A gripping Blood Bowl-inspired tale (recounted in weekly episodes) from recognized writer of fiction, Ian H. McKinley, and award-winning artist, Meunier, in which elves, orcs, humans, dwarves, rodentiens and exotherms play football. Explore Guayamartí, the great city of the Hierarchs and home to the famous Eztadio Sanger, a stadium that has seen the greatest exploits in the history of sport. Follow the fortunes of an owner, a coach, and a player as they navigate the perilous world of “footy”.
Cassandra Thordwall, a pirate who wishes to leave her old life behind her and start a footy team, tracks down the infamous former coach Karsgaard Neuvil and proposes forming a new team, the Mytilan Militantes. What happens next will leave you longing for the next episode of Up and Under.
The Rookie coach does not control his risk-taking and is a gold mine to exploit for a skilled opponent. For example, he starts his turn with a ball pickup or with a blocking Loner Big Guy without first covering a possible failure. He aims for a two-turn touchdown without realizing that he is nailing himself into his own coffin. He keeps his players outrageously in contact, piling up injuries to the point where his team cannot develop correctly.
At the same time, the Rookie coach often curses his misfortunes while not noticing that he has been previously blessed by succeeding some risky dice rolling sequences. If you are a Rookie coach, stop cursing your bad luck and fill your heart with the words of wisdom below.
The Experienced coach does the basics correctly. He orders his turn from the easiest to the riskiest actions and awkwardly tries to slow down the game. On the other hand, he still makes doubtful skill choices, rolls lots of dice, leaves his Big Guy isolated, and plays a little too often in contact with his opponent when the situation would require some delicacy.
Fresh back from his Rookie honeymoon, the Experienced coach often finds the game a little heavy and too influenced by luck. However, he is about to make his exciting debut in the real Blood Bowl world where he will master the rules, the odds and sometimes even his opponent.
The Veteran coach usually makes the right decisions. He grasped a strong positioning’s importance and his pitch control is harder to contest. His improved synchronism allows him to better optimize his remaining game time. His offensives alternate between cages and runs – often in a single game, and even during a single drive. His eyes are constantly on the watch for chain pushes opportunities without mastering complex sequences. He optimizes his team but still tries bizarre skills combos. The Veteran coaching level is a cool phase of tests and discoveries.
Attacking a Veteran’s defense is an adventure. Defending against his offensives is never already won. The Veteran coach has understood that what wins a blood bowl game is the cumulation of small advantages and that it is often enough to tip the balance in his favor even with some ordinary luck.
The champion coach has a game timing bordering on perfection. His positioning is impeccable and covers a maximum of useful space. He masters when to hold back his players and when to send them to the assault. Complex chain push sequences have no secrets for him. His team is the leanest meat possible with, sometimes, a modest candy that reflects his playing personality.
Yet, despite all these good qualities worthy of a Champion, he still lacks this little something to sneak in amongst the bests. Call it “instinct”, “creativity”, “connectivity”, or “the touch”. Many coaches stagnate for a very long time at this level and, tragically, many will never crack the Legendary coaching code.
Upgrading to the legendary level is having understood how to break the inviolable coaching rules. It is also finding opportunities where other coaches would not even poke their nose. Is it abstract? It is normal! Welcome amongst Legends!
But that is not all there is. On a more concrete level, the legendary coach has a perfect now or never instinct. For example, when to push for the win instead of protecting the draw, when and how to abandon security to provoke errors, when and how to fully leverage a game situation, and the list could grow on and on.
Legendary coaches usually have the reputation of being lucky, but in reality, they have a stellar risk-taking synchronism, the instinct to spot the game’s pivotal play, the flexibility to immediately change tactic to avoid losing control, and the gift of reading their opponent’s mind.
