The Teams
Blood Bowl teams come in all shapes and sizes. From elegant Elves to stoic Dwarfs; diminutive Halflings to hulking Ogres; well-drilled Humans to sneaky Skaven - there is a team for everyone and all styles of pick-up!
These races come from all across the known world, and there are countless teams of each type that have competed on the gridiron over the years. Some of these teams will have been made up of fresh-faced rookies hoping to make it big, whilst others will have been established teams brimming with history and grizzled veterans of the game, and everywhere in between. Whilst some teams may reach the lofty heights and go down in the annals of Blood Bowl history, most will simply be no more than a footnote - doomed to be nothing more than an obscure pub quiz answer in taverns across the Old World!
BLOOD BOWL TEAMS!
In this section, we will present all of the different Team Rosters from which you can build your teams. Within each Team Roster, you will find the various player types the team can field along with the player profiles, as well as how many of each they are allowed to hire. A Team Roster will state how many gold pieces a Team Re-roll will cost and whether the team can hire an Apothecary. It will also state which League a team plays for and which special rules the team has. These are both explained here.
TEAM LEAGUES!
Some Inducements are only available to teams from a certain League. This is particularly true for Star Players, whose cards will list the Leagues they can play for. What this means is that a team will need to have selected that particular League in order to purchase those Inducements or hire those Star Players.
Most teams will only have a single League, though some may have multiple. If a team has multiple Leagues, then when you create your Team Draft List for that team, you must choose one of these Leagues - you cannot select both. Below is the list of Leagues that a team may belong to:
BADLANDS BRAWL
Home to many Greenskin and Ogre teams, the Badlands Brawl is a violent, brutal affair where teams value carnage over the likes of scoring. It will come as little shock to most that games in the Badlands are dishonest and corrupt matches, which to most of their fans makes it far more worth watching!
CHAOS CLASH
Those teams dedicated to one (or more!) of the Chaos Gods will find themselves playing in the Chaos Clash. This is a suitably chaotic league and it has even been rumoured that the Chaos Gods get involved on occasion, with spectacular results and much to the delight of the fans!
ELVEN KINGDOMS LEAGUE
The Elven Kingdoms League is the pinnacle of well-executed, technically-correct Blood Bowl, with the teams priding themselves on being right. For fans of elegant passing plays, superb weaving runs, and exquisitely fine kits, they need look no further than the Elven Kingdoms League!
HALFLING THIMBLE CUP
The Halfling Thimble Cup has become a mainstay of the Blood Bowl calendar, with multiple Halfling and Gnome teams competing not only in classic matches of Nuffle's great game, but also in a number of famous pitch-side culinary cook-offs!
LUSTRIAN SUPERLEAGUE
By far the oldest competition in the known world, the Lustrian Superleague is home to many of the sport's most ancient teams. For the first few millennia it was a competition exclusively for Lizardmen teams; in more recent years, the Lustrian Superleague has welcomed teams from other races under its jungle canopies.
OLD WORLD CLASSIC
When the NAF collapsed, Blood Bowl struggled in the Old World. That was until the set-up of the Old World Classic, giving teams from all over the Old World a new structured league to play in. Thanks to huge donations from Imperial benefactors, and constant coverage on Cabalvision, the Old World Classic has become one of the most influential leagues in the known world.
SYLVANIAN SPOTLIGHT
The Sylvanian Spotlight is where the vast majority of undead players ply their trade. In years gone by, this was largely because it was the only league able to facilitate many of the undead's need for flesh or abhorrence of sunlight, though in recent years the improvement in sun-protection magic technology has seen the Sylvanian Spotlight come out of the shadows and into the bright lights of Cabalvision shows!
UNDERWORLD CHALLENGE
Until recently, many fans and pundits didn't even believe the Underworld Challenge existed! Games within the Underworld Challenge are perhaps the most diverse in Blood Bowl, hosting the likes of Skaven, Snotlings, Goblins and anyone else who frequents the stinking sewers in search of a game of Blood Bowl!
WOODLAND LEAGUE
The Woodland League is played within the various forests and hidden groves throughout the known world. Their pitches are often overgrown and at one with nature, providing a peaceful and calming environment - at least until the games kick off and the players use the woodland to their advantage anyway!
WORLDS EDGE SUPERLEAGUE
Played on the high peaks and mountain holds of the Worlds Edge Mountains, the Superleague is a hard-hitting affair. Though it used to be solely a league for Dwarfen teams to showcase their skills, in recent years other mountain-dwelling realms have made their way into its ranks - mostly through sheer brute force and pig-headedness!
SPECIAL RULES!
Blood Bowl teams are all different, and most teams will have at least one special rule. Generally speaking, these represent the various different play styles or unique aspects that make a particular team feel how they should.
These special rules will also have their own impact on your games as well, providing additional rules for the team.
Some Inducements are only available to teams with a certain special rule. This can also be true for Star Players who have the Favoured of... special rule. What this means is that a team will need to have that particular special rule in order to purchase those Inducements or hire those Star Players.
Here you will find the list of team special rules and what they do.
BRAWLIN' BRUTES
During League Play, a team with this special rule will earn SPP slightly differently. Players on this team will earn 3 SPP for causing a Casualty rather than the usual 2. Additionally, players on this team will only earn 2 SPP for scoring a Touchdown rather than the usual 3.
BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION
Once per game, when a team with this special rule rolls a 1 to Argue the Call, they may re-roll the D6.
FAVOURED OF...
Some teams may automatically have a specific alignment (e.g., Favoured of Khorne), whilst others may have a choice. If a team has a choice of alignment, it will be listed in brackets following the special rule - for example, Favoured of (Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh or Tzeentch).
When creating a Team Draft List, a team with this special rule that has a choice must choose an alignment from the options given and cannot change it later on.
Some Star Players will only be able to play for teams that are Favoured of specific Chaos Gods. For example, a Star Player's profile may say they can play for teams with the Favoured of Khorne special rule. Such a Star Player could not therefore play for any team with the Favoured of Nurgle, Slaanesh, etc., special rule.
If a team has a choice of any alignment, they can choose any of the following: Hashut, Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh, Tzeentch, Undivided.
LOW COST LINEMEN
In League Play, when a team with this special rule calculates its Current Team Value, treat the Hiring Fee of any Lineman players on the team as 0 gold pieces. Any value increase is included as normal.
MASTERS OF UNDEATH
Once per game, if an opposition player with an ST of 4 or less that does not have the Stunty Trait suffers a Dead result when rolling on the Casualty Table, a team with this special rule can Raise the Dead. If they do, they may immediately add a single Lineman player from their team's Team Roster to their Reserves Box. This may cause a team to temporarily have more than 16 players for the remainder of the game.
During the Post-game Sequence, when hiring any new players to your team, you may permanently hire the new Lineman player to your team for free, so long as your Team Draft List doesn't already have 16 players on it, otherwise it will be lost. The player will still add its full value to the team's Team Value.
SWARMING
During the Start of Drive Sequence, after both teams have set up their players, a team with this special rule can set up an additional D3 Lineman players from their Reserves Box on the pitch, following all the usual rules for setting up players. This will allow this team to have more than the usual maximum of 11 players on the pitch.
TEAM CAPTAIN
When drafting a Team Draft Roster for a team with this special rule, you may nominate any player on your starting roster (with the exception of a Big Guy) to be your Team Captain. A Team Captain immediately gains the Pro Skill without increasing their cost. Additionally, while your Team Captain is on the pitch, whenever you use a Team Re-roll you may roll a D6; on the roll of a natural 6 the Team Re-roll is free.
When setting up at the start of a Drive, you must choose to field your Team Captain if able. A Team Captain can only ever be fired from your roster if they have suffered an injury that has reduced one of their characteristics. However, should a Team Captain ever be killed during a game then you may appoint a new Team Captain at the end of the game.
TEAM TIERS!
Not every team was created equal. Some teams are more challenging to Coach than others, either because of the player type and Skills available to the team, or simply because their background dictates they should be - after all, how much chance would a team of pint-sized, lazy Halflings have against a team of hulking, barbaric Chaos Chosen driven by a murderous rage?
This is entirely intentional, and teams will be placed into one of four Tiers depending on how well they perform. This will give newer coaches a rough idea of how difficult a particular team will be to play. These Tiers are also used in Matched Play in order to help balance things out between the teams; lower Tier teams will gain more Skill Points to spend on improving things to allow them to compete with the higher Tier teams.
The Tiers each team is in is constantly being assessed by the Blood Bowl rules team so that we can ensure the game is as balanced and up to date as possible. You will find the most up-to-date Tier List as part of the Blood Bowl Designers' Commentary on warhammer-community.com.
Below is a rough indication of what each Tier means:
- Tier 1 is for the best performing teams in the game, those that have all the tools they need to take on any team and recover from mistakes easily.
- Tier 2 is for those teams that can compete on their own merit, though don't quite have the same flexibility as those in Tier 1.
- Tier 3 is for teams that will often be a bit trickier to play; those that will require a bit more thought and experience to perform well with.
- Tier 4 is reserved for the weakest (but often most fun) teams in Blood Bowl. Often these will be the ‘Stunty' teams, ones where the majority of their players have the Stunty Trait. For coaches looking to put fun before winning, or looking for a real challenge, these are the teams for you!