Gnomes frankly have a tough time winning a game of Blood Bowl – but bringing along a Treeman is a great way to close the height gap. And the strength gap. And the skill gap. These mighty arboreal players give the Gnomes half a shot against most serious teams.
Gnomes are something of an enigma in the world of Blood Bowl, with many fans having dismissed their existence almost entirely. While their tactics, and woodland creatures, are somewhat unorthodox, Gnomes are quite fond of the game. While individual players are hardly paragons of athleticism, their mastery of magical illusions and the befriending of forest beasts gives them certain advantages not enjoyed by less gloriously bearded teams.
Gnome teams play Blood Bowl on pitches deep within their mysterious forests, in clearings between the trees. These aren't just your regular run-of-the-mill forests, though – magic hangs in the air, and all manner of creatures, both fey and mundane, come out of hiding to watch their Gnome friends play Blood Bowl!
Even with their magical illusions, Gnome teams will need all the luck they can get in games of Blood Bowl, which is where these themed dice come in.
Deep in the dank heart of the old forests, mischievous woodland creatures frolic, prance, and beat each other to a pulp playing the age-old game of Blood Bowl. This issue's guest editor, Davide Mirrorfoot, reveals just a few of the secrets of Gnome teams.
The world of Bheta-Decima slides towards utter ruination. From the lightless void comes a Nemesis Claw of the Night Lords Traitor Legion, twisted warriors motivated by cruelty and selfish desire. Yet as these ancient predators hunt for technological treasures on the ocean-rigs of Bheta-Decima, they are hunted in turn by the Mandrakes of Aelindrach – and it may be that even these sadistic monsters have met their gruesome match.
Scout Squads are comprised of Space Marines in training, not yet fully elevated to the ranks of battle-brothers. Nonetheless, each operative is physically and mentally strong and robust by an order of magnitude over unaugmented Humans. All are competent killers and infiltrators, wreaking havoc behind enemy lines and collecting valuable battlefield intelligence.
Blades of Khaine are elite Asuryani fighting formations assembled for a single purpose: severing a precise strand of fate to ensure that a terrible future for their craftworld or their race as a whole never comes to pass. Striking Scorpions burst from concealment after stalking their prey for hours or waiting in position for days – chainswords whirring and mandiblasters spitting needles of white fire.
The industrial world of Bheta-Decima is collapsing, its surface ravaged by the burning debris and tainted inhabitants of the space hulk Gallowdark. In the ensuing chaos, a Magos Biologis sends an urgent distress call – and is answered by a Scout Squad of the Raven Guard, bound by a centuries-old debt to extract him and his research from a crumbling ocean-rig complex. However, a Blades of Khaine kill team has been dispatched to foil their escape – and the very fate of the Aeldari could depend on it.
The industrial world of Bheta-Decima is aflame, its cities ruined and its polluted seas flooded with warp-taint by the falling debris of the space hulk Gallowdark. The planet's irradiated waters are now riddled with sunken secrets and twisted hazards, and nothing but the crumbling gantries of an oceanic extraction-rig stand between elite kill teams and a watery grave.
The Adeptus Mechanicus march to war as a disturbing fusion of flesh and machine, ruling Tech-Priests and fanatical cyborg followers raising modified voices in binharic praise of the Machine God. Purge Corps Deltic-9 are equipped to scour the contamination of enemy presence from locations of strategic or exploratory importance, employing cybernetic speed and terrifying weapons. Cavalry and winged Pteraxii unleash gouts of purging flame, before radioactive Skitarii bring up the rear to reclaim whatever remains.
A Sydonian Skatros is a sinister cybernetic sentinel, stoic and unmoving until the moment an enemy strays into range of their huge rifle. Mechanical, stilt-like limbs allow them to traverse hazardous terrain and survey the environment, shrouded by a smog of incense-exhaust. With protocol-driven precision and an advanced scanner known as the achillan eye, they lock on to their foes’ weakpoints and unleash pinpoint fire that sows panic and agony – all the better for eroding enemy morale.