Adeleague Blog
Skummi Gitz vs Ravens Match ReportIn times of old, when none had heard of the Living Rule Book, and Ravens were still from the Drakwald, some of the most epic encounters were played between the Gitz and the Ravens in the Marienburg BB League. And so it was to be once more, in the first match of the Adelaide Open, as the men in black took on the, err, greenskins in green, once again. The sun blazed down upon the pitch, glinting off freshly painted armour that was destined soon to be dusty and blood stained, and the squads squared off. Adeleague commentators Bruce Hackaveiny and Eddie McGore argued long and hard in the commentary box over who would win, with McGore convinced that the Gitz' record would hold, while Hackaveiny countered that their record wasn't as solid as many pundits thought. But as the game got underway, the argument was forgotten. The Gitz won the right to recieve and scooped up the ball with thrower Eddy da Chukka. Positioning themselves for a classic orc cage drive they began the slow rumble up the pitch. In response the Ravens flanked the cage and probed its edges, looking for a way in. Minutes counted down as the block of orcs worked its way through defenders towards the end zone, fending off attempts to penetrate their defensive formation. Deep in the Ravens' half, however, the defence finally managed to slide a player through and the ball popped loose, falling to Sloan Hammerstein, daughter of famed legend Jock 'the Hammer' Hammerstein. Sloan, 'the Sledgehammer', looked upfield hopefully, where catcher Zelig Stoerm was tussling with Dingus O'Reilly. As the Git blitzers closed in she desperately signalled for him to get free, but he tripped on Dingus' outstretched leg and the pass never happened. Instead, Sloan was driven into the turf and the orcs secured the corner of the pitch. Then he emerged. Since news of the reformation of the Gitz had surfaced the media had been in a frenzy wondering which of the original team would be coaxed out of retirement. Most of the big names had announced a return, but star blitzer Lag B. Hind had been mysteriously absent from any press. It also seemed he had been in disguise during most of the first half and now, throwing off the pretence, he strolled in, took the ball and walked it across the line. One to the Gitz. Not to be outdone, however, the Ravens then pulled off some classic moves as well. Down a couple of players the team set up a classic Raven Wing play down the right side zone. Stoerm received a perfect pass from the Sledgehammer, despite needing to recover the kick from very deep, and before most orc fans could blink, the score had been levelled. Given the reliable ineptitude of the Ravens' previous thrower Helmut Wissen (MBBL Most Inept Player during the 2002 SSSGC Trophy), this momentarily stunned Ravens fans, before riotous applause broke out. But the Ravens were down on personnel. With another cage drive looking likely it was unclear how they would manage to stand up to the Gitz' offensive drive. The green machine rumbled down the field predictably as the Ravens desperately tried to hold up the momentum. It was here that Sloan Hammerstein's sister Jacqueline, 'the Jackhammer', attempted to put her stamp on the game. As the cage formed she instructed her team mates to shepherd the players on the outside as she made a daring attempt to dodge inside. Unfortunately her advances were rebuffed by the orc blitzers, leaving her eating turf. As the cage trundled ever further forward she made three more fearless attempts to break it, but each time found herself elbowed, kicked or pile driven back into the pitch. She finally looked up with seconds remaining in the half to see Hind, once again, step into the end zone and put the game out of the Ravens' grasp. Her efforts had won her the Ravens MVP, but had not been quite enough. The inevitable bragging and boasting of coach One Eye during the post match interviews was too overwhelming for most of the media to report on, made even more embarrassing by the sycophancy of Eddie McGore towards the Gitz, however coach SinDex was able to swallow his pride long enough to congratulate the orcs on their victory, an effort for which Eddie Hackaveiny exclaimed: I think he deserves the MVP for that performance Eddie! The result tipped the Gitz momentarily into first spot on the ladder with five points for the win and a bonus point for casualties scored. The follow up game of the double header - an eventful draw between the Starwood Hunt and Green, Keen and Farkin' Mean - didn't effect this, and the Gitz look strong the start the season. Will anyone challenge them for the title? SinDex
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I worked for Games Workshop in the late 90s; please don't hold it against me. The 3rd edition of Blood Bowl was released towards the end of my tenure there and, while I'd been playing since Kerrunch, it rekindled my love for the game. In the early 2000s I ran a league called the Marienburg Blood Bowl League in which I developed my third human team: the Drakwald Ravens. This team quickly became my go-to and I happily ran them for many seasons. They are the team that I always remember and look back on when I think of my early days in the game. The players that I developed have stuck with me, from the inept bumbling of Helmut Wissen (the game's worst thrower; he could never pick the ball up on the first attempt) to the steadfastness of Jock "the Hammer" Hammerstein (team captain and all-around awesome blitzer). Originally the team was created using a mixture of Mordheim miniatures and random GW stuff I collected along the way. I've never been a fan of the GW human teams and so I tended to kit-bash to fill that void. Of course, the advent of third-party miniature suppliers for fantasy football opened up a new world of possibilities, but despite some absolutely beautiful teams for other races, I have just never found a human team I liked. I wanted a team that had a uniform, and a uniform that looked like a football team rather than a band of mercenaries. I also wanted to avoid the spiky look that even the new miniatures seem to have favoured. So it took over a decade before I found something that I did like, and it came from an unexpected place. Hero Forge's custom miniature service offered the opportunity to create the team I'd always wanted. While it was expensive ($25 a pop), and I am still unsure how to add the ogre, it was the team I needed. I swallowed deeply, put my hand deep into my pocket, and designed a team that had the look and feel that the Ravens should have. From left to right: blitzer, lineman, thrower, catcher. Instead of recreating the Drakwald Ravens, or even the Marienburg Ravens as they became through the MBBL era, I decided that this team would be the successor team, a generationally displaced group that has taken on the mantle of their parents' successes. Thus, the Ravens II were born. Built around a core of players drawn from the children of previous stars, the new team came together with a new character that I really liked. Check out the genealogy below. Jock "the Hammer" managed to be a bit of a womaniser in his day, and gave rise to the half-sister-act of Jacqueline "the Jackhammer" and Sloan "the Sledgehammer"; respectively blitzer and thrower for the new team. Helmut Wissen, a terrible thrower on his best day, nevertheless managed to marry Sloan Hammerstein's mother in the end, and gave her a little brother named Goran, who now wears the #1 blitzer's jersey. Other legends also contributed to the modern team, along with a new batch of faces to fill it out. Importantly, the Ravens also pay homage to my first human team, the Araby Scimitars, and the first human team I played in the "modern era" of Blood Bowl (since 2008), Le Coq, by including foreign import players from both of those teams. The Ravens II made their debut at Southern Shrike Bowl 2016. By any measure it wasn't a particularly great debut, finishing 14th (I think) of 30 odd coaches, but it felt good to get them out there. And, while the colour scheme of the team doesn't "pop" in a way that really allowed them a shot at the "Le Coq Fancier's" trophy this year, it was incredibly satisfying to finally get this team, a team over a decade in the making, back onto the pitch. The team makes its league debut in the Adeleague's Adelaide Open Season 1. Regardless of how well they do, I look forward to building a new dynasty of characters and continuing the team's legacy. SinDex
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SinDexSinisterDexter, or SinDex, is Brett Whittaker, Commissioner of the Adeleague. He has been playing Blood Bowl since the 80s and has run leagues and tournaments since. Most recently he has represented the SA Steelballs three times (2011, 2013, 2017), been the AusBowl MVP, the CCKUP, Southern Shrike Bowl and 24 Hour Ironman Champion, and won the "Le Coq Fancier's" trophy at SSB six times. ArchivesCategories
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