I just moved to Australia and find myself missing DDM to play with my mates. So what to do to satisfy the addiction? Play with my wife? Not so often. Playing vassal? The computer is for reading about the latest Night Below and Kevin-Garnett-to-the-Phoenix-Suns rumours only. Don’t like to play games on screen.

I know some players who practice on their own, but to play two different warbands against each other is just too much for my 29 year old brain, I guess.

So I came up with the following time-killer: A one-on-one tourney named “Legends Open”.

If you like, fly through the following lines and drop a vote on who you believe to win the “Legend’s Open”.

The format: five rounds, best-of-five elimination matches, one-on-one fights.

The participants:

- only named minis go for the title. That includes Count Strahd von Zarovich, Van Richten and Lady Vol despite their lack of the “unique” entry on their respective cards.

- no constructs, since they can be reproduced and therefore can never be unique heroes/villains in the host’s opinion (sorry, Lord of Blades).

- no mini ineligible for 200-point skirmish (sorry, King Snurre).

The bracket: like in tennis championships number one to sixteen will be seeded. Number 17 to 32 will be drawn to complete the first-round matchups. The seed is determined by the mini’s “reputation” (point cost). Seeding of minis of identical cost is decided by commander rating.

The placement of seeds 1-16 within the bracket is the same as this years Wimbledon bracket.

The rules: map for all encounters will be Dragondown Grotto. Both combatants will start in the central victory area on opposite edges.

Commander ratings apply for initiative checks.

If one mini is reduced to 0 hit points, the opponent wins the game.
One victory point is awarded only to a competitor, if he/she is inside the victory area, while his/her opponent isn’t. This is to prevent hit-and-hide games. If you want to take out someone from a distance by spells or ranged attacks, do it quick.

Collecting five victory points wins the game.

Whoever wins three games first advances to the next round (best of five).

So let’s take a look at some of our participants:

Drgonlancers:

Lord Soth (98 points, lawful evil, 2^nd seed)

Lord Soth may have to suffer from his low hit points (75) and low attack bonuses (+11/+6). However, if he connects with his attacks, he deals a serious amount of damage and won’t be stopped by concealed opponents. He has immunity to cold and electricity and is resistant against spells. Cleave and aura of fear won’t be very useful in one-on-one combat, but there is still one thing to consider: Lord Soth’s abyssal blast for 30 points of damage.

Mina (55 points, lawful evil, 16^th seed)

Mina has one huge disadvantage compared to her role in skirmish. There are no followers to profit from her curses. All she can do is enter melee, use her two castigate spells and fascinate male opponents with her beauty. Since this isn’t reflected in skirmish stats, Mina might fail to advance more than one round.

Raistlin Majere (26 points, any good, not seeded)

Despite his low cost, Raistlin could trouble some of the seeded competition. Depending on whom he’ll face, the wizard could use his sleep spell to get an easy win on victory points should his opponent leave the victory area. Against sleep-immune creatures, he can still try to paralyze his opponent and then soften him with his magic missiles. Against the majority of his possible first-round match ups Raistlin will be the underdog and might be lucky to win one game.

If there will be a “Legend’s Open” in EPIC, this may look completely different....

Heroes of the Realms:

Storm Silverhand (57 points, chaotic good, 15^th seed)

The ever present Storm Silverhand will have a harder time than in skirmish where her followers benefit greatly from her commander effect. In a one-on-one battle, Storm still don’t have to shy away. She can try to hit and run with her ranged attacks before entering melee with two solid swings (+14/+9 for 15 magic). Of course, Storm can heal herself, if she feels like and use the unavoidable Silver Fire to blast her opponents for 20 points.

Wulfgar (54 points, chaotic good, not seeded)

The mighty barbarian will be one opponent nobody likes to face in the first round. Wulfgar has the second largest amount of hit points in the field (110) and has the highest damage output per swing (25 magic). The cons? His AC of 14 won’t protect him from anything while his save isn’t that high either.

Drizzt (87 points, chaotic good, 6^th seed)

Lots of Drizzt’s point cost is due to his awesome commander effect. Fighting on his own, the elf will still be able to stay his ground against most opponents. Conceal, an AC of 21 and spell resistance combine to great overall defensive capabilities while he attacks three times a round.

The reason Drizzt will have a hard time against most melee beaters? His low damage output might just not be enough to win it all.

Elminster (100 points, chaotic good, 1^st seed)

The mighty Elminster will have a hard time to live up to his reputation of being a 100 point mini. Without spellcasters around him he won’t get any additional spells to add to his arsenal.

Still, you can expect Elminster to win initiative fairly often, leading to a use of quick cast for 30 points of damage or Mystra’s curse. He will use Silver Fire the next round and finish off opponents with his respectable fighting skills (+13/+8 for 10 magic).

Guenhwyvar (33 points, chaotic good, not seeded)

The entity of the black leopard seems made for melee combat. However, Guen heavily relies on winning initiative to pounce on her opponents. Opponents with DR are Guen’s nightmare while her AC of 16 won’t stop those 80 hit points from dropping.

Villains of the Realms:

Artemis Entreri (89 points, lawful evil, 5^rd seed)

The assassin will have a hard time living up to his seeding. Entreri won’t be able to use sneak attacks and has to enter close combat. Does this make Entreri an underdog? Far off it. Imagine him being based, attacking four!!! times and then stepping back, so his opponent won’t get off a full attack. Sidestep and dual activation could save the day for the fearsome fighter from Calimport.

King Obould-Many Arrows (65 points, chaotic good, 11^th seed)

The orc-king is a pure melee combatant. Attacking at +15/+10 for 15 magic and 5 fire is respectable, while his AC of 17 could be an issue. His 85 hit points should last some time, but even if they don’t, the orc-king will have one more (death-)strike to force a draw.

The unholy competition:

Count Straht von Zarovich (93 points, lawful evil, 4^th seed)

This vampire seems not to be made for melee combat. His attack bonus of +13 is just average. On second thought, he may not be too bad since von Zarovich sweetens the 15 points of damage to his opponents by healing the same amount of points in the process.

His strengths lay in his spells. While bloodstar looks like a long shot to place, it could change the outcome of the fight. Night’s caress is what makes his opponents shiver. That is as long as Count Straht von Zarovich isn’t matched up with Vlaakith...

Vlaakith, the Lich Queen (79 points, chaotic evil, 7^th seed)

One word to open the fight: Disintegrate. I successful, Vlaakith may win the fight right here, dealing 60 points to her opponent. Should she be forced into melee, she has a fair chance of paralyzing her opponent, step back and unleash a fireball or two. Having 95 hit points and being immune to critical hits doesn’t harm either.

Lady Vol (98 points, lawful evil, 3^rd seed)

Being an obscure dragon-elf-undead mixture brings some advantages to the battle table. In a one-on-one combat the only spell Lady Vol is going to use will be her oppressive will. Thanks to her great melee skills, one successful oppressive will spell could win the game for her.

Winning initiative means softening the opponent with her nasty acid breath weapon. AC 23 and 110 HP add further to maintaining her role as one of the tourney-favourites.

Thrall of Blackrazor (43 points, chaotic evil, not seeded)

An opponent nobody wants to face. The thrall of Blackrazor can deliver a terrifying 60 points of magic damage in a round when using haste. So you better get rid of him quick. Not too hard to do given his AC of 14 and just 65 hit points. However, if you do it in melee, beware you won’t become the new thrall of the vicious sword.

 
Greyhawk's finest:

Mordenkainen (69 points, any, 10^th seed)

His first cone of cold has the potential to deal 40 points of damage. After that, Mordenkainen just needs to stay alive and let his faithful hound do the rest. Easier said than done considering his 55 hit points and an AC of 17.

Warduke (70 points, chaotic evil, 9^th seed)

This awesome fighter might be one of the few participants to go for the crown. He attacks relieably at +17/+12 and – thanks to methodical killer – deals 25 points of damage per swing.

Blindsight will help him dealing with Drizzt while mages might have a hard time to affect Warduke with their spells. It doesn’t hurt to have the most hit points (130) in the field either.

So who can actually beat that guy?

The melee-monsters:

Ryld Argith (55 points, any chaotic, not seeded)

The drow weaponmaster lacks one ability most drow seem to have: conceal. Therefore, Ryld may find himself within overwhelming competition given his mediocre attacks (+13/+8 for 15 magic) along with his only decent amount of hit points (75). Ryld has a 10% chance for critical hits that may save the day on some occasions.

Rask (52 points, chaotic good, not seeded)

The half-orc chainfighter is a respectable combatant. He swings at +16/+16 for 20 magic while his chain offers him a possibility not to run in a full attack. Rask’s low AC and might hinder him to stand a chance against certain competition.

Tordek (59 points, lawful good, 14^th seed)

The mighty dwarf has what it takes to get really far. A nice ranged attack before entering melee against other beaters, a ton of hit points (100), a high AC (22) and two of the highest attacks in the field (+19/+14 for 15 magic+5 electricity). As long as he can stay away from Storm Silverhand, Tordek will make some noise.

The finesse-fighters:

Ulmo Lightbringer (77 points, lawful good, 8^th seed)

The halfling relies heavily on flanking partners and looks like a complete underdog in this kind of tournament. However, along with his ranged attack before entering melee, Ulmo combines the stunning hits of a monk and the sneak attack damage of a rogue to deal an insane amount of damage – if his opponent fails to save against the stunning attack. His AC of 25 along with his habit of evading damage thanks to his high save and his monk reflexes might be enough to advance pretty far.

Snig, Worg Rider (42 points, lawful evil, not seeded)

The yellow skinned goblin is the only one in the field who doesn’t fight by himself. Snig rides on a worg at speed 10 while being capable of mounted melee attacks. His minions will try their best to keep the opposition busy while Snig continues his attacks. When based, the goblin won’t live long to tell his tale since 50 hit points won’t last long against the fighters out there. Leave alone the wizards...

Shuluth (59 points, lawful evil, 13^th seed)

The illithid heavily relies on his stunning ability. Without allies to feast on a stunned opponent, Shuluth will have to enter melee by himself. His attacks should be respected but�advancing further than the quarterfinal should be considered a huge success for the 65 hit point illithid.

Other hopefuls:

Rikka (31 points, chaotic good, not seeded)

An Underdog by her point cost, Rikka has some tools to make a formidable opponent. A high attack bonus and reasonable damage output along with a lot of immunities, spell resistance and damage reduction.

Van Richten (59 points, lawful good, 11^th seed)

The Ravenloft character is just an average fighter in the field. His success will highly depend on his opponents, since Van Richten has a nice array of spells against evil foes. If Count Strahd von Zarovich and Vlaakith weren’t fearless, Van Richten might send a shiver to their spines.

The host’s darling:

Meepo (31 points, lawful good, not seeded)

The kobold isn’t exactly fearsome given his mediocre attacks and damage output. When facing a favourable first-round opponent, he may want to thank his former white pet dragon for the nice armor. After all, AC 24 is the second highest in the field and will help him stay a little longer in the fight. Nice for him and nice for me, since Meepo became a close friend after helping him in the Sunless Citadel.

If you like,

1. tell me on whom you’d place your bet to win it all (and vote for him/her)

and tell me

2. what your three favourite characters/minis are from a personal perspective.

Michael,

how long did it take you to get through first round?

Looks like fun.