Secret Weapon (Extraordinary) #
Some players are armed with special pieces of equipment that are called ‘secret weapons’. Although the Blood Bowl rules specifically ban the use of any weapons, the game has a long history of teams trying to get weapons of some sort onto the pitch. Nonetheless, the use of secret weapons is simply not legal, and referees have a nasty habit of sending off players that use them. Once a drive ends that this player has played in at any point, the referee orders the player to be sent off to the dungeon to joing players that been caught committing fouls during the match, regardless of whether the player is still on the pitch or not.
Secret Weapon Overview: #
Secret Weapon is a way of balancing the use of ‘weaponry’ in the game whilst still allowing that bit of extra fun and randomness. Unless your team has a bribe any player who sets up for a drive is going to get sent off for the rest of the match. This poses some some tactical situations which you should be aware of. This goes for both the team that is using them and the opposing side that is facing them.
As you know they are going to get sent off you want to maximise the use you get from them. This means that you want to set them up based on how quickly either your team, or the opposing team will score. So for example you don’t really want to set up your Chainsaw player against an Elf team that is receiving. They will tend to score quickly and your player will get sent off. On the other hand you can use this to your advantage to try and force the other team into scoring quicker than they would like. If you are facing a slower team that will spend more time trying to score, then this could be a good time to put your Secret Weapon player on the pitch.
You should also pay some attention to how many reserves you have and how fragile your players are. If you only have 12 players and don’t set up your Secret Weapon against a slow scoring team, or if an agility team stalls while scoring, they may leave you with only one or two turns left in the half. If this happens and they have injured one of your players, they will know for sure that you are forced to set up your Secret Weapon as part of your eleven. Then when the drive ends shortly afterwards, your player gets sent off and you will only have 10 (or less) players for the second half. This can be a big waste of your player so pay this some thought.
Another good use of Secret Weapon players and the fact you know they will get sent off, is that you can use them to foul with. As they are going to get sent off anyway, when it gets nearer the end of the drive, look to use them to do fouls (assuming you don’t have a better use for them that turn). If they get sent off then it is no big deal as that was going to happen anyway, so if you can take one of their players with them as well, all the better for you.
Secret Weapon Summary:
Clearly there aren’t really any benefits to having Secret Weapon on a player, they are going to miss most of the match they play in. If you manage them well though you can maximise their return while they are on the pitch. You should pay close attention to the number of reserves on the team, as the opposing player will do the same. Depending on your team this may not only dictate when you set them up on the field, but also when you hire them for the team in the first place.
