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 quest for the Ravening Ruin has drawn all manner of warriors to the ever-hungry Gnarlwood, seeking glory, riches or the simple joy of slaughter. So thick lie the corpses across the forest floor that Nighthaunt Pyregheists have been drawn to it, threatening to consume the forest with the unholy flames of the Great Necromancer. Their rampant spread is held at bay only by the rising waters of a great river, long dormant but returning slowly to life under the guidance of the Ydrilan Riverblades.
The Wildercorps are trackers, scouts, and outdoorsmen – experts who attack from the cover of thick foliage and broken ground. They act as rangers for the Cities of Sigmar, identifying and tackling threats before they can grow to threaten their homes. Their tracking hounds surge forward, sinking fangs into flesh even as skilled sharpshooters pick out their targets and loose their bolts.
Gorger Mawpacks are strange gatherings of ogors afflicted with the Empty Belly curse, driven mad with hunger no matter how much they consume. Wild-eyed and starving, they launch themselves at their prey, using huge clubs or improvised bludgeons to pulverise those unfortunate enough to be their next, eternally unsatisfying meal.
The Cities of Sigmar are bastions of light and hope in realms embattled by darkness. With faith and overwhelming firepower, their mortal armies fight back against the fiend, the monster, and the wraith.
Freeguild Cavalier-Marshals command their Free City's forces from horseback, and are nigh-unstoppable on the charge. They galloping hard into the enemy, seeking the perfect moment to collapse their battleline in a single decisive attack. Though they often carry the weight of a Dawnbringer Crusade upon their shoulders, these Marshals are inspiring champions who are well used to leading by example.
Alchemite Warforgers are specialist wizards who wield the raw energies of Chamon. As muscular and sweaty as any mundane blacksmith, these mages pluck glowing runecubes from their crucibles, channelling metallurgic magic to destroy their foes. Their arcane alchemy can change the properties of not only metal, but reality itself.
Pontifex Zenestra is the revered leader of the Cult of the Wheel – one of the more influential Sigmarite faiths found throughout the Free Cities. As the Matriarch gives her inspiring battlefield sermons, the raw celestial power of the God-King crackles out from her sacred palanquin to incinerate blasphemers, whilst devoted acolytes bludgeon and hew any foolish enough to approach her without permission. The Great Wheel turns, and the driving force is faith.