Blood Bowl - Crunch Cup Signups

[Panda with issues...]

Wow, thats a bummer about the virus on your comp. Fingers crossed you can fix it quickly. Assuming you can't play, it means i will have to win all my remaining matches and even then it will depend on the results of Lebe and Rama (with me needing them to lose at least 1 match each).

I have to agree with you about the tv bloat. That star Catcher was 190k tv of "meh". So perhaps Pottsy was doing me a favor by retiring him?

I'm fixed and back in the game. Hopefully will play lebe tomorrow. I'll see what I can do about beating him, but a draw would probably seem to be the best possible outcome considering my depleted roster, and his supercharged team.

 

[Panda with issues...]

As expected, I got spanked in this game, and it was probably the dullest game I've had all season from that perspective.

3-0 to lebe. There was absolutely nothing I could do to defend against his AG5 leap blitzer, and concomitantly his AG5 catcher, especially with a depleted roster.

Lebe played fine, making few errors, though he got a bit of a scare when he was faffing around at the end of the first half before scoring, and I took the ball off him, attempting a long throw to get it to safety, but failing the catch. Lebe's block dice were great, and he had KOd 4 of my players by the end of the first half (a lot by fouling). Second half I didn't have enough players to stop him scoring, and concentrated on trying to get some injury spp on my team. Unfortunately, though I did kill one of his relatively unimportant players, it was via a foul, and so didn't generate any useful spp.

The ensuing kickoff, a bug ensured one of my best players disappeared from the game, leaving me further depleted, and of course this was a perfect time for Lebe to get a blitz result on the kickoff, resulting in a third score. I finally managed to KO some of his players, but as I was going for a consolation TD, I chose to try a handoff with RR to a blitzer who needed a TD to level, rather than just taking the TD, which predictably failed. That blitzer then leveled anyway via MVP, meaning I'd essentially just thrown away 3SPP.

The only good news in this game was that after it was clear I was going to lose (basically after turn 3, or TBH, not being entirely facecious, before the game had even started) was I managed a pass with a lineman to get him to level up.

He promptly rolled a second double six, leaving him unskilled, but S5. He's now clearly the most valuable player on the roster, and should be a real asset as the team moves forward.

I'm probably eliminated from playoff contention now, but the final two games look far more competitive, against a nurgle team and an amazon team, both with similar TVs to mine. 2 wins might still put me in contention, but it would entirely depend on other teams.

Games (played rather than admined) vs elves: 0-0-3
Games vs non elves: 3-1-1

I think I've only played maybe 1 game all season where my team value wasn't equal or significantly lower than the opponent's, and maybe only one game against a team significantly less skilled than my own, which generally suggests a few basic things:

My team isn't skilled enough.

My team certainly isn't skilled enough to deal with elf teams with much higher TVs.

Hopefully the crunched cup, for non playoff teams will develop my team a little further, and allow them to give it a better shot next season.

 

[Narly Bird]

Bummer about the loss. It was always going to be a tough one given Lebe's uber team and the tv differential. By the way, what inducements did you end up picking?

As for the Crunched Cup, are they planning to run it again this season? It is indeed a good chance to get some more spp on your players, but you just better make sure they dont die! Remember you can also have 2 CTA matches in between seasons, so that is another way to plump up the team.

That S5 Lino of yours sounds awesome. Its funny to think he basically matches an Ogre, but is more reliable (because of no loner and no bonehead). But you gotta get him to 31spp and Block ASAP!

 

[Narly Bird]

Bummer about the loss. It was always going to be a tough one given Lebe's uber team and the tv differential. By the way, what inducements did you end up picking?

As for the Crunched Cup, are they planning to run it again this season? It is indeed a good chance to get some more spp on your players, but you just better make sure they dont die! Remember you can also have 2 CTA matches in between seasons, so that is another way to plump up the team.

That S5 Lino of yours sounds awesome. Its funny to think he basically matches an Ogre, but is more reliable (because of no loner and no bonehead). But you gotta get him to 31spp and Block ASAP!

 

[Panda with issues...]

I took a merc ogre (basically the same as my current ogre, but without guard). I felt that it would essentially give me a substitute, and no difference in the number of loners in the team.

I also took a bribe, a reroll and 1 BWbabe.

The babe wasn't much help, as I repeatedly started drives down on players, and tbh, the reroll and the bribe weren't that crucial either.

Possibly would have been better off with the master chef, as lebe burned his rerolls very fast.

I don't really know what to do with a strength 5 lineman. Putting him on the line of scrimmage seems obvious, but he's been a very effective 'corner' on the edge of the pitch at s4, and will be even more so at s5. It's difficult for people to push him in and break down the sidelines.

Obviously he needs block asap, though tbh, the sky's the limit in terms of future development. Normal rolls would result in block and tackle, strip ball too, doubles, guard and dodge, +MV or +AG would just be disgusting on him now.

I gave in and my blitzer that leveled up got mighty blow, leaving him with guard and mighty blow.

It wasn't really my preferred choice, but you have to adapt to your situation, and the overall paradigm over at BBT, and in this div in the crunch cup seems to be removal of players from the pitch (even elves, via fouling). I'm tired of being outpunched and outrun by elves and tbh, I just want to kill the bastards. Hopefully it'll come in useful against pottsy's amazons this week.

The crunched cup does seem to be looming. There's no more risk in a CrC game than a normal CC game, and my players could really use the extra seasoning.

 

[Panda with issues...]

So with the penultimate regular sason game under my belt, I snuck a win from a draw on a lucky blitz result from Pottsy's well coached amazons.

Theoretically I'm still alive for the playoffs, pending the results of the remaining games in the division. So far the results have broken my way, with the middle of the pack attrition meaning people are stuggling to put together consistency and break away from the pack.

Kind of need Narly and Netsmurf to draw, and definitely need Rama Set to lose, and a loss for Mercy Flush would be pretty useful too.

A win for Netsmurf would put me in a bind, but not out, whereas a win for Narly would almost certainly do me in.

So sorry Narly, but I'm not rooting for you this week...

Edit: For me to qualify, I need to win next week, need Rama set to lose this week and def need a draw between Narly and Netsmurf.
Then next week I need Netsmurf to beat Rama set, and Narly to lose to Alouatta. I also need Mercy flush to lose at least once.

I can't have Netsmurf beat narly, becasue i need him to beat Rama Set next week.

 

[Narly Bird]

Wow, thats a tough call. Theoretically possible, but it sure hinges on a lot of results falling favorably.

I think a draw with Netsmurf is probably the most likely result from our match. And given Alouetta's performance so far, i think he will be really tough for me to beat. So perhaps things are at least looking up there. Not that i won't try my best to win those matches, but i'm finding Woodies just don't suit my playstyle, even with a beast of a +ST Wardancer on the team.

Good luck with your remaining matches. I play Netsmurf this Saturday, so you should be able to see the result then.

 

[Panda with issues...]

Wow, thats a tough call. Theoretically possible, but it sure hinges on a lot of results falling favorably.

I fully agree, but looking at the match ups, ridiculous as it sounds, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility.

As you say, the most likely outcome between you and smurf would be a draw, Mercy Flush dropped enough points last night to end him in the running, and Alouatta is a tough matchup for you.

On top of this, while I need Rama set to lose both, he has Lebe and Netsmurf as his final games - both eminently loseable.

It's not like I'll be able to do anything in the playoffs, as it looks like I'd get the top team in the league as an opponent, but making it would be funny.

 

[Narly Bird]

Well i got you part of the way there by tieing with Netsmurf. I turned him over and was leading 1-0 at the break, receiving and with 9 healthy elves plus a Tree. I was looking to go for a quick 2 turn score, but then the dicey git got a blitz and it screwed me up something proper. I still had a pretty good chance to score, but he managed a dodge and blitz on my carrier to knock me down and steal the ball. I then rolled a massive 10 dice on his blodging Ghoul (4 dice with a wrestle player and 4 dice with a tackle player), but couldn’t manage to knock the bastard down. And so he killed one of my lvl 3 Elves and walked it in on turn 16.

Really bad dice that second half and quite unlucky not to get the win. Although he had fairly bad dice in the first to be honest.

So now its all up for grabs, with me needing to beat Alouetta if I have any hope of getting into the top 4.

 

[Panda with issues...]

Well i got you part of the way there by tieing with Netsmurf. I turned him over and was leading 1-0 at the break, receiving and with 9 healthy elves plus a Tree. I was looking to go for a quick 2 turn score, but then the dicey git got a blitz and it screwed me up something proper. I still had a pretty good chance to score, but he managed a dodge and blitz on my carrier to knock me down and steal the ball. I then rolled a massive 10 dice on his blodging Ghoul (4 dice with a wrestle player and 4 dice with a tackle player), but couldn’t manage to knock the bastard down. And so he killed one of my lvl 3 Elves and walked it in on turn 16.

Really bad dice that second half and quite unlucky not to get the win. Although he had fairly bad dice in the first to be honest.

So now its all up for grabs, with me needing to beat Alouetta if I have any hope of getting into the top 4.

So far when I checked, now all I need is to win, and for Rama set to lose both, and Alouatta to beat you, or hold you to a draw!

I'd like it known that I'm riding an incredible luck train at the moment, and it's momentum is increasing constantly. People might get utterly crushed by it, or it could derail and leave me in very small pieces...

 

[Panda with issues...]

So, the final group result also went my way, with lebe smashing Rama Set 4-0.

I now need to win next week.
Netsmurf to beat Rama Set
Alouatta to either beat Narly, or hold him to a draw!

 

[Narly Bird]

Its quite exciting that it has all come down to the final match of the regular season.

I haven't checked out Alouetta's team yet, but i have some options regarding inducements. I can sack my -MA Catcher to claw back 190k and that would leave me with 11 players. I can also afford to buy a line-elf for 70k to still have a bench. It all depends on what Alouetta's tv is i suppose.

 

[Panda with issues...]

Its quite exciting that it has all come down to the final match of the regular season.

I haven't checked out Alouetta's team yet, but i have some options regarding inducements. I can sack my -MA Catcher to claw back 190k and that would leave me with 11 players. I can also afford to buy a line-elf for 70k to still have a bench. It all depends on what Alouetta's tv is i suppose.

He took a very competitive approach and sacked a lot of players before the season to keep his TV down to the rest of our levels I think, due to his two really experienced players. He was frequently playing with only nine guys on the roster, and receiving journeymen. He's recently built his roster up a bit as everyone's tv has expanded. His TV may well even be less than yours.

 

[Narly Bird]

Wise words there. I just assumed his tv must be high given his big winning record, but in fact it is 1,620. Mine is 1,610 with no reserves. I will probably spring for a Catcher to have a small bench and give him 90k in inducements, which at best will get him a game or an induced loner lino.

He indeed has 2 really skilled players, so i guess he has been going for the high min/max tv strategy. Thankfully for my fragile elves though he doesnt have a lot of killer players (only a couple of MB and no Piling on). So i'm hoping I dont suffer too many cas/ko.

 

[Panda with issues...]

I'm probably out of the running now, having stumbled to a draw in my game against crinsonsun's nurgle. It was never looking like a loss, but I ended up with only 4 players on the pitch at one point. I had a couple of chances to win it, but my guys either flubbed them (failed 4+ handoff with reroll) or he got very lucky with block dice.

I felt like actually it was a really strong performance by me as a player, but he utterly destroyed my team. I think 3 MNGs on key players, and a -Av on blitzer.

My guys certainly wouldn't have been in any state for the playoffs even had I won, and TBH, are probably in no fit state for the CrC either. I think they need a nice match against halflings or snotlings with no ogres to recover.

 

[Panda with issues...]

So, in a sort of wrap up post, whilst Div 2 was internally competitive, especially in the middle, it looks like externally, it really wasn't.

All 4 coaches that made the playoffs from Div 2 were beaten by their div 1 opponents, despite frequently having similar TVs.

It would certainly have been no different had I made it to the playoffs.

 

[Narly Bird]

Yeah, i made it to the playoffs and got beaten by div 1 Humans. It was a really close match though and I would have won it in overtime except that i rolled a double 1. Also I seemed to unknowingly have hired Rincewind as my wizard, with him knocking down 0 from 5 on the fireball.

 

[Panda with issues...]

Narly: You're an OCC player aren't you?

I'm toying with joining.

If you get time, could you write a little something about your OCC experience, anything I'd need to know, whether I'd get my ass handed to me or so on?

I'd be surprised if I got ruined, as many of the top players over there seem to be the same top players we have at BBT. - Lebe, Dreamy, Danton etc.

 

[Narly Bird]

OCC is pretty competitive. But there are a lot of average coaches too. I think its more when you get to division 3 and division 2 that you hit the really good coaches. So early on, when you start in division 6, you shouldn't be out of your depth.

Compared to the CC, OCC is more of a perpetual league where you continue with the same team for a long time. With the CC, most people reroll their team after a couple of seasons and each new season is sorted by tv, so it keeps things fairly fresh and evenly matched. OCC is more of a long-term thing where you can build your team up to quite high tv's (2000+). And sometimes you will be playing with huge tv differences, as each new season you get promoted/demoted based on your results, rather than matched based on tv.

As a result of the perpetual development, you will find more bashy teams in OCC. I'm not sure the composition for this season, but Orcs and Chaos/Nurgle are usually the 3 most prevalent teams. Having said that, in recent seasons this has changed a bit and it seems more diverse. For example, there used to be 2 or 3 Orc teams and 1 or 2 Chaos/Nurgle on average in my division (of 10 teams) when i first started in OCC. But this has reduced dramatically (1 or 2 Orc and 1 or 2 Chaos/Nurgle seems the norm now for a division).

They have a lot of fun competitions too and you get awards for 1st place, 2nd place, most TD's scored in division, most fouls made, etc. etc. which are displayed next to your name. You can also put bounties on particular players, which makes it quite fun.

I would suggest starting off in the SSC (Snotling Soda League). This is a preliminary league to OCC (something like CTA) where you play 9 matches in a league environment and then decide if you want that team to progress to OCC proper. Of course you can just start out straight into the OCC, but SSC lets you get some skills first.

Feel free to put me as your reference when/if you join (my coachname there is Jimmy C).

 

[Panda with issues...]

Thanks, that's kind.

I guess it would make a difference to the CC where elf teams dominate.