TEAM PROFILE: Hells Teef Rippas

Orcs have been playing Blood Bowl since the game was invented, and Orc teams such as the Gouged Eye and Severed Heads are amongst the best in the league. Orc teams are tough and hard-hitting, grinding down the opposition's line to create gaps for their excellent Orc Blitzers to exploit.

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Team Profile
The Orcs are a relatively new team to the league joining in 2497. Their brutal strength and sheer staying power should see them hold their own in the Old Albion Premiership.

2497
The Rippas finish in the bottom half of the table, failing to qualify for the play-offs. Coach Skumma cancels all summer holidays and instead presses his team into military service in a bid to toughen them up for the new season.

2498
After a slow start to the season the Rippas qualified for the play-offs in fourth place. They despatched the Gorechildren in the semi-final, and then beat the Gutter Runners 2-1 in the OAP final. Head Coach Skumma insists that his strategy of military service paid off last season so it's off to war again for the weary Orcs.

TEAM PROFILE: Wolfenburg Shadows

Although Human teams do not have the individual strengths or outstanding abilities available to other races, they do not suffer from any outstanding weaknesses either. This makes Human teams extremely flexible, equally at home running the ball, passing it, or ignoring it and pounding the opposition into the turf instead!

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Team Profile
The Middenheim Raiders are one of the first founding Bloodbowl teams, helping to launch the Far Albion Bloodbowl league way back in 2495, albeit under the name Middenheim Steelers. Already, even in their short lifespan, the team has gone through numerous highs and lows including the resignation of two head coaches, a change of franchise, an appearance in a league final, and a bottom of the league finish. The fans are kept thoroughly entertained by the Raiders off the field shenanigans, irrespective of their on field fortunes, and more are surely to follow.

2495
The Steelers pull off a coup when the sign The Mighty Zug for the inaugural F.A. league. When he is killed in the first block of the first game of the league it turns out that he is in fact The Not-So-Mighty Lug, a distant cousin of Zug. Despite this, the Steelers end up second in the league and qualify for the final. However, they finish runners-up to the Gorechildren.

2496
A disappointing season for the Steelers as they fail to emulate their success of the previous season. They finish seventh in the newly expanded league. Head coach Marcionius de Bergerac resigns. New coach Marcellus de Bergerac, cousin of the previous coach promises a big signing for next season.

2497
Even with the audacious signing of Morg 'n' Thorg, from right under the nose of the Gorechildren, the Steelers frustrate their fans and finish bottom of the league. Their coach is sacked, and the team is subject to a hostile takeover by Surgeon Hall, an eccentric Middenheim Doctor and property developer. The team is renamed the Middenheim Raiders, and ex-Steelers player von Keeganstein installed as new head coach. He sweeps the changes, and reaches for the chequebook, signing The Mighty Zug and Griff Oberwald. With the new league format in place, the Raiders fans are hoping to return to the highs of their first season.

2498
Now renamed the Raiders, the Middenheim team start brightly, beating the Hells Teef Rippas. Griff scores all three touchdowns and this sets the pattern for the season. When Griff's form dips the team struggles and they narrowly miss out on the play offs. In a rare outburst Von Keeganstein says that he 'would love it' if he could win the league next season.

The following is an open letter from Marcionius de Bergerac, written after the 2496 season:

To the team and fans, this is my formal resignation, for I feel I have failed you. Some may say it would be easier to blame the team and a spate of ill luck. But I won't. I accept full responsibility for our current position of "worst Bloodbowl team in the league". But bear me no ill will for I done my best! So I hand the team to my successor (who is also my cousin) Marcellus de Bergerac and pray to Sigmar that he will do better and restore the team to it's former, if brief, state of glory. I leave you with the words I have used so often "there's always next season."

Yours Humbly

Marcionius de Bergerac

TEAM PROFILE: Gutter Runners

They may not be all that strong, they certainly aren't tough, but boy oh boy are Skaven fast! Many an opponent has been left in the starting blocks as fast-moving Skaven players scamper through a gap in the line and run in for a lightening fast touchdown.

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Team Profile
The Runners replaced the Skinflayers in 2497, quickly displaying a combination of raw power through their Rat Ogre, and skittering speed with their catchers. If they can survive the rigours of a long season without too many injuries they could be the team to watch.

2497
The Skaven set an all time league record win in their first ever game, beating the Wolfenburg Shadows 8-0. Their title challenge stalls however, and they narrowly miss out on the play-offs.

2498
The Gutter Runners storm into the play-offs in a flurry of touchdowns. They overcome arch rivals, the Dwarven Moriar Crushers, to secure a place in the final, but are defeated by the Hells Teef Rippas. Will the team return next season? Has the head coach perfected his gene splicing experiments with the rat ogre? Can they go one better and win it in 2499?

TEAM PROFILE: Moriar Crushers

Dwarfs seem to be the ideal Blood Bowl players, being short, tough, well-armoured, and having this stubborn knack of refusing to die! Most successful Dwarf teams work to the principle that if they can take out all of the other team's potential scorers, and wear down the rest, then there won't be anybody left to stop them scoring the winning touchdowns!

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Team Profile
The Moriar Crushers joined the league in 2496 and started out as the Blood River Rockers, but were forced to relocate after falling out with the local town burghers. Anvila, a true rarity as a female Dwarf Bloodbowl coach, growing tired of their sexist behaviour, tore out the Dwarf Lords beard and used it in her morning ablutions. The Dwarf team moved to the dark, dank, Dwarfhold of Moriar after cleaning out the Orcs, Goblins, Fire Daemons and mixed race hiking parties.

2496
Coach Anvila displayed few feminine charms in her first match; as the opposing coach bowed before her she delivered a swift kick to his family jewels and cried "Into them! Forget the ball! Kill, kill, kill!".

Meanwhile, the Rockers make a name for themselves as they notch up the casualties and qualify for the play-offs. They run into trouble however, in the shape of the Gorechildren who narrowly win 1-0 and end the Rockers season. The Dwarfs cause a record 15 casualties for the season.

2497
In one of her more unusual practice sessions Anvila employed a teacher from the Altdorf School of Ballet to loosen up the traditionally stiff Dwarfs, and surprised many a team with her leaping and pirouetting players. They qualified for the play-offs once more, only to be drawn against the Gorechildren once again. The Chaos team won and Anvila vented her anger on the Dwarf Lord, forcing the move to Moriar. Several top players were killed in the fight to take the Dwarfhold, while others were lured into the Old World Leagues with the promise of gold. Now renamed the Moriar Crushers could Anvila lead her Dwarfs to the play-offs for a third time?

2498
Anvila leads hers Dwarfs in a typically solid campaign, never dropping out of the top three places all season. Those ballet lessons are still playing off as the Dwarfs make numerous interceptions and show good agility. They even develop a rough and ready throwing game! The Crushers meet their match in the semi final though, drawing the Gutter Runners and going out. Three seasons, three semi final exits. Can Anvila take her Dwarfs to the next level and reach the final?

TEAM PROFILE: Lorien 'Dire' Avengers

For Wood Elves the long pass is everything, even more so than their High Elf cousins, and all of their effort goes into being an expert at throwing or receiving. No Wood Elf worth his salt is going to be weighed down by extra armour and be forced to lurk about and attempt to knock opposing players over. Instead they rely on their natural athletic ability to keep them out of trouble, which is normally enough - it takes a very agile or lucky opponent to lay a hand on a Wood Elf!

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Team Profile
Originally called the Loren Avengers in their debut season of 2496, they quickly acquired the nickname 'dire' after their poor showings in the league. The Avengers then incorporated this insult into their official name for the 2498 season, though whether this is an acknowledgement of their abilities or a sly joke at their detractors expense, is unsure. One thing is for certain, and that is the inscrutable Elves aren't telling.

2496
The Avengers find their level in the league without much acclimatisation; they finish bottom.

2497
The Avengers sign Jordell Freshbreeze and the Wood Elves shown some improvement this season, finishing second bottom. At this rate they will win the league in 2503. Freshbreeze leaves the shores of Albion vowing never to return.

2498
Gluttons for punishment, the Wood Elves sign up for a third league season. They have a calamitous time, suffering numerous casualties and failing to win a single game. Can the Avengers persuade Jordell back in time for next season?

TEAM PROFILE: Hexgate Slammers

Dark Elves are generally quite superb Blood Bowl players, combining agility and amazing athletic ability with low cunning and an evil temperament. Although best suited to the throwing game, sheer spite makes the Dark Elves enjoy the running game, especially when a side throws up a remarkable Blitzer like Jeremiah Kool.

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Team Profile
The Slammers were the second Dark Elf team to join the league, after the Howling Banshees. Their Head Coach, Jools Lamprey, is an ex-player and rules with an iron fist (as well as a long whip). His motto is 'All is fair in war and Bloodbowl' and he has been known to employ underhand tactics on more than one occasion.

2496
The Slammers start the season slowly but manage to qualify for the play-offs. They are drawn against arch-rivals, and Dark Elf team, the Howling Banshees in the semi-final, and controversially win 2-1 to land a place in the final. The Gorechildren manage to stop the previously free-scoring Slammers and take the game.

2497
The Slammers go from strength to strength and breeze through their semi-final with the Blood Rivva Nobblas. They take no chances in the final this time and kidnap the Gorechildren's head coach, while 'persuading' two beastmen to skip the final. The Dark Elves win 2-1 and to add insult to injury, ransom the Gorechildren's Head Coach back to the Chaos team for their takings from the game. In a further twist the Slammers cheerleaders disappear with the ill-gotten gains and several of the starting line up. Head Coach Lamprey must now face the new season with a severely depleted squad.

2498
The Slammers get off to a terrible start losing their first three games of the season. With nothing but pride to play for Coach Lamprey comes out of retirement to take to the field once more and the team rallies, going unbeaten for their final three games. Lamprey vows to stay on as player-coach for the 2499 season.

TEAM PROFILE: Skinflayers

In the Old World the dead do not rest easy. Vampires lurk in haunted castles, Necromancers seek to escape death by searching for forbidden knowledge, the Liche-Lords rule over legions of corpses, and on the Blood Bowl Field players who died long ago return to the scenes of their former glory and play Blood Bowl again...

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Team Profile
The Skinflayers were, quite literally, created from the ashes of the Skelly Bobs, an Undead team that folded after only three games. While they will undoubtedly be suited to a long league season with their regenerating players, Undead teams are generally slow starters, and to combat this their Necromancer head coach has invested considerably in the talents of Vampire star player Count Luthor. Can he lead them into the play-offs?

2498
Count Luthor runs the show for the undead team, popping up on the line of scrimmage, scoring touchdowns and leading the defence. Even his supernatural efforts cannot overcome the undead team's form however, and the 'Flayers fail to qualify for the playoffs. With their head coach now under curfew from the watch it is unlikely we will see the team return in it's current line up.

TEAM PROFILE: Gorechildren

Chaos teams are not noted for the subtlety or originality of their game play. A simple drive up the centre of the field, maiming and injuring as many opposing players as possible, is about the limit of their game plan. They rarely, if ever, worry about minor considerations like picking up the ball and scoring touchdowns - not while there are any players left alive in the opposing team, anyway!

View the team roster here.

Team Profile
The Gorechildren have been one of the foremost Bloodbowl teams in Albion since the league began in 2495. Led by the ruthless Lord Borak they have terrorised their opponents, causing a bone crunching 33 casualties in their first three seasons. When the league was restructured in 2498 many of the Chaos team's best players, most notably Bloodaxe Swiftfoot, were lured away to play for the Chaos All Stars in the Old World League. It remains to be seen whether they can recreate their form of seasons past in the new O.A.P. league.

2495
Through the use of foul and unnatural magicks, the Gorechildren 'persuade' Lord Borak to captain their team. He kills Zug in the first game of the season, then leads the team to victory in the league final, winning the championship.

2496
The Gorechildren had a tough task to retain their title in the expanded league. However, they kept the casualties rolling into the apothecaries tent, and ground out play-off wins against the Blood River Rockers and the Hexgate Slammers to be declared champions once more. 'One-nil to the Gorechildren' became a favoured chant of their Chaotic fans.

2497
The Gorechildren set out for a hat-trick of championships this season, as ever led by the vicious Lord Borak, while home-grown talent was represented by beastman Bloodaxe Swiftfoot. When the Gorechildren hired a wizard to aid their team it looked like they had the title in the bag, but the Gods of Chaos are nothing if not fickle, and the wizard seemed to cause more damage to his own team than to the opposition. The final was a repeat of the 2496 final, but this time the Slammers pulled off a narrow win, denying the Gorechildren a title they had begun to think was rightly theirs.

2498
Could the Gorechildren regain their title? They set about it the right way winning their first four games and racking up the casualties. They ran into trouble in the shape of the Hells Teef Rippas though and were dumped out of the semi final by the Orcs. For the first season ever the Gorechildren did not make the final. Lord Borak is already planning for next season, though he is keeping his diabolic lips tightly shut.

TEAM PROFILE: Blood Rivva Nobblas

A Goblin team's game plan owes much more to hope than potential. Goblins can make quite good catchers because they are small and agile, but the art of throwing is sadly lost to them, while the chances of their blocking anything larger than a Halfling are remote to say the least. Still, this never seems to bother Goblin players, and occasionally the use of a particularly devious secret weapon will even allow a Goblin team to win a match.

Team Profile
The Nobblas were one of the four founding teams which began the Old Albion Premier League in 2495, along with the Gorechildren, the Howling Banshees and the Wolfenburg Shadows. Their first manager, Olde Weazel, was well known for his hare-brained schemes and the Nobblas became notorious for their 'inventive' rules interpretations.

2495
The Nobblas show that they are not just in the league to make up the numbers as they beat the Shadows, draw with the Banshees and only lose to the Gorechildren. Still, it is not quite enough to take them to the final, and they vow to go one step better next year.

2496
Writing off the 2495 season as lucky, many believe the Nobblas will be found out this year, but they defy expectations and go unbeaten in all three games. Unfortunately this also includes two draws, and with a mounting injury list the Nobblas narrowly fail to qualify for the play offs. A change of management ensues, not for tactical reasons but because Rippa the Troll was hungry and Weazel was handy.

2497
New Head Coach, known only as the Sconemeister, takes over and introduces some revolutionary ideas to the Nobblas. Concepts such as training and practicing are light years ahead of any other Goblins thinking on the game and it pays off quickly as the Nobblas qualify for the play-offs. They go out to the Slammers but worse was to follow as the Moriar Crushers, who also lost their semi-final match, were scheduled to take the same riverboat back up the Blood River. Sconemeister made a comment about Anvila's beard and the two teams went to war. The Nobblas have never been seen again.