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Astinex
Skirmisher
24 Posts
    
 | | 02/14/2006 11:10 PM |
| Welcome, please feel free to read only the sections that interest you.
INTRODUCTION
I’m back again with another tournament report. This weekend the local community held an open DDM tournament. I want to thank the people who made this possible. Brad Shugg, (Bshugg/Bshugg), was very instrumental in getting the tournament off the ground. Peter Lee (Temperance/Peter Lee) donated his time, skill and minis for some beautiful trophies and to help judge. Pastimes Games for providing a venue. And to the many others I’m unable to name who helped in little ways.
As for myself, those of you familiar with my reports know I don’t have a lot of time to practice. Well I made it a point to change that a little when I saw the pictures of Peter’s awesomely painted trophies. I wanted one! I visited a few local leagues to practice with a few bands I wanted to play. I’ll get into the how I chose the band below. I was able to attend four sessions at three different locations. I ran my band a few times and did very well with it, but had a few concerns. Anyway I was feeling better overall as I had actually had a chance to practice a little against live opponents. This was a step up from playing solitaire or not at all before a tournament.
In truth it didn’t seem to help as you’ll see below. Ah well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
THE BATTLEFIELD
The battlefield consisted of 30 players, which was a decent turnout for Pastimes. Generally for any tournament this LGS drew about 20+ people. For this particular event I really expected a few more. There were a few staple people from the community that did not show, but 30 competitors were not bad. As it turned out, with the number of people in attendance you would need a 4-1 record to have a chance to make it into the finals.
We had 8 people from MI, 5 from WI, 2 from IN, 1 from OH, 8 from the Chicago area + 4 from further out in IL, 3 from IA & 1 from Unknown. I split the 6 from the Quad Cities between IL & IA. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, the Quad Cities straddles two states, IL & IA, and since I didn’t get grid coordinates to their bedrooms, I split it evenly.
It is obvious the lawful factions have become the favorites with 10 L/E bands and 7 L/G. C/E did have a respectable 8 bands in attendance, but C/G only had 4 bands accounted for. This is still good distribution IMO. Three factions are only a few bands apart in attendance, though C/G is lacking I’m sure they will get some love in the next few releases.
NAME (Maxminis/WotC)
Alex Paul (- / -)
C/G
Mordenkainen
Efreet x2
Filler
Alex won his first match but lost his second. He ended up 2-2 going into the 5th match winning his 3rd and losing his 4th.
Ben Mazur (Bennymoto / Bennymoto)
C/E
Death Slaad x2
Red Samurai x2
Cursed Spirit
I hadn’t seen Ben since the ’05 Champ qualifier. Ben is a tough competitor. Today he had an average showing though with a 2-2 record entering the 5th match.
Brad Shugg (Bshugg / Bshugg)
Judge
Brad was coordinating the event, and judging. It was good to finally meet someone I had seen on the boards for a while face to face. Brad did a great job organizing and running the event. His mild manner was evident throughout the event. He was open to debate and discussion until he made his decisions. Brad also mentioned he was going to try and hold an open tournament every six months or so. I would be happy to see that, and I’m sure any feedback others could give him would be appreciated.
Bryan Woods (- / -)
C/G
Bryan had come with a large group of people from the Quad-cities. That is about a 2-2½ hour drive one way. Brian was understandably shy about revealing what he was going to play. All I could get out of him was C/G. Brian went 0-2 in his first two matches. He faced Chad Sturgis in the 3rd match but both dropped afterwards.
Chad Sturgis (- / -)
L/E
Helmed Horror x2
Duergar Champion
Urthok the Vicious
Green Dragon
Dark Moon Monk
Chad came down from Michigan. He lost both his first two matches, and dropped after the 3rd. It’s always tough to see someone who traveled so far and get knocked out so soon.
Curt Jourdan (- / -)
&
Rebecca Jourdan (- /Amastacias)
L/E
Efreet x2
&
L/G
Couatl
Marut
Curt & Rebecca had come in with the large group from the Quad-cities. They both did very well going undefeated into their 4th match. Unfortunately they faced each other in the 4th. I joked with Curt about it being a lose/lose situation for him. But, he didn’t let Rebecca’s charm waver his resolve. Even with Valantine’s day only a few days away, he beat her and moved into his 5th match undefeated. I’m pretty sure she won’t hold it against him…..for too long.
Daniel Alekna (El Muerte / El Muerte)
C/E “My Champ”
Large Red Dragon
Orc Champ
And other assorted goodies.
Daniel is a local. He can be a tough opponent and is one of the people I anticipate possibly facing when planning for local tournaments. Dan’s showing today was less than his normal. He dropped after his 3rd match with a 1-2 record. Dan came on strong winning his first but lost his second two. Rumor has it that Daniel has had less time to devote to DDM lately. This may be the reason behind his less than stellar performance.
Daniel Mumma (- / -)
C/E
Ryld Argith
Red Samurai x3
Daniel had a slow start losing his first match, but came on strong winning his next three. With a 3-1 record Daniel started his 5th match looking for blood.
Dan Vahovick (- / -)
C/E
Eye of Gruumsh x4
Dan came all the way from Michigan with something a little different. Dan’s band, though looking vicious, didn’t appear to have the bite needed. Dan dropped after the 3rd match due to losing his first two. Yet the people who faced him told me that their wins were close, and the x4 Eye band was tough.
David Paul (Vrecknidj / Vrecknidj)
Unknown
David, understandably, did not want to discuss his band before the tournament. David won his 1st match but lost the next two. He dropped after the 3rd.
David Weiss (BPDave / Jediknigh1)
C/E “Zoidberg’s Revenge”
LRBeatings
I had faced David in one of my practice matches. David was considering using a modified Inspired Frenzy, with two Wizard Tacticians. I defeated David pretty badly in the practice match. Obviously he had reconsidered for the actual tournament. David’s band was named for no other reason than David feeling this was a good name for everything. It was a good move as David went into match five undefeated. I heard David also won the coveted Ogre Ravager trophy. Congratulations.
Elliot Parkurst (- / -)
L/G “GAS”
Young Master
Githzerai Monk x4
Hill Dwarf Warrior
Men at Arms
Aramil, Adventurer
Elliot came to win. His map of choice was the Hellspike Grotto. I had the honor of facing Elliot in my 1st match. Elliot proved the better though. Elliot was a good player but kind of quiet. I could see he was very nervous as his hands shook a bit during critical moves. Elliot did very well entering his 5th match with a 3-1 record, having lost his 4th match to David Weiss.
Herb Helzer (- / Helzapoppn)
L/E
Human Blackguard
Duergar Champion x3
Justicator
Kobold Miner x2
Herb was another contestant who was shy about revealing their band before the tournament started. Herb lost his first two matches and dropped after the 3rd. I did face Herb in the Second Chance. I changed my band up switching out a Gauth and the Barb Merc for another Duergar and Goblin Skirmisher but with almost all of Herb’s pieces being immune to paralysis it became a beat fest. Herb’s Blackguard gave him the advantage as none of his pieces routed.
Jake Kindwall (- / -)
C/E
Balor
Teifling Captain
Mounted Drow Partol
Ogre Ravager
Taer
Cursed Spirit
Jake was very excited about his Balor band. He had high hopes of enslaving lots of minions. His concept was pretty solid, but I wasn’t sure how he would hold up in this tough tournament. I had the honor of facing Jake in our 2nd match. I won because Jake exposed his Balor too early. He should have kept it hidden a bit longer. Jake went 2-0 into his 3rd match dropping immediately after.
Jason Slingerland (Liquidburn / Liquidburn)
L/E
Helmed Horrors x4
Snig + Goblin Skirmishers x3
Jason was pretty confident with his band before the tournament. He also thought people would think him a bit crazy for his choice of band. Personally I thought he would do well with it. As it turned out he went 3-1 heading into the 5th match. Jason stumbled in his first match but appeared to correct for any mistakes made as he won the next three matches in a row.
James Vari (- / Irav222)
L/E
Human Blackguard
Chraal
Helmed Horror
Duergar Champion
Green Dragon
Barbarian Mercenary
Duergar Warrior
I missed James at the ’05 Qualifier, and was happy to meet him here. His band had several solid pieces, but I wasn’t sure how they’d work together. James did win his 1st match but lost his next two, dropping after the 3rd.
John DeCocq (- / -)
&
Zachery DeCocq (- / Geminishadows)
C/G
Champion of Elistraee
Mounted Drow Patrol x2
Half-Ogre Barbarian x3
Eberk, Adventurer
Mialee, Elf Wizard
&
L/G
Cleric of Dol Arrah
Marut
Justicator
Eberk, Adventurer
Hill Dwarf x4
Father and son team John and Zack came ready to do battle. Unfortunately their bands weren’t up to the challenge. John and Zack had a 1-2 and 0-3 record. I’m not sure who got the win as they faced each other in their 3rd match and dropped right after. It’s a shame as Zack’s band looks solid. John’s band looks a bit tricky to pilot and that may have been a problem for him.
Jorge Ochoa (- / Kright)
L/E
Duergar Champion x3
Helmed Horror
Rakshasa
Filler
I met Jorge at the ’05 Limited Qualifier. Both times I got a sense that Jorge is a friendly person with a good sense of humor. I hoped Jorge had a better showing than at the qualifier. As it was Jorge won the first two matches, but lost his the 3rd & 4th giving him a 2-2 record heading into the 5th. This was better than his showing at the qualifier, but may not have been good enough for him to place.
Josh Hughes (Azuretide / -)
L/E
Helmed Horrors
Josh lost his 1st match but came back for a victory in his 2nd. Unfortunately he lost his 3rd match and dropped from the tournament.
Joshua Molter (Fatespinner2001 / Fatespinner2001)
L/G “5 Hitter”
Josh was another person not seen since the ’05 Championship Qualifier. He seemed in good spirits. Josh did pretty well winning all but his 2nd match, heading into his 5th match with a 3-1 record.
Joshua Thorson (Lurch_E_Bean / Lurch_E_Bean)
L/E
Human Blackguard
Helmed Horror
Duergar Champion x3
Kobold Miner x3
Josh attends most of the events at Pastimes, and I was happy to see him again. He had a tough looking band and aside from his usual self depreciation I was pretty sure he knew how to pilot it. Josh had a good start winning his first two matches, but then ran into trouble losing the next two. He headed into his 5th match with a 2-2 record.
Joshua Wiltse (WJA / -)
I was happy to see Josh again, but disappointed to hear he wouldn’t be participating in the tournament. He had a commitment elsewhere. Though I did bump into Josh the next day at a league event held at Pastimes on Sundays. Josh and I played a pair of friendly games in which we each beat the other once. Josh had this wonderful purple d20 that amazingly rolled more natural 1’s than any I’ve ever seen. Naturally Josh loves his little purple d20, the color is so exquisite. (Seriously though, he rolled at least eight natural 1’s in a single match. And that was in the match I lost against him.)
Kelly Gradert (- / Kgradert13)
C/E
Kelly was also from the Quad-cities and was looking to show his stuff. Unfortunately for him he didn’t make it to the final four having lost his 1st & 4th matches, giving him a 2-2 record heading into the 5th.
Marc Pozsgay (Poz5 / Poz5)
C/G “Inspired Frenzy”
After I had faced David Weiss with his IF band previous to the tournament I wasn’t sure the IF could hold its weight in the current tier 1. Unfortunately for Marc it appears that it can’t as he went 0-3 dropping after his 3rd match. I want to thank Marc though. Marc was at one of the league events I attended to practice at. I am unable to attend many and as such don’t usually accumulate enough points to earn league support swag. Marc was gracious enough to let me have his copy of the Epic Aspect of Lloth stat card. He claimed he would earn another and wasn’t worried about it. This was very kind of him and I’m very grateful. Thanks Marc.
Mark Kelly (Ihawk / Hwkies)
L/G “Iron Fist of Justice”
Dwarven Defender
Iron Golem
Filler
Mark made it. I was happy to see him. He was in his usual good mood ready to win or lose, all while having fun. I always hope Mark does well. (As long as he doesn’t beat me. #61514;) As it turned out, Mark got off to a good start winning his 1st match, but then ran into trouble losing his next two. Mark dropped after the 3rd match.
Nate Schiedler (Rav950 / -)
L/E
Ogre Mage
Helmed Horror
Chraal
Snig + Goblin Skirmishers
Kobold Sorcerer
Kobold Miner
When I first heard someone had brought the Ogre mage my first thought was, “Ouch they are in for a hurtin.” I then found out it was Nate. Nate is no fool, and every time I’ve played him has been a challenge. I honestly thought he was fighting an uphill battle, but I knew if someone was to pull it off Nate was one of the few. As it turned out Nate went 4-0 heading into his 5th match. He definitely has a larger set than I do, as I wouldn’t have had the gumption to try the Ogre Mage.
Peter Lee (Temperance / Peter Lee)
Judge
Peter was also very instrumental in getting this tournament off the ground. He was in attendance assisting Brad with the coordination of the event. If you thought the pictures of his painted trophies looked good, you should have seen them up close, simply exquisite work.
Peter Moreau (That’s Me) (Astinex / Astinex)
L/E
Dark Naga
Gauth x2
Duergar Champion x2
Barbarian Mercenary
Warrior Skeleton
Kobold Miner
I was disappointed in my overall performance for the day. I feel like I did in grade school. I was one of those kids who could ace tests with out studying. But when I did study I generally did worse on the tests. Maybe I shouldn’t have practiced. I seem to do better the less I play before the actual tournament. Ah well, I did have fun and that’s the main point. (At least that’s what I keep telling myself.) I went 1-2 and dropped after my 3rd match.
Ricardo Boronat (- / -)
L/G
Aspect of Kord
Couatl
+ Assorted Goodies
This was the first I’ve seen of Ricky at Pastimes. He appeared to have high hopes. His girlfriend had accompanied him for moral support, but she did not play. He did well winning his first two matches but lost the 3rd. Ricky also dropped after his 3rd match. I’m not sure why as with a 2-1 record he still had a shot if he could pull out 2 more wins. I can only assume his wins were both very close and the loss made him feel he could not pull out two more wins.
Shane Miller (Sigtav66 / Sigtav66)
L/G
Couatl x2
Marut
Aramil, Adventurer
Cleric of Yondalla
Hill Dwarf Warrior
Shane was also with Quad-Cities group. I had the honor of facing him in our 3rd match. He had a good band and piloted it well. He did pull out a win, though I think it was a bad match-p for him. I know a lot of you will think the Resist 10 energy should make it a bad match-up for me, but I was planning to meet Couatl bands. The resist didn’t worry me as I think will be made clear in the description of our match. Overall Shane had a 3-1 record heading into his 5th match.
Steven Adamczyk (- / -)
C/E
Neo-Trifecta
Steven had an average day. He had a 2-2 record with one bye heading into the 5th match.
There were a couple locals I was hoping to see that didn’t make it. Hopefully we’ll see them at the next event.
MATCH UPS
Below I’ve listed the matches and bolded the winner’s name. You’ll notice a huge percentage of drops after the 3rd match. This was due to the 2nd Chance event that started right after the 3rd round.
Match 1
Steven Adamczyk v. Joshua Molter
Daniel Alekna v. Dan Vahovick
Ricardo Boronat v. Kelly Gradert
John DeCocq v. Mark Kelly
Zachery DeCocq v. Jorge Ochoa
Herb Helzer v. Shane Miller
Josh Hughes v. Joshua Thorson
Curt Jourdan v. Chad Sturgis
Rebecca Jourdan v. Ben Mazur
Jake Kindwell v. James Vari
Peter Moreau v. Elliot Parkhurst
Daniel Mumma v. David Paul
Alex Paul v. Jason Slingerland
Marc Pozsgay v. David Weiss
Nate Schneidler v. Bryan Woods
Match 2
Steven Adamczyk v. Chad Sturgis
Daniel Alekna v. Jorge Ochoa
Ricardo Boronat v. Mark Kelly
John DeCocq v. Josh Hughes
Zachery DeCocq v. Nate Schneider
Herb Helzer v. Kelly Gradert
David Paul v. Joshua Thorson
Curt Jourdan v. Shane Miller
Rebecca Jourdan v. James Vari
Jake Kindwell v. Peter Moreau
Joshua Molter v. Elliot Parkhurst
Daniel Mumma v. Dan Vahovick
Alex Paul v. David Weiss
Marc Pozsgay v. Jason Slingerland
Bryan Woods v. Ben Mazur
Match 3
Steven Adamczyk v. Jason Slingerland
Daniel Alekna v. Joshua Molter
Ricardo Boronat v. Curt Jourdan
John DeCocq v. Zachery DeCocq
Joshua Thorson v. Nate Scheider
Herb Helzer v. Marc Pozsgay
David Paul v. Alex Paul
Kelly Gradert v. Josh Hughes
Rebecca Jourdan v. David Weiss
Jake Kindwell v. Dan Vahovick
Jorge Ochoa v. Elliot Parkhurst
Daniel Mumma v. Mark Kelly
Peter Moreau v. Shane Miller
Bryan Woods v. Chad Sturgis
James Vari v. Ben Mazur
Due to the percentage of drops I could not tell who won some matches from the pairing sheets.
Match 4
Steven Adamczyk v. ---Bye---
Jorge Ochoa v. Joshua Molter
Rebecca Jourdan v. Curt Jourdan
Joshua Thorson v. Jason Slingerland
Shane Miller v. Alex Paul
Kelly Gradert v. David Weiss
Nate Scheidler v. Elliot Parkhurst
Daniel Mumma v. Ben Mazur
Match 5
Steven Adamczyk v. Joshua Thorson
Jorge Ochoa v. --- Bye ---
Rebecca Jourdan v. Elliot Parkhurst
David Weiss v. Jason Slingerland
Shane Miller v. Joshua Molter
Kelly Gradert v. Ben Mazur
Nate Scheidler v. Curt Joudan
Daniel Mumma v. Alex Paul
MY RUN FOR THE GOLD
How I chose my band;
Well as everyone knows the metagame has changed quite a bit since the release of Angelfire. Both Angelfire and Underdark added several new viable tier 1 pieces and lots of anti-“classic tier 1” pieces, (i.e. Justice Archon vs. Orc Champ). Though a few new bands were reported to be rather effective, (i.e. GAS, Tri-Death Slaad, etc), these new possibilities had yet to be proven in a major tournament. Also there were quite a number of individual pieces that were collectively believed to be tier 1 candidates, but what to build into a band around them is in debate, (i.e. Helmed Horror, Duergar Champs, Battle Plate Marshal, Elminster, etc). Now everyone has heatedly debated back and forth about what is and isn’t currently tier 1, but the truth is if you wanted to have a chance at winning a tournament you needed to be prepared for people to oppose you with all of these possibilities. I’m happy to say that the metagame is becoming very complex and after a few more set releases I’m hoping the metagame will be too diverse for anyone to confidently expect to plan for all possibilities.
When I began building my band I decided not to let my love of LE cloud my judgment. I wanted to look at all the possibilities. I came up with what I thought might be original ideas only to find out so had everyone else on the Maxmini/WotC boards. I took a strong look at LG and came close to going with an Elminster build with one each Wand Expert and Wizard Tactician, or two of either one, filled out with Barbarian Mercs. I liked this build a lot, but I realized I couldn’t protect Elminster from fast beater bands. Single beaters I could handle, but multiple beaters posed a real problem.
In the end I ended up coming back to LE. After building many different bands, I fell in love with a new option opened up in LE by the recent releases. With the addition of Helmed Horror and Duergar Champ, LE now had cheaper pieces that could hit relatively hard. Prior to these options if you wanted a decent hitter in LE, you needed to spend 80+ points only allowing you to put one hitter in your band. Now you could build an LE band with 2 or 3 hitters + support. I looked at this and realized I could build what I thought to be a superior band that also fit with my style of play. I don’t like flat out beater bands, I like to have “tricks” and “trump cards”. That is why I built the following bands.
Dual Gauth I
Dark Naga – 41
Gauth x2 – 78
Helmed Horror – 45
Xorn – 24
Blue – 5
Warrior Skeleton – 3
Kobold Miner – 3
199 points 8 activations
Dual Gauth II
Dark Naga – 41
Gauth x2 – 78
Duergar Champion x2 – 66
Barbarian Maecenary – 9
Warrior Skeleton – 3
Kobold Miner – 3
200 points 8 activations
Ok many would ask, “Why the Barb Merc or Xorn? There are better options for the points.” And I agree that individual comparison may show more efficient individual pieces, but I felt these particular pieces were the best fit for these bands. The entire purpose of these bands is to paralyze/stun opponents for free crits/lost activations, while getting 30 auto-damage, (from Gauths), a round. I wanted the Barb and Xorn cause they do 15 (30crit) and 20 (40 crit) damage respectively on a move then hit. The Xorn could do 60 damage against an adjacent paralyzed opponent. The Skellie was there for pure Beholder Bait and the Miner was for tile points obviously.
The big choice was to go with 2 Duergars or 1 Helmed Horror. The Horror is a great piece with lots of immunities and fearless. But the Duergars can cover more area to ensure I’m able to capitalize on a paralysis when it happens, plus they give me two activations to slam a paralyzed opponent instead of one. The Duergars also have more damage potential with a crit than a Horror, especially against DR. On the other hand, the Horror has flight and can get where I need him without provoking AoO’s, (ditto with Xorn and burrow), and is also immune to the Naga’s lightning bolts, (Xorn has resist elec 10). While in testing, I often had to take AoO’s to get to paralyzed pieces with the Duergars, and I hesitated to zap opponents when the Duergars were close by. The tipping point for me was Conceal 6. I tested the Duergars because I was sure I would pick them. As it turned out the Helmed Horror would have been better in my first match, but you live and learn.
As for map choice I went with the Drow Enclave. This map offered great LOS in the middle, but had enough walls around the edge to hide if needed.
For people who like beater bands I played around with these bands and they did well, though I wouldn’t claim them excellent. You’d have to try them for yourselves. Again I didn’t go with these because I dislike the “beater” style of play.
Gauth Beater I
Dark Naga – 41
Gauth – 39
Duergar Champion x3 – 99
Barbarian Mercenary x2 – 18
Kobold Miner – 3
200 Points 8 activations
Guath Beater II
Dark Naga – 41
Gauth – 39
Helmed Horror x2 – 90
Dark Moon Monk – 15
Barbarian Mercenary – 9
Warrior Skeleton – 3
Kobold Miner – 3
200 points 8 activations
The one thing I feared was a Large Red Dragon. Many people told me Gauths were easy to beat with a number of pieces. But invariably these same people forgot about Simultaneous Attack and Selective Targeting. Use a piece immune to fire, I’ll paralyze it. Immune to paralysis, and I’ll burn it. Put a piece that gives me trouble and I’ll ignore it and hit your vulnerable pieces, meanwhile using my Duergars to attack the troublesome piece. The two real troublesome pieces were the Iron Golem and Large Red Dragon. The Iron Golem just requires that I concentrate effort on its commander. But the LRD, now that caused me real fear. It was fast and tough enough to make short work of my Gauths the best I could hope for was to stun the LRD, but it was a slim chance and required it to be on top of me to do. I was banking that the LRD would not show up. I knew I was in trouble when two LRD bands were in attendance. I never did faced them, but if I had I could almost be assured a loss.
MATCHES
For the purposes of orientation, I will refer to the map in compass directions based on its standard top/bottom layout.
Match 1 – v. Elliot Parkhurst
I was matched up against Elliot Parkhurst for the first game. He came with a x4 GAS band. The band didn’t so much scare me. But when he won map initiative and pulled out the Hellspike Grotto I knew I was in for a fight. Elliot placed the map so I was on the south side and he was on the north. I won placement initiative and choose the southwest Corner, Elliot took the northeast. My Kobold wandered to the victory area on the west side of the map surrounded by lava. Neither of us scored victory points the entire game, but in the end it didn’t matter.
Round 1 – This was the usual dance, moving pieces into place preparing for contact in round 2 or 3. I did run both the Skellie and Kobold across the map in an attempt to reach either victory area.
Round 2 – In this round Elliot kills the Skellie, Kobold and my Barb Merc. All while remaining inside the smoke. Otherwise we basically shifted pieces.
Round 3 – Again we shifted pieces and I tried to bait Elliot with a Duergar. He wasn’t biting and because he had 12 points I would have to go in after him. I knew it was suicide but I had no choice at this point. He wasn’t coming out. So I shifted my band to the south edge of the map and tried to edge past the smoke on the bottom.
Round 4 – Elliot really does not want to expose his pieces. He had lined them all up in the smoke to avoid being spotted by the Gauths. He also wanted to stay out of a move 6 from my Duergars. This gave me my one opening. I moved a Duergar to outside edge of the smoke. I then moved my Naga up behind him and cast a Lighting Bolt through him. I caught 3 Giths, Aramil and the Hill Dwarf, killing Aramil. Elliot obviously didn’t like this and came on aggressively.
Round 5 – Luck left me fast, I was not able to make a single stun save and Elliot didn’t fail any morale saves. He took out the Naga and routed a Gauth and Duergar.
Round 6 – In the end it was down to a single Duergar flanked by a pair of Giths a Men at Arms, and the Master. Both Giths were at 25hp or below, but I couldn’t roll high enough to hit. Meanwhile Elliot wasn’t missing on conceal. Elliot won a clear victory. I couldn’t help but think if I had brought the Helmed Horror instead, that this would have gone differently.
Match 2 – v. Jake Kindwall
I was up against Jake Kindwall this time. I had faced Jake in the Limited Qualifier. At that time he had an Archmage band v. my Ghaele Eladrin. I beat him in a very close game, and I know he was hoping to beat me this time. Jake’s Balor was imposing looking, but in truth I was more worried about the Mounted Drow Patrol. Jake won map initiative and chose the Mushroom Cavern. I was facing the map from the north and Jake was on the south side. I began in the northeast corner, Jake took the northwest. Jake had an excited look in his eye. He was planning on enslaving my Gauths and decimating me with them, but he knew I wasn’t going to let that happen easily.
Round 1 – Jake had initiative and passed it to me. I moved my Barb Merc around and placed it between the two victory areas on the north side of the map. I could reach mine, but wanted Jake to possibly take an AoO trying to get to his. Jake ran his MDP around and hit the Barb causing it to rout of the board. Jake had a smile, but I saw the mistake. In order to do this Jake had to place his MDP one square away from any walls. No flight next turn. Knowing this I moved my band into defensive position just south of my start area. I saved my Gauths for last. Jake made his second mistake by moving his Balor out and onto his victory area at the top of the board. I assume he felt confident since the Balor was immune to fire. I last moved my Gauths straight down three and tried to paralyze the Balor no luck though, could have been a costly error for him.
Round 2 – I had initiative and took it. I tried again to paralyze the Balor to no effect, but hit the MDP with 30 fire damage. The MDP made morale but with 10 hp left and no flight this round, it couldn’t get to my Gauths. To do so he would have to take an AoO from my Duergars, not a good idea. Jake used his Balor to fly over and base both my Gauths. This was his second mistake, as I had most of my activations left. He did hit a Gauth but not enough to cause it to run. I hit his Balor with my Duergars and Jake moved the rest of his band around the north side of the center wall.
Round 3 – Jake had initiative. This was when Jake made his last fatal errors. Still concentrating on my Gauths, he hit one with the Balor and caused it to route, it didn’t become enslaved though. Then he caused my other Gauth to route with his MDP and enslaved it with only 5hp left. I used my activations to beat on his Balor with my Duergars, the Balor made Morale but was looking pretty haggard. Jake’s two errors were trying to paralyze a Duergar, and crowding the rest his band around my Duergars. I used my last activation to swing my naga around and lightning bolted his MDP, Ogre, Taer, and Cursed. The MDP died, the Ogre took 10, and the Taer and Cursed died. This left him with a severely wounded Balor, wounded Ogre and a Teifling Captian.
Round 4 – I killed the enslaved Gauth, killed the Balor and rallied my routing Gauth. It was all over but the shouting. The Ravager became paralyzed and routing after an auto-crit from a Duergar. I finished the Ravager, exceeded 200 points with victory points my Kobold had collected and thanked Jake for the game.
I could see Jake was disappointed. I always feel bad in this situation. Because of the number of people at the tournament two loses means your out of the running. Since we both already had a loss I knocked him out of the running. Oh well, Jake took it well and I’m sure it will make his first victory over me at an event all that much sweeter. And when it happens, I’ll shake his hand and wish him luck.
Match 3 – v. Shane Miller
I knew the pressure was on having one loss, but I was hoping to pull it out still. I saw Shane’s band and new I’d be tested by the Couatls. I was disappointed to see Shane looking at my Gauths with respect. I had hoped he would feel invulnerable against them with his energy resistance. But it was obvious he knew their full threat potential and wouldn’t take any chances. I won initiative and pulled out my map. Shane sighed when he saw the big open area of the Drow Enclave. I placed the map so I was sitting on the north side and Shane was on the south. I won placement initiative and took the west starting area. Shane set up on the east and the battle was soon joined.
Round 1 – We moved out both trying to anticipate the other. Shane chose to stick to the southern hallway. I moved in to occupy the middle of the map. I placed my Gauths inside the large center circle so they had very effective LOS. I did run my Skellie and Kobold across the north side of the map in an attempt to place them in the risky terrain victory area.
Round 2 – This round took a while as Shane and I calculated how exactly we wanted to engage each other. Finally, the Marut came around and based a Duergar within reach of a Gauth. I used my Gauths to first try and paralyze the closest Couatl. Shane had kept his other Couatl back, and if I could paralyze the close one I would get full fire damage against the Marut. No luck. Shane made both paralysis saves and the Marut took 10 damage. Shane wanted to attack my Gauth, but Single Minded forced him to attack my Naga which was in range. Shane used his Couatl spells to damage my Deurgars and my Duergars beat on his Marut. I placed my Skellie and Kobold in the risky terrain victory area, but Shane got a Hill Dwarf up there to try and chase them out.
Round 3 – This was pretty much a repeat of round 2. Shane made his paralysis saves and the Marut took 10 damage. The Marut killed my Naga and the Duergars brought the Marut close to death. The Couatls zapped the Duergars, and I lost one. The fodder war had the Hill Dwarf killing the Kobold, but the Skellie hit the Hill Dwarf.
Round 4 & 5 – In these rounds I dropped the Marut but my Duergar was heavily wounded. Shane brought up the Standard Bearer, Aramil and Cleric. I systematically removed those three pieces with eye beams, and Shane killed my Duergar & Barb Merc, who up to this point did nothing but miss. In the fodder war the Skellie and Hill Dwarf talked smack to each other but didn’t hit one another. The Hill Dwarf did take 5 Damage from the terrain but made morale.
Round 6 & 8 – Shane killed one Gauth and routed the other. The Hill Dwarf died to risky terrain and the Skellie continued to collect victory points. The Couatls were all Shane had left and they were worth 84 points, and I had 70 victory points when one of Shane’s Couatls killed the Skellie. Shane landed his other Couatl on a victory area and won with 207 to 185.
I was disparaged by my apparent lack of fortune. Shane made every save with his Couatls and I hit them with several eye attacks a round. The law of averages says he should have failed a few, but his inability to fail a save turned the tables against me. Not much I could do about that. Ah well, I would have liked one of those trophies.
Second Chance Match 1 – v. Herb Helzer
For the Second Chance I changed my band removing a Gauth and the Barb Merc and replacing them with a Duergar Champ and Goblin Skirmisher. As it was it didn’t help but for me beater bands take less concentration.
I was playing in the Second Chance because it was free and even with my losses I was enjoying myself. I was placed and the match started but Herb was not around. After a few minutes of waiting I thought I might be given a default, but Herb showed up before the 10 minute time limit. We quickly rolled for initiative and Herb won. He had the Mithril Mines and placed it so I was sitting on the north end and he the south. He started in the southwest corner and I the east side. My Kobold wandered into the northwest corner victory area full of all the rubble. Herb never even bothered to chase after him so I collected victory points the entire match.
This match was more of an exercise than a real fight. I changed my band at the last minute to test out a different flavor. Basically the game came down to your standard beat fest. In the end Herb won because his Blackguard ensured his troops didn’t rout. On the other hand my troops ran in fear too often and before long my band was systematically dismantled.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this report. Thank you to Pastimes for the venue and the help they give me with my reports. Thank you to those of you who honored me with a game, and congratulations to the Open Champ.
*** Disclaimer: I try to be as accurate as possible in my reports while adding a bit of subjective commentary. Occasionally, though, I receive misinformation, misinterpret something implied to me, or simply make a mistake. I mean no harm and apologize for any mistakes made.***
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Astinex
"In my experience [jerks] are pretty rare. If everyone you meet is an [jerk], chances are it isn't them." -William Knite | |
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Vrecknidj
Warlord
10301 Posts
United States
| | 02/15/2006 10:19 AM |
| I disclosed my band, so I'm not sure why the notes. But, it was this:
Marut
Couatl x2
Cleric of Order
Azer Raider
Mialee
Man-at-Arms
Hill Dwarf
I traveled with Alex (my son), Dan Vahovick, and Chad Sturgis. I posted a few comments on some of our bands and (bad) luck elsewhere. (I wasn't unlucky, it was mostly Dan who was.)
Thanks Astinex for the thorough listing.
Dave | |
Knowledge Arcana editor issues 5-9, Phoenix Lore Magazine editor, assistant editor for Rite Publishing;
My Trade Thread and My Reference Thread; Winner of WBC IV, IX and XIII; Rule #0: bshugg is always right! | |
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Liquidburn
Sergeant
944 Posts
| | 02/15/2006 11:47 AM |
| Thanks for the report.
My band was actually:
Kobold Sorcerer
HH x3
Gauth
Goblin Skirmisher x2
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Jason Slingerland
"Why do I have to be Mr. Pink?" | |
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Felagund
Sergeant
922 Posts
| | 02/15/2006 1:24 PM |
| | Can anybody say who won? Out of the three different threads on the tournament, I haven't been able to find that bit of information. I know winning isn't everything, but still, you'd think the person should at least get a mention... [:)] | |
Champion of Gnomes | |
| Herald of Winter
Rav950
Warrior
340 Posts
| | 02/15/2006 1:46 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Felagund
Can anybody say who won? Out of the three different threads on the tournament, I haven't been able to find that bit of information. I know winning isn't everything, but still, you'd think the person should at least get a mention... [:)]
Curt did.
Rakshasa
Efreeti
2x Duergar Champion
Helmed Horror
Kobold Miner
Something else. He had 7 activations. | |
Thanks for the memories. :) | |
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kgradert13
Sergeant
909 Posts
| | 02/15/2006 2:07 PM |
| 1) Curt Jourdan - Rakshasa, Duergar Champ x2, Efreeti, Helmed Horror and Kobold Miner x2
2) David Weiss
3) Rebecca Jourdan
4) Nate Schneider (Rav950)
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