Piranha Warrior Blitzers are pretty much a whole new player compared to their Blood Bowl 2 counterparts. Say goodbye to Block and Strength Access, say hello to MV7, Jump Up and a new skill in Hit & Run. It is an interesting and polarising change to say the least, compounded by them going from 0-4 to 0-4. This essentially means the team has gone from 4 lots of Block/Dodge, to none and the role of the Piranha Warrior Blitzers has changed from your reliable Guard/Stand Firm wielders (a role now taken by the Blockers) into something more akin to a Runner, just a bit better really.

I like the Amazon Blitzer as a whole, they’re an absolute bargain considering the number of skills they start with and I can see lots of potential for game-changing players, something Amazons previously usually struggled with previously. It’s just the sacrifice of those 4 Blodgers makes the team feel weaker at the start and not quite worthy of their Tier 1 placement.

Either way, you’re absolutely having two of these on your team to start with, MV7 is a lovely boon especially paired with Jump Up, an underrated skill in my book. Hit & Run is pretty interesting, after making a block (which includes your Blitz actions!) you may move one square for free as long as you’re not in an opponent tackle zone. Notice this does say you “may”, so feel free to follow up as normal should you wish. Most of the time you’ll find yourself moving laterally to get into key positions, or even backward to support new players. Where it becomes interesting is on the Blitz where if you get the angle right, you can use that free square to position yourself further up the pitch after making a gap in the opposing formation, or reforming part of a cage as you push through. It’s also fantastic against Stand Firm/Tackle players! No longer will you bit forced to stand next to a Tackler when you roll double pushes, you can escape for free and either force them to blitz you (hopefully into a worse position) or just not hit you at all (the preferred option).

It’s a nice addition and feels useful and thematic without feeling too powerful, it’s almost an “in your turn” fend, so it’ll be useful for making sure you’re not hit by anything nasty.

Is it all worth losing 4 lots of Blodge over? Probably not but they’re a good player anyway.

Build List:

• Random Skills
• Pure Blitzer
• Ball Runner
• Ball Hawk
• One Turner

Randomised Skills:

Much like other key players, I’d say now. General is fine but getting something like Dirty Player or Kick is a pretty big waste in my opinion. You could maybe get away with some of the Agility skills but I’d just pick them for this player.

Pure Blitzer | Piranha Warrior Blitzers

Primaries: Block, Tackle, Side Step, Frenzy, Diving Tackle, Dauntless, Pro
Secondaries: Mighty Blow, Guard
Characteristics: ST/AG/MV

Here we’re looking to hit things and hit things well! Block is a must and considering the prevalence of fouling in this edition, keeping them on their feet is going to be essential. You’re going to want to take all the usual Blitzer tricks after that, Tackle for other Dodgers, Side Step for being to stick around players you want to mark as well as being safe from Surfs, Diving Tackle to stop people running away from you and Dauntless to hit anyone S4 and above, depending on how many assists you have. You could grab Pro as well if you wish, it’s not a bad one to have especially if you find yourself out of ReRolls. Frenzy is a fun option too and gives you additional hits, pairs nicely too with SideStep to rule the sidelines!

In terms of Secondaries, I’d shell out for Mighty Blow as early as possible, probably immediately after getting Block to keep the cost relatively low. There’s an argument to be made for Guard as well if you can afford it, maybe as your 4th or 5th skill. Blockers are now the only Amazons with Strength Primaries, so Guard is at a premium and these ladies will probably be the ones with the most SPP, so this is the best place to get it as Secondaries.

All the usual characteristics are useful here, Strength is obviously amazing, and Agility makes their MV7 go even further. MV8 is very good, but I think you’d want to look at a Runnrer build if you manage to grab this.

Ball Runner | Piranha Warrior Blitzers

Primaries: Block, Catch, Side Step, Sure Feet, Tackle, Pro
Secondaries: Mighty Blow, Guard
Characteristics: MV/AG/ST

MV7 makes the Amazon Blitzer your fastest player and as it stands there’s not much in the way of big scoring threats. So what you can do, after getting Block first, is give them Catch to pair up with the Thrower. Not necessarily to play the passing game, although it does open to option up, but more so you can carry the ball most of the way with the Thrower, hand off to the Blitzer and then use that superior movement to have a much larger scoring range once you’re in your opponents half.

As you only have 2, you still want them to be useful outside of the runner role, so the aforementioned Block here is needed, along with Side Step and Tackle. You could then look at Sure Feet to really increase their threat range. If you’re flush with SPP, I’d still look to get Mighty Blow and Guard, just as it’s going to be your only way outside of the two Blockers to get it reliably. They’re going to be scoring a fair bit too, so you should be able to grab these skills fairly easily, just make sure not to wait too long.

Definitely more of a hybrid runner/blitzer than purely a runner. I’d probably look to build one of these as a scoring threat alongside a Pure Blitzer.

One Turner | Piranha Warrior Blitzers

Primaries: Block, Catch, Sure Feet, Sprint, Side Step
Secondaries:
Characteristics: MV x 2

There are very few ways to get one-turners in the new edition now that natural MV has been capped to 9, but Hit & Run opens up the option for Amazons. It does require you to get 2 lots of MV buffs, which are then followed up with Sprint & Sure Feet giving you a range of 12 squares. If you’re clever and use the usual pushing shenanigans, you can utilise that plus hit & run to get yourself a one-turn touchdown. It’s tricky and requires investing a lot into 1 of your 2 Blitzers, but if you live for that sort of thing… why not?!

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Piranha Warrior Blitzers feel more like their Elf Union counterparts than something like the Human Blizters which they were much closer to. They’re much less of a support piece than they used to be thanks to their changes, we’re not going to see 4 lots of Block/Dodge/Guard/Stand Firm anymore. They feel a lot more flashy than before, leaning into that Blitzer/Runner hybrid, almost taking up the role the Catcher used to have, while the Blockers do the heavy lifting alongside them.

That’s it for the Piranha Warrior Blitzers builds Check out our guides for the Jaguar Warrior Blockers, Python Warrior Throwers and Eagle Warrior Linewomen!