You’d think that a bunch of Skeletons and Zombies wouldn’t exactly make a good sports team and yet we shave the Shambling Undead (or just Undead for those of us who are too lazy to use the team’s official names)! Still, they make for a great all-rounder team with decent Blitzers, two types of cheap Linemen with different roles, Big Guys with no nega-traits and speedy ball carriers, making them a team that just plays the game well in all aspects. Still, they require some good coaching, but these are very much a team ane experienced player can easily make the most of and have plenty of success with.

Their biggest weakness is that to begin with, they only have AG3 with no Sure Hands, which means being sacked can be a big detriment to the game plan as they have no reliable recovery, something which isn’t hard to do considering only the Wights have Block and they’ll be too busy hitting things to worry about something as trivial as carrying the ball! Instead, that falls to the Ghouls, who as any Undead Coach will tell you, are extremely fragile at AV8+ and no Apothecary to assist them! Still, a few levels in they become damn good players, especially when helped by the Wights and Mummies creating space and the Linemen just putting themselves in the way.

Speaking of the Linemen, Shambling Undead are a little unique in that they have two choices, the Zombie or the Skeleton. The simple version is that Zombies do the marking and act as a meatshield for the rest of the team thanks to AV9+ and Regen, while the Skeletons act as parts of the cage with their MV5, allowing them to at least keep up and even screen it off. The Skeletons also have Thick Skull which means while they may have their armour broken more frequently, they’re less likely to actually go off the pitch. Taking either is usually down the Coaches personal preference if they want something a bit meatier for taking hits, or something a little faster at the cost of that AV point. They’re both only 40k so it’s easy to mix and match as the games go by, but for your Shambling Undead starting rosters it gives you some nice choices to match your play style.

As usual with our BB2020 builds, let’s check out the new edition changes first!

Skeletons & Zombies: Same cost, but the Zombies are PA- while the Skeleton’s are PA6+. You never passed with them anyway so it’s no real change.
Ghoul Runners: Up 5k and the “best” passers on the team with PA4+.
Wight Blitzers: Same cost, PA5+ so Air Undead is Dead!
Mummies: Up 5k.
ReRolls: Same cost.

Overall not too bad, definitely a lighter touch compared to some of the other teams. So with that done, let’s get into the Shambling Under Starting Rosters for Blood Bowl 2020 (or Blood Bowl Season Two…or Blood Bowl 3… whatever you want to call it!)

Thriller Night!, 3 ReRolls | TV1000 Shambling Undead Starting Rosters:

Thankfully, the old build is still affordable and honestly for me, would be my choice for the start of the league. Getting both Mummies and Wights is priority numero uno, as they’re the players who are going to do WORK. Block is so important early on, especially when Blitzing so both Wights is a must with their decent armour, decent speed and strength access. With the Ghouls doing the scoring they’re not going to be getting much in the way of SPP so having them from game one gives them the maximum chance to grab a few casualties or even a cheeky Touchdown if the chance falls their way. AG3+ means they can leave a tackle zone if they really, really need to and are overall your most flexible players.

The Mummies, with no nega-trait, are perfect frontline whackers with Might Blow (+1) off the bat, meaning they’re going to be the bane of most LoS’s. Again getting them early gives you an anchor in the centre of the pitch as well as some removal potential for those early games, plus as is the case with all early picks, they’re able to maximise their SPP gain chances. They are, however, sloooowww, and can be isolated if you’re not careful, so keep them around your general field of play and don’t allow them to get dragged around the pitch meaninglessly, sometimes it’s better not to follow up if it means you can reposition. With the new SPP and Level Up system, I’d be very tempted to save up and grab Block as early as you can with these guys. Guard is wonderful and all, but the biggest pitfall with all Big Guys is struggling to deal with Block/Wrestle as time goes on and more Linemen get it. 12spp is a lot to ask (6 casualties!) but I think the wait will be worth it! Otherwise, Guard or Grab makes for great skills for the usual cost, but otherwise, Brawler should be your new-first skill as it means those double Both Downs aren’t going to ruin your game plans.

For this build, we’ve taken 2 Ghouls, who are going to be your mobile assists, last-ditch defenders and scorers. Dodge gives them some survivability and of course good manoeuvrability, making them a different type of player compared to the mostly slow Undead team. Taking two means that when one inevitably dies, the other can take over. More importantly, it gives you the speed you need to cover both flanks on defence while being able to get back into the centre if needed. They’re decent scorers and are going to spend their time within your cage until they can break free, which with MV7 they can easily do. Don’t get too attached though, they fall over easily and with no regen or apothecary to save them, you’re gonna be replacing them instead!

The rest of the team is filled out with your choice of Zombies and Skeletons. My preferred combo is 3 Zombies to take on the usual Linemen role, while the 2 Skeletons lurk around the cage and provide Wight support when needed. Ideally, I think you want at least the 3 Zombies as it gives you a durable LoS (no your Mummies shouldn’t be on it for defence!!!) and just some good bodies to throw into the grinder, which for 40k is fine. You could grab 5 if you wanted a wall of rotting meat to just halt your opponent, but I like a Skeleton or 2 for a little more movement on the team to give me some positional flexibility.

Three ReRolls is probably the minimum I’d have, especially for a team with only 2 lots of Block and no Sure Hands, you’ll find that ReRolling hits for the Mummies and Ghoul pickups are going to be where they’re used. Further on, you’ll probably want your cash for replacements or another Ghoul or Linemen for 12 players total. You don’t want to be giving away Inducement if you can and you should be durable enough that you won’t to need many substitutes.

How Ghoulish of You!!, 3 ReRolls | TV1000 Shambling Undead Starting Rosters:

Want MAXIMUM UNDEAD SPEED? Well OH-BOY is this the built for you!

We’re trading out a Mummy (oof!) and a Lineman for the extra two Ghouls, giving you 4 MV7, Dodge players for a ton of manoeuvrability. You’re gonna be hitting less harder and overall have less protection but you’re going to be keeping up with faster teams and outpacing the slower ones. The loss of the Mummy probably isn’t worth it for most Coaches, but here you have a team that’s going to be a little tricky to avoid or chase and that much Dodge can get pretty frustrating early on unless you happen to be Dwarves.

You can play a fairly decent running game with this team, the 4 Ghouls working together in either pairs or a group while the rest of the team holds the opponent at bay or tries to grind them down slowly, all while the Ghouls run around and cause some havoc by pulling players out of position or running around them to create offensive threats.

The biggest issue, of course, is the general downgrade in durability which the Shambling Undead tend to utilise and now you’ve got 4 Ghouls, all who can perish at a moments notice with no way of getting them back. Also, the rest of the team are too slow to really keep up with them, so their high movement can be wasted if the team is dragged into a brawl. While you have more overall pitch coverage, your actual pitch presence with the 2nd Mummy is reduced. You then, of course, need to save up that 125k for the Mummy, which is quite the ask!

Shambling Undead Starting Rosters, Conclusion:

You’ll often find Shambling Undead teams to start the same, their core build is damn reliable and gives you all the tools you need to succeed with this team. They’re a really fun bunch to play and can do well in both the hands of a newer coach as well as a more experienced one. Undead are rightly classified as a good team (Tier 1 according to GW, which I agree with) but they take a little bit of know-how and practice to get the most out of.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this look at the Shambling Undead Starting Rosters, we’re nearly done with our 2020 guides, so check them out, if you haven’t already. With the release of Season Two now, there’s never been a better time to get into the game and brush up on your team builds for those new leagues!