score: Scary Wunz 1 - 1 Cow Boils
