Welcome to the first AD Blood Bowl Power Rankings |
||
As with all power rankings the aim is simple, to try and take each teams performances from last year, add in all the changes in playing personnel and coaches and rank the teams 1 through 16. |
||
| Some fans (especially those of the Squad, the Corp, the Stealers and the Gadfathers) will be surprised to see all the new teams at the bottom of the rankings but last season proved that new teams struggle in the post season. Despite the efforts of the commission to encourage the new stars entering the league to sign up for new team, there is no substitute for experienced players. Expect at least one of the new teams to rank much higher in next seasons Power Rankings, and maybe in the mid season rankings. | ||
Some contributors to these rankings wanted to split the new teams based on either the players they have managed to recruit, or the experience of the coach. However, it is not possible to determine which are the better the teams, PAIN Corp have gone for power and strength, the Gadfathers have gone for a much faster and more agile team with the Stealers and Bomb Squad somewhere in between, performance will depend how well the coaches of the new teams can optimise their team strengths whilst guarding against their weaknesses. Expect the new Northern conference to be tight and expect a more comprehensive analysis of these four teams at the next Power Rankings update |
||
| I hope at least some of you agree with my rankings. If you disagree strongly with any particular ranking please feel free to contract me on the Blood Bowl forum. I might try to explain my reasoning, or maybe just wait for time to prove me correct. | ||
POWER RANKINGS |
||
Current ranking |
Team |
2004 position |
1 |
1 |
| 2004 champions and 2003 finalists, the Mutineers will again this year be challenging for the title in the post season. The star players are beginning to look a bit old, but in Tomb Guard Ike Wall, the Mutineers have found new blood worthy of their Championship team. It will take a very good team to beat the Mutineers in the post season and a miracle to prevent them qualifying for it. |
2 |
2 |
| The Junior Wildmen have shown over the past two years that they are a force to be reckoned with. A team with both the most fearsome blocking unit and the most talented and indeed most prolific offensive player may be expected by some to be the number one ranked team. However, despite cruising in to last seasons post season and indeed through their semi final the Wildmen failed to impress in the final and failed to challenge the Mutineers as closely as their conference rivals the Mugaz had done in their semi final match up against the Mutineers. This has left some questions over coach Bastardo, but it would be difficult for any owner to consider second place a sufficiently bad result to oust the coach. The Mutineers victory and post season literal strengthening has kept them the number one team, but the qualities that the Wildmen possess and the additions they have made in make them a very close second. The only question is can the team cope without the services of a true thrower? Maybe the death of Lisa Furykup, the talented Amazon, at the hands of the Mutineers fans will prove more significant than the coach appears to think. |
3 |
3 |
| Last seasons debut for the Tragedy saw a very successful regular season performance followed by a disappointing post season performance as their lack of experience showed. This year should prove to be a different story for the Tragedy, pre season reports indicate that their players are hungry for success and the addition of Holden Webster through a complex trade with the Missiles could prove to be a masterstroke. Expect the Tragedy to be as dominant in the South as the Mutineers are set to be in the East. The real test will come in the post season where the Tragedy will have to beat some of the championships leading teams, look for the cross conference match versus the Mutineers to show if the Tragedy are likely to be contenders once they reach the post season. |
4 |
4 |
| Some will be surprised that the 2003 champions only rank fourth in these initial rankings but a quick review of current team shows that only six of the championship winning squad remain. The Mugaz have been busy in the off season after double defeat against the Mutineers, including one humiliation, and the shocking defeat at the hands of the Savages highlighted several weaknesses in the team. Several experienced players, including Aaaarne the Norse responsible for the game winning play in the 2003 final, have left to be replaced by a range of less experienced but more talented players. The strength of the West makes the Mugaz qualification for the post season by no means a certainty, but coming through the toughest conference is likely to be good preparation for the post season for which ever teams from the West progress. |
5 |
7 |
| The All Stars development has been hampered by the numerous coaching challenges which have occurred since their success in the 2003 season where they were beaten by the Mutineers in the semi finals having beaten the eventual champions, the Kopite Mugaz, both home and away in the regular season. There have been rumours that the new All Stars coach is in fact the same individual who guided them to the post season in their first and so far most successful year, if this is in fact the case, expect the All Stars to push for the off season. The only shadow hanging over the All Stars is thanks to the owner's appointment and subsequent sacking of the league shortest lived coach during this summer. There are numerous rumours surrounding the sacking, some relate to the mysterious transfer of Beastman Garek Hornskull, did the former head coach walk out after deliberately sabotaging the All Stars, or was he sacked after showing his incompetence? |
6 |
8 |
| Good performances against the Mutineers and against the Dolts at the back end of last season will give coach The Messiah confidence that he can achieve post season qualification as the number two team in the East. In particular the draw against the Mutineers made the Darkstalkers one of only two teams to end regulation time level with the Mutineers with the only team finishing regulation time ahead of the Mutineers being the Dolts, before their coaching change. The acquisition of a young talented elf thrower, to replace the late Alex Von Tasslebine has should prove to be the key acquisition made by the Darkstalkers in the off season and should please the fans who can look forward to their most successful season. |
7 |
11 |
| The Savages complete a very strong Western conference. There has been much said in Savage Land about whether this year or next year or in fact any year will be their year, but in the last few weeks of last season they started to show what their belief was based on. A final day victory against The Mugaz who at the time were still champions followed some strong performances through out the season. The Savages used their high draft position to significantly strengthen their already well developed squad with some very interesting players; the addition of the league's first Bull Centaur is likely to help the Savages pose unique problems to their opposition. The Savages will have to perform at their best to make the post season given the strength of the conference they are in, but if they do expect them to surprise a few people. |
8 |
6 |
| The Dolts started and finished last season strongly. The downturn in form coincided with the first few games under rookie coach the Enforcer after he took over following the mysterious disappearance of former All Star coach Unfavourable. Whether the performance shown during the 4-0 win on the final day of last season can be carried into this season will determine how the Dolts fair. The experience picked up during last season should ensure the Dolts have a chance of repeating last seasons second place in the East, however, a challenge on the Mutineers is not realistic. |
9 |
6 |
| Despite a relatively successful first season the Ultimate team have changed their coach and their team name. The team is now to be known as Arkasha Principals. There are some rumours that the geographical location of the former coach was a telling factor in the owner's decision to replace him, but whatever the reasons we shouldn't expect too much from the Principals this year. The performance of rookie coaches is notoriously difficult to predict, in 2003 the champions were coached by a rookie, but last years rookies had more difficultly and did not fair too well. The Principals have been ranked above two of the other teams in the South based on their performance last year and the interesting additions made in the off season. A successful season should lead to post season qualification, but don't expect the Principals to make too much of an impact once they get there |
10 |
12 |
| After winning their first match under the rookie leadership of D-Man the Fabienettes promptly suffered their worst loss of 2004 against the Dolts in the final game of the season. The addition of the leagues second treeman should add some strength to a team that many considered a bit feminine to play bloodbowl before D-man arrived at the helm. The Fabienettes will be hoping to improve on last season's performance and any tangible reflection of this, such as an improved league position would be very welcome to the fans. |
11 |
9 |
| The strength of the Panzerbourne squad is beyond question; however, rumours surrounding the head coach and how long he will stay at the helm appear to be unsettling the team. Rumours aside, the Panzerbourne will be hoping to build on last seasons performances to compete for a place in the post season, this is likely to require a significantly larger points total than that achieved last year, but the addition of two rookie coaches to the league should fill the coach and his team with confidence. |
12 |
10 |
| During the post season the 1337 Flatliners have become the New England Patriot Missiles, in additional a new head coach has been recruited, the fans and owners will be hoping that these changes signal a change in the team's performance. The Flatliners were arguably the worst performing team last season, but their low points total hides very tough cross conference match ups against both the 2003 and 2004 championship teams. The addition of a new coach and a couple of new players to supplement last years under performing squad could see the Missiles challenging for second place in the South. |
13 |