Pre-NAF Champs 2022 7's tournament report

7's isn't for everyone, and this Uruk-hai made his feelings known!

Preamble

For some people, two days of Blood Bowl at the NAF Championships in Nottingham was simply not enough. For some people, the lure of a 7's tournament the night before the big event at the nerd-mecca of Warhammer World was just too good to pass up. For some people, the opportunity to browse the biggest Games Workshop / Forgeworld store you are likely to find in the UK, along with the food & drink at Bugman's Bar, and a mind-blowing miniatures exhibition was nothing short of a must-attend. The proverbial cherry on top was that any profits would be going to charity, specifically that of SquadChaos which donate to a number of charities including the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and Mind.

"What is 7's?" you may ask. I'm probably not the best placed to answer, having never played it before the event, but for those that don't know, it's basically a cut-down game of Blood Bowl which is played on a much smaller pitch, with fewer players, fewer turns, and no re-rolls.... which means it's a much faster game than it's older brother, Blood Bowl. It's probably the best thing out there to get people into the world of Blood Bowl. Of course, if you don't know what Blood Bowl is, why are you reading this? 😏 Well, my elevator-pitch in describing Blood Bowl is as follows: "Imagine American Football played in Medieval times, but with lots of races that you would likely see in a Lord of the Rings film. If you can get your head around that, follow it up with the fact that it's a board game dating back to the 1980's which has a global following, painted miniatures, rules, strategies, dice rolling and a large dollop of silliness, and there you have it!".

Being hosted at the Games Workshop HQ meant I could take the obligatory photo alongside the Ultramarine Rhino tank, and the old Space Marine statue. I hadn't been there in about a decade or so, so it had to be done. You would have seen similar photo's all over Twitter timelines of fellow Blood Bowl fans.

Anyway, I digress... We were here to play some 7's...

The 7's Tournament

I decided to take my 3rd edition Undead team. They were original metal Citadel figures, and as we were at GW, we had to only use GW miniatures... no 3rd party or 3D printed miniatures here, that's for sure... they would have been vaporised as we walked in anyway, like a vampire being doused in holy water as he stepped into a cathedral! I was therefore somewhat limited in my choice. I suspect it's far better to go with a fast moving & agile team, or one that comes with lots of starting skills baked in... ah well...

I had a Mummy, a Wight (and as my captain he received Pro), 2x Ghouls (one with Sure Hands) and 3x Zombies and a Skeleton.

After some announcements from the Tournament Organiser, Thor87, and the draw being made, we found a pitch, made the introductions, and started to play...

A video to set the scene

Game One vs Alistair's Old World Alliance

Alistair modelling the t-shirt that was on it's way to me!

Alistair was a perfect opponent for my first ever game of 7's. He is involved in the publishing of the Gridiron Gazette... worth checking out if you like your Blood Bowl fluff. He had brought Old World Alliance, which included an Ogre, Human Blitzer, a Human Thrower and a Dwarf as well as some linemen.

Necromancer dark arts animated the Undead... but very very slowly!

I was receiving in perfect weather, where more fans had come along to see the OWA rather than the Undead. The ball was kicked to, and claimed by the Sure Hands Ghoul (after using his skill for an initial failed pickup), and the Undead walked forward in a funeral procession down the pitch where they were met by the Ogre and his mates.

After a rather busy scrum in the middle of the field where the ball carrier got sacked and KO'd, my Mummy got angry and removed the Dwarf from play, and the Undead also managed to surf a human blitzer. With all that going on, the Wight captain reminded his team mates there was a ball on the field, and they duly scored in the last turn (turn 6/5) to go 1-0 up. This only happened after a zombie got fouled and left in rotting pieces on the turf.

The second half was a much less bloody affair, and somehow the Undead managed to halt the progress of the OWA, in part helped by a bone-heading Ogre. The match finished 1-0 (1-0)... my first win!

Game Two vs Lemf's Black Orcs

Lemf seen here with his usual Guinness

I hadn't seen Lemf in ages, not since the days of the STABB tournaments in St Albans. Was great to see him, although his Black Orcs I'll happily decline to meet again any time soon! We rolled some dice and it turned out that I would be receiving in perfect weather again. 

Note the Goblin Bruisers stayed well back after shouting obscenities at the Undead!

The first half was a bit of a chaotic mess really. The Big Un's were a right pain, and the Trained Troll wasn't much better either. You mix that in with Goblin Bruisers that refused to leave the pitch with their thick skull and dodge, you get the idea of the antics that Lemf pulled out! The half finished 0-0.

During the second half, reel highlights included the Troll blitzing and proning the Sure Hands Ghoul... but he survived... only to be fouled out by a goblin. However, the Undead are nothing if not resilient, and after causing a couple of casualties, they managed to secure the ball and run in for a 1-0 (2-0) win.

Game Three vs PurpleChest's Dark Elves

From treading the boards to astro-granite

I was going into this final game on 2 wins, so I had a sniff of a chance at a podium. However, my adversary was PurpleChest. When he's not entertaining in the theatre, or his rich vocal chords aren't vibrating our ear drums with a Podcast or two, he's playing Blood Bowl... and he had brought some tricksy Dark Elves.

The elves received, and by turn 3/4 I was losing 0-1 (0-0). I was facing blodgers, so I had to have Tackle on my Wight. This didn't seem to help much though. They just didn't seem to fail anything, and if they did roll a 1, it was with someone who had the Dodge skill. 

With no breakthrough in the first half, we tried again in the second half, but we continued to suffer as the Dark Elves breezed through our meagre defences and managed to grab the ball and get it over the line for a second Touch Down. PurpleChest did say "I think this might win it for me!" as he crossed the line to win 0-2 (0-0), and...

PurpleChest collects his prize and a handshake from Thor87

...it did! PC was a well deserving winner!

I don't know where everyone was placed as yet as I've not seen a final standings table, but I will update this once I know more.

Unfortunately, I can't remember the other winners either (TD's, Casualties etc) but I do remember that Thor87 was rather abashed as Glowworm announced that he had won Best Painted at his own tournament, which happily went towards his goal of achieving a best painted award for each of the races.

Hope you enjoyed that and spotted yourselves in the photos/video. Feel free to comment, especially if there are mistakes to rectify!

Also, look out for a NAF Championships 2022 report... however, that one might take a bit longer!!