Bonn's Cantina Games III

Alrighty folks,

today me, Arides, and Chronos went to attend Bonn's Cantina Games III's Warmachine/Hordes tournament as Team "Marth & the Machines". It was a three round event with eight teams total.

For our 'Caster's, we chose Magnus Xp (Bad Seeds) & Gorten (Highborn) [me], Cpt. Darius (Field Test) & Cmd. Adept Nemo [Arides], as well as Irusk & the Butcher [Chronos].

After pairings were announced, each team got to see the other's nifty folder (which the EO's made for us), and then there was a round of betting power tokens. Ten of those were given to each team leader in  the first round, and all those you bet were collected after betting. The winning team would chose a table, one of their players, and a scenario for that table. The other team then announced whom they paired up against that, then proceeded to allocate their remaining players and a scenario each to the other two tables, upon which the other team chose whom they'd send in on that.

I probably did the most sensible thing ever before a tournament, and looked at all the scenarios, contemplating which of our 'Casters were suited best to each. This allowed us - even if we lost the bet - to get exactly the scenarios we wanted. It might get us into sucky matchups, but hey, we did definitely have a scenario angle.

How did it work out?
Quite well, actually!

Since we got the scenarios covered to our advantage, the only thing we had to worry about was the exact matchup. Which was exactly as much worry as you'd have in a normal tournament, so hardly any worry there!

First round, we're matched up against Team "WarKhaspar". Our opponents put none of their markers into the bet, and we do two, so we win. I, as team leader, assign Arides & the Fire Support Scenario to table one (gets to face Mercs), then I pick the table they assign Chemical Reaction to (taking on Menoth), and Chronos face-tanks Trollbloods in Outflank. So we have Nemo v. Bart, Magnus v. Kreoss, and Butcher v. Borka.
We're steamrolled. Kinda. Arides forgets about the Killbox which allows his opponent to win by scenario by merely busting his models out of the zone and dominating. Chronos makes the mistake to give his opponent the first turn, and gets brutally jammed out of the scenario by the Family Reunion. On my second turn, I lose next to every model with the name "Trencher" to Kreoss' feat. At least, I did not die to Pop&Drop, but I only had one Commando, the Sniper, and the Master Gunner left as Trenchers. Still - this game went to dice down, and was decided by army points surviving, which is a good result for playing Magnus the first time, I dare say.

Second round, we're paired against Team "Toy Soldiers" - the other team from Bonn. They put four of their markers in, we do one, so they win. They set a table with Process of Elimination, and Chronos takes it. Then I set my table with Incursion, and Arides' table with Rally Point. This ends up to be Butcher v. Lylyth Xp, Gorten v. Morvahna Xp, and Nemo v. Hexeris Xp.
Again, we lose, but by a much smaller margin. In fact, Arides wins. Old man Nemo, utilizing the Effigy of Valour, dominates the zone (with the help of a hunter) while keeping himself safe. He fails to get the points for killing the Mammoth (due to forgetting his feat's boostable POW 14), but he pulls out a scenario victory. Chronos eventually falls to Lylyth, but th game was very close at any rate. I declare myself moral victor for taking down the dreaded Orbotron. Gorten's feat put a lot of pressure on Morvahna, but seriously? 13" threat on a support caster, that can be a weapon master when needed? That is seriously silly. She manages to get to Gorten and downs him.

Third round, we're up against Team "Quick-witted hog priests". That name was probably derived from their factions. They binge-bet (and we don't), so they win, setting a table with Ammunition Run, which Chronos takes. Arides gets Close Quarters, and I get Supply and Demand. It ends up to be Darius v. Carver, Butcher v. Kreoss Xp, and Gorten v. Stryker Xp.
We vanquish them. Which, mostly, and with all due respects to our opponents, was because we made less (decisive) mistakes than them. After a long and gritty grindfest (and a failed assassination), Darius pummels Carver with his quake hammer. The Butcher single handedly kills all the Bastions inside the scoring zone while his army blows up the objectives, which leads to a lucky scenario win. My opponent forgets to feat with Stryker, which means the Stormwall gets both Forgeguard and a tuned-up Driller benefitting from Hunter's Mark and three focus to the face. After Stryker - being caught by Gorten's feat - misses his chance to assassinate, the same Driller deals with him as well.

This means that we even end up 6/8, which actually is better than I expected. I had three fun games, though the first two certainly were more tense than the last one, but eh - there are no undeserved wins or losses, so I'll take it.
I'm especially surprised at how accurate my "Caster/Scenario allocation" was, and how much it helped us, taking away a lot of the fear that comes with betting.

Whether this set-up of Team "Marth & the Machines" will be reiterated will depend on whether there'll be another 3-man team tournament. Rumors had it they'd stock it up to 5-man teams, and then it'd be questionable whether I find enough dudes to join my own team.

At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this brief coverage! There will be an upcoming installment of The Faded Black T-Shirt on the youtube show, dealing with my own games in more depth. But until then, farewell!