The Beast of the East Closing Thread (a day or two overdue)

[Mombo101]

So, an epic tournament cam and went, and I really apologize for the delay in making this thread.

First off, I'd like to give a HUGE thank you to everyone at Mana Core, those who donated the use of their tiles for maps, and to everyone who donated money to help Nikki with her endeavor. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It meant so much!

Also, thank you to everyone who came. My goal was to have a fun and competitive tournament, and I hope I succeeded!

To all of those interested in following Nikki's blog and/or Twitter, OR those who would like to help Nikki out but were unable to at the tournament please visit:

Twitter.com/WorldRaceNikki
and...
http://nikkisienkiewicz.theworldrace.org/

It was utterly amazing that we had as many people as we did for the first tournament I had ever organized. I also loved seeing so many new faces, hopefully we'll see you all at a future tournament.

So, what were your thoughts on the tournament as a whole? What could I have improved on? What did you like/dislike?

Army lists will be on the following replies, and edited in later (they are at my dad's apartment....oops).

[Mombo101]

-hold spot for army lists to be added tomorrow-

[Taeblewalker]

I am sorry to have missed it. As it was, we had a game day here in the Bronx, and played a bit of Summoner Wars, and some other games. But it would have been awesome to be there and see everyone again!

[arp12]

I thought you ran it pretty well. Thanks so much for hosting! How much money did you raise for Nikki? I felt like anything you collect from just 20 people would be insignificant, but I hope it helped.

One thing that would be good for for next time is figure out glyphs/details farther in advance. I'm not sure if you were trying to have glyphs at every map? There were only glyphs on the first map I played on (Blackroot by mad_wookiee). The other thing that would be good to have is one more round in order to have a satisfying winner, and also because it's nice to play more people anyway. I did enjoy all the opponents I did get to play though.

[OEAO]

Intead of the 45 minute break, I would have another round of play, like Arp said. Both my dad and I felt that we didn`t need that long of a break, and 10 minutes in between each game would be plenty.

Edit: I had a great time playing at my first tournament. Great job Mombo, and thanks!

[Scapemage]

Quite a success I'd say! I enjoyed every minute of it, with no complaints.

[Mombo101]

Originally Posted by arp12

I thought you ran it pretty well. Thanks so much for hosting! How much money did you raise for Nikki? I felt like anything you collect from just 20 people would be insignificant, but I hope it helped.

One thing that would be good for for next time is figure out glyphs/details farther in advance. I'm not sure if you were trying to have glyphs at every map? There were only glyphs on the first map I played on (Blackroot by mad_wookiee). The other thing that would be good to have is one more round in order to have a satisfying winner, and also because it's nice to play more people anyway. I did enjoy all the opponents I did get to play though.

We ended up raising $143 for her. Which I thought was awesome, and I appreciated it so much!!!! I'm supposed to send her this link, so I'll post in on her Facebook later today/tonight.

Here are my thoughts on the "finals" situation. The way I set it up was much like GenCon does. Four rounds, and mathematically speaking one can figure out a winner via a number of different indicators (strength of opponent, win percentage, points, etc, etc). The fact we were using DCI recorder was a huge plus for us in this regard. If we set it up to have a final, final round, then you're leaving out a huge percentage of your players for simply one round. For those who drove incredibly far (like New Jersey), I didn't find that too fair to them. That's also the same reason why when we had an odd number of players I sat myself out and gave myself the bye. I didn't want to leave anyone out of the mix. I was going to be placing myself at the end anyways, so I was playing to just play.

The biggest flaw I found was the map situation. The problem with DCI recorder is that it didn't give a set system of randomizing which tables players sit at, they are all based on the Swiss system we were using. In the future, I'll probably set it up in a randomized fashion. I know there were a number of people who played on the same map 2-3 times.

Overall, I did like the use of DCI recorder though, and the strength of opponent system they use is a very good indicator of placement. I will hopefully be using it in the future, and to those who will be running tournaments (looking at you Bengi, Nyys, and Scapemage) I would highly suggest you guys use it. Wizards of the Coast uses it at Pro level Magic events, and it's very accurate.

In terms of the break. I agree, it was too long, but the length of the break wasn't my call but the store's. I wanted about 20-30 tops, but they wanted 45. We were coordinating a few things at the time, and I think they thought it would have given us more time just in case. In all reality, we didn't need it. What I'll probably end up doing next time, and since the new playing room will be open (located across the hall, that's what they were working on) start it earlier, and make it 5 rounds.

Any thoughts on a pod system? Say the first two rounds you play against opponents who are in the same pod of 4? It's something they do in Magic.

What was everyone's thoughts on the format overall? Next time, maybe do something different? Similar? Out there?

And, given the success of the tournament, I will be in the process of planning one for December. This one will be Beast of the East: Yuletide Edition

[OEAO]

Originally Posted by Mombo101

We ended up raising $143 for her. Which I thought was awesome, and I appreciated it so much!!!! I'm supposed to send her this link, so I'll post in on her Facebook later today/tonight.

Here are my thoughts on the "finals" situation. The way I set it up was much like GenCon does. Four rounds, and mathematically speaking one can figure out a winner via a number of different indicators (strength of opponent, win percentage, points, etc, etc). The fact we were using DCI recorder was a huge plus for us in this regard. If we set it up to have a final, final round, then you're leaving out a huge percentage of your players for simply one round. For those who drove incredibly far (like New Jersey), I didn't find that too fair to them. That's also the same reason why when we had an odd number of players I sat myself out and gave myself the bye. I didn't want to leave anyone out of the mix. I was going to be placing myself at the end anyways, so I was playing to just play.

The biggest flaw I found was the map situation. The problem with DCI recorder is that it didn't give a set system of randomizing which tables players sit at, they are all based on the Swiss system we were using. In the future, I'll probably set it up in a randomized fashion. I know there were a number of people who played on the same map 2-3 times.

Overall, I did like the use of DCI recorder though, and the strength of opponent system they use is a very good indicator of placement. I will hopefully be using it in the future, and to those who will be running tournaments (looking at you Bengi, Nyys, and Scapemage) I would highly suggest you guys use it. Wizards of the Coast uses it at Pro level Magic events, and it's very accurate.

In terms of the break. I agree, it was too long, but the length of the break wasn't my call but the store's. I wanted about 20-30 tops, but they wanted 45. We were coordinating a few things at the time, and I think they thought it would have given us more time just in case. In all reality, we didn't need it. What I'll probably end up doing next time, and since the new playing room will be open (located across the hall, that's what they were working on) start it earlier, and make it 5 rounds.

Any thoughts on a pod system? Say the first two rounds you play against opponents who are in the same pod of 4? It's something they do in Magic.

What was everyone's thoughts on the format overall? Next time, maybe do something different? Similar? Out there?

And, given the success of the tournament, I will be in the process of planning one for December. This one will be Beast of the East: Yuletide Edition

Another one?

Tell me when it is, annd I`ll hope to be their.

[Scapemage]

Originally Posted by orcelfarmyone

Another one?

Tell me when it is, annd I`ll hope to be their.

National Heroscape Day Northeast comes before December though.

[Mombo101]

Originally Posted by Scapemage

National Heroscape Day Northeast comes before December though.

Unfortunately...I probably won't be able to make NHSD

But yeah, I think another "Beast of the East" will be in the works

[Scapemage]

Originally Posted by Mombo101

Unfortunately...I probably won't be able to make NHSD

But yeah, I think another "Beast of the East" will be in the works

Probably. You never know...

[Darkmage7a]

So where's the army list? Bonus points if you place them in order of the standings. :P