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Birdmen of Catrazza Teams

Player Pics


Player Icons
Birdman Lineman

Falconer Thrower

Homing Pigeon Catcher

Ballhawk Blitzer

Mechanic

Maneater


Background
The Birdmen of Catrazza are a Tilean group of Dogs of War mercenaries. A very inventive group, they use mechanical wings to gain an aerial advantage over their opponents.

The Birdmen are a fearless band of soldiers that aren't afraid to injure themselves should their opponent meet a worse fate. They will gladly launch themselves straight toward the enemy if it means there is a tactical advantage to be gain. High risk, high reward is what it's all about.

The city of Verezzo houses the Birdmen's primary stadium. It was the home of the great Daddallo, a Tilean genius who invented the mechanical wings that the Birdmen bring to the Blood Bowl pitch.

Rationale
The Catrazza Birdmen are a Blood Bowl team mentioned in the novel Manglers Never Lose.

The team is a Human variant based around using Throw Team-mate and Kick Team-mate on players that are not just Stunty little guys. This is a mostly unexplored space, so caution was applied when determining AG and PA values for the certain pieces. The team is meant to sit solidly in tier 2. Because of the inventive nature of the Birdmen, many of the players have primary access to Mutation skills. If they can learn to use machinery to conquer the skies, they can use it for other things. Furthermore, due to the gliding nature of their mechanical wings, the Swoop trait felt like a given inclusion for the team, and as a result, MA values had to be kept in check (though they often make sense, as the large equipment probably slows them down quite a bit when they aren't actually in the air.)

For the linemen, I elected to give them a MA score of 4 and an AG score of 4. The linemen are not the stars of the team, but in a pinch, throwing or kicking one into an enemy cage can be an option, as they are largely expendable. They also have reasonable armour, so even if they are sacrificed to try to break a cage, they are unlikely to suffer too serious damage.

For the thrower, I wanted to make the positional unique compared to other throwers. The fluff is that the thrower is a falconer, commanding a bird to take care of the actual working. The bird can carry the ball above the clouds, hence Cloud Burster. The bird can fly the ball and drop it during a kick-off, hence the Kick skill. And finally, a real thrower isn't complete without the Pass skill, so it has that as well.

For the catchers, I wanted a more agile piece that would be more likely to land. As a trade-off for the improved AG, the catchers receive the Stunty trait, which for them, is only a negatrait as Swoop negates its traditional function. With Monstrous Mouth and 2+ AG, the catchers are meant to be the primary TTM/KTM targets when attempting to score. They also have the Dodge skill which can help them score clutch OTTD plays. by making 3+ or 4+ dodges through tackle zones after landing on a 2+ or 3+.

For the blitzers, I wanted to differentiate them from the normal Human team by removing their Block access. Instead, like many other pieces on the team, they can take to the skies. They have also sharpened their talons, granting them the Claws skill. The blitzers are able to swoop in, smack an opponent, and soar out of there, hence the inclusion of the Hit and Run trait. In the initial version of the roster, they had Strip Ball instead, but I feel that is better saved as an actual skill-up.

The Mechanic adds a more reliable Kick Team-mate option to the team. While the mechanic is not particularly good at it, the mechanic also does not have Loner and can also be used for other things if needed.

The Maneater is the team's Throw Team-mate option. Though the Maneater is unreliable with Bonehead, it can surprise opponents when it is launched with the help of the Mechanic. The Maneater adds some needed strength to the team and plays into the team's main gimmick of Throw Team-mate.

As a whole, the team has a lot of different tools at its disposal, though it does not necessarily succeed greatly at any one thing. A big principle in the team's design was playing into the inventive aspect of the Birdmen, allowing their contraptions to give them minor edges in a variety of different things.

Roster Changes
- Replaced the Hippogryph with the Maneater, as the Hippogryph did not thematically fit in to the team within Warhammer lore.
- Replaced Strip Ball on the Blitzers with Hit and Run.
- Increased the cost of Team Re-rolls to 70,000.

Roster design by JamesLangley and Kieren.
Background and rationale by JamesLangley.
Player icons by JamesLangley and Kieren.