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Scribbl 13 Relic Slann
Toady’s Corner: They Leapt from the Grave
An early look at Relic Slann
By Huayna Kopec
An early look at Relic Slann
By Huayna Kopec
Huayna Kopec is a sabermetrics expert and long-time collaborator of the CabalVision Network
Good spring to you, dear reader, and welcome back to SCRIBBL! A new year is at the doors and, like a clock, this season bring new teams and new roster concepts for the viewers to appreciate. This year however marks the beginning of something really special: the CIBBL is finally expanding to Lustria! That’s right, the region that I can proudly call home is finally ready to host a division! The home of the Lizardmen and Slann is a place of tradition, and most of the rosters there (bar the newcomers, the Pygmies) have stayed tried and true since the early days of the NAF. However, trust the network to make some… interesting decisions to spice things up.
You see, Slann are a BloodBowl people through and through; they have played the beautiful game for millennia, even earlier than their rediscover by the people of the Old World. Most grow out of this phase, though, or move on to coaching jobs or, ah-hem, journalism. But some are so taken by their passion that they keep playing until their luck runs out or their body gives up. These true fans sometimes make sure that their body is preserved after burial in a way that they can theoretically keep on playing long after their living days have passed. Known and revered as Relic Slanns, teams composed by our ancestors tend to keep playing only with other Slann and have remained in relative obscurity for quite a long time. However, thanks to the efforts of CabalVision commissioners and delegates, these old wise frogs are ready to field against the diverse CIBBL environment!
How do they fare in comparison to the heavy-weights, and what do they look like? We’re here to find out! Before going on, I’d like to remind you that this analysis will employ the STAT (Standardised Technical Ability Total) scores to make the discussion easier to follow for the casual readers. Also, shout out to my great-great-great-grandfather Hualpa Kopec III, who plays as a blitzer for the Sport Spawning Zlatlan Revived Seniors. Looking good, gramps!
Linemen – 5 3 2 7, Thick Skull, Very Long Legs, Leap, Regeneration, G(SAP) 50k
The ratio of skills between living players and their skeletal, undead counterpart is well understood and the Slann are no exception: the undead version of a player is slower, clumsier and has a tendency to get up to its feet slowly but has half the BOOM (Blocked Out Of Match) likelihood and is cheaper. This is of course a mixed bag for Slann lineman, which could have certainly used better survivability when their heart was still beating but have bigger trouble sticking the landing of a tricky leap over the opponent. They still have the possibility to do so, but whether or not the player ends up making a daring play or crumpled up in a pile of bones is literally a coin toss. Overall, these players are certainly more expendable now that they are dead, and the cost reflects it – a boon in disguise for a race that suffers from high mortality rates and administrative costs. Don’t count on them to handle the ball, though.
Blitzer – 6 3 2 8, Diving Tackle, Leap, Regeneration, Thick Skull, Very Long Legs, GS(AP) 100k
What has been said about the linemen is largely true for the Blitzers, but with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it twist. The special embalming process used to preserve the bodies in remarkable playing condition keeps the abilities of the players largely unchanged but stiffens the leftover soft tissue. This is especially detrimental for this positional: good blitzers have extremely springy legs that allow them to come back to their feet in one swift hop. To offset this issue, Relic Blitzers are exploiting their newfound fatigue resistance to take the field with more armour than before in face of their increasing brittleness. Tthe playstyle of these positional thus changes subtly: while before they used their mobility to keep chasing their opponents, they know rely on increased resilience to stay in contact more reliably, with their FAIL (Fate Adjusted Injury Likelihood) rising from an average 11,6% to an almost orcish 7,7%. The tradeoff also comes with a welcome 10k gold discount on their league-sanctioned salary. All in all, a Relic Blitzer is a much lower tactic potential starting out but should easily reach higher skill levels going on thanks to their increased survival rate.
Catchers – 6 3 3 7 Diving Catch, Leap, Regeneration, Thick Skull, Very Long Legs, GA(SP), 100k
A bizarre quirk in the embalming process makes the Relic Catchers much more robust than before. These players can’t leap as well as before (although they’re still much more skilled at it than their teammates) and aren’t as fast, however their increased bulk makes them not as helpless in the physical game. Combined with the increased resistance that comes from being dead, the Catchers will be the ball handlers of choice for this new team, and their newfound strength will make them a bit more independent than before – a quality that is well worth their increased cost. You may have read up until here and asked yourself: “Wait a minute, Huayna. All these changes seem to be detrimental to what are the typical Slann qualities and certainly being able to not die is not a skill that helps win games.” You are, indeed, right. Did I also mention that most players are unable to resume their original position after being revived and as such Relic Catchers and Blitzers are quite the rarity? Why then would you bother watching this geriatric group of has-beens on Crunch Zone?
Temple Guards – 6 4 1 9 Stand Firm, Thick Skull, GS(AP), 110k
Sauri are the golden standard of blocker-type players: they’re strong, fast, extremely tough and able to pick up useful skills. Any team would be pretty happy to have them on their side. The caretakers of the Relic Slann, the Temple Guards, are handpicked to be the best of the Sauri and train to be the protectors of these venerable players on an off the field. Known to be exceptionally unyielding, Temple Guards are hardier than their regular brethren and boast superior positioning quality. They are an incredible tool for a team that should struggle with positioning and speed with a good deal of strength – a bargain at 110k pieces of gold. One little problem is that these expensive players do not regenerate and can’t count on the protection of a medical staff – a problem that could leave them very exposed against opponents that can bypass their dwarf-grade toughness.
Final overview
Relic Slann is a team that looks difficult to compare to any established team and which fills an interesting spot in their Region. Their strongest point is certainly durability, but they certainly look like a roster that will have a harder time handling the ball and does not seem suited to finesse in general. The team should possess relatively high strength and good access to strength skill positions should let them thrive in the damp and hot jungles of Lustria, where their only real competition in the bash-style play should be the lizardmen. The ability to leap for a cage dive or to break a stalemate is certainly an interesting quirk, but it doesn’t look nearly reliable enough to be an option on most drives. Skilful coaches will certainly employ the threat of a leap to force the opponent to make hard decisions on positioning but deciding if and when pulling the trigger is actually worth the risk will certainly be key to their success.
Looking at the bigger picture, the Relic Slann team looks similar to other lower strength undead teams, like Necromantic (much faster but with lower strength) and Mahrak (which have blanket regeneration but worse ball-handling options). Their unique skillset and their team composition suggest that the team will excel during defensive drives while still being able to mount a decent offense. As for negatives, their STATs are a bit awkward, since the team is not polished enough to be a pure bash-style team and isn’t fast nor agile enough to be truly considered a hybrid or versatile team. The players are also quite expensive and pay for skills that are very much situational, so their owners will certainly hope that their undead vigour will keep them safe long enough.
In conclusion, Relic Slann are a hard team to evaluate and will certainly require a skilled coach to thrive. Their strength is subtle and requires a good understanding of positioning to make up for their relative brittleness and mediocre speed, but the unique environment and the opportunity to shift playstyle thanks to their skillset can make them very competitive, especially in the long run. The only thing that is certain is that watching them play will be a unique experience for any CIBBL fan!
You see, Slann are a BloodBowl people through and through; they have played the beautiful game for millennia, even earlier than their rediscover by the people of the Old World. Most grow out of this phase, though, or move on to coaching jobs or, ah-hem, journalism. But some are so taken by their passion that they keep playing until their luck runs out or their body gives up. These true fans sometimes make sure that their body is preserved after burial in a way that they can theoretically keep on playing long after their living days have passed. Known and revered as Relic Slanns, teams composed by our ancestors tend to keep playing only with other Slann and have remained in relative obscurity for quite a long time. However, thanks to the efforts of CabalVision commissioners and delegates, these old wise frogs are ready to field against the diverse CIBBL environment!
How do they fare in comparison to the heavy-weights, and what do they look like? We’re here to find out! Before going on, I’d like to remind you that this analysis will employ the STAT (Standardised Technical Ability Total) scores to make the discussion easier to follow for the casual readers. Also, shout out to my great-great-great-grandfather Hualpa Kopec III, who plays as a blitzer for the Sport Spawning Zlatlan Revived Seniors. Looking good, gramps!
The ratio of skills between living players and their skeletal, undead counterpart is well understood and the Slann are no exception: the undead version of a player is slower, clumsier and has a tendency to get up to its feet slowly but has half the BOOM (Blocked Out Of Match) likelihood and is cheaper. This is of course a mixed bag for Slann lineman, which could have certainly used better survivability when their heart was still beating but have bigger trouble sticking the landing of a tricky leap over the opponent. They still have the possibility to do so, but whether or not the player ends up making a daring play or crumpled up in a pile of bones is literally a coin toss. Overall, these players are certainly more expendable now that they are dead, and the cost reflects it – a boon in disguise for a race that suffers from high mortality rates and administrative costs. Don’t count on them to handle the ball, though.
What has been said about the linemen is largely true for the Blitzers, but with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it twist. The special embalming process used to preserve the bodies in remarkable playing condition keeps the abilities of the players largely unchanged but stiffens the leftover soft tissue. This is especially detrimental for this positional: good blitzers have extremely springy legs that allow them to come back to their feet in one swift hop. To offset this issue, Relic Blitzers are exploiting their newfound fatigue resistance to take the field with more armour than before in face of their increasing brittleness. Tthe playstyle of these positional thus changes subtly: while before they used their mobility to keep chasing their opponents, they know rely on increased resilience to stay in contact more reliably, with their FAIL (Fate Adjusted Injury Likelihood) rising from an average 11,6% to an almost orcish 7,7%. The tradeoff also comes with a welcome 10k gold discount on their league-sanctioned salary. All in all, a Relic Blitzer is a much lower tactic potential starting out but should easily reach higher skill levels going on thanks to their increased survival rate.
A bizarre quirk in the embalming process makes the Relic Catchers much more robust than before. These players can’t leap as well as before (although they’re still much more skilled at it than their teammates) and aren’t as fast, however their increased bulk makes them not as helpless in the physical game. Combined with the increased resistance that comes from being dead, the Catchers will be the ball handlers of choice for this new team, and their newfound strength will make them a bit more independent than before – a quality that is well worth their increased cost. You may have read up until here and asked yourself: “Wait a minute, Huayna. All these changes seem to be detrimental to what are the typical Slann qualities and certainly being able to not die is not a skill that helps win games.” You are, indeed, right. Did I also mention that most players are unable to resume their original position after being revived and as such Relic Catchers and Blitzers are quite the rarity? Why then would you bother watching this geriatric group of has-beens on Crunch Zone?
Sauri are the golden standard of blocker-type players: they’re strong, fast, extremely tough and able to pick up useful skills. Any team would be pretty happy to have them on their side. The caretakers of the Relic Slann, the Temple Guards, are handpicked to be the best of the Sauri and train to be the protectors of these venerable players on an off the field. Known to be exceptionally unyielding, Temple Guards are hardier than their regular brethren and boast superior positioning quality. They are an incredible tool for a team that should struggle with positioning and speed with a good deal of strength – a bargain at 110k pieces of gold. One little problem is that these expensive players do not regenerate and can’t count on the protection of a medical staff – a problem that could leave them very exposed against opponents that can bypass their dwarf-grade toughness.
Final overview
Relic Slann is a team that looks difficult to compare to any established team and which fills an interesting spot in their Region. Their strongest point is certainly durability, but they certainly look like a roster that will have a harder time handling the ball and does not seem suited to finesse in general. The team should possess relatively high strength and good access to strength skill positions should let them thrive in the damp and hot jungles of Lustria, where their only real competition in the bash-style play should be the lizardmen. The ability to leap for a cage dive or to break a stalemate is certainly an interesting quirk, but it doesn’t look nearly reliable enough to be an option on most drives. Skilful coaches will certainly employ the threat of a leap to force the opponent to make hard decisions on positioning but deciding if and when pulling the trigger is actually worth the risk will certainly be key to their success.
Looking at the bigger picture, the Relic Slann team looks similar to other lower strength undead teams, like Necromantic (much faster but with lower strength) and Mahrak (which have blanket regeneration but worse ball-handling options). Their unique skillset and their team composition suggest that the team will excel during defensive drives while still being able to mount a decent offense. As for negatives, their STATs are a bit awkward, since the team is not polished enough to be a pure bash-style team and isn’t fast nor agile enough to be truly considered a hybrid or versatile team. The players are also quite expensive and pay for skills that are very much situational, so their owners will certainly hope that their undead vigour will keep them safe long enough.
In conclusion, Relic Slann are a hard team to evaluate and will certainly require a skilled coach to thrive. Their strength is subtle and requires a good understanding of positioning to make up for their relative brittleness and mediocre speed, but the unique environment and the opportunity to shift playstyle thanks to their skillset can make them very competitive, especially in the long run. The only thing that is certain is that watching them play will be a unique experience for any CIBBL fan!