Greetings sports fans, and welcome to Blood Spatter, your weekly look at Blood Bowl! I'm Bill Billingham, and alongside me is Erin Eventide. Hello Erin!
Hello once again, Bill!
Well we're getting close to the playoffs, and the Banshees have been playing hard, taking on both Gunnar Uffe and the Glenwood Okes.
I think the Banshees underestimated Gunnar Uffe. They kicked first and tried to pull off a blitz kickoff, with Sinestra Windstrike breaking though the Norse defensive line, only to have the Norse push her into the crowd. The Banshees pride themselves on avoiding crowd pushes, so this was quite upsetting for them, especially as Sinestra was injured.
They haven't come up against another team that uses frenzy, and I don't think they were prepared for it. The game had barely started, and they were already down one of their best players. Fortunately, they kept possession after the throw-in, and pulled off a right-wing push. The Gunnars pulled one back, but were eventually outplayed by the Banshees, ending with a 3-1 score, with touchdowns by Veera Voidfire and Wisla Moondragon. Interestingly, most of the touchdowns in this game were scored by linemen, as the Gunnars marked the Banshees' witch elves and blitzers very effectively.
It was a pretty brutal game Bill, the Banshee's armour was really put to the test as the Gunnars put constant pressure on their defensive screens. On the other hand, the Banshees really struggled to bring the Gunnars down. There was a lot of blood, but no casualties. I guess that's what happens when two really tough teams clash. I do feel that the Gunnars didn't use their yhetee very strategically, they need to work on controlling him better, using him to take out well-armoured foes.
I don't think that Gunnar Uffe are quite there yeti.
I am going to murder you.
Well...anyway. Onto the next game, Banshees vs Glenwood Okes. The Okes chose to kick, meaning the Banshee's couldn't do their typical defensive stalling start. Instead they went for a quick touchdown, via Avele Rainjackal. But they really struggled to hold the left wing without Sinestra Windstrike. At first they put Kate Khaine there, but she was unable to stop Longstrider from breaking past her and levelling the score at 1-1.
It was a real weak point in their line, Bill. Daala Darkleaf held the centre really well as usual. She's pretty tough, as she takes a lot of hits, and often has to face down much bigger opponents. But this time she inflicted a casualty of her own, smashing Sylvana Willowwand's hip pretty badly. Dextra and Shrike did well on the right, those two are a really good team.
Realising she had to try something else, Tess Ravenblade put herself on the wing, only to suffer a blow to the head from one of the Okes twins, Edric Foxblade. With their Captain down, Dextra and Shrike went for a superb running play down the right, with Shrike scoring a second touchdown for her team, hoping that Ravenblade would be able to come back on.
Unfortunately Tess' had suffered a mild concussion, and was off for the rest of the game. Things only got worse after Longstrider's tackle broke Kate Khaine's arm. She refused to stay off, however, and made the Banshees' apothecary pump her full of painkillers before going back out again.
I'm not sure Khaine is entirely sane, Erin. But the Banshee's left wing woes were far from over. At the beginning of the second half they put Rainjackal there, but she immediately suffered a nasty eye injury after a tackle - again from Edric Foxblade - and it's severe enough to make her miss the next game too.
Fortunately Sinestra will be back by then. Rainjackal is useful, with her ability to strip away the ball from a carrier, but the Banshees do have other players with similar skills. They might have to consider risking Starfire on defense though, if they don't want to lose their speed advantage against non-elf teams.
Wisla Moondragon was next off the field, also with a broken arm, caused by the Okes' journeyman, Elena Oakenrun. With the casualties mounting up, the Banshees defense was faltering, and they resorted to fouling the wardancers and pulling off a heel turn to keep the Okes at bay. Despite being bloodied, Dextra Windstrike scored another two touchdowns, the second one set up by amazing tackle by Shrike deep in the Banshee's half, where she scooped up the ball and passed it off to Dextra.
That was a great play, Bill! Starfire's performance this game was...not great, most of her passes were unsuccessful. Fortunately, Dextra, Shrike and Khaine played amazingly, showing how much depth there is in the team. The Okes were a bit unlucky not to score a couple more touchdowns, they came close quite a few times.
So, how is it looking for the playoffs, Erin?
Well, Bill, the Banshees are undefeated and firmly in first place, no one can catch up to their 22 league points. They will play against the fourth place team in the semis - either the Glenwood Okes or Gunnar Uffe. That leaves the Green Unseen to play the Orange Rats in the other semifinal.
Well, that's all we have time for folks! She's Erin Eventide, and I'm Bill Billingham, and this has been Blood Spatter!
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