Necromantic Zombies

Blood BowlNecromantic Zombie
Necromantic Zombies Overview:

Much like their counterparts on the Undead team, Zombies perform much the same sort of roles for a Necromantic team. They are cheap, fairly expendable with average armour and Regeneration. As such you are quite happy for them to get hit by opposing players if that means one of your better ones doesn’t. They are slow and have low agility but these aren’t really a problem when you are just there to get hit. The other bonus about them is that you can sometimes get a free Zombie player for your team if you kill one of the opposition.

So beyond the standard job of getting hit you can also consider making one into a kicker so that you don’t have to use a skill advancement on another player to get it. You have some fast players on your team and can take good advantage of this. The last usual role that you will find a Zombie fulfils well is that of a fouler. Their cheapness and general lack of flexibility on the pitch to do anything fancy means you are quite happy to exchange them  for a more expensive opponent should they get sent off.

Zombies will tend to gain SPP rather slowly, especially if they get sent off early in matches all the time but they can pick some up for causing the odd casualty. This isn’t a big issue though as they don’t have a great amount of useful skills to take and if they are off the pitch due to a sending off or getting hurt, then that is less team value you are losing from the pitch.

Fodder Necromantic Zombie:
  • Normal: Block, Fend / Tackle / Dauntless, Pro
  • Doubles: Guard
  • Stat Increase: +ST +MV / +AV

Start off with Block so they get knocked down less and you can also risk blocking with them more. You could opt for Wrestle though they are rather slow and will struggle to get in position after standing up. Next you can consider Fend as it can allow you to reposition in your next turn when marking someone stronger. This can be great if they are slowly pushing you towards the sideline. The other benefit is that it lets you move along with a cage easier, or get in a better position to assist a team mate. Tackle would be another alternative to deal with Dodge players. Dauntless could also be helpful if you are playing against a lot of stronger teams. The last real option from their normal skills is Pro, handy to try and reroll double pushes when blocking, or at a pinch lets you dodge or gfi a bit better when you don’t want to waste a team reroll. It also makes Dauntless a bit better as you won’t often want to use a reroll on that.

For doubles Guard is the best choice to help combat other teams who have a lot as you don’t have as many players with normal strength skill access. If you get more then Stand Firm or Side Step may be a consideration. A strength increase is very useful for obvious reasons but doesn’t change the skill selection. Agility would be a waste so don’t take that and movement edges out an armour increase though there isn’t much in it and you could take the latter.

Kicker Necromantic Zombie:
  • Normal: Kick, Block, Fend
  • Doubles:  Dodge
  • Stat Increase: +ST +AV

As already mentioned having a kicker would be helpful so start off with Kick and follow up with Block and Fend for protection. Doubles I would take Dodge again for protection and it makes them slightly more mobile. If you take Guard they will end up getting hit a lot more often which can leave you without Kick on the team if they die or miss games. The stat increases aren’t really very beneficial though I would have a hard time not taking strength as it can make them harder to hit and having a ST4 player (who hopefully already has or will get Block) never hurts. I might be tempted to take an armour increase again for protection, over extra movement.

Dirty Player Necromantic Zombie:
  • Normal: Dirty Player
  • Dboubles:
  • Stat Increase:

I personally think this build only needs the one skill and that would be Dirty Player. You want to look to gang foul with them in order to break armour and then get your +1 on the injury. If they get sent off then you don’t want to lose more value off the pitch. If they do get more increases then you might consider Block to keep them on their feet a bit more and on the pitch more. If you roll a double then you might want Sneaky Git though if you are gang fouling and going through the armour anyway, then it won’t be much use.

Necromantic Zombie Summary:

Zombies aren’t really very special players but they do what they do well and very cheaply, so that does make them worth while to the team. With slow development, lack of skill access and often taking a lot of hits, they don’t often get many skills which is reflected by the above builds. If you do happen to get one who manges a long and successful life on the pitch then by all means ask on the forum for ideas what to take.

21 thoughts on “Necromantic Zombies”

  1. I find it tough to have a kicker on a zombie team as there is only enough for 3 and all your positionals.  More than likely you will want to have those three on the line to get hit, and that prevents you from using the kick skill.  🙁

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  2. I find it tough to have a kicker zombie on a necromantic team it should have read.  I really need to triple check before posting in these comments.

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  3. Yeah, I find it hard to work my kicker on to the pitch if I have all the positionals. He usually makes it on the second half due to injuries though.

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  4. Why do you keep both Ghouls on the pitch in defense? While kicking I would remove on of the ghoul (the ball carrier oriented one) for the Kicking Zombie. But I just begin to play with Necromantic so I might be wrong.

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  5. The logic behind it is that a Ghoul is far more useful for the rest of a drive than a Zombie is. They can move nearly twice as far and one built as a ball carrier is going to have Block and Dodge. You may also want him on the pitch to go and pick up a ball that you knock loose as well, again a ball carrier build is often going to have Sure Hands as well.

    There is a case for both, though you may find some coach give Kick to a different player to get around this problem. If you are playing Necromantic teams a lot then try the different options and use what works best for you personally. There is no one definitive right way of doing things. Hope that helps and good luck!

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  6. I agree with coach and having an extra zombie so one can be a kicker on defense sounds fine to me. As well you can always place a Flesh golem on the line with two zombies and by doing so you get your kikcer in position.

    Werewolves love running for the ball the kickers places fot them in that square so far away!!!

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  7. For a developed Necromantic team how many zombies should you be keeping on the bench? and is it worthwile trying to level up substitute zombies?

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    • Good question though there isn’t really a single answer to that. It depends a great deal on the type of environment you are playing in, the rest of your team and what your opposing teams look like. If you are asking regarding a specific team of yours then create a thread in the forum with that extra information and we can discuss the various options.

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      • 40 or so matches in and I’ve finally coached a TV 2000+ team I’m pleased with.

        I’ve learned that along side fielding all the positionals I like to try to maintain 4-6 zombies on roster.

        Experimented with pairings of block-tacklers to counter the dodge rich, block-fenders to contend with more bash heavy and one or two freak luckers blessed with stat increases and /or doubles – I currently have a ST4 block-guard zombie (skill-ups chosen in that order) which brings some much needed strength and support to the LOS – almost like the team has a third flesh golem.

        When ghouls stayed alive long enough, once both were blodging the first to LV3 received sure hands, with the second gaining kick – developing them into the ball handlers made sense so I reasoned – why not let them take it from kick-off to touchdown?

        On defensive drives ghouls prove their worth coming up from the backfield to reenforce screens or sweep the edges of an opponent’s cage whilst the wolves, wights and golems are free to focus on building their skill sets around KOs, surfs, assists and shaking that ball free.

        Thanks for putting together such a useful resource.

        Ol

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  8. I quite like the idea of a Leader zombie if you get a double. Necro rerolls are so expensive that i just dont think its worth buying a 4th (tv bloat). So by giving your Zombie Leader you are saving yourself 40tv.

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  9. I have been using my flesh golems on the LOS, but should I be using zombies? Is there ever a case for using flesh golems on the LOS instead of zombies?

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  10. Why block over wrestle?

    On a developed team you will field 3 Zombies. On defense, they’ll be on the LOS, getting hit by better players.

    Getting knocked down with wrestle is a good deal, since you can stand up next term before the attacker – true only move one space, but in this transaction you’ve got the advantage.

    Also, downed zombies are annoying for caging teams. Do you really want to foul a 60k player?

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    • You make a good argument for Wrestle and I can see a good case for it especially on a more developed team. Generally though if they are still standing (which Block will do more often) then instead of standing up in your next turn you may be able to hit back, also if they are left unmarked you can move four squares instead of just one.

      Having your players standing makes advancing a cage much easier as well, typically a prone Zombie will just stand up next turn, one that starts the turn standing offers you more options. Having them standing also means there are more tackle zones for the opposition to have to deal with, this again can help protect your cage, especially early on before the play becomes stretched. Also staying on your feet may mean that you end up marking two of his players. Generally a block against a Zombie is going to be two dice for the opposition favour, so even if you have Wrestle most of the time they will probably choose to push instead. If they roll a skull and both down, with Wrestle they can free up their team mate who was providing the assist. If you have Block then that player will still be in your tackle zone, this will either force them to dodge, hit the Zombie again with that player, use a reroll on the original block, or just do nothing with that player.

      While you are correct that a prone Zombie can be annoying if placed where the opposition wants to move their cage, but are they really more annoying that a Zombie that is standing?

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  11. On Doubles I would seriously consider Sidestep. A single Sidestep Zombie lets you readily stuff up the middle on defense. Then opponents have to plow your line /and/ get a knockdown with their blitz to break through.

    Stand Firm could work instead, but you’d have to also stick your Flesh Golems on the line to make it work.

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  12. +1 vote for kick. No team can afford to play without this skill.

    Also I’m in the wrestle camp. Zombies are worthless whatever you force your opponent to put on the ground is likely more valuable.

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  13. I favor wrestle over block on zombies. It is true, that their minimal MA means that once they’re down, they stay out of the game forever, but with the insane movement differences between them and the runners, getting tackle zones and enemies out of the way – no matter the zomboo cost – is preferable to blocking. “Blocking to what?” is my question! Caging with those slow, AG2 guys seems like a waste, especially if they’re marking / marked.

    If not for their abyssmal AG, i would even advocate Jump Up! As it is, Guard beats all, though.

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  14. well i actuly combine my kicker and dirty player zombies the rest are cannon fodder and i found an interesting use for my zombies i use them to kill halflings and goblins

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  15. Early in the team’s development I favour block on Zombies. But when going up against more experienced teams (which already have a lot of block), then I favour wrestle. I also like giving my kick Zombie dirty player as 2nd skill (its great synergy IMO as you are likely to only kick once if you play smart and grind and he will be off the LOS and free to foul on turn 1 on defence).

    The problem I find though, is that if you get a Zombie with a double or +S, its really hard to field him on defence unless you put him on LOS. Perhaps kick as 4th or 5th skill on a Wight is the way to go in such a case??

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