FUMBBL, the online Blood Bowl league

DLE is in the final stages of the season 14, so that means playoffs and then the Draft.

The league is looking to recruit one, possibly two coaches, and then for interested coaches who might want to join the reserve list.

For all about the DLE, please see our group page here.

DLE is a draft league with custom rules, so at the end of season, a coach gets to pick from a pool of players to be added to his squad for the coming season, to hopefully give a boost to teams which had a rough season.

We have customisable teams icons and great friendly discord.

Its a great group of coaches, committed to 10 day rounds with divisional rivalries and year end awards, all based on NFL style league play.

Season is almost over, so it's a great opportunity to take over a team and shape it for the start of next season, through trades with other coaches and the upcoming Draft.

If you are interested or want to know a bit more, feel free to ask here, msg me or find me on discord.

Cheers

BigF

Oh! Oh! We're SOO close on that High Brawl. Sure the Low Brawl is closer... but that High Brawl is so much rarer!

Went out in the semis this morning to Tussock. Was a really good game and well worth a watch if you haven't seen it. I mainly wanted to post this blog to firstly say thanks to the Fumbbl staff and Christer for continuing to organise tournaments and run the site in general and secondly to say how much I enjoyed this particular major. Over the last couple of years, I haven't really enjoyed playing tournaments. It was starting to feel like just another game and often like a chore to schedule it, to the point where I didn't enter the Ulthuan in March, the first major I had missed in about 15 years. But in the Fumbbl Cup, for the first time in years, I was excited about playing each match and had the adrenaline pumping as each game kicked off, and had to actively try and control it. That hasn't happened for at least five years and believe me, it's a great feeling. I'm not entirely sure why it went in the first place or why it came back, but I'd certainly missed it. I'm happy with how I played this tourney. I don't think there's anything in particular I would change -sometimes it just doesn't go your way. I'm really looking forward to the ones in 2024. Long live Fumbbl

The monthly Tournament Director blog for November is out:

https://www.thenaf.net/2023/11/tournament-director-blog-november-2023/

Read all about NAF tournament related events and news and learn how DrClaes built his own biomass power plant to run Fumbbl on his PC throughout the subarctic winter.

what do people thing about morg coz i know that mb+2 is op but 380k cost is its own "really stupid" or "bone head".
i just think that if you are 380k down then you need a morg to help!
also deeproot he is only 280k but ma2 is also its own debuff he is like a ma 2 morg as assists are easy to do on most stunties

After the excitement of his debut season in the DLE, we sat down with Coach Wilson of the Übersreik Unicorns to discuss his thoughts on the season, hopes for the next year, and controversial approach to the cult of Nuffle.

The Daily Relation met with the rookie coach in a smoky, wood-panelled back room of The Red Moon Inn, in the heart of the Teubrücke district. The booth we occupy is cosy and secluded, away from the busy ranks of plotting adventurers and tipsy patrons one can expect in such an establishment. The landlord has kindly donated two flagons of Eisbog for our enjoyment.



DAILY RELATION (DR): Coach, you've only recently joined the ranks of the DLE. What do you think you can bring to the league the other coaches cannot?

COACH WILSON (CW): Thanks for having me. Well, I will have to pull you up on that straight away. I don't propose to be able to bring any unique insight or expereince into this wonderful league. All I can offer is hard work and dedication to improving the team. If that ruffles some feathers, then so be it.

DR: You set out at the first press conference, when you were unveiled as the new Unicorns head coach that your goal was simply to improve on last season's dead-last finish. You have accomplished that so what do you think helped you achieve that?

CW: I believe I said that I wanted to do that first but there is no ceiling to my ambitions with this team. We have some absolutely world-class talent, that are the envy of other franchises. Bruno Giza, Thomas Leboucher, BJ Hill, Ottmar Wirt, to name a few. With the my direction, tactics, and playbook, they could soon hit their stride and then who knows where we might end up.

DR: Would you class your first season as a success then?

CW: Absolutely not. We accomplished what we set out to do but there is so much more to go. We lost some good men and have to work hard to replace them and players like Carlos Torrosa and Rafa Brigante are yet to perform regularly. I don't mind saying that publicly as I have said the same to them in the locker room.

DR: So you are not afraid of confrontation?

CW: I never said that.

DR: So you tell it like it is?

CW: Look, I didn't say that either. I will admit that I am honest with the players and I don't hold my tongue when something needs saying.

DR: The league can attest to that with the number of sendings off you have suffered on the sidelines...

CW: Those referees can f--... They do a tough job. I appreciate them when they get the tough calls right. As I said, I don't hold my tongue, and that might upset some people.

DR: You very openly stated that you had turned from the sacred church of Nuffle during the season. Can you explain what caused this apostasy?

CW: No, it was only mild arrhythmia. The doc said I would be fine if I got some rest...

DR: No, no, apostasy. It means to reject a religion or belief.

CW: If you saw the games against the Universe and the Cascade, you would seriously doubt the existence of a higher being, I bet. We got the absolute worst luck in those games despite the team putting in 110%. We only really balanced things out in the infirmary...

DR: Yes, on that, you appear to have embraced another deity. Can you explain your conversion?

CW: Listen, buddy, I'm all man - I have a wife you know...

DR: No, conversion of beliefs. You laid a wreath at the Khorne Monument before one match, did you not?

CW: No, no, you're mistaken. It wasn't a wreath, it was a bow of entrails torn from a wild gorepig and damned by a blood cult priestess. Totally different thing. But, yes, I did it and, in many games, it worked.

DR: More than that, I'd say. Your team inflicted the highest average casualties of 3 per game this season. Is this a tactic you can continue to use?

CW: We were hoping for more but our opponents' have gotten smart to it, in latter games. And apothecaries are not as hit-and-miss as they were when I was a player. But, yes, the plan is very much still to kill, maim, or wound as many opponents as we can before we worry too much about the scoreline.

DR: Does that mean your ambitions for the new season don't account for making the play-offs?

CW: You're putting words in my mouth again. I want the Unicorns to win the whole deity-damned thing but, to do that, we need to harden up, toughen up, and get our elbows dirty.

DR: Don't you mean 'hands'?

CW: Not if you do it properly. Look, I love to see a fair eleven versus eleven as much as the next fan, but, as a coach, I want to see eight of my guys gather round a prostrate lineman and give him sixteen of the best hobnail kisses. If the cost of conceding is too high, our opponents will have to back off before we fill their dugouts with corpses.

At that, we take a pause in this two-part interview and will bring you a discussion about Coach Wilson's playing career in next week's issue.

"Good evening, sports fans! Tonight's main game was again marred by technical difficulties, but please don't hold that against the two teams involved- we think that our tech team might have been enjoying one too many Bloodweisers before the game."

"It won't happen again if I have anything to do with it- lousy gits."

"We can only hope, Bob. Moving on from the technical problems, we find out that the teams playing tonight are High Elves and Dwarves."

"That's one of the biggest rivalries there is."

"Indeed, and it gave us an absolute barn-burner of a match- I urge you to watch it on Blood Bowl Game Pass."

"You aren't going to give up shilling that thing any time soon, are you?"

"Not whilst they're picking up my dry-cleaning bill."

"Blood's a git to get out, I guess."

"You said it. The luckless Frostholm Dragons- fresh off scoring their first SCBBL touchdown last time out- were quite simply not up to task in the first half, shipping three touchdowns and scoring none of their own."

"That's a steep hill to climb back up, Jim."

"Indeed, and despite the best efforts of their Blitzer Grymwold Ironbeard it proved too hard a climb- they shipped two more touchdowns by game's end for a final scoreline of 5-1."

"That'd be some sort of SCBBL record, surely?"

"I'll have to consult with the Guild Of Statisticians, but I think you might be right."

"Prince Endricharoi must be fuming."

"Not necessarily- the touchdown the Dragons scored has lifted them off the bottom of the league, and the team they replaced are one of their remaining opponents."

"Well, I guess it's just like the old saying goes- the league's a marathon, not a sprint."

"Wise words, Bob. Wise words..."

As a preamble I feel the need to state something obvious, that nevertheless is often disregarded or outright denied by rookies and veterans alike. Facing something bigger can be daunting, and it's important to not give up in advance or carelessly bring a Chainsaw.

Almost any "bad" matchup, one where there is a disparity in roster strength, level of development, call it what you like, can be won with a combination of coaching skill, carefully chosen inducements and, yes, luck.

While we have no way to accurately measure or improve coaching skill, and without a FUMBBL Platinum account there is no way to improve your luck, there are many suboptimal ways to choose inducements. I originally wrote this rundown for my tabletop league, here is a loose translation and expansion of it for the general English-speaking public.

What inducements should you pick? Let's do it in broad terms, any leftover amount between 20K and 40K can be spent on assistant coaches and/or the weather mage.

I won't delve into Stunties too much because they have slightly different decisions to make and some near-obligatory picks, like bribes, chef, and rookies.

50k: it's a beer, or if your team can have them on the cheap you can take a bribe. Or Cindy. Lucky you.

100k: here there is a bit more of a choice. For 100k you can take a bribe, or two beers, or an extra apo or reroll. All have their merits depending on the matchup. If you have a long bench or high armour you should not worry too much about getting hurt. If your opponent is tough or numerous, fouling might not be the best strategy.

Some teams may have access to Fungus. Ball and chain is fun and all that, but it is a tricky piece to use. I have written about it before, the short version is that you have to be paranoid with them. Never end the turn basing someone. Never leave a prairie around the fanatic. Always roll three dice blocks.

Akhorne can be good too, as a surf threat and a can opener. Remember that he has the durability of a snotling.

Finally, consider Mercenaries. They can be useful in the right conditions.

150k: Wizard! Now we are talking!
Everyone is afraid of it. You should use it as a sacking threat on your defense drive. Fireball can open up a cage while zap can bounce the ball off a low strength carrier. An unused wizard can condition the way the opponent plays, so choose your timing wisely.

200k+
From here onwards we can get creative. Many stars with a price tag above this amount are very interesting.

First of all, you should favour the stars with Block, or other safe-ish hitting skills like Juggernaut. High strength stars, like Varag, Skrorg, Borak, Ripper, Zolcath, Bilerot, can act as roadblocks and heavy hitters. Always try to 3db if it doesn't mess up other plans, and don't forget Loner.

Other stars have more of a support or surgical role, such as Glart, Karla, the White Dwarf, Chaney. Gloriel can sub in for a missing elf thrower.

The third batch of good stars are the tricksters. This includes Eldril, Estelle, Ivar, Thorsson, the skink twins, the vampires. They all have one trick that circumvents regular BB tactics, and can give you the upper hand.

Final caveat: all of the above cost slightly more than the Wizard. The star you pick has to have a better effect on the game than the Wizard (+a few other trinkets) in order to choose them. Always have your particular match up in mind and don't become ossified.

Hope this helps. Have fun!