MOAB 2011 Match Reports - Day 2

Well, with the rain tumbling down, nothing better to do then to finish off this lot of reports, for it appears that I will be well and truly busy with games in the upcoming couple of weeks. I'm trying to schedule a match with SLOBB, and I have also created a Khemri team to use in their open league.

Then there's the start of the Newcastle league (NOBBL) on Nov 5th. It will be held at Wallsend, at the Every Gamer's Guild meet that day, starting at 3pm. There's a $5 charge, and after the initial meet, you can arrange to play games anywhere at any time, provided you don't play the same opponent more than twice. I'll take Pro Elves to this one, seeing I want to get some practice with them before Can Con.

Right. With some classical music on to get the creative juices going, let us return to the exploits of the Myths Busted side.

Day Two – 2 Oct 2011

Game: 657
Round: 4
Opponent: Darren P
Team: High Elves
Result: Drew 2 all
Casualties: Drew 2 all
Toss: Lost - received
Fame: Fame+1
Initial weather roll: Fine
Kick-offs (in order): Brilliant coaching – I gained a re-roll, Cheering fans – I gained a re-roll, High Kick (caught), Perfect defence, Cheering fans – I gained a re-roll, Brilliant coaching – I gained a re-roll.

My opponents in this game ended up winning the most casualties prize at the tournament. There was a thrower with Accurate, both blitzers with Tackle, a catcher with Block, a line elf with Kick, and one with Guard.

It was a standard, uncomplicated start for the team. Bug Bomb recovering the ball off the kick-off, then getting protected by a few friends. The elves though went straight for the jugular, with a catcher dodging right into the cage, and despite there being a player either side of him, he flattens Bug, grabs the ball as it bounces straight to him, but is tripped up trying to get clear. Bug blitzes an elf that was marking a corner of the cage, and picks up the ball. Ninja Walk gets an early visit to the medical bay and Bug is feeling a little vulnerable as he advances up the field with the cage. Sure enough, his fears are realised when he is flattened again by a dodgy elf, and the ball bounces through a couple of sets of hands back towards the goal line. A line elf darts through, scoops up the ball from Old Dog's feet, dodges away and rushes in to score. [Turn 4]

They try it again. Bug regathers, advances into the cage, whilst Lethal Penny knocks out a line elf on halfway. Arrow Catch (blocker) is barrelled over by a rampaging catcher, and he's requiring the nurses' attention as well in the med bay. The cage advances, and though the CDs are doing a lot of tackling, they're not doing much in the hurting department. The cage is targeted, but Hand Grenade Hero stands his ground, and it's the attacking elf hitting the turf instead. Lethal does the team a service by knocking out one of the catchers, and Bug decides he's had enough of the ball, and palms it off to Red Flag, who gallops off down-field. There is a desperate attempt by a line elf to get to him, but he gets a bad case of cramp, and falls awkwardly, smacking his head hard on the pitch and needs to be dragged off the pitch. Red doesn't need any more hints, and he trots in for the equalizer. With what little time there is in the half, an elven catcher has a shot at Coke Mentos, but fails miserably, and the hobgoblin registers the team's first casualty for the game right on half time.

The elves begin the second half in earnest, driving down the left flank. Red, his confidence soaring, gallops off down the pitch and crashes into the blitzer with the ball, sending him sprawling. Bug tries to get involved in the fight, but his efforts to tackle the guardsman is laughable, and the pair end up on the turf in a tangle of limbs. The elven thrower dodges, scoops up the ball, but succumbs to the dreaded cramp as he is trying to shorten the distance for a possible touchdown pass. Lethal and Red smack a couple of players aside, the latter grabbing the ball on his way down the pitch. The defence comes at him, but he pushes one aside, dodges past another and continues his surge for the line. Old Dog exerts himself to give the bull a hand, arriving just in time to help him withstand a determined blitz. Red pushes aside his attacker, steps clear from another elf, and charges in to give the CDs the lead. [Turn 5]

The CDs are really fired up now. Lethal gives a line elf a very bad headache, and Bull China tramples over another, and breaks his neck. The elven thrower responds with a short pass to an open line elf, who manages to go the extra yards and even up the score. [Turn 6]

Coke now has the job of recovering the ball off the restart. With time running out, and a lot of distance to cover, he throws a desperate pass down-field to Salami Rocket, but the pass just misses him and lands nearby. Lethal is of no help for the rest of the game, as he decides to throw another tantrum. An elf blitzer sees a chance for an unlikely winner, but after stunning Bug on the charge, he trips over an unseen rock and lands on the ball. It bounces nicely, and even though both Red and Bull are in scoring range, Coke fumbles the pick up, and the CDs are denied their first win for the tournament.

I may have only needed one re-roll in the first half, but I can assure you, I really did need all of them in the second!

Game: 658
Round: 5
Opponent: Bruce B
Team: Necromantic
Result: Won 2-0
Casualties: Won 4-2
Toss: Won - received
Fame: Opponent+1
Initial weather roll: Fine
Kick-offs (in order): Cheering fans – opponent gains a re-roll, Change of weather – fine, Change of weather – fine.

Not very often I get to face the Necromantic. Both werewolves were armed with Block, both wights had Guard, there was a zombie with Tackle, and a ghoul with Sure Hands.

Lethal throws himself into the game from the onset, by charging a werewolf and almost pushing him off the pitch. Bug recovers the ball, but realizes that he is in a precarious position, despite both bulls being able to knock-out players. With werewolf marking Lethal flattened by Arrow Catch, Bug decides to give Lethal the ball, and he charges into the necro's half, stumbling over a ghoul along the way. Another ghoul bravely gets in his path, and he is pushed over, whilst Hand Grenade drops a shoulder into a charging wight and sends him sprawling. Bug though is charged by a werewolf, and he is sent flying off the pitch and needs to be stretchered back to the dug out. Lethal continues his charge, this time knocking out the ghoul in his path. Bullet Proof tries desperately to mark the werewolf poised to strike the minotaur, but trips over a pothole and falls heavily to the pitch. The werewolf then has a crack at Lethal, and manages to force him back. Lethal responds, and pushes the wolf back. The werewolf wins the contest, finally bringing the behemoth down, but none of the necro side can recover the ball. Coke does, despite the werewolf growling over it, then he dodges away from the lycanthrope and races for the line. Lethal gets back up and flattens a ghoul, and a wight tries to get after Coke but is tripped up. Coke decides not to hang around, and runs in to score. [Turn 7]

With only a short amount of time before the break, Bull gets into the thick of it, galloping in take on a werewolf, and trampling him into the turf, breaking a few bones along the way. The wolf though is rather resilient, and recovers in time to start the second half. Coke flattens the second wolf, and it decides to go after Bullet Proof, but the dwarf sees him coming, and drops his shoulder, taking out the beastie right on half-time.

The necro start the second half with a werewolf crashing into Bull, forcing him off the pitch. He crashes into a few spectators, and Bull is not the only one needing medical attention. The second werewolf races in to grab the ball from the kick-off, but trips over a rock. Red gallops off towards it, and Bullet comes across from the other flank, but neither can get to it. Coke evens up the numbers on the pitch by shoving a wight off the pitch, and he is badly hurt in the pummelling he receives from the pro-chaos spectators, and doesn't recover. Lethal notices that a ghoul has managed to recover the pigskin, and charges, taking him down. In a beautiful bit of teamwork, Arrow Catch pushes a werewolf back toward Salami Rocket, who elbows the lycanthrope off the pitch. He gets a good work over as well, and rendered unconscious. The minotaur then frenzies a ghoul off the pitch, who is knocked out by the crowd as well. Ninja heads for the ball, ignores the zombie standing near it, picks it up and moves away from him. A wight forces him back, setting him up for a blitz by the werewolf still on the pitch. The attack fails, but Ninja gets tripped up trying to get clear. A flesh golem, who had been rather quiet in the game, is forced back onto the ball, and he somehow gets the bounce back and hang onto it. A ghoul takes down Hand Grenade, and Old Dog forces the golem back a little further. Lethal lines him up and smashes him into the turf. The ball bounces through numerous sets of hands before a zombie grasps it. Cork Bat is standing right next to him, and he gives him a face full of fist and the zombie is knocked senseless. A wight goes down trying to dodge clear and attack Ninja, and with Lethal injuring a zombie (who recovers), and Bullet Proof pushing the remaining necro player off the ball, Ninja has a clear path to it, and he makes no mistake. The other wight tries to assault Ninja, but he too is tripped up. He lands badly, cracking his skull, but recovers. With the clock indicating only seconds left in the match, Ninja pushes the ghoul aside that was marking him, and much to the delight of the rest of the team, seals the win with a second touchdown.

Game: 659
Date Played: 6
Opponent: D'Arquebus
Team: Dwarves
Result: Won 1-0
Casualties: Drew 2 all
Toss: Lost - kicked
Fame: Even
Initial weather roll: Very sunny
Kick-offs (in order): Change of weather – fine, Brilliant coaching – both gained a re-roll, Cheering fans – both gained a re-roll.

Well, the best match is saved for the last round, a Dwarf on Chaos Dwarf clash. The normal variety were fielding two guardsmen, a blitzer with Tackle, a runner with Kick-Off Return, the other with Block, and a troll slayer with Kick.

Both sides are quite relieved when some clouds drift across the sky as the game gets under way. The untainted dwarves are straight into it, with Old Dog getting stretchered off on the second block of the game. Lethal Penny gets knocked over as well, and the intentions are shown with a blocker attempting to lay in the boot on the minotaur. The referee does not miss it, and sends him from the field. Lethal shrugs it off and gets back up, and takes his frustrations out on a blocker which he sends sprawling. As the runner advances down the right hand side with the ball and an escort, Lethal chucks another of his infamous wobblies, much to the delight of the crowd. The CDs are just holding off from attacking, electing to stand back and let their opponents come to them. They form an “L” shaped defence, directing the drive down the sideline. When the runner charges at Salami and knocks him onto his back, he realizes that he has nowhere to go, and the CDs counter-attack. Cork Bat charges at the ball carrier, after a path had been cleared for him, and flattens him. The ball bounces up, and the blocker grabs it. Ninja can't resist pushing the other runner off the pitch, and the crowd give him a good work over, knocking him out. Cork gets targeted, but shrugs it off, but he too is trapped by prone bodies of fallen dwarves from both sides. Salami heads down-field after pushing an opposing blocker aside to at least create an opportunity to score. Bug can't believe his luck, and goes to push the other runner off the pitch, but only succeeds in missing completely and falling face first to the turf. Cork is then hit, the ball bouncing around for a bit before popping up to Red, but he can't handle it either and the ball falls to the turf. Ninja is then well hit by a blocker, and joins Old Dog in the casualty ward, and Bull China's attempt at an unlikely passing play to open the scoring comes to nought, when he is tripped up right on half-time.

Both coaches call their charges aside for an enthusiastic last minute pep talk before play restarts. The CDs elect for a KISS approach, with Bug grabbing the ball off the kick-off and getting in behind some team-mates. Bull attacks a troll slayer on the right flank, and that's the direction the cage heads in, after Bullet Proof pushes aside a defender. Bug once again feels a bit vulnerable at the back, and more so seeing Lethal is going mental once again. A dwarf runner tries to step clear to attack Bug, but is tripped up. He twists his ankle in the fall, and his game finishes right there. Hand Grenade widens the hole a bit more by king-hitting a blocker, almost re-arranging his face. The cage is moving ever so slowly down the pitch, but it is moving. A blocker desperately tries to get clear and attack the cage, but is tripped up, and Bug decides that now it's a good time to get moving, and he breaks clear with a couple of players in support. A dwarven blitzer clears one of those rearguard players, and moves up within grabbing distant of Bug. The hobgoblin though is unperturbed, and roughly pushes the dwarf down and races for the line. Another blocker is exerts himself to bring down the escaping hobgoblin, but can't do so, and Bug easily steps away from him to register the sole touchdown for match. The normal dwarves just barely have enough time left to restart play, but there is no point, and the chaos dwarves have registered a hard fought win.

The tournament has ended well for the tainted ones, and they have finished with a 2-2-2 record, which is enough to get them into seventh place. They finished with 9 touchdowns for, 11 against, and 15 casualties for, with 12 against. As it turns out, the Chaos Dwarves become my second team with a NAF rating over 150, just behind my Norse from last year's MOAB.

Right, that's MOAB all taken care of. My next entry shall include games two and three for the Oz Correctional Facility in the SLOBB league.

Ciao!