Steamroller Prep: Escalation Tournament

So there's an Escalation Tournament on December 9th at The Battle Standard in Manchester, CT that sounds really interesting.  Unfortunately, I'm on duty that weekend so I will be unable to attend *shakes fist* but in case I can get someone to switch duty weekends with me, I still would like to prepare for it.  What will be interesting about the tournament is that there will be 4 rounds and the points values for each round increase, so you'll play at 15 points the first round, then 25, then 35, and lastly you'll play at 50 points.  Where it gets most challenging, however, is that you must keep building on your previous list.  In other words, the models in the 15 point list must be present in your 25 point list and so on.  The other major challenge is that your 15 point list is warjack/warbeast only (although you can be 3 points down).  That's where things get tricky because it means infantry warcasters will have a tougher time first round, and so the event as a whole will likely favor warjack/warbeast-heavy lists.  So what would I be bringing?  Well I first had to start with looking at viable 15 point lists, since those elements will carry forth into the later rounds.  Here's what I considered:

35 point Fall Steamroller Results

Sunday I played my first tournament in well over 2 months and it felt great!  While I was definitely pretty rusty, I found myself in my element and on my game, for the most part.  There was a little issue in the last game because me and my opponent were pretty tired and forgot that scoring for Incursion meant scoring each turn instead of round, but we were able to retroactively determine that I did, in fact, win the scenario.  He was a great sport and we had some good laughs afterwards about how tired we were.  So let me share the lists that I finally decided upon and then I'll briefly break down my games.

Sloan Tournament List

So I've had the opportunity to play quite a few games with Sloan at this point and I finally got a model for Viktor Pendrake and am very pleased with his addition to the list.  Indeed, since I intend this list to be used regularly against Hordes opponents, his usage specifically against warbeasts is hardly a limitation.  As such, I feel very confident with the list that I have developed for 35 point tournaments... for the most part.  I am fairly comfortable with the list and I have already begun painting the models that needed to be finished so that I can compete with it this weekend, if I can make it to The Battle Standard's tournament.  I'll quickly share my finalized list and expand on some of my rationales for the choices made and at the end I'll share my only apprehension for the list: reinforcements.  Let's start with the list:

Steamroller Prep: 35 points

There's a 35 point Steamroller this Saturday at Pandemonium in Cambridge, MA.  While I've known about this event for a couple of weeks now, I actually forgot about it until last week when my fiancee reminded me (she's the best!).  We weren't sure if we were going to make it but since she wants to see her best friend in Boston this weekend anyway, I get to play in the tournament!  Hooray!  So today I'm going to look at my two favorite options again to see what I want to bring with me.  I learned some lessons at the NETT and I want to re-evaluate my options.  Naturally, I think I'll bring my Circle to this tournament just because they're my best faction.  I've been trying to give my Cygnar some experience too, but I'm not ready to bring them to a tournament yet.  I might play some games with Cygnar today just for some practice, but I'm 80% sure that I'll bring my Circle.  There are two warlocks that I want to playtest, if possible, before the event on Saturday so hopefully I can get some games in tonight at the Battle Standard.  Who am I considering?

Steamroller 2012: 6 months in

Believe it or not, it's been about 6 months since we've had the Steamroller 2012 rules in-hand.  Okay, it's really been more like 7 months, but there were no major events using SR 2012 until the first week of February as everyone was adjusting to the new set of rules, so I figure I can still say it's been 6 months.  So what have we learned in 2012?  How are things different from SR 2011, if anyone can even remember that far back?  There have been some big changes, some of them controversial, but I think that all of them have been for the betterment of the game.  Today I will discuss some of the major changes and speculate on what kinds of changes we could see in SR 2013 based on what I've heard the community saying (no spoilers, though!).  Let's start looking at the 3 biggest changes and how it looks now.

NETT: Debriefing

Saturday was the New England Team Tournament and while I posted the results for my team (Regular Team) yesterday, I do want to spend some time reflecting on the lessons that my team and I learned from the experience.  Aside from my complaints about the lunch break (which admittedly only really affected me), the tournament was run very well and the two PGs who ran the event were fantastic judges and prompt at answering any questions that arose, as well as keeping everything running quickly and smoothly.  There were some big changes from last year and I figured that it is worth discussing what those changes were and how they were perceived to have affected the event and me, personally.

NETT: Results

This past weekend was the New England Team Tournament and boy was it interesting!  You can find some great pictures of the event and teams on the Privateer Press forums and LostHemisphere.  My Circle made an appearance in the photos of both locations, although my display board was cluttered with my tokens and tools at the time (bad timing!).  That's alright.  Regular Team made a pretty solid appearance this year, although not as strong as last year.  My team decided that since I showed up a little late that they would make me the captain.  It ended up being a good decision, because my 1st and 2nd Lieutenants admitted that they needed a bit more practice and we'll try again at Templecon.  Needless to say, Regular Team did not make it to the final rounds and we didn't really place, although I'm pleased with my own individual performance.  So, today, I'll share with you a brief summary of the day's events and then my closing thoughts at the end.

NETT: Cygnar Debriefing

So this week has been chock-full of playtesting for me with my Cygnar in preparation for the New England Team Tournament.  I posted on Tuesday the lists that I was considering bringing for my Cygnar and I've been practicing games with both lists to see how comfortable I'd feel with either of them.  I haven't played at all with my Circle, and while that might seem like a bad idea in case I take them to the tournament, I actually have a lot of tournament experience with them already and since the lists will be exactly the same, I'm very confident with my performance with them.  No, this week has been about playing with Cygnar to see what kind of damage I can do with them.  Well, today I can share with you my conclusions about my Cygnar.

Tournament Prep: Circle or Cygnar? Part 2

The New England Team Tournament approaches!  My teammates and I have been playtesting, sharpening our skills and refining our lists.  We're feeling pretty confident, representing Legion and Menoth, but I'm still unsure of whether or not I want to bring my recently successful Cygnar or my confident Circle.  Yesterday I shared the two lists that I'm considering for my Cygnar and I anticipate that I'll use either list in equal measure, depending on my opponents of course.  So what lists am I considering using with my Circle?  Well I'm once again considering my two old stand-by warlocks: pBaldur and pKrueger.

Tournament Prep: Circle or Cygnar? Part 1

The New England Team Tournament is coming!  This past weekend I held a gaming weekend at my apartment for my friends where we played games, grilled up some food, and had some fun.  I own two gaming tables and so we were able to get a few games in between the lot of us (although we could have played more).  One of the questions that I've been wrestling with is whether I should bring my Circle or my recently-beloved Cygnar.  The New England Team Tournament will look a little different this year than it did last year, with only two lists at 35 points.  While it means that certain factions will have an easier time participating (Mercenaries, Minions), it does limit the options for certain Hordes factions which can handle the 50 point limit better than most Warmachine armies.  The meta has also shifted with the arrival of Domination, several models from Wrath, and the Stormwall since last year's team tournament.  In other words, this year's team tournament will be completely different.  So which lists would I bring?  Today I'll look at my Cygnar options and tomorrow I'll share what I'm thinking for Circle.

Debriefing: 25 point "Ambush" (part 2)

On Sunday I participated in a 25 point "Ambush" style tournament, where each scenario played used the Reinforcements artifice.  In part 1 I shared the lists that I brought to the tournament and shared the general results from my first two games.  After both of those games I was feeling pretty good, but I felt like I still had room to improve and I had to keep on my game.  I had made some big errors with my first game with Sloan and I was determined to make sure I did not repeat those errors.  Similarly, I needed to make sure that I kept the scenario in mind, as I had yet to earn any control points and those could be huge in future games.  Boy, was I right!

Debriefing: 25 point "Ambush" (part 1)

First I want to apologize for the lateness of this post.  I awoke this morning to find that my power was out at home so I had to go out to get some internet so it took me a little longer to get this all written up.  I had the fortune of being able to attend a 25 point “Ambush” tournament in Manchester CT at The Battle Standard on Sunday.  The tournament was really well attended (24 participants) and the store itself is… awesome.  I highly recommend anyone within an hour of driving check it out because it is certainly worth it.  I attended the tournament and decided to bring two Cygnar lists with me and I convinced myself that I probably wasn’t going to be able to do much but get some games in and get some experience with the Stormwall, since I had not had the opportunity to play with either of the lists I had brought yet.  Today I'll share the two lists I brought with me and a brief synopsis of my first two matches.  Tomorrow I'll share the 3rd and 4th matches as this post would be too long if I included them too!  I'll also share some of my general thoughts on the Stormwall tomorrow too.

Steamroller Prep: 25 points - Mercs

Today is the third and final part of my Steamroller Prep articles for the 25 point "Ambush" Steamroller event at The Battle Standard in Manchester, CT.  I currently own 3 main factions right now: Cygnar, Circle, and Mercs and in the first two articles I discussed some lists worth considering for Cygnar and Circle.  Today I wish to present the lists for my final faction: Mercenaries.  Unfortunately, I only own a select few Mercenary models, and only 2 of them are warcasters, so my options are somewhat limited.  The fortunate thing about owning Mercenary models, however, is the utility of using them in other factions as well, so it's a bit easier to build up a Mercenary collection on the side!  In fact, many of the models that I'll be using in today's lists I picked up for their utility in other lists - notably for Cygnar.  So what warcasters am I bringing?  First is my favorite underdog: Fiona the Black.

Steamroller Prep: 25 points - Circle

Like I mentioned yesterday, there will be a 25 point Steamroller tournament next weekend that I want to attend.  One neat feature of this tournament is that every scenario will feature Reinforcements which will make it far more interesting and predictable when it comes to designing lists.  I already shared two Cygnar lists worth considering (although I came up with another today that is so scary I want to keep it secret!) and today I wish to share two lists that I'm considering if I were to play Circle instead.  One of the greatest advantages of playing my Circle is not only that I'm more familiar with them but that they are mostly painted - thus I can enter into the raffle easily!  The two lists I'm considering from Circle will feature some models that have already been painted, but there will be some more that I would need to paint in order to be completely painted for this tournament, so I'd still be motivated to paint.  What two lists am I considering bringing?

Steamroller Prep: 25 points - Cygnar

One of my long-time Warmachine/Hordes buddies has been the Press Ganger running events over at the Battle Standard for a few months now and, despite living in CT, I haven't made my way out there yet.  I've been tempted to do so a number of times, but with a lease on my car and limited mileage, I have to be careful to keep track of how far I drive.  This will change, however!  There is a 25 point Steamroller tournament in less than 2 weeks that I think I want to attend since it's a good opportunity to get some guaranteed gaming in.  What makes this tournament so interesting to me is twofold.  First, it's an "Ambush" themed Steamroller where all of the scenarios will use Reinforcements and secondly, even if I don't win anything, if I can get my army fully painted then I will be entered into a raffle drawing.  With this being summer vacation for me I could certainly use some motivation to get more models painted so this seems as good of an opportunity as any!  So what lists am I considering taking?  Well for the next three days I'll look at creating lists that I would feel comfortable bringing considering the factions I own/play.  Today I'll start with the 2 lists I'm considering for Cygnar.

Stratford CT Steamroller (6/9/12) Results

This past weekend there was a 35 point Steamroller tournament at Gamingetc. in Stratford CT.  While the expected turnout was fairly low but there ended up being about 15 players in the end (I think...) - pretty solid around here for Warmachine/Hordes tournaments.  I wasn't sure if I was going for sure until the morning of the tournament and I'm glad I attended!  I decided to bring along my Circle because they never let me down and are my go-to tournament army - plus the lists I bring are fully-painted!  I was also fortunate enough to bump into some friends who regularly play at my old LGS who decided to make the trip down too!  So let me share the demographics of the tournament (to my best recollection), the lists that I brought, and how I performed in the tournament.

New England Team Tournament is coming!

Alright, today is the last day this week that I'll plug the Steam-Powered Gamer Facebook page, but I really think you'll "like" it as I plan on using it to present various news bits so that you can read some thoughtful articles here instead of reposts of common news items.

Speaking of common news items, the New England Team Tournament (NETT) is coming!  Is it really that time of year again already?  Yikes!  Just last year I participated in my first ever NETT with the Regular Team and we were surprised that we ended up with a winning record going into round 3, only to find ourselves defeated by our own pride against team 'Cryx are for Kids'.  This year, we plan on reuniting the Regular Team to have our hand at this tournament again and to prove ourselves after our terrible performance at Templecon this year.  Today I want to share my initial thoughts on the lists that I may bring to this tournament, since there have been quite a few releases since last year to consider.

4/15/12 Tournament Results

I had mentioned on here in passing that there was a tournament yesterday at the Hobbytown USA in New Milford, CT.  I've been frequenting the club a lot lately because a) it's relatively close to where I live and b) everyone there is really cool!  When I had originally moved to CT, I tried frequenting a club in Torrington but while they had a reasonably good stock of models, the people there were quite insular and mostly just played 40k.  I wish that Hobbytown carried more Warmachine/Hordes product, but I imagine that as more people get into the game and place orders, that could change.  But I digress.  The tournament yesterday was pretty fun and while there were only 6 of us present, it was good to get some games in with my Circle.  First, let me share a couple of pictures from the event!

Steamroller Prep: The Lists

As I posted yesterday, there's an upcoming "Steamroller" tournament coming up at my LGS and I've begun preparation mode.  While I haven't played any games with my Circle for some time, I'm eager to take them out of the case and try them out.  Fortunately, there will also be a prize for the "best fully painted" and since most of my models fit the category, I'm crossing my fingers that I can compete for that prize as well.  Anyway, yesterday I discussed the scenarios that will be played in the tournament, although they will be randomly determined.  I'm perfectly fine with the scenarios and they have encouraged me to stick with pKrueger (who I love more and more as I play him) and pBaldur.  I originally intended to try eBaldur but I simply don't like his theme force at 35 points.  I could change my mind, but for now I think pBaldur has a much stronger list at 35 points, given the scenarios.  Plus, both of these lists are fully-painted, so that's nice too :-)  So what are the lists that I'm thinking about taking?

Steamroller Prep: Scenarios

There is a 35 point "Steamroller" (because there's no Press Ganger yet) tournament at my LGS coming up on April 15th that I plan on attending.  Since I really enjoy the process of planning for tournaments, I figured that I would take this opportunity to use my own preparation as an example for others when faced with a similar situation.  I'm pretty excited about this tournament as it's the first in which I will be participating in this area and it'll be a great opportunity for me to get a few games in and meet some of the locals!  Let me share with you my thoughts and process of preparing for just such an event.