Welcome back to Touchline Tactics – where we get the inside scoop on the playstyles and peccadillos of your favourite Blood Bowl teams. We assess their gameplans, look at which skills to advance, and take our top picks of Star Players to bring to the astrogranite.
Today we ascend to the royal courts and announce the august presence of the Imperial Nobility. Armed with a toolbox of skills oriented towards a defensive playstyle, an Imperial Nobility team can really frustrate the opposition's attempts to advance up the pitch.
Playstyle
Imperial Nobility are a defensive and control-focused team who rely upon a diverse set of positionals to deny areas of the pitch to their opponents, limiting their movement options. Coached correctly, an Imperial Nobility team can be a challenge to play against, shutting down their opponent’s game plans and winning enough minor advantages to force a victory. Bash teams are particularly vulnerable!
With all that talent packed into one team, Imperial Nobility players come with high costs, so drafting a strong team will mean making sacrifices. Greater care will be needed when facing fast and agile teams like Wood Elves, which can easily exploit holes in your defences if you’re not careful.
Tactics
Retainer Linemen are cheap and armed with Fend, so they can stall any advantage your opponent might gain from knocking them down. Don’t be afraid to put them on the line to support more important players, or even commit fouls to get rid of an expensive player!
The role of the Thrower is to get the ball into the hands of your Blitzers, and then serve as an extra body to protect the ball carrier as they move up the pitch.
The Noble Blitzers are the cornerstone of the team and should be protected at all costs! Starting with Block and Catch, you’ll be relying on them to get the ball and carry it into the End Zone. They will rapidly collect SPP, meaning new skills and even more reliability.
Protecting your Blitzers is important and Bodyguards, as the name suggests, are the perfect tool for the job. Stand Firm and Wrestle make them perfect for resisting your opponent’s pushes downfield or into your cages. Use them to support your Blitzers throughout the game.
The Ogre is a towering slab of muscle who wants to do nothing but bludgeon the opposition. If supported by Bodyguards and/or Linemen, they can tie up opposing players and hopefully remove some from the pitch!
Skilling up
Retainer Linemen: Block and Kick are solid skills to put on your Linemen (though you really only need one kicker), while Tackle can help pin down the agile teams that would otherwise give you trouble. It’s also worth just taking random General Skills – you can always fire and re-hire if you don’t like the result!
Thrower: Sure Hands is a must for Throwers. From there, you can look at Block and/or Dodge to give them more power on the pitch, or Leader to secure an extra re-roll. You could also lean into Passing skills on one Thrower if you wish to cultivate a longer game. Accurate, Pass and Nerves of Steel are all good first picks.
Noble Blitzer: Dodge is the first Skill each Blitzer should get. Tackle and Sidestep are also good Skills to pick, to further scupper your opponent’s plans! Sure Hands is useful for a ball carrier, while Strip Ball is great for a dedicated sacker.
Bodyguards: One important skill is in their name – Guard! Get that on as many Bodyguards as possible to strengthen your defences, then you can look at Skills that help the offense. Mighty Blow (+1), Tackle, Strip Ball and the ever-reliable Block are all good options for well-developed Bodyguards.
Top 5 Star Players
5 – Cindy Piewhistle
Cheap access to a Bombardier is always welcome and the control-focused nature of an Imperial Nobility team means you’re well situated for extending the length of the drive, so there is more time to throw deadly pies!
4 – Ivar Eriksson
Ivar fits right into an Imperial Nobility roster, with Guard and Tackle being two highly desirable skills, while Raiding Party adds a little extra manoeuvrability. Plus, he’s from noble stock in Norsca – or so he claims!
3 – Rumbelow Sheepskin
Offensive options can be lacking for Imperial Nobility teams, so why not hire an irate goat with an angry Halfling? Rumbelow brings a suite of skills that work well at breaking open cages and screens, providing the opportunity for your positionals to flood in.
2 – The Mighty Zug
With a ST of 5 plus Block and Mighty Blow (+1), Zug combined with an Ogre makes for a brutal front line when you need the extra power.
1 – Griff Oberwald
Griff is an excellent player that can fit perfectly into any role on the Imperial Nobility team, be it filling a vacant position or giving you extra options to control the game. The biggest issue you’ll have is him stealing all the SPP!
