“Grotty Little Tournament X - Old Teams I Qualifier: Finals

"This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown." -Rorschach

This match was full of danger from the very beginning. Rat Dynasty had multiple scoring threats, many of them capable of notching touchdowns in a single turn. Watchmen Philosophy had to rely on the power of their defense if they were to keep the skaven honest.

Even though they were billed as a finesse team, Rat Dynasty came out of the gate swinging in the very first turn. Bruce badly hurt Hooded Justice on the line of scrimmage, piling on top of him and sending the stalwart hero limping to the sideline. The skaven followed up by overloading the right flank and sending their receivers into scoring position. Watchmen Philosophy answered with a whimper on their first turn, with Mothman putting up double skulls followed by a weak push on the reroll. No thunderous hit on the first go, but a long match lay ahead for both teams.

With condolences already being offered, the rat ogre Trench took his own shot at blocking and matched Mothman's futility with his own pair of skulls. The loner hadn't trained with the team properly however, and a wasted reroll left the skaven badly exposed.

Mothman wasted no time in taking care of Hammer and forcing the use of the apothecary in turn 3. From that point forward there would be no reprieve.

Grail swung the ball to the left flank and Trench rode shotgun with him as Nite Owl was blitzed clear of Bruce. Helios tried to join his comrades along the sidelines, but a failed dodge left him on the turf as his teammates stood in the tackle zones of multiple defenders. While none of the blocks had the desired effect, Dr. Manhattan and The Comedian paired up to assist the diminutive Big Figure in putting a boot to Slick, one of the one-turn scoring threats. Amidst the groans of a well-placed shot to the groin, Grail was sent to the medical tent for the remainder of the game.

Wasting no further time in getting the first touchdown under their belts, the coach for Rat Dynasty ordered Grail to the endzone. The nimble gutter runner was happy to oblige, scampering across the line midway through the half for the first tally of the match.

Watchmen Philosophy 0, Rat Dynasty 1.

At the start of turn 4, Hollis Mason and Sally Jupiter took care of business on the line of scrimmage, securing knockouts of both skaven linemen opposing them. Mothman had the game changing hit however, as he badly hurt the imposing rat ogre Trench, turning the tide for Watchmen Philosophy.

With the ball securely in the possession of Ozymandias, Watchmen Philosophy began their advance. The team goal became the elimination of Grail as a scoring threat, but very little was achieved in that regard. Only Big Figure managed to land a solid hit, notching another casualty for the Watchmen in turn 7.

Ozymandias dove over the goal line as the whistle blew to end the half, bringing the score level as both teams headed into the locker room to regroup.

Watchmen Philosophy 1, Rat Dynasty 1.

The second half began with ten players able to take the field for the Watchmen and only nine for Rat Dynasty. Nite Owl and Sally Jupiter took care of knocking out two of the remaining defenders, with Sally Jupiter eliminating the threat posed by the dangerous skaven blitzer Bruce.

The onslaught continued as Watchmen Philosophy proceeded to advance the ball up the field. Helios, the other skaven blitzer, was brought low by Mothman, but Spike fended off a blitz by Sally Jupiter with a pair of skulls. Several turns passed as the heroes of Watchmen Philosophy gave chase to the gutter runners, but eventually Mothman managed to reel in Hammer in turn 6. No more would Hammer roam the arenas of Blood Bowl.

After grinding away for the entire half, Ozymandias finally walked the ball into the endzone on turn 8, leaving Rat Dynasty one final opportunity to score. Grail still hung in with his comrades on the pitch and hope sprung eternal in the hearts of the skaven fans.

Watchmen Philosophy 2, Rat Dynasty 1.

After a high kick was muffed, Spike managed to pick up the ball and hand it off to Grail. The tiny hearts of the assembled vermin were all in their throats, as the star momentarily flubbed the transfer. Grail recovered, however, and began to make tracks for the endzone. Past the 40, the 30, the 20 and the 10 he dodged and juked. He dodged once past Captain Metropolis, once past Sally Jupiter, but on his final attempt she managed to barely clip his heel as he sprinted for paydirt.

A collective sigh of relief was heard from the Watchmen fans as they celebrated their team's victory. It was whispered among them that there was no road to the Main Draw of the Grotty Little Tournament more difficult than theirs - and the pundits were left to debate the merits of that statement.

Final score: Watchmen Philosophy 2, Rat Dynasty 1.

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Thanks for a hard fought match, Rat_Salat. Those dangerous gutter runners are going to prove to be game winners time and time again. I count myself fortunate that the dice were against you this day, because your game play was excellent. Here's hoping we meet again on the pitch.
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