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.
Space Marine Captains fight from the front, and few forms of armour enable them to do so as effectively as Terminator plate. This formidably resilient suit protects the Captain against all but the most devastating enemy fire, and allows them to deploy by teleport strike right into the heart of the foe.
Infernus Squads purge swathes of enemy ranks with the incandescent firestorms they unleash from their pyreblasters. They are close-assault specialists, sending jets of burning promethium into trench lines and bunkers, through dense ruins, and concealing vegetation, ensuring no foe escapes their Chapter’s fiery wrath.
The Ballistus Dreadnought is a walking gun emplacement. Within a shielded sarcophagus at this combat walker's core lies the mortal remains of a fallen Chapter hero. This eternal warrior pilots their hulking war engine through a web of neural links, targeting enemy armour or elite infantry with banks of devastating heavy weapons.
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.
The Adeptus Mechanicus are the fanatical worshippers of the Machine God of Mars. For thousands of years the robed priests of the Machine Cult have presided over the fabrication, maintenance, and preservation of Humanity’s surviving technological wonders with reverence and ritual. Led by Tech-Priests whose weak organic flesh has been replaced with metallic augmentations, their armies fight to defend forge worlds and strike out across the galaxy in search of ancient archeotech.
The Tech-Priests of Mars march forth at the head of cybernetic legions, protected by barely understood relics of a bygone era, and wielding devastating and bizarre weapons to obliterate their foes.