Bandits receive Royal visit!

I really had to show off this really funny find from Neil...

What? Don't have a clue about who the Bandits are?
That's easy, check them over here : TCBB

NABBO TC dugout meets NAFC 2012

After being spotted in the Challenge of Q'uermitt 2012, this time the NABBO Tea Cup memorabilia  - both dugout and dice - have been seen, this time in the NAF Championship 2012!
Check out those yellow circles in the image...

Apparently, out of 182 coaches playing in the tournament, the first one that sits to play with our friend Neil was using a NABBO TC dugout and taking the NABBO dice along with it!
Note that Neil is himself a (hopefully proud) owner of a complete set of NABBO TC collectibles.


How about that for a coincidence?
:)

Update (29 May):
 
As promised, after checking our sources, using Neil's tip, and consulting a powerful oracle in distant Albion lands, we decided to use our most advanced device of warp transmission and send a pm to ceetee! He promptly answer and kindly sent us this pic taken in the NAFC with him holding... you know what!

Kudos to Neil and ceetee for immortalizing the moment!

No, no, no.... THESE are the new NAF dice!

Thanks to our buddy Neil for revealing us the real beauty within the new NAF dice: white inlays!

I bet everyone can see the rolls across the table now!!!

Edit: Do you by any chance have the very same dice but with different flavours? By all means mail us a pic of them so we all can share!

Green Ripa´z

Yup,another team on the block,and another one that took me like 5 or 6 years to paint...but hey...they are now done...

Here you have 18 orcs plus Varag...yes,18...since i had another starter box orc team in a trade,i decided i was going for a Blood Bowl Orc "Horde" instead of a normal team so...18 green skins and i dont have a troll...yet  ;)

They are painted quite simple so,and again,i´ve painted the bases with the positional colours (im going to do the same with the dark eldars )

Varag and the positionals (it sounds like a 60´s band or something :) )...they look almost the same,with the exception of the blitzers that have diferent helmets (2 are painted black and 2 in silver).

Varag and the lineman...Varag sure loves the camera :) Again,and apart from the pitch marks and one or another blood stain,they all look alike.

And thats about it....all in all,im quite pleased with them...they look nice on the table and thats enough for me  :) Also,they kind of look like Roman soldiers dont they  :P

Anyway,as for the Mecha-Trolls,i didnt started with them yet...my 5 year old catched chickenpox so,hes staying home and i have to take care of him plus,i had my wifes anniversary...pfff....im exhausted  :P

New NAF dice ???

Stole this pic from Dave Munro Twitter account  :)

Edit:Better pic...i think they´re awesome  :)

Credits for this pic goes to purplegoo.




Sturm Der Hiebe 2012

­

Today we have great news from our friend Neil!

Past weekend he went to Gütersloh to have a go at the Sturm der Hiebe 2012, and while at it he decided to share a report with us!

Here's how he meticulously decided what team to take, and is insight on the games during the whole thing, sprinkled with is usual humour notes.

Well played Nick, congratulations!

Hey I’ve just won my second NAF accredited Tourney ‘Sturm Der Hiebe’ and that makes me officially a happy bunny!   

Twenty eight coaches took part playing 6 games each, spread over two days with a modified Swiss scoring system. The rules for the tournament can be found here but essentially it was TR110 resurrection.  I spent a long time trying to decide what to take, it’s not an easy choice when you have as many teams as I have and it’s not helped either when you’re as indecisive as me (I think I used to be indecisive but now I’m not so sure!).  Then the deadline day for submitting the rosters arrived and I was too busy to work anything out so I took my Pro Elves as I already had a TR110 roster that fit the bill.

Who are these Elves you ask?  They are the Beastwick Wytches, a highly specialised offshoot of the Kult of Khaine formed when some acolytes got bored waiting for their torture lesson to start and began throwing the still beating heart of their previous victim around.  Post match parties are legendary, mostly because no one who has ever been to one has survived to tell the tale! 

Game One

First up were the Chaos Dwarves of Smashing Pumpkins, normally I’d of said ‘Rats there goes all my dodge skill rolls!’ (or words to that effect) but if you look at my roster you will note I only have one player with the dodge skill so all those tackle skills are largely wasted. I won the Fame roll, the weather was perfect and I chose to receive.  Two turns later I’d done the Elf thing and scored, so it was back to the start position and prepare to spoil the Chaos Dwarf Grind plan. 

 I was able to first stall his cage then disrupt it but couldn’t wrest the ball clear so I had to be satisfied with 1-0 at half time, I was particularly happy to KO a Bull Centaur and even happier when it refused to come out for the second half. 

 The second half couldn’t of gone better if I’d scripted it and I was able to run home three further touchdowns without reply; with the first Bull Centaur only returning to the fray once the first had been injured. Game one finished and I was top of the pile and playing on Pitch 1 next.

Game Two

The second game was against more Pumpkins, I had the stray thought that with my Wytches and all these Pumpkins maybe it was already Halloween but apparently not!   

These were the Sleepy Hollow Pumpkins a Necromantic Team who had defeated a Halfling Team 3-1 in the previous round.  Once again I won the Fame roll (this time with Fame +2), the weather was again perfect and I chose to receive and duly scored in the obligatory 2 turns.  In a familiar turn of events I stalled his cage, disrupted it, couldn’t wrest the ball clear and went to half time 1-0.   

Kick Off brought me a Pitch Invasion and with Fame +2 there were a lot of stunned undead all of a sudden.  Unfortunately for me neither of the Ghouls was stunned and they were able to secure the ball and take it out of reach whilst the rest of the team recovered.  Still (I thought!) I’m in a good position here and then the Wight with Piling On and Mighty Blow really went to work.  By the end of the game he’d injured 4 players and KO’d another 3, 6 of which by using Piling On!   

Eventually I ran out of players and couldn’t hold him out any longer so the game finished tied at 1-1 and I dropped to place 5 in the rankings.

Game Three

Next up were the Underworld team of Mutagen X coached by Robert who’d come all the way from Belgium to play in the tournament.  He had the dangerous combination of Claws and Mighty Blow on not one, not two but three players so I feared for my team; on the other hand he had a lot of Strength 2 Goblins so maybe I’d be able to dish it out as well as taking it. 

I managed to gain Fame +2 again but the weather had turned for the worst and it was now pouring with rain.  The game flowed this way and that and even featured a dastardly one turn thrown team mate touchdown.  Another Pitch Invasion helped me to an unassailable 4-1 lead though before a late multi dice risky play, without the cushion of a reroll, gave the Underworld a deserved consolation and the final scoreline of 4-2 was enough to see me return to the top of the table. 

 As a footnote his Warpstone Troll, just like the Minotaur in game one, didn’t fail a single Really Stupid (Wild Animal for the Mino) roll, although neither really caused any damage.  That was the end of a very satisfying first day with the third game being the most fun but all of them interesting.

Day Two

Game Four

 Day 2 and I was facing off against another Underworld team the Seckenheim Suicidal Sewer Things coached by Planlos who is a very accomplished player (he finished ranked highest individual at the NAF World Cup two years ago!!!!) but he’s also an all round nice guy.  He had Skitter Stab-Stab on his team and a whole horde of 2 headed Gobbos. 

 This was a tense tactical battle which I was edging having scored just before half time to lead 2-1 despite the Sweltering Heat giving the numerically superior Underworld an advantage and all those pesky dodging goblins who didn’t roll a double one in the entire game despite making 60 or 70 dodges!  

It could and probably should have been better but my Leap equipped Catcher landed on her head and knocked herself out rather than blocking the Star Rat in it’s living cage. He had one turn left before half time though and so having been on the receiving end of a one turner in the last game I set up cautiously.  The ball scattered right out on to the touchline with a lone gobbo standing next to it, kick off result Blitz!.  

Because I’d set up to protect against a thrown team mate only my fastest players could get to it though. I blitzed the goblin (with my newly returned to the fray leap ‘expert’) but could only push him aside before sending my sure feet catcher to catch the falling ball which she duly did, leaving her a little exposed but hopefully preserving my lead. What followed was a game defining turn however, as with the help of a couple of assists the Goblin who’d been left standing blocked and then injured my Leaper and a Skaven Blitzer dodged out and made 2 GFIs before slamming my Sure Feet lady holding the ball in to the crowd.  The spectators duly kicked her head in and injured her too! In the second half I slowly ran out of players and was unable to prevent an equaliser with 2 turns to go. 

The loss of the two catchers meant the Underworld were easily able to stomp the lone scoring possibility I was able to send forward and the game finished with an honourable draw.  Fortunately the players below us also drew and I was still in the lead!

Game Five

Yuck what is that stench? 

It’s the Nurgle team Hof Der Pestilenz not exactly opponents of choice for Elves especially those like mine that like to pass and hand off, all that Disturbing Presence is, well, disturbing!   

The Game started in perfect weather, I had Fame +1 and he chose to receive.  I did what had been working well for me up until now by first stopping and then disrupting his cage, my sidestepping blitzer's (especially the blodger) proved really useful for this throughout the tournament and I was able to apply enough pressure to wrench the ball loose then score and go in to half time leading one nil and due to receive the ball next.  

Nuffle doesn’t really like such easy victories though, so with my usual 2 turn touchdown beckoning, off I went.  First blitzing the intermediate ball carrier free - Block and Skull, whoops reroll and a pushback that’s enough thanks.  Pass a 1, pass skill reroll fine - catch a 2 needing a three because of the Disturbing Presence, catch skill reroll fine - just the hand off  to a NoS catcher and a dodge out to an empty square 2 yes! But wait a minute what is that stinky Chaos Warrior doing there! I need a three, Catch reroll... 1 aargh! All was not yet lost however as the ball landed kindly and he quickly turned over leaving me just needing to Dodge out and pick up the ball a 1, reroll another 1 and now I was in trouble!  He was able to grind down the pitch and equalize but with 2 turns still to go an accurate long pass to my Blodgy Blitzer held in two tackle zones and with 1 disturbing presence close by……a five, she’s only gone and caught it!  Two dodges later and it was a glorious elf style last turn winner.

Game Six

I was still ranked first going in to the last game but it was really close and, I think with the right results there were at least 5 potential tournament winners.  Because I had already played Planlos I faced up against Chassalla Monsters another Necromantic team who were currently third.  For the first time I didn’t win the Fame roll (it was a draw) however the weather was perfect and my opponent won the toss and chose to receive.  However, by turn four my Elves were on fire and they were already 2-0 up and had knocked out one of his werewolves and (re)killed a Zombie. 

With the kick off to come in the second half it was looking comfortable. Strangely Nuffle decided he was happy with this state of affairs and with four turns to go in the game the Elves lead 4-0 and had (re)killed another Zombie. At this point my opponent started to roll hot with his armour and injury rolls and managed to injure four of my players (but not kill any - so no little zombie elves!) and knock out 4 more before grabbing a consolation touchdown for a final score of 4-1.

As Planlos matched my result on the pitch next to me that meant I had won the tournament on Touchdown difference and had also won the Most Touchdowns prize.   

This tournament had some very nice prizes, including two fully painted teams, but I chose the Impact Orc Rock Band as my prize for winning the tournament and a lovely tournament pitch made by FF Fields for the most touchdowns, added to this all participants got some special tournament dice. 

The Wytches now have a new home stadium and I can use the NAF Trophies as Turn Marker and Reroll counters for them. What a great weekend, 6 interesting games of Blood bowl and stuff to take home too!

 You can find more info, results and a lot more pics in here: Sturm Der Hiebe.

Blitz Issue 4 released

The free Blood Bowl e-zine BL!TZ issue 4 has now been released and can be found at:

http://blitz.ausbowl.com/blitz_issue_04.pdf

Awesomely, Right Stuff's Team "Odinn's Champions" get a nice pic on page 30 in the CanCon 2012 article! Here is what the authors have to say about this issue:

Well we really have to say that this has been the most trying so far of  
the issues. Real world issues really do have a way of interrupting  
anything. Add into that our first real technical issues with the process  
and we have overshot by about 3 weeks!

On the plus side, and this is purely by coincidence, the first registered  
user was me.  That was on the 9th May 2007 at 1:42am.  So in a little over  
2 hours, AusBowl is 5 and we have something special in the giveaway  
department this month thanks to AusBowl members and Good Games, but more  
on that later . . .


So other than the trials and tribulations we have experienced, the 5th  
birthday and the good work suggested by Alex, what do we have on offer  
this issue?
Team focus and a painting focus from AusBowl members
Tons of Dungeonbowl action
A tale of Blood Bowl rediscovery
State updates
Custom pitch construction article
More photography tips and a CanCon pictorial
A MASSIVE 5th birthday giveaway
Plus much, much more!

This issue is big people!  I hope you enjoy the BL!TZ.

SinisterDexter and Carnivean

The Closer I Get To You

The new Both Down episode is out...#6

"The Dungeonbowl Episode! Hear Steve and Scott talk about Dungeonbowl, gab about their experience playing it and hear from the Main Guy behind the new Dungeonbowl game from Cyanide! Stay tuned for a special surprise interview and a possible contest! We guarantee it’s the best Dungeonbowl podcast ever!!!!
Links to stuff mentioned in Episode 6

• Dungeon Bowl Rules
• Elves, Dwarfs and Dungeon Bowl (Old Dungeon Bowl Game circa 1989)
• Rat City Rumble Dungeon Bowl Rules
• Have Fun with Chat Roulette!
• Kool Aid Man
• Bronies
• Dungeon Bowl – Cyanide Games
• Chaos Cup Tournament in Chicago!
• Da 40 Miners Webpage – Check out the Little Guys from the Big House!
• Three Die Block
• Bugmans Bowl
• North American Team Championship 2013 – Facebook Page
• Bacon Cracker Love! Merry Mayhem News
• Follow Paulo on Twitter @AbraxiS666
• Follow Tristan on Twitter @natsirtdm
• Kama Sutra
• Join and check out the NAF
• Zlurpcast and ZTZ
• Ring Rust on Couch Pirates Radio

Definitely let us know what you think at either twitter (@BothDown) or by email at BothDownPodcast@gmail.com"

GINGER POWER!!!!

BOTH DOWN

Zlurpcast #34 is out...

...and thank you Nuffle for that...my body was starting to beg me for my Zlurpcast fix :)

As seen in the above pic, not only are Xtreme and Jonny P looking their best at Adepticon 2012 and Stupor Bowl V, but they are wearing some Zlurpcast apparel. Buy yours today at this link, then take a pic and send it in. You could win some amazing prizes! This episode previews Chromatic Cup, Four Diamonds Cup, and Special K, while reviewing Stupor Bowl V in-depth. We also hear not one, but two Torontonians give updates in our Ourside Our Borders segment. The winner of our MST3K / SpaceBowl contest is also revealed…. is it you? Listen and find out ya turkey!

- http://zlurpcast.com/category/episodes/episodes/zlurpcast-34-may-2012/

Also...as a bonus,here you have a pic of JP with his fantastic Zlurp costume...Axtklinge did this piece of artwork...lolol...props buddy  :)

Three Chile Burrito Bandits

As noticed here in the MMN last week, I was absolutely delighted to find out that my entry to this great FF-Fields contest, had won the 1st place in the category that I've applied for (Best Original Concept).
The amazing quality of the teams there, (such as Paul's Terracotta Tearers for instance), made me even happier with my chubby little Three Chile Burrito Bandits, an halfling team converted to fit an Old West/ Tex-Mex theme, where the trees... well, they HAD to be cactus....

The legend...

No one really knows, and many stories are told amongst their fans but maybe, if there’s some little pieces of truth in each of them, we can glue them all together and shed some light on how it all begun...

Once upon a time, there was a bunch of Halfling kids that spent most of their free time (*read ‘not eating’), playing cowboys and reading his tales from the distant lands of the new world.

With those plays, it grew an indomitable will of stretching out their borders (much to their parents worry), and the resolve to see and explore other places often lead to trips into neighbour settlements with countless adventures.

By then they were fondly known around as “The Bandits” not only for their fitting outfits but for the ‘outrageous’ assaults on their parent’s kitchens where they would gather enough supplies to set off on yet another quest.

One day during the spring festival,  escaping once again from their village, they’ve managed to attend to an itinerary event that was to change their life’s for ever: an exhibition match of blood bowl!

The Nordland Rednose -fierce bearded warriors from the north-, with their horned helms and tattooed body’s, were facing the agile All Black Owls, a team of ladies from a far distant land across the sea that did not seem a bit worried for facing such brutes.

How this match indeed pushed them into Blood Bowl or effectively influenced their game play is of course highly questionable, but to this day one of their fans mostly appreciated cheering songs still shouts: 

“Short blows, don't beat too high - but hit like a norse all right! 

Side step and Dodge don’t rest - they’ll fly into the End Zone line!“

Oh, almost forgot, why the ‘three chile’ you ask? 

Oye muchacho, because no matter how tasty they look, sometimes they reeeealy sting!

 Three Chile Burrito Bandits team posing for the photo!

... and the back row was complaining for not showing up properly!

Here you have "Da Cook" (holding a burrito), the turn counter (featuring the local sheriff all 'pretty & tied up'), and since the Apothecary wasn't doing his job all that well, they've opted for a priest instead!

Of course all those "notorious deeds" tend to backfire sometimes...

 Now that you already know what their made of, beware and keep your food well hidden and locked, or else...

BANG! BANG!

Terracotta Tearers

Last week I was thrilled and delighted to win second place in the FF Field competition in the Original Concept category.
As promised, I have posted a range of mini closeups and background fluff at the Man Cave here