Our first spell draft - the Arides Redux

Our first spell draft - the Arides Redux

Another weekend, another tournament Marth looked forward to, but had to drop out. And another tournament failure on my record score... ;)

Compromised by an imperial spy - The Arides redux

As most of you have read by now, Marth was forced to drop out from the Cantina Games V which left me as the only "Ubernoob" in the Rookie Tournament. And as a spoiler I still won't consider myself an experienced player...

Compromised by an imperial Spy 02 - Cantina Games V RoundUp

You may not notice it, but this post airs before Cantina Games V ends, heck, even begins. How does that happen?

Make an educated guess.

Khador 2014 Part 04 - ClogCon lists review

Last weekend, ClogCon took place, and in this post, I'll write to you about my experiences there - which will include a very surprising twist. So enjoy!

Prelude:
   We left town at about 6.30 o'clock Friday morning and safely (and uneventfully) arrived in Rotterdam, at the Savoy Hotel, around 10.00 o'clock. "We" being Arides, Fiona, our little daughter pVicky, and me. Due to me having spoken to the hotel beforehand, Fiona, pVicky and me were able to check in right away (go Savoy!). Arides was staying with other Germans at a youth hostel.
   We arrived at the convention's location right in time to register for the opening tournaments, and I played in the 35 pt Steamroller. I won't bother you with my lists right here, because they... will be there again later on. Also, two important things happened while packing: I took Vlad2 with me because I anticipated casual gaming on Saturday, but left Orin at home even though I had him in my hand.

Friday:
35 point Steamroller:
Round 1 - Supply and Demand v. Georg B.
   It was Harkevich's theme force v. Vlad3's theme force, and a very grindy battle - and I punted my one chance at winning by spending the one focus left on Harkevich for the wrong thing (I boosted damage instead of casting Jump Start). ARGH! Very nice opponent, though!

Round 2 - Balance of Power v. Harm K.
   This one was Harkevich (again) against Bart/Galleon. Turns out: On three focus, with Escort, under feat, Harkevich CAN face-tank a Galleon. Also, Bart is one of the two WM Caster that still have though - he rolled it when Harkevich kept calm and cast razor wind. ;)

Round 3 - Incursion (I think) v. Jeroen
   He brought Cryx, so I opted for Zerkova and her anti-Cryx list (which actually had been built to beat Janus S.). He's still a learning player, which showed, and it ended with Deneghra skewered on a Spriggan Warlance (rolled 6, 6, 6, on the charge attack damage, and she had no focus... so 22 damage?)

That was a... pretty underwhelming start. Sure, the first two games were close, but I am still waiting to win with Harkevich the first time ever, while Zerkova remains my "comfort zone".

Saturday:
   I had a Bushido demo which made me really like the system (better than Anima:Tactics, at least). I also got a game in against Rob K., which pitted Harkevich's theme force against Calaban's theme force. And IMO, Calaban is way underrated. It gave me a chance to field a 50pt Harkevich list I both saw on the forums once AND had the models for for the first time. We didn't get to finish it, because I chose to enlist for the Thunderdome competition last minute.
   And that, lads and ladies, was where things started to go crazy.

Khador 2013 Part 17 - 2013-Wrap-up

'Cause a good wrap is half a song!

It's been some time since my last article, because inspiration has been lacking. So what gives? Well, we've had a little (6 guys) tournament on a recent weekend, which will be my last tournament for 2013. So I figured: What's stopping me from wrapping up the year, do some introspection and reflect on some stuff?

So that's what we'll do tonight. We'll review the following things: My paradox plunge (and the related 'Caster-writeups), the lists I've played with those 'Casters, an overall look at how competitive games went this year, and Greylord Outriders. Because, spoilers, they're legit. And yes, there'll also be a very brief look at my plans for 2014. Enjoy!

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?

Marth & the Machines #76 - Vladimir v. Gorten & the faded black T-shirt

In this (horribly delayed) issue of Marth & the Machines, we're bringing you a custom scenario tailor-made for Halloween, where Vladimir Tzepesci and Gorten Grundback encounter each other - and the Nightmare Tower. Afterwards, more coverage from last year's tourneys. Enjoy!

Marth & the Machines #72 - Caine v. Jarl

Danger Report! Violence and gunshots in the streets! The gangs of Immoren duking it out! Caine's Gungho Guns v. Jarl's Thornwood Bandits! Film at eleven.

Mission is Close Quarters, point size is 28. Enjoy!

Marth & the Machines #71 - Butcher v. Gorten

In issue #71, two tanks go up against each other, one backed with a lot of experience but a not-top-notch army, the other with a lot less experience, but good coaches. It's 31 points of Overrun, and the adversaries are the Butcher of Khardov and Gorten Grundback, big angry axe man and little hammer dude. And afterwards, we will be having the first installment of "The Faded Black T-Shirt." Enjoy!

Faded Black T.Shirt - list/caster musings

So, earlier this year I took a trip to attend a Warmachine tournament a little farther away than usually. Back then it was a 42 points / 8 reinforcements, 50 min Chess Clock tournament, with a lot of Legion and Cryx to be expected, and me drawing the other two Khador players. Maybe you remember.

This time around, the set-up has changed significantly. 50 points / 10 reinf., 12 min timed turns. Divide and Conquer as usual, two lists (with the option of bringing a third). That's a lot of points to lug around with you, but I've signed up for the event and am intending to roll with the circumstances.

Today, I want to muse a bit about the lists I'm currently considering to take.

The faded black T-shirt 02

Been to the tournament in Koblenz yesterday. Went... well, the end result turned out way better than I had anticipated. I met some players from last week, which was fun, and my opponents were mostly great to play against. In total, ten people attended (out of an in-tended 16), a lot of them being more or less new to the game.
And to prevent myself from forgetting to mention it later on: My dice were well-behaved. All losses I incurred were due to misplays on my part, which is quite a relief.

Here's my rundown:

The faded black T-shirt 01 (Tourney Update)

So, uh, been to Koblenz, participated in three rounds of Steamroller 2012, as formerly announced.

Didn't do so well, I placed 7th out of 10, which is kind of to be expected when you lose games 1 and 3. Had I won the first one, I might've made 6th, which was my personal goal. First and foremost, thanks to Cidster (the PG) and the players from the CTU LGS. Every opponent - while sometimes taking a little "getting used to" - was a blast to play against.

A short rundown: