First game with SLOBB!

I have often said, my life is either a flood, or a famine. Between Eucalyptus Bowl and Bushranger Bowl, nothing. I had to resort to playing solitaire games to try one or two things out. But from the last week of September to now, thirteen matches, including the first of (what I hope is) many league matches in SLOBB.

I have also managed to squeeze in a game of Malifaux as well in recent weeks. A rare appearance at Good Games in Gosford on Thursday last week, and I was able to give Seamus a run against Leviticus. It was an unusual game. At times I felt that my crew was going to get wiped off the board, especially after Mortimer was taken out quite early. However, at the end of the game it was the Leviticus crew that was nearly extinct, with only two figures left on the board and Seamus with three of his cohorts. Whilst the last undead belle wandered off to destroy evidence on the seventh and final turn, Seamus dropped a hollow waif, my punk zombie took out Leviticus (he also slew Killjoy as well earlier in the match), and with the final shot of the game, the convict gun-slinger fired through partial cover and hit the last waif, sealing a narrow 4 – 2 win, in what I think is only my second game of it this year. What has become obvious to me, is that the convict gun-slinger has been a great asset to my crews. The ranged attack he provides is just what I needed, to pick off targets at range and keep them busy whilst the rest of them move in. I'm still coming to grips with the game, but I'm slowly getting there!

However, it was Good Games in Burwood where I played my first league match since July, coming up against a coach I played at Clash of the Titans earlier this year. (As it turns out, he is quite keen to keep Blood Bowl alive at next year's CoTT, so I will be awfully tempted to come along again and try my luck if there is someone actually making an effort to get it going.) I must say I quite like the Good Games store at Burwood. Despite there being a Yu-Gi-Oh tournament on, and a Magic league, there was still enough room for four of us to play league games (including D'Arquebus, who just happened to be playing against someone I'll be playing against this Sunday in Gosford) and move around the store with comparative ease. I even discovered that there was a nice little quiet area at the back behind the board games. I even picked up some bases for my penguins (some nice resin ones that have a dirt like surface) and have started to undercoat base and players white. As for a colour scheme, well, I'm still thinking “rainbow”, but there has been a suggestion made of fluorescent colours. Someone else even suggested painting them up in little suits. I'm thinking if I was capable enough, I could give them Hawaiian shirts. As for the remaining ogres, I've trawled through the 'net and have come across an assortment of figures that I'd like to use, namely a cave troll, a crystal golem, an ice troll and a wereshark, all from Reaper, to go with the two dire bears that I already have. (Reaper big guys, and Copplestone little guys, nice symmetry!)

Anyways, I have digressed long enough. Sunday October 16th's match turned out to be my 100th draw, in 660 games. The symmetry continues, for the personal record stands at 280 wins, and 280 losses. This game really could've gone either way, and once again, it was my inability to keep my opponents off the pitch that prevented me from getting a first up league win. I wasn't rolling too badly for armor rolls, but none of my players registered a casualty at all, with the best being a few knock-outs.

Game: 660
Opponent: Junior
Team: La French Play-gue (Skaven)
Result: 2 all draw
Casualties: 1 all draw
(But in terms of SLOBB league rules, I lost the casualty count seeing mine resulted from a failed Go-for-it roll.)
Fame: Me+1
Toss: Lost – kicked
Starting Weather: Sweltering Heat
Kick-offs (in order): Brilliant Coaching (I gained a re-roll), Riot (turn marker moved forward), Blitz, High Kick, Brilliant Coaching (I gained a re-roll), Change of Weather – fine.

With neither the Skaven, nor the Orcs with a game under their belts, both sides were quite keen to get the match rolling. The orcs initial kick-off rolled into the end zone, coming to rest in the bottom left-hand corner of the pitch. This didn't cause the rats much concern, as they quickly retrieved it, with a gutter runner hurtling it down field to a fellow runner. He in turn handed it on to a third runner, who daringly skirted down the sideline, around an orc blitzer, then back in field. The fourth gutter runner tried the same thing on the right hand flank, but in his effort to match the distance covered by his fellow team-mate, he tripped and fell, and fell badly, dislocating a knee and finishing his game in the opening minutes of the contest. Vern Schillenger (blitzer) about faced and charged at the ball carrier, clipping him across the back of the head, whilst Tobias Beecher (thrower) made the extra yards to retrieve the ball. However, the orcs' time with the ball was very short, and with two gutter runners combining to bring down Beecher, there was a fortuitous bounce, almost a spilled pick-up, but the runner held on to cross the line and give the rats an early lead. [Turn 2]

The heat had quite a few being carried off to the cooler climate in the reserves bin, the skaven suffering the worst with five players off to the orcs' three. The crowd naturally were none to happy about this, and whilst the unconscious players were stretchered off, they decided to vent their frustrations upon each other. When play resumed, it was Beecher retrieving the ball well inside the orcs' half, with Kareem Said (black orc) knocking a linerat out, that posed a threat to the orc catcher, with a heavy blow to it's noggin. The orcs ground their way down the pitch, Beecher well and truly secure inside a formidable orc cage. The skaven could only provide token resistance, with the orcs well and truly taking control of the pitch. By the time Beecher strolled in to equalize, there were only two rats left on the pitch. They received a considerable boost for what little time was left in the first half, seeing half the team was currently in the reserve bin, with this time only one player succumbing to the heat, and the orcs with two. It didn't matter, the orcs couldn't do much with their Blitz off the kick-off, electing to give Beecher some throwing practice to end the half locked at one apiece.

It was the orcs' turn to suffer at the start of the second term with the heat, losing four players (one from each position) to the skaven's one. The kick-off was terrible, going high, wide, and way off the pitch. Miguel Alvarez (blitzer) was given the pigskin from the touchback and the orcs started to bulldoze their way down field, despite the fact the skaven outnumbered them eight to seven. The rats used the extra player to their advantage, and Alvarez was dragged down on the left hand flank near halfway, with a gutter runner on hand to pick up the spilt ball. Alvarez responded in kind, flattening the runner, but his fellow blitzer Chris Keller couldn't recover the ball from near the feet of a linerat. A runner once again recovered the ball, and headed to where he felt he was safe from attack. Simon Adebisi (black orc) stomped after him, but just couldn't bring him down. The rat jumped away, but Adebisi kept on after him, making a clumsy attempt to bring himself and the runner down with the end zone not too far away. Some poor blocking allowed the orcs to recover, and Adebisi had a third shot at the runner, only succeeding in forcing him back. Schillenger raced down to cover the runner's exit, but it didn't worry him, as he dodged through two players, then away to break the deadlock. [Turn 5]

With a badly needed re-roll coming their way, the orcs also received another touchback, with Ryan O'Reilly (blitzer) being chosen to take the ball from the restart. The orcs were determined to not lose the game, and the entire team was on the pitch for the final drive, whilst the skaven lost yet another player to the heat. By this time in the match, they were hampered somewhat by having no gutter runners left on the pitch. The orcs chose the right hand side of the pitch to launch their attack, with Keller and Peter Schibetta (line orc) accompanying him. The rats threw themselves in the path of the ball carrier in vain attempts to bring him down, but only succeeded in providing the orcs some target practice, and giving them a few laughs when their attempted blocks failed. Keller and Schibetta then pushed aside the remaining resistance, allowing O'Reilly a clear run to the line to equalize. [Turn 8]

Only four players were affected by the heat before the final restart of play, with three more rats being propped up in the reserves bin under a ceiling fan to the orcs one. However, there was a slight change in the weather, the crowd appreciating the milder weather, and the players wondering where this slightly cool change was an hour ago. Schibetta received the rare distinction of being the only player injured as a result of a block during the game, after the linerats ganged up on him to bring him down. The final block in the game however was rather unsuccessful, and as the unfortunate rat slumped to the turf, after colliding with Jaz Hoyts' (black orc) chest, the referee called time, and both teams trooped off for quite a few cold ones after the match.

Cyril O'Reilly (line orc) took the MVP for the orcs. None of the player gained sufficient points to warrant promotion. The team received an extra Fan Factor point and 60,000gp in winnings. They decided to spend the money hiring an apothecary, Dr Gloria Nathan.

Despite receiving an offer to play an undead side during the week, the Oz Correctional Facility's next game will most likely be against a Pro Elven squad in Gosford this Sunday.

Stay tuned! Ciao!

P.S: Turns out my next game will be against an undead outfit on Thursday at Good Games Sydney.