New Human based race - Nippon

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:41 pm

I think you should make your Samurai a better deal at the expense of your Sumos, though I've come to agree that 80k is too cheap; you're better off making them a little touch better for the same price. For the Sumos, I think they should be just a little touch overpriced if it's the alternative to being just a little underpriced. ST4 players are hard to balance right, so it's easier to underpower them a bit and make it up where you have more control.

I like the idea of Samurai with Nerves of Steel; it's fluffy and NoS supports adventurous play. As they're not supported by Throwers, I don't think NoS is worth as much on this player as it would be on most. If Samurai are a 0-2 position, they can be on the cheaper end of the price range (see Storm Vermin, who are slightly better than Human Blitzers on a team with generally better deals available at other positional slots, but as a 0-2 option aren't really that big a deal). I think you can tack on NoS and KEEP them at 90k, without too many problems, especially as your Ninja is a Ghoul.

In that combination, I like those 120k sumos, as a) both Juggernaut and /Stand Firm fun and fluffy, and b) 120k AV8 players produce all kinds of freaky management issues that this team would otherwise be able to avoid. 120k is quite a good deal for the guy, and the skill combination leads to obvious combos that may make for balance issues, but I'd be hesitant to cost him at 130k, as with only AV8, he's vulnerable as heck. Grab instead at 120k?

If you're not going to go with the extra skill at 120k, I still say 110k is a fair deal, and here's why:

Compared to a CW: He has Stand Firm and -1AV. At equal price, that Sumo is a great deal. At +10k, it's pretty fair. At +10k and 0-2 instead of 0-4, it's fine if, unlike Chaos, it's not all you have going for you.

Compared to the Ulfwerener, he's -1MA, +1AG and trades one good skill for another. At the same price, 110k, that's ok. Cheaper? Not if you're being fair; that +AG is worth at least as much as the +MA.

Compared to a Saurus: He's -1 MA, -1 AV and has a whole other dimension at +2AG, plus he gets Stand Firm. Of course it's better; is it 30k better? No, but considering that the Saurus is the best deal in +ST players in all of Blood Bowl, what do you want? Is it 20k better? Maybe, which would be a bad sign.

Compared to a Bull Centaur: He's -1 MA, -1 AV, missing 3 second-rate skills, has a good skill in place, +1 AG and 20k cheaper. That seems fair: the Sprint/Sure Feet/Thick Skull is a little better than Stand Firm alone, and I'd kind of rather have the MA and AV than the AG, but the somewhat better player costs 20k more. At 30k cheaper, it strikes me that the Sumo is a slightly better deal, but I could see how someone could argue that the difference here just doesn't matter much.

Compared to a Black Orc: -1 AV again (sigh), +1 MA, +1 AG, Stand Firm, 30k more. I'll take that trade. He is only 0-2, but he's still a deal at 30k more as he can carry a ball and make a good blitz, and he's way better at protecting a cage than a BOB, even if he's too expensive and fragile to let you own the line on D. Black Orcs aren't a great deal, but they do let Orcs do something this team can't. That's Blood Bowl.

By comparison to a Golem, AG3 and the ability to be Apothecaried isn't great against AV9, Thick Skull and Regen, but it isn't an embarrassment either, and this team is generally a bit better than the Necro team. If he were 10k cheaper, it would be pretty comparable, but I don't think that this would be fair. Even if the Samurai is an Orc Blitzer for 10k more (still overpriced), he's still better than a Wight, who is underpowered for a reason. The Ninja, even at the same profile, is a little better than a Ghoul, and the Zombie, too good at 30k, is really kind of overpriced at 40k, while a Human/Nippon Lineman is just fine at 50k. Given that they pay 70k for re-rolls, Necros gotta win out somewhere even if they overall are an inferior team, and if it's in the +ST guy, I can't imagine that being anything but a sign of good balance.

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:45 pm

How about:

Ninja: 7/3/3/7 Shadowing, Dodge 80k
Samurai: 6/3/3/9 Block, Nerves of Steel 90k
Sumo: 4/4/3/8 Grab, Stand Firm 100k

With MA4, AG3 is barely better than superfluous; I think if you have MA5, AG3, a reduction of either is worth more than it would otherwise be. That would make 10 rolls an interesting dilemma....

Jural · Post by **Jural** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:32 pm

I like that roster. I'd like Stab on the Ninja, but I'm nitpicking.

It's fluffy, and I think it would be fun to try out!

mattgslater wrote:How about:

Ninja: 7/3/3/7 Shadowing, Dodge 80k
Samurai: 6/3/3/9 Block, Nerves of Steel 90k
Sumo: 4/4/3/8 Grab, Stand Firm 100k

With MA4, AG3 is barely better than superfluous; I think if you have MA5, AG3, a reduction of either is worth more than it would otherwise be. That would make 10 rolls an interesting dilemma....