I did family stuff instead of getting games in on Saturday, but I did head down to a tournament in Aurora. It was a long drive, but I had a great time. And, as you can tell by the title, I took third. Out of four. Hey, don't judge! You didn't even place.
I showed up a bit early, but luckily the store opened a bit early, so I only wait in the car a few minutes. After paying my entry fee, I received my first surprise, it was fixed lists. Each player made a set of four 50 soulstone lists(or fewer lists if you chose), which they could choose from during the day. No restrictions on when, how many, or repeats, but there would be no list building. This was done to save time from building lists, or so that it was written down so the opponent could see, or a couple other reasons given. I found it more time consuming trying to choose from my slap dash lists than just making one. And the only time my opponent asked to see my list, they wanted my cards, per usual, anyway. As I am opposed to set lists, I entered into this with a certain biased, and as my lists were fairly crap, it didn't help.
Here are my lists:
List 1
Tara- Knowledge of Eternity, Obliteration Symbiote, Dead of Winter
Malifaux Child
Bishop- Scramble
Desolation Engine- Oathkeeper
2x Void Wretches
Death Marshal
SS: 7
List 2
Tara- Knowledge of Eternity, Obliteration Symbiote, Dead of Winter
Malifaux Child
Desolation Engine- Oathkeeper(which I paid one stone too much for)
Killjoy
2x Void Wretches
Death Marshal
SS:6
List 3
Tara- Knowledge of Eternity, Obliteration Symbiote, Dead of Winter
Malifaux Child
Taelor- Tally Sheet, Oathkeeper
Desolation Engine- Oathkeeper
2x Void Wretches
Death Marshal
SS:7
List 4
Tara- Knowledge of Eternity, Obliteration Symbiote, Dead of Winter
Nothing Beast- Oathkeeper
Desolation Engine- Oathkeeper
3x Void Wretches
Death Marshal
SS:6
Notice anything? Yeah, they are all the same list. My creative juices were not flowing. And I felt a little over pressured. Almost as soon as I started home I cam up with a much better Bishop, Ronins, Wretches list that would have been awesome for Reconnoiter. So much for my composure under pressure. Anyway, on to the games.
Game one. I took list number one. The mission was Squatter's Rights, I took Plant Evidence and A Line in the Sand. This is shine territory for me. I have my hefty bomb, Bishop for objectives, and the Wretches backing him up. My opponent is playing Kaeris's box with a Rail Golem. And his third game. Aaahhh, did I mention my hefty bomb. Not a good drop on the new guy list. Well, its a tournament, so no pulling punches. Turn one, I zip across into his Golem, but fail to kill it, leaving it at one wound. He returns the favor by killing the Engine at the top of two, but the Abominations take revenge. I tackled the Squatter's getting points on two and three. My opponent managed to swipe one of my four on three to gain a point. The DE dropped a marker for Evidence upon death and the Abominations continued to do so afterwards. I only managed to get the Sand markers before time was called, so I ended with only one point there. The end result was 6-1 in my favor. A good game, plenty of back and forth, but I was able to push him back so he couldn't get his schemes.
Game two. I took list number two this time. It was Reconnoiter this time, with Breakthrough and Deliver a Message. The message was "I'm an idiot." Which should have been obvious, though I never delivered it. He was playing Shen Long. I have seen him play at my events, and he generally rocks his opponents. I was determined not to let him beat me. So, I beat me. Mercilessly. Set up the bomb to hit Kang and Sadir on one, do little, but Engine takes some serious bruises. Turn two, pull out the Engine and heal it up, but put Killjoy into Shen Long with his one action charge, leaving him two actions to Deliver the Message. Perfect! Unless you're an idiot, and then beat on Shen Long four times for no reason and no result. Right after, I couldn't fathom why I didn't target someone else. It wasn't until the end of the game that I realized fully what I had done. I did manage to push him into my right corner, even burying an insignificant model(it was all proxies, had issues the whole game with what was what) to guarantee he didn't get it. Then I moved other models in, costing me Reconnoiter on the following turns, basically handing him the lead. I sent a Death Marshal across, getting me Breakthrough points and even setting up his death for another, but I was too aggressive and he died too early and my opponent just deleted two markers. Well done. No, me, like a steak. Oops, now I'm charred. As I foolishly fed models to the meat grinder, getting the Child too close so he could just whack me instead of move than whack. Pretty much well laid plan after well laid plan ruined by me wandering off halfway through execution. In the end it was 9-2 to him.
Game three. One last player left. He has been running Hamelin all day, but this one is Reckoning. Man, I hate Reckoning. List three would have been great versus Hamelin, but it wouldn't be a good choice for him. As it is, I am in a bad straight. Reckoning with a pool of Assassinate, Bodyguard, Kill Protege, Cursed Object, and Sand... Ouch. Of course, all my lists have the DE as the choice for Kill Protege, so its an auto three for him. Though he didn't announce, so he only got two. I ended up going with list one again as my standby. This game was bloody. I sent Bishop forward and he got pasted, along with a Void Wretch. I then dropped the DE which was able to paste Victoria of Blood, partly because he forgot soulstones. And then turn two. On turn two he took down a Wretch and the Death Marshal and sacrificed a Ronin after I killed his other one. He also managed to get Reckoning on turn five when I foolishly set him up for another Cursed Object, but had already gotten them on turns two, three, and four, maxing points. I finally killed his Ama No Zako on turn five, hoping to get some sort of Reckoning, but the Abominations whiffed, then got eaten, but it took Taelor and Victoria of Ashes. It did mean I stopped Bodyguard at one point on Ama, though. I then just needed one turn to get Tara back to the center to drop a Sand marker or two, giving me full for Sand, which would have given me the win. Just as I am getting ready to flip for next turn Monica calls no new turns. We could have finished it easy, there were five or six models on the board. But my opponent wouldn't hear anything of it, and why would he. As the minority on the vote, I was forced to accept my loss. I did go ahead and flip. A thirteen, no reflip, I would have gotten my turn and would have likely won the game. As it was, I finished third with a 1-2 record.
I wish I had known of the set lists in advance or at least the strategies when I made my lists. I was seriously at a loss when it came time to whip them out. I am pretty sure I lost the tournament right there. Looking back at my lists, they were terrible. My first one was good, though it didn't need the Death Marshal. I may have to sit down and make a few lists, just to be ready for the next time. I am still vehemently opposed to fixed lists, as it heavily favors some masters and hurts others, but if I can get into more events, I definitely should be prepared.
A long day, and I was disappointed with my showing, but I think it was worth the drive. They have another one next month, but I am not sure I will make it, as they cost me a day off work, and they don't reschedule my hours, so its a hefty wallet hit each time.
Thanks go out to Tim, Daniel, and Dave for three great games, and especially to Monica for putting it on for us.
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