Blitz Bowl Beast Mode

My daughter and I were getting set up for a game of Blitz Bowl, when my younger son said he wanted to play, specifically with the Ambull from Blackstone Fortress. So we whipped up some rules to add him as a third player.

Start of game: Deploy one Borewyrm, scattered from the trap door.

After each coach’s turn, the Ambull/Borewyrm gets an activation. As a Borewyrm, roll a D6. On a 6+, grow into the Ambull. On subsequent Borewyrm activations, grow as a 5+, 4+, and so on.

If still a Borewyrm, you can move 3 squares, regardless of other models, but must end the move in their own square. Similarly, other models can move ignoring the Borewyrm, but must not end in the same square.

If transforming into the Ambull, select a 2×2 square to expand into, pushing any models or balls in the area outward. Then, make up to two square move, including next to an opponent if desired. Finally, the Ambull can take a block action against an adjacent model. The Ambull always counts as assisted, and can reroll the block dice.

If the Ambull injures a model, it carries it off, and a new Borewyrm is spawned on the trap door. If not, the Ambull can move and block again on its next activation.

The Ambull can be attacked as usual, and has a 2+ armor save (though this never came up). The Borewyrm cannot be attacked.

This mode, while far from competitive, was quite effective at keeping both kids engaged. The Borewyrm would stalk a model until popping into the Ambull and eating somebody. The turns were short and simple enough it didn’t bog things down even though it happened after every player turn. Plus, I got focused on, giving me a handicap and making the game more fun for everybody.

The Ambull’s target rarely made its armor save (Wood Elves and Skaven), so the Ambull didn’t stay on the board for very long. It might need some tweaks to keep from blocking up the board for higher armored players.

Malifaux: Fat Cap (Nightmare Metal Golem)

In most recent years, Wyrd has released a nightmare crew at Gencon, then an extra model in the same theme in Black Friday. This year, that’s Mad Cap, an alternate Metal Golem in the Malifaux 1988 theme.

This model was in softer plastic than most Malifaux, and sold pre-assembled. I believe it’s the same material as The Other Side. It’s not my favorite material, though it’s nicer than some PVC models.

Malifaux: Malifaux 1988 (Nightmare Mei Feng Crew)

Last year’s Nightmare crew was was anachronistic for Malifaux, a cyberpunk twist on Mei Feng

Gumdrop (Nightmare Mei Feng)

In this world, Mei rides the rails on roller blades, evidently. I wanted this crew to be brighter colored than most of my Malifaux, and selected orange as a color to tie them all together.

Mean Streak (Nightmare Kang)

The orange on Mean Streak is relegated to just a few accents.

Spritz (Nightmare Forgeling)

What fish wouldn’t want a robot body?

The Rail Workers each get a unique look. I especially like kangaroo-legged Tagline.

Malifaux 1988

Blackstone Fortress: Beastmen

The Beastmen are the last of the Blackstone Fortress core box models to be featured. This one has four models, with a couple of different components to mix and match.

Beastman (red, chainsword)

That allows for all four to be distinct.

Beastman (blue, sword)

Like the Traitor Guard, I did these with distinct color groups. In practice, it hasn’t been a problem to tell the different between hostile groups, but it’s still useful.

Beastman (blue, chainsword)

In game, the beastmen occupy a strange space. They’re in small numbers, and not much harder to kill than the guard. They don’t hit repeatedly like the ur-ghuls, and don’t ignore defense like the negavolts. I don’t end up fearing them.

Beastman (red, sword)
Beastmen (group)

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