I really do love me some Underworld! Another team that’s gone through some major changes in the move over to Blood Bowl Season 2 (a name GW came up with AFTER we started writing these things, but oh well!), so I fully expect them to be played a little different compared to their BB2 and BB2016 counterparts. To biggest change I think is the addition of the Gutter Runner to the team.

Underworld have never been a team with a big offensive threat, while the Goblins can head Two Heads for some amazing Dodge shenanigans, they’re pretty slow all things considered and lack any real ball carrying skills until they start getting mutations, plus with Animisoty on the Throwers, they don’t make good catchers either! Therefore the Runner provides you with some much-needed speed and Agility in order to threaten the score. You do sacrifice a Blitzer for it which I’m not so sure about, but it’s something I really think the team needed. Thankfully they gave the Thrower PA2+ which is going to work wonderfully with the Runner to get the ball into the Endzone.

The other big change is the rats have now brought it their own big guy in the form of the Rat Ogre, who I’ve discussed the issues within the Skaven build. I can’t currently see a reason to take him over the Underworld Troll who I think is both a better choice and more thematic anyway, but if you want some Chaotic Frenzy on your team then you’ll definitely have some fun with him, especially as he can also get Mutations as a Primary!

One more little, (quite literally!) change is the inclusion of Snotlings! I’m not sure how often I’ll be including these but considering they still retain the Swarming skill, it may be worth having some cheap foulers on the pitch. Underworld aren’t a particularly resilient team with AV8+ being on most of their players, so having more weak players might not be ideal, plus the Goblins are surprisingly pretty good early as Dodge-Markers and will probably live a little longer than the Snotlings.

So before we get into the builds, let’s look at the Underworld roster changes including any costs:

Skaven Clanrat: Changed from 0-2 to 0-3
Skaven Thrower: Changed from 0-2 to 0-1. Cost increased to 85k and gained PA2+
Skaven Blitzer: Changed from 0-2 to 0-1
Underworld Troll: Increased to 115k
Addition of Skaven Gutter Runner
Addition of Mutant Rat Ogre
Addition of Underworld Snotlings

So with that info out of the way, let’s get into the Underworld Denizens Starting Rosters!

A Whole New Underworld, 4 ReRolls | TV1000 Underworld Denizens Starting Rosters:

Number one priority in this team is to maximise the amount of Skaven present, they’re the ones who are going to be doing the work and moving the ball around. You now have 3 Clanrats compared to 2 in the old edition, which gives you quite a bit of flexibility in building them how you want going forward, which I think is worth losing the 2nd Thrower for. I like to grab Wrestle on these guys as their speed makes them pretty good Ball Hawks, especially as your Blitzers should be taking

Speaking of the Thrower gained PA2+ which makes him work so well with the Gutter Runner, finally giving this team a real scoring threat. Underworld have never been seen as a big Passing team, mostly due to no real catchers or primary scorers, but this combo I think is going to work really well…. assuming the Runner survives! At the very least he should be able to get 1 or 2 TD’s in before getting removed. Your 3 Clan Rats are fairly quick so it’ll be worth using them to protect the Runner and give him some cover. He’s also getting Mutations as a Primary so he’s going to be stupidly hard for your opponent to stop him running through their lines, especially with Two Heads.

It’s a shame you lose the 2nd Blitzer as they were such workhorses, but he can easily team up with Clan Rat #2 to take down primary targets to make space for your Runner and his Clan Rat buddies to run through.

The Goblins then fill up space in the roster and make pretty decent markers and foulers early on, you’ll be surprised how hard they are to remove in the early stages of a league before Tackle becomes more prominent. They also make decent offensive threats once they get Two Heads and other mutations to easily dodge through tackle zones. They also pair nicely with the Troll, as you’ll want to keep one next to him to make sure Really Stupid remains a 2+, plus you can throw one if needed. I’ve picked the Troll over the R-Ogre for a bit more reliability (in comparison!) while still providing a central pillar of strength for the team to work around.

4 ReRolls is pretty much mandatory on this team as they’re not the most reliable, especially as you’ve lost a Block player! It gives you a nice safety net in case you come across Tackle when dodging or when you really need your Troll to do something. What’s nice is that your Thrower has a target to pass to, either normally or with a handoff (he’s pretty quick!) and that bank of rerolls means your Runner is going to be able to receive the ball without too much worry. You can also use them if you’re desperate for Rush’s.

You do have 35k remaining, which you can use to buy 2 Snotlings to give yourself a bench. Not a bad idea by any means as you can bring them on for some cheeky fouls! However you’re going to want to protect your Blitzer and Runner soon, so it may be worth saving up for the Apothecary!

Going forward it’s going to be all about grabbing plenty of Mutations and using your gold to replace players as you’re AV8+ is going to start feeling like paper-mache pretty soon. I’d rather spend the gold on more Goblins than Snotlings, but it’s going to be up to you. Just make sure your first purchase is the Apothecary!

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When it comes to the Underworld Denizens Rosters only real alternative is to swap out the Troll for the Rat Ogre, which will bring you to exactly 1000tv. Those 4 ReRolls will be even more important with this guy as Animal Savagery is hard to manage, so you may find yourself burning through them if you try to use him too much. If you find that your league has a lot of fast-moving teams, he may be a worthwhile pick just to grab Prehensile Tail, although a Troll with Tentacles also does the same job.

Underworld Denizens Starting Rosters, Conclusion:

There’s only really one build with these guys with a few minor adjustments, it’s really going to be about if you want the Rat Ogre or the Troll that really makes the biggest change. The key is to make sure that you keep as many Skaven Players on the pitch as possible as they’re going to be doing the hard work, while your Goblins run around providing support and keeping non-tackle threats occupied. What’s nice is you can threaten the score a lot more now thanks to the Runner, it really does give the team the offensive boost that they needed and I think you’ll find a lot of Coaches being quite wary of them. Keep your runners protected and you’re going to have a good time with this team.

Remember that the Blitzer can get SUPER scary as well. Claw/MB is so easy to get on these guys, making great at removals which this team really needs. The Blitzers and Runners could make some real problems for their opponents with a couple of mutations.

They’re also just a really FUN team overall and provide a really unique challenge for any Coach. If you haven’t already tried the new version, I urge you too as they’re incredibly enjoyable and can push your abilities as a Blood Bowl Coach. Plus they have their own box now!

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this look at the Underworld Denizens Starting Rosters, we’re nearly done with our 2020 guides, so check them out, if you haven’t already.