Jairo Worship and Mourning Glory

Buy one get one free this month as there was a feast of Blood Bowl played recently with two SBBC Champions crowned in a fortnight. I caught up with the winners of GlasBowl and MegaBowl, Jairo and Mournival, to put the usual post-tournament questions and see if I could discern their respective winning formulae.

Jairo taking Gold in Glasgow

Stripeydave: Congrats to you both on your respective wins! First up (as usual) how did you get your respective NAF names?

Jairo: I'm not a huge fan of nicknames and my real name was available.

Mournival: I have always loved the Horus Heresy book series, especially the first three books focusing on the Luna wolves and their descent into treachery, the 'Mournival' is a 4 man group of the Primarch's Horus's closest advisors, who provide even advice to allow Horus to make the correct decisions (shocker, it didn't end so well). I loved the build up of the 4 characters in the group, from meeting them as close friends, then being torn apart by the war, so the name is a refection in honour of that.

SD: How long have you been playing and what are your favourite races?

J: I started playing with friends when I was a boy. I began playing NAF tournaments in 2014, although I took a six-year break after moving to Scotland. I (almost) always play Humans because they were the only team I owned as a child, so I've grown quite attached to them. That said, I love playing all the races. Dark Elves, Skaven, OWA, Halflings, and Gnomes, for example.

M: I have been playing the game since 2016, but have only starting competing/ traveling to event in the last 3 years.

My favourite races are definitely wood elves (cause they are cool and fast) and Bretonnians, who made a glorious return in the current edition. Plus it helps knights are cool but I have to say that strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony (Will you shut up? - Ed).

Competition hots up in Stirling...

SD: For the tournament: what was your decision-making process your team selection?

J: When you always play the same race, you save a lot of time in decision-making. The player selection and skill choices vary depending on the tournament ruleset and the available budget. The biggest difference is whether the tournament allows me to take a reliable Big Guy, or whether I have to build the team around a Bone-head Ogre.

M: I had recently won my new Skaven team at this years Thrudbowl, so I was clearly inspired to take them out for a spin! Plus if Skaven do well, you are basically unstoppable! New Stormvermin are the new MVP.

SD: Who did you play against, how did you feel the matchups went?

J: Besides the great atmosphere, as always, my opponents played at a level where luck ended up being the deciding factor. You only have to look at the fact that they won all of their other games but one (a draw). Nuffle blessed me with a perfectly timed Time Out against Connor and a double one on a rush attempt against Steven. Without those moments, my final position in the standings would have been very different. Also Skrorg managed to get rid of one of Shaun´s Bull Centaurs early enough to make his Chaos Dwarfs struggle.

One of my opponents had a turn where every single block broke armour. Thankfully they were all just stuns, but we ran out of stunned markers!

M: Game 1 was against Simo's Dark elves: A tough match up, but a mix of plays with both the gutters and the Stormvermin allowed me to run away with it.

Game 2 was against Sporran's Humans with Skrorg: A very scary match up, I was expecting my rat ogre to be off the pitch in one hit by Skrorg at some point, luckily I was matching his removals with key hits of my own. Highlight of the game was Kris's ogre refusing to move for 4 turns of the 2nd half in a row!

Game 3 was against Rosstopher's Brets with Zug: Another scary match up, and real end to end stuff! We constantly sacked each other's ball carriers and ran away with the ball, only to end up losing it again! In the end the rats managed to scurry away with it.

All of my opponents were class individuals, good banter and great players!

SD: What advice do you have for coaches looking to go along to Scottish tournaments?

J: I really enjoy tournaments with house rules, Star Players, and other unique twists. Events like these are a great reminder that Blood Bowl is a game where having fun and sharing a laugh matters just as much as winning. They're also the perfect place to get to know the community. Anyone who's played tournaments in any hobby has probably worried about finding an atmosphere where competitiveness outweighs enjoyment. I like to say that ""fantasy rugby"" carries the same values as real rugby, and tournaments like this are where you truly see those values in action (and beer).

M: Always have fun! The dice can be cruel, but that doesn't mean you have to be! Ant runs a great event for everyone, and hopefully will continue to grow from strength to strength.

Well done to you both - looking forward to doing this all again with the winner of Destruction Bowl 5 - coming up soon on the 5th of September!