This is the grand finale in our mini series were we ask Tournament Champions what we think are some of the all important questions with Blood Bowl in the newest edition!
After getting some insight into Blood Bowl in the UK from David Glenister (NAF ID: bsking) we went to the United States of America to talk with Jeremy Smith (NAF ID: bampf). Jeremy recently claimed the title of Champion for the 4 Diamonds Cup 2021! Jeremy came with High Elves and shocked everyone as he blew past the Morg’s and the Hakflem’s all the way to the top! Find out more about Jeremy’s Blood Bowl experience below!
Q: How long have you played Blood Bowl?
A: I have been playing BloodBowl competitively for over 20 years. Technically, I played one game of the original in high school in like 1990, but I wouldn’t really count that as a starting point.
Q: What made you make the decision to take the winning race to the event? Did you do any research, practice or preparation before the tournament?
A: I chose High Elves because there was a lot of speculation that elves in general would take a significant hit in the new rules set. I wanted to see if that was really the case. The idea of HEs being listed as tier 2 team to me seemed particularly silly given the other tier designations. I had not played them yet under the new rules.
Q: Now that you’ve won do you feel like your priorities will change with team race selection in upcoming tournaments?
A: I like to play a wide variety of teams. So I will cycle through teams at random. I tend to have a slight preference for scoring teams, but that is mostly because over the years I have introduced a lot of new players to the game, and pounding them into submission is not a great learning experience… at least not for their first couple of games.
Q: Care to share any secrets to your winning strategy/roster choices?
A: Having a few blodgers is really key. There are so many races in a tournament setting that just can’t deal with them. I always have a Frenzy player. I think it is essential. It changes the way your opponent plays on both offense and defense and provides the best opportunity for player removal for an elf team. I wish I had chosen Kick or Sure Hands on a thrower as I just don’t see sufficient value in the Accurate/Cannoneer pick.
Q: What is your advice to newcomers and/or experienced coaches of Blood Bowl, particularly the ones transitioning to the Blood Bowl Second Season tournament scene?
A: I think it may be too early to really recognize any real paradigm shifts from Second Season. My general advice is to experiment and find the races you most enjoy playing. Once you do that, do not lock into a single strategy on offense or defense. Every race match-up plays differently so you need to be adaptable. Also, expect your dice to fail you. Plan for it. It’s the best way to mitigate the damage, both emotional and in-game!
Q: What are your next steps? Any upcoming tournaments you plan to attend?
A: I am excited to see some in person gaming happening again and looking forward to some more tournies. We are attempting to launch a 7’s league at our local gaming store.
Q: Do you have any final thoughts/comments on how the current Blood Bowl Second Season edition of rules may change the tournament scene?
A: The new rules, overall, seem good. Some rules were cleaned up… others muddied. There is certainly more choices now and some much needed infusion of new races. Some of the star players are grossly unbalancing given the teams they are available to and some of the tier designations seem almost chosen at random. Those are things that can be easily house-ruled. The core mechanics of the game seem to be on sound footing.
Thank you so much Jeremy for these great thoughts! We all want to congratulate you on your success in Blood Bowl and good luck in your future tournament events!
That concludes our Q&A series on Tournament Champions around the world! Thank you for those that stayed tuned in and listening through the weeks! Now go roll some block dice!