[BB] Rats vs Pact, 1st half

Good afternoon, holiday sports fans, and do we have a match for you today! Ain't that right, Jim?

Sure is, Bob, and made all the sweeter by the sponsor's of our match, Starblock's coffee - make sure you try it with their seasonal Eostran chocolatl syrup before the halflings get it all.

I always forget your sweet tooth, Jim, but back to the sweet sight of two teams of homicidal sportscreatures tearing each other apart for an inflated pig's bladder and a moment of glory. The Rats have the speed, but they're an inexperienced team; the Pact are wilier but I've heard that their training sessions are still full of the individualism that plagued them all last season. Which way is it going to go?

I'm not sure, Bob, but I've a fresh cup of coffee, the sun is shining... and there's the whistle. We're off!



Yes, after the success of the cut-down version of last weekend, I decided to up the ante and use full teams and skills. The only bits I left out were the weather and SPPs. Once they're happy with the standard rules I'll bring in the adjustments weather can bring.

I took a Chaos Pact team (mino, troll, ogre, dark elf, skaven, goblin, 5 marauders, 3RR, 1FF) and gave them my beloved Skaven team (2 blitzers, 4 gutter runners, thrower, 5 linemen, 2RR) to see what they could do. It will give my erstwhile league-mates enormous satisfaction to know that they turned out to be just as jammy with them as I used to be and now I know how it feels. Bah, humbug!

Not only did the kick-off result in an extra reroll for the rats (they had +2 FAME, so it was only to be expected), they grabbed the ball sharpish and poured through TZs as if they weren't there. End of turn 1? Look below...

The chaotics tried for a scramble defence, but could only reach for a couple of TZs not even a blitz. Elsewhere, the big guys proved stupid to a man.

1-0 to the rats. Their restart kick went deep...

The chance to level the score seemed in place, and the big guys got an early prod in the right direction with a Quick Snap... Sadly an outbreak of stupidity on the part of the troll allowed those blasted vermin to sack the ball carrier, hurtle along the side line and chuck the most absurd pass to send over the second score.

2-0 to the rats.

It's not looking good for the Pact, eh, Bob? 2-0 down and the marauders are starting to look as dazed as their big fellows. Look at them, bellowing at the sky or picking their noses. They could do with some of this delicious Starblock's Coffee...

Ignoring the stupidity of the Big Guys, I went for a cross-field break-out... and I would have made it too, if it hadn't been for those pesky gutter runners. Loose ball and four gutter runners on the pitch? Yup, 3-0.

Deciding that they needed no more help, given the scoreline, I left them to set up for their restart by themselves. Not too shabby!

I managed to kill a rat, and we traded a failed foul apiece (a lineman and a marauder got sent off) to close the half.

Rats 3(0) - 0(1) Pact    HT

We shall resume another day.

Happy Easter to all,
Rab