Welcome back, Sports Fans, for some more competitive Blood Bowl content here at Goonhammer dot com! This month, Dan headed up to Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, for the 4 Diamonds Cup, a 5-round 7s tournament. Dan’s not too experienced with 7s, so let’s see how he did!
It’s true that I’m brand new to 7s. To practice for this event, I managed to get one whole game of 7s in, and I didn’t even get to use my own team because I had forgotten them at home! So with that vast amount of experience, I was ready to play. Thankfully, 7s is almost identical to regular Blood Bowl with a few exceptions: fewer players, fewer turns, smaller field, and few-to-no rerolls! In the lore, 7s is supposed to represent the “junior varsity” level of each team, who do not have access to lots of team training, which is represented on the field in the form of rerolls.
Before I get into it, I’d like to take a moment to extoll the virtues of 7s Blood Bowl. It’s so much fun! A full game will usually last less than 1 hour, generally around 40 minutes. With fewer players to worry about, each game is easily digestible, and the lack of rerolls mean that turns happen very quickly. It’s a beautiful way to introduce new players to the game, and I would suggest that experienced players everywhere go out and grab a 7s pitch to try and snare their Blood Bowl-curious friends into a game or two, and let Nuffle take over from there!
Preparation
Just like every tournament, we got the event packet beforehand, and I began to plan my roster. Generally you’re looking for two things to kick off rosterbuilding: the skill pack and the Team Value as expressed in gold pieces (gp). More often that not, the skill pack will influence your choices when it comes to buying players, so let’s take a look at that first:
The Skill Pack
There is no skill pack for the 4 Diamonds 7s tournament.
What?!
Yup, these rookies are the greenest of the green, so we’ll be playing Blood Bowl au naturale. It would have been nice to have a couple of skills to spread around, but I’m all about it! Some of the most fun you’ll have playing Blood Bowl is the first couple of games in a league when your team still has that “new team smell” and no one has levelled yet. This will be Blood Bowl at it’s most pure: no skills, no rerolls, no problems! It’ll all be up to the dice, for better or for worse!
The Roster
They’ve given us 600k gp to build a team, which is the default TV limit for 7s. In 7s, each reroll costs double at roster creation, and apothecaries are hiked up to 80k from 50k. So you won’t see many of either. After that, there’s only 1 limit put upon rosterbuilding: at least 3 of your players must be from the 0-16 or 0-12 category of your team’s roster. In other words, every team will have at least 3 lineman. With that in mind, let’s get to it!
I, once again, am in the midst of Pro Elf Summer, so I’ll be taking my beloved Baja Blasters B-Siders with me to Pennsylvania. Elves are expensive, so with only 600k to work with, I’ll have to make some hard choices.
After playing around with it, I’ve come up with 3 rosters that look playable:
Choice 1 – The Balanced Approach
- 1 Thrower
- 2 Blitzers
- 1 Catcher
- 3 Linemen
Blitzers are my best players, and this list maximizes their use, while sprinkling in the speed of the Catcher and utility of the Thrower. I can do a little bit of everything with this roster, and I like it a lot.
Choice 2 – Look Out! He’s Gonna Throw!
- 1 Thrower
- 1 Blitzer
- 2 Catchers
- 3 Linemen
- 1 Assistant Coach
Catchers have MA8, which gives them a kind of ridiculous threat range in 7s. This list is built around the idea that my opponent probably can’t kill both of them in 1 turn, which will give me the opportunity to score with the one who’s still standing.
Choice 3 – Oops! All Catchers
- 4 Catchers
- 3 Linemen
- 1 Assistant Coach
Again, Elven Union Catchers are really fast, so why not take 4 and just run laps around my opponent? (The answer: because at some point I will need to hit or be hit, and Catchers are kinda trash at that.)
After some serious internal debate, I went with choice 1, The Balanced Approach. Elven Union Blitzers are just too good to not take the maximum allowed, and I expect that Norse and Khorne teams will be abundant, as they’re the newest teams in town. Side-Step, which comes on the Blitzers, is the hard counter to Frenzy, which both Norse and Khorne teams have in spades.
My roster’s sorted, my models are painted, my display board is freshly dusted, and I’m all good to go!
Final Roster:
- 1 Thrower
- 2 Blitzers
- 1 Catcher
- 3 Linemen
- Total: 585,000 gp
The Trip
Dillsburg’s about 2 hours North of my place outside of Washington, DC. It’s not a major town by any stretch of the imagination, so that means driving. Quick note on Dillsburg: I actually end up going through the town about four times a year because my wife’s family is from central Pennsylvania, and the town straddles Interstate Route 15 which is the most direct way to get to Harrisburg PA and points North. Full disclosure: I absolutely HATE Dillsburg. One minute you’re driving along at 65 mph on 15 like you have been for the past hour or so and then BAM! Stoplights. 35 mph speed limit. Traffic. PA State Troopers just itching to ruin your day. Welcome to Dillsburg.
However, when Dillsburg is the destination, it turns out my opinion of the place is improved substantially. This time I set up a carpool with local player and Goonhammer discord member Michael (aka Enzo on the GH discord). I was originally set to drive, since my car is larger and more comfortable, but I slept really, really poorly the night before (thanks to my beautiful 6-month old baby boy at home who I LOVE SO MUCH), so he stepped up and shuttled us up to PA. The drive was uneventful and Michael is a good and safe driver, so that was nice. However, whatever playlist he had running only had like 4 songs on it and it wasn’t on shuffle so I got to hear Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast” like 6 times. Could be worse, I guess. The event is held at the Monaghan Township Fire Hall, to which we arrive with about a half hour to spare.
The Games
10 AM rolls around and after a short welcome from TO Jamie, the games begin! In a wonderful bit of serendipity, I’m paired up against Joe Roberts, who wrote last week’s article about Street Bowl! He’s local to me and a helluva guy, so I’m pumped to sit down and roll some dice!
Before we start, y’all are going to have to forgive me for not taking a ton of pictures. 7s games move fast and with no rerolls on most rosters, turnovers happen extremely frequently. I did my best, but for a couple of these games I completely forgot to pull out the phone camera.
Game 1: Baja Blasters vs. Athas Sunbursts (Wood Elf)
Joe’s Roster:
- 2 Wardancers
- 5 Linemen
Joe’s brought along Wood Elves, so once again, my first round matchup is elf-on-elf violence. Wood Elves were the boogeymen of last edition, but they’ve been majorly toned down in BB20. Still, they field the best player in Blood Bowl, the Wardancer, and are no slouches when it comes to 7s. Additionally, Joe is an experienced, good player, so I knew I would be in for a hard-fought game.
I’m receiving the kick in the first half and a Blitz! Is immediately rolled for the 1st kick-off event. Hoo boy. Did I mention that Wardancers are really good? Well, his two took the ball away from me and scored. He was helped by a couple of critical Rush failures on my part, too. Not a great start! However, I received the kick again, avoided a Blitz, and managed to score before the half. It’s tied 1-1, but I’m kicking to him.
We start off the 2nd half with a bit of turnabout: it’s a Blitz! For me this time! There’s quite the scrum for the ball, one of my Blitzers kills one of his linemen, but he manages to score on his turn 5, giving me two turns to even it up. With a slower team it would be a tall order, but Elven Union are one of the quickest-scoring teams around, so I’m hopeful I can get the equalizer. Things go right for me, and I manage to tie it up on the last turn of the game! This one felt like a win, to be honest. I was down early, against a good player, but I managed to bring it back for the tie. A great start!
Result: 2-2 Draw
Game 2: Baja Blasters vs. Bright College Phoenix (Human)
Sean’s Roster:
- 1 Ogre
- 1 Thrower
- 2 Blitzers
- 4 Linemen
Sean’s got some Boston College-themed Humans for me in Round 2. Humans are one of my favorite teams as they’re probably the most versatile team around. However, with this roster, it’s clear that Sean wants to pummel me into the astrogranite! I’m set to kick off in the 1st half, so away we go.
I don’t have a ton of notes for this game, but I do remember that Sean had a ton of trouble knocking my guys down. And on top of that, I was making dodge rolls all over the place. With a couple of unfortunate pick-up rolls and a bad Bonehead roll on a critical turn, I was able to cruise comfortably to a 2-0 victory. Hopefully Sean’s luck was better in his games after ours!
Result: 2-0 Win
Game 3: Baja Blasters vs. Brawltimore Jerks (Orc)
Jason’s Roster:
- 1 Thrower
- 3 Blitzers
- 3 Linemen
- 1 Reroll
- 1 Assistant Coach
The first thing I notice on Jason’s roster: a reroll! Incredible! I had forgotten that those exist! Jason’s team is the old metal orc team from the early nineties, and they’re lovingly painted in that vibrant “oldhammer” style. It’s great to see that he’s still using them, as they look fantastic and have immaculate vibes. I’m receiving in the first half, so let’s get to it.
The throughline in this game was Jason’s absolutely abysmal luck. I got the ball and scored quickly, and it was clear that Jason was expecting this. He planned to take the rest of the half to even it up, and I’m sure he hoped to get the ball in the 2nd half and score while taking up all of his turns, leaving me no opportunity to even it up. But here’s the thing: Jason’s rolls were absolute dogshit. His Sure Hands Thrower miffed on the pickup on his first go-round, and that set the tone for this game. The poor guy couldn’t do anything. On the other hand, my dice were on fire, and I ended up causing 3 Orc casualties by the end of the game. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t close. I really hope he had better rolls in subsequent games, because this really was ridiculous. Alas, such is the nature of a dice game.
Result: 2-0 Win
Game 4: Baja Blasters vs. Quick-Fast Scoregasm (Skaven)
Pox’s Roster:
- 1 Rat Ogre
- 2 Blitzers
- 1 Gutter Runner
- 3 Linemen
Yet another game against a local, and this time it’s Pox, a guy I’ve known for a while and who runs tournaments at one of our local stores and administers a large local league. And we’re playing at the top table. Somehow, he managed to drop 5 TDs on his first round opponent. He’s having himself a hell of an event, but it’s my 2-0-1 record, I guess so am I. Either way, he’s a very skilled player, so I know I’m in for a good game.
I’m receiving in the first half, and I take the ball down the field and score relatively quickly. We trade a couple of injured players, and he manages to even the score on his possession in the 1st half. He gets the kick in the 2nd, and begins to do some damage. He’s almost exclusively blitzing with his Rat Ogre (which is one of my favorite players in BB20) and the damn thing is causing me problems. I’m losing players, and he’s taking his sweet time, but I manage to force him to score on his turn 5, giving me 2 turns to even it up. Thing is, I’m down to 4 players, while he’s still got 6. I manage to get my Catcher the ball on the kickoff, and set him up for a final turn score. Pox’s rats surround my little cage, but don’t manage to get to my Catcher. On turn 12, my Catcher needs to make a 1-dice blitz to try and free himself from the scrum. I roll it up, and it’s a POW! Defender Down! Beautiful, it’s all coming together! Now, all I need is a 3+ Dodge, followed by a 2+ Dodge, and he’s tied it up. I go for the 3+ and nail it, naturally. Now, all I need is to roll anything but a 1, and the game is tied. I shake my dice cup, bring it down on the table, lift it up and…it’s a 1.
Sigh.
Such is the life of a Blood Bowl player. Even with the loss, it was a great game. Pox is a great opponent, and we had fun the whole time.
Result: 1-2 Loss
Game 5: Baja Blasters vs. Mourn Mountain Rangers (Dwarf)
Connor’s Roster:
- 2 Blitzers
- 1 Troll Slayer
- 1 Runner
- 3 Linemen
- 1 Assistant Coach
- 1 Cheerleader
Final game of the day! I’ve had a good run so far, so I’m looking to finish it out with a win. Dwarves are a tough matchup, but the emphasis on mobility in 7s makes things slightly better for me. I’m receiving in the 1st half, and Connor immediately gets a Blitz! That’s cool, though, he can’t actually get too disruptive with his team’s stunty little legs, and I might get to take advantage of some of his players being out of position. So I set up my screen, go to pick up the ball, and roll a 1. Ok, not a huge problem, I’m still in a good position .I’ll probably have to actually pass now to score, but whatever, that’s why I brought the thrower. Connor’s dwarves push me around a bit on his turn, but things are still looking ok. As long as I can pick up the ball, that is. I go for it once more and…roll another 1. Hoo boy.
That was the story of the game, right there. My rolls were almost unbelievably bad. At the end of the game, I counted them up, and 8 out of my 12 turns ended with a premature turnover. All of them on 1s or equivalent skulls (attacker down results). Suffice to say, I did not win this match. I scored a garbage time TD on my last turn to save a little bit of face, but trust me when I say that the score of this game does not accurately reflect how one-sided it was. Thankfully, Connor was a nice guy and didn’t gloat about my awful luck, but I’ll be doing my best to forget this game ever happened now, thank you.
Result: 1-2 Loss
Final Thoughts
So, after 5 games, I’m 2-2-1. Good enough for 12th place. My ride, Michael, manages to go 2-1-2 and grab the 9th place spot. Despite that last game, I had a great time. We gather around for awards, and to my surprise and delight, I win Best Team, the best painted/converted/theme award! I’m quite chuffed to have been given the nod for best team, as there were a lot of excellent-looking teams around the hall. With that, TO Jamie tells us we’ve raised $4,000 for the Four Diamonds Foundation, which fights childhood cancer. An excellent way to spend a Saturday. Michael even gets to take home the best rookie award, so our car ride on the way home is conducted in high spirits. I think I remember Jamie saying that they’ll be sticking with the 7s format next year, and I’m excited to attend again. All in all a great event with fun games, great TOs, and a good venue.
That’s it for now, Sports Fans. Dan will be back next month with a report from the NOVA Open’s Blood Bowl events! Lets hope he rolls fewer 1s for that one, though. Sheesh. Thanks for reading, Sports Fans! See you next week!
