Since joining the FUMBBL in late March, I have spent a lot of time with E.L.F. (=Elves Leaving the Forest), and my Dark Elf Team named A Song of Shades and Darkness. I decided, somewhat foolishly, to set myself a challenge - not only would I play elves for the first time, I would play Dark Elves.
From scratch.
In the Box.

It was educational, humbling, frustrating. But overall, I enjoyed it! Perhaps too much to be healthy ...

I enjoy building small stories out of my likewise small accomplishments, I cheer for the few stars that developed (actually mainly Veterans), and grieved the 13 good deaths (on my team) in 33 matches in the Box! If not earlier, I learned not to hug my pixels, wait patiently for good opportunities, and to never give up! I am proud that I could squeeze in matches against 16 races (my aim was all 24), that I came in on a shared 9th place, and that my team is the highest placed Black Box participant in the E.L.F. this season.

Boy, did we suffer to get there! Thirteen dead speaks clearly of the brutal environment, and not one of my original 11 players are still on the squad. Right now, I field 7 players, and have been down to six ... Next challenge is to reach 11 players again!

I think especially my defence play have improved considerably from the experience (not really reflected in the scoreboard, yet), and in the end, I also noticed my offence being slightly more efficient. I would definitely recommend the experience for any newish coach that wants to wet his beard and are not afraid to loose either players, games, or Coach Ranking. This challenge motivated me to play 33 games in 10 weeks, a first for me, so it should make a difference!

Now, I referred to joining the Black Box as foolish above. So how did I find this allegedly cutthroat, CPOMB-ridden, murderous, lean-team competitive division, not for the faint-of-heart? Well, a fool I may be (my record shows this clearly, doesn't it) , but faint-of-heart I am not! And I normally found the opposition be sportsmanlike, welcoming, even fogiving at times. I remember polite and understanding chats, well-played matches, some extremely skilled coaches, some lucky ones, some unlucky ones. Some on a project, some with a concept, all loving this game.

So overall, I applaud my opponents for giving me the opportunity to improve, the E.L.F. for giving me the motivation to try something new, FUMBBL for bringing Blood Bowl back into my life, and the Black Box for keeping the Blood in Blood Bowl!

A Song of Shades and Darkness will take a well-deserved vacation. And I will play Ranked for a while, with my other teams. I really look forward to spending time playing something else now!

But ...
... We'll be back!