Blood Bowl: Half Measures

As is my annual custom: I've painted a Blood Bowl team!

Don't tell me you can look at that and not hear the Grange Hill theme...

Scampering onto the turf are the Halflings. They used to have the distinction of being the smallest and cutest of the Blood Bowl teams, but can no longer claim to be either smallest (thank you, Snotlings) or cutest (thank you, Gnomes).

Bernard Hairyfoot

Still, I was very much taken with the food-obsessed sculpts of this team (their alternate balls are a pasty and a foot-long sandwich), and they were going to be my first Blood Bowl team, as soon as I'd cleared the core set teams out of the way...

Dale Hogpen

Several years later and I'd finally gotten around to them. In that time, I was going back and forth on their colour scheme. I knew I wanted something different from the box art, but it didn't help that the Moot-inspired green and yellow stripes was just such a damn good colour scheme.

Willibrod Grubb

After experimenting with tartan (oh, that didn't go well - a halfling's trouser is no canvas for freehand), I settled on a nice burgundy (Gal Vorbak Red), with a plain white shirt that implied they have just decided to play in their vests.

Bandobras Bottomhill

With that choice out of the way, the rest of the painting was a fairly easy time of flesh tones, belts and braces and the odd cooking implement used as armour.

Hob Stoutbody

A number of woodland creatures have also crept into the team too - nothing on the scale of the Gnomes, but it does make me think that Akhorne the Squirrel would be a very suitable star player.

Rollo Mugwort

On the pitch, Halflings are ... an interesting prospect. I wouldn't call them a pushover (which would just rub salt in Kraken's wounds, as he has twice failed to push them over), but they are slow, weak, with limited offensive skills.

Fredegar Rumblebelly

Their redeeming feature (aside from a half-price Halfling Cook in the support squad) is they are very cheap, which means you can afford a lot of them, plus rerolls. In fact, I ought to expand the team to the full compliment of 16, if I can find the extra couple going spare.

Adalard Smallburrow

It also speaks volumes that the standard halfling player isn't a Lineman, just a 'Hopeful' (of survival, presumably). It's ironic that, while you can afford an Apothecary, it would just be one drop in the injury ocean.

Wido Chubb

What passes for muscle on the team are the Heftys, although don't be fooled - they don't have Block or anything vaguely tough. Just the ability to fend off attacks and the distinction of being too fat for a Treeman to throw.

Isembold Rumble

What the Heftys can do, along with all the other Halflings, is dodge about, and ignore marking modifiers. This can make them oddly durable - provided you always assume that they're going to get knocked down every time, you might get a pleasant surprise.

Galbas Hedgehopper

The only other Halfling specialists are the Catchers, which just amounts to a reroll when catching and the ability to rush a bit further (those short legs need every step).

Halin Lightfoot

But, in common with everyone but the Heftys, the Catchers can also be thrown around the pitch by Treemen. This is an ability I'd previously ignored with Trolls and Goblins (since Trolls have a habit of eating their ammunition), but it's really come in clutch with Halflings. They're agile enough to have a decent chance of landing on their feet, and Treemen are better shots than Trolls.

Even better, you don't always need to use the throw to punt the ball upfield - hurling a Halfling directly at an opponent's players is perfectly legitimate.

Gnole Firewood

The first Treeman I got was the standard one - it had a kind of vine-mouthguard that I left off, since I like his gnarly expression. It also had a squirrel model that I have kept back ... for reasons.

In game, the Treemen are even slower than Halflings, but provide a phenomenal amount of muscle - as long as they don't fall over or take root. It's a strange balance of fragility and attrition that make this team fun to play.

Jeff Barkbender

The second Treeman (for Halflings can take two) was the new Gnome Treemen. Thus my procrastination paid dividends by giving me a second unique model (my idleness pays off so often, it's a wonder I'm motivated to get anything done)

And that's the full team - ready to cook on the grid-iron!