Well, it's been about a week, and I've got to say, I'm going with
Dark Elves!
We got a little 4-guy league going here in my apartment complex (pretty awesome actually, although WHFB is still too expensive for the 2 noobs). We play matches weekly, side by side so that the vets are there to help the newer guys. Our pitches aren't too terrifyingly huge, mine in fact is only about 24x18 inches (1" squares) and fits nicely on my kitchen table.
"How does a 4-man league work?!" I hear you all shrieking. "How do you level up your team in such a short time?!"
Simple really.
The league rules are pretty basic, with the addition of one caveat:
"The Pre-Season"
Pre-season is part tutorial, part playtest, part insurance, and mostly just an excuse to get a few "build-me up" rounds in between the teams. We didn't want everyone playing two teams, but for the first "round" we went ahead and allowed it.
Each player got to pick two teams, of same or different race and composition. They are Team A, and Team B. On the first night of gaming, players declare which is their A and B team, and then roll off. The highest two rolls get to pick if they'll play as team A or team B first, and the lowest two players get stuck with the opposite. 'A Teams' play against both opposing 'B Teams', and then on the next week, roles reversed.
example
Night 1:
Player 1A vs. 2B while Player 3A vs. 4B
Player 1A vs. 4B while Player 3A vs. 2B
Night 2:
Player 1B vs. 2A while Player 3B vs. 4A
Player 1B vs. 4A while Player 3B vs. 2A
This gives each team 3 "practice" games before the start of the league. This gives coaches a chance to decide which team they prefer, and gives them a preview of 2 of the three opposition teams before the event.
All injuries above 'Badly Hurt' are counted as 'Miss Next Game'. Players declared 'Dead' will miss any remaining Pre-season games, as well as the first game of the season, but are still very much alive and well (they're just banged up bad enough to need some long-term recovery). However, teams only earn half the usual rates in gold, and there are no changes to Fan Factor (these are "kid glove" scrimmages after all, with smaller crowds and cheaper tickets than regular season matches).
We've also implemented a new rule called 'Bounce Back' so that players who roll up "Miss Next Game" are off the pitch for less time. Rather than missing the whole of the next game outright, players will miss the remaining two halves. Players MNG'd during the first half of a game therefore, will be healed up again in time for the second half of the following game. Players MNG'd during the second half miss the whole of the next game, obviously. If a player is eligible for re-entry into the game during the second half, he starts the half in the KO'd box and must be rolled in as usual on turn 9.
After the Pre Season, regular season play begins. Players pick one of their two teams to carry into the regular season, and then play a round-robin style campaign, where we plan to play just 1 game per night. That means it will take us 3 weeks to get through the regular season.
During regular season play, the teams earn
double their normal amounts of gold, and players get a random MVP as well as a chosen MVP (no player can be
chosen as MVP more than once, however. Random MVP is determine
after the player nominates their MVP for the game).
The Finals
After the three regular season games, the teams are seeded in a single elimination bracket using all of the regular Blood Bowl rules (no 'Bounce Back', no extra MVP, etc). The only exception is that after each game, teams place half of their winnings into the reserve, which will be divided 60-40-20-10 percent by finish at the completion. The finals will take just 2 weeks to complete.
Total time for the whole league = 7 weeks, with a total of 9 games (7 games per team, plus 2 'B Team' games).
In our league, we played with the "Noobies" and Vets alternating in the pre-season, so that every night the new players will play against eachother, and then against one of the veterans. So far I've played both of my games with the team that I plan to lock in. They are:
The Hag-Graef Grifters (Dark Elf)
6 Line Elfs
4 Blitzers
1 Thrower
2 Rerolls
fairly bog-standard, with names to follow if/when I think of some - will probably just use the videogame names for simplicity
The other teams are:
Lizardmen (the other veteran)
Orc/Human
Dwarf / Pro-Elf
The newbies are trying to decide if they want to play with more agile players, or go with the tried-and-true phalanx game. It should be interesting, I think that the Orc/Human player is leaning more towards a Human team, judging by how he tried to play the Orcs, and he asked about using my Norse assembled up above. The Dwarf or Pro Elf could still go either way, but we're pushing him more towards Dwarf I think.
Anyways, I know that the Grifters are off to an
awesome start. My first game was against the new player, and we didn't maul them quite so badly, we really walked them through the game and let them "take back" a bunch of their moves when they realized their mistakes (as long as it was their turn). The game against the Lizards though...
amazing.
He won the toss and elected to receive, but I forced a turnover on T6, made an "oh holy
crap" dump-off pass away from the cage on his blitz action (Thrower Dump-off skill), and then dodged out of two skinks for a T8 touchdown with a Blitzer.
He kicks to me at the start of the second half. I pickup the ball with a Blitzer and move to a screen on my left and lure him in. Then I run back to the right and make a quick pass to the Runner, dodge a lineman out to help a Blitzer score a 1-die on a Saurus and clear a hole down the sideline (reroll to turn an Attacker Down to a Both Down), and keep on trucking up field. Then push the Runner through the opened gap. His Saurus are tied up, so he throws most of his Skinks into getting a 2-Die on my Runner, who
again Dump Off passes to the Blitzer who is just behind him and now devoid of opposing tackle zones but burns a reroll to catch the ball. Turn 11 I run it for the TD with no rerolls remaining in the half. Turns out that by dumb luck it was the same Blitzer that scored in the first half.
Spent the rest of the game mostly just avoiding Saurus and bashing on Skinks in hopes of a few Casualty SPPs. Turn 14 and he's got the Touchdown, so he kicks to me. I grab the ball, blitz a hole in his line, run a Blitzer through, and then try for a pass on turn 15, fail the catch and fumble it off the pitch. It comes back in and gets lobbed almost all the way across the field. He recovers it, and nobody can score. He tosses my Blitzer off the pitch and KOs him, and the game ends.
Rolled MVP on a Lineman who scored a casualty, and gave him Block. The 2TD Blitzer leveled up, and rolled an 11. I
had to give him the +1AG. I now have an Av8, AG5 Blitzer with Block. Next skill up I'm taking Dodge, and using him as my runner. He's going to be a
monster. He'll catch passes and/or pick up the ball on a 2+, dodge on a 2+, and he'll be ***ned hard to knock down.