We had an odd number of teams, so the first round True and I got a bye. I was going to watch some games and play announcer, but then I learned that Ben was without a teammate, so I instead decided to play with him for a round. (Ben ended up getting a teammate from one of the teams who got a bye throughout the tournament, which was cool both for him and them.) So for me, Round 1 consisted of:

https://www.heroscapers.com/download...ubator_6iT.jpg

Ben
Omnicron Snipers x3 100 (300)

And
Bigga
Krug 120
Zombies of Morindan x3 60 (180)

VS @Saints_Wrath
Marcus Decimus Gallus 100
Roman Legionnaires x2 50 (100)
Agent Carr 100

And
Jeremy
Major Q10 150
10th Regiment of Foot x2 75 (150)

I realized partway through the game that Marcus’s Soldier Attack Enhancement affects friendly soldiers, meaning the 10th could get a bonus from him. Pretty cool army construction on SaintsWrath and Jeremy’s parts.

Ben had set up the armies and assigned me to the Zombies which were on the left flank. Fortunately for me that was where a Move Glyph was, so I started heading off towards that while trying to spread my Zombies across my side and send a couple others to screen for the Snipers. I was especially eager to get at the Romans as there weren’t enough of them to consistently keep their defense at 4 and I wanted to get at the ones with lower defense while I could. The Snipers and 10th started trading shots, doing about equal damage points-wise if I remember correctly.

The main problem, though, was that even when my Zombies got to Romans with 2 or 3 Defense, my attacks weren’t going through. Naturally, the Zombies were also attacked a lot because the last thing our opponent’s wanted were more to deal with. In the end, I think I only got about 3 Zombies to come back from the grave before they were wiped out. By this time, the Snipers were falling quickly too, as Marcus had been able to swing around and get a bunch of them and some 10th were helping him take them out steadily. So it was Krug and a couple Snipers vs Marcus, a couple 10th, and Q10 and Carr. I had hope for Krug, and he did take out a good few figures before falling to Major Q10’s Wrist Rockets, but fall he did in the end, resulting in a loss for Ben and me.

https://www.heroscapers.com/downloads/grendel1_HsX.jpg

VS
Cameron
Krug 120
Marro Stingers x3 60 (180)

And
Katie
Major Q10 150
Warriors of Ashra x3 50 (150)

There were a lot of threats in the opposing armies that we were wary of. We wanted to take out the ranged units especially as quickly as possible, figuring that if we did, our range could trump the enemy melee units.

Oh, I forgot to mention that True has a saying that he always abides when playing just about any game, but especially Heroscape: “Risk it for the biscuit.” So, abiding by his natural rules, first round he shot off Nilfheim towards the enemy start zone. Turn 2 he was shooting at the Stingers and was able to take 3 out. Then turn 3 he took out 3 Warriors of Ashra that had been climbing the middle ground, allowing my Dwarves to run around freely. It was a strong first move, and we figured all we had to do was hold the hill to win.

So we started trading blows. My dwarves took a Defense glyph while trying to screen for Nilf. They were able to hold of advancing Ashra and Krug well enough, but unfortunately some Stingers and Major Q10 slipped out to shoot Nilfheim and the Dragon fell sooner than we anticipated. So the Krav ran out, shooting some guys, but we lost our presence where Nilfheim had been standing and the enemy forces broke through. Since this was a slow game, time was also being called right about now. In our last round, we found that we were a little behind on points, and that to win we would have to either kill Q10 or Krug. Literally, it came down to the last turn of the game, where True was able to activate his Krav Maga Agents. His choices were either shooting Q10, who had 2 Lives left but 7 Defense due to a Jungle Tree and Shadow Space bonus, or Krug, who had 4 Lives left but was also on the Defense glyph. He went for Krug, shooting three times, inflicting first 1 Wound, then another, and then… 2 Wounds! With that we scraped by with points and took our first win.

1-0

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3806/...7d86f6ba_b.jpg

VS
Ben
Omnicron Snipers x3 100 (300)

And
@Scaperedude
Krug 120
Zombies of Morindan x3 60 (180)

Like I said, since Ben didn’t have an official partner, he had been borrowing from those on bye throughout the tourney. This time Scaperedude was on bye, and he was all too excited to join our game.

I think a little history lesson on my (friendly) rivalry is in order here. Scaperedude and I have played several times this past year. (Man, it hasn’t even been a whole year since I met the dude and we started up this whole thing with The Dewk. Weird to think about.) I have never beaten him. I’ve been close, and one game that went to time could have gone either way (though I honestly think he would have pulled out on top in the end), but he’s always beaten me fair and square. To the point that I considered making him my teammate for this tourney so that I wouldn’t have to face him and I wouldn’t have to worry about losing. So, when he came to play against True and me, my high from winning the last game left. I could take a loss, personally, but I wanted to win for True. Which brings an interesting side note: True has played Scaperedude several times as well, and I think that True said he has won the majority of them, but I’m not sure. Point is, True has won against Scaperedude and I never have. So maybe there was hope?

Anyway, lesson’s over. This game we went with plan beta, which meant that instead of Nilfheim, True would lead with the Krav. I kept doing Dwarf stuff. So True started for the high ground, shooting a couple Snipers and Zombies while I came up to support, but then a lucky shot from a Sniper killed one of the Krav. With their firepower significantly lowered (#uniquesquadproblems), we brought out Nilf. We had been reluctant to send out the Dragon too early because the Snipers love heroes to pick on, but the Krav wouldn’t have been effective enough. Luckily, Nilf was able to really wreck the Zombies (like the game I played, I think the Zombies only got 2 or 3 kills before getting annihilated), and my Dwarves were in a good enough position to engage Snipers and keep them off of the Dragon. Although there was that one time, when that one Sniper ran up, and instead of shooting the nearby Dwarf like he was supposed to, ignored it and shot Zetacron. And missed. But then he shot again and killed Zeta. Poor Zetacron, two games in a row without doing anything.

So anyway, Zombies were dying and Krug was coming up in their place. Snipers were still present but we were getting them off of their peaks. So True and I discussed tactics. I was doing Dwarf stuff as I now had no other option, but True wanted to know if he should switch to Krav since Krug was coming up. I said maybe, but do your first couple turns on Nilf so he can do some damage first and maybe get out of the area. So True revealed turn 1 on the Krav. Turns out we had a miscommunication. But I think that was what sealed the game for us, as it turned out that the Krav were in a slightly better position to take out a couple Snipers that we probably wouldn’t have gotten with Nilf, and then my next turn I killed the last one, meaning that all we had to worry about was Krug, and that we were getting 2 turns for every one of the opponents’. Krug is still scary though, and my Dwarves moved to tie him up while True shot him with Agents and Dragon. Of course, that meant that Krug was getting higher attack, and my Dwarves were falling. We were getting there, and finally had Krug at 1 Life while we still had the 2 Krav and Nilfheim with a couple lives left. Scaperedude with his almost dead Krug was considering his options, and looked like he was going to make a run for Nilf, when he realized that I only had the one Dwarf left, and said, “You know what, I’m taking out Bigga.” Pretty sure that’s verbatim. Over that big dragon, he chose the one Dwarf (and maybe an Agent too, I forget), just so that he could still beat me. And that he did, crushing the dwarf (and maybe an Agent), right before Nilf flew in to finish the Troll off.

2-0

But still
Me 0
Scaperedude 5 (I think? I might be missing one or two, but my point remains.)

Someday, Scaperedude. Someday I will rise to the lofty ‘Scape peaks where you reside with all your skill. Someday this grasshopper shall surpass you.

https://www.heroscapers.com/download...ubator_6iT.jpg

VS
@antmarchingroves
Death Chasers of Thesk x3 55 (165)
Me-Burq-Sa 50
Kelda 80

And
@Flash_19
Eltahale 140
Rhogar Dragonspine 110
Marro Warriors 50

This was my first time seeing the Death Chasers of Thesk in person! So happy note there. I’ve proxied them plenty of times cause I like what they do, but it was neat to see them for reals.

True and I were pretty wary of this match, as antmarchingroves and flash_19 had been stomping the competition all day. At the same time, we felt that if we played defensively, we could take out the Death Chasers before they did too much damage and then attrition out there rest of the figures, although respawning Marro and Eltahale with her offensive potential were scary. Still, we thought we had this.

Then we got curb stomped, and antmarchingroves and flash_19 won with only 6 dead Death Chasers and maybe 2 wounds on Eltahale.

True and I definitely made some mistakes, one of which was underestimating the offensive prowess of Death Chasers backed by Me-Burq-Sa and Marro Warriors. While fighting for map control my Dwarves died before they touched anything and Nilfheim got caught due to the Orcs getting the Movement Glyph and then got executed by Eltahale. To make things worse, the dice were completely against us this game (as even our opponent’s acknowledged), with Me-Burq-Sa succeeding with Paralyzing Stares more often than not and our best attacks being blocked by perfect defense rolls. But our loss can’t be completely blamed on the dice. Like I said, we made mistakes, and that lost us the game. The dice just made it the landslide loss that it was.

True and I thought about it a lot afterwards (not that we were bitter towards ant and flash - they played super well - but we were frustrated at ourselves and thought we could have done better), wondering what we could have done to have stood a better chance, and ultimately decided that our best bet was to do the ultimate camping strategy, using Krav and Zetacron instead of Nilf and Shieldsmiths, picking off key figures like the glyph holder and Me-Burq-Sa as well as Marro Warriors without getting tied down by Death Chasers and picking off Orcs as they advanced as well. Definitely not the first thing either of us would have thought of as neither of us like to camp that much, but it would have made the game closer. As it was, though, ant and flash played an excellent game and took a well-deserved win of the tournament, and True and I took second which was more than good enough for us.

2-1

https://www.heroscapers.com/download...lossom_Ko3.jpg

VS
Jonathan
Ulginesh 150
Jorhdawn 100
Chardris 90
Emiroon 80
Arkmer 50
Aubrien Archers x1 70
Warriors of Ashra x1 50

So, the first band of so-called “heroes” to stand in my way is a band of elves, huh? Shahahaha, these fragile beings are no match for me! I shall be able to singlehandedly destroy them! No need for my minions to sorry the slightest!

Ulginesh, you think you are so strong, using your Wizards to advance your army. You’re even having Emiroon, summon squad figures to have them close to the battle, moving your whole army onto the snow. That’s not a bad strategy, I must admit. But how will your little friends fair when their synergy is destroyed by your death!? Zehahahaha!

Evil Beam Attack! Oh wait, that didn’t work very well. Another Evil Beam! Why isn’t this working? You should be destroyed. Ouch, stop it with those fireballs. No, seriously. You can’t stay away from my evil beam, Ulginesh! But first this Arkmer punk who is really annoying me must die. Evil Beam! Behehehehe, the first Wizard falls. Now for you, Ulginesh! Die-

It was just dumb luck that you killed me. Curse these defense dice! I only killed a 50 point Elf. I was going to take another couple turns too… And hey, you, Jorhdawn, what do you think you’re doing running to my start zone—
MY MINIONS!! Seven gone in one strike! You shall pay!

Go, my snake-men! Swarm those Wizards and their squad friends! They have overextended themselves; they can’t fight at full capacity. Tie up those who are forward while more of you swing around the flank, climbing the snow! Uhyahyahyah, yes, you Elves aren’t so strong when you’re strung out are you? One by one you shall fall. Jorhdawn. Archers. Warriors. Oh, and by the way -

I’m back.

Zehahahaha! Yes! Your worst fear incarnate! Weakened by my minions, there is no way you can stand against me! Evil Beam! Evil Punch! Evil Flying To High Points And Exploiting Your Weakness! Greet death, Ulginesh. Your friends shall soon join you. Yes, you may have killed most of my minions, but I have now killed all of you! Zehahahaha!

1-0

https://www.heroscapers.com/downloads/vulcan1_418.jpg

VS
@Sir Torin Brokenshield!
Marro Stingers x5 60 (300)
Master of the Hunt 140
Kozuke Samurai 100
Black Wyrmling x2 30 (60)

Oh, so next I am to fight Sir Torin Brokenshield, eh? Your name may be pretty doggone cool, but don’t think I shall let you get the best of me! Though you are commanding an army of notable power. Each of your units would seem to do well against me. Hiyahoho! That just means I won’t have to hold back in my destructive power!

As expected, you are leading with your Stingers. But you are spreading them out as they advance. Yahahaha! Then I shall pick them off! Your strategy may be to run past me and kill my Vipers, but your Stingers are open to attacks from me! And … well, your defense rolls are bad enough that those Stingers are dying faster than Vipers. I’m killing one with each attack. And you’re failing that Stinger Drain a few times too. But! That is clearly due to my overwhelming skill as an Evil Overlord! Zehahahaha!

Your poor, tiny, weak Stingers. Dying so quickly. Killing some of my Vipers, but they just fall to my Evil Beams! And yes, they may be taking some pot shots at me, but -

Oh wait, I died? How did that happen?

Oh well, I still killed the majority of your Stingers, and it shall be easy for my minions to clean up those remaining. Yes, see how they swarm! Sweeping away the remainder of those Marro! It’s like they were sworn enemies or something! Who shall challenge us next? Samurai? Well, those are pretty tough for my minions.

Luckily, I am back.

Jahahahaha, these Samurai are not nearly strong enough to resist my evil beams! Those wyrmlings do look dangerous, though. So I shall kill them first! And now the Master of the Hunt shall fall as well! Wahahahaha! I, Eternal BiggaThanos, am victorious again!

2-0

https://www.heroscapers.com/download...jungle_EZB.jpg

VS
@Saints_Wrath
Raelin SotM 120
Warforged Soldiers x6 80 (480)

Warforged Soldiers! Those are my alter ego BiggaBullfrog’s favorite units in the game! They’re tough and their switch is awesome and… and I might be in trouble here.

It is tempting to just swarm those Warforged with my minions, but I doubt that their attacks will be good enough to reliably penetrate their resolve. It would be better for me to first take as many down as I can. Yes! Wiiihahaha! Of course! I shall be too strong for them to hope to overcome!

What? Hey! Stop moving me around! That Tactical Switch is so annoying. So, you’re forcing me to choose between taking leaving engagement strikes or letting you attack from the high ground, eh? Well… There’s definitely too many of you, so leaving engagement strikes it is! But - stop moving me around! Die! Die faster! Why won’t you fall? I’m not killing nearly enough of you, and I am taking too many hits. I don’t have much longer here. Even a super-awesome-evil-villain like me can tell that.

This isn’t working, I must rely on my minions, even before I die. Go my snake-men! Raelin is close to you and in ready striking range, start with her! A couple of you can flank and hit the Warforged in the back. This is a risk - you all may fall - but I will take it!

Huh. Well, turns out four successful Frenzies in a row is pretty good. Fuffuffuffuffu.

Raelin is gone! And many of those Warforged just fell! I knew it! I never doubted you, Vipers! Now, continue the assault! You may be falling quickly to the Warforged because you can’t roll defense and all, but our numbers are superior! It’s but a matter of time - Ow! Stop hitting me! Hey, minions, come clean up these Warforged that are trying to kill me before the game ends.

Good job. Thanks. Zehahahaha!

3-0

https://www.heroscapers.com/download...valley_G3z.jpg

VS
@Sir Heroscape
Death Chasers of Thesk x7 55 (385)
Pel 95
Nerak 50
Me-Burq-Sa 50
Marcu 20

Hey, look! He has a bunch of Orcs that you can kill, minions! That’s neat. Except for that Nerak can give them defense boosts. So he needs to die. Oh, this is an interesting one strategically. Because he can get an early board control start but that’s not very big because I will just be flying out to start picking them off and running around so they can’t pin me down but I also have to be sure to kill Nerak because if he’s there when my Vipers fight the Death Chasers then their defense will be too high to kill them fast enough and he has more numbers than I do (which is a rare occurrence) and I’ll also have to watch out for Me-Burq-Sa and Pel because they’re dangerous to me although they’re kind of redundant against my Vipers so as long as Nerak and maybe one other hero and a bunch of Orcs die before I do my first time then my Vipers should have an easy enough time cleaning up the Orcs until I come back to finish off whatever heroes remain but because he has so many numbers I won’t just be able to swarm like I usually do so my Vipers will have to be more precise in their strikes and make sure that each hit counts otherwise he’ll win with the battle of attrition which gives him a definite edge Worororo.

Anyway! Let us begin this game! As I expected, the early rush of the Orcs has given him great presence on the board, but with my speed, range, and flying I can pick them off easily with my evil beams before they can catch me, at least in this early game. But Me-Burq-Sa has me in his sights! He missed this first time, and now he’s within range of me. Evil Beam! Yes! Dead with one blow! Zehahahaha!

These Orcs are catching up now, but no matter, I can simply leave engagement (even though it hurts) to go after my true target, Nerak! That glossed-up Swog Rider may roll defense better than Me-Burq-Sa, but I don’t mind using two Evil Beams on him! Hahahh-ha! And fall he shall! Now to kill these Orcs!

Yes, keep following me! Come catch me, if you dare! You may land some hits, but that is fine! Kill me! I shall just become stronger! Kehihihihi!

Wait, what? No, don’t kill my Vipers! Why are you ignoring me? Fine, Vipers! Go! Fight back! He has realized that I can only kill one of his Orcs at a time and that means he can potentially clean you up before killing me, but we won’t let him have it that easily! And luckily, because he was following me across the map, his Orcs are now scattered! You can pick them off one by one! Uhahahaha! But they can kill you too. And they actually have defense, which doesn’t always block, but when it does it hurts!

No!! How are they pushing you back! This is a catastrophe! I would run in there to engage and tank a bunch of hits, but I fear that too many of you would die in that turn I took from you. Keep pushing! But no, it is a matter of time until you fall.

Fine! I’ll do it myself! Die, Orc! Evil Beam! And an Evil Beam for you, Orc! And Pel! You are the most dangerous, but you shall-

3-1

https://www.heroscapers.com/downloads/wyrmwalk_S65.jpg

VS
John
10th Regiment of Foot x4 75 (300)
Sgt. Drake Alexander SotM 170
Krug 120
Isamu 10

My head hurts.

But no matter! We can still conquer the world from this position! Shahahaha!

So, a bunch of 10th and some heavy-hitting heroes, eh? Uhyahyahya! Well, since those heroes will die quickly to my minions, I shall bypass them and kill the 10th, the most dangerous units to my army!

It looks like John has decided to counter with Krug. But those attacks of two won’t hurt me! I’ll take the leaving engagement attack to get more Evil Beam Attacks off at those 10th! Fuffuffuffuffu! Fortunately for John, he has quickly realized that it will take him far too long to kill me with leaving engagement strikes, and he is mobilizing the 10th. Now things get interesting!

Wait Then Fire is strong, but only if they can hit me! With my mobility, I can take out one at a time and be sure that he won’t have optimal opportunities to attack me with those redcoats! Jihahahaha!

Wait, I died? How did that happen? He rarely rolled more than 2 attack against me.

Oh well, Vipers, you know what to do! By which I mean, kill them! Bide time until I return-

Oh look, I’m back. First try. Not bad. Okay, Vipers, you finish the round, then I’ll come back and help out, yeah? Worororo!

And those 10th shall fall, again, to my Evil Beams! He’s gotten some map control, but it is no concern of mine! My power shall … overpower them. Hahahh-ha!

And here comes Krug. He may be strong, but he can’t stand my attacks! I mean, he can, and it will take him a little while to die, but I can stay away from him long enough to-

Okay, dead again? Who’s idea was this?

Oh well, Vipers do well against Krug. By which I mean, they die, but they die to anything, so the extra attack doesn’t scare them, and Krug’s defense is weak. So they’ll swarm him and-

Back again! First time again! Zehahaha! You just can’t keep me out of this game! My Vipers shall finish off Krug, and then it’s on to Sgt. Drake!

Wiiihahaha! Come at me, Drake! Wait, right, Thorian Speed. Okay then, Wiiihahaha! I’ll come get you, Drake! Your attack is high, but mine is… equal! And your defense is lower! And I can fly, so I have the high ground! Usually. Anyway, you’re dead first! Behehehehe!

Now for the remaining 10th and that Ninja. It’s a simple matter, really. For none can stand against the Almighty Eternal BiggaThanos! Bam! Wap! Zap! Yes, I have conquered all! Except for those Orcs, but they were already evil, so really we were on the same side. I’ll stick to that story. Zehahaha!

4-1

https://www.heroscapers.com/download...0title_rHK.png

VS
Michael
10th Regiment of Foot x3 75 (225)
Roman Legionnaires x2 50 (100)
Marcus Decimus Gallus 100
Martial LaHire 70

So 10th are uber anti-melee, right? Which meant that I was going to have to play an aggressive game here. I wanted to get control of the map and its high points, but wouldn’t have time to do so in a comfortable roll with the Romans keeping their defense bonuses at maximum because if I let the Marcus-boosted 10th take even one side I’d be in a losing position.

So I started rushing out Romans with Marcus and Valguard tailing. Unfortunately, when I was placing figures I had Marcus on one side and Valguard on the other. My hope was that Michael would go for control on both sides. If that were the case, Valguard would be able to tank one side on his own while Romans climbed the other side and took that position. Then Valguard could route and beat back any more advancing units while I secured map control with the remaining Romans.

The 10th, however, simply started advancing on one side. This meant I had to focus all my attention there, because they would beat back my Romans way too easily. And because they were on Marcus’s side, I rushed him into battle to get some early strikes on the 10th instead of wasting two turns getting Valguard across the map. Marcus did some goo damage and helped me establish a foothold, but the 10th focused their fire on him and took him out quickly.

I did push back the 10th on that side, though, and was getting into a good position, bringing Valguard across the map to help. Michael countered with his Romans to set up a screen while his 10th fired over them. Since I had the higher ground, it you would think I would have beaten them down easily, but his Romans just wouldn’t die, and I lost a lot of figures before I got through the screen. By that time, my forces were so scattered and sparse that it wasn’t worth putting OMs on Romans anymore, so I did one final turn to tie up his troops with what Romans there were and with Valguard, and brought out Kaemon. He kited a bit, using his range to force the 10th to chase him, but he still had more figures than me, and was able to get shots off, and Kaemon didn’t want to defend and died before taking out his point’s worth. The 10th then finished off the Romans to claim the win.

0-1

https://www.heroscapers.com/download...0tower_jcY.jpg

VS
@TrueMurray
Major Q9 180
Gladiatrons x2 80 (160)
Blastatrons x2 60 (120)
Seleena 35

Man, Glads/Blasts are so strong. It’s tough to stand against them with any melee army, but I was really worried with my Romans. Basically, I felt I had two options: either roll out with Romans and fight the battle of attrition, or, as True is apt to say, to Risk It for the Biscuit.

So I risked it and led with Kaemon. And he didn’t die too quickly. But he didn’t really do much either. Killed a couple Gladiatrons, but not enough to free up room for my Romans. And then he got caught and started taking damage. So I switched to Romans, but by then I had lost a ton of ground in map control. True took some good defensive spots and started hammering on my Romans, tearing them apart, and my attacks were not going through at all. I got a little mileage with the help of Marcus, and then Kaemon came back into play and killed one or two more Soulborgs, but it was a battle of attrition that was not going in my favor.

Time was called when I only had Valguard and a Roman or two remaining against probably 3 Gladiatrons and all but a couple Blastatrons, not to mention Q9 and Seleena, so True took the win. However, one of the other games was taking a while to finish its final round, so True and I decided to keep playing in turbo mode to see how much damage Valguard could do before the other game finished. So, how much metal can a crazy viking crush in less than five minutes?

Answer: The rest of the Gladiatrons (2, I think), the rest of the Blastatrons (5, I think), and I think 1 wound on Q9. Not bad for a final spurt. He worked really well when True’s other figures were spread out, and Q9 tried to chase Valguard down, but I just opted to take the leaving engagement attacks and kill more small guys. Eventually, though, Q9’s attacks were able to finally finish off the viking. And that other game hadn’t even finished yet. Not bad, little Valguard, not bad.

0-2

https://www.heroscapers.com/downloads/lrmh_Nbr.png

VS
@Sir Heroscape
Laglor 110
Gladiatrons x3 80 (240)
Blastatrons x2 60 (120)
Black Wyrmling x1 30

Yeah, them ‘Trons again. I was a little encouraged after seeing Valguard’s usefulness at the end of my last game, but this map was definitely against any kind of running around and smacking the spare parts out of scattered robots.

In fact, speaking of the map, it was a rough start. I started slow-rolling my army out of the start zone, knowing that a dash to try to route the ‘Trons would result in complete and utter failure. Meanwhile, Sir H got Laglor set up and then also rolled his ‘Trons into place. The Blastatrons took the high ground on his side of the tree, while the Gladiatrons formed up along the edge of the high ground on his side of the glyphs. Then, his Blastatrons started firing pot shots at my advancing army (and a lot of those 2-dice attacks were killing my 4 or 5 defense figures! Stinking robots). Basically, he had the whole map walled off, had complete control of the glyphs if I fought for them, and could shoot for days if I tried delaying at all. That was checkmate, and we both knew it.

Fortunately for me, once the checkmate was obvious, Sir H decided to give up his camping strategy in lieu of a more fun game. He started charging my Romans with his Gladiatrons and taking shots at them with the Blasts. The engagements were rough, and I was dashing spare Romans from side to side, trying to keep my defenses optimal while still getting good attacks in, with height if I could manage it. And the crazy thing was that most of my attacks were going through. Even Marcus (who usually, in my experience, just tries to attack but never does anything other than buff Romans) was slaying his share of Gladiatrons. My Romans were still dying too, of course, but soon enough Sir H was having to send in Blastatrons to engage my figures to keep his attack bonuses high.

About this time I got to activate Kaemon, and he took out a fair amount of ‘Trons as well. Then I don’t remember if he got caught by the Soulborgs or if Laglor and he dueled, but somewhere in there he died. So did Laglor, but Marcus also died, and I was almost out of Romans, so we had a similar situation to the end-game during my match against True - Valguard vs the World.

Or, at least, Valguard vs one or two Glads and some Blasts and the Black Wyrmling. And again, Valguard proved his worth against scattered robots, smashing through them one at a time while Sir H tried to tie him down. But he was soon out of Glads and the Blasts couldn’t hold him still. It finally came down to an initiative roll when there were a few Blasts and the Wyrmling remaining against Valguard. I won initiative and, seeing that there were two OM’s on the Wyrmling, disengaged from the two Blasts I was engaged with to kill the li’l dragon. That ended up buying me two turns, since Sir H wanted to go for the acid breath attacks over smaller attacks from Blasts. I killed a couple more Blasts and then time was up, giving me my first win! And only win. Cause that was the end of the tourney too.

1-2