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Witch Hunters (Cult of Sigmar) Teams

Player Pics

Icons
Zealots

Flagellants

Warrior Priests

Witch Hunters

Sigmar's Anvil


Background
The Cult of Sigmar is one of the biggest religious sects found throughout The World. Originating in Altdorf, the Church of Sigmar grew in power throughout the age of war and into the modern age of Blood Bowl. Every town and city throughout the Empire and many throughout The World dedicate their wealth to the Church of Sigmar, world renowned for their work - cleansing The World of daemons, mutants and the undead.

Needless to say as Blood Bowl became ubiquitous so too did Cult of Sigmar teams. The Church of Sigmar started funneling their fortune in training their fanatical followers in the art of Blood Bowl. Teams were formed - led by the indomitable Warriors Priests, flanked by fanatical Flagellants and starring the revered Witch Hunter.

In their formative years they were known as the Cult of Sigmar Teams, but over time most fans simply called them Witch Hunters partly in reference to the star players of the teams that go by the same name but mostly due to the sects reputation. The more matches the Cult of Sigmar played the more their fanatical reputation grew. Greenskins, mutants, daemons and the undead were all purged with the same holy fire.

Rationale
When designing this roster it was important that this roster represent the Cult of Sigmar even though we elected to call it Witch Hunters because it sounds more interesting and characterful. The 'race name' though is really interchangeable as they are intrinsically linked. The team is largely based on the background found in the Tome of Salvation that really delves deep into the lore of the different cults found in the world. Also the background found in Mordheim. Though the Blood Bowl world is obviously different in many ways, it is clearly a mirror of the Warhammer world in terms of race background and characteristics, especially the background found in 3rd edition Warhammer through to 6th edition.

The naming convention of all the players came from the two aforementioned sources, though most notably Mordheim. Zealots were clearly analogous to Linemen. They are poorly armoured, and equipped so Av7 is fitting. They do not need any skills as their background does not call for it.

Flagellants are such a key part of the Empire and the Cult of Sigmar lore so they needed to be something of a focal point of the team. I considered having a number of ball and chain players to represent them at first, but this didn't feel quite right even though the Mordehim models for Flagellants invoke this imagery. The problem with making them all ball and chain players is the roster would be too Secret Weapon heavy and too focused around cheating which isn't really that fitting for the Cult of Sigmar. It also didn't feel right when looking at how Flagellants function in Warhammer Fantasy Battle. A more fitting stat line was the one selected i.e. a basic human albeit poorly armoured (Av7), with a fanatical frenzied nature - hence the inclusion of Frenzy. This was much closer to the source material in terms of their background and abilities even though some of the models do look like ball and chain players. They gained Strength access for a few reasons - firstly because their background supported this inclusion (being shock infantry, ferocious damage dealers etc...). The Strength access was also important from a balance and inclusion point of view: Without it I wouldn't expect many coaches would take more than 1 in a team, with Strength access is gives the low armoured player some development potential and added Guard and Mighty Blow in the long run which is all important in "versatile teams" development path, and also makes them the team's Blitzers in Blood Bowl terms.

Warrior Priests were added next again sticking to the naming convention found in Mordheim. These fill the role of Blockers in the roster. Providing the team with Block representing their martial prowess and also their defensive capabilities. They were given Av9 representing their huge, bulky, blessed plate armour and Fend to represent their defensive capabilities, helping them fend off attackers and remain free to out manoeuvre any aggressors. They are the leaders of the team, holding the line while the Witch Hunters take all the glory and acclaim.

Sigmar's Anvil is not an anvil as the name may suggest to some. They were given this name by the cult as they are the most crazed and devoted Flagellants in the cult, devoted to purifying the world. They wield great maces used for inflicting unspeakable pain upon themselves and any opponent that would cross their path. I wanted a Ball and Chain player to feature in the roster as it is such an iconic part of the Flagellant look, and the Anvils were the perfect way to represent this, fitting the look of the Flagellants found in Mordheim perfectly and adding to the fanatical themes running through the team.

The final player added to the roster was the Witch Hunters themself. Acting as the teams Runners in a similar style to those found in Norse teams i.e. the runner acting as something of a secondary Blitzer. Adding Stab and Stakes to the player was an obvious decision due to their purifying nature, background and the stakes found throughout their artwork and miniatures. They needed to be quite a special player so Ma7 was a must, giving the team the ability to score quickly, Av8 felt appropriate as they are well equiped but need to remain mobile. I gave them Block as a starting skill again to help them stand out as the real stars of the team and give the team the punch it needs at rookie level. Finally I decided to give the player GA access only, as any more S access in the team would potentially be too much, also starting with Block, Stab and Stakes gives them enough hitting ability to repsent their skills as devout hunters. GA skill access is enough to help describe their unqiue skill set both defensively, offensively and as the stars of the team, especially when coupled with their starting stats and skills.

Season 4 Changes The roster is performing pretty well, above what I believe is their true ability, with only 170 games played and a win percentage of 57.65% this suggests the team is possibly too good. Though really its too few games to play, and anecdotally the consensus is the team is quite soft. I have given the Flaggelants Thick Skull for free as it fits thematically and even with this small buff I believe we will see the teams win percentage decrease this year.

Team design by Garion, and the CIBBL team
Rationale and background by Garion
Player pics by
Icons by Kingmad