Rant: Tournaments

It seems that warmachine has suddenly gotten a big push and players are now shifting in from other games. Mostly likely this is due to the fact that it is a better game with better models, plus the fact that no one is playing warhammer or warhammer 40k with much regularity. Blame it on the support.

You know what I really would want? I would really want faction coins. I would want to have enough people into the game that we could actually hold tournaments large enough to accommodate enough players that it would be practical to give prizes to each faction. Is it possible? I really don't know. We used to have a very large player base with mage knight but that easily crumbled away. Plus the fact that the initial cash outlay for warmachine is much higher. I guess if more people get a chance to see the game, more people could get into it. We need a real venue. We need a place where people can have games. If only fortress toys could accommodate at least 2 gaming tables.

Right now we don't even have enough players to fill in a weekly tournament roster. The player roster is so small that there are very few players that dominate the game. It happens with all games anyway, but with small cliques it becomes much more apparent. We also have that anti-page 5 mindset. There are a lot of players insisting that they only want casual play and yet fear to get into any game with someone they know will most likely beat them at it. They are afraid of losing. Why even bother playing this game when you are afraid to get beaten up?

Why bother playing against someone you know will beat you?

God damn them! It is the best fun anyone could have: the chance to play against someone who could actually beat you at the game. It allows you a chance to be able to improve yourself. It makes you think. Why go against a player you know you can beat easily without thinking? If I wanted that I would have just played solitaire. Most people think that when I get quiet and get serious in a game, it means I'm a sore loser, or that it makes me feel bad. I actually enjoy the fact that I can think it over and dissect it. I am quiet and morose because I am running the game through my head. I love the chance to be able to do that.

Getting these players to play is already hard enough. Getting these players to join tournaments and bet some cash on their skills is even harder. Asking them to join tournaments with increasing the difficulty of gameplay is close to impossible.

I am happy with the chance to play the proverbial seven-minute turns. Apparently it was done at gencon with individual timers per table allowing a game to have more than the usual number of turns than in a regular game. I love it. I love the rush of it, but I think asking players who were already hesitant to play against more skilled players to play in this format may be taxing the limits of common sense.

I say that we should have the normal 1 hour games and just go to timed turns for the semi-finals and finals. This will increase the chances for more people joining into the tournaments. Seeding can also be done to avoid the cheater tactics of the more experienced players to dominate in the non-timed turn games. We have the warmachineph rankings anyway for basis.

I think having league games weekly is fine, but for us to have a tournament every week just stretches a person's resources. I would prefer to have one tournament once a month and have those league games prior to the tournament to determine seeding.

I'm actually interested into getting those factions coins.

I really wished I could just take time off and just go through the gaming stores in the states to get enough factions coins to use for focus.

Battle Report: Pit Shop 091507

Tournament was held with the following participants:

Mang - Cygnar

Dan Tesoro - Legion of Everblight

Mike Monroe - Legion of Everblight

Jun Peralta - Legion of Everblight

Clemence Cua - Trollbloods

Patrick Palma - Skorne

Doclance - Cryx

There were only 7 seven and Dan ended up getting the bye the first round.

My lists were:

Witch Coven of Garlghast
Deathripper x4
Nightwretch x2
Skarlock
Pistol Wraith x2
Bile Thralls (6)
Mechanithralls (8)

and

Pirate Queen Skarre
Helldiver
Nightwretch x2
Skarlock
Bane Lord Tartarus
Necrotech x2
Pistol Wraith x2
Bane Knights (9)
Mechanithralls (8)

game 1 pendulum mk2
Vs Monroe

Faction: Legion of Everblight
Army Points: 497/500
Victory Points: 20

Saeryn, Omen of Everblight
Carnivean
Teraph
Harrier
Shredder x2
The Forsaken
Raptors (3)
Warmongers (3)

I used my skarre list simply because it was against a legion of everblight player I was facing, I think the first game was pendulum but I don't really remember. I recall finding monroe a little bit bold as he had put his warlock more forward than I would find comfortable, especially going up against the skarre list. The raptors were amazing. They were consistently able to hit their targets and then move out. I think monroe should have opted to play them a lot more aggressively. They are super soft, as a few hits from mechanithralls take them down immediately. I think even pistol wraiths can use them as target practice.

The game ended as soon as I found the carnivean on full fury. The teraph was already killed off by an earlier hit from a hellfire and pistol wraith. The warmongers were charged by the bane knights. So having no one to transfer to, Saeryn pretty much died quickly.

I guess monroe still has a very far way to go when going up against cryx assassination. He did do well later on against hordes players, having won the rest of his games.

game 2 copse full of corpses

I was draw for a bye. I was ready for this scenario and was really planning to break it using the coven list. That would have been beautiful.

game 3 killing fields mk3
At least mang realized the futility of the scenario.
Vs Clemence

Went up against trollbloods, I'm sorry it was just the scenario.

Faction: Trollbloods
Army Points: 498/500
Victory Points: 17
Chief Madrak Ironhide
Troll Axer
Troll Impaler x2
Trollkin Champions x2

This is the Cua brother's standard list, I believe they don't have any other list. It actually is a solid list. Not that skill or lists matter in killing fields.

I played Coven and of course got first turn. Ran 3 deathrippers to each point first turn, placed an imprison template near the front to have most of the trolls move around it. Clemence was apparently unaware of the gravity of his situation and didn't find the need to run all his trolls, he preferred to shoot with the impalers. One unit of champions moved toward the center, but was forced to move around the imprison template.

Second turn has me going for the feat, imprisoning all the champions in the center. And this found my opponent without a chance to get back and he conceded immediately after his turn.

If he had a chance?

Not against the coven. Not in the way he deployed. I would have casted surefoot and the axer animus with madrak on the axer and have slammed it with the impaler moving it forward d6 towards the center. I would have sent the champions to each lateral point and simply have the warbeasts and madrak handle the center. it would have been a uphill battle but not the impossible one he had. It was possible to charge on the first turn. And if that didn't work it would have been possible to do a critical slam with the impaler. Oh well, that's the trollbloods for you.

game 4 overrun
Vs Mang

Faction: Cygnar
Army Points: 498/500
Victory Points: 17

Captain Victoria Haley
Lancer
Captain Maxwell Finn
Journeyman Warcaster
Stormsmith
Long Gunners (6)
Trenchers (9)
Alten Ashley, Monster Hunter
Ogrun Bokur x2

I took skarre simply because it would have been the easiest assassination, and the fact that I had 2 necrotechs in this list to hold points. I did ask mang if he was serious with taking his haley list against skarre. I was able to get haley into the control radius and boom, skarre bomb.