Format: DCI Sanctioned 200 point Constructed Assault.
Number of players: 4
Factions: 2x LG; 1x CG; 1x LE; 0x CE

Four players showed up for a DCI sanctioned 200 point constructed tournament on at Game Kastle in Santa Clara, California on Saturady, January 13th, 2007.

Final Standings

1st - Guy Fullerton (3-0) Storm Silverhand; Valenar Nomad Charger; 2x Bralani Eladrin; Shadowdancer; 3x Xeph Warrior; Frostfell Rift

2nd - Glyn Dewey / Elder Basilisk (2-1) Half-Orc Paladin; Kolyarut; Maug; 3x Sacred Watcher; Mialee, Elf Wizard; Timber Wolf; Dragon Shrine

3rd - Dave True (1-2) Dark Naga; Beholder; Maug; Large Duergar; 2x Acheron Goblin; Greenspawn Sneak; Frostfell Rift

4th - Tom Leary (0-3) Harmonium Guard; Kolyarut; 2x Dwarf Sniper; Celestial Giant Stag Beetle; 3x Hammerer; Hailstorm Tower

(I just now noticed that Tom's warband was 214 points. We didn't ever bother auditing each others' warbands, so that slipped through the cracks.)

We played swiss with N+1 rounds, which effectively ended up as round-robin format.

Additional Info
Tournament Report on Hordelings

My Matchups

Round 1: Dave True - This was a rematch from the previous tournament, where we both played the same warband. He had studied Frostfell Rift a lot more since then, and set up in a better offensive position. I put a bit of pressure on him with a MMA kill on his Greenspawn Sneak, but I had a hard time finding shooting lanes that wouldn't expose me too bad to the Beholder. My VNC and Bralani combined to kill his Large Duergar. However, I didn't do a good enough job screening with Xephs, which exposed my VNC, who was promptly turned into a statue by his Beholder. Storm ran out to silver fire the Maug and Beholder, which bought time for my lower save pieces. The Maug was destroyed by ranged attacks and a whirlwind blast. One Acheron Goblin was destroyed, and the other routed off. Then everybody dog-piled on the Beholder. Things looked bleak when I missed a Shadowdancer sneak attack on the Beholder followed by two (IIRC) of Storm's attacks, but Dave mimiced my bad luck by failing morale on the Beholder. I chased it down (not hard when it's speed 2) and killed it for the win. As usual, a Beholder matchup was frighteningly dicey. Result: Win (1-0)

Round 2: Glyn Dewey - I won map init, which was pretty important because I'd be able to put some ranged pressure on him before he cound engage en masse. My Shadowdancer (who was not enervated) succeeded on her key hold monster save. Then, Glyn got some bad luck (Maug rolled a 1 vs my Shadowdancer, failed a wb save for both the Maug and the Kolyarut), and a series of good rolls for me meant the Maug was quickly destroyed. The Kolyarut's failed wb save meant his Half-Orc Paladin's charge was now blocked. I made a minor mistake of using defensive roll too early instead of allowing my Shadowdancer to make her morale save while fearless. The Half-Orc Paladin moved in to start working on a Bralani, but it missed a few times, and it seemed as though I couldn't miss. Then that Bralani succeeded on its morale save, and I destroyed the Half-Orc in that round or the next. I had been including multiple Sacred Watchers in each area effect, and I got average incorporeal luck, so they were wounded enough to be taken out with one hit each. I had been getting assault points every round and Glyn had not, so once I eliminated the third Sacred Watcher, that pushed me over 200 points. Result: Win (2-0)

Round 3: Tom Leary - Tom won map init, and he chose Hailstorm Tower. Tom is a newer player, and I don't think he had a good feel for my warband's capabilities. On top of that he threw together a rag-tag warband based on a booster he just bought, plus some singles, plus three Hammerers and a CGSB that he borrowed from me. (He didn't even know about the tournament, but he happened to show up and was - thankfully - willing to be the fourth player that we desperately needed.) We both headed for the central area between the two victory areas, but my speed allowed me to get there first. I swarmed one of his scouting Dwarf Snipers and sent a Bralani to whirlwind blast his nicely-lined-up row of three Hammerers, the Kolyarut, the CGSB, and the Harmonium Guard. He ganged up on the Bralani. The Shadowdancer jumped in to flank his commander, but missed. After eliminating the first Dwarf Sniper, he started to punish my Shadowdancer. I sent the second Bralani in with another whirlwind blast, followed by Storm and a silver fire, which eliminated some Hammerers and routed his commander. His Kolyarut and Hammerer eliminated the Shadowdancer. My Valenar took two rounds to finish off his commander, while my Bralanis worked on the other Sniper (routing it with no way to rally) and the last Hammerer. At this point, he was unable to get assault points. One Bralani routed, but later rallied. Storm, the Bralani, and the VNC started working on the Kolyarut. The Kolyarut and CGSB eliminated the VNC, but eventually the Kolyarut fell after having an effective 100 hp thanks to its Life Drain. This pushed me over 200 points. It's also worth noting that I got a long string of high rolls (15+) toward the end of the match that meant I was hitting his high AC guys even with secondary attacks. Result: Win (3-0)

Final Thoughts

As usual, to do well at a tournament, I needed a strong warband *and* some timely good luck.

I donated an Aberrations booster to the prize pool to join the Blood War booster provided by the store. We opened them and drafted in finish order. I scooped out of the draft after taking a Living Flaming Sphere as the first pick. (If you knew what I knew, you'd take that as your first pick too! I kid.) Glyn got the Fire Giant Forgepriest, Dave got a Fiendish Giant Praying Mantis, and Tom got the almost all of the rest of the minis which made him pretty happy :-)