South Division Season Eight Preview
Click on the team image to see the team roster.
Subcity Skavengers
The Skavengers are rapidly coming to prove that you certainly can make something out of nothing! Born out of the dankest and darkest depths of the Underworld (does anyone know where exactly that is?!) these dregs of the dregs banded together initially for mutual protection but soon found a way to ‘stick it to da uppers!’ when Blood Bowl came a-knockin’ on their sewer door in the form of a wet, soggy publication entitled the Skink’Un…
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Inspired by the tales of athletic prowess and mighty creatures laid low by much less mighty creatures, the Skavengers set about building a team. They soon clambered in to the daylight, registered with the ABBL and arranged their first match. They surprised everyone when, not only did they win their first game against other newcomers the Fire Valley Fateweavers but they absolutely destroyed them 4-1! They then followed this up with another win, this time against the Karond Kar Corsairs, the Dark Elf Conference team and suddenly, the team from down below are making everyone sit up and take notice.
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Two key players to watch out for include the so-called Gutter Runner (Clan Eshin deny anything to do with him!), Slym Pikkins who has already wracked up a hat-trick of TD’s in that first game and Pyla Shyte could also be worth keeping an eye on, a Skaven Lineman scoring a TD is worthy of note. A team well-worth watching out for, they could cause a few upsets this season…
Skryre Fireblades
The Fireblades made a hell of an impact in the South Division in Season 7 and across the ABBL being the only undefeated team in the entire League and making it all the way to the Semi-Finals where they fell victim to the Norse of the Bludheim Ravens. Considering they were only formed so that Clan Skryre could show off their technical expertise, that’s a pretty good showing! They’re also the only returning Semi-Finalists this season and have the League title firmly in their sights this time round.
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Now that they’ve proved their point, the pressure is on to do it again and this time, get further! Nothing less than a presence in the Final will appease the Council of Thirteen – past achievements mean nothing when the opportunity to do better for the Horned Rat arises and Season 8 is just that opportunity. Being the only team to stay in the South Division, they welcome a whole host of different types of opponents against which to prove their mettle: Snotlings, Chaos Renegades, Imperial Nobles… But by far the one team they’ll surely want to prove their dominance against will be the Underworld Denizens of the Subcity Skavengers. Skaven are nothing if not ambitious and notorious for their infighting. A team of Skaven that sullies itself working with Goblins?! Clearly they need to be reminded of their place…
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Two players of note to watch out for: the Blitzer, Splinter has turned in to a rat to be feared with his razor sharp claws able to carve through most opponents’ armour with ease, expect him to wrack up a tally of victims as the season progresses! Pillock (despite his name) has now become a valued member of the team, probably due to his extra head actually not being a pillock, making him vaguely tolerable to be around at post-game parties…
Fire Valley Fateweavers
If ever there was a team that believed in fate itself guiding their destiny, it’s these guys! Fervent followers of Tzeentch, they seemed to form as if by accident, each of them converging at an inn deep in Norsca (let’s be honest, if the inn had been anywhere else and a Minotaur, Ogre and Troll walked in together, the City Watch would have been called and the inn keeper would most likely have had an urgent appointment with his washer-woman the next morning!) on the same day, all with the same idea to get involved with a Blood Bowl team. Conversations started and, before they knew it, they had all agreed to sign up to the ABBL. The Firevalley Fateweavers were born!
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As you can imagine from a team made up of various races not exactly known for getting along with each other, their initial training was… fractious at best but, eventually, they came up with a plan and executed it perfectly in their first pre-season friendly against the Lizardmen of The Mc’s, walking away 2-0 winners. Buoyed by their success, they immediately raced in to their next game against the Subcity Skavengers and got trounced 4-1! Mainly, it must be said, because Zaha'akad Dreamstave, the Dark Elf, refused to pass the ball to anyone all game, firmly believing he was the best option to retain it at the time, despite his team-mates shouting themselves hoarse to the contrary! Clearly something they’ll need to work on if they want to see success in the future.
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Aurortzaya Brownclaw the Skaven of the team shows some promise, scoring the only TD in the game against the Skavengers, his speed may come in handy once the season gets underway while the Orc, Skulbag Fatekicka is certainly living up to the latter part of his surname but not with the ball! Finally, watch out for Arcyaterai Hexfire, one of the humans on the team. Rumours are that Tzeentch has his eye on this one…
Midden Moor Mudlarks
Although there have been Snotling teams in the ABBL in the past (Da Cult of Da D8, Mitey Worriesr) none have had the sheer stupidity of entering the Main League. Until now. Actually, to say it’s stupidity is a bit harsh. It’s more like an absolutely complete (and entirely misplaced) belief that that they can beat anyone! As studies have shown, however, belief is everything when it comes to Greenskins and these smallest and most diminutive of their kind exemplify this more than any of their larger cousins. Maybe they’re on to something after all?
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Of course, this is all conjecture and everybody knows the only reason the ABBL have allowed them in is for the spectacle they bring to the field! Whether dishing it out or being on the receiving end, there’s sure to be plenty of violence when the Mudlarks set up on the pitch. With a couple of Trolls and their ramshackle contraptions known affectionately as Pump Wagons and not forgetting the exploding Fungi, expect the Mudlarks to be at the forefront of all sorts of Casualty records, possibly even nudging the Daylight Gobbery off the top spot for casualties suffered in a regular season (52, way back in season 4, trivia fans!). Despite the inevitable pummelling they are bound to receive, the Snotlings do have a trick or two up their sleeve however so at least they won’t go down without a fight and don’t be surprised to see the odd Touchdown here and there as the season goes on.
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As far as stand-out players go, it’s really hard to pick out individuals, they all look the same and cavort about so manically! But, the ones on stilts are sure to poke out above the rest while the ones on inflated squigs will likely prove frustrating for opponents. And, of course, the Trolls are going to be a threat to anyone, despite having the collective intelligence of two boulders. We’d be amazed if any of the Mudlark players end up being memorable in all honesty but we’re going to have a lot of fun watching them try!
Marienburg Bluebloods
The Bluebloods had a very successful debut season, topping their Division while claiming the Most TD’s scored, Most Comp’s and sharing the Most Casualties award with Da Gobsnaperz, although they had to cede that one due to the maximum two awards permitted in the regulations, not that they’re bitter about it, oh no! But, despite this success, they fell at the Quarter-Final stage to the Bludheim Ravens so are looking to Season 8 and their next chance to prove their undoubted greatness to the ABBL…
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Their opponents this time round greatly differ to last season. The likes of Vampires, Orcs and Chaos Chosen have been replaced by Skaven, Snotlings and Chaos Renegades. Indeed, none of the teams they face this season are the same as last season, bringing a whole slew of new challenges for the Bluebloods which they are welcoming with relish! They have already faced one of their Divisional rivals in a pre-season friendly, the Mileham Villans in which they came off second best but have vowed to make use of the knowledge gained for when the two teams face each other during the regular season. They also played the Chaos Dwarves of the Petty Hate Machines, managing a draw and the Daylight Gobbery, getting a win. So, a win, a loss and a draw – they’ll need to improve if they want to emulate their Division success of last season!
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Players to watch out for include Johan Kriegdorf, a Blitzer who has become key in many Blueblood plays with 13 TD’s and 5 MVP’s to his name. Rumours are he’s gunning for some kind of award this time round and we wouldn’t be surprised to see him up amongst the contenders, especially claiming a Fatality in the pre-season friendly against the Daylight Gobbery. Following closely behind him in terms of success is fellow Blitzer, Hanz Wernov although his talents seem to lie more in causing casualties and taking out stronger opponents, mainly to allow Johan space to do his thing. Finally, Isenbrand Mertz is the man aiming to feed the ball forward to the prior two although, despite his obvious skill in passing the ball he does seem to have a violent streak that leads to him almost psychopathically seek out stronger opposition players. He’ll need to keep this under control if he wants to have a chance to achieve this season.
Mileham Villans
Having qualified as a ‘highest loser’ and making it through to the Quarter-Finals last season, the Villans were the surprise package of Season 7. Indeed, if not for a singular piece of luck for the Mongrel Horde in their Quarter Final clash, the Villans would likely have got through to the Semi’s at least and who knows from there? But, they are never a team to dwell on past glories and constantly look to the future. So much so, they sacked the entirety of the Goblin component of their team and completely re-hired new players, blaming the little short guys for their failure!
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To be fair, the focus of this team has always been (and will likely always be!) violence. If not for the Petty Hate Machines being in their Division, they would have topped the Casualty ratings and as everyone knows, Goblins are not exactly renowned for dishing out the pain… So, the prospect of facing so many ‘squishy’ teams in the South has them eager to get going. Snotlings, Skaven and Underworld? They’ve even ordered new spikes in preparation! However, their lack of speed could well be their undoing as historically, they haven’t fared too well against teams that can get around them, most of their losses coming against these kind of teams. How they fare in the South in Season 8 remains to be seen but it wouldn’t be a terrible waste of money placing a bet on them at least reaching the Play-offs once more.
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Players to watch out for include Deathbringer who has a talent for living up to their name and is also the leading casualty causer on the Villans with 15 to their name so far. If ever there was an examplar that the others look up to, this is the one. Chasing Deathbringer’s tally are both Neckchopper and Spleensplitter with 12 apiece. Indeed, so close are these two that some find it hard to tell the difference and even wonder if they intentionally switch numbers! For those with a keen eye however, their playstyles are different enough to separate them but we’ll keep quiet how and leave that for the ‘spot the difference’ columns!