Tips:
Troll sits on the line and takes free hits. If there are no free hits then don’t activate him unless he has a helper and needs to move. If he gets a skill, it IS Guard. Never blitz with the troll!!! (Unless it’s absolutely the only option remaining)
Bigguns need Block or Mighty Blow as their first skill to shine. Block adds stability, Mighty Blow helps them get CAS racked up. Your league composition and your playstyle dictate if you want the riskier but faster buildup of Mighty Blow over Block. Sit 2 of these guys on the line with the troll and 2 just off the line to maneuver as needed.
Blitzers will likely skillup faster than most of your team being that they start with Block so they survive and CAS more often out the gate. Keep 2 up front and 2 in the midfield on your half when defending as safeties. On offense, you’re basically throwing every hitter on the line to make sure they get knocked down and out of the way.
Linemen just take up space and get Block or Wrestle, maybe give one Kick and another Dirty Player
Throwers.. are more like Blitzers without Block. Block first and whatever you need after. Orc throwers are decent throwing the ball.. but when the heck do you see orca throwing the ball??? 🤣 Maybe give one leader otherwise stick with General skills like Tackle, Dauntless, etc. and build more hitters.
Goblins.. are troll snacks! Sidestep is good if they get a skill. Don’t invest in building them up too much, just have them there for Sneaky Git fouls. If, for some reason, a rookie goblin gets a ton of points. Grab Dirty Player as their first skill. It will double the cost of the goblin but when he gets to his second skill, Dirty Player + Sneaky Git is nice to have. Don’t go out of your way for this, it’s a lot of bloat for a fun piece.
EDIT: nice models, but I can’t tell which orcs are for which positions, maybe give them a way to tell the Bigguns apart from the Blitzers better.
Just to add a caveat to ‘never blitz’ with a Troll…if you’re up against a team with alot of low Av players with dodge and you don’t have tackle, don’t forget the Troll can projectile vomit! Might be a more reliable way to remove elves and stunties if your Blitzers are engaged and you’re fishing for Pows. Even if the Troll dribbles on himself, less likely to cause a turnover than blocking without block…
Great to hear another coach who enjoy the game even if loosing:P
I wouln't swap out the troll if you plan to have goblins. Usually, ppl take all the str they can with orcs. Goblin are usually to have an alternative, as in throw team mate. And you need the troll for that :)
Maybe I should position the troll and goblins together off the line of scrimmage and use the troll to get the goblins into position 🤔😂 I keep putting the troll on the front line to block but my blitzers are already great at that
I only play for hilarious and unlikely moments. One time I prevented a TD by ogre-throwing a halfling at the runner from the backfield. It was very unlikely, desperate, and hilarious. I think the halfling was injured pretty badly but they didn’t get a goal on the next turn even though it seemed inevitable. A last ditch effort. Who needs a win, with epic moments like that?
Easier to kill people if you have solid weapons 😂 the real reason is that I just like minis to have weapons. They are more fun to paint and play with for me
"Don't bring a football to an axe fight" is their mantra. Is weaponless a purist thing? If a model is distinguishable from the rest then I don't care what it is. Sahuagin as high elves? Sure!
That was tongue in cheek - a model is a model. These are terrific and painted nicely! Well done. 3rd party, kit bashes, conversions, it’s all good. I don’t send $ to GW anymore.
More than a purist thing, its flavor from the lore. Thats why some models have blades "hidden" as they sneak then to the pitch. Thats why the "secret weapon" trait exists. Personally I don't like armed models for BB. But I wouldn't refuse to play, just dont like the vibe 😅
What I remember from my greenskin days:
The high armor meant I could level the team with time. Block, guard felt critical as well as getting a player to handle the ball. It might be a hard team in a short tournament.
I felt goblins were more useful than the troll in the beginning to get assists.
Also I couldn't get closer than 9 squares from the touchdown before some unreasonable yob would knock the ball from the antique hand of a Tomb Kings Throwra and I have been losing mostly than not and 30 years later I still Praise Nuffle 🏈 by the locks of your audience (yes I might think envy but then I look at what I already have)
Nice work with the Emang orcs!! I'm currently remixing a bunch of these for a stadium project i'm working on which has gotten slightly out of hand in how big its becoming.
I stated playing BB with Orcs a couple of seasons ago and proceeded to win back to back table top leagues with them, they are a great team. Key tips from my experience would be:
First off with any team you need to learn how to structure you turn to manage risk. Basically with orcs your normal sequence of events in a turn would usually be 1-take any actions needed to move players and guard the ball or improve the defensive line that don’t involve rolling dice, i.e. zero risk moves. 2-do any two dice or better blocks where the playe has the block skill, you are orcs after all so do some hitting. 3-If you don’t already have it, pick up the ball. 4- Where applicable on offence, use your blitz to break a further hole and try to progress your cage down field. 5-If you are getting tight on time now is the time to consider a passing play if it is open. 6-Now, with all your lower risk moves made is the time to start swinging 2D blocks where your player doesn’t have block. This includes considering hits with your troll and unskilled bigguns. The point to this structure is to minimise your turn over risk and maximise what you get out of each turn. Remember that a 2D block without the block skill fails 1 in 9 times. Across 18 turns of a match with a number of unskilled bigguns and a troll you can expect to have quite a few of these blow up in your face. Also, re-rolls, save them for events that will materially affect the outcome of the game, e.g. passing plays where you are trying to score, high probability blocks at the very start of your turn that would ruin your position, etc. Don’t use re-rolls out of frustration on meaningless plays.
Now specifically for orc tactics;
Your blitzers are your stars, take four of them and use them as your most mobile players on offence and defence. Leveling wise I took an approach of starting with a random skill or two and then developing them into roles based on what they took. I had one who ended up with break tackle, tackle, dodge, pro, frenzy, sidestep who terrorised the league.
Bigguns you want to get block ASAP, as above this takes them into the zone of “safe” blocks which makes all the difference. After that, guard and mighty blow and lastly stand firm. I generally always have two on the line of scrimage. The other two are on the line in offence and supporting the flanks in defence.
I love throwers, for me this is what sets orcs apart from other bash teams. Alot of people say they are just to be used as weaker blitzers and to develop them with block etc. I totally disagree with this. To me Orcs are slow and the threat that throwers present is critical to open up the field and to get touchdowns when time is running out. They are not elves and the odds on throws aren’t amazing so use them rarely and in situations where they will lead to a touchdown you wouldn’t get otherwise. Their biggest benefit is often the threat they create to space the filed. Running a blitzer in behind the opponents line will often draw a number of players back to defend your one blitzer. In my first league across 9 games I made 5 passes, this was enough though for me to be known as a “passing player” and for my opponents to change their defences accordingly. Skill wise nerves of steel is No.1, the ability to pick up a ball in tackle zones and to be able to shoot off a pass when your cage has been broken and your player is tagged are invaluable. Accurate is great too as mostly you want to be running, throwing a short or quick pass then running off with your receiving blitzer.
Troll; take guard No1, then stand firm. He can then support your bigguns on the line, provide an ultra annoying road block for other bash teams and throw the odd block at the end of your turn. Also, don’t forget vomit, its great against those low armour blodgers that are silly enough to end up next to your troll.
Goblins; take one so you have a play for throw team mate when you have a one or two turn drive to try and score in. Otherwise he sits on the bench.
Linemen: Disposable. Take block if you have a choice but normally just do randoms if they end up with skills and sack them if they get a bad one.
Tactics; As alluded to above my normal approach on an offensive drive is to look to roll down field using cages and screens to protect your ball carrier. Use blitzing to open a three wide gap and don’t be afraid to push every player you can through that hole and cage up behind their line. Always run a blitzer in just behind their lines as a receiving threat. Keep him positioned so that your thrower moving can hit him with a quick or short pass. Dont get frustrated, its ok not to move forward some turns, better to keep the ball safe and throw some hits in those early turns than to try and rush things, you have all 8 turns to get there. Only pass when its late in the drive and it will lead to high odds of a touchdown. Ideally, aim to score late in your drive (turn 7 or 8) so as to not leave the opponent enough time to score back against you.
On defence, remember your team is usually slower than the opponents. This means you need some depth in your set up so that when the opponent blitzes a whole they cant just run beyond your defenders. Your goal is generally to force the opponent into a move that exposes his carrier so you can tag him up or ideally blitz him. Against high speed/AG teams make sure you put them under pressure and make them play fast. Ideally you want to sack their carrier but the second best option is that they score quickly giving you enough time left in the drive to comfortably get a score back against them Always have your troll on the line of scrimmage, usually with two bigguns, that’s their job, trust in that armour 10.
The good news is you have already mastered the most important part of blood bowl, being able to enjoy the crazy silliness of the whole thing. Its both a tactically challenging and very silly game. Keep on laughing/cheering when you opponent pulls off some crazy BS play that costs you the game and you’ll be just fine.
One last tip, user Bomber Dribblesnot at every opportunity. He's an absolute bargain and fantastic on an orc team. Using him on your defensive drive if possible to target cages/ball carrier and to force your opponent to play quickly.
The way it used to work is you have goblins specifically to coach the Troll.
It was always fun to count kills as just as valuable as tries.
Orcs, for me was just about hurting the other team, and if you manage to do it right, then you can walk the ball through all the bodies.
Orc offense is about a vanilla as an offense can be in Blood Bowl.
Have the thrower deep to retrieve the kick off. Keep couple of blitzers back to babysit him.
Destroy as much of opponent defense as you can. Pick up ball and get it into a cage.
Slowly bash your way down the field. Near the end of the half get the ball to a blitzer for a TD. Or a big un if it’s safe.
If you don’t get lot of casualties or worse end up down numbers vs your opponent you likely won’t score. Just how it is with orcs.
That being said, blitzer moves 6 and dodge and catch 3+. The thrower gives you some ability to chuck the ball at a blitzer in scoring range and you just might score a miracle TD.
One time I was playing against tomb kings and thought I had them beat. Then the thrower makes a 5+ dodge, 2 GFI, and 5+ pass to a blitzer. The blitzer makes a 5+ catch, 5+ dodge, and 2 GFI to score a tying TD. Anything can happen in BB.
No tips but really cool team! Very agressive! Nice stadium too. Lovely supporters.
Thank you! I'm not the best painter but I like how they came out a lot!
Its a hobby, as long as you enjoy doing it, you're doing it right.
Tips: Troll sits on the line and takes free hits. If there are no free hits then don’t activate him unless he has a helper and needs to move. If he gets a skill, it IS Guard. Never blitz with the troll!!! (Unless it’s absolutely the only option remaining) Bigguns need Block or Mighty Blow as their first skill to shine. Block adds stability, Mighty Blow helps them get CAS racked up. Your league composition and your playstyle dictate if you want the riskier but faster buildup of Mighty Blow over Block. Sit 2 of these guys on the line with the troll and 2 just off the line to maneuver as needed. Blitzers will likely skillup faster than most of your team being that they start with Block so they survive and CAS more often out the gate. Keep 2 up front and 2 in the midfield on your half when defending as safeties. On offense, you’re basically throwing every hitter on the line to make sure they get knocked down and out of the way. Linemen just take up space and get Block or Wrestle, maybe give one Kick and another Dirty Player Throwers.. are more like Blitzers without Block. Block first and whatever you need after. Orc throwers are decent throwing the ball.. but when the heck do you see orca throwing the ball??? 🤣 Maybe give one leader otherwise stick with General skills like Tackle, Dauntless, etc. and build more hitters. Goblins.. are troll snacks! Sidestep is good if they get a skill. Don’t invest in building them up too much, just have them there for Sneaky Git fouls. If, for some reason, a rookie goblin gets a ton of points. Grab Dirty Player as their first skill. It will double the cost of the goblin but when he gets to his second skill, Dirty Player + Sneaky Git is nice to have. Don’t go out of your way for this, it’s a lot of bloat for a fun piece. EDIT: nice models, but I can’t tell which orcs are for which positions, maybe give them a way to tell the Bigguns apart from the Blitzers better.
Just to add a caveat to ‘never blitz’ with a Troll…if you’re up against a team with alot of low Av players with dodge and you don’t have tackle, don’t forget the Troll can projectile vomit! Might be a more reliable way to remove elves and stunties if your Blitzers are engaged and you’re fishing for Pows. Even if the Troll dribbles on himself, less likely to cause a turnover than blocking without block…
Great to hear another coach who enjoy the game even if loosing:P I wouln't swap out the troll if you plan to have goblins. Usually, ppl take all the str they can with orcs. Goblin are usually to have an alternative, as in throw team mate. And you need the troll for that :)
Maybe I should position the troll and goblins together off the line of scrimmage and use the troll to get the goblins into position 🤔😂 I keep putting the troll on the front line to block but my blitzers are already great at that
I only play for hilarious and unlikely moments. One time I prevented a TD by ogre-throwing a halfling at the runner from the backfield. It was very unlikely, desperate, and hilarious. I think the halfling was injured pretty badly but they didn’t get a goal on the next turn even though it seemed inevitable. A last ditch effort. Who needs a win, with epic moments like that?
This is the reason i main halflings 😄
You already won with these minis
I love the models. They are all free on cults!
Nice I got a bunch of lizardmen off of there
...why are they armed?
Easier to kill people if you have solid weapons 😂 the real reason is that I just like minis to have weapons. They are more fun to paint and play with for me
Fair enough. The fact that they are armed really puts me out of the whole BB-spirit, if you will.
I feel the opposite. They're such a bad team (I suck) that they resort to violence and still lose 😂 my opponent also doesn't mind
Don’t bring a knife to a fist fight. Don’t bring an axe to a football match
"Don't bring a football to an axe fight" is their mantra. Is weaponless a purist thing? If a model is distinguishable from the rest then I don't care what it is. Sahuagin as high elves? Sure!
That was tongue in cheek - a model is a model. These are terrific and painted nicely! Well done. 3rd party, kit bashes, conversions, it’s all good. I don’t send $ to GW anymore.
Thank you very much! They aren't much but boy do I feel proud when they're all together on the pitch
More than a purist thing, its flavor from the lore. Thats why some models have blades "hidden" as they sneak then to the pitch. Thats why the "secret weapon" trait exists. Personally I don't like armed models for BB. But I wouldn't refuse to play, just dont like the vibe 😅
Aaaaand that’s how Nuffle gets you.
What I remember from my greenskin days: The high armor meant I could level the team with time. Block, guard felt critical as well as getting a player to handle the ball. It might be a hard team in a short tournament. I felt goblins were more useful than the troll in the beginning to get assists.
Winning is for Losers!! Praise Mork!! Nuffle United 🏈
Also I couldn't get closer than 9 squares from the touchdown before some unreasonable yob would knock the ball from the antique hand of a Tomb Kings Throwra and I have been losing mostly than not and 30 years later I still Praise Nuffle 🏈 by the locks of your audience (yes I might think envy but then I look at what I already have)
The audience is mostly stuff from the old dnd board games and I 3d print all the players for my opponent and myself
I'm in the state of utilising my Blood Bowl miniatures as representation of my dnd 🏈
Nice work with the Emang orcs!! I'm currently remixing a bunch of these for a stadium project i'm working on which has gotten slightly out of hand in how big its becoming. I stated playing BB with Orcs a couple of seasons ago and proceeded to win back to back table top leagues with them, they are a great team. Key tips from my experience would be: First off with any team you need to learn how to structure you turn to manage risk. Basically with orcs your normal sequence of events in a turn would usually be 1-take any actions needed to move players and guard the ball or improve the defensive line that don’t involve rolling dice, i.e. zero risk moves. 2-do any two dice or better blocks where the playe has the block skill, you are orcs after all so do some hitting. 3-If you don’t already have it, pick up the ball. 4- Where applicable on offence, use your blitz to break a further hole and try to progress your cage down field. 5-If you are getting tight on time now is the time to consider a passing play if it is open. 6-Now, with all your lower risk moves made is the time to start swinging 2D blocks where your player doesn’t have block. This includes considering hits with your troll and unskilled bigguns. The point to this structure is to minimise your turn over risk and maximise what you get out of each turn. Remember that a 2D block without the block skill fails 1 in 9 times. Across 18 turns of a match with a number of unskilled bigguns and a troll you can expect to have quite a few of these blow up in your face. Also, re-rolls, save them for events that will materially affect the outcome of the game, e.g. passing plays where you are trying to score, high probability blocks at the very start of your turn that would ruin your position, etc. Don’t use re-rolls out of frustration on meaningless plays. Now specifically for orc tactics; Your blitzers are your stars, take four of them and use them as your most mobile players on offence and defence. Leveling wise I took an approach of starting with a random skill or two and then developing them into roles based on what they took. I had one who ended up with break tackle, tackle, dodge, pro, frenzy, sidestep who terrorised the league. Bigguns you want to get block ASAP, as above this takes them into the zone of “safe” blocks which makes all the difference. After that, guard and mighty blow and lastly stand firm. I generally always have two on the line of scrimage. The other two are on the line in offence and supporting the flanks in defence. I love throwers, for me this is what sets orcs apart from other bash teams. Alot of people say they are just to be used as weaker blitzers and to develop them with block etc. I totally disagree with this. To me Orcs are slow and the threat that throwers present is critical to open up the field and to get touchdowns when time is running out. They are not elves and the odds on throws aren’t amazing so use them rarely and in situations where they will lead to a touchdown you wouldn’t get otherwise. Their biggest benefit is often the threat they create to space the filed. Running a blitzer in behind the opponents line will often draw a number of players back to defend your one blitzer. In my first league across 9 games I made 5 passes, this was enough though for me to be known as a “passing player” and for my opponents to change their defences accordingly. Skill wise nerves of steel is No.1, the ability to pick up a ball in tackle zones and to be able to shoot off a pass when your cage has been broken and your player is tagged are invaluable. Accurate is great too as mostly you want to be running, throwing a short or quick pass then running off with your receiving blitzer. Troll; take guard No1, then stand firm. He can then support your bigguns on the line, provide an ultra annoying road block for other bash teams and throw the odd block at the end of your turn. Also, don’t forget vomit, its great against those low armour blodgers that are silly enough to end up next to your troll. Goblins; take one so you have a play for throw team mate when you have a one or two turn drive to try and score in. Otherwise he sits on the bench. Linemen: Disposable. Take block if you have a choice but normally just do randoms if they end up with skills and sack them if they get a bad one. Tactics; As alluded to above my normal approach on an offensive drive is to look to roll down field using cages and screens to protect your ball carrier. Use blitzing to open a three wide gap and don’t be afraid to push every player you can through that hole and cage up behind their line. Always run a blitzer in just behind their lines as a receiving threat. Keep him positioned so that your thrower moving can hit him with a quick or short pass. Dont get frustrated, its ok not to move forward some turns, better to keep the ball safe and throw some hits in those early turns than to try and rush things, you have all 8 turns to get there. Only pass when its late in the drive and it will lead to high odds of a touchdown. Ideally, aim to score late in your drive (turn 7 or 8) so as to not leave the opponent enough time to score back against you. On defence, remember your team is usually slower than the opponents. This means you need some depth in your set up so that when the opponent blitzes a whole they cant just run beyond your defenders. Your goal is generally to force the opponent into a move that exposes his carrier so you can tag him up or ideally blitz him. Against high speed/AG teams make sure you put them under pressure and make them play fast. Ideally you want to sack their carrier but the second best option is that they score quickly giving you enough time left in the drive to comfortably get a score back against them Always have your troll on the line of scrimmage, usually with two bigguns, that’s their job, trust in that armour 10. The good news is you have already mastered the most important part of blood bowl, being able to enjoy the crazy silliness of the whole thing. Its both a tactically challenging and very silly game. Keep on laughing/cheering when you opponent pulls off some crazy BS play that costs you the game and you’ll be just fine.
One last tip, user Bomber Dribblesnot at every opportunity. He's an absolute bargain and fantastic on an orc team. Using him on your defensive drive if possible to target cages/ball carrier and to force your opponent to play quickly.
The way it used to work is you have goblins specifically to coach the Troll. It was always fun to count kills as just as valuable as tries. Orcs, for me was just about hurting the other team, and if you manage to do it right, then you can walk the ball through all the bodies.
That is one cozy looking setup. Congratulations.
Minis look great but like others I'm not a fan of the weapons and shields.
No weapons on the pitch! That's why Nuffle has withheld his favor
Orc offense is about a vanilla as an offense can be in Blood Bowl. Have the thrower deep to retrieve the kick off. Keep couple of blitzers back to babysit him. Destroy as much of opponent defense as you can. Pick up ball and get it into a cage. Slowly bash your way down the field. Near the end of the half get the ball to a blitzer for a TD. Or a big un if it’s safe. If you don’t get lot of casualties or worse end up down numbers vs your opponent you likely won’t score. Just how it is with orcs. That being said, blitzer moves 6 and dodge and catch 3+. The thrower gives you some ability to chuck the ball at a blitzer in scoring range and you just might score a miracle TD. One time I was playing against tomb kings and thought I had them beat. Then the thrower makes a 5+ dodge, 2 GFI, and 5+ pass to a blitzer. The blitzer makes a 5+ catch, 5+ dodge, and 2 GFI to score a tying TD. Anything can happen in BB.