How do you win with Vampires?

[odinsgrandson]

So my LGS is starting to get into Blood Bowl- a game that I've loved since the 3rd ed came out.

I have a printed copy of the latest version of the Living Rule book, and a Vampire team that I'm roaring to try out.

I know that this ream plays vastly different from other teams, but I'm not quite sure how I should play it. Does anyone have some advice on how to win with the vamps? What kind of starting lineup I should use, what skills are best to seek out early, and how do I keep my non-vampire players alive?

[eriochrome]

Vampires are hard to play but the key is positioning your thralls such that even when you fail your bloodlust you can still get done what needs to. Your strength is really gaze which essentially always you to just open up holes in opponents cages and lines but since it does not always work be prepared. Remember that to clear the gaze your opponent must activate the model. This could mean just declaring a move for him but not moving him so it limits his effectiveness in the next turn since he cannot assist with 1 block then move or blitz later. Not a big affect but helpful. Also if the opponent has a turnover before activating gazed players they stay gazed. Make some counters to keep track of it.

Skills some people love pro on vampires to try to reroll bloodlusts and gazes but they have so many good skill choices that it is hard to say. I would not work hard on skilling up thralls unless they pick up some stat increase or something.

[Aenir]

really? I always thought the way to build was through the thralls otherwise the vamps become SPP hogs, and while you will lose thralls, skilling them helps to make the game bend in your favor because if you gaze, then you can use a skilled thrall to take a shot at the ball

http://fumbbl.com/help:VampireStrategy

Granted thats for LRB 4 but mostly still applies

[eriochrome]

Skilling Thralls is a fine balance since if you want to use your vampires, you will be knocking your own thralls out of the game(least now you cannot kill them) and if they start to get to many skills that is removing team value from the pitch fast. You would to get some with more skills (ones who have gotten doubles or stat increases) but more than a skill on each and every failed blood lust you have a good chance of putting 100K of team value on the side lines.

[odinsgrandson]

Didn't we still have Vampire Lords in the LRB4? I mean, back then, the Vamps were a really good team.

The way to win with them back then was to load up your roster with as many vampires as possible, so that maybe enough of then would stay long enough to win you the pitch.

It wasn't as hard as all that, since the Vampire Lord was essentially Count Luthor Von Drakenborg who could also gain spp.

I might be thinking of a previous version of the vamps, I'm not sure. Anyway, they've definitely gotten tricker since then.

[ersatzgnomes]

there are some very useful guides on plasmoid's website concerning most teams out there (including vamps).

In my limited experience playing against them, you need to keep in mind that thralls aren't just fodder to get stomped into the pitch, you do need them around in order to do things like get bloodlusted.

Although I must admit, I've taken my share of vampire beatings just from the vamps themselves beating face with their huge statlines