6 Turn Blood Bowl

[Coach]

I was wondering last night what the effect would have if a half of Blood Bowl was only 6 turns instead of 8 per half?

Would kind of teams and styles of play do you think would benefit the most?

Would it mean more shorter drives and bring more passing into the game, or would it mean less passing as it would be easier to grind out a half?

Has anyone actually tried it before?

[donkeyjon]

I'm still considering the ramifications, but I must admit that my first thought was "Can dwarves score in 6 turns?"

[Coach]

Take your time, I'd rather see thought out and reasoned reactions rather than gut reactions.

[Lebe666]

Things that would be harder or less effective IMO:

- Slow Caging or Caging
- Move 4 warriors
- Low Agi or no Sure Hands ball handlers.
- Risky moves... since you don't have time to get back

[Netsmurf]

We play overtime as 4 turns two halfs and it puts alot of preasure on all kinds of teams. The aim is definatly to stall as much as possible.

With 6 turns a piece the impact would be greatest on the slow teams. They have two blitz fewer to get through the defence, but grinding would be their main focus even more so as they are less likely to get the numbers advantage, so they will aim for a 0-0, 1-0, 1-1 or 2-1 result.

It will be easier to defend with succes if you are an AG team, just do the culums and now you face two blitz less. But this should also mean that scoring fast is not so attractive, I would try and stall to turn 4 against all the slow-normal speed AG<4 teams.

Risk management would be even more important as the time to recover is shortend. The impact of a double 1 will be greater than it is now.

[Barninho]

When I saw this post I thought back to my OCC Khemri team where 8 turns was often not time enough to score. Smurf sums up my general view very eloquently though.

Seems like a major boon for the lower-AV teams as they have four turns less to be bashed in and the speed and agility to capitalise on mistakes. I think Coach has come up with the ideal format to help his beloved Woodies. I could see the win ratio Pro Elves and Skaven shooting up too.

[Rusty]

Another question to consider, and one I haven't thought through the answer to, is the effect on team builds. With only 6 turns you should need fewer rerolls (well, maybe one fewer). Might that mean more teams taking only 2 rerolls and more positionals from the start? Would that affect certain teams better than others in the 6 turn format?

[Valokiloren]

I'd have said that Rusty is right, from that POV. Fewer rerolls and more positionals would be the preferred option here. Mainly because you can't take as many risks - so starting skills will be more useful.

Similarly, the playstyles of each team would be affected. You can't afford to make that hand-off all the time, as you simply can't recover as easily in six turns as you can in eight. So it becomes a running game. The grind would be weaker - because you need both to injure and score, and those slower teams are going to get bogged down, meaning the full cage will be a less effective tactic.

Subsequently, both Frenzy and the sideline cage would be more useful - the sideline cage due to the ability to easily predict the ball-carrier with fewer men standing next to the ball-carrier. Frenzy because the ability to crowd-push the cage corners off the pitch.

Overall, the faster races would become more useful than the slow, bashing teams, with Chaos and Norse being upon the threshold - bashy but fast enough to stay able to score while bashing, with some exceptions. Races like Skaven, WElves and similarly speedy races would be much better overall, especially WElves, as their core would be even more useful in a game where fewer RRs is better. Or at least, that's what I'd presume.

[Captain Thorrek]

With Six turns a side, this is what I'd see coming:

Dwafs: They'd do a drastic switch, since they really need to open that line up. I'd look for an increase in the amount of teams taking a deathroller onto the pitch... instead of only one drive, now the team has it for the entire half, in essence. One bribe might keep him there the entire game!

Stunty Teams: A definite increase in stunty teams, as the one turn touchdown becomes a lot more attractive a concept, especially when coupled with less turns for your opponent to turn your players to jelly. Each has their own benefits and drawbacks, but expect to see a lot more, with Gobbos (good bashing and bribes) and halflings (that master chef gets a lot more dangerous) getting the most.

Chaos: Losing the Warriors makes the team a lot more mobile, and still gives the opposing coach the threat of a ST4 Blitz. What's more, the longer range ensures more beastmen to have in range to threaten.

Orcs/Humans/ Wood Elves: Lose their big guys. Bonehead/really stupid really hamstrings these teams for their cost now. With only so many gobbos to fling on an Orc team, other teams will send in their player hunters to go after the gobbos, and losing tackle zones becomes unacceptable. Take root also has it's problems, and with no halflings to toss, it makes no sense to have something with no mobility for a team that will depend on it more.

High Speed/Ag teams: been discussed before.

Inducements: More bribes and things for sniping players. Bloodweiser babes will also be in high demand, since a coach needs those players on the pitch.

[Coach]

Seems reactions are much like I expected due to the nature of successful play currently.

As you now need to move the ball quicker do you not think it will place more of an emphasis on skills to help that side of the game more as teams will now face shorter drives more often.

If it is easier to defend against cages now, teams are going to have to make adjustments to combat that. This is going to have a knock on effect and this is what I was curious about.

Also for what it is worth, I'd still stick the same starting roster, it will just mean more drives where the last few turns I have a reroll. Some teams I may change perhaps from four down to three, but most I'd stay the same.

In drive game play and skills selections I think will have the biggest impact. Two less turns brings in different challenges to your team, so what would you do to tackle this?