TV1000 Human Starting Roster

This article was written for a previous version of the Blood Bowl rules and has some outdated information in it. You might still find it contains some useful information.

There is now an an updated Blood Bowl 2020 Second Season Human Starting Rosters article.

Overview:

As Humans are the ultimate in flexibility it should come as no surprise that this starts with the starting lineup you choose when you create a new team. The main considerations for Human starting rosters are the number of players you start with, taking an Ogre straight away and how many Catchers to get. General consensus suggests to start with all four possible Blitzers as starting with Block is invaluable and they are fast whilst being able to both handle the ball and also hit. I would also start with at least three rerolls as well as with all those AG3 players you are probably going to need them, even though some of them have built in skill rerolls already.

Ogre & No Catchers Human Starting Roster:
QuantityPlayer / ItemCost
5Lineman250k
1Thrower70k
4Blitzer360k
1Ogre140k
3Rerolls150k
Total970k

I strongly advise to take an Ogre on a Human team when you start off. As far as Big Guys go they are one of the more reliable ones and Humans really could do with the extra muscle. They are the most expensive player you can take so it is easier to start with one than to save up the money afterwards. Also starting with them from game one gives them the most amount of games to hopefully get an MVP and a casualty to get their first skill. This roster also starts with all 4 Blitzers as advised, probably the most important players on your team and the second most expensive behind the Ogre. It makes sense to start with a Thrower to get his Sure Hands skill, Pass is more of a luxury as you really don’t want to be passing the ball much with AG3. I’d suggest 3 rerolls (you can’t afford 4 and an Ogre) less than three is asking for trouble. Then you need to fill the roster out with 5 more players and I would just take 5 Linemen.

This does leave you with 30k left over so you could if you wanted afford to change one Lineman for a Catcher. Personally I don’t as you only have 11 players and they are only ST2 and have AV7 and they are bound to get picked on, hough having that speed and Dodge and Catch are nice. Catchers also tend to hog the SPP so starting without one tends to mean you get more SPP on your Blitzers and the sooner they skill up the better.

You can then take the 30k (or 10k if you took a Catcher) and get an apothecary after your first game. With 30k your chances are very good at being able to afford the 20k for one. After that I’d get a couple of Catchers and concentrate on getting them two touchdowns asap to get them either Block or Wrestle. If you don’t get that first skill on them you have to worry more about them getting hurt and it also limits their use on the pitch. Replacing Blitzers should be a priority though if they get injured but after that you can either get more Catchers or perhaps a 4th reroll if you find you tend to use them up quickly.

12 Player Human Starting Roster:
QuantityPlayer / ItemCost
4Lineman200k
2Catchers140k
2Throwers140k
4Blitzers360k
3Rerolls150k
Total990k

This roster affords you either 12 players or you can swap a Lineman for an Apothecary which may make more sense as it could save you a Blitzer who is worth twice the price. The roster does have more speed but it is weaker without the Ogre and having two Catchers. Having the Catchers may impact on how quickly you get the Blitzers to skill up as well. You are also able to afford both Throwers which means you can cover the whole of the backfield affectively when receiving the kick off. You don’t really need both and could swap one for a Lineman and bank the extra 20k towards an Ogre. It may be useful to have the extra Lineman as well if you opt to drop one for an Apothecary as well. The team again starts with three rerolls though you now have two players with both Catch and Dodge which should mean your rerolls last longer each half.

Purchase wise the first thing you should save up for is an Ogre. You need to get this extra muscle asap to help the team defend against cages and to just tie opposing players up. After that you may well need to replace players depending on how your games have gone but otherwise a 3rd Catcher or a reroll are probably the best options.

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32 thoughts on “TV1000 Human Starting Roster”

  1. They can operate on their own without help compared to the Really Stupid players. Also every action they do is on a 2+, so unlike a Wild Animal who needs a 4+ to just move, the Ogre won’t get left away from the action. Treemen have the problem of getting stuck and not moving at all, as well as having to roll to stand up if they do get knocked over. I wouldn’t call an Ogre reliable though, just more so than the other Big Guys.

    Reply
  2. Well, beeing able to move on a 2+ is quite huge though.
    Although imho the Kroxigor is better on teams with no right stuff access. Prehensile tail makes him much more annoying when he does nothing.
    On ogre, imho Guard than Stand firm are good choices.

    Reply
  3. Coach, what do you think about dropping the Thrower in the first example (the Ogre example) for a Lineman and a fourth reroll?  The reroll will let you “simulate” Sure Hands (the Thrower’s big advantage) but on anyone, not just him and, if you guy should manage to pick it up without the reroll, well that’s one more you can use for whatever needs doing.  The down side of course is you won’t have a thrower to skill up early on (you’d probly buy an Apoth before the Thrower) but other then that it seems like a decent trade.

    Reply
    • It is certainly viable, though as you said it is going to be some time before you get a Thrower who then will take a few more games to skill up. I think a skilled Thrower is more valuable to the team than the fourth reroll. Especially as Human teams have a lot of skill rerolls on their players to start with and their rerolls aren’t very expensive compared to other teams.

      Reply
  4. My experience so far (albeit on the computer version) has really proved the value of the Thrower – if only for a safer pair of hands as ball carrier, but also for some throwing duties.

    Due to the touchdowns and passes I’ve also been able to skill up and get the leader ability, to provide a bonus re-roll while he’s in play, which makes up for the re-roll not bought.

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  5. Yeah I agree with Murkglow. The thrower imo is more of an icing on the cake type player. Its much better to start with the extra reroll. Having said that the thrower would be my first addition to the team when the cash is available.

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  6. I agree with your suggested starting rosters.  They are definitely the most reliable ways to go with a starting human team.  HOWEVER, if you don’t mind taking risks to get a completely different “Human experience” try this roster:  4 blitzers, 4 catchers, 2 Throwers, 1 Lineman, 1 Apoth, 2 Re Rolls, 2 FF.  This can be a frustrating team to play against.  Especially when the opposing team is short on fast tackle players.  Save the apothecary for your blitzers.  Protect your throwers from getting hit as their sure hands will save you re rolls when picking up the ball.  Use all that block and dodge to stay standing.  Mark your opponent’s men with your players then dodge away when it comes time to make the play.  Dont place your catchers next to players with tackle and rely on your speed rather than brawn.  None of this makes for an easy game but if you can pull it off it makes for a thrilling game.

    Reply
  7. Humans were my favourite team. I’d like to ask you all: every time I coach a Human Team, I skill ST on one of the Throwers… do it happens to you as well? ^___^ They become unstoppable Griff Oberwald Small Brothers 😉

    Reply
  8. We have 2 leagues where im from, The Free for all, which is exactly as it sounds: exhibition games with any team you have. Then the league. In The Free for all i used this. 1 Thrower, 2 Catchers, 4 Blitzers, 5 linemen, Apoth, 2 RR, and 3 FF. It worked very well, only problems being especially in my first few games was the catchers hoggin the SPP as you have mentioned. I really like your Ogre list, but in the minor leagues (teams less then 2000) theres gunna be some pretty skilled players out there and starting with 11 players and no apoth might be a huge risk for the rest of the season. Now do i take the risk and use the team that would develop better in the long run (if they make it through the short) or the old team.

    Reply
  9. After always avoiding taking the Ogre and instead gonig for balanced re-roll heavy sides I’ve tended to find that I often end halves and games with re-rolls to spare, my throwers picked up the ball, my Catchers dodged etc.

    This time I’m going different with a
    Ogre, 4xBlitzer, 1xThrower, 5 Lineman, 1 Apothecary, 1!!! re-roll side

    This is a frighteneing and bold new direction for me, to go into a game with only 1 re-roll is close to blasphemy (the only thing more blasphemous is starting with 11 players so there’s no way I’m trading the 5th Lineman for another re-roll).

    Reply
    • Most teams only start with eleven players and no Apothecary. I wouldn’t worry about that unless you were entering a developed league where you are more likely get outnumbered and you can get rerolls using Inducements.

      Reply
  10. Hey Coach, What do you think of having 11 linemen, 8 RR, and 5 FF?
    Im going into an existing league, and wouldn’t mind losing my first couple games.

    Reply
    • Eight rerolls it total overkill and you will reach a point where you want to get rid of some of them which is a big waste of cash. If you want to try it though then by all means go for it, I have a feeling you may lose more than just the first couple of games though.

      Reply
  11. So for me coming into an existing league and is kinda new what would you suggest me running in the lrb6/crp rules, and what should I buy when I reach 100k, 200k, 300k, and also what skills/-linemen-blitzer-thrower-catcher? Sorry if I am asking for a lot.

    Reply
  12. This article is about the initial starting roster, if you wish to discuss development of your team, then please create a thread on the forum in order to keep this on topic. I wouldn’t suggest starting your roster that way and I’d go for a build that includes all four Blitzers from the start.

    Reply
  13. Got it. Sorry about that.

    So, 4 linemen, 4 blitzers, 1 catcher, 1 Thrower, 1 ogre, 3 rerolls, 1 FF

    200k + 360k+70k+70k+140k +150k +10k= 1,000k

    Reply
  14. I have to say, I’m partial to the following line-up:

    4x Blitzer – 360K
    2x Thrower – 140K
    6x Lineman – 300K
    4x Re-roll – 200K
    TV: 1000

    With that line-up, you have enough Block and movement on the team, and have the additional 12th man on the off chance you go down a guy for the entire game to fill in the gaps. It also means that you have enough Re-rolls to be able to simulate Catch if you need to, like for a Turn 8 TD. Also, with 4 Re-rolls, you only need pick-up Leader and then you have easily enough for any game ever.

    My first purchases are the Apothecary, which is necessary to keep the Blitzers alive, who at first are likely to hog SPP along with the Throwers.
    My next purchases are to replace any potentially dead positionals, and after that if it takes place, replace my least useful Lineman with the Ogre. By this point, you should have a few skills on each Blitzer/ Thrower and probably one per Lineman, so you can afford to be a bit riskier with the Ogre to get those SPP points for Injuries.

    One thing you can’t really afford to do is purchase any Catchers – by the time you get them, which realistically is probably game 6 or 7 down the line for your first one, most if not all of the team will have one skill minimum, and you can’t afford to TV bloat and leave two 70K+ players on the bench. And a Lineman w/ Block/ Wrestle to me, is much more useful than a Rookie Catcher. And since by this point, as I’m trying to spread the SPP around the team, most of Linemen will have Block/ Wrestle or something better, like Guard.

    Reply
  15. I’m surprised no one has mentioned:

    5 Lineman
    1 Catcher
    1 Thrower
    3 Blitzers
    1 Ogre
    Apothecary
    3 Rerolls

    Obviously it’s missing that one extra block from the 4th Blitzer, which would be my first purchase consideration. Any thoughts?

    Reply
    • Personally I find the Blitzers so important to the team I wouldn’t want to be waiting till at least the third game to get them all. Especially if joining a new league facing other new teams where Block is even more of an advantage to have.

      Reply
      • Point taken, Block is valuable during the initial team purchase! Until the Dead result comes up against my Blitzer first game. Then I’m wishing I bought the Apothecary. 😉

        Reply
  16. Best human team i continue to start with is:

    6 linesmen
    4 blitzers
    2 throwers

    4 rerolls

    After the first game or two get a apoth since they stay at 50k. Tus i always feel its the safest to save for off the bat. Then begin saving cash for a while as you are semi complete. After say 5-6 games and at least 3-4 level ups i see if i can afford ogre. But only splash out once i have some more block, guard and such to help support him.

    Reply
  17. Hi and ty for the Human start ups i love this site but putting what u say on the field is so very different for me. I love playing humans they are weak but versatile i am playing competition second season with Humans they are the first team i didnt give up on half way thru a 5 match season. first game my catcher thrower and 2 linemen lost 1 in attrubutes as the teams lvl up every game my spps are spread out and no one seems to lvl up or i dont lvl up much my thrower has and a lineman, cant seem to get the cas cause they arent that strong and my roll arent that great when i need them. But love Blood Bowl since Warhammer Fantasy first came out well over 20 years ago if i remeber right thanks fore the greart work and thanks again for the help with my account have GGs ahead and have fun .

    Peace

    Reply
  18. My starting Human line-up lately has been:

    4 Blitzers 360k
    1 Thrower 70k
    1 Catcher 70k
    5 Linemen 250k

    4 Re-rolls 200k
    Apothecary 50k

    The “Catcher” on my team is an elf-hugger really with his first 2 rank-ups going into Tackle and Shadowing. Given that of all people he can score most readily on the Human team it is relatively easy to get him into this role after a few games and then stop his development going further and bloating the TV. I’d try to get another lineman or thrower in this setup to provide more options after a while depending on how the team has developed and if I want more immediate ball interaction/control or not. The linemen tend to get a variety of skills and end up with different roles across the pitch (including one guy in the “dirty player” role).

    I find the strength of Humans is in their versatility, a good Human team can get agile against a bashy team and can get bashy against an agile team. Having a good number of re-rolls fits in well with having a broader range of skills across the team as you aren’t overly specialised into a single role; increasing the odds of actually pulling off some of the strange plays that emerge from the team.

    Reply
  19. Hey Coach,

    I’m on Blood Bowl 2 and I’m about to do some let’s plays about the trials and tribulations of a new human team I’ll be starting. Ideally I’m hoping for a mix that is both fun to watch and also at least somewhat capable of winning. With that said what do you think of:

    3 Linemen 150k
    2 Catcher 140k
    1 Thrower 70k
    4 Blitzer 360k
    1 Ogre 140k
    1 Reroll 50k
    1 Apo 50k

    Leaving me 40k in the bank for whatever comes up.

    Reply
  20. I was just thumbing through my shiny new edition of Blood Bowl and it just hit me – catchers are now 60k gold! Are we going to see a revision to this article?

    Reply
      • I appreciate that writing these articles must take a good deal of time. I’d suggest sticking a note in to say that this was written under older rules and that the reduced price of catchers may change things a little. This may help avoid new players getting confused.

        Reply

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