So...here we are in BB2020 and cutting our teeth on it. In my case I dabbled with a few other teams for a half dozen games before I remembered "Hey, Skaven can take random mutations...let's try THAT" and so I did. But how did it go and what did I learn?

First things first - BB2020 and starting a new team is brutal. I was like the pilot of a propeller plane in a snowstorm flying by instruments which were in fact outdated Post-it notes. Skaven are actually one of the more forgiving starting rosters though, in that you can configure the team to your liking from the very start and not compromise on Team Rerolls, Positionals and Apo. That was heartening after slapping together some busted-ass Elves and getting smooshed over and over. Just a small comment but the propensity for MNGs and Niggling Injuries really sucks if they hit some of your Positionals simultaneously. Did not enjoy that.

So when I started playing Camembert Chasers CD, I had a loose sketch of what I would do.

1. Gather a lot of rats to not be forced to rely on loners and dish out fouls to keep others...honest. Yeah, let's say honest. Also to have some kind of 'base' to roll skills on for Season 2 for the skills like Dirty Player and Kick.

2. Hold off on skill selection until forced to. If I hit the limit in season, here's the rough guideline I used.

Gutter Runners (Random Mutation, Block unless Horns or Two Heads - then Wrestle)
Storm Vermin (Random Mutation, Mutation Synergizer/Tackle/Guard)
Throwers (Random Mutation, Block)
Rat Ogre (Select Block, Random Mutation) The order doesn't matter because Random Secondary+Selected Secondary is equal cost to Selected Secondary+Random Secondary. I just preferred it this way.
Linerats (Dirty Player or Kick)

3. See who is worth keeping at the End of the Season.


I went through 19 players and of that 19 only one is a lock to make the Season 2 roster:

*Stone Cold Lock*

Parmigiano Reggiano I (Prehensile Tail, Block)

He really became the workhorse of the team and in the final game of the season put up a team and personal best of 4 Touchdowns. At 18 SPP I took a Random Mutation first and then Block. Now he's primed to enter Season 2 with another skill and deciding on what that skill will be is up for debate. I'm leaning Side Step since he's Diving Tackle is not that far away and getting hit off the ball or ball carrier is ezpz, still.

Up next are my fallen contender players. They showed some flair and panache and got the skills to show it but...had to retire due to injuries that put them at on pitch disadvantage.

*Fallen Contenders*

Raclette I (Block, Tentacles)

This guy was terrible at first. In his 2nd game he hit 3d6 Both Downs on two separate turns. Getting him up to 16 SPP was a task in itself which came with several game losing Blocks. By stroke of luck, when he finally went over SPP Limit, he accrued 20 SPP and could Select Secondary Skill and Random Mutation in any order. In the future I might take Block ASAP because Rat Ogres are so bad without it. Even with it they're bad, mauling your other rats off the pitch on occasion to be 'useful'. Animal Savagery is brutal!

So you might notice that he rolled Tentacles. Tentacles and Prehensile Tail actually is nice to have as it covers two parts of little weaklings Dodging away from you. They're not synergistic exactly (that would be Shadowing and Tentacles or Prehensile Tail and Diving Tackle) but on more than one occasion both skills came in individually useful for subverting a Dodge out of TZ.

I like Rat Ogres out of spite...I like getting CAS and SPP no matter how ugly, stupid and game losing it might be. Don't be like me if you value some shreds of sanity.

Queso Fresco I (Block, Monstrous Mouth)

Skaven Throwers are the Ultimate Farmers so far. It is dead-basic to pickup the ball and pass to a Gutter Runner and I know, why roll dice you don't have to? Look, GW massacred Passing by forcing the skills to conform to the schema of '12 Skills per Skill Category' but I'll be damned if I'm not going to take a player that has action-based reroll skills built into them. It's ~72% chance to farm 1 SPP with a Thrower on Turn 1 (3+ w/ SH, 2+ w/ Pass, 2+ Catch w/o Catch) and I will take that all day every day.

I basically farmed him up to 18 SPP and rolled Monstrous Mouth and took Block. Monstrous Mouth? How redundant with Sure Hands! But if farming with Throwers is a goal, this actually would have added 400 basis points of farming potential to (3+ w/ SH, 2+ w/ Pass, 2+ Catch w/o Catch) by making it (3+ w/ SH, 2+ w/ Pass, 3+ Catch w/ Catch) for another Thrower on the team.

He did his job, did it well, and was struck down with -AG before he could support another Thrower, alas.

Next up is the cohort of:

*Thanks For Your Time, Weirdo*

Myzithra I
Kasseri I

They got to at least 18 SPP but their Random Mutation was...well...not on the shortlist of ones I wanted. Kasseri I with Ironhard Skin is especially useless so he won't be coming back. Myzithra I with Disturbing Presence was mildly intriguing but the couple of times it was invoked didn't add up to carrying over to Season 2. If a similar player developed over the course of a season, I would let them ride it out for those couple of times Disturbing Presence might be invoked or make the other coach second guess but, not worth accruing a season for or plunging Rebuy into.

That's all pretty basic stuff after walking through "Which players with skills are worth keeping?" Just the one...I am not exactly thrilled with that.

But there are other players to consider and this is where things get slightly more interesting and I haven't decided on what to do. Until I roll for Niggling Injuries and Redraft Retired Players (the Rat Ogre hangs in the balance on this!), I'm not sure on what I will do with specific players but here is the guideline I am thinking of.

Gutter Runners: Cut if under 6 SPP to take Block. Otherwise keep and develop, taking Random Mutation for next Skill.

Storm Vermin: Carry highest SPP to next Season, cut other. Select Primary Skill. The rationale is that at least 1 Storm Vermin with Tackle or Guard to start the next season gives you a little bit of room to develop a fresh Storm Vermin.

Thrower: Cut All. They're gonna Skill, if you Will. No need to pay a premium of 20k to grow on the previous season's SPP haul. They either hit 18 SPP or they don't.

Rat Ogre: Select Block if possible, carry. If Select Block not possible, cut and start over. As bad as Block Rat Ogre is, taking the time to develop one sucks and hitting the ground running with just a bad Rat Ogre is better than a stupendously bad Rat Ogre. If you can get the SPP to nab the Random Mutation for a 2nd roll quickly, then you can kick the can on what to do so long as they live. Or just never take one and spare yourself the cluster headaches.

Linerats: Carry highest two SPP over 6 SPP, after first game of season 2, Select Dirty Player, Kick. Cut rest. You just need these two to start next season and can put this regime on infinite repeat. I really don't know if Linerats will ever enjoy the delicious Warpstone-infused cheese to roll for Random Mutations. Mutations are cool because they synergize with other skills and actions but a Linerat has a helluva time getting a synergizer skill from General in the first place. And they die in droves, secondly. And they're basic as hell jobbers, thirdly. If I have to worry about a Linerat hitting 18 SPP, I'll let everyone know, rest assured.

So basically, my team at the start of next season would consist of

1 Season Gutter Runner w/ Block, Prehensile Tail, Side Step @ 145K + 20k Rehire Fee
1 Season Storm Vermin w/ Tackle or Guard @ 110K + 20 Rehire Fee
1 Season Linerat w/o Skills @ 50k + 20 Rehire Fee

Rookie Gutter Runner @ 85k
Rookie Gutter Runner @ 85k
Rookie Gutter Runner @ 85k
Rookie Storm Vermin @ 90k
Rookie Storm Vermin @ 90k
Rookie Thrower @ 85K
Rookie Thrower @ 85k
Rookie Rat Ogre @ 150K
Rookie Linerat @ 50k
Rookie Linerat @ 50k

2 Rerolls @ 50K

1320 TV

I have 1340 in Rebuy

Alternatively I could delay the Storm Vermin in getting Guard till after Game 1 of Season 2 and take 3 rerolls. Or use treasury.

Regardless, this is a look at how I did the Season 1 of Skaven Chaos Theory and where I'll start with Season 2. I am probably going to make adjustments to when I select Skills, taking Random Mutation+Block @ 14 SPP immediately, rather than being forced into it by hitting SPP Limit @ 18 SPP. I just wanted to leave the possibility open to taking a Characteristic on a whim and it never hit me. I really don't think it wise to just take Random Mutations ASAP because then they're still an easily knocked down smooshy rat who then doesn't even get to use their mutation. By delaying to 14 SPP, you don't carry the TV of a barely useful mutation on its own, and when you finally do get one, when paired with Block, there's more of a chance of being upright and to get to deploy the skill on the pitch no matter what it is.

One thing that struck me along the way is that mutations don't really hit their stride until you can synergize them with other skills, so that by and large means it'll be the 3rd or 4th skill before you can maximize their utility on the pitch, provided they're worth a damn in the first place. Iron Hard Skin is not worth a damn. Even with the Prehensile Tail+Block Gutter Runner, he's only going to be the best he can be when he gets to his 4th Skill with Diving Tackle and by the Grace of Nuffle, he might get there.

Skaven are blessed though that their Positionals have a breadth of Primary Skill selection to Synergize with so it may be in due time that Skaven Chaos Theory might work as I hope it does. As is, it worked out to an 8/2/5 record with me as coach.

Edit: I did decide on things, actually.