EC Thread

[brinxter]

Well i just came back from Hannover.

And it has been a pleasure and a honour to meet most of my friends for a few fun games!

In all there where 46 players

I played in sealed:

Seka
- Jeurgens
- Hyperlaser
CJF Raven
- A. Kerensky (everyone could bring "a" pilot card)
CNC Gambit
- 2/0/1 pilot
WH Tokugawa
HD GDSCBA
HD Monocycle
Lightning Storm
(really, i played the CNC Gambit because i didnt have a way of getting to 600 without it)

I went 3-0 in sealed with 8 VC's

For the first 3 rounds of 600 points constructed i played:

Seka
- Aiko
- Decoy
Magister
- Kelly
- R.I.S.C. Advanced Pulse Module
2x HS Sylph
4x CNC ATV
True Grit

It went downhill from here, 0 wins with 4 VC's (dice gods really had a good laugh on my expense)
No real screwups, i swear my ATVs did the most damage of anything i had because for those hail mary shots i did throw 16's

Second day, 2 rounds 600 points constructed i played:

CNC Vet. NC
- Dejesus
- Hyperlaser
CNC Vet. NC
- Stark
- Hyperlaser
2x CNC ATV
HK ATV
HK Thunderbird Battle armor

First round i played against a german who had some awesome dice, and a built in timer as he just played slower and slower, he got an official warning for stalling and i lost because the game didnt last 5 seconds longer. (i'll tell the long story when i can think about it without wanting to kill someone)

Second round didnt matter, so i didnt care anymore.


Final standings for top 4 European Championships:

1st Milamber (German) (playing Hammerfall/Fernali/SU Streaks, X-Axis/Neumann/Repair 3x BR Inf. + BR FP)
2nd Elite130 (Dutch) (Playing Slayer/Kerensky/IT, CJF Goshawk/+0+2+1 pilot/R.I.S.C Overcharger, HS Sylph, 4x? HD Purifier BA.)
3rd Liam (Dutch) (Playing Persuader/?/?, X-Axis/Neumann/repair, BR Solitaire/?/?, BR FP)
4th Ian (Dutch) (Playing Slayer/?/IT, Harpy/Kelly/R.I.S.C. Overcharger, RS Bishop/2x HS TTL/Graces, ?)

In the top 16 where 5 Dutch players (of 7 attending)
Attending where:

Elite130 (2nd)
Liam (3rd)
Ian (4th)
Pvoskamp (6th?)
Fionn (14th)
Brinxter (?)
Zahrezz (?)

Sorry that i didnt really keep tabs on other nationalities ;-)

Oh, and fellowship was won by 4 players who each got the same amount of votes:

TPANDJV (English)
Thunderbolt (German)
Another German player wich name i cant remember atm
And yours truly!


We split up a case of Wolfstrike, and i won the roll for the official trophy.
The other 3 got a signed Kelly Bonilla + Harvey (seriously sweet, card + mech signed complete with bunny ears)

The major side event (a solaris style 750 points Light/Medium/Heavy/Assault lance multiplayer battle) was won by Liam(17yrs) and Fionn(14yrs)

[tjpandv]

Brinxter, thanks for putting up the results. Turns out, thanks to the hyper-efficient German tram and train system, I could have stayed to watch the final after all! (I must ask Anup about that Kelly prize...).

I hope Elite wan't too upset about the final - I know he likes to win. How did that match up go? Milamber seemed to be very defensive in the games that I watched but he must have been 20 points down agaisnt Elite with his BR FP card.

The German game may have the numbers, but the Dutch have such a strong presence in the top Eurpean tier - well in excess of their playing strength. The Italians are a fantastic bunch - I'm still getting over Mangodacasa's good-bye embrace - very Soprano-like !

I'll post up some armies and battle reports over the next couple of days.

Overall, there were plenty of different builds (I guess the BR Soli was perhaps the most numerous type of Mech with Jack/shooter and SAD armies maybe the most common types of builds). However, in no way did we see an array of look-a-like builds and I was pleased at that. I thought the C3i light swarm was a good build - certainly different and the Germans seem to have a thing about CNC Vixens - must be something to do with range and damage!

Watching the German final on the Sunday morning was a real bonus. The winner palyed 2 CNC Vixens and a CNC PH1 with some CNC BA and support. He faced a Slayer and 2 BR Solis. The Slayer army also played Constant Tremors - even though his Slayer picked AAMS on the dial and he had Rhodes Graces to repair his Solis. I think the CNC player set one of his Vixens as bait and the BR Solis charged and took the bait. One failed charge later and his out-gunned Solis were too far away from the Slayer. Down they went and then it was as good as over.

I wonder if the late finish on the Saturday did have an effect on their top players for the 2 rounds on Sunday? Just for info, once the 6 rounds of Euro events were over, the Top 16 German players started their KO rounds for the title. We left to get something to eat at 9pm and they hadn't started the rounds at that point...

Overall, once I got over my disappointment with the sealed (0-3), I enjoyed the constructed phase and won 3 out of the 4 that I played but 4 wins (3 from actual rounds plus a bye) and a low number of VCs just wasn't enough.

So, great times, great people, a really nice city to host us. All this against a background of a late cancellation from Paris and a change to Hannover made it a great event. Roll on 2008.

[Zxqueb]

Thanks for the report guys! Sounds like a great time. Phil, what happened in sealed? Bad pull or bad luck? What sort of army dd you run and what did you face?

How many players were there total?

Brinxter, sorry your SAD didn't do better. It seems like a decent build! And getting slow-played into a loss SUCKS. I can't wait to hear the rant that's coming, though.

[asburygrad]

Thanks for the posts, Brinxter and tjpandv. Sorry you guys didn't do better - I know you spent a lot of time in planning and preparation!

I'm interested by the top 4 builds - no SAD?!?!? I had considered the Hammerfall/Streaks setup myself; maybe I'll give it a second look.

[tjpandv]

admin said:

Thanks for the report guys! Sounds like a great time. Phil, what happened in sealed? Bad pull or bad luck? What sort of army dd you run and what did you face?

I'm typing a report up and should have it on the thread for tomorrow. I made notes after each battle and the sealed on Saturday are easily forgotten. It was a bad pull but also bad play on my part - I'll explain in the report but I played my usual game and got stuck in but didn't have to pieces or build to do it!

[tjpandv]

Mechwarrior European Championships 2007 (Hannover 31/3/7-1/4/07)

Once the decision to move the Mechwarrior Europeans from Paris to Germany had been made, it left little time to plan travel and accommodation arrangements, let alone to build and to test armies. However, the German MW community is very strong, and if any country in Europe could meet the challenge, it would be Germany.

Having booked a flight from Birmingham to Hannover and a room in the Youth Hostel, I managed to get myself to the Venue in good time. First person I met was Stephano from Italy – both of us having attended the previous 2 Euro Events. The short notice call meant that not everyone could make it. Richard was missing from the UK (I was the only UK attendee) and no French players made it over. However, the German contingent was very strong and 7 Dutch guys and 4 Italians made up a playing filed of well over 40 people. The venue was fine with a decent cafeteria; plenty of playing space and a nice feel to it.

The format for the event would be:

Day 1

3 rounds of sealed booster (1 x Wolf Strike and 2 Vanguard plus 1 pilot card).
3 rounds of constructed.

Day 2

2 rounds of constructed (using a different army from Day 1 which could not include any repeat uniques or LEs).

Day 1 - Rounds 1-3

Not a good start for me. I pulled the following:

HK Osiris/ Raiso Mikawa/ Inferno Flamers.
HK Mad Cat/ 0-0-1 Pilot/ Reflective Armour.
RHD Thor/ 2-2-0 CJF Pilot/Electronic Camo.
HK Goshawk/ 0-2-0 Pilot/ Point Defence.
Anastasia Kerensky (my own card)

HS Carnivore.
CJF Tokugawa.
HD Gossamer.

2 x HL GDSBA
1 x ROTS Wraith BA
1 x HD Purifier BA
1 x HS Ravager BA
1 x RHD Thunderbird BA

I had no formations to make and discounted the 2 tanks for that reason. The Carnivore is a nice piece but a 5 move makes it too slow for me, the CJF version doesn’t have the range. The real debate going on in my mind was a choice between the Mad Cat and the Thor. The fact that I only had Kerensky as a Heavy pilot meant that taking both wasn’t an option (CJF pilot and a 0-0-1 were all but useless). I opted for the HK Mad Cat and took the other 2 HK mechs. At least the Mad Cat started out as a threat whereas the RHD Thor would struggle against any well-protected target. I then struggled to make 600 points as my cheapest infantry piece was 19 points – no real filler to be had. My final build was:

HK Mad Cat/Kerensky
HK Goshawk/0-2-0 Pilot/Point Defence
HK Osiris/Raiso Mikawa

594 total.

With hindsight, I should have gone for the Thor/Kerensky/E Camo set up as the Thor could have damaged most opponents. Then again, sitting behind blocking and firing indirect with a 10IT attack may not have won me anything either – especially if I had not made the 600 point build total.

Round 1 – Elite 130 (Netherlands).

I’ve never managed to face Elite at a tournament and I got the chance when he and Brinxter ended up on the same table. They had to split so I swapped in for Brinxter. Anyway, if I didn’t take the chance of playing Farid in round 1, he normally moves up the tables and I move down. My joy at lining up against Elite was tarnished when I saw that he’d pulled the RHD Atlas and a CJF Thor and, of course, he’d made a 600 point army. So, I was behind on points and he had good range and good targeting.

Elite used the Atlas as a shield for his Thor. I couldn’t get to the Thor without taking on the big guy. So, I went for the big guy instead. First hit was from the Mad Cat’s PPC for a total of 6 plus heat. I think I took more out of it but my Osiris shut down and got DFA’d by the Thor. I split the Goshawk to the left, hoping to come in on the side of the Altas. My Mad Cat was making inroads into the Atlas, but not fast enough and it too was taking hits. I had the choice of 1 more shot or a withdrawal to cool down. I took the latter option and ended up being shot up by the Thor. The Goshawk finally gets within charge range of the Atlas and goes for it and hits. That’s game over as the Atlas thwacks the Goshawk and Elite wins 2-0. I think I had the Atlas to within 3 clicks of salvage, so I should have taken that last shot with my Mad Cat, rather than run away. However, my biggest mistake was splitting the Goshawk too far. Yes, I wanted to make a flanking move but I hadn’t realised how SLOW that thing is – especially when you have a pilot with no move bonus.

Still, the game was good fun and it was great to play Elite at last. I enjoyed myself so much that I hadn’t picked up on was that the low defence of the Kuritan mechs make them vulnerable to just about everything on the table. This oversight on my part would cost me dear…

Round 2 –Daniel (Germany)

Played his army of a BR Vulture, CJF Raven, a HS Osiris, a couple of BA and a WH Kite. Big worry for me was his BR Vulture and the fact that he was Player 2 and placed in straight into some water. I placed blocking in front of the water and to 1 side to allow me to move up. His lights both ventured forward – his Vulture stayed behind in support. First kill to me as the Osiris fell to my Goshawk and the Mad Cat. Good start but his supporting BA and the Kite were hitting my mechs who were being salami-sliced to death. In the end, my Goshawk charged and damaged the Vulture and my Osiris shielded the Mad Cat. The fight was going OK at this point – at least I had removed evade from his Vulture and it was damaged with a low AV. Unfortunately, both of my mech’s DVs were sinking fast. In the end, they were taken out in a hail of crossfire. I was so engrossed in the game that I should have looked at the VC count, maybe made a run for VC3 and pulled back (If only to get away from those darn infantry!). It was a close game at one point and one I felt I could have won but his Vulture’s AV was still sufficient to cope with the Kurita dials.

Round 3 – Frederick (Germany)

I had played Daniel last year in Paris and had managed a close win in the sealed event. He played a HD Griffon with decoy, a HD Raven with repair and a CNC Anubis with decoy. There were backed up with a Morning Star and some battle armour.

Once again, I had to attack and he hid his Griffon behind some H blocking. I set up a water run to get up the table but the Mac Cat was hit by the Griffin (twice!). The Mac Cat misses the Anubis, so the Goshawk DFAs it and hits (I was getting fed up of all that evade and decoy SE!). The Osiris runs for VC3 and gets rear arc shots for the Griffin and the Raven but misses! The Mac Cat hits the Griffon (at last!) and the Osiris hits the Raven which retreats. Osiris is killed by his inf and his wounded Anubis makes for VC3. Goshawk needs 8 to hit the Griffin and crit misses. Griffon kills him and the Mad Cat (on his last click) charges the Griffon and dies a noble death. Having to fight through 2 mechs with decoy was a real pain and one 2 occasions; it saved my opponent from some big damage.

So, real disappointment on my part. I had to chase every game and had to do it with mechs that could dish out the damage but couldn’t take the punishment. Only in 1 game did I think I was ahead and then I should have retreated and made him come to me. I forgot that I was in a tournament and not at the club. What made matters sores was that 1 German player dropped after Round 3 and, because I was the lowest ranked player, I had to take a Bye. I needed wins but I needed VCs as well.

Day 1 – Rounds 4-6

For my Army 1, I played the following:

Kuro Ha/Tormark (Breach)/IT.
BR Solitaire/Millhew/APM
WH Vixen/Gloria/IT
4 x HD Purifier BA

Split Up, Dust Storm/Corrosive Atmosphere.

I like attacking armies and Kuro Ha is a good mech. The support had been a choice between YLW with BAP or the 2 lights. In the end, I went for the more versatile 2 mechs rather than the more potent Centurion. I think that was a decent swap as 3 mechs does give your opponent fewer high value targets and YLW is a bit of a damage magnet as everyone knows how potent it can be. The build can also function in a number of PCCs and doesn’t rely on the table or terrain being “just so.”

Round 4 – Bye (Played Split Up)

Round 5 – Haribo (Germany)

My first constructed battle was against a Yami Shiro and a HD Stalking Spider (with Sandoval) with a ROTS Bishop and 3 TGRs in support.

I can’t remember his PCC but my Dust Storm was in effect (phew!!). The H-shaped blocking was put down by my opponent (well known Shiro “workplace”). Sure enough, the Shiro settles down with the St Spider just behind and the TGR drop in support further back. I base his 2 mechs with my Purifiers who then shoot the SS for 2 damage. I run the Vixen to base his Bishop (VC3) and CC with Kuro Ha – who misses! Kuro Ha is pulsed by the SS, he breaks his Bishop and 1 TGR fires at Kuro and hits. Not a good start for me. His Shiro HtH with a Purifier.

My Vixen fires anti pers at the centre TGR and they all take damage. Kuro Ha hits the St Spider – the Soli closes in for a shot. His Shiro takes a shot at the Soli and hits. The TGRs miss Huro Ha and are finished off by a second Anti Pers shot from the Vixen. More damage into the SS from the Purifiers who are doing really well. Kuro Ha gets a HtH weapon hit but only scores 2 damage and is killed by the SS. The Purifiers take revenge and salvage the SS who is then killed by the Vixen. At long last, the Shiro breaks free of the Purifiers and goes to hunt down the damaged Soli. However, the Shiro is running hot and the Soli easily gets away (thank goodness for Dust Storm!). It’s now a game of chance with the Shiro lacking the speed or heat dial to win.

So, a win (at last) and I was on my way.

Round 6 – (Stephan – Germany)

Another German player who fielded 2 ROTS Mangonels each with a 0-0-2 pilot and IT. In support, he had a minigun cycle, a combat tech and a SSwn Hadur. I played Corrosive Atmosphere, he played PD - bugger.

Up go the Purifiers but this time he has mechs that do 6 ballistic damage and I loose 2 on turn 1. However, the other 2 manage to base one of his Mechs. Kuro Ha CCs the first Mangonel and hits. The Vixen threatens the same mech while the Soli bases the Hadur. Kuro Ha takes a hit back from the Mangonel and my Purifier are taking a beating – they won’t last long. His minigun bases the Soli and my Vixen misses a shot on the Mangonel. Kuro Ha rests, as do his Mangonels. The Hadur breaks and the CTs base my Soli who breaks, runs behind the Hadur but shuts down. The purifiers and all out and his second Mangonel is now free. Once restarted, the Soli pulses the rear of the Hadur and then goes on to kill the CTs. Kuro Ha has damaged his first Mangonel – again only rolling a 2 on the HtH weapon. The Vixen seems to miss everything and is tied up with the minigun cycle. The now free Mangonel hits the Vixen and Kuro Ha goes down also. This leaves my Soli against 1 ½ Mangonels. I warm up the APM and get it going, only to miss the shot – needing the square root of bugger all but failing to get it. My Soli is shut down and the Mangonels finish it off. I get VC3 but that’s it.

So, as good as Kuro Ha is, I found that in both games she has to go into harms way. In some respects, having the 3 mechs did mean that my support was limited and some back up from TTLs, for example, would have taken some of the pressure off (I’m sure the HD St Spider and the ROTS Mangonels would have broken away had they seen incoming POGs – instead, they were free to rest/hit back as the saw fit.). I’m also not sure that running an aggressive army suits tournament play. By running towards your opponent’s line, you may get to hit first but you’ve also got yourself into his gun line and probably into a place where he can use cheap harassers to tie you down. This build is fun to play, but you have to get stuck in and up close and sometimes that isn’t what you need. I need an army with a Plan B. I may re-examine the Kuro Ha/YLW/TTL build as I do think that operating in a mix of planetary conditions and terrain is pretty important.

End of Day 1

2 Wins, 5 VCs. Not good and I wasn’t going to the Top 16. Never mind, I felt like I playing like a noob for the first few rounds and only woke up when it was too late. I’d had some bad dice but apart from 1 badly timed crit miss during the sealed, they pretty much even themselves out during the day However, I walked into this event badly prepared (no testing or practice and my last constructed game was Sep 06) and it showed. Still, as we were leaving for some scoff, the Germans were beginning their Top 16 KO for their national championships.

Day 2 Rounds 7-8

My second army was as follows:

Seka/Ryohara/Decoy
BR Soli/Graves/Decoy
WH MH1
2 x HS TTLs
3 x HD Purifier BA

Perfect Day and Urban

Round 7 – Valerio (Italy)

I was up against a really nice Italian called Valerio (He got my Fellowship vote). He played Jack/LE Julz with a WH Thor/De Jesus/IT and a formation of RHD Wraith BA with a WH Ravager in support. We both played Urban as out PCCs.

My first terrain and I put some blocking at 90 degrees down the middle of the table. More blocking followed but I was determined not to let his Thor settle in behind a big piece of central B1 and it seemed to work.

Jack moves up behind the nearest blocking to my DZ and the Thor supports him. My Purifiers base both Jack and the Thor, the Soli runs to get a rear arc on both of his mechs, the MH1 unloads and I put 2 POGs down. He rests both of his mechs, the POG lands for 1 and the Soli hits Jack for 3 more. Jack has now lost his armour and evade. The Thor combats the infantry and his infantry move up. Seka runs into Jack’s and the Thor’s rear arc. Jack fails to break, the Thor polishes off the Purifier. Seka gets a hit on Jack and kills it. The Thor is based by the 3rd Purifier. His infantry team grapple both Seka and the Soli. His Thor breaks from the Purifier and gets into Seka’s rear arc. Seka hits the grapple from the Wraith and the Soli does the same. He CCs Seka and hits – he passes his ammo explosion but now he’s running hot. I try to ram the back of his Thor with my MH1 but miss (only needed an 11 – never mind). I cool Seka, he hits her again and puts her into salvage; this time he passes BOTH ammo rolls but then shuts down. I was hoping for better luck on those rolls but it allows Seka to run for it. Time is almost up. My Soli runs for VC3. He re-starts the Thor, breaks from the MH1 and makes for Seka (who is now hiding in my DZ). I base him with the MH1. Seka is out of range, he is hot and my Soli comes back to threaten the Thor. Time is called and I get a close 2-1 win.

That is what the game is all about and it restores my faith somewhat. I’m still bemused as to why he didn’t break Jack when it had a POG on it and a Soli in its rear arc – never mind. Chances are that yesterday, I would have forgotten about VC3 and made after the Thor forgetting that there was little chance of killing it in the time allowed.

Round 8 – Stephano (Italy)

My worst nightmare as Stephano brings out Thug and Vasquez, Kuro Ha with brawling and Tormark and a HK Soli fitted with repair. He has an army designed to kill Seka – what a cheek! I play Perfect Day to cancel his Dust Storm (touché !).

I take his H blocking and place it so that Seka can infiltrate into it and I then use the Purifiers to seal up the gap so that his mechs can’t CC me. He puts down some water and more blocking completes the picture. The opening moves see his 3 mechs move down the table so I unload and POG them. The Soli stays in support of the MH1 and the TTLs.

He moves Thug away from the POGs and into water. I follow him with the POGs but realise that it’s a pretty futile gesture. However, he has the 1 click of heat and he doesn’t have SU evade so it’s a start. Out of nowhere, Kuro Ha sails in an CCs the MH1 and hits. The HK Soli runs and bases the 2 TTLs – game on.

Kuro Ha is hit by Seka and the Soli clips its HK name sake for 2 and some heat. No more armour, so the TTLs weigh in for 2 more. Thug moves up to the corner of the blocking but out of Seka’s LOS. Kuro Ha almost finishes off the MH1. The Soli cripples off the Kuritan light mech and heats it up. Seka misses Kuro Ha but no matter as Kuro Ha fails to break from the MH1. The Purifiers formation fire at Thug but miss. Much better round from me. The Thug now fires at the Soli but misses as does the Kurita Soli. The Purifiers tag Thug for 1 damage plus some heat but are pushed. The TTLs finish off the Soli and Seka lands another 5 on Kuro Ha, killing it in the process. We cool all of our mechs. Thug shoots at and misses the Soli and then charges it on the next turn. The charge is missed and he shuts down. Its almost game over – my Purifiers now make a move for his DZ. The Soli pumps more damage into the Thug and Seka runs into Thug’s rear. However, Thug restarts and Seka misses. As Thug can ignore an opponent’s pilot modifiers in CC, he only needs a 10 to hit the Soli, which he fails to do. My Purifiers are almost at the DZ but I can’t let Thug stay around. Another shot from Seka but a miss from the Soli. He misses another roll of 10 to hit and Seka finishes him off. My Purifiers fail to get VC3, so I win 2-1.

Another game that I felt I should have lost when looking at the builds. Once again, I felt that the Kuro Ha army had to put itself into harms way, which may be exciting but not necessarily wise. As for the SAD army. Yes, its boring but with just 2 rounds of play, I knew that Perfect Day would cancel Corrosive Atmosphere and Magnetic Storm in 1 round and Urban would block Corrosive Atmosphere for the other round – only leaving me vulnerable to Magnetic Storm in 1 round (I’d rather loose Decoy to Magnetic Storms that my 25DV to Corrosive Atmosphere - most people charge or CC Seka so having a high DV is probably better than a low DV and decoy). In the end, the army got to operate in pretty good conditions, which was always going to help me out.

So, I finish the event with 4 wins and 8 VCs. Not great but a big improvement from the first few rounds.

So, what did I learn?

Don’t go to a big event like this without practicing your armies. I had a pretty realistic view of my chances at this event and perhaps that’s why I didn’t put the time in at the table in advance.

I’d forgotten about looking at your opponent’s terrain for certain pieces and then taking them away from him and placing them elsewhere on the table. Doesn’t work every time but that H piece with a Shiro is a classic tell tale sign that can be taken care of.

Be wary of taking aggressive builds unless they are designed to hit first and hit hard. You are going into your opponent’s back yard and will be exposed not just to his own big hitters, but also to his harassers and basers. Chances are, unless your entire build is built for speed, then half your army will be left behind and not in a position to support your forward troops.

Switch on to “tournament” play rather than having a good, enjoyable ding-dong and fighting your opponent to the death. I should have chosen a more defensive – even passive- build for the booster rounds but that’s not in my nature and it cost me dear.

I think there was only 1 Ares played over the 2 days. It won all 3 of its constructed rounds. Not good for the game.

As for individual pieces, I would add Thug to the growing list of solid tournament pieces and the WH, CNC and BR Vixens also deserve a mention. I found the HD Purifiers to be fast and built like brick outhouses. The Dutch guys now seem to rate Slayer over other shooters and I can see why. Finally, the HS TTLs once again proved to be far more valuable than their 26 points.

There are still plenty of builds out there so SAD and Jack aren’t the be all and end all. There seemed to be no real success for the swarm armies and high defences did seem to win out against high AVs. The fact that a Hammerfall army won doesn’t make that an Uber piece either.

[elite130]

European Championships 2007


Preparation.
Playing this game for as long as it exists, thought me a thing or 2. And the foremost thing I learned is that with preparation comes success And generally this is true for most facets of live.

In the last couple of months I started thinking about an army for the European and Dutch Championships. I play according what some call the meta game, I try to asses what is popular and make sure I am prepared to handle it. Next to that you have to see what is available. The European Championships is AoD onwards. That leaves out a lot of stuff and make the world armies of last year still viable.

So I need an army that can beat :

1.Seka Pride+Aiko+Decoy
2.Jack/Julz.
3.Solitude.
4.Mercenary Faction Pride.
5.BR Solis´s

These where the most successful pieces of last Worlds, then I have to think about what impact Wolf strike had on these armies.

Wolf strike and the Battle force sets brings us the following meta game choices.

1.Hammerfell
2.The 16 inch Republic Malice
3.Slayer Warwolf
4.Fell Warwolf
5.Thug

I think most people would have found that there is bad synergy between SAD and Jack/Julz. So I looked at different armies for it. But I can not bring myself to play a 11 attack mech with no IT. That is just praying to hit something. And I always belief hitting is more important as opposed to not being hit.

Now Brinxter Came with his army and I tested against some time and I think it was one of the best SAD armies I have seen.

Seka
- Aiko
- Decoy
Magister
- Kelly
- R.I.S.C. Advanced Pulse Module
2x HS Sylph
4x CNC ATV
True Grit

It had SAD as a big distraction and a tiny deathstar hidden in the magister.
Then there is an up and coming talent at my venue who playes Thug

Thug
Rodriguez
Single use Evade
X-axis
Neumann
Repair
BR Solitaire
- Fortunato
IT
BR FP

Which is a very deceptive simple army, this army also made me strongly doubt if I need True Grit or not so I tested a lot with True Grit. But the single use evade on Thug makes it a very mobile and slippery unit. It doesn't help that Liam tend to throw 13-14 on average.....

Still Liam is a talent that will kick someone's arse any time soon.

Then there is Patrick who has tried his best to play 3 light mechs most of the time but saw it fail more often then succeed.

Now Brinxter who had a bad run at the EC 2007, Liam ended up 3th !!! and Patrick who is the Current Dutch Champion ended up 6th. These guys well they keep me in shape so to say. I coudn´t be successful without having to play them every week. I always hope that they are better players for playing me every week.

I did try to get 2 WH Kelswa's a couple months back to test a double tankdrop army with Jack/Julz something Milamber used during last worlds but I coudnt get the pieces....

Low and behold Ian, my nemesis in the Netherlands he seem to beat me at every non/important tournament and I beat him at every big tournament and although few no who he is he did end up 2nd at last Worlds after taking out Milamber in a nerve racking semi/final before taking on Marc Andre.

Ian came by 1 week before the EC 2007 with an double tankdrop kelswa army and Jack. And the army is just to good. If you engage it and do not knock out a drop it will probably do 12 damage on something. It worst enemy is time itself.

I started out with my old Worlds army

Alpha
- Stark
- IT
Jack
- LE Julz
Rots Bishop
- 2x HS TTL
- CT Merc
1 CNC ATV
2 HK ATV

I found I had trouble vs SAD, I already knew this from last Worlds.
I had trouble with Liam´s Thug army.

I knew that a Atlas would not be a problem or an Ares. But SAD was something I expect people to play, Thug was harder to judge but I knew of at least 1 kid who would play it. Other Jack armies where relatively easy to beat as most I knew of didn't use Alpha and had less support.

So I was looking at a new Mech that had the range of an Alpha and with decent stats.

So I came to Slayer, it is in my opinion the best All-round Mech out there. It has a 22 inch AO range it has streak which is very good vs Jack-Julz the JJ do help out in that as well. It has 12 IT attack 21 def. Reactive armour

So what do I put next to it. I decided early on I don't need Jack next to it. Jack being the best anti-Jack piece there is. To take care of SAD there are 2 roads Charging and DFA. So I started to consider the HD Osiris and the CJF Goshawk (I didn't own a harpy at that time so I didn't consider it.) Charging has better range, but an MDFA has better chances to it. And the heat management is better. And with an overcharger you have the range to be a threat.

So I came up with the following

Slayer
- Plisskin
- IT
CJF Goshawk
- LE Zikhali
- Risc Overcharger
2 HS sylph
1 CNC ATV
2 HK ATV
True grit

I shared this with good Trevor the Awesome who pointed out at me that Zihali is errated, as such I needed a replacement.

I never used a +0+2+1 pilot as reported by Brinxter, Trevor suggested the warrior from the CJF BF set +2+1+1 it is 16 points, I coudnt find it but there is a +2+1+0 medium pilot for 11 points. To me the latter was the best choice.

I did find that 2 HS sylph was to much, I think you need one to catch an evade mech and destroy it. Be it SAD or an BR solitaire.


So after some tinkering I came up with this.

Slayer
- Marcus
- IT
CJF Goshawk
- Grad +2+1+0
- Risc Overcharger
1 HS sylph
RotS Bishop
2x HS TTL
CT HS
1 CNC ATV
3 HK ATV

I had to give up the sylph, but I had a really well good all-round army. It has an edge against any and all SAD and Jack armies.

Now remember we had to built 2 armies, and we where not allowed to use the same LE´s in the 2nd army. So as my secondary army I brought.

Alpha
- Kerensky
- IT
Jack
- LE Julz
- BAP
4x HD Purifiers
HS sylph

but I would bring sunside and desert waste land with it. As Alpha has the best hvy heat dial and Jack a vent of 3. These was possible as we had to bring 1 hand for 5 rounds for both armies.

I brought Perfect day, split up and urban as well and used them with the Slayer army.

So Sealed.

I drew okisch but not great. We where all allowed to bring a pilot so Kerensky was there in spades.

RD Atlas, with pilot.
RD Marauder.
CJF Thor
some inf and stuff.

I decided to play the Atlas and the Thor and 2 pieces of inf.

First match against Tjpandv
A truly great guy and a joy to play against, he had a HK pure army, mad cat, osiris and gosshawk he split up the goshawk and I decided to attack his osiris then block the return shot with the Atlas, he kept trying to pump damage in my Atlas he actually got it on 2 clicks before salvage which also makes it deadly. I finished of his osiris and madcat and that was it.
2nd match against Marshall Killgore
A good guy, I played him before he is a very steady player he had the BR Vulture, WH Anubis + repair and Violater with no pilot and some inf. He was on 599 me on 600. He stayed behind blocking taking log range indirect potshots I indirected back at some of his infantry He got a lucky break hit my Thor I moved it back a bit. He moved around the corner I damaged the violater and then failed to break with the atlas to block the shot he salvaged my thor and won the match.

3th match against an eager German guy
The guy had 4 lights and one mech had a decent pilot. Still he was on 594 and was hunting my inf. Who where huddled close to my mechs. I destroyed one of his lights and well he kept trying to hunt a piece of infantry Sooner or later time was called an I won.

On a personal pet peeve
On hindsight the 600 rule for vc2 should have been changed by now, it is just unfair to double punish someone, I think people should be rewarded for playing with less points not punished for it. Also if using a FP or SA does not count against VC 2 more people would use them. Now you have to be more aggressive and you have to attack. And even if nothing happens you still lose. I do hope it get changed, if some plays 590 he should be accounted toward the 600, also if someone uses a SA he should not be punished vs VC 2. It just unfair.

On to the constructed I played

Slayer
- Marcus
- IT
CJF Goshawk
- Grad +2+1+0
- Risc Overcharger
1 HS sylph
RotS Bishop
2x HS TTL
CT HS
1 CNC ATV
3 HK ATV

4th round vs Hammerfell + a repair drop Merc angora + Merc CT
I played a young German guy who had no idea who i was. So much for intimidation factors. He was confident in his use of Hammerfell, so I hit it with slayer and mdfa Hammer fell and base Hammerfell with an atv, he withdrew to get repaired I then hit him again and mdfa the Hammerfell again. Let us say the hammer fell.

5th round vs luotti
I hope I have your name right. He played the Hell Horses Loki and Vengeance and a TTL drop. I wasn't really concerned as I played the Loki before, i just did an first strike with my atv´s on vengeance then when he was clearing then I based some stuff put my hvy hitters in place, I mdfa vengeance who is elite and hit it the next turn for 3 damage it was (2 from the first strike, 6 from mdfa) enough to kill it, then i focused on taking out his TTL´s using the range of my Slayer and being cautious i withdrew my pieces. The Loki-Timber wolf moved up and now I got surprised, which I admit doesn't happen to me to often.

I decided to take a shot at the d**n thing and in reply he charged my Goshawk, who at least could take damage as it is an medium and not a light mech. But I have stated before I always get surprised people try to charge me but having it happen in my own turn....... He was shut-down and slayer and TTL´s killed the Hell Horses mech.

6th round
To be honest it is a complete blank, i know i won but cant recall the army or what happened also it was the 6th round.

I was very happy with this army, and as long as there is no big change in the meta game ill probably play it a lot. I succeed above expectations I not only won 3 constructed rounds I destroyed their main pieces, that to me is a rare thing. At a certain level that doest happen.

The Germans now had 4 rounds planned to get to a German Championships which must be gruelling they stopped at 3 and had the final in the morning around 09.00. After dinner we had a quick look around and what surprised us was that almost 60 % to 70 % where playing light mech swarms. Ranging from Solitaires to CNC Vixens and even the Twins with the RotS twins.

The German Champion won with a army, for a surprise it wasn't Milamber.

CNC Vixen
?
?
CNC Vixen
?
?
CNC Phx I
?
APM
Some support.

He faced.

Slayer
own pilot
Decoy
BR Solis
?
?
BR Solis
?
?

My prediction was that the Slayer would win, I was wrong as the Vixens won.

In the night, before Aprils fools day, I decided that with an 5/1 record it was more than likely ill make top 16. So i built an 3th army for the top 16 elimination round.


I was impressed by the potential of sunside and wanted to use it again.

Slayer
Plisskin
IT
Goshawk
Warrior +2+1+1
Overcharger
HS sylph
5 HD Purifiers

So It was time for my secondary army.

Alpha
- Kerensky
- IT
Jack
- LE Julz
- BAP
4x HD Purifiers
HS sylph

7th round vs Milamber.
I first played Milamber who used his double Tank drop jack Merc FP. The army is just too strong all I saw was instant death if I dared to attack. I baited him once with my inf. Which I did not infiltrate as they would then survive a kelswa drop.

He never took the bait then in the last round he got what he wanted I made a mistake and Alpha was in range of both drops, he hit with the first and missed with the second by one point on the dice roll. Time was called and I won. Because of the use of Merc FP.

His army was the better one and he should have won.

8th round vs Ian
Now as I said Ian is at least as I am and had his own anti SAD army, he played Slayer + Harpy recruited to CJF. I think he was a bit tired as he put his army within AO range of my Jack on the first turn. I missed he tried to shoot me and missed as well. Then I CCAO his harpy and kept his Slayer based while my Alpha was taking care of his TTL drop.

He boldly moved his Harpy in my rear. Sunside came to my rescue crippling Ian ability to be aggressive I destroyed his Harpy and went shut-down with Alpha a further sunside roll made sure Slayer needed water. With his TTL´s neutered I won the match.

I made top 16 as the 2nd place tier meaning I would face Milamber in the final if we both made it.







Now the knock out stages.

I played

Slayer
Plisskin
IT
Goshawk
Warrior +2+1+1
Overcharger
HS sylph
5 HD Purifiers

in the morning I had second doubts. I wanted my primary army with the TTL´s unfortunately I only brought the pieces for the above army.

First round Luotti again.
He wasn't happy about playing me again, he used the comstar Marauder and vengeance. Apparently he decided to force the issue and after a couple unsuccessful attempts with vengeance he charged me with vengeance. He missed and vengeance got destroyed, then he charged with the marauder and hit but mdfa and close combat from the slayer brought the marauder down as well. I also believed his main reason to play so fast and furious is because he needed to catch a train as he lived a 5 hour train ride away.

2nd Round some Italian guy.
His English wasn't very good so I asked some of his friends to translate once in awhile.
He used SAD, WH Mjolnir TG and 4 Kites. I had no clue what to think of the kites to be honest. I crippled his Mjolnir early on killed a Kite so he was getting a bit desperate. SAD moved in I CCAO with Slayer and Missed then MDFAed in his rear arc with the Goshawk, hit the next turn with Slayer so SAD was close to death losing 3 of his 4 kites and the Mjolnir assured me of the win. The kites where there to Ram light evade mechs. As 4 rams tends to cripple and they are cheaper than the light mech in question. An creative idea.

3th round Liam
the young and upcoming talent from the Netherlands facing the old master. He played

Thug
Rodriguez
Single use Evade
X-axis
Neumann
Repair
BR Solitaire
- Fortunato
IT
BR FP

The single use evade on the Thug is brilliant he plays the army really well. But I am the old master. He moved in early with his BR Solis pressuring me and hoping to move in and out. I damaged his Solis, then tagged it with my HS sylph, He did manage to escape (who needs grapple) and later on I had to shoot it with slayer to destroy it. My sylph was salvaged or destroyed my inf. Was keeping Thug bizy, I mdfa X/axis Thug hit my shut-down Slayer went shut-down himself. Slayer got up first and moved away, the Goshawk also shut-down and damaged was in trouble. He missed a shut-down as well and time was called, according to my calculations afterwards losing the goshawk would mean losing as Liam scored VC 3 we where basicly fighting in my endzone all the time. So far it was my most difficult fight.

The final.
I played Milamber we did the same 2 years ago. He played x/axis+ Hammerfell. I knew I had the range and he had the FP. He parked in water, I parked behind blocking. My only problem was he put on single use streak for assaults on my advice, I stayed at his house since Friday and we had a lot of talk on Mechwarrior related issues. 6 streak is ugly. And it assured him I had to keep my distance. He came out of his water, I successfully mdfa Hammerfell, hit him and primed my Slayer. Unfortunately my Goshawk went shut-down Slayer needed to cool to. Milamber made a very strong move by making sure I coudnt base Hammerfell by putting in x/axis to block my shot with slayer. I had to use my streaks now and pumped some damage into Hammerfell he regenerated every turn and I git his defence in the 20/21 range I wanted my infantry with att 8 to push him over the edge and get some heat into it. I needed 13´s and was hoping to get them in i had 3 attempts All missed Slayer missed, he captured my goshawk. His x/axis based my Slayer I still concentrated on Hammerfell, Slayer went shut-down and the infantry coudnt hit Hammerfell

He won. I hate to admit it but he won fair and square. In hindsight I might have concentrated more in liberating my goshawk. A lucky break here there might have won me the game. But that is beside the point. It was a good match.

I had a great great time, this the reason I am willing to travel all over the worlds to play the game. I had some great matches met some awesome people. I am also happy my venue is producing some really great players and that some are now joining in at my venue. Brinxter lives a 2 hour drive away but tends to come over a lot to play us. And well the local talent did great.

I don't know If I go to the US. Most of it depends on the format, I already know that well being MW Worlds Fellowship winner 2007 means a lot less then it did previous years. But that is not relevant what is is the format if it is an Solaris only event then ill probably wont come. This is not a negative comment on Solaris it just is not MechWarrior.

Next stop for me probably the Dutch Nationals and possibly a trip to Paris.

Regards
Elite130

[warlord1985]

I couldn't try and edit an entire post by Elite to quote so I'll just reiterate some points.

The VC2 thing I really have a problem with myself. I always hated the fact that starting down on VC2 hurt and playing FP or SA meant the death of your strategy. When your opponent can turtle and force the aggresive issue even if your strategy is defensive completely takes the tactics away. If they have cards like True Grit and others that can break FP and SA then they shouldn't cost you points or any sort of problems. That is one of my many problems with the game and one reason why I quit.

I do agree that Solaris isn't AoD. Granted I like Solaris alot but its not the same as a field battle of combined arms. Personally I have no problem with them having a Solaris Iron Man tournament or something of the like at Gencon/Worlds but I think Worlds should be AoD not Solaris. If its the difference between the Worlds event actually having Worlds players than they really should consider the reprecussions of their decisions.

I still really think this game has the best tactics and games that you can have in any game-play. However the problems with the game and rules just are too stagerring.

Glad to hear you guys had fun. Nice to see that there are still lots of eager players over the pond.

-W

[asburygrad]

I hope you all had fun. That is the point of playing a game, rather than just winning, right?

Couple of questions for Tjpandv:

You mentioned the Ares going 3-0 in constructed. I did not see an Ares making the top 4 on Day 2, however. Were people simply unprepared to play the Ares the first day, or do you think the Ares is a major problem-piece in constructed play?

Second question: You mentioned that you "found the HD Purifiers to be fast and built like brick outhouses." I'm not familiar with this term. Did you like the Purifiers, or reject them?


Now for Elite :

Thanks much for the lengthy analysis. I'm always fascinated by your insights into the game, and to hear what people are playing in the Netherlands. I would love to be able to head to a venue with that much world-class talent; it must be awesome!

I was surprised by two of your comments. First, you are very impressed by the dual-Kelswa drop with Jack. A friend of mine recently played this against me and won easily . . . but I was testing out the Twins, so I didn't give his army much credibility in real play. I'm very bothered by the attack value of 10 on each Kelswa. How on earth do you hit SAD, needing to roll 15 or better twice on each attack? I must be missing something, so I need enlightenment from the only player to make every single MW Worlds.

Second question: Slayer looks like an awesome Mech to me as well. But I was worried about a Streak attack of 4 damage, reducing to 3 because of Streaks, and then only dealing 1 damage to Solitude. Do you need the JF Goshawk (or Harpy) to hit an MDFA first, then follow up with Slayer?

I have to agree with the problems on FP and SA. Maybe if you still have a piece from each named faction at the end of the game, then you keep 40 points for the SA on VC 2? Just a thought! Being down on VC 2 is a huge detraction from playing SAs, and making them more viable might add to the number of creative and competitive armies out there.

Thanks again to you both, and thanks for responding to my questions!! lol

[asburygrad]

Sorry for the double-post, but I knew there was something else I had to comment on. I just have to use that Hellbringer's pilot ability in a game some time! Charging on your opponent's turn . . . brilliant!

[elite130]

asburygrad said:

I hope you all had fun. That is the point of playing a game, rather than just winning, right?

I had great fun.

asburygrad said:

Couple of questions for Tjpandv:

You mentioned the Ares going 3-0 in constructed. I did not see an Ares making the top 4 on Day 2, however. Were people simply unprepared to play the Ares the first day, or do you think the Ares is a major problem-piece in constructed play?

Let me answer this as well. Fion (he is 14) the little brother of Liam ( who is 17) who endedup as 3th played the Ares in the constructed he didnt make top 16 as he lost 2 or 3 of his sealed games. Both have to face me every week, I think they loved it so much as they gotten to play someone else but me for a change....

asburygrad said:

Second question: You mentioned that you "found the HD Purifiers to be fast and built like brick outhouses." I'm not familiar with this term. Did you like the Purifiers, or reject them?

He likes them, built like brickhouse means solid/tough. I agree with him...

asburygrad said:

Now for Elite :

Thanks much for the lengthy analysis. I'm always fascinated by your insights into the game, and to hear what people are playing in the Netherlands. I would love to be able to head to a venue with that much world-class talent; it must be awesome!

I was surprised by two of your comments. First, you are very impressed by the dual-Kelswa drop with Jack. A friend of mine recently played this against me and won easily . . . but I was testing out the Twins, so I didn't give his army much credibility in real play. I'm very bothered by the attack value of 10 on each Kelswa. How on earth do you hit SAD, needing to roll 15 or better twice on each attack? I must be missing something, so I need enlightenment from the only player to make every single MW Worlds.

Firstly the army has Merc FP, secondly it has Jack with BAP. thirdly if that first does hit your toast...... So versus SAD it needs an 11 and with Jack around only a 9.

asburygrad said:

Second question: Slayer looks like an awesome Mech to me as well. But I was worried about a Streak attack of 4 damage, reducing to 3 because of Streaks, and then only dealing 1 damage to Solitude. Do you need the JF Goshawk (or Harpy) to hit an MDFA first, then follow up with Slayer?

That would be the plan the Goshawk or harpy has the ArP. I would prefer to substitute the streak for ArP but i can live with it. as it is.

asburygrad said:

I have to agree with the problems on FP and SA. Maybe if you still have a piece from each named faction at the end of the game, then you keep 40 points for the SA on VC 2? Just a thought! Being down on VC 2 is a huge detraction from playing SAs, and making them more viable might add to the number of creative and competitive armies out there.

Thanks again to you both, and thanks for responding to my questions!! lol

Tell WK on the latter part.

[tjpandv]

asburygrad said:

I hope you all had fun. That is the point of playing a game, rather than just winning, right?

Couple of questions for Tjpandv:

You mentioned the Ares going 3-0 in constructed. I did not see an Ares making the top 4 on Day 2, however. Were people simply unprepared to play the Ares the first day, or do you think the Ares is a major problem-piece in constructed play?

Second question: You mentioned that you "found the HD Purifiers to be fast and built like brick outhouses." I'm not familiar with this term. Did you like the Purifiers, or reject them?

I certainly had a lot of fun. Every opponent was a delight to play against - no edgy stuff - even that Dutch guy I played in Round 1 was actually pretty decent - his name escapes me but I'm sure he has a future in the game...

Those HD Purifiers were excellent pieces. The Germans have a reputation for playing PCCs that harm non BA. This, coupled with the fact that they infiltrate in 18 inches and still have 6 clicks of life mean that "they rock" - I think that's a more recognised term . Its not very often that ATVs go all the way into an opponent's DZ these days and these guys sit just where you need a mid-table harasser. With 6 clicks of life, they can hang around long enough to get your opponent flustered.

A brick outhouse is a polite term in the UK for an outside toilet but I didn't want to use the term s**thouse on a public forum - oops!

As for the Ares, it would have phased me if I had faced it and I don't think its good for the constructed game. That said, I will now look at anti Ares builds or, more likely, will incorporate some anti Ares features into my builds. Its hard enough to design a good army to take on regular pieces. Adding a Colossus Class to the mix makes it worse.

Hopefully the UK Nats will be faction pure and they may put a block on the Ares.

[elite130]

The Ares are not that difficult to deal with any 2 hvy or any hvy med combo should beat it.

The main trick is to make sure they overheat, so take things like desert wasteland or sunside.

If they shutdown or explode you have them.

sacrifice a medium to base the dam thing and hit it with your hvy.

3 lights with APM also cut it in short order.

[asburygrad]

I really appreciate the responses, guys. Thanks!

We're getting the groundwork laid out for an Alabama State Championship next month. This thread has given me a lot to think about between now and then. If everyone good shows up, there will be one player who is better than me there, one player who is about equal, and three or four who can beat me if they have a good game or if I make a mistake. So I need to start thinking about solid builds and testing them.

The format is undecided at this point, but there seem to be two main directions of thought: double elimination and allowing army build changes between rounds, versus regular Swiss format with one army for the whole tournament. There are also some people calling for a regular hand of PCs and missions, while some people want them banned (for some reason I can't fathom).

When we nail the format down, I'll be posting more questions and comments on this forum. But for now, let me just tell you - your experiences at ECC contain great warnings and advice for me!

[asburygrad]

Oh, one last thing I wanted to discuss from your notes: X-Axis. Quite a while back, I decided that the amazing defense and cheap cost of this Mech were outweighed by the bad heat dial. Apparently, Milamber would disagree with me. I guess the shutdown roll after 2 heat was not a major problem for the X-Axis players?