Git Gud: Zero to 200 in 3 years

Today's guest blogger is Mark "Conalmaker" Cowan with the story of how he achieved the Blood Bowl 'holy grail' of a 200 NAF Elo.

I want to give a little hope to newcomers looking to get better with this and share a little about my journey to 200+ Elo.

The Journey Begins

I started my blood bowl obsession less than 3 years ago as a total newbie to all table top games (I was incredibly bad). I started in Ayr playing in a league which helped me get to grips with what felt like a ton of rules, teams and possibilities but the lads there gave me time and patience allowing me to score a TD or 2 while getting dumped with Black Orcs game after game. I got to grips with most of the rules but still held onto the rule book as each game introduced me to more nuances or plays I hadn't seen. I sat down to my very first competition Mulligans Open 2023, got paired with David Mcilhinney and took a 3-0 loss. David gave me some tips and advice and was a pleasure to play the entire time swapping stories. The next game followed in similar fashion but my last game I managed a total luck inspired win. After the tournament and a little reflection time I realised I found something that I wasn't great at but I had a ton of fun playing and a community that showed proper sportsmanship, I got hooked and I was determined not to be total mince.

The Hard Yards

I dusted of my old controller, bought BB3 pre-release and when it came out I put some hours into it. I also made nearly every comp on the calendar that year and the following year. As I played better coaches I got better, chatting with whoever I played afterwards taking on advice and trialing it the next match. I could feel my game getting better and better but I couldn’t understand why I wasn't consistent as others I seen around me. I managed a comp win in Dumfries and a few top 10 finishes but it was sporadic and couldn’t tell where I was going wrong, it was a wall I couldn't figure out how to get over. Having gone to Home Nations (my favourite of all UK comps) we met up with the face of BB3 Mr Andy Davo and had a great chat with him about life Blood Bowl and the possibility of coming up to our comp in Ayr possibly doing some kind of Q and A session. We were able to turn this into a reality thanks to the efforts of DavidSaw and Unrepentant. The talk itself was a huge hit with everyone and the insights Andy shared were crucial to my learning. Everyone that attended learned something and had some laughs over the 3 hours we chatted about a table top game we all shared a love for. Markymarc played a massive part in keeping everything flowing with back and forth helping to break the info down and added some helpful tips himself. I regret that this never got released for public viewing and still hold out some hope that we can save the footage someday.

I got home and done my homework, I found the best Skaven coaches from around the world and watched them play. Dulac had tons of footage playing masters of the game reaching heights of the number 1 spot worldwide so he was an easy choice to emulate. I still had no idea how or why it worked but it seemed to be good for my game so I kept up the process eventually seeing the game unfold over 16 turns something clicked. I stopped trying to do as much as I could in one turn to get the ball or smacking my way into the end zone and I started playing each turn to better my next. I started to see before half-time if I needed to play for the draw or if I could go for the win based on what was happening in front of me. The next few months I made myself consistent running 8 games without losing then 17 games followed that before losing with another 11 games over the next few comps. The coaches I lost to were quality opponents and it was by very fine margins but each time I played them I came away with more knowledge. Mulligans with Torquemada showing me the sexiest 1 turn in BB in a 3-4 epic battle of scoring between vamps and rats, Punchymcragefists playing a solid Necro 2-1 grind taught me how to advance the ball turn by turn and Mr Frodo reminding me to do the GFI around the Rat Ogre before hitting with him - lol. I captained my team at the Scottish Team Championship with a solid 5-1-0 taking a scalp from an incredible coach MikeSann which grew my confidence leading into Home Nations for a second time.

200 At Last

Ecstatic from the last few games trying to reach my goal of 200 Elo with the rats as a secondary thought I played to benefit my team drawing match 5 to secure a team win. Even if it was short-lived and had dropped back I had still managed my way over the 200 line to 209 plus reached 97th with the rats in the world with a very respectable 198 which blew me away. I went on to attempt to get a second team into the elusive 200 club playing Humans, the same process that had worked with Skaven was my new journey. After a 3-0-0 3rd place at Kinning Clash this second team now sits at 207 Elo and I’m currently ranked 34th in the world with them too.

So in summary if you want to get better, emulate the best, play every opponent with respect and never forget it should be fun for everyone.