If you’ve watched, played, or even just heard about Blood Bowl, you’ll know about the Orc team. They are probably, along with Humans, the most recognisable team in the game and are often one of the first a coach will pick up. They’re one of the more reliable, easy to use teams but that doesn’t mean they can’t compete at the highest levels, in fact once levelled they can be a real force to be reckoned with, particularly in a League setting.

It’s also hard not to love the Orc theme in general. If you’re an Old School Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 or Age of Sigmar fan, you’ll know all about the Orcs and just how entertaining they can be and that theme continues into Blood Bowl as well.

They do tend to play in the typical, cage up, hit the opponent and run down the field type way that a lot of slower, high armour teams do but their Blitzers can be surprisingly fast and with 4 of them can cover the pitch well. They’re not quite a slow and methodical as dwarves or flexible as Humans, but they sit in this neat middle spot of a bashy team that can create space and push the ball through the gaps created.

In the new edition, there has been a slight modification to represent the in-fighting Orcs tend to have as the whole team now has Animosity. Orcs were never really a passing team, to begin with so it’s not a huge negative, but it’s something to keep in mind when planning the route of the ball. Personally, it’s a shame it’s been added as I don’t think it was necessary, especially on what was a pretty beginner-friendly team, but I think they should be able to cope!

So with that in mind, let’s look at the Orc Starting Rosters, TV1000, for the new edition of Blood Bowl! LET’S GO BOYZ!

A RIGHT PROPER LIST!!, 2 ReRolls | TV1000 Orc Starting Rosters:

For those keeping score on the BB2020 cost increases, Throwers are down 15k each, Big-Uns (formally Black Orcs) are up 10k each. Again we find ourselves unable to recreate an old list as it’s now 25k too much thanks to the Big-Un increase. Dammit GW! For the money, they’ve gone up a point in Movement, but I’m not so sure it’s a big deal as they’re going to be busy hitting things rather than chasing things down, I’d of rather they stayed the same cost so the team could get the 3rd ReRoll. Even so, we must move on!

For this one, I wanted to keep as close to the old build as possible. As you can see I’ve dropped a ReRoll which gives you 45k remaining. It’s 1 RR less than I’d like but you should be able to make it work. It was either that or drop the Thrower for another Linemen but you’d probably end up using that 3rd RR on the pickup, whereas now you’ve got Sure Hands. Honestly, that’s the only reason for the Thrower now thanks to Animosity, to make sure you pick the ball up then find a way to hand-off to a Blitzer.

All 4 Blitzers for me are a must as it gives you maximum Block and as much speed as this team can muster. They’re pretty damn good too and have been instrumental in any Orc team I’ve ever played thanks to their decent-ish movement and sturdiness. The Blockers give you plenty of muscle although they still suffer from being slow to level, so taking 4 increases your chances of getting SPP on at least one of them.

2 Linemen is fine, they’re your markers and assist pieces, they’re not good for much else!

Going forward you’ll want to save for that 3rd RR before the Apothecary as your armour should keep you going in those early games.

WHO LET DA RUNT ON DA PITCH?!?!, 3 ReRolls | TV1000 Orc Starting Rosters:

Now, bear with me on this one… because I’ve thought it through…

You replace the Thrower, with the Goblin. The Golbin has the same AG stat and is MV6 instead of 5 which means he’s getting places quicker. With Animosity and AG3+, passing is risky anyway so handing off with the Goblin is about the same. The Goblin has Dodge, so if he does get hit, he actually has less chance of going down than the Thrower does (sans Tackle of course).  You now have 3 RR’s and you can probably wait to pick up the ball seeing as your opponent will struggle to break through a combination of your Big-Uns and Blitzers, so you don’t have to ReRoll any failed pickups with Goblin for a turn or two. As he’s MV6, the cage can actually move a lot faster anyway so…

Take the Goblin and 3RRs,  buy the Thrower later…

…Profit!

GET DA TROLL STUCK IN!!, 2 ReRolls | TV1000 Orc Starting Rosters:

With that nonsense aside, let’s look at adding the Troll to the list! He’s 5k more expensive which doesn’t really help our cause much. In fact, I’ve had to drop a Big-Un to fit him in with 2 RRs. I’d never drop a Blitzer as they’re a much better choice thanks to MV6 and Block.

For that 5k more you get Projectile Vomit which is….ok. However, the Trolls are a fairly decent Big-Guy all things considered and the extra muscle can certainly help on the LoS. He keeps Regeneration which is helpful but unless he’s babysat he can be pretty unreliable and even then you’ll find he Stupids at just the wrong time! He does provide some Mighty Blow early on though which can really help, seeing as while you’ll be getting plenty of 2 Die Blocks with your team, you don’t actually have much in the way of getting removals at this stage.

THROW THE GITZ!!, 2 ReRolls | TV1000 Orc Starting Rosters:

You get the Troll plus some Goblins, for those sweet, sweet Throw Team-Mate plays which actually generate SPP now!

Unfortunately with the costs you now can’t have any Throwers or Linemen with this list, but they’re cheap enough to grab after a few games and your third ReRoll.

Early on Dodge will probably keep the Goblins alive for a little bit, but they’re gonna get removed eventually and as an Orc team being players down is less than ideal, so consider if throwing a Goblin across the pitch is worth it. (The answer is…..Always!)

WAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

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Orc Starting Rosters, Conclusion:

Another team that has to start a little differently thanks to the Blood Bowl 2020 changes. As a team, Orcs are very much going to be playing in the same way they did back in Blood Bowl 2 and the 2016 edition although there are some new skills I’m tempted to grab (Brawler I’m looking at you!)

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this look at the Orc Starting Rosters, we’re slowly getting there with our 2020 guides, so check them out, if you haven’t already.

*Insert complain about price increases here*