The Blood Bowl community now seems to have firmly adopted the BB2020 ruleset. Nevertheless, for posterity’s sake – or if you are interested in knowing whether a race has improved or deteriorated over time, statistics relating to BB2016 are available below.
Victory % under BB2016
Using a sound methodology (mind you, it is certainly not irrefutable), we analyzed statistics detailing tens of thousands of games played online and at NAF tournaments. We strongly suggest that you do not use these results to jump to absolute conclusions. However, I am sure you will have no difficulty noticing some serious trends.
| Teams | NAF | +/- 1000K | +/- 1500K | +/- 2000K | TAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 54% | 58% | 57% | 53% | 4.7 |
| Chaos Chosen | 44% | 45% | 47% | 51% | 3.2 |
| Chaos Dwarf | 52% | 56% | 54% | 53% | 4.4 |
| Chaos Renegade | 48% | 47% | 44% | 41% | 2.9 |
| Dark Elf | 53% | 51% | 53% | 59% | 4.5 |
| Dwarf | 52% | 56% | 51% | 44% | 3.9 |
| Elf Union | 51% | 50% | 55% | 62% | 4.6 |
| Goblin | 32% | 32% | 26% | 30% | 0.3 |
| Halfling | 35% | 36% | 40% | 42% | 1.8 |
| High Elf | 48% | 48% | 51% | 59% | 4.1 |
| Human | 46% | 47% | 49% | 52% | 3.5 |
| Lizardmen | 54% | 57% | 55% | 60% | 4.9 |
| Necromantic Horror | 51% | 52% | 56% | 59% | 4.6 |
| Norse | 52% | 52% | 46% | 47% | 3.7 |
| Nurgle | 45% | 44% | 43% | 54% | 3.2 |
| Ogre | 32% | 27% | 27% | 26% | 0.0 |
| Orc | 48% | 50% | 48% | 48% | 3.5 |
| Shambling Undead | 56% | 58% | 51% | 45% | 4.2 |
| Skaven | 51% | 54% | 56% | 57% | 4.6 |
| Slann | 47% | 42% | 52% | 52% | 3.5 |
| Tomb Kings | 48% | 50% | 50% | 48% | 3.6 |
| Underworld Denizens | 46% | 46% | 46% | 51% | 3.3 |
| Vampire | 44% | 41% | 51% | 56% | 3.4 |
| Wood Elf | 56% | 54% | 54% | 64% | 5.0 |
Legend
NAF is a team’s victory % in tournament formula.
The next three columns show each team’s victory % at an average team value raking the top and bottom 250K. To simplify the picture, this % is an equal parts mix of matchmaking and open league (don’t shout to heresy because you would be surprised to see how similar the results are from one environment to the other).
The Taureau Amiral Rating (TAR) is the overall performance of each team on a scale of 0 to 5. The objective of this statistical calculation is to analyze with a unit of measure other than the victory % (to do so, what better than to humbly create my own unit of measurement). Its conclusions are very interesting and allow us to classify the races of the game into five performance levels.
Level 5: Wood Elves, Lizardmen, Amazons, Skavens, Necromantics, Elves, Dark Elves, Chaos Dwarves, Undead, and High Elves
Level 4: Dwarves, Norses, Khemris, Slanns, Orcs, Humans, Vampires, Underworlds, Nurgles, and Chaos.
Level 3: Chaos Pact
Level 2: Halflings
Level 1: Goblins, Ogres
Notes
Amazons statistics are probably very slightly overrated (by about 2%) by “mix-max predators” in matchmaking at low team values.
Orcs, Humans, and Chaos are very (very, very) popular among beginners. It certainly affects downwards those teams’ stats.
Halflings and Goblins statistics are scarce at high team values. All our best wishes if your goal is to climb to these summits!!!
Bretonnians and Khorne Daemons are not represented for a lack of statistics available publicly, though a lot of shreds of evidence suggest that Bretonnians would be a little over 50% while Khorne Daemons would be a little under. It is likely that the Khorne Daemons break the 50% barrier at a high team value.
This fratatra’s conclusions
It is clear that some teams are competitive right out of the box (logically, they are often the same as in tournaments) while others reach their full potential only when they are well-developed (Nurgles is a blatant example). Absolutely no team reaches its full potential at mid-value and being at that level means either transiting up, down, or stagnating.
The table also shows quite clearly that almost half the races in the game are on a very equal footing, with a CTA between 4.1 and 5.0. The second half of the races is a little lower, but still very competitive, with a CTA between 3.2 and 3.9. The Chaos Pact almost takes its place in this group with a CTA of 2.9. Halflings are downright bad (1.8). Goblins and Ogres are abominable (0.3 and 0.0).
Finally, the statistical study proves that there is a rock-paper-scissors effect at Blood Bowl. With the same team, there is a good chance that you will alternate between being at the right and the wrong end of the stick.