Duelcon has come to a close and Sid and myself are home from an awesome weekend. I am equal parts exhausted and exhilarated. Below Sid and I will give you a recap of what went on, how we did in tournaments, tournament results and all the other goings on. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
Let me start this post out by saying thank you. Thank you to everyone who contributed to Sid and I getting to Duelcon. This blog would be nothing without it's readers. Those of you who contributed to the blog, and you know who you are, thank you guys and there will be a lot of furious painting and podcasting happening over the next few months with all the folks who helped out.
Day 1 -
Sid and I fly in the day before so we were relatively well rested. We got our free breakfast and checked into the con. In the swag bag there were a few things of note: $25 off a Battlefoam purchase of $50 or more, a sprew with some miniatures on it that looked shockingly similar to GW models but under a different brand, lastly a set of rare earth magnets. We hung around until the first set of events started and then we watched some games played a pick up game or 2 and had a pretty chill day before I entered in the 20pt MM/TC.
Round 1 -
My List:
Grim
Earthborn
Rok
Impaler
eSkarre. This was a complete slug fest and I had the privilege of meeting my opponent earlier in the day so it was a fun game all the way through, but it came down to my Impaler getting a charge off on a KD Skarre.
Round 2 -
vs Legion
Saeryn is lame. Like, really lame. Grim however is more lame counter feating on his army and then killing every last beast. I though I lost on scenario until I found out if I kill his beasts that I simply win.
Round 3 -
vs Cricle
Played against eKruger piloted by the masters winner Craig. Was a fun game that came down ultimately to him missing a crucial TK which caused the loss.
Round 4 -
vs Khador
You know who else is lame? Karchev. Holy shit is he beast in this format. I knew what he could do with the power sliding jacks and I just let it happen because I am nub and that's how it goes.
Round 5 -
vs Khador
God dammit. Karchev, again. F***! So yeah, this time I learned from my mistake earlier and feated early to prevents the huge run power slide BS. I subsequently got the charge off with Rok and failed to seal the deal because well, dice are dice... 3-2 and failed to score a spot in the WMW qualifier so far.
It's now late and I want to go to bed, so I do...
Day 2
Masters was a 50pt 2 list format, non divide and conquer so I could use whatever lists I wanted. At the last minute I swapped my eDoomy list for a pDoomy list looking at the players and the armies from the last evening I felt it was the best option.
Round 1 -
vs Circle
Well, I faced off against Craig again and his eBaulder list. I chose pDoomy with his beast brick and I felt pretty solid with my choice. I was sort of out of position during my feat turn and it ended up being lack luster. The rest of the details are trivial at this point. Picture a de-clawed kitten swatting at Warpwolves for like 3 rounds. Craig is a great player obviously and I don't want to take anything away from his win but man... He felt bad for me and bought me a beer afterwards, that's how bad it was.... Dice games... 0-1
Round 2 -
vs Menoth
This round was against Harbinger which, is one of our worst match ups and once again I chose Doomy. It was pretty attritiony until I got the itch and decided I might be able to assassinate Harby. Well a good amount of missed attack rolls later I hang my Earthborn out to dry and the game starts to go down hill for me. I should have taken the opportunity to remove my opponents jacks and really win the attrition war rather then try for the kill. One of my personal failings sadly. 0-2
Round 3
vs Khador
This round a faced a pretty standard pButcher list and my opponent was pretty nice and fun about the game which lifted my spirits a bit because the last two games were rough. I finally pulled my eMadrak out of the bag and went to town. The effects were 3 dead heavies in one round and not a good outcome for Butcher. 1-2
Round 4 -
vs Skorne
I faced off against eMakeda with my eMadrak list and in the beginning my opponent was not enthusiastic about playing me to I started telling jokes and in good humor just said I'll let Madrak face tank for my army, not knowing that is exactly what would happen. Over the coarse of 2 turns Madrak weathered 2 Bronzebacks to the face with a combination of Grim Salvation and transfers. The end result was a Long Riders to Makeda's face. 2-2
Round 5 -
vs Legion
Have I mentioned how much I HATE radial deployment? Really not a fan. Also it's on of those scenarios that can really force an army to split up and Trolls don't like that much. Fury 5 warlocks can't spread their love much in those situations. Anyway, against pLylith and once again eMadrak comes in to save the day. By turn 2 I mired his beasts with Burrowers and Fenns and start the slow grind to victory. I have effectively neutralized his heavies at this point and Madrak is in no risk so I move in for the kill on Lylith. 3-2
I rounded out the day alright, but failed to make it into the WMW masters qualifier. Who knows how I would have done, but overall was a fun tournament. Last that evening I entered into a story event where i ran a fun Borka list and has some fun games and drinks with people.
Day 3
I relaxed on Sunday had a good casual game with Javaman from the forums and watched the masters play itself out. There were a lot of interesting lists being played and lots of good play happening. By this time, Sid and I were exhausted sow e just took it easy. In the end though I walked away with $25 from Battlefoam. I met a lot of really chill guys from all over and had a great time. I wish I could remember names because so many people were really awesome to me and they deserve some credit.
Things I took away from this tournament...
Playing lists you are comfortable with can really help you against bad matchups and second guessing yourself on which lists to choose is always bad. I can't say taking my eDoomy list would have won me games where my pDoomy list did not, but I know that list in an out with it's threat ranges and strengths and I feel like I would have had a better shake at it with that list.
Think outside of the box. I saw a tone of different and new lists. From tiers to oddball stuff. We really need to shake up our lists building sometimes to challenge the meta and stay ahead of the curve. I've already started building some lists with Warlocks I haven't played in a while that have some real power and started adding in pieces that I think have some interesting synergy.
Do no let bad dice or bad match ups get you down. A players confidence and mindset are perhaps their greatest asset. Being calm, collected and moving on through adversity is the mark of a truly good player and can really make or break a close or hard game.
All in all I really want and need to play more scenario play. It makes games so much more interesting for me and I just don't get enough of it in my local meta. Also as my areas Warmachine and Hordes scene grows I see really potential for something like this as a Northwest regional con of some sort in the next few years. Bringing people together to play this game and have a good time is perhaps the best thing about it and I really hope I can continue to attend such awesome events.
.JPG)
