SWMGAMERS.com Forums https://www.swmgamers.com/forums/ |
|
The Second New Zealand Star Wars Miniatures Tournament! https://www.swmgamers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=225&t=16354 |
Page 1 of 1 |
Author: | kezzamachine [ Tue Jul 30, 2013 9:34 pm ] |
Post subject: | The Second New Zealand Star Wars Miniatures Tournament! |
Sorry I haven't gotten around to putting this up on Gamers yet... but here 'tis! In order of placing, from top to bottom: First Place – 3-2/9pts – beat Tim/MiniTankHT in the Semi and kezzamachine in the Final Dave/Dr Daman “Strike the Right Corde” Imperial - Jabba’s Palace Cad Bane Thrawn Morrigan Corde Lobot Pellaeon Ozzel Mas Uggie 4x Rodians 2x Mousies 2nd – 4-1/9pts – beat Aaron/Sharron in the Semi thekezzamachine “For Jim” Yuuzhan Vong – Theed Palace Celeste Zam BH Lobot 6x Chazrachs 3x Uggies 3x Mousies 3rd – 5-0/15pts – but lost in the Semis to Dave/Daman Tim/MiniTankHT ”Bang Bang You’re Dead” Mandalorian – Nightclub Vindicated Kelborn Fenn Shysa Mando Captain 2x Scouts DW Saboteur R7 Astromech Uggie Mousie 4th – 4-1/11pts – lost in the Semis to kezzamachine Aaron/Sharron “Spanish Inquisition” Old Republic – Asteroid Base Revan SL Satele Bastilla Jedi Crusader Lobot Caamasi OR Rookie 2x Mousies Uggie 5th – 3-2/9pts Graham/theHutts “Roll the Bones” Republic – Bothan Spynet Mon Mothma Panaka of Theed R2 Astromech Yularen Queen Amidala 8x Naboo Pilots Rodian Diplomat Mas 2x Spaarti’s 6th – 3-2/8pts Mike “Don’t Stop, Asajj” Separatist – Rhen Var Celeste Asajj, Sep Assassin Lobot Malakili Watto San Hill Poggle Uggie 13x Drones 7th – 3-2/8pts Paul “Mine Goes 2 11” Sith – Cantina Caedus, SL Exar FS Zannah Raggie (Ragnos) FS Vergere R7 Astromech 2x Caamasis 3x Sith Recruits 2x Uggies 8th – 3-2/7pts Bev “Poggle’s Pirates” Separatist – Jabba’s Palace Cad Bane, BH Hondo Ohnaka Aurra Assassin Lobot R7 Astromech San Hill MTB Poggle 7x Drones 2x Uggies 2x Mousies 9th – 2-3/7pts Rich/Darth Rattlehead “Tow-bi’s Evazam” Republic – Peaceful City GOWK R2 Astromech Lobot Dash Zam Tarpals Evazan 10th – 3-2/6pts Oli/Darth O/OhMyGOWK “My Totally Original Idea” Republic – Grand Plaza Yoda on Kybuck General Skywalker Dash Lobot Panaka R2 Astromech Mas Granma Raider Uggie 11th – 2-3/6pts Ian “Mandos Are Go” Mandalorian – Peaceful City Vindicated Kelborn Fenn Shysa DW Saboteur Mando Scientist 2x Scouts Lobot 12th – 2-3/6pts Hayden/Hayden_Solo “Hayden_Solo” Separatist – Ruined Base Cad Bane, BH Grievous, HOH Aurra, Assassin Hondo Ohnaka Poggle 2x R7 Astromech 11x Drones 13th – 2-3/5pts Glyn “Cad ‘n’ Co (and Flo)” Republic – Cloud City FlObi-Wan, Jedi General Cad Bane Rex Czerka Scientist R2 Astromech Mas 2x Spaartis Rodian Diplomat 14th – 1-4/5pts John-Paul “Lukerade” New Republic – Asteroid Base Luke Skywalker, MotO Han Solo, Rebel General Leia, Jedi Knight Jaina Solo 3x Uggies Mousie 15th – 1-4/3pts Henko “Free Cookies” Yuuzhan Vong – Cliffside Citadel Warmaster Nas Choka Nen Yim De’gara Yammosk 3x Praetorite Vong Warrior 16th – 1-4/3pts Derek [i„Walking Carpet“ Republic – Rancor Pit[/i] Chief Tarfful Merumeru Yularen Lobot, CLO 4x Elite Wookie Commando 4x Uggies 17th – 1-2/2pts Alan/d0bb0 “Barry’s Interlopers” New Republic – Asteroid Base Corran, JM Luke, GH Ganner Jarael Marn Hierogryph Dodonna 3x Uggies |
Author: | kezzamachine [ Tue Jul 30, 2013 9:35 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Second New Zealand Star Wars Miniatures Tournament! |
Here's the matchups (except for the Semis/Finals - still getting details!) 1) Tim: 15 pts. (5-0) 2) Aaron: 11 pts. (4-1) 3) kezzmachine: 9 pts. (4-1) 4) Dave Moore: 9 pts. (3-2) 5) Graham: 9 pts. (3-2) 6) Mike: 8 pts. (3-2) 7) Paul: 8 pts. (3-2) 8) Bevan: 7 pts. (3-2) 9) Rich: 7 pts. (2-3) 10) Oli: 6 pts. (3-2) 11) Ian: 6 pts. (2-3) 12) Hayden: 7 pts. (3-2) 13) Glyn: 5 pts. (2-3) 14) JP: 5 pts. (1-4) 15) Henko: 3 pts. (1-4) 16) Derek: 2 pts. (0-5) DNF) Alan: 2 pts. (1-2) Round 1 pairings: 1) Oli: 6 pts. (3-2) vs. Rich: 7 pts. (2-3) Winner: Oli: 6 pts. (3-2) Score: 135 - 3 Match Points: 2 - 0 Map: Grand Plaza 2) Tim: 15 pts. (5-0) vs. Hayden: 6 pts. (2-3) Winner: Tim: 15 pts. (5-0) Score: 205 - 18 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Nightclub 3) JP: 5 pts. (1-4) vs. Henko: 3 pts. (1-4) Winner: JP: 5 pts. (1-4) Score: 199 - 0 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Hoth Plateau 4) Dave Moore: 9 pts. (3-2) vs. Alan: 2 pts. (1-2) Winner: Dave Moore: 9 pts. (3-2) Score: 199 - 20 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Asteroid Base 5) Derek: 3 pts. (1-4) vs. Mike: 8 pts. (3-2) Winner: Mike: 8 pts. (3-2) Score: 65 - 200 Match Points: 0 - 3 Map: Rhen Var Citadel 6) Graham: 9 pts. (3-2) vs. kezzmachine: 9 pts. (4-1) Winner: kezzmachine: 9 pts. (4-1) Score: 151 - 154 Match Points: 1 - 2 Map: Theed Palace 7) Aaron: 11 pts. (4-1) vs. Bevan: 7 pts. (3-2) Winner: Aaron: 11 pts. (4-1) Score: 201 - 70 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Asteroid Base 8) Ian: 6 pts. (2-3) vs. Paul: 8 pts. (3-2) Winner: Paul: 8 pts. (3-2) Score: 17 - 146 Match Points: 0 - 2 Map: Peaceful City 9) Glyn: 5 pts. (2-3) vs. Bye: 0 pts. (0-3) Winner: Glyn: 5 pts. (2-3) Score: 0 - 0 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: null Round 2 pairings: 1) Mike: 8 pts. (3-2) vs. JP: 5 pts. (1-4) Winner: Mike: 8 pts. (3-2) Score: 203 - 118 Match Points: 3 - 1 Map: Rhen Var Citadel 2) Aaron: 11 pts. (4-1) vs. Dave Moore: 9 pts. (3-2) Winner: Aaron: 11 pts. (4-1) Score: 86 - 76 Match Points: 2 - 0 Map: Jabba's Palace 3) Tim: 15 pts. (5-0) vs. Glyn: 5 pts. (2-3) Winner: Tim: 15 pts. (5-0) Score: 200 - 53 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Nightclub 4) kezzmachine: 9 pts. (4-1) vs. Oli: 6 pts. (3-2) Winner: kezzmachine: 9 pts. (4-1) Score: 92 - 24 Match Points: 2 - 0 Map: Grand Plaza 5) Paul: 8 pts. (3-2) vs. Graham: 9 pts. (3-2) Winner: Graham: 9 pts. (3-2) Score: 83 - 112 Match Points: 0 - 2 Map: Bothan Spynet 6) Hayden: 6 pts. (2-3) vs. Ian: 6 pts. (2-3) Winner: Hayden: 6 pts. (2-3) Score: 119 - 78 Match Points: 2 - 0 Map: Peaceful City 7) Bevan: 7 pts. (3-2) vs. Derek: 3 pts. (1-4) Winner: Bevan: 7 pts. (3-2) Score: 199 - 67 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Rancor Pen 8) Rich: 7 pts. (2-3) vs. Alan: 2 pts. (1-2) Winner: Alan: 2 pts. (1-2) Score: 83 - 91 Match Points: 0 - 2 Map: Peaceful City 9) Henko: 3 pts. (1-4) vs. Bye: 0 pts. (0-3) Winner: Henko: 3 pts. (1-4) Score: 0 - 0 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: null Round 3 pairings: 1) Tim: 15 pts. (5-0) vs. Mike: 8 pts. (3-2) Winner: Tim: 15 pts. (5-0) Score: 200 - 3 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Rhen Var Citadel 2) Aaron: 11 pts. (4-1) vs. kezzmachine: 9 pts. (4-1) Winner: Aaron: 11 pts. (4-1) Score: 200 - 7 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Theed Palace 3) JP: 5 pts. (1-4) vs. Dave Moore: 9 pts. (3-2) Winner: Dave Moore: 9 pts. (3-2) Score: 17 - 202 Match Points: 0 - 3 Map: Jabba's Palace 4) Graham: 9 pts. (3-2) vs. Glyn: 5 pts. (2-3) Winner: Graham: 9 pts. (3-2) Score: 200 - 9 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Bothan Spynet 5) Bevan: 7 pts. (3-2) vs. Henko: 3 pts. (1-4) Winner: Bevan: 7 pts. (3-2) Score: 173 - 79 Match Points: 2 - 0 Map: Jabba's Palace 6) Oli: 6 pts. (3-2) vs. Hayden: 6 pts. (2-3) Winner: Oli: 6 pts. (3-2) Score: 69 - 19 Match Points: 2 - 0 Map: Ruined Base 7) Alan: 2 pts. (1-2) vs. Paul: 8 pts. (3-2) Winner: Paul: 8 pts. (3-2) Score: 58 - 215 Match Points: 0 - 3 Map: Cantina Map 8) Derek: 3 pts. (1-4) vs. Ian: 6 pts. (2-3) Winner: Ian: 6 pts. (2-3) Score: 123 - 200 Match Points: 1 - 3 Map: Peaceful City 9) Rich: 7 pts. (2-3) vs. Bye: 0 pts. (0-3) Winner: Rich: 7 pts. (2-3) Score: 0 - 0 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: null Round 4 pairings: 1) Tim: 15 pts. (5-0) vs. Aaron: 11 pts. (4-1) Winner: Tim: 15 pts. (5-0) Score: 200 - 11 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Nightclub 2) Graham: 9 pts. (3-2) vs. Dave Moore: 9 pts. (3-2) Winner: Dave Moore: 9 pts. (3-2) Score: 15 - 200 Match Points: 0 - 3 Map: Bothan Spynet 3) Mike: 8 pts. (3-2) vs. Bevan: 7 pts. (3-2) Winner: Mike: 8 pts. (3-2) Score: 82 - 42 Match Points: 2 - 0 Map: Rhen Var Citadel 4) Paul: 8 pts. (3-2) vs. kezzmachine: 9 pts. (4-1) Winner: kezzmachine: 9 pts. (4-1) Score: 76 - 209 Match Points: 0 - 3 Map: Theed Palace 5) Oli: 6 pts. (3-2) vs. JP: 5 pts. (1-4) Winner: Oli: 6 pts. (3-2) Score: 102 - 93 Match Points: 2 - 0 Map: Grand Plaza 6) Glyn: 5 pts. (2-3) vs. Ian: 6 pts. (2-3) Winner: Glyn: 5 pts. (2-3) Score: 88 - 38 Match Points: 2 - 0 Map: Cloud City 7) Henko: 3 pts. (1-4) vs. Rich: 7 pts. (2-3) Winner: Rich: 7 pts. (2-3) Score: 19 - 204 Match Points: 0 - 3 Map: Hoth Plateau 8) Derek: 3 pts. (1-4) vs. Hayden: 6 pts. (2-3) Winner: Derek: 3 pts. (1-4) Score: 112 - 102 Match Points: 2 - 1 Map: Ruined Base Round 5 pairings: 1) Tim: 15 pts. (5-0) vs. Dave Moore: 9 pts. (3-2) Winner: Tim: 15 pts. (5-0) Score: 200 - 20 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Jabba's Palace 2) Aaron: 11 pts. (4-1) vs. Mike: 8 pts. (3-2) Winner: Aaron: 11 pts. (4-1) Score: 200 - 97 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Rhen Var Citadel 3) Graham: 9 pts. (3-2) vs. Oli: 6 pts. (3-2) Winner: Graham: 9 pts. (3-2) Score: 200 - 70 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Grand Plaza 4) kezzmachine: 9 pts. (4-1) vs. Rich: 7 pts. (2-3) Winner: kezzmachine: 9 pts. (4-1) Score: 140 - 113 Match Points: 2 - 1 Map: Theed Palace 5) Glyn: 5 pts. (2-3) vs. Bevan: 7 pts. (3-2) Winner: Bevan: 7 pts. (3-2) Score: 53 - 147 Match Points: 0 - 2 Map: Jabba's Palace 6) Paul: 8 pts. (3-2) vs. Derek: 3 pts. (1-4) Winner: Paul: 8 pts. (3-2) Score: 200 - 85 Match Points: 3 - 0 Map: Rancor Pen 7) Henko: 3 pts. (1-4) vs. Ian: 6 pts. (2-3) Winner: Ian: 6 pts. (2-3) Score: 52 - 200 Match Points: 0 - 3 Map: Hoth Plateau 8) JP: 5 pts. (1-4) vs. Hayden: 6 pts. (2-3) Winner: Hayden: 6 pts. (2-3) Score: 185 - 200 Match Points: 1 - 3 Map: Asteroid Base |
Author: | kezzamachine [ Tue Jul 30, 2013 9:37 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Second New Zealand Star Wars Miniatures Tournament! |
Judging! Score: 5/5 Well, trying not to sound all "if I do say so myself" but I think the judging went really well. Initially I had wanted to be the sole judge/TO as I did last year. My reasoning was that this, being the Top of all our NZ Tournaments, needed to be seen as such. If we're gonna have a national championship, we have to take it seriously. The downside is that I miss out and watching 5 rounds is not as much fun as it could be... but then the discussions on the SHNN over the last few weeks (especially the episode featuring Tim from Miniverse) got me thinking about the 3 judge system. I decided late in the piece to play and figured I'd bring a more fun squad so I could concentrate on being able to leave games if I needed. (More on my squad later...) I asked Mike and Aaron to be the other judges and between the three of us we were able to look over things fairly smoothly. We didn't appear to have any slow-play issues (nothing was brought up) so, on the whole, I think everything ran smoothly. Venue... Score: 2/5 Don't want to be too scathing in public about it, but from Pulsar it was pretty disappointing. The venue itself was fine - we had a room to ourselves which fitted us all quite snugly and, despite being a little messy, was actually pretty fun. We were close to everything, BK was just outside, the main store was across the hall, and we don't mind a bit of mess - it's all minis! However, the manager wasn't there - in fact, he didn't even bother to show all day - and his workers on site knew about the tournament but had no idea about the timing, especially the finishing time and there was some worry early on that we might be booted out prior to the Semis! Pulsar itself only had 1 representative despite promises of several from the manager. When it came to prizes, part of the reason of going there was due to us being able to use store credit as the prize support and the Top 5 got a share of it. Everyone paid a lot to get in (in pretty much all went to the venue) and, when it came time to collect the prizes, we found out that the store had NO minis product (despite promises to the contrary) and almost no Xwing product - even though the manager knew that was what we were there for in advance! I ended up buying some collectible crap with my prizes money for my girls. The other major factor in bringing the game to Pulsar, as I said, was to draw them into our larger web of tournaments and we pretty much got nothing from that. Disappointing. The store workers, however, were awesome. They did look after us and, as always, are the bright lights in the dark pall cast by the manager's ridiculousness. They drag the score up to a 2! Next year we'll be back to the Hutt and back to $10 (at most!) entry fee and homemade prizes. Can I get an amen? Attendance Score: 3/5 I had set the bar high in terms of who we'd get there. Last year was 19 players and, after getting 18 to the Lower Hutt Tournament, I figured 20 was easily attainable. I had even loosely targeted 25 and, by some early estimates, that was where we looked to be heading. However, a few key pullouts in the week leading up to it (and a major earthquake!) led to numbers dropping quite a bit. 17, however, was significant enough so we could play 5 rounds and have a fairly strong field... Strength of Field Score: 5/5 ...which is what we got. If you (prior to the Tournament) picked our Top 6 players (which is what theHutts did on the SHNN last week), they were all there... in fact, they all placed in the Top 8! A coupl'a weeks before the big day, we lost Bob/kfcswaitingforyou from Hawera (clash of dates) and, after the earthquake, we lost Hawera-Dave/doug*platapus. While although not in that Top 6, they're still significant players and that was a shame to not have them there, both as a quality of competition point-of-view and because they're mates of ours! They're both from Hawera so the Hawera team was a bit down this time. But, as I said, the field was still very strong. The Top 6 all played strong and were all rewarded by making the Top half of the draw. It's great that there were no easy games on the top tables. Strength of Squads Score: 4/5 So, Top 7 features seven different factions. Has that been done before? Who could say, but one helluva interesting statistic. New Republic then finished 14th, but no Fringe (no surprise...) and no Rebels (big surprise!). (I nearly went Rebels... but more on that later... perhaps I'm glad I didn't?) Yes - nice variation of factions, but were they competitive? I believe very much so. Dave's squad that won is a proven beast and, in the hands of those who know how to use it, in deadly. We also had a strong Yobuck build, a proven Naboo Pilots squad and several top-o-the-line squads that are being used in certain variations as of now - including two Mando squads which are very solid and some variations on the new Separatist builds that work well. All in all, I think what you saw here is a pretty good look at what you may have seen in the Regionals and beyond (although Hutts will be a better judge than I) and I can say that I was genuinely scared of some of them. There was one clown in particular who thought he could get away with a weird Celeste build... and Sharron's Revan meets the OR squad was one of the more interesting squads on the day! If I hadn't of squeeked past him in the Semi, that could have won NZcon. Oh - a quick note regarding the Manager of the store. Hutts has told me that when he was last in the store, he said that he might be in Christchurch on the day, so he had already spoken to us regarding his non-attendance. However, I was organising it with him and he hadn't spoken to me about it. In fact, I found him very hard to get hold of at all. |
Author: | kezzamachine [ Tue Jul 30, 2013 9:37 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Second New Zealand Star Wars Miniatures Tournament! |
And now! The tale of my journey into the Finals of the Second NZ SWM Tournament! Well, two weeks out I wasn't playing due to being the TO and planning to be the sole judge at the event, a week out I was thinking about it by adopting the three-judge system, and the day before I decided fully that I needed to be involved as a player. I didn't want to play because I wanted the NZ Champs to be a as-serious-as-possible tournament - it's own dedicated judge/TO - but things are changing in the SWM world and my involvement as a player grew more acceptable as the event approached. Certainly, people wanted me to play which was encouraging! With some key folk dropping out in the days leading up to the tournament, I decided that it would be good to play and I'd add to the numbers, keeping Jim's idea of being able to pull out if it would have otherwise been detrimental to the tournament in the back of my head. When it came time to select my squad, I had all of the above floating around in my brain and that led me to feel like any competitive participation was just a bridge too far. I was, after all, going to be concentrating on the running of the event and would be needed for judging issues. My rationale was then that I was there as a judge first, player second, and that if I ran something I knew fairly well or didn't care too much about, I'd be able to throw away a game if I needed too. Add to that, that for the last two years or so, I've viewed myself as a bit past-it with minis, that I had managed to grow up players around me who had then surpassed me. I spend so much time organising minis events, I don't often have the time to just enjoy the game! while others about me play all the pieces and squads. After a run of losses, I kinda figured my days as a competitive player were gone. I drafted a list of 12 squads, all designed around enjoying myself to the fullest - if it wasn't fun, it wasn't on the list. I had a Corran-led pilot squad (had never run Corran, keen to try him), my Ackbar Klaat. swarm, my Vader Legacy/Dash/Jag/GARY squad, my triple Nightsister/HK/Dash/Jag/Ozzel squad, a Dark Trooper squad, my Han Rogue/SpecForce squad and a host of others... but I ultimately settled on my Celeste/Zam/Chazrach swarm. I'd been beaten by it by Graham/Hutts (I ran a Lancer... particularly embarrassing...) and had rejigged it to fit me a bit better by running it in a 2-0 win against Bob in our Vassal comp. I liked it, plus I really just wanted to turn things into Rakghouls! I settled on the squad in the car with Ian and Graham on the ride in. (On hearing Graham's squad, I instantly regretted the choice, but thought, 'oh well, hopefully I don't draw Graham'.) Round 1: vs Graham/Hutts (Naboo Pilots) on Theed So. I drew Graham. I looked at the matchups and thought that it was okay to take a loss first up. We got playing and the game went pretty much as Graham described it above. I knew that I just had to eat through Pilots by losing Chazrach's and that was about all I could do. I don't remember losing Zam but I obviously wasn't too worried because I still had Celeste. I had brought in Malakili (as was my major plan for the Tournament) and he gets the MVP for that match as his Heal 20 saved Celeste sooo much! Graham, at one point, thought he'd killed her but, lo and behold, she had been healed and was still alive. My Rakghouls were spectacular too - I'd lose one when I killed a pilot, but would get another in its place. I must have made so many Rakkies, but only ever had two on the board at a time. Celeste's last move to take out Yularen was just magical. I didn't even know I'd won it until after the countback. Graham had originally counted two rounds of gambit, but he wasn't sure so said he'd drop one and hand me the win. A massive gesture from a top player. I won it 154-152 for 2pts and a shock. Round 2: vs Oli/Darth O/OhMyGOWK (Skybuck) on Grand Plaza So, I figured it wouldn't matter taking a loss in my second game. Looking at Oli's tried and true Skybuck squad, I just figured he'd have the best of it. After all, he could tow, gallop and swap his way around my squad with gay abandon. The game progressed as best it could - I took the left and set up down low, trying to force engagement through the rooms that are joined by doors. He galloped and swapped a coupl'a times but I didn't lose much, Crab Armour is a wonderful thing... but everytime he swapped in a fodder piece, I turned it into a Rakghoul! Those extra Rakkies actually won me the game as I ran one (had activation supremacy, don't you know) right into his pieces and, on my initiative win, strode through and took out Dash! I had already taken R2 out (thanks to Zam) and he was losing swap fodder and had no range. As in the last game, Malakili was able to come off the bench and play a monstrous game, healing folk to keep them in the game. We had dilly-dallied a bit with time and with no chance of making it a 3pointer, I locked him out to stay well ahead. 92-24 to me and I now have 4pts! What a day! Round 3: vs Aaron/Sharron (Revan meets OR) on Theed In all the official Save11 games we've played, I had the record of winning my first 8 games against Aaron. That doesn't really paint the right picture of Aaron as he is an excellent player, but he has since joked with me about how the comeback is on its way, a statement he had started to show true by then taking the next 3 games against me to bring the score back to 3-8. I was, in some small way, looking forward to being beaten by him as I had half-designed his squad with him and was looking forward to seeing him win the whole thing, to which I'd be able to claim some kudos for it. This game did not disappoint, as he clown-stomped me. I had now resistance to him, once he'd turned off Celeste and Malakili, and all I could do is watch the odd-attack I managed to get through be effortlessly parried or defended away. Well played Aaron and finally, the day as I had planned it began to unfold. 200-7 to Aaron (as well as the scoreline of 4-8 in our competition games) and I remained on 4pts for the competition. Round 4: vs Paul (Caedus/Zannah) on Theed I'd managed to play three very good players and three very good squads, but it didn't stop there. While Paul is still new to the competitive game, he plays amongst the Dave-Mike-Aaron trio (being brothers of Dave and Mike) so is well-versed in all things minis. His squad, too, was great - Caedus is a monster, Zannah is a tank, and the addons of Vergere and the two Force Ghosts made for a tough matchup. Mostly. He forgot about Malakili handing out Overwhelming and that changed things momentously. I was able to get past all his masses of defence and put damage straight onto the big two. I made my biggest mistake of the tournament by bringing Malakili up too far and I could have lost him and my advantage... but I spotted it before Paul and moved him the hell away. I quickly knifed through the Sith pair and won it 209-76. Holy moly... I am 3-1 and have 7pts!?! Round 5: vs Rich/Darth Rattlehead (Tarpals/Zam/Evazan/GOWK) on Theed Rich and I are great mates. We talk minis, play music together and discuss theological issues deeply. I got him into the game (well, I got just about everyone into the game over here) and have been perhaps a few steps ahead of him in terms of the game, but he is a fast learner and in our last meeting, he knocked me over so I knew I couldn't let myself forget what I was doing! I won map (for like the 4th time!) and we set up and rocked on into the game. He had planned to run a Republic squad using a bunch of Antarian Rangers and the Antarian Captain, but at the last minute changed to this squad. Whether it was the lack of game time with this squad or that we were in Round 5, he made the crucial mistake of leaving R2 next to cover in a long line-of-sight and I Zam'd R2. After that, I had a significant advantage, having the only override piece and I proceeded to take out his pieces. The game had progressed very slowly, Rich taking his time to make the best of the bad situation he found himself in, and when I took a look at the clock, I made a call to push for a 3pt win as I figured, that might be all that separates me from being in the Top 4 or not. I started to push hard and, as a result, lost some pieces quickly which drew the score closer than I'd have liked, but time ran out and I was left up 140-113 in a 2-1 win that I nearly gambled away! Still, that gave me the 4-1 record and 9 pts... ...and, strangely, I was sitting in outright 3rd! That was an amazing result and I was beside myself. I didn't think I'd be competing in a knockout and was a bit surprised. I think others were too! but they seemed genuinely pleased for me. I was in amongst good company too - Aaron had the squad to win the whole thing, Dave was winning everything locally (especially with his Imperial squad) and Tim had recently beaten the World Champ. Holy moly. I figured that I'd play my game and take my $40 store credit and be happy as! Semi-Final: vs Aaron/Sharron again! on Asteroid Base Well, I had been taken apart so clinically by Aaron's (my?) squad in our last game, I expected to quickly exit the knockouts and allow Aaron to take our personal record to 5-8, then watch him battle to lift the NZ title. I didn't want to just roll over, however, and I thought I'd try see if I could outlast Bastilla. We set up for a round (or two?) and then he, as he did in the game before, he turned on Bastilla so I spent the next round positioning my pieces with faux-aggression, but not actually approaching any engagement. The next round, however, he pounced and I did my best to soak up any losses my squad took while I tried to outlast Bastilla and get my CEs back. I even sent some Uggies out with mousies as support to try and attack Bastilla just in case she turned on again later. He didn't even wait for the next round to operate Bastilla again - he turned her straight on once more - which meant I had to last three rounds of Bastilla in a row, knowing that she'd have no Force points for a coupl'a rounds afterward. Then, the break came! He was attacking with Satele and he charged in further but put her adjacent to cover. I pounced with Zam and Satele was gone, and Aaron was winded. I started charging knowing that Bastilla wasn't on, as well as trying to run in with Celeste and Zam. He withdrew all his fodder pieces (fearing Rakghouls) and soaked up my attacks, but now I had Gambit and the countdown was on. We saw that time was drifting away and, after a quick count up, on both sides, I withdrew and locked a door, whilst he was content to let me do so. I was worried I had counted wrong, but when time was called, it turned out he had counted wrong and I was 119-109 up, thus taking a 2-1 win and a trip to my first Major Final since HaweraCon 2010! Aaron was beside himself. He did a quick count and realised that, had he have known the correct score, he could have marched Revan 18 squares and swapped in Bastilla to have he attack and kill my Lobot for the win. Holy moly. Final! vs Dave/Dr. Daman (Cad/Corde swap) on Theed This game, being our 7th, came down to who was mentally fitter. His matchup was already better than mine on paper and he had already won one major title with it this year. I was running what I had originally thought of as a casual squad and had not expected to be anywhere near here. I knew I had to somehow get to his pieces but in all the chaos of positioning, I misplaced Celeste in Round 2 and, with Ozzel and Thrawn to back him up, Bane swapped in and made Celeste - and my hopes - disappear. I conceded shortly afterward and Dave was deservedly crowned NZ Champion. For me, this was a monstrous tournament. I had so many people encouraging me to play and everyone was a) delighted I could and b) so happy with the tournament running so well. My thanks go out to my whole Save11 crew for the support for me and the tourney! and all the stuff that we do. Also, I named my squad "For Jim" as it was 'for Jim' who had talked about it with me during the SHNN show (episode 183) and I wanted to 'tip my hat' to my favourite man in minis - kudos to you, Jim! The squad somehow turned out to be competitive after all! Mauri ora, mauri mate! Ka nui pai te whanau. Arohanui. |
Page 1 of 1 | All times are UTC - 6 hours |
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ |