AsburyGrad's DragonCon Report

[asburygrad]

Preparation:
I was very disappointed when I had to cancel my trip to GenCon ’08, and the MW main event there. I was going to travel with my good buddies Kirk McCauley and Travis “GuppyLips” Schults, so I was double-bummed. Then I remembered that there was a Southeast Regional event at DragonCon, and decided to make the three-hour drive from my home in Jasper, Alabama. I had about three weeks to switch gears from the GenCon formats and get ready.

I was excited about returning to DragonCon. Travis and I began our big convention experience, and serious MechWarrior tournament play, at DragonCon 2005 – the Unrestricted World Championship. I had taken 6th place in that tournament, and in a way, returning to D*C this year was like coming home to my first convention experience.

Necrodog had posted the format on the forums well ahead of time – 900 points, House Alliance pure, no merc contracts, Gunslingers recruit as normal, 6 orders, 50-minute rounds. I knew that time would be a huge factor in these games – 50 minutes flies by when you play with larger armies. It just takes so long to make 6 decisions, deal out 6 orders, and resolve them in one turn. I doubted that anyone would be able to eliminate their opponent’s army in a game – there simply wasn’t time. So you just had to stay ahead on points and VCs.

In addition, I found out that a Peacemaker army won the Main Event at GenCon, running two WH Mjolnirs as line-of-sight blockers. At the DragonCon event, it would be illegal to take the WH pieces with a Republic one – but a Peacemaker player could easily take any number of other pieces in their place. Also, with the 900-point build total, I figured that left plenty of room for major gear and pilots. I expected someone to play Peacemaker with a Scrub Locust recruited to the Republic (which would cancel Streak attacks at the Malice as well as Jack-based formation tankdrop attacks), then add two more light Mechs with Evade. I playtested the Ravens Magister and Specter for this job; I think the Twins Glory and Fortune could also work well (and add some much-needed offense to the army). By running three light Mechs with Evade, it can be very easy to prevent opponents from shooting at Peacemaker at all, and pump the blockers to 26 or 27 defense values (possibly with Decoy gear as well).

Beyond Peacemaker builds, I expected Bannson’s Raiders to be a strong faction for this event. I had given some thought to Jack, then turned back to Scrub. Which one is stronger? Do you play Jack, hoping no one thought to bring Scrub? Or do you play Scrub, cancelling most of Jack’s value as well as negating Streaks (which are popular) and part of Homing Beacon’s use?

In searching for an answer to the Peacemaker/light Mech formation, I hit upon a seldom-seen piece that I didn’t even own: the Ryu Nightstalker. The pilot for this Mech was created to honor our former Rules Arbitrator, Rain O’Brien, with the name Reign O’Broin. I met Rain only one time: at DragonCon ‘05. So at this point, I knew I absolutely had to run Reign at my return to DragonCon!

Ryu is a House Kurita piece – so this narrowed my army options down to DF, HK, and Gunslingers. For me, this helped a lot – as I tend to overthink army builds and consider too many possibilities. Now, I had a focus! With about a week or so left, I got to work on Kurita/DF builds. Eventually, I narrowed down to two build ideas: the Refuge Daishi as a stand-alone hammer with DF Schmitt tankdrop as support, or a Shiro with P-A28 (Aggressive Stance) pilot and two DF Schmitt tankdrops as support. I am very familiar with the Aggressive Stance ability, and love the idea of turning the Schmitt tanks into “13 attack with Improved Targeting” nightmares – along with giving the Shiro a starting attack of 12, which it desperately needs. I playtested the Shiro build a good bit against Kirk, Travis, and fellow Mutant Sea Bass member Leon, and I still thought it had potential. But in the end, Kirk’s advice stuck with me – no matter what army you face, no matter how bad the game goes, Refuge is good enough on its own to pull you back out.


Getting to DragonCon:

I had thought about simply driving to D*C Saturday morning, spending Saturday night with Denelic (who offered me a bed in his room for only $50), and then driving home Sunday night. But my wife wanted to come along for the Atlanta experience, and we brought our two-year-old (and my constant MW gaming companion) Gabriel. We headed out Friday, spent two hours in a traffic jam, and discovered a dead battery after dinner in Atlanta that night. By the time I got that settled on Saturday morning, I didn’t have time to make it to Saturday’s 600-point tournament. I wasn’t too upset, just for the fact that a Sunday ticket to DragonCon was only $30, compared to the Saturday-Monday ticket price of $75 that I had been expecting to pay.

One last glitch in my plans: I borrowed an entire case of DF pieces from Kirk McCauley before leaving Alabama. I looked carefully through all of it, and choose the pieces I thought I might use. As I did so, I failed to double-check the artillery markers. On Sunday morning in Atlanta, while setting out my pieces, I noticed that I had a DF Hadur piece (#41) with the wrong Hadur artillery token (#43)! I made a quick swap, dropping two artillery pieces and using the spare points for gear on my Mechs and more basers, but still hurting that I would lack artillery pressure at the tournament.

[asburygrad]

The Big Tournament (Finally!):

This was my final build list:

Refuge Daishi / Matt LeBlanc / HK Recruit / Lock-On Targeting – 371
Ryu Nightstalker / Reign O’Broin / Decoy – 233
DF Maxim Mk II Transport – 31
DF Schmitt Assault Tank – 94
Gunsho Hiroshi Kato Giggins APC – 36
2 DF Kanazuchi Battle Armor – 40
3 DF ATV Squad – 42
3 HK ATV Squad – 39
HK Combat Technicians – 14


Round One:
In the first match I played Viktor/Takar from Strawberry Plains, TN. Viktor turned out to be the only person running Peacemaker – and he paired it with the Harlequin Griffin rather than light Mechs with Evade. Sadly, Viktor also had artillery marker problems: the tokens for his Highlander Hadurs were left in Tennessee! The game was going slow, with only a few ATV kills for each of us, when I decided to run Refuge up and base a Hadur – thinking this would give me 25 defense against assault orders. But I had played Corrosive Atmosphere to counter Peacemaker’s defense – which left Refuge at a bare 23 itself. Viktor’s Peacemaker nailed the 12 he needed to hit, Harlequin followed up, and Refuge was hurting.

At that point, I ran Refuge back as far as possible, getting it behind Ryu, while continuing to eliminate ATVs and Shamashes. Close to the end of the match, I dropped my Kanazuchis to fire on a Hadur and missed – but then used them to base Peacemaker and Harlequin, which had run up to chase Refuge. With the Daishi behind Ryu and his Mechs unable to assault order, time was called. I won this match by something like 11 points on VCs 1 and 2, when we added up all the dead ATVs and Shamashes – impressive, considering Viktor ran the Hadurs without their tokens!!


Round Two:
Second match was against Denelic – last year’s Southeast Regional Champion and this year’s Alabama State Champion. I lost to him in the championship round at State, so I was looking for revenge. I knew he was the best player in the tournament, and I was concerned about this match. He was running Kurita/DF as well, but had chosen the Kaminari Shiro with Improved Targeting, Kolyu Nyx with Tormark and Anti-Personnel, an SM1 Tank Destroyer, 7 or so ATVs, 5 DF Shock Troopers, 4 DF Trike Squads, 3 DF Kanazuchi Battle Armors, and 2 DF Arrow IV Tanks.

I had been worried about Rocky Terrain before the tournament began, which would cancel the power of my Schmitt drop, so I had brought Urban with me and played it against Denelic. It paid off, as Rocky Terrain was his card choice. We spent a lot of time early in the game moving around, with the ATVs smacking each other. Eventually other pieces joined in. This game also ended with about 11 points difference – but in Denelic’s favor. I still held VC2, since he had played a Faction Pride card, but he took VCs 1 and 3. I now had 1 win, 1 loss, and 3 total VCs.


Round Three:
Final qualifier round was against Niteglider. He lives and plays in Birmingham, Alabama – about an hour away from me, at a venue that I sometimes visit. But we had not faced each other since DragonCon ’05 at Unrestricted Worlds, where he had taken second place. (Again, more spooky connections to that old tournament!)

I played the Pull Together mission card in this round (and completed it) while Niteglider played Perfect Day. He was running a HD Loki with Improved Targeting, a HD Vixen with Scout Retrofit, 3 SS Sniper artillery pieces, 2 SS Balacs, and a few HD ATVs. I quickly eliminated his ATVs, while I was marked with a few artillery pogs. I was able to quickly move Refuge and Ryu up under the Snipers’ 16-inch range to get out of the artillery’s way. His Balacs took a few shots at the Mechs, but missed. Hiroshi Kato turned a corner and deployed the Kanazuchis, who eliminated one Balac.

Three of my ATVs moved up into his DZ and based one Sniper and his Loki, preventing assault orders, while Refuge ran up into the Loki’s rear arc. Niteglider broke the Loki away at a run and got it out of there, but left the ATVs scoring VC 3 points and Refuge and Ryu both in range of the artillery pieces. The two Mechs combined on a Sniper kill, and I deployed the Schmitt tank in the middle of nowhere, so as not to lose VC 2 points on it. Niteglider’s Vixen charged Ryu and hit for 4 damage – but took 2 damage itself. On the next turn, Refuge hit it with an energy attack and then Hiroshi Kato killed the Vixen on a ram order – and Refuge passed a ton of heat rolls.

The Loki tried an assault order on the damaged Ryu, needing a 10 or better twice to hit – but failed on the reroll, even with his IT. I then ran Ryu out of range and moved the ATVs from basing the Snipers, to basing the Loki. Then time was called. This was my first real clear victory – I killed a Vixen, Sniper, Balac, and infantry, while losing only a few infantry in the process. I won all three VCs plus the mission card, and made it into the Top 4! (I’m not sure how close the fifth-placed player was, but I think completing my mission card helped me.)


Semi-Final Round:
I was once again paired against Denelic in this match. I don’t know how many times you have to play someone in order to become a “nemesis,” but Denelic may be the closest thing I have to one in the game of MechWarrior.

As such, I used my Perfect Day card in this round, just to make sure that the game would be straight-up, and cancelled his Heavy Fog card.

This game was very, very different from our first match. I was first player for the game, and had saved a surprise in my army, just in case I had to repeat a match against someone. I sprung it in this round: I infiltrated my HK and DF ATV Squads into firing range of his Nyx, then placed Gunsho Hiroshi Kato at its full infiltrate speed of 15 inches (dead center of the field), directly in line with the Nyx. On my first turn, I was capable of moving the Giggins APC 7 inches to deploy the Kanazuchis (after an easy break-away roll with Evade), and then firing the Kanazuchis in formation with the ATVs for early kills in an opponent’s deployment zone.

I have to say this: seeing Denelic’s face as he watched me set all this up was the highlight of the tournament for me! I was really proud of myself for getting the drop on a top player like that. But he recovered quickly, infiltrated second, and had massive numbers of ATVs along with his DF SM1 Tank Destroyer. He completely surrounded the Giggins, preventing it from moving directly towards the Nyx.

On my first turn, I measured from Refuge to the ATV directly in Hiroshi’s way – just out of range. So I nailed a Trike Squad instead, broke Gunsho out of the ring of ATVs and Trikes that surrounded it, dropped the Kanazuchis, and used them to eliminate the SM1 hovertank. It took everything they had, too – that vehicle has a good number of Salvage clicks! Then my DF ATVs started to use Flamers on his ATVs, which had based them during his deployment, and the match was on.

Denelic used his artillery and his Nyx with Anti-Personnel to quickly remove all the ATVs that had lined up near him. I used that time to destroy as many Trikes and ATVs near my DZ as I could – even dropping my Schmitt to help out. He moved Kaminari into some water, dominating the board with its 23-inch assault order range – and took out the Giggins APC and Kanazuchis with it. I kept after his infantry, trying not to give up VC 3 this time, and moved Ryu in front of Refuge – again using it’s 23 defense with Decoy to block lines of sight. His Shock Troopers moved in to base Refuge, and he missed a shot on Ryu with the Shiro – he needed to roll 14 or more twice, got it the first time, but failed on the reroll.

I then ran Refuge and Ryu behind some blocking terrain, out to where Kolyu was hiding on the side of the board. I moved my loaded Maxim up behind the Mechs. He based the Maxim with the Shock Troopers, and ran Kaminari up to join the Nyx. I dropped the Schmitt to kill a Shock Trooper (and prevent VC2-loss), killed another with Refuge, and then ended my turn. With his final order, Denelic charged the Maxim with his Shiro and hit, knocking the transport into Salvage – but it was not quite enough. I won by about 30 points on VCs 1 and 2, while he had won VC 3. An intense match against a great player and nice person.


Championship Round:
Having defeated my nemesis Denelic to make it there, I found myself facing a quiet player named Matt in the final round. Before the tournament had started, he had been talking about not having enough units to build a faction-pure 900-point army – so a couple of other players had helped him out. I was pleasantly surprised to see him make it all the way to the final game.

After the intensity of the last match, I was hoping for a calmer time in my fifth game of the day. I played my final card – Constant Tremors, which did nothing other than negate the Repair SE on my own Combat Technician – while Matt did not play a card. He was running the Nova Cats: a Vixen and Morrigan both with Evade and +2 defense pilots, a Thor with Anti-Personnel gear, a SC Behemoth/Bishop tankdrop, an Enyo, a pair of ATVs, and a trio of Laser Teams.

We had both placed blocking terrain all over the field, which worked to my advantage. I killed his ATVs early using the Flamer SE from a pair of DF ATVs, and a Refuge shot. After that, the game really slowed down. Matt was nervous about facing Refuge’s high-attack Streak shots, and I didn’t want to come out into the open to face his 16-range energy attacks. Refuge took a try at the Morrigan with Streaks, but missed, and Matt backed the light Mech away on the next turn. We moved a little bit, and passed a lot.

I finally decided to go after his Vixen, which Matt had left guarding the right side of his deployment zone while moving everything else downfield. I had my whole army – everything! – moving down the side of the board behind the blocking terrain. Once again, the only real shot my opponent had was on Ryu – with 23 defense and Decoy. Instead, he took a shot at an ATV, and hit for 1 damage. After resting, I moved Refuge up to pressure the Vixen from behind blocking. Again, Matt backed it away. Refuge hit a Streak Missile shot on his Thor instead.

Time was running down, and I thought I was in good shape – I only had two ATV kills, but Matt had only earned a few VC 3 points. I thought I was winning on VC 1 and 2, when suddenly I realized my mistake: the Kanazuchis and Schmitt were still in my transports! I started to move Matt along a little bit quicker, hoping for at least enough time on my next turn to deploy the units and get the win. In doing so, however, Matt decided that his only choice was to charge Refuge with his Morrigan and Thor – and they both hit! Refuge was now creaking under the damage. When it came back to my turn, I now had a bigger problem than units hiding in transports: I needed to save Refuge as well. The dropped Schmitt and Ryu eliminated the Morrigan, the Kanazuchis deployed just to be safe, and I moved the Daishi as far away as I could. With the run order, though, Refuge shut down – leaving it with a pathetic 16 defense.

There was still enough time for Matt to take another turn! He had moved his Bishop into my DZ and won VC 3 earlier – and that tankdrop was now within reach of Refuge. He dropped the Behemoth and fired, needing only a 6 to hit for 4 damage . . . and crit-missed the shot! I could not have asked for better timing. Matt finished his turn, and my Schmitt and ATVs put his Thor into Salvage when time ran out. The final tally showed a huge gap on points due to the salvaged Thor and eliminated Morrigan, but it was closer than that. Refuge was only 6 clicks from Salvage itself – so the Behemoth could not have won the game for him. Just looking at the points alone, this was my widest margin of victory throughout the day.


Aftermath:

Necrodog set out two full sets of Solaris VII packs, and announced that the Southeast Regional Champion won a full set! I thought that was awesome prize support for such a small tournament – compared to Origins, GenCon, etc. Necrodog asked me how we should determine Fellowship. I looked around for Viktor, but he had already left. (I thought it was a tradition to give Fellowship to him, seeing as he won this honor at Unrestricted Worlds ’05, AL State Championship ’08, and probably every other time he doesn’t win a tournament.) So I suggested that we gather together the 5 players who were still in the area, and let each one pick out a pack from the 8 packs total. This seemed to please everyone there. In addition, after everyone had picked, I took the three remaining Solaris packs, and gave them to a couple of guys who did not have them already. Let’s face it: once you have a full Solaris set, you don’t really need any more, and these guys needed the figures more than I do. One of them nearly hugged me!

(Note to Necrodog: does this mean I won both Championship and Fellowship in the same tournament?? If so, I think that would make it a first . . . lol!)


Thanks to the other eight players for coming to the tournament – especially the two guys who had to borrow figures. It shows great courage to walk into that den of lions, asking your opponents to help you build an army – well done! Thanks to Necrodog for running a great tournament. The build format was interesting and fun, and the rules were tight. Also, thanks for waiting on Denelic and I to set our ATVs in the exact places we wanted them. Thanks to Viktor, Denelic, Niteglider, and Matt for awesome games that usually swung on an ATV kill or two. As Viktor said, that’s how we want it.

And finally, thanks to Travis, Kirk, Leon, and every member of Clan Mutant Sea Bass who plays at The Deep in Huntsville, Alabama. You really helped me with the builds and ideas – even by defeating me! – and by reading my crazed emails shortly after your own GenCon trip. I am proud and honored to finally bring home a Championship to our Clan. To all other Clans and Houses out there: the Sea Bass is ascendant! This is only the beginning of our rise to power! Today, the Southeast Regional Championship; tomorrow, YOUR world! Seyla!!

[Zxqueb]

Thanks for the report. It seems like a good time! 9 players seems like a great number for MW these days. It's too bad you couldn't make Gencon for the last harrah, but I'm glad you were able to find a good tournament to play in!

Z

[asburygrad]

Sept 8, 2008 5:08:41 GMT -5 Zxqueb said:

Thanks for the report. It seems like a good time! 9 players seems like a great number for MW these days. It's too bad you couldn't make Gencon for the last harrah, but I'm glad you were able to find a good tournament to play in!

I'm amazed that two tournaments this year drew more than 30 players - my own Alabama State Championship, and the Michigan event back in April.

Did you make it over to the MW tables at GenCon? Don't know how many people made it, bu the formats sure sounded like fun.

[Zxqueb]

I played in the box of poo event. There were maybe 12-14 people. It's an interesting story, actually. I went to the WK room to play, but found out when I got there that the pre-reg ticket I bought wasn't enough. They were charging everyone an additional $25 which I felt was rediculous considering a) the event signup had no mention of this charge and b) MW is essentially a dead game with this Gencon being the last harrah. So I wasn't going to play, but Calvin Lin who was battlemastering paid for my buy-in and kept the pieces after the match.

So I played - It was 3 rounds and I ran 3 light mechs or maybe 2 lights and a heavy (can't remember which exactly -- one light was the unique that is 50/50 from negating shots at range) and some infantry (including BR clowns mortar squad). All in all it wasn't a bad set up as most other people were running big mech.

The first game, I barely remember. The guy was running something decent as I recall, but was rustier than I was. I cleaned up that one fairly quickly. The second match was another couple of big mechs (I'm thinking it was a vulture and an atlas) band I had to screen my mechs and get off a shot with a mech + infantry to crack. It was quite a good game.

Last match was against DragonDawg and we were basically fooling around for the first 30 minutes... calling judges over little things, shouting at each other, exploiting loop holes in the rulebook and calling judges again and again (not to mention wandering super heroes -- really!). Basically we were just fooling around, making asses of ourselves and having a great old time. Calvin was watching the game, but left due to frusteration. About 1/2 way through I made a dumb play and Mike exploded going all hyper competitive and he pulled out to a huge lead. So things got serious pretty fast. By the end I managed to close the gap back down to around 12 points, but lost to him.

Mike finished 1st, I finished 2nd.

I didn't really watch the main event, but maybe Elite, Brinxter, Dragondawg or Moonsammy can fill you in on that stuff.

Z