My name is Ancient and I have been playing Blood Bowl for 6 years. My claim to fame in GRUMBBL is placing 1^st in Division 1 with the Underworld and 1^st in Division 2 with the Norse.

Why play Norse?

If causing chaos and inflicting pain on your opponent is your cup of tea, the Norse present many opportunities to old and new players alike. The very early access to Frenzy provides new challenges for even the most skilled Blood Bowl coach and deciphering the Norse puzzle can be difficult for everyone which is why I am writing this piece to aid anyone who may be looking to run with the half-naked Vikings.

The Players

• Norse Lineman – 6 MA (Movement Allowance), 3 Str (Strength), 3 Agi (Agility), 7 AV (Armour Value): Starting Skills – Block
• Berserker – 6 MA, 3 Str, 3 Agi, 7 AV: Starting Skills – Block, Jump Up, Frenzy
• Thrower – 6 MA, 3 Str, 3 Agi, 7 AV: Starting Skills – Pass, Block
• Runner – 7 MA, 3 Str, 3 Agi, 7 AV: Starting Skills – Block, Dauntless
• Ulfwerener – 6 MA, 4 Str, 2 Agi, 8 AV: Starting Skills – Frenzy
• Yhetee – 5 MA, 5 Str, 1 Agi, 8 AV: Starting Skills – Loner, Wild Animal, Claw

The “Average” Playstyle | Blood Bowl Norse Tactics

Norse are very often depicted as a meathead bashy team similar to Chaos or Orcs. However, in my own personal experience, I actually think Norse can only afford to play in this way at low TV (Team Value). This is because in any Norse team’s inception, at worst you will have 8 players starting with the block skill and with no team being able to start a team with the guard skill, a lot of average stat line centric teams cannot stand up in a head-to-head battle with the Norse due to the skill discrepancies present.

This style causes two problems. The biggest drawback of this style is that you WILL get hit and a bashy team that has 7 Armour across most of their team is always going to suffer removals or worse; death. Therefore, once teams start developing levels on their players and begin whittling away at the Norse’s innate advantage by starting with block and other teams start possessing bashy skills of their own, due to their generally below average stat lines for a human based team (6MA, 3ST, 3AG, 7AV vs 6MA, 3ST, 3AG, 8AV) they cannot rely on the age-old tactic of base and punch. Furthermore, Frenzy can force you into very unfavourable situations if you are not careful even with the Ulfwereners or the Yhetee as even if they do not get knocked down, chances are you are leaving them in a place to get punched themselves and with only AV 8, eventually they will get removed and as we will explore later, that is not something you can afford to have happen unless you get a sizeable advantage out of it. This is a stark comparison to Orcs or Chaos who slowly advance forwards with AV9 pieces and also have more AV 9 to spare to be extra durable in a big mosh pit.

Here is an example of how I see Norse played most often and I will explain how this is not beneficial to the Norse team.

The above 2 images are screenshots for a game of Norse that I played where I got completely obliterated because I didn’t listen to my own advice. The 1^st screenshot is of my first turn with the 2^nd screenshot depicting the end of the turn (I was defending). This was a mid-TV Norse vs necromantic game with only the levelled skills showing (for example the dirty player, tackle lineman also has block).

Analysis of the Screenshots

I will run through my actions in bullet point form and show why this was not a smart decision and then I will show you what I think I should have done to give myself the best chance possible.

1. My plan was fuelled by greed. My opponent had left his mighty blow wolf in a blitzable position and instead of weighing up my options and making a more informed decision, I rushed in headfirst with the meathead style. Therefore, with this in mind, my first move was to move my Str 5 Ulf into an assist cancelling position next to the dirty player.
2. To gain an assist on the block I tried to move my other Str 5 into position so that I could limit the return blocks on the next turn but the roll failed.
3. As a result of the Yhetee movement roll failing, I move my least valuable piece into assisting position which is the fend lineman.
4. I then move my strip ball berserker into an anti-assisting position to limit the assisting positions on the str 5 Ulf.
5. I then blitz with my tackle lineman because I cannot use frenzy in such a vulnerable position so I needed to have the ability to stay where I was which rolls skull + both down. It is worth noting here that this play *could* work with a removal but the point is to show how unlikely this play was and what the bad outcome means for the rest of my team. For this play I needed to get a down, then a dice roll of 9+ and then another roll of 8+ for at least a KO to make this worth it.
6. I use my guard piece to try sure up my str 5 piece now knowing the result of the block. Furthermore, from my perspective, it was going to be difficult to budge my frontline due to my fend lineman being a nuisance and my downed lineman obstructing an assist spot.
7. I move my str 4 ulf to make my team compact to limit easy block opportunities.
8. Due to compacting my team, I move my piling on berserker backwards to stop any free blocks on him and to act as a sweeper in case of a quick attempt to get to my end zone.

Conclusion of my actual play | Blood Bowl Norse Tactics

As mentioned in point 5, this play “could” work but even if it works, I leave myself with a few big problems. The first problem is that at most, I have given my opponent 5 potential blocks (including chain pushes) in exchange for 1.

The Necro are also tankier than the Norse and so trading blow for blow in the manner that I have done is favourable for the necromantic overall especially due to my lack of guard and the necro’s abundance of regen and thick skull.

My opponent also used his first turn to wrap one side of my team which means by basing my team in the manner I did, I am locked into fighting them and because of my frenzy, this will work against me the longer the turns go on because I will effectively push my own players into bad positions because I cannot choose to stay with frenzy.

The one thing I have over my opponent is that my movement will on average be higher across my team. Most of my team are sporting 6 movement with my opponent having as low as 4 on his zombies and flesh golems. So by moving all my players into one place, it gives the necro coach an easy job because he doesn’t have to worry about a split game.

In conclusion, I set myself up for failure and against a good coach they will punish these actions to the maximum.

This was the end of my opponent’s turn 2. As you can see, my team is now crowded out and my 1 advantage of increased movement is now going to be very difficult to utilise. This combined with my low AV means that I am in trouble.

The “Ancient” Playstyle | Blood Bowl Norse Tactics

After this game specifically, I really took a step back and thought about how I could approach Norse differently.  Obviously, the specific approaches to each game will be slightly different depending on what advantages you hold over your opponent. If you are playing against low TV, average str teams, stunty teams or non bashy teams then the previously discussed method could be better than what I am going to explain.

The self-proclaimed “Ancient” style relies much more on an idea of hit and not get hit. Due to Norse not functioning like a normal team with the amount of frenzy present, my way of playing has adapted to trying to start fires everywhere and breaking the game up into lots of little skirmishes all while minimising risk. Therefore, my style only includes basing where absolutely necessary and focusing on player removals ABOVE valuable players. I will use the same screenshot used above to depict what I think I should have done as opposed to what I did.

Now you have to use your imagination here but I will explain:

1. Fend lineman assists on zombie and cancels frenzy use by the opponent to surf unless he uses the juggernaut wolf (who would have to use all 10 movement 8+ 2gfis) to surf me.
2. Str 4 Ulf assists on zombie and cannot be easily blitzed.
3. Guard piece moved to assist Str 4 Ulf against potential future attacks.
4. Str 5 Ulf moved to protect guard piece.
5. Dirty Player Lineman moved to cover weak side.
6. Strip Ball Berserker moved to safety as he will dislodge the ball if he tries to run free.
7. Mighty Blow + Piling on used to blitz rookie zombie.

Analysis of Theorised Play | Blood Bowl Norse Tactics

In this theoretical alternative play, I play more on the strengths of my team to leverage a stronger position against my opponent.

Due to the ball carrier failing to pick up the ball on turn 1, as shown by the highlighted area on the screenshot, the ball carrier cannot get out of his own half on turn 2 without passing the ball but there are no good options to pass the ball this early because if my opponent passes the ball to the mighty blow + tackle wight, it will cause him 2 problems. The first of which is (without GFIs) a 4+ pass with a 3+ catch. This is also a piece used to remove my players which is the goal of the necro team and so would directly go against his ideal plays. The other ghoul would require a 5+ pass & a 3+ catch (without GFIs) to pass which still goes against the ideal “bash and score on turn 8” for the necromantic and is also very unlikely to work.

Worst case scenario is that this would help me force an earlier score allowing me to attack and potentially remove more players, equalise and this isn’t even mentioning that due to my high movement and non-committal to tackle zones, I can re-position to defend my right-hand side if it is needed.

This decision would also render one flesh golem out of position and would also force my opponent to split his team up to protect his ball carrier and potentially run players back in case of a bad dice roll. Long story short; it increases the potential options I have going forwards and may also remove a player of my opponents due to mighty blow and piling on combined with 2 attempts thanks to frenzy. This also puts my berserker at least 6 squares from my opponents’ dirty player which could save him from a potential return foul if I use the piling on skill while spreading my defence wide so that my opponent can’t bunch me up and get the most out of his higher AV.

Offensive Drives | Blood Bowl Norse Tactics

A quick word on offensive drives. The attitude on offence is the same; attempt to remove the easiest targets to accrue a quick player advantage. Norse snowball really hard on player advantages due to the necessity to provide extra safety for the frenzy users. Avoid giving your opponent free blocks unless it provides a sizeable advantage (for example, a rookie lineman basing a beast of Nurgle to stop the beast from getting a better position on the board). Once you are able to base with player advantages, whether that be for 1 turn thanks to a stun or by ripping your opponent’s head off, then you can default to the simpler method of base and punch. When you have a deep bench, consider fouling when possible but only do this with inexpensive players. Fouling is usually a very useful tool for Norse but do not get caught up in fouling every turn because you will need your linemen to assist your frenzy players elsewhere on the pitch and not getting their boots stuck in your opponent’s body!

Conclusion

This play I have showcased in the screenshots may look crazy to other coaches but this playstyle will help my players stay on their feet for longer, forces my opponent to make tough decisions and plays into my team’s strengths while being quite safe from giving up a free score barring some crazy dice attempts but you cannot plan for every eventuality so if my opponent was to roll crazy dice and work then nothing I tried to do would work! Therefore, I must go for what I believe is the statistical best play which is what I believe I have showcased.

This is what separates Norse from other teams. The thought to positioning is a necessity beyond low TV and you can only start basing up opponents when you have secured a player advantage so that you can base without being blocked back easily. This is achieved by targeting the easiest to hit players and trying to secure a player advantage because once a player advantage is accrued, the opponent must then put his important pieces in riskier positions allowing for you to remove them too.

Also if you want to check out some updates regarding the new team, go here for the 2020 team review and here for the 2020 team builds.