Welcome to the August edition of the Tournament Director Blog! As always, we bring you the latest news and updates from the NAF Blood Bowl universe, a preview of upcoming events, and in-depth reports on recent tournaments. This month, our contributors cover the inaugural Ukrainian NAF tournament, the Cup of Iron Will, the Eucalyptus Bowl in Australia, and the French Bowl d’Armor.
As always, if you want to contribute any content to this blog (e.g. a report of a recent tournament you visited or ran), reach out! Contact info are available on our NAF staff site.
Content
- NAF Chatter
1.1 Chaos Dwarf Team
1.2 Annual Review
1.3 Tournament Super Series
1.4 French-Ukrainian Support - Report: Cup of Iron Will (by Khan and YangZubr)
- Report: Eucalyptus Bowl (by RabidBogscum)
- Report: Bowl d’Armor (by Magikmoon)
- Outlook
1. NAF Chatter
1.1. Chaos Dwarf Team
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or slaving away in a nightmarish cavern next to hellish forges and massive armories, you’ll have heard that another long-neglected race has undergone a remake: changes to the Chaos Dwarf team have just been announced.
Let’s start with the most obvious observation: GW has skillfully avoided one of the hottest debates in the community. We still don’t know how Bull Centaurs wear their pants. Aside from that, two new positionals have been introduced: Firebreathers and Stabby Hobgoblins. The Dwarves lost their Tackle skill but gained Iron Hard Skin, a skill many say is the only thing preventing Armbar from being the most useless improvement out there. However, reading between the lines (“prevents any adjustment to their armour value”), we might see a change to the Iron Hard Skin skill description. The future is looking dim for Armbar.
As a reminder, as always when skills are corrected or FAQed and new teams are introduced: any changes to skills must be adapted immediately at all approved tournaments once published. For newly published teams, organizers are free to allow either the new or the old roster (not both!) until the end of the year. After NAF review, the new roster becomes mandatory. The roster being used should be clarified in the tournament ruleset. Also, the new team may be played only after the rules have been officially published.
1.2 Annual Review
As we approach the end of the year, it’s time once again for the NAF Annual Review—a crucial process that shapes the rules and guidelines for NAF-sanctioned tournaments for the upcoming year. The Annual Review is our way of ensuring that tournament regulations remain consistent, clear, and aligned with the latest developments in Blood Bowl. Initially, the Annual Review was set up when the Blood Bowl 2020 edition was introduced, with the goal of reducing confusion, enhancing stability, and ensuring our tournament rules are fit for purpose.
In recent years, the Annual Review has evolved further to provide a broader picture of the NAF tournament scene and the tournament sanctioning procedures. This collaborative effort involves feedback from our global staff in a more formal setting and through a dedicated forum. In about two weeks, invites will be sent to various NAF staff, including National Coordinators and Regional Coordinators, who represent our members from all around the world. The aim is to conclude discussions by early November, then formalize and finalize the NAF tournament rules for 2025, which will become mandatory on January 1st.
If you have any suggestions or feedback that you would like to share with the wider community, be sure to reach out to your local representative so they can join and represent you!
1.3 Tournament Super Series
Update from our Tournament Series Coordinator Topas
For 2025, we will introduce a new type of tournament series called the Super Series, which can combine some of the larger tournaments over a wider region than is typical within a regular NAF series. The idea behind the Super Series initiative is to make the Blood Bowl world feel ‘smaller’ by encouraging coaches to foster connections across communities beyond their local boundaries, extending beyond just the World Cups and Eurobowls.
In concrete terms, anyone can register a NAF Super Series for 2025 with the following requirements:
- A designated person must act as the Tournament Super Series Organizer and be accountable for maintaining a publicly available results table.
- All included tournaments must be pre-defined before the start of the series, and no single tournament can participate in more than two NAF Super Series.
- Pre-defined scoring rules must align with the principles of the NAF series scoring recommendations.
- The Super Series must be registered no later than December 15, 2024, in the NAF forum tournament series section for 2025.
This means that a tournament can be part of a normal NAF series (still only one) and at the same time be part of up to two Super Series. One example currently under consideration is the UK Triple Crown, which includes the three UK NAF Nationals. As stated, anyone can register a Super Series, but please contact me first (Topas on Discord or via email: topas-at-thenaf.net).
Super Series will not receive NAF prizes in 2025, as this will be a trial period. In the future, there might be Super Series-specific NAF prizes… or nothing… or something in between… or no Super Series at all (though that’s unlikely).
Kudos to BB_Jock, who proposed the outline for this idea and added more context and flavor to the series’ origin in his blog entry. We are excited to trial this in 2025 and see where it takes us!
1.4 French-Ukrainian Support
In this month’s TD blog, you’ll find a special report on the first NAF tournament ever held in Ukraine. Some of you might remember that this title was originally meant for a tournament in Kharkiv, which, for understandable reasons, could not take place.
The vast majority of us enjoy the great luxury of traveling to and attending events with no greater worries than being diced by a Skaven coach or sitting next to someone with a fondness for Old Spice. In this context, I would like to give a shout-out to members of the French community who actively supported this tournament by sending Wise Man Nabolo, loaded with goodies, frankincense, and myrrh, to participate. They also generously covered membership fees for newly joining NAF coaches. This incredible display of solidarity shows the strength of our global community (and is not at all diminished by the fact that Nabolo played the dirtiest Stunty team out there). It’s moments like these that remind us of the borderless friendships and shared passion for our hobby, even in challenging times.
2. Report: Cup of Iron Will (by Khan and YangZubr)
Describing the experience of the first Ukrainian NAF tournament ever, it becomes clear that we need to start from earlier times—when Blood Bowl was less widespread in the country. My (Khan’s) personal story as a player begins in 2019 when only 5-6 people played in the local league in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Despite the fact that people had been playing BB since the 2010s, the community was small and fragmented.
Over time, the community grew, and there was a realization that it was necessary to introduce a system of annual tournaments and take a new step forward. We had long been interested in major European tournaments. It must be said that the first NAF tournament was supposed to happen a year earlier in another city, Kharkiv, but unfortunately, due to various reasons, the tournament had to be canceled, bringing us to this very moment.
Tournament Day
The Cup of Iron Will was a one-day tournament consisting of three rounds, held at a gaming club in Kyiv’s Podil district—an area with historic architecture that somewhat resembles the 1900s. For the rules, we primarily used the Alicante 2023 ruleset with some adjustments. We were pleasantly surprised by the turnout, as we were worried that there would be few participants. However, we miscalculated and accidentally set a record, with 22 coaches attending the tournament.
Players from different regions of the country came, and we also had a guest from France—coach Nabolo. I cannot express enough how many gifts and kind words the French community sent us; to say we were impressed is an understatement. Special thanks to Tulkas, Nedgang, Manant, Chica, Magikmoon, Buraud, and others who helped with prizes and various gifts.
Everything was incredible, and people were having fun at all the tables, though the tournament was not without competition. Below, I (Khan) will describe my personal game experience:
1st game: My first round was against a coach I often face at tournaments. It was a classic clash between elves—I played Wood Elves, my main faction, while he played Elven Union. I won 2-1, but it was a close game.
2nd game: This match was against Nabolo. I had been eagerly anticipating this game and would have been disappointed not to play him, as I wanted to experience the “European” style of BB. France is one of the strongest countries in terms of player skill, from my online experience. He played Snotlings, and I knew it was going to be a tough game.
The first half started with my attack—I chose to wait instead of going for a fast attack because of the bomber threat. Until turn 5, I spread my players in a grid formation to make it difficult for him to land a good bomb and prevent his trolls from targeting my Wardancers. On my 5th turn, I attacked. While advancing on the flank, I leaped towards his bomber with my dancer to secure a strong position. Unfortunately, due to my inattention, I leaped over a Diving Tackle Snotling! As a result, I was forced to score my first touchdown on turn 6 because of the bomber, my KO’d Wardancer, and the rising threat of Diving Tackle Snotlings near my cage. This gave Nabolo the opportunity to score his first touchdown in the first half. I tried to sacrifice some players to stop his assault, but it was ineffective.
The second half was a complete disaster for me. After a few turns, I had lost half my team and could do nothing against my opponent’s attack. By turn 6, my last player was on the bench, and I had no players left on the pitch. The game ended with a 1-2 defeat. Nabolo demonstrated a high level of play, and I was glad to have this experience. We had a small talk after the game where he told me about the French league and how their BB community differs.
3rd game: I played against Dwarves. I won’t lie—I’ve played against Dwarves many times and already had a plan for the attack. I started with my beloved Dakka strategy, which I’ve practiced a lot, and retreated for a couple of turns. I scored my first touchdown on turn 8 of the first half without significant losses. In the second half, I slowly held my defense until I found a weak spot in my opponent’s formation. My Wardancer knocked down the ball carrier and ran away to score my second touchdown. The game ended with a 2-0 victory for me.
Afterword
We were surprised by the diversity of teams represented at the tournament. There was no bash or agile meta—people were simply having fun with their teams. The final results were:
- 1st place: Elven Union (havelock_vetinari)
- 2nd place: Skaven (olehskaven)
- 3rd place: Snotlings (Nabolo)
This was just one of many tournaments to come. The next tournament is expected around November-December. We plan to make NAF tournaments the main focus of our annual tournament schedule and hope to see more coaches from other countries join us!
3. Report: Eucalyptus Bowl (by Rabid_Bogscum)
Well folks, the 3rd Major of the year has been run and won: Eucalyptus Bowl 2024, tucked away in the Southern Wastes of Australia. Seventy-one coaches braved the mild weather in Sydney, coming from all over Australia, including 24 first-time Euc Bowlers and one international coach. But not just any run-of-the-mill international—The Kiwi Number 1, Nick “Sandune” Blackwood himself, of World Cup Red Leaf Mercenary fame. I am pleased to say, however, that we fought him off and retained the Eucalyptus Bowl for Australia for the 19th time. In a very proud moment, it was my own blood, Cullen “Cullymon” Russell, who emerged victorious. After a first-round defeat to the aforementioned Sandune, Cullymon submarined through the field, winning his next five games to take the title with Orcs.
Runner-up was the Australian Blood Bowl all-rounder himself, Jono “Captain_Prosecco” Delacy, with a Griff-inspired Halfling team. He also took out our Stunty King Title (his 3rd such title, all with different stunty races) and won Best Painted for a record 7th time. Is there anything this guy can’t do?
Rounding out the podium was Andrew “Big-A” Rintoul with Tomb Kings, who was the only coach to defeat Sandune over the weekend—an important fact, as you will see later.
Other prize winners were as follows:
- Most TDs: Gardengnome with 19 (Skaven)
- Most Cas: Jinxed with 28 (Orc)
- Most Kills: Robodukky with 5 (Gnomes)
- Most Fouls: Bighead with 52 (Vampires)
One thing we like to do down under is encourage diversity of races. We do this by giving out Best in Race medals, with the least represented teams getting an earlier pick on the prize table. This year, we added some Bingo Cards with minor boosts for the least represented teams and for opponents of the most represented teams. We only had four teams not represented: Dwarves, OWA, Chaos Renegades, and Khorne. Humans, Orcs, and Norse were the most represented.
We also like to recognize coaches who continue to support the tournament. We honor coaches who have attended 5, 10, and 15 years of Eucalyptus Bowl with a commemorative patch (we might need to organize one for 20 years too). This year’s inductees were Sumbloke (15 Years), Georgiechristo (10 Years), CallMePlissken, Haz1079, Meowcats, Watto, & Yasmir (5 Years).
Another important event at Euc Bowl this year was the presentation of The Pav, which was partly why Sandune attended. This competition was created to honor Kiwi and Aussie Blood Bowl travelers who take their love of the hobby across the Tasman Sea to raid fellow Antipodean tournaments. For more information on “The Pav,” I encourage you to check out the Charter (I’m sure you can link a tidier version, Michael) as Claymore has outdone himself with all the background information. This newly forged trophy was presented to the Kiwis, having taken the title in 2023. See the presentation ceremony here.
Shoutout to Chris Ryles at Black Orc Down—I may be biased, but I think our take-home trophies for Champion and Stunty King are the best anywhere in the world.
2025 will be our 20th year, and we are hoping for a really big one. The dates are confirmed as 5th and 6th July in Sydney. Hopefully, some brave Blood Bowl coaches will be looking to tick off a bucket list of all five majors—there couldn’t be a better time to attend and try to wrest the title away than our 20th Anniversary Year. Hope to see you all Down Under!
4. Report: Bowl d’Armor (by Magikmoon)
We are in July 2024. All of Gaul is busy basking in the sun… All? Yes! Because a village populated by indomitable Blood Bowl coaches is also preparing to receive on their beach a horde of coaches, each more colorful than the last.
The motto is clear: “Sea, Bloodbowl, and Sun.”
The dress code is just as important: flip-flops, sunglasses, boxer shorts or swimsuits, a Hawaiian shirt, and a “CHAI DU ROUISSOIR” bucket hat.
Welcome to the Bowl d’Armor, the 8th of its name, in LARMOR-PLAGE.
A unique tournament, now a must-see in the French Blood Bowl landscape. The Mor(dor)bihan association, supported by Stratemats, the French manufacturer of play mats, Greebo Games (which needs no introduction), the Chai du Roussoir Vigneron Charentais, and many others, are pulling out all the stops.
The weekend is designed to be family-friendly, with a campsite and the beach just a stone’s throw from the tournament venue. For barely 30 Euros, you have all your weekend meals included, plus a huge XXXL BBQ on Saturday night, unlimited soft drinks and planter punch, pancakes, goodies, and the icing on the cake—registration for the tournament.
As it’s summer, beach attire is recommended. Coaches who wear the full outfit—flip-flops (the kind that make your toes bleed), sunglasses, swimming trunks, Hawaiian shirt, and the Chai Du Roussoir bucket hat (an orange hat celebrating a famous vineyard known to the French coaching community)—will be rewarded with one additional team reroll. Note that the orange bucket hat is offered to each foreigner, while French participants must already own a previous edition to receive one.
The tournament consists of 5 rounds over 2 days, with the option to launch challenges in the first round. Sometimes you have an old grudge to settle or a desire to measure yourself against a legend. The 3rd round on Saturday evening allows coaches to enjoy the beach in the afternoon and build a sandcastle—because the main tiebreaker is the sandcastle contest. Yes, that’s how it goes on the beaches of Brittany.
Sixty-eight coaches came together to battle it out for one of the many (more than 20!) titles at stake, including four from Great Britain and one from Canada.
At the end of this magnificent weekend, only one coach had five victories to his credit—Julien (Dwarfs). Will_Boston (Necromantic) took second place. On the 3rd step of the podium, three coaches were tied, but it was indeed GeorgesLeYéti (Norse) who built the most impressive sandcastle. Notably, on the 4th step was Holleb (Gnomes), who won the stunty prize.
Another beautiful edition that we have no doubt will inspire many more to come. If one day you find yourself in Bretagne, near Lorient, remember that you are not far from a beach that truly embodies the spirit of Blood Bowl.
5. Outlook
September is picking up again with a total of 87 tournaments in 20 countries! That sounds like a lot, and it is. But it is still a bit away from the highest number of events ever recorded, with 108 in June of this year. We already now have more registered tournaments than for the whole of 2023 (where 897 events were submitted) and will easily pass the 1000 this year. My thanks go out to all the organizers and support functions, as well as the approval team members working behind the scenes!
The month of September is wholly dominated by the Eurobowl and Europen in Greece, and only few other European organizers dared to hold their tournaments on the same weekend. I myself will focus on this event as well and save all of this month’s luck, mojo, and Nuffle’s favor for this occasion.
And then, of course, we will eagerly await more updates on the new Chaos Dwarf team, which will surely be overpowered, unplayable, a disgrace, or an ingenious creation—depending on whom you ask.