A few years after it got rebooted, Blood Bowl has had a revamp. I didn't know that had happened, until I took advantages of the pandemic restrictions slowly lifting, to have a nose around one of my favourite shops, Firestorm Games. There on a display were the new Blood Bowl items. I asked how much the Starter Set would cost, and discovered it was discounted.
So, um, yeah...
I appreciate you might have questions. I have the starter set released in 2016. Did I really need this new one? Well, it came with the new Second Season rulebook, which costs over £25 on its own. It also came with two new teams, a Star Player for each team, a "Big Guy" for each team, and two referees. Plus all the dice and kit you need to play the game. It felt like good value, if I was going to get the rulebook anyway.
The first thing I saw when I opened the box was a pile of plastic sprues. Lovely, lovely plastic sprues, pregnant with possibilities. The clipping, the building, the glueing, the painting!
They are colour coded - the red sprues are the players for the Imperial Nobility team. They are all humans. Their backstory is that they are rich noblemen who want to play Blood Bowl, so they are kitted up ready to play, along with their retainers and bodyguards. Also on their side is an ogre, to give them a bit of muscle and protection.
The dark green sprues are the Black Orc team, which is a mix of large orcs and goblins. They also have a troll on their side. The models are all new for this edition of Blood Bowl, apart from the ogre and the troll, which were released shortly after the previous edition of the game.
There's a blue sprue too, with referees; one elf, one dwarf.
The referees are biased and you can buy them off before the start of the game to help your team win!
Underneath the sprues is a sheet that prevents the pointy bits of the models from scratching the rest of the contents of the box. Underneath the sheet is the rulebook and the other bits needed for the game, including the bases for the players.
In with the rulebook are two "cheat sheets". These aren't actually about cheating, they are just reference guides to keep handy to remind you about the phases of the game and the rules that matter the most.
There is a set of dice for each team. The symbols mean different outcomes for when players try and tackle each other.
There are dug-outs to go next to the pitch, where spare players sit waiting for their chance to play and injured players are placed when removed from play.
Severely injured players go in the bit with a handy coffin ready, just in case they don't make it...
The game is backwards compatible to an extent. The teams from the previous edition can be used in the Second Season, which was a relief to my team of Skaven (who also have an ogre in their line up). Here's a picture of them from when I painted them last year.
With the two teams that came in the previous starter set, the two that came in this one, and the two extra ones I have acquired along the way, I now have enough teams to run my own league. I am looking forward to being actually able to meet up with my Blood Bowl buddy, Bryan, and play a few games. It could be a very bloody winter!
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