Format: 100 point Constructed Assault
Number of players: 6
Factions: 1x CG, 2x LE, 3x CESix players was a bit of a disappointment compared to recent turnouts, especially considering that it was D&D Game Day and lots of players were supposed to be at the store. The roleplayers had it rough, too; only a handful of players showed up for the rpg events of Game Day. Three players who were supposed to show up to the tournament didn't make it. Oh well.
On the bright side, the attendees got great prizes! Just for entering, everybody received a damage counter sheet and their choice of four different promo minis (League kit Zhentarim Fighter, GoL release Crucian, Gen Con Drow Rogue, or Aberrations prerelease Kobold Champion). I made nine different prize packages:
* Two Giants of Legend boosters
* Two Giants of Legend boosters
* One Giants of Legend booster
* One Giants of Legend booster
* One Aberrations booster
* One Aberrations booster
* One Aberrations booster
* One Aberrations booster
* A collection of minis (Human Cleric of Bane, Aspect of Bane, War Chanter, Promo Crucian) plus a league Shrine of Justice terrain tile.In order from first place to sixth place, each player got to choose one of the prize packages. All of the GoL booster packages got picked along with two of the Aberrations boosters. I tried to make the collection of minis as attractive as possible, but nobody went for it. The GoL boosters contained a Huge Red Dragon and a Glabrezu, making a couple players very happy.
Even though we only had six players, we decided to play a fourth swiss round. Using the normal swiss pairing rules for the last round would have forced players to play people they had already played in the tournament. Instead, we decided to retroactively consider the tournament a pseudo-round-robin format, and I made sure everybody's last pairing was against someone with as similar of a record as possible that they hadn't already played against.
Only one of the 12 total matches ended after time ran out; I really like how quickly 100 point matches play!
Tamiz won the tournament without using any Aberrations creatures, taking his first steps toward repairing his damaged ranking. He and derry had very similar warbands that showed just how brutal some of the older warband concepts can be.
Mark's warband had a lot of flexibility and fit both speed and lots of area effect attacks into 100 points. He even stood a chance against Tamiz's CE beatdown warband; if he had it to play over again, I think Mark would have beat Tamiz.
Ian tried out the Valenar + HEBI combo in 100 points, but was somewhat disappointed. Ian has some additional details about his warband and the tournament here:
http://www.maxminis.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10712James only had only played about seven matches before this tournament, but he had played Star Wars Minis quite a bit. I showed him how to make good use of Mongrelfolk in the Assault format, and he got some effectiveness out of it. He scored 50+ end-of-round points in his skirmish versus Tim.
Tim did very well in the last few tournaments, but this tournament's dual-bug experiment didn't work out. I don't think he'll ever run two Incited creatures in a warband again.
Winner: Tamiz (4-0)
Orcs (CE): Eye of Gruumsh (Cmd 1); Orc Champion; Orc Spearfighter; 4x Orc Warrior. Assembly tile with difficult terrain; corridor; torture chamber; treasure room.
Opponents: Mark (win, points), derry (win, points), Ian (win, points), James (win, points)Tied for 2nd: Mark (3-1)
Unnamed Warband (LE): Urthok the Vicious (Cmd 5); Manticore; 3x Hellhound; Duergar Warrior. Assembly tile 4; ancient temple; blood rock cave; aftermath.
Opponents: Tamiz (lose, points), James (win, time), Tim (win, points), Ian (win, points)Tied for 2nd: derry (3-1)
Unnamed Warband (CE): 2x Eye of Gruumsh (Cmd 1); 4x Orc Warrior. Assembly tile with statue; corridor; treasure room; shrine.
Opponents: Ian (win, points), Tamiz (lose, points), James (win, points), Tim (win, points)Tied for 4th: Ian (1-3)
Unnamed Warband (CG): Valenar Commander (Cmd 4); Half-Elf Bow Initiate; Graycloak Ranger + Wolf minion; Elf Warrior. Assembly tile 4; mushroom tangle; ancient temple; aftermath.
Opponents: derry (lose, points), Tim (win, points), Tamiz (lose, points), Mark (lose, points)Tied for 4th: James (1-3)
Unnamed Warband (LE): Skullsplitter (Cmd 2); Green Dragin; Bladebearer Hobgoblin; Sahuagin Ranger; Dekanter Goblin; Mongrelfolk. Assembly tile 3; spike stone cave; torture chamber; blood rock cave.
Opponents: Tim (win, points), Mark (lose, time), derry (lose, points), Tamiz (lose, points)6th: Tim (0-4)
Unnamed Warband (CE): Orc Druid (Cmd 2); 2x Fiendish Giant Praying Mantis; 2x Orc Warrior. Assembly tile with statue; torture chamber; treasure room; corridor.
Opponents: James (lose, points), Ian (lose, points), Mark (lose, points), derry (lose, points)
When: Saturday, October 16, 2004 from 12 pm until approximately 5 pm.
Where: Matchplay in Mountain View, CA. See below for address & directions.
Cost: $6
Format: 100 point Constructed Assault. 32 players, maximum (first come, first-served).
Rounds: Four or five swiss rounds, depending on the number of players. All rounds have a 60 minute time limit.
Prizes: Two Giants of Legend boosters (or the equivalent) for 1st and 2nd place. One Giants of Legend booster (or the equivalent) for 3rd and 4th place. One D&D Minis booster from another set for most (and maybe all) of the rest of the players. Every player will also receive a promo mini (Crucian or Drow Rogue) and a counter sheet.
Contact/Organizer/Judge: Guy Fullerton (guyf@apple.com). Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Notes: The event will be DCI sanctioned. DCI memberships are free and you can sign up at the event if you need to. Don't forget to bring your warband, stat cards, dice, terrain, battle grid, counters, your DCI card (if you have one), etc.
Definitions for some of the above terms (constructed, swiss, triad, etc.) are in the D&D Miniatures Floor Rules, which can be found with the other tournament info:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/minis/tournamentsAddress & Directions:
Matchplay (formerly known as Neutral Ground)
560 Showers Dr # 4
Mountain View, CA 94040
Phone: (650) 947-0398Matchplay is in the San Antonio shopping center, near the back entrance of Sears, between Trader Joe's and San Antonio Hobby Shop. There are two pathways that lead past shops between Trader Joe's and San Antonio Hobby Shop; go along the leftmost path, underneath the overhang that has a (not well-lit) Sears sign. When you reach the Sears entrance, look to your right and you'll see Matchplay. (Matchplay is on the opposite side of the path from a tanning salon and hairstylist place.)
To make it easier, the following web page contains a map of San Antonio Shopping Center. Matchplay is #27 on the map, adjacent to Sears:
http://members.aol.com/MVNick/sanantoniosd.htmMatchplay even has their own web site, but their map is a bit out of date. The Super Crown on their map is now the Trader Joe's, and the two other stores (Star Rockets and Philip Shoes) no longer exist. Other than that, it's a pretty good map:
http://www.matchplay.com/location.htmlBeware: Matchplay is somewhat difficult to find. If you have a hard time finding it, don't give up! Don't count on being able to see it from your car as you drive around the parking lot. Just park near Trader Joe's and San Antonio Hobby Shop and walk around the group of shops between them to find Matchplay. If you still can't find it, call my cell phone (408-835-0103) and I can guide you.