Lords of Decay

The Lords of Decay is a Skaven team, currently residing in Division 2 of the REL league. The team is coached by the utterly contemptible and ruthlessly Machiavellian Kallisti Maya. The team was formed at the beginning of Season Six and started in the lowest levels of infernal damnation, commonly known as Division 7. Season Seven saw the team promoted to Division 3 and currently for Season Eight the team is battling for dominance in Division 2.

## **Origins**

The ruling body of the Skaven Under-Empire, the Council of Thirteen (also commonly referred to as the “Lords of Decay”) are forever scheming and plotting nefarious ways to conquer and bring absolute ruin to the Old World. After centuries of clandestine attacks, deployment of terrifying weapons of mass destruction and unspeakably evil plans, their attempts to try and take over the world had seen mixed results. What the Council of Thirteen really needed was a way to strike fear into the hearts and minds of the other races of the Old World and unify the many clans and factions of the Under-Empire to work towards the common goal of bringing about absolute ruination.

It is at this point in our tale that an ambitious, cunning and nefarious Warlord of a relatively obscure clan “Propikikanda” laid before the rulers of the Under-Empire a plan that would achieve their aims and change the face of Blood Bowl forever more. What that master manipulator failed to mention when unveiling his fiendish scheme was the disproportionate amount of power it would grant to the small clan and its conniving warlord, Kallisti Maya.

Clan Propikikanda had developed and refined a method of psychological warfare “Propaganda” (which they narcissistically adapted to be named after their clan) that would embolden and unify the under-empire for war and at the same time demoralize and promote derision among the other races, softening them up and even eliciting out-right submission before a single shot was fired.

The many arms of this grand strategy would all be concentrated on an event or pastime commonly shared by all the races of the Old World, therefor maximizing its effect and heralding the onset of the Old World's doom as swiftly as possible. That pastime is Blood Bowl. As the biggest sport in the Old World and with Cabalvision viewership in the millions, it was the ideal linchpin for this Machiavellian endeavour. Kallisti even preyed upon his masters' vanity by suggesting the team be named after the Council of Thirteen so as better to promote their eternal glory.

The Council of Thirteen hastily endorsed Kallisti’s master plan, pledging funds and resources to create a team and collect the necessary assets that Kallisti would need to unleash this “Propaganda” upon an unsuspecting world. Kallisti was commissioned to oversee all aspects of this project from management and coaching the team to developing and deploying the Propoganda. The single caveat that came with this endorsement was that the glory of Kallisti's strategy would be all theirs, but that any failure would be placed solely on Kallisti's head, meaning a very abrupt and grisly termination of both the masterplan and Clan Propikikanda.

In the Preseason registration period for Season 6 of the REBBL league a new, mysterious Skaven team, the “Lords of Decay” was added to the lists of new teams. Little did the Commissioners of the League know that they had allowed the heralds of fast approaching despair and ruination for the Old World into their league.

### **The Lords of Decay**

As mandated by the Council of Thirteen, in preparation for the founding of the Lords of Decay, Kallisti Maya and Clan Propikikanda started a selective breeding and training program. By selecting the best Storm Vermin, Gutter Runners and Throwers, he would build an elite and seemingly inexhaustible supply of talent for the team. All of the team's positional players would come from a select litter of premium stock. This would result in replacement players having similar names as the positionals they replaced, with a fortunate side effect of creating the illusion of the team's key players being immortal, relentless and nigh unstoppable.

The Current Captain of the team, ***Kritislik the Grey***, along with Storm Vermin ***Morskittar Warpclaw*** and Gutter Runner ***Ikit Warpskitter*** form the core and most prominent members of the team.

On the pitch the team appears to have evolved to feature a very efficient, and many would term cowardly, non-confrontational play style. Off the pitch, Head Coach and Owner Kallisti Maya has been keen to promote the image of the Lords of Decay as a rag tag bunch of weaklings in press conferences and interviews, to reinforce and support often-touted criticisms of their play style and training programs. Quite why Kallisti is eager to reinforce the public's negative perception of his team is unknown, but when the elusive coach and owner has been forced to comment on the subject his rhetoric has remained consistent:

*“Man-Things are so sure we are weak, yes, yes? Man-things are too smart for Kallisti so we are weak. Yes yes, Lords of Decay are no threat, no fear of Lords of Decay!”*

Despite Kallisti’s protestations otherwise, the Lords of Decay have achieved a strong record and seen divisional promotion each season. They are fast earning a reputation as the underdog giant killer, winning many matches against renowned and respected teams.

Opinions and predictions about the Lords of Decay’s future are divided, with many commentators predicting a season 8 playoff spot and promotion to division 1 for Season 9, whilst others (including Kallisti himself) predicting the team will not survive Season 8, let alone gain the glory of a playoff run and promotion.