| QTY | Position | Cost | MA | ST | AG | PA | AV | Skills & Traits | Pri | Sec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-16 | Gnome Lineman | 40k | 5 | 2 | 3+ | 4+ | 7+ | Jump Up, Right Stuff, Stunty, Wrestle | A | GS |
| 0-2 | Gnome Beastmaster | 55k | 5 | 2 | 3+ | 4+ | 8+ | Guard, Jump Up, Stunty, Wrestle | A | GS |
| 0-2 | Gnome Illusionist | 50k | 5 | 2 | 3+ | 3+ | 7+ | Jump Up, Stunty, Trickster, Wrestle | AP | G |
| 0-2 | Woodland Fox | 50k | 7 | 2 | 2+ | – | 6+ | Dodge, My Ball, Sidestep, Stunty | – | A |
| 0-2 | Altern Forest Treeman | 120k | 2 | 6 | 5+ | 5+ | 11+ | Mighty Blow (+1), Stand Firm, Strong Arm, Take Root, Thick Skull, Throw Team-mate, Timmm-ber! | S | AGP |
| 0-8 | ReRolls | 50k | Apothecary: Yes | |||||||
| Special Rules | Halfling Thimble Cup |
Gnome Team Overview
The Blood Bowl Gnome Team is new to 2024, making their first appearance since the old Forest Folk team in one of the Citadel Journals back in the 1990s. This version is quite different from that old one, but this is the first time they are supported with official miniatures.
On first glance, they seem very similar to Halfling teams, though a closer look you can see that they have slightly more options for combat. They don’t have Dodge across the team like most of the Halflings, but all the actual racial Gnome players come with Jump Up and Wrestle instead. Jump Up gives them a bit more in the way of movement assuming they don’t get injured and can also allow a chance to hit back at opponents if you can get enough help.
Wrestle instead of Dodge offers the same defensive probability against non skilled opponents but it’s also harder to cancel out and better matched up against Dwarf & Chaos Dwarf teams. Like Halfling teams you’ll probably want to lean in on fouling opponents and Wrestle can help bring opponents down. They are more vulnerable to Block & Juggernaut players, though they tend to be less common than Tackle players.
Gnome Beastmasters start with the amazing Guard skill, which again gives the team a useful ability to help work around the team’s overall low strength. Stunty may let you get next to a ball carrier inside a cage to assist one of your Wrestle team mates to have a shot at getting the ball loose. You’ll want to be careful though as they will likely be getting hit the next turn!
The Woodland Fox players give you some useful speed and with both Stunty, Dodge and fantastic agility they are able to run through most defensive lines with ease. They do have very low armour so will be fragile and need protecting, especially as they are probably going to be hogging a lot of Star Player Points from scoring touchdowns.
Other than the lack of mass Dodge like Halflings, Gnome teams also don’t get access to cheap Halfling Master Chefs to try and steal opponents rerolls. My initial thoughts on Gnome teams is that are an improved option to take over Halflings. The combination of fighting skills to start and the speedy option of Foxes gives them a slight edge and they aren’t as vulnerable to the teams that start with lots of Tackle.
I can see a similar play style like most Stunty teams where you’re going to want to lean into the fouling game. The low strength will still make them more challenging to play than most teams. If you can hire the services of new Star Player Rodney Roachbait and his Catch of the Day skill, then you could pull off some defensive surprises and steal the ball out of a cage.
Gnome Team Strengths:
- Useful Starting Skills
- Cheap Players
- Nimble
- Two Treemen?
Gnome Team Weaknesses
- Slow
- Low Strength
- Fragile
Gnome Team Summary
Due to their similarity to Halfling teams, my initial thoughts are that they will be very similar in playstyle and very challenging to do well with. For beginners they might be frustrating to play, so you might want to look elsewhere if you think that will hamper your enjoyment.
Are Gnome Teams strictly slightly better Halfling teams? Time will tell and I’m excited to find out.
I’ve been playing as Gnomes a bit (in BB Sevens vs Orcs and Halflings). The lack of starting Dodge makes them far worse defensively than other ST2 stunties. Wrestle is no substitute for Dodge defensively unless you’re facing tons of Block skill, as most opponents will routinely avoid taking Both Down to avoid a turnover even against Halflings etc (unless using the Block skill).
Gnomes have decent ball-stripping ability (using Wrestle and Stunty) and can exploit Jump Up to make stand-up attacks from prone. Wrestle makes attacking very safe (only a skull result will knock you down), which means one-dice attacks are almost always worth doing.
So the Gnome team feels like a ‘glass cannon’ team except it’s more like a small hand gun than a cannon. Still a lot of fun. Until you get Dodge on a lot of your Gnomes, attack is often the best defence and you’ll find yourself harrying the opponent with almost every 1+ dice block you can make. Which is a good laugh!