“The good dwarfs of Ironforge have found it hard to attract an opponent due to the bad dwarfs of Ironforge spending too much time on PvP, and scamming the AH to actually want to turn out to watch a decent game of BloodBowl. Eventually We Are Trained Apothecaries took the challenge on, and what a game it proved to be.

The Dwarfs were fearful of their opponents, who boasted two mummies in their impressive lineup, and it was the mummies who dominated early play.
In the first turn Kelomir Ironhand suffered a nasty block from Brawn-Ra and would play no further part in the game. The first turn ended with the Undead in possession just inside the Dwarfs half, with the tactic of Bimble Longberry's game-long harassing of one of the mummies in full swing. The Undead's turn two was an exercise in setting up blocks of players and attempting to switch the play from their right more centrally while simultaneously trying to break through on the left. The dwarfs countered by applying pressure to Crush-Gor who still held the ball just inside their half.
Turn three for We Are Trained Apothecaries, and Brawn-Ra was scoring his second casualty, seriously injuring Brandor Ironhammer, who will take a while to recover from the Mummies attentions. Crush-Gor made a break for the end zone, with the dwarfs looking like their legs wouldn't be long enough to catch him. "The King" made a galant effort to stop him, but with no support could only manage to push him to the side and follow him. Crush-Gor could expect to rely on Undead support on his next turn. The support never came but in turn 4 Crush-Gor deftly dodged away from the king and simply dashed in to score a TD from 3 squares out. 1-0 to the Undead, at the end of their 4th turn. Gotarash, who had been knocked out, remained groggy, but still the Undead could boast a one man advantage until the next kick off. Bimble continued his campaign of Mummy abuse, wisely avoiding Brawn-Ra and letting Arn-Ra see the most of his affections.

A good start to turn 4 by the Dwarfs saw them dominating the line of scrimmage, and Arn-Ra once again knocked to the ground, but those mummies are tough cookies and don't stay down for long. By the end of Turn 5 the dwarfs had advanced the ball to the half way line, but were not confident that their defence could withhold the attentions of the Undead masses; and so it was that Deva-Gor blitzed into Brette Goldfury, sending him and the ball flying. Brette ended up crumpled in a heap on the ground, the ball spilled through Hulfdan Blackbeard's fingers (if only the ball was made of gold) and came to rest next to the sideline just inside the undead half. Firabus put pressure on the ball, as the Undead consolidated their position.

It looked grim for the Dwarfs as they started turn 6. Bombus Finespindle ran as fast as he could to find some space half way inside the undead half, while the dwarfs cleared some space around the ball. Brette Goldfury sprang to his feet and scrambled to pick the ball up, but fell to the ground again dodging away from Firabus who had done his job of defending the ball exceptionally. End of turn 6 and the ball remains just inside the Undead half, with them looking likely to make it 2-0 before half time. Whether their Coach misdirected him, or Jamarash simply felt like causing some pain to the Dwarfs, his attempt to block Bruuk Barleybeard ended in disaster with Jamarash coming off second best and the Dwarfs back in control. Mr and Mrs Barleybeard (no-one except them is sure which one is which, but friends of the family believe Mrs Barleybeard's beard to be slightly the longer) cheered on from the less than packed stands as their son earned his place in the team.

Turn 7, and the Dwarfs sensed they could have a chance to put some pressure on and at least make it hard for the Undead to double their lead before the break. Bimble Longberry misjudged how much support Arn-Ra had and came of worst in that particular battle, but by that stage Brenwyn Wintersted had the ball safely in his hands, just inside the Undead half. The coach sighed, that should stop it being 2-0 at half time.

We Are Trained's Turn 8 saw Arn-Ra free of Bimble long enough to swat the ball and the player holding it, causing it to scatter next to the edge of the pitch. The Undead wanted to press on, and cause as much damage as they could in the process. Firabus snaked up the line with no one to trouble him, only to fumble the pick up and the ball bounced off into the crowd. it found one of the kings guards, who lobbed it back into play, with the ball coming to rest next to Magni's feet. Overcome with nerves but desperate for a score, the Dwarf coach urged his players to go for an unlikely touchdown. The King skillfully picked the ball up and handed it off to Bombus Finespindle. Bombus managed to hold onto the ball despite Intarash breathing (do Undead breath??) down his neck. Ironforge Stadium erupted as he stepped away from the Zombie and danced his way over the line from 5 squares out. Touchdown! The first for "Ironforge Is My Home" and one that will live long in the memory of the fans who saw it thanks to their massive part in it. Lokust was seen cursing and muttering as he lead his team off for their half time team talk. Bombus left the field hoist high on the shoulders of his team mates. No-one saw this as the undead blocked the view.
At Half time in The Ironforge Stadium:
We Are Trained Apothecaries 1 -1 Ironforge Is My Home

Fresh from an invigorating Rumsey Rum or three at half time, the Dwarfs took to the field to receive the ball in the second half. The Undead meanwhile had been dwelling on the last-gasp equaliser. The Dwarfs definitely had a spring in their step and a twinkle in their eyes. Good stuff that Rumsey Rum. The Heavens in Dun Morogh opened, and any thoughts of a passing game disapeaer from Lokust's mind.
The second half started with Bimble once again targeting Arn-Ra and Ironforge Is My Home dominating the LOS. A touchback from the kick off meant the ball was once again in the safe hands of Bombus Finespindle. Turn one for the undead saw them clawing back their position on the LOS and plugging some gaps in their back field. A crunching tackle left the Barleybeard's gasping as their son was carried from the field, thankfully only suffering from a KO. Still the dwarf coach was in turmoil, with only 8 players on the pitch now.
Turn two for the dwarfs, and a bold attempt to establish some space down their right flank was put into play. unfortunately Brette Goldfury came undone and their play came to nothing very much, leaving the ball carrier badly exposed. Erabus was well supported when he ran round the back of the dwarfs and smashed into Finespindle, the ball coming to rest in the middle of two prone and one standing dwarf, Erabus and the two Mummies. Carnage was expected by the crowd as they rubbed their hands gleefully, as the Undead looked to make a break down their right flank. Jamarash joined the throng, placing more pressure on the ball, and Karabus dashed to the other side of the field to assist the beating the dwarfs were taking on their right flank. Bimble Longberry found himself separated from the Mummies by a wall of Undead and it looked like the Dwarfs' plan was in tatters.
Turn 3 for the dwarfs and a second zombie is Kod, restoring their numerical position inside the undead half on their right. No-one thought it wise to try and grab the ball from between the two mummies, the Forgers ended the turn with 3 players round the ball compared to the Undead's 2. The Mummies decided to clear the Dwarf trash away sending Blackbeard and Deepforge tumbling. It seemed that Erabus would be clear to pick the ball up, as the rain lashed down. And so it was that with all the Dwarfs cleared away Erabus did indeed pick the ball up and charge to the Undead undefended right flank. With no defence and noone in range for next turn, Erabus sensed glory and headed deep into the Dwarf half. Just one more step he thought, and promptly a particulary large drop of rain splashed into his eye, temporarily blinding him, causing him to trip over his own tattered clothing sending him sprawling to the muddy ground stunning him and ending the Undead's turn.

The Dwarf crowd went wild as Turn 4 started, mainly laughing heartily at Erabus' misfortune. Still the Undead fans took consolation that the dwarfs nearest were outnumbered 6-4 and the ball looked a long way away for the short legged ones. Bimble realised he needed to reassert his dominance on the game, knocking the dangerous (to both teams) Firabus out. He would play no more significant part in this game. This left the Dwarfs with spare men on their right, and Brette Goldfury desperately tried to put some pressure onto the Undead in the midfield before they totally overran the defence. "The King" slipped away from his marker and somehow made the long distance to pick up the ball, his heart pounding in his ears and his damp beard flowing behind him. Everyone agreed they'd never seen a Dwarf, even The King, cover so much ground so quickly before.
Turn 4 for the Undead saw them consolidating their midfield dominance, and Karabus setting off in pursuit of The King. the Undead fans rose to their feet, sensing imminent bloodshed and glory. With Karabus toe-to-toe (though far from cheek to cheek) with The King, Crush-Gor decided to blitz him. This would leave the Undead just 8 spaces away from a TD with not a dwarf in sight. As he neared the spot where Erabus had slipped and fallen just moments before, Crush-Gor set his sights firmly on smashing The King and claiming the ball. Just as he got to him, The King shook his beard sending a shower of water onto the Wight, who promptly blinked, tripped and fell at The King's feet!

Turn 5 for the Forgers, and again the crowd were left praising Thor for the deluge from the Sky. With Karabus marking him, and two prone Undead ready to rise up and get him next time The King had much on his mind.
Ably supported by Brenwyn Wintersted The King blitzed his way through Karabus and towards the half way line. A great block by Grumnus Steelshaper left the only Undead player in their own half stunned, with Grumnus and Bimble alone in Undead territory. The earlier KOs had made the match 8 a side, and this numerical parity suited the Dwarfs. Especially with the Mummies wrapped up (oh dear!) in a midfield brawl.

As the Undead started Turn 5 they must have felt they had a chance to recover the ball and win the game. Brawn-Ra had grown weary of the pointless scrap in the midfield so decided to take out his revenge on the Dwarfs by targeting the unassisted Hulfdan Blackbeard. The dread double skulls put paid to that, and gave the Dwarfs a real chance for glory.

Turn 6, and the Dwarfs have 3 players free in the Undead half. The King dashed forward, but aware of the treacherous conditions underfoot wisely didn't venture as far as he might have on another day. Bimble came to his aid, but it didnt look like much of a defence against an impending surge of Undead. Thankfully only 2 of the 8 Undead players were on their feet at the start of their turn 6. Erabus finally came round and made a dash for Bimble and The King, but was left wondering what he had done to upset Nuffle, as once more he slipped on the sodden field.

Turn 7 started with The King in possession and just 9 squares from a TD, with in retrospect no Undead challenge to him possible. He didn't see it that way though, deciding that even tho Bombus was marked by Arn-Ra the Mummy, that Bombus would score. Madness, but that's Kings for you... He whispered to Bimble to go and sort out the Mummy, so Bimbel obliged, pushing him back at first before being overcome with a frenzy and knocking the Mummy to the ground. Simple thought Magni, run to Bombus and hand the ball off, for a Turn 8 TD. Meanwhile Lokust scratched his head at the overcomplexity of this plan. The hand-off was successful, and Bombus set off for the endzone. Deva-Gor, the only Undead player on his feet in their half, remained on his feet, needing just a dodge away to ruin the Dwarfs plans...Once again Brawn-Ra sensed the chance for an easy smashing of Hulfdan Blackbeard, once again Hulfdan proved too much and Brawn-Ra crashed to the ground instead. The Dwarfs went wild as Bombus darted in for a second touchdown. 2-1 to the Forgers! Never had the fans from Ironforge known such a game! (Remember this was their first game!)
Before the final whistle Karabus tried a two space pass to Erabus, but failed, summing up their contribution to the match.

With two touchdowns and rushing for 22, Bombus Finespindle was a clear man of the match for the dwarfs, but The King took the post-match interview. Magni was quoted as saying "This is why I wanted to bring BloodBowl to Ironforge, my subjects played superbly today and I gladly accept the man of the match award".

Lokust was left to rue his GFIs and the weather which put paid to any hopes of an Undead Revival.

Stats:
Total Rushing 42 Dwarfs, 18 Undead
Total Blocks 58 Dwarfs, 49 undead.
Most Rushing: Bombus Finespindle 22, Crush-Gor 14
Most Blocks: Bimble Longberry 16, Brawn-Ra 14.

Full time from The Ironforge Stadium:
We Are Trained Apothecaries 1-2 Ironforge Is Our Home.

Man of the Match: Bombus Finespindle and Crush-Gor.
MVP: Grumnus Steelshaper and Erabus (I think not, what do you think Lokust?!)
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