Part 3 of the Blood Bowl Basic series. Part 1 and Part 2 covered Core Concepts.
Most coaches lose games not because they misplay a single turn, but because they lose sight of the overall structure of the drive. When you know what each phase demands, and how your objectives shift as the board state evolves, your decision‑making becomes clearer and far more effective.
This post breaks down the anatomy of a drive into practical, actionable components you can apply immediately.
Many of the concepts in this post will be expanded upon later in the series. We’ve slotted it in here as we think it is valuable to set the wider objectives first and then work out how to achieve those objectives.
Below is a section from Chapter 3 of our Blood Bowl Strategy book, presented as written.
In the last post, we discussed win conditions (effectively game-level objectives), those win conditions then define your objectives for each individual drive.
The ideal outcome for most win conditions is usually to score a touchdown on Turn 8. The “perfect 8-turn stall” drains the clock and denies the opponent a chance to respond. We’ll look specifically at how to stall later, and the interaction with the Stalling rule. However, if pressure mounts or stalling becomes untenable, scoring earlier is better than not scoring!
Earlier scores may also be necessary when chasing the game or when your game plan calls for a quick score and aggressive defence.
In some cases, when things have gone wrong, failing to score but also not conceding becomes the best acceptable option to stay in the game. This is always worth remembering before you decide to push too hard and turn the ball over.
Defensive play is built around disruption and control. The primary aim on most drives is to not just prevent scoring altogether, but also to turn the ball over and counter score. Recovering the ball and scoring is the dream scenario.
If that proves impossible, forcing an early score becomes the next best outcome, granting time to equalize or reclaim momentum.
If all else fails, conceding while preserving team integrity, minimising casualties and maintaining field presence (a.k.a. “lying down”) sets the stage for a stronger second half.
Indeed, for some teams a viable tactic is to “not play Blood Bowl”, instead relying on isolating and fouling straggling players to whittle down the opponent’s numbers such that you can score a one-turn touchdown and/or score two in the second half and win 2-1.
Offensive Drive Phases
A Blood Bowl offensive drive unfolds in distinct phases, each demanding a shift in priorities and risk tolerance.
It begins with the Ball Recovery phase, where securing possession is paramount; aiming for a safe pickup but also planning for failure and bounce control. This phase often sets the tone for the drive. Missteps close to the line of scrimmage (LOS) can lead to immediate loss of the ball and more effort should be made to screen the pick up. Deep kicks pose a different sort of problem; the ball recovery players can get isolated from those players fighting on the LOS. It might be OK to not reroll the pickup on Turn 1 if it is too deep for an opponent to pressure, but protecting yourself from the team being split is a strong consideration (more on this later).
Once the ball is in hand, the focus shifts to Stabilisation and Reconnection phase: protecting the ball carrier, establishing positional integrity, and linking isolated players into a cohesive formation. This is where cages form and try to advance, and the team transitions from reactive to proactive play. The early goal is to get to this stable position as quickly and efficiently (not using too many RRs for example) as possible.
With stability achieved, the drive enters its Advancement Phase, pushing the ball into scoring range while managing tempo and attrition. Here we need to weigh the merits of sideline pressure, central dominance, or misdirection, always mindful of turn control and defensive threats. Throughout this phase we are looking at how far we still have to go and how long we have to do it, to make decisions on when, where, or how hard to push.
Finally, if the position holds, the team enters the Stalling and Scoring phase. This is a balance of maintaining the ability to score if needed, but doing so in a way that drains the remaining turns while keeping the ball safe. Here, the goal is to score at the optimal moment, ideally on Turn 8, but always with an eye on board state, reroll economy, and opponent desperation.
Each phase builds on the last, and part of your early progression as a coach is identifying what you need to achieve at each point of the drive and recognising when the board-state allows you to progress to the next stage.
At least, that’s the plan.
As you are developing as a player it can be beneficial to think of the drive as these four phases. When you are clear what you are short-term objective it is, it is much easier to formulate a plan that will allow you to achieve that objective.
Defensive Drive Phases
On defence, the goals also shift turn by turn between disruption leading to sack attempts, and containment. Unsurprisingly, the phase structure is usually the mirror of the offence.
Early, your goal might be to pressure ball recovery and/or prevent stabilisation. Blitzes here should be targeted to either keep players from reconnecting or to fracture formations, and force risky plays before the offence can settle. This is often the best time to attempt to split the team.
If the drive begins to cohere, then your focus might pivot to denying forward movement, using TZs and positional play such as screens and columns to stall momentum and shape the pitch. That sounds like elf play only, but bash teams have similar plan. For example, winning the centre battle might force the opposition into a narrow wide channel and allow containment. Throughout this phase, you should constantly read the board state and ask, “Is a sack viable?”. Then balance the merits of increasing pressure vs risk of losing players or giving up position.
Depending on how the drive goes, a better line may become forcing an early score. These decisions hinge on timing, knowing when to commit to all-in pressure, when to pivot screening and delay, and when to bait the offence into overextending. Plus, of course, how confident you are in your race’s ability to score on a short drive.
A good defence is about seizing the initiative to control and disrupt the rhythm, dictating the terms, and choosing the moment to flip the script.
These first three posts were quite high-level conceptual, setting the wider framework. The next few will get into core game mechanics and making them work to achieve your objectives.
Next – Blocking Basics
All posts to date:
Enjoyed this? Found it useful?
This is part of an expanding series, come back next week for the next installment.
The text here originally came from our book – Blood Bowl Strategy: Third Season Unofficial Strategy Guide — I’ve made some edits to make it more suitable for online posts. The book is a complete guide to positioning, tempo, drive planning, defensive structures, offensive patterns, league development, inducements, and tournament preparation. 266 pages, ~74,000 words of our collective wisdom designed to take you from a beginner to a >50% win rate coach.
We will be posting excerpts from the book over the coming months – you can subscribe to the blog to receive notifications and the next basics post straight to your inbox.
Physical copies of the book are available on Amazon (check your own country’s listing – e.g. amazon.co.uk here). Or I usually have a box of books with me at UK tournament events. Or message me if you want to buy a batch.
Digital copies of the PDF are available via the button below:
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