Monday, February 02, 2015

Battle Report: Rotten Tomatoes Tournament

Yesterday was the so called "Rotten Tomatoes" tournament at my LGS. It was so named because the theme was a limited list of casters available to choose from. It was a 35pt event using the SR2015 scenarios. We had a total of 18 people show up which was outstanding. Here's the list of casters available:
  • Cygnar: Kraye, Sturgis, Blayze
  • Menoth: Testament, Amon, Thyra
  • Khador: Zerkova, Strakov, Harkovich
  • Cryx: Venthrax, pGoreshade, Scaverous, Sturgis
  • Ret: Garreth, Kaelyssa
  • Convergence: Axis, Aurora
  • Mercs: Fiona, Magnus, Exulon
  • Trolls: Calandra, Gunnbjorn
  • Circle: Cassius, Grayle, pKaya
  • Legion: Rhyas, Kallus, pLylyth
  • Skorne: Morghoul2, Naaresh
  • Minions: Arkadius, Strum&Drang, Calaban, Midas

My list: Sturgis, Stormwall, Squire, Stormblades (6+UA+3WA), Stormblade Captain, Journeyman, Gun Mage Captain Adept, Tarin, and I chose the Arcane Wonder Objective. (same as I've been practicing all January)

Game 1: Victory
Strakov, War Dog, Spriggan, Drakhun, Gorman, Great Bears, Demo Corp (5), Black Dragon IFP (10+UA)
I won this game by assassination. Things were a little rough, but Storm had gotten jammed in and I pulled off the power attack slam to knock an IFP into Strakov and then after 1 punch from the Stormwall, Sturgis zoomed in, chain attack flashed into reach of Strakov, and finished the job. One side note in this battle was that I got myself out of a Gorman danger by charging with Stormwall and then dropping a Stormpod to put a boosted pow 10 into him which buried the alchemist.

Game2: Victory
pKaya, Druid Wilder, Pureblood Warpwolf, Warpwolf Stalker, Gorax, Rotterhorn Griffon, Gallows Grove, Shifting Stones, Gatormen Posse (5)
First, I need to compliment my opponent on having the only fully painted army I faced during the day. Second, extra kudos for having a really kick-ass themed transport tray for them. Third just for being a really great opponent. I won this one through a crazy downtown Sturgis assassination run. After the Stormwall got destroyed, I had to clear a hole using Stormblades and Tarin, and then Sturgis charged the Stalker scoring a chain attack for the flash, and that let him flash into range of Kaya and deliver a beatdown on her. If it hadn't been for a bit of luck and that fortunately well executed assassination run, I would have totally lost that game by attrition eventually.

Game 3: Loss
Naaresh, Karn, Gladiator, Krea, Brute, Gatormen Posse (5), Task Master, Beast Handlers (4)
I got Karned. Plain and simple. I miscalculated the threat range and my own distance. He Cycloned Naaresh forward then put the Krea aura on Naaresh and charged in near Sturgis. Then Karn charged the Stormwall after a push from the Gladiator and the Rush+Enrage combo and then sidestepped over into range of Sturgis and that was it. Honestly, I just spaced on this one. I should know better.

Game 4: Loss
Strakov, War Dog, Devastator, Spriggan, Widowmaker Marksman, pEiryss, Assault Kommandos (6 + 2 WAs), Doom Reavers, Eliminators
This game was my favorite of the tournament. My opponent was gracious and we both had a really fun game overall. I'd never faced Eliminators or Kommandos and he'd never faced a Stormwall so we both got to surprise each other with amusing stuff. I think my favorite bit was the 2 Kommando WA's running into the midst of my Stormblades and then Strakov shooting them in the back to set most of my Stormblades on fire in the explosions. In the end of this game, Sturgis was in a perfect position to finish up Strakov on his next turn and was camping 5 focus and under Arcane Shield (for 23 arm), but a couple of high spiked damage rolls from the Spriggan ended up killing him before his time. Still though, my opponent and I walked away from the game laughing and shaking hands over what a fun game it was.

Lessons learned: Sturgis is a blast to play. I've now used every feature on his cards except for Convection. I'd happily play him more in casual play. Also, when pressed, I'm pretty good at playing to death clock. Also also, it was amusing to me that in this 35pt tournament, I was the only person to bring a Colossal/Gargantuan.

Overall results: The winner of the tournament was Venethrax, beating out Sturgis in the final round (not me), with Naaresh coming in third. Here's the overall breakdown of which casters got played:
  • Cryx – Venthrax x2
  • Cygnar – Sturgis x2, Kraye
  • Khador – Zerkova, Strakhov x2
  • Skorne – Naaresh x2
  • Trolls – Calandra x2, Gunnbjorn
  • Circle – Kaya x2
  • Legion – Kallus, Grayle, pLylyth

There was also a painting competition handled by popular vote from the participants. Below are pictures of other entries, but long story short, my Stormwall tied for first place with the Vanguard pictured below.

Games this year: 8

No comments: