Blood Bowl: Second Season Rules Preview
It’s Orcs vs Humans in Blood Bowl Second Season. New teams. New looks. New rules.
The Second Season of Blood Bowl is coming and Games Workshop has made some tweaks and changes. Today, we’re going to take a look at the new boxed set plus the rules for the two new teams coming your way. So let’s get to the Pitch!
So What’s New?
The Second Season brings us back to Blood Bowl with two new takes on Blood Bowl Teams. We have the Bögenhafen Barons which are the new humans (they have an Ogre, but we’ll let that slide) and we have a new Black Orc Team – the Thunder Valley Greenskins. The Black Orcs also have a Troll and some goblins to help round out some of the edges there.
But before we get into the two new teams and their rules, let’s take a moment and look at some of the overall changes and tweaks to Blood Bowl.
Kicking things off, the team stats might look a little different.
If you’ll notice the values have changed – they are now Target Numbers instead of a characteristic base value. This does streamline things ever-so slightly. For existing players this might take a little getting used to. But things should run smoother as you have your new target number to roll + any modifiers. That should make all tests faster to calculate and get right.
Passing On Some Changes
There is also a new stat – PA or Passing Ability. This is now a separate stat from Agility. Just because someone is super Agile, doesn’t mean they are the most accurate at Throwing (or vice versa). Hopefully this will make team development a bit more engaging as you’ll have to actually build dedicated throwers instead of just relying on your Agility to carry over to your throwing arm. And speaking of passing…
The Passing Game should be a bit more interesting now vs the “safety” of rushing. A failed Pass isn’t an automatic Turnover any more.
“Successful passing interference can result in either a mere Deflection – think swatting the ball out of the air – or catching it for a full Interception, causing an instant Turnover with the other team in possession of the ball. This adds more variety and fun to Blood Bowl, making fumbles and interceptions feel like a much bigger moment, right in line with the thrill of the sports that inspired the game.”
Zone Defense
Tackling Zone got another rules tweak, too. Now players are considered “Marked” or “Open” and this simple change has helps to clarify other actions like passing or moving through enemies.
Ideally, these changes should help make the game easier to learn for new players and keep things streamlined for vets. There are some more changes to the Pre and Post game rundown. You can read about those change HERE. Now – lets get on to the teams!
The Bögenhafen Barons
The Stats
The Bögenhafen Barons are actually a new type of team – they are Imperial Nobility. With that, they have a slightly different profile and options compared to other Human Teams.
One other thing to note besides the stats is that teams now have Tier rating. Not all teams are created equal and the Tier system is an indication of that. A Tier 1 team is considered the top while a Tier 3 team would be considered lower. While these Tiers aren’t exactly guaranteed to predict the winner, they do give an indication on the difficulty of playing their teams.
Imperial Retainer Linemen
All the Imperial Retainer Linemen come with Fend. This skill is pretty great at denying your opponent the follow-up move without a Blitz move. Great for holding the line!
Imperial Throwers
Obviously these guys come with Pass but they also have Running Pass which can make them fairly versatile in the backfield for running and gunning.
Throw the ball and follow-up by moving into a more advantageous position. Seems like a good plan to me!
Noble Blitzers
Aside from their frilly, feathery hats – these Gentlemen Blitzers have both the Block and Catch abilities. Have them break through the opposing team’s line with block and then have them catch the ball down field for some major yardage!
Bodyguards
You can’t have nobles without Bodyguards around, right? Well these brave fellows are there to really hold their ground thanks to Stand Firm:
And if you do manage to take them down, well, they might just drag you down as well:
Ogre?
Big slabs of beef! If you’re looking for some extra offensive punch, you can’t go wrong with an Ogre. Plus you’re playing as the Imperial Nobility – you can afford it.
Thunder Valley Greenskins
Even tougher than an Orc team, these Black Orcs have skipping the passing game to concentrate on the “blood” part of Blood Bowl. Lining up against these greenskins is going to put you in a world of hurt.
The Stats
They aren’t exactly swamped for choices. However, they don’t really need many tricks. At least on the field. These Orcs are just a tad intimidating to the refs:
And Badlands Brawl also unlocks even more rules for Greenskins (and Ogres) on their roster.
Black Orc
“These Orcs are bigger, stronger, and far more disciplined than their kin. In fact, the rowdiness of other Orcs is why Black Orcs decided to form their own teams in the first place! While similar to Orc Big Uns (formerly known as Black Orcs on regular Orc teams) in terms of the basic profile, the addition of valuable skills like Brawler and Grab…”
Black Orcs also don’t suffer from the Animosity trait of other Orcs. Seems like having a defined role of “Smash’em” has helped to keep the Black Orcs focused on their task.
Goblin Bruisers
Goblins and Tough aren’t exactly synonymous. However, the Black Orc team does have a “special training program” to ensure their Goblins are at least Thick Skulled.
They aren’t *quite* as fragile as other goblins so I supposed hanging around Black Orcs has paid off…sort of? It’s either that or years of getting thrown by Trolls. Speaking of…
Trained Trolls
Not only can they throw their teammates they also have that Troll resilience. With the durability and field presence that a Troll has you’ll present your opponent with a tough choice – do they try to get around the tough-as-nails Black Orcs or deal with the regenating Troll moving towards the line? Having a “big guy” on an already tough roster is just icing on the cake.
Blood Bowl Second Season is coming to pre-order this weekend!
