The eighth new Blood Bowl story to come out of Black Library in recent months, Gav Thorpe’s Scrape to Victory follows aspiring lineman (linerat?) Kikkit of the lower-tier Crookback Cretins in his quest to escape a life of grinding monotony and danger for the opportunity to play for the Skavenblight Scramblers. All he needs to do is earn one more confirmed injury as a result of a foul, to claim the all-time record and his place in the big league – easy-easy, surely? Maybe not, with his debts suddenly being called in and only a single match left in the season!
Skaven stories tend to be fun, and even more when Blood Bowl is involved – Gav handles Kikkit and his fellows with aplomb, throwing in puns aplenty along with all the darkly funny backstabbing action you’d expect. He also manages a spot-on balance between off-pitch intrigue and on-field action, from the clever setup of Kikkit using Blood Bowl as his way out of poverty, to ‘sugar-frenzied halflings’ causing chaos during the match. It’s great fun rooting for the dirtiest of dirty players, but there’s a satisfying story here as well, with a nice sense of demonstrating a fresh aspect of Blood Bowl.