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Monday, September 22, 2014

Chaos Cup 2014 - A Very Chaotic Recap: Part 2

Saturday of the Chaos Cup. Began early with some breakfast and then right into the pre-registration madness of the main room. This year 94 coaches showed up to play 2 days of Blood Bowl and set a new North America attendance record for NAF tournaments! Of course all of this excitement was nothing compared to my team being on table 1!!


Of course that didn't last very long as the first round matchups were announced and I packed up my Ogres and headed down south to table 30 something for the first game of the day.

Game 1 vs Skaven (Darkstar70)

Darkstar70 and I last met up at Headbanger's Ball where the Bullies took home the casualty award and he vowed vengeance after losing to them naming me as his Grudge Match for ZlurpeeBowl X. Sadly he wasn't able to make it due to severe illness so this was the unintentional replacement game and he was out for blood! Ogres vs Skaven is always a hard matchup for the Ogre coach and this game was no different. 

 
The game started in perfect weather with the rats receiving the kickoff with a quick snap. First blitz of the game is on Dribblesnot the bomber who gets knocked down on a one die block and then knocked out of the game. The following push by the rats had a gutter runner fumbling the ball but managing to kill a snotling before scoring on turn 3. The ogres got the ball back on the return kick but a riot broke out in the stands and forcing the Bullies to lose a turn. After spending a few turns dropping the ball the ogres kill a blitzer but fail to protect the ball and allow a gutter runner to score (by letting the rat make a dodge into 3 tackle zones to pick up the ball and then dodge out twice) on turn 6. A last ditch effort to throw a snotling into the backfield fails and the first half ends with the Skaven leading the score 2-0 but down on players. 

Second half has the Bullies receiving the kick off  with a chainsaw on the pitch. A quick blitz by the chainsaw weilding madgoblin killed a linerat and a snotling decides to follow up that excitement by falling on his face. The nearby gutter runner dodges 5 times and picks up the ball in 3 tackle zones. Meanwhile two of the Bullies decide to do nothing for the turn leaving only the chainsaw blitz to keep the rats from scoring again. After taking own the ball carrier the ball lands in the hands of a nearby snotling who had already moved for the turn and out in the open with no assists. After being smashed and killed by a blitzer the snotling hands him the ball and allows him to score on turn 2. The Bullies get the kick (again) and focus on crushing the one shirtless linerat who still remains on the pitch (his name was Shirtless Steve). Meanwhile a snotling picks up the ball and goes for it to be in position for throw teammate on the next turn. After keeping the rats in the backfield the snotling with the ball is thrown successfully but lands 1 square away from being able to score. The following turn has the rats crushing the snotling holding the ball sending it into the stands where the fans throw it deep into the Bullies backfield. With time almost up for the round the Bullies spend their last turn killing Shirtless Steve and then dropping the ball again. 

Final result - 0-3 (Casualty 4-3) LOSS

Overall a great game with a lot of action on both sides of the pitch. The Bullies did great on the Bonehead front but couldn't keep enough rats off the pitch to get a score in. This was also the only game of the tournament I didn't finish due to time being called. No idea what might have happened in the last 3 turns but I like to think I would have killed some more rats if nothing else. With this loss I was kind of excited to go to the bottom tables where I could play teams that were better suited to the Ogres (and not a top tier team like Skaven). 


Game 2 vs Nurgle (droachmega)

Coach droachmega and I had not played before but we did have a conversation about Nurgle in tournament play at ZlurpeeBowl X so I kind of knew what to expect from his roster when I sat down for this match. Another hard match for Ogres but at least the Bullies should be able to keep up with the Nurgle movement unlike Skaven. Also his team looked awesome!


Game started in perfect weather with Nurgle getting the kickoff but the turn ends quickly when a pestigor drops the ball in the backfield. Snotlings surge forward through tentacles and tackle zones to base the ball and put pressure on the rotting chaos players. Eventually the nurgle players push the snotlings away and get the ball moving up and forming a cage. Meanwhile the nearby bomber begins throwing bombs into the cage and knocks down the ball carrier but also knocks out a nearby snotling forcing a turn over. Nurgle warriors push forward to pressure the bomber and cause him to fumble his next bomb but he still hits the ball carrier again and knocks it loose. Finally a pestigor manages to grab the ball and break away on the sidelines after a turn of some critical failed bonehead rolls and failed GFI from the bomber attempting to base the ball carrier again. Turn 5 the pestigor scores after a snotling fails his dodge to blitz the ball carrier. The half ends with the Bullies killing a rotter. 

The second half started with the Bullies getting the kick off with their chainsaw on the field in Very Sunny weather. After fumbling the ball in the backfield for a couple turns a snotling gets the ball and hands it off to an ogre to run in for a score. Sadly he spends his next turn being a bonehead and then double skulls a blitz block to get away from the nearby nurgle players. Meanwhile the nurgle players are pushing up on the ball, knocking snotlings out of the game, and being hacked apart by the chainsaw. After another two turns of failing to pick up the ball an ogre picks up the ball in 2 tackle zones, dodges out, and passes the ball to a snotling receiver in the end zone who catches it to score for the tie. 

Final result - 1-1 (Casualty 4-6) TIE

Another fun game with a lot of strange action ending in one of those "crazy plays" you hear about from other coaches. With the odds stacked against the Bullies they managed to pull out a tie in the last turn and keep themselves from a total goose egg record for the tournament. 



Game 3 vs Amazons (Whigwam)

Another game and another coach I had never played before! Whigwam had just recently started playing Blood Bowl and this was his first major tournament/event which explained while his Tier 1ish team was so low on the tables but didn't make it any easier a matchup for the Bullies.

The game started with the amazon players receiving the kick off in the pouring rain and still manage to quickly pick up the ball and form a cage. Meanwhile the Bullies threw three different three die blocks and get nothing but pushes. On the next turn the amazon cage moves up and the ogres take the opportunity to take out a linewoman and then throw a snotling into the cage and stun the ball carrier. The amazons scramble back into position with the ball and the ogres follow up by piling on the cage. With plenty of dodges the cage moves to the sidelines where it stalls and is swarmed by snotlings who keep the amazons from scoring while allowing some additional blocks and casualties before the end of the half. Snotling wall prevails!!


Second half the ball is kicked all the way into the Bullies endzone but does not bounce out. The chainsaw gets bribed back into the game but is immediately taken out of the game after being knocked out by a amazon blitzer. The ogres spend the next 3 turns attempting to pick up the ball and fumbling it while the bomber keeps the amazons at bay with his explosive passes. Enraged and wanting to score the amazons send their start blitzer in with two 4+ dodges to take him out of the game with a successful one die block (on a blodger). The ball is loose and a snotling attempts to move it into a better position by falling on it but kills himself in the process. After spending the last two turns being boneheaded the ogres fail to help pick up the ball and the amazons score on their turn 8.

Final result - 0-1 (Casualty 6-3) LOSS

Another fun game with plenty of fouls, fails, and carnage. I had hoped for a tie or even a win in this game but the dice went south quickly in the second half and the pouring rain didn't do them any favors either. 
Game 4 vs Pro Elves (Jeffro)

In the final match of the day I found myself meeting Coach Jeffro for the first time. Astute D&M readers may remember Jeffro as the brewer of the appropriately named Zlur-piss beer that was made for the tenth anniversary of ZlurpeeBowl. Heck I even reviewed it here on the site! We met at the bottom tables and played on the very nicely crafted pitch of Amateur Hour's very own Mattias Darrow who I met and played last year at Chaos Cup. He also gave me a beer to review here on the site! Thanks Mattias! Expect to see your beer reviewed here soon.Once Jeffro and I met and I told him about the site and review he demanded we drink some more Zlur-piss in celebration of the momentous occasion! Not sure if it was his excitement, or part of his plan to distract me, but the celebration was cut short when the Zlur-piss exploded out of the bottles and all over us (but not on your board Mattias - we kept it pristine!!). 


The game started with the elves receiving the ball in perfect weather. After the kick the elves quickly scooped up the ball and moved to the line where they were quickly swarmed by snotlings. Of course being elves that doesn't stop them from easily passing to a catcher in the ogre backfield and running in to score on turn 3 after all three ogres go bonehead at the same time. On the return kick the ball goes out of bounds and into the hands of an ogre which causes a riot in the stands. Meanwhile the chainsaw is brought in to cut up a few elves and the ogres stumble up the field but the ball carrier falls down on a GFI allowing the elves to pick it up and score again on turn 6. Another kick off and another riot makes the half end quickly with the ogres not leading in casualties nor touchdowns.


Second half starts with the Bullies getting the ball but the fans in the stands freak out again and start yet another riot (the third one in a row!!!). A snotling actually manages to get the ball and hand it off to another snotling who breaks away into the backfield and stall while being screened by other snotlings. The Bullies use the extra turns to chainsaw, bomb, and hit the elves who prove to be a little too resilient. On turn 7 the snotling with the ball finally gets hit after several failed attempts and dodges but doesn't manage to hold up to the hit and drops the ball into the crowd. The game ends with a few more hits and fouls but nothing notable for either team.

Final result - 0-2 (Casualty 3-2) LOSS

A really fun game and even though I could have scored with the snotling I don't regret my choice to hit elves in the head instead. 

And with the spilled beers, crushed snotlings, and no wins the day ended with the Bullies tied for the Most Casualties award (at 17) with a Norse team playing towards the top tables. What was in store for the ogres on day two? Find out soon in the third and final part of the Chaotic Recap.