Spike IV

[Gaixo]

Hack - Bryce
Chainsaw loonies! How will NAF do with the rules that you can now have two chainsaw guys in a tournament team?

Pact already had this issue ("issue"). Not too concerned and would welcome a 2-chainsaw undead team as an opponent. Maybe I'll live to regret that, though!

[JT-Y]

If you have feedback, please send it to
BloodBowlFAQ@gwplc.com

[gjnoronh]

@Garion I wonder if Throttlesnot has a busted Pogo - more of a big broken off stake with a bit of springs left but not really safe to use.
Leap, Stab, Secret Weapon and lack of the normal VLL all explained.

That's what I was thinking about as I looked at it.

I'm not sure adding less potent but characterful additions to the game is bad. But I'm a pro 'fun' guy. Doesn't change competitive balance but adds some flavor for those who aren't riding the bleeding edge of optimization.

[Mystic Force]

In defense of "fun" (see my new signature)

Van Hels Dance Macabre was a mainstay of undead armies in Warhammer so it was cool to see this come in to Bloodbowl as a concept, might give a little surprise and potential threat to be adjusted for to spice things up. If the problem with cards people have is the information asymmetry (I think that is a feature not a bug) then you cant argue that with a wizard that if anything seems less optimal than the default wizard choice. I really do not see what the big deal to add a few things here and there is.

For example, I think the weeping dagger concept was good just put in the wrong place, this skill (but not this name) cries out to be on a DE assassin, ie hurt others so they suffer over the long run, making a somewhat over looked player actually have a purpose that matches it's name!

[Heff]

If you are defending fun then you should be against Weeping daggers. It is not FUN or even "fun" it is just spiteful and unpleasant. Not only does your opponent lose the player for the rest of this game but THEN there is a 50% chance you lose him for the next match as well. The fact that "he is Str2 and so will not be hitting anybody" is
1) questionable at best
2) Irrelevant.
So you get an advantage this match (removing a player) and THEN give him a disadvantage against his next opponent. Poor decision, bad game design. Does nothing but leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

[peo2223]

Your constant ramblings about being against fun are starting to leave a bitter taste in my mouth to be honest Heff. Think you have made your point, multiple times now.

JTY and the rest of the GW lot. Spike Magazines are great. Right kind of background and an entertaining mix of tactics and fun. I'm all for these new developments in the game to keep the game fresh. Long may it continue.

[Mystic Force]

To be fair my droning on about my point of view is probably tiresome to behold.

[garion]

@Garion I wonder if Throttlesnot has a busted Pogo - more of a big broken off stake with a bit of springs left but not really safe to use.
Leap, Stab, Secret Weapon and lack of the normal VLL all explained.

That's what I was thinking about as I looked at it.

I'm not sure adding less potent but characterful additions to the game is bad. But I'm a pro 'fun' guy. Doesn't change competitive balance but adds some flavor for those who aren't riding the bleeding edge of optimization.

To be clear I'm not against the idea of the guy.. He is a funny new character. My problem is it just doesn't make sense for him to be secret weapon and he should have VLL. Unless you come up with a contrivence to explain it away. Even if the idea you had was written in to his fluff that would be fine, but there is nothing to say why he is missing VLL and has SW.

He is just badly designed and could have been handled better in a number of different ways, while having the same impact. E.g. remove SW, give him VLL. Reduce MA and AG by 1 and you have a player that maintains verisimilitude and has the same chance of pulling off a leap in to the cage plus stab.

It's nothing huge, but again it's just a small error on what is other wise another very good edition of spike.

[JT-Y]

In your opinion Garion.

[garion]

In your opinion Garion.

Obviously yeah... that goes without saying. One shouldn't need to state this when posting subjective critiques.

Some people are more forgiving with stuff like this and do not mind incongruencies, and that's fine. Other people (like me clearly ) are more of a pedant or perfectionist with this type of thing.

I just think its a shame really, because each spike has been bloody brilliant except one or two minor details. If only they could be ironed out:

Spike 1- Zap being cast against players St, instead of a flat roll. Minor rule on a sub optimal spell, but still a bad rule change, as it benefits some races more than others, and hurts the weakest races (stunty teams) more than any other.

Spike 2 - Each magazine has 10 stars, but in the dark elf one jeremiah cool is noted as a Golen Era Star player. I like that you have noted he is part of the optional rules and not core (something that should have been done with things like Cards (In)famous coaches etc..). However this means there are only 9 normal stars and 1 special star for this team. It would have been better to either give all teams 9 normal and 1 special or all teams 10 normal stars. Then kept the special stars seperate. This is a miss step really. We don't want to return to pre lrb5 era where every team had a different number of stars....

Spike 3 - Was really solid, no silly rules. Personally I think the BoN/Rot Spawn should have M on singles, but this minor changes dont seem to be happening in this edition, so it's what I expected.

Spike 4 - Lack of continuity with the Pogo rules, could have been handled better in other ways while maintaining the low cost.

[Christy42]

Why did people complain about the pogoer being a ludicrous signing in the fluff? I mean they have a skeleton Dwarf so why not a Goblin zombie. I feel like I am missing something there.

I was also confused by the skill set but given the name I take it the Goblin is hopping around on little more than a very large spike. It does not have a pogo's natural bounce so no vll.

It is just a large spear. Using it as a pogo stick does not mean it is allowed by blood bowl rules so secret weapon and stab because well, large spear.

I am also imagining the spear is stuck in the poor gobbo and that is why they "would simply have to put up with the pogo stick". Might explain why he is an unusual signing too?

Is that what is meant by the fluff?

[Bakunin]

Throttlesnot has SW so he cant use stunty, omg he's shit.

I guess hemlock is still the main stabbing guy.

[MacHurto]

What happened to all the old stars? Didn’t see anything in the Spike! 4 fluff saying they are dead/retired like for Dolfar.

[zebulon]

I still loved reading this Spike! magazine devoted to Shambling Undead.
Good job

[Heff]

To be fair my droning on about my point of view is probably tiresome to behold.

Not at all.