Player Profile : Ball Hawk

On the glorious pitch of Blood Bowl, hitting on a weaker opponent is considered great fun. Especially when you break your opponent’s offensive formation and get your filthy paws on the juicy ball carrier. So what to do when YOU are the weaker opponent and you don’t have a chance at over-powering your opponent to get to the ball ? You call for a Ball Hawk J

The Ball Hawk allows weaker but often faster and more agile teams to retrieve the ball from a stronger opponent, without actually having to make a series of successful blocks. Instead of cornering and flattening your opponent, the Ball Hawk makes use of a quick-in – quick-out guerilla play. A precise strike is delivered to the ball carrier to pop the ball loose (mutilating the ball carrier isn’t even required but considered a nice bonus J). Ball Hawks are specialist players, with a developed team often carrying one dedicated Ball Hawk. Preferably the player is fielded only during Defense to reduce the chance of him getting removed by a skillful opponent who recognizes the danger.

Wood Elf Wardancer - the archetype of the Ball Hawk

Ball Hawks will be positioned out of danger when kicking, ready to strike from distance when an opportunity to reach the ball carrier presents itself. This opportunity can arise because of poor protection of the ball carrier by the opponent. Alternatively the Ball Hawk’s team can force the opponent into exposing the ball carrier. A unique opportunity frequently presents itself at the start of a drive, in case the opponent’s ball retriever is isolated after a well-placed kick and vulnerable to an aggressive deep strike play (Scramble).

Speed and mobility are the prime requirements to build an effective Ball Hawk. Reaching the ball carrier often is a challenging task – extra speed can help in making de-tours to minimize tackle zones and to approach from the optimal angle of attack. On top, the higher your action radius, the less your opponent will expect you to make a strike. This can present him with a nasty surprise when suddenly your Ball Hawk pops up out of nowhere next to his ball carrier and swoops the ball ! I’d consider MA 7 as a minimum, more is better. Mobility requires the ability to deal with tackle zones, as the Ball Hawk most often will have to operate in hostile territory. High AG and skills improving Dodge rolls are very beneficial. In a developed league with specialized Blockers guarding the ball carrier your Ball Hawk will benefit from Leap.

A Skaven team with access to 4 Gutter Runners allows for a dedicated Ball Hawk

So you manage to get your fast, agile Ball Hawk next to the opposing ball carrier. Most probably you will find yourself vastly outnumbered and overpowered and now you’re supposed to make a Block ? At best you’ll be making 1-dice blocks against the ball carrier, but chances are more likely your Ball Hawk will be throwing negative 2-dice blocks – opponent’s choice ! That’s where you need some specialist skills to get a decent shot at popping the ball.

Highest priority skill on your list is Wrestle. Popping the ball during a high-risk – high-reward action only makes sense if you can continue your turn. Wrestle will severely reduce the chance of your Block resulting into a dreaded Turn-Over ! Wrestle is preferred over Block as Wrestle will force Block ball carriers to drop the ball. Chances at avoiding a Turn-Over in case your Ball Hawk carries Block / Wrestle are 83% (97% with RR) for a 1-dice Block and 69% (91% with RR) for a negative 2-dice Block – very acceptable odds.

Strip Ball is THE key skill for the Ball Hawk, after you got him Wrestle. Strip Ball forces your opponent to drop the ball in case the blocking dice come up with a “Push” or “Defender Down” result. This means you don’t have to punch down that ST 4 ball carrying Chaos Warrior with your ST 2 Ball Hawk, you simply trip the ball out of his hands without him even noticing it ! Now this is where the odds truly get in favor of your Ball Hawk: Check below table with some statistics on 1-dice and negative 2-dice Blocks.

Ball Hawk statistics table : Chance of popping the ball

A Wrestle + Strip Ball player will pop the ball against ANY player (including Block + Dodge players) 83% of times in a single-dice Block and 69% of times in a negative 2-dice Block. If you’re willing to spend a Re-Roll this improves to a staggering 97% resp. 91% of times ! Sure Hands can ruin your day, as the only way of popping the ball from a Sure Hands ball carrier is to successfully block him to the ground. This can be countered by adding blocking skills such as Tackle and Dauntless to your Ball Hawk. Alternatively, you can block the ball carrier with a dedicated Blitzer.

These figures show stealing the ball from a stronger opponent with a dedicated Ball Hawk is a valid tactic. Having a Re-Roll available drastically improves the odds of this risky action, so it is good to invest in some extra team Re-Rolls. Keep in the back of your head you don’t have much to lose when kicking: The receiving team is expected to score a TD. Applying a Ball Hawk in a risky play to steal the opponent’s ball (and his TD J) is a preferable alternative to sacrificing your fragile team in an attempt to screen a powerful opponent. If it fails at worst your opponent scores a TD and you get another shot at receiving yourself. If your Ball Hawk pulls off a successful play, you can catch your opponent totally unprepared and go for a glorious counter-TD !