Blood Bowl is a game of athleticism and sporting skill,* but every now and then a team comes along with the grit, the determination, and the je ne sais quoi to transcend mortal limits and achieve true gridiron greatness. A team with such natural talent that no amount of rippling muscles and whip-crack reflexes can stand before them. A team with badgers.
We couldn’t hold them back any longer – the strongest** Blood Bowl team ever to grace the gridiron has arrived. Gnomes are avid Blood Bowl fans who usually stick to their own secluded burrows, but every once in a while a team will enter the ‘big’ world and make a name for themselves in the leagues – usually through the popularity of their adorable woodland compatriots rather than any actual skill or success.Whether it’s a Beastmaster working alongside a ferocious goose to shore up their team’s line of defence or a speedy fox sprinting downfield with the ball in their mouth, Gnomes make use of many furry friends to fill in where their short stature can’t compete. Then if that isn’t enough to secure some touchdowns, their mastery of illusions and capricious tricks surely is.
Luckily, not everyone on the team struggles to reach the average player’s knees, and their connection to the woodland allows Gnomes to enlist the help of Altern Forest Treemen. These giant arboreal brutes are vital for smashing holes in the opposing line that their smaller teammates can surge through, but with exceptionally slow movement and the constant risk of taking root where they stand, they need to be managed carefully.
Like other Stunty teams – the Gnomes have a particular rivalry with Halflings – most of the players come at a budget cost, letting coaches pack out their rosters with the more exciting options available before making up the numbers with Linemen. Even then, regular Gnome Linemen have the Jump Up and Wrestle skills, giving them a surprisingly solid counter-punch despite their poor AV.
Beastmasters are a vital linchpin, and not just because their models sport some of the all-time best companion critters Blood Bowl has ever seen.*** They’re the only rostered players across the entire game to start with the powerful Guard skill, helping your other players block even when stuck in themselves – no doubt thanks to their goose and badger allies.
We’ll have more from the Gnome team as we get closer to their release, so in the meantime, head back to the Preview Hub to see everything else we’ve revealed today.
* And no small amount of luck.** Warhammer Community makes no qualitative claims about the strength, or lack thereof, of the Gnome Blood Bowl team.
*** Sorry, Beer Boar.