New Blood Bowl

Blood Bowl...warhammer quest...misfits...it's '96 up in here!

www.belloflostsouls.net/2016/05/warhamme...d-bowl-sighting.html

recalcitrantdaze.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/...-blood-bowl.html?m=1

I'm not sold on these new minis, but now at 32mm I expect to see a lot of these orc minis converted and put in AoS armies and vice versa.

Jeff, do you think the larger scale is better or worse?

Much more tempted by this than WHQ: Age of Sigmar.

Mr. White wrote:
I'm not sold on these new minis, but now at 32mm I expect to see a lot of these orc minis converted and put in AoS armies and vice versa.

Which makes me wonder: is this BB 5th edition going to be "set" in Warhammer Fantasy, or AoS?

drewcula wrote: Jeff, do you think the larger scale is better or worse?

Oh...man...this news has put me in an awkward spot. Get to the personal in a bit.

Business-wise, it's a great move on GW's part. Like I said, these minis are now going to be the same scale as the minis in their AoS and 40K games. Players of those systems are going to have lots of bits to convert and kit-bash with. With the look of their new fantasy line, and players generations past using WFB/40k minis to make bb teams with, I can see a lot of crossover purchases amongst their fans. Great, great move. I'm also reading speculation that the minis themselves will be 28mm, but on 32mm bases...I doubt that as it would kill the crossover purchases.

Honestly, being a grid/square/space based system the size of the minis don't really matter. We aren't using rulers here and measuring base to base or any of that mess. So, ultimately game-play wise...it's a non-issue.

However, this will create two issues that I can tell.

1) Pretty much all the tourneys I've been to, or the game pub I play at from time to time, have the more cafeteria-like sized tables. I have the same in my garage. you can fit a BB board on this with each player playing behind their team. Not only is it the preferred way to play, but it allows more boards (more players) to occupy a table. Sounds like the increase will add about two inches to the board, so we have overhang, which'll be a big problem, or we play sideways meaning fewer players unless the venue gets more tables/space. Here's what I'm talking about and how the existing boards generally fit:


2) I'm starting to cool on tourneys, but regardless the other obvious issue is the aesthetic of the game. Scale is going to be all over the place. How intimidating is my classic 28mm minotaur going to be compared to a 32mm orc? 4mm doesn't sound like a lot, but scale already isn't an exact science and you can see some variance within a size. Add that variance within different scales and the game is going to start looking sort of sloppy, IMO. However, this issue I doubt GW cares much about. They want to sell new figs, not be so concerned on the players who plan to stick to what they have. What scale will the independents start producing at? Tom Anders is already asking that question regarding Impact!.

GW has done us a big favor by not changing the rules from what I understand. The CRP/LRB6/Icepelt is till going to be used. That's great! Oh, they've also asked the NAF and the Cyanide site to pull these rule pdfs down in June. Obvious reason...of all the bits that come in the game the rules are the one they have legal control over. They want to sell the rules in their new game. Also, it sounds like they're splitting the rules up like they did in 3rd and sort of like how DreadBall does it. Base rules with 6 teams in the base set. League rules with some more teams in expansion 1 (DeathZone). So, if you want all the rules in one place (and you do) get them now.

Personally, I'm torn on this new release.
Pros
* I _love_ painting plastic/resin over metal
* The idea of a bunch of double sided themed pitches has me _very_excited.

Cons
* I bet the upcoming forge world, resin teams are going to cost a fortune
* I'm not too keen on the look of the new dice. They remind me of their minis... a bit too busy for my liking. I prefer the simpler iconography of the classic 3rd edition dice.
* footballs with pegs and bases with holes. A neat idea, but I don't want my squad to be on bases with holes in them. Personal style, but i like my minis to look a bit sharper, not like they're standing around gopher holes. I still prefer the 'ball on a ring' method. www.impactminiatures.com/index.php?optio...c_profile&id=TK_GBLS
* I'm also not that into the look of these new teams. The humans look very bland to me and and the orcs all look like tanks. They've also stripped out the GW humor of past eras. I've mentioned Iron Golems before, but they are a company out of Spain that produce 28mm teams (so far, but I'm sure they'll follow the money) that are modern looks of 2nd edition styles. I _much_ prefer the visuals of these teams.

Here's some examples:

dwarves - (hard to, but ignore the beautiful paint job) notice the quilted leather look on the line dwarves which is totally in spirit with the 2nd ed game. Also tons of personality in the team. I love the dwarf giving the 'thumbs down' or the one lighting his cigar with a bomb.


humans and dark elves - to be released this Sept, can be seen here. Again, both keeping very much in the 2nd edition look of their respective teams and have a lot of character:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/irongolems/...-pro-box/description

Plus, there are many other fantastic 28mm teams out there from other companies: Jbone's Slann, Vortice's Undead, Meiko's Skaven and Lizardmen.

So, being a minis painter and really into the aesthetic of the game...I'm at a crossroads. I've mentioned maybe keeping my XBBL league at 28mm since I/we already have so much of it, but if anyone else wants to run a 32mm league it should maybe be a different brand. I dunno though. I don't want to run the risk of becoming a dinosaur and only sticking with what was. At the same time I'm really not that excited about what I've seen in what's coming. However, like a moth to a flame I wouldn't be surprised if I'm lured in by the plastic teams and the various pitches. If I do, that'll have to be a 2017 purchase for me...I went all in on that Iron Golems Pro Box and want to have it painted up before I move onto anything else.

You are like the most reasonable huge fan that has ever existed, Mr. White, kudos.

Also, I 1000% agree on the humor thing being missing in those minis. And the game is so ludicrous that I think it hurts the look to have totally serious fantasy football teams.

I, for one, was hoping that the rules would be revised to produce shorter games. I don't have a lot of BB experience at all, and a friend already has the game, 2nd edition I think. I was considering getting this if it had shorter game time since we never get BB to the table. As it stands we may just stick to playing his. Which we never do.

hotseatgames wrote: I, for one, was hoping that the rules would be revised to produce shorter games. I don't have a lot of BB experience at all, and a friend already has the game, 2nd edition I think. I was considering getting this if it had shorter game time since we never get BB to the table. As it stands we may just stick to playing his. Which we never do.

If you want a shorter game, stay away from 2nd. 3rd, or the new set, is the way to go.

In all actuality, for shorter fantasy/scifi sports I highly suggest...

Double post.

Dreadball does seem very interesting. I'm in no rush. If an opportunity to score a cheap Dreadball comes up, I'll likely take it. I might also wait for that Techno Bowl kickstarter re-launch. Not fantasy, but it seems cool.

The most comprehensive, official word we have at this point regarding all the info from this weekend:

www.thenaf.net/2016/05/warhammerfest-roundup/

Sounds ace and well thought out.

Mr. White wrote: The most comprehensive, official word we have at this point regarding all the info from this weekend:

www.thenaf.net/2016/05/warhammerfest-roundup/

Sounds ace and well thought out.

It looks like there's no reason you'd have to buy into the new scale; everything about the new BB seems like it'll be completely compatible with the old material. Your team just might look a little puny is all.

True and I haven't been won over by any of the concepts except maybe the elves. I amy run 28 and 32 seasons seperately. Play both but not at the same time. It's hard as 32 is the game going forward, and it's likely I may like some future teams, but 28 is awesome and there are already so many quality teams at this scale by fans who have kept the game alive.

Feet in both worlds...

That's the real bummer about the scale change: The 3rd party mini companies are going to have to update all their molds/casts if new BB catches on.

Did someone mention DreadBall? Who wants to play? I have a pitch set up, and I'm ready to go.