Peoria NHSD B-list Tournament 2009 (Central Illinois)

[Vydar]

CLICK HERE FOR FINAL RESULTS AND BATTLE REPORTS

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Date: Saturday, October 17, 2009
Time: 10am-5:30pm
Location: Just for Fun Games (Website, Map)
(NOTE: Just for Fun has a different location than last year.)
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Schedule
10am-11am: Registration and Map Setup
11am sharp: First round begins
4pm: Championship Round and Map Teardown
5pm: Prizes

(No formal lunch break, but food is allowed in the game room. Please, plan accordingly.)

Rules
1) 450 Point Armies (bring your own dice, order markers, and wound markers)
2) "B-list Tournament" - No figures with a Power Ranking higher than B+.
3) No Marvel figures.
4) Glyph Pool:
-----Dagmar (+8 Initiative)
-----Wannok (Wound)
-----Valda (+2 Move)
-----Lodin (+1 D20)
-----Ulanlva (+1 Unique Attack)
-----Oreld (Intercept Order)
6) Maps:
-----Road Rampage (Vydar)
-----Highways and Dieways (ProtoFury)
-----Embattled Fen (Protofury's friends)
-----Flash Fire (briaka)
-----Ticalla Sunrise (jetjake)
-----Badru Valley (Jooky)
-----Broken Skyline (kevindola)
-----Swamp Thing (ElderberryNSprouts Family)
-----Fire Isles (jdtenor)
-----Turret Rocks (default if necessary)
-----<Your Map Here> (See Map Selection guidelines.)

Format (Based on the Super Simple System (SSS) for tourney management.)
-----50 Minute Timed Rounds
-----Absolute Losing Score
-----Whole Card Scoring

4 Swiss Rounds

5th Round:
Swiss Round for all but the top 4 players.
Top 4 are matched up for a Semi-Final as follows:
-----1st priority: No repeat matches if possible
-----2nd priority: 1st plays 4th and 2nd plays 3rd

Final Round (around 4pm):
Semi-Final winners play Championship game.
Semi-Final losers play 3rd Place game.
All others tear down maps.

Prizes - Please, bring $5 to contribute to store gift certificates.
$15 and $20 gift certificates
Agent Skahen (compliments of Jexik)
Synergy Chart (Part of Champion's prize--compliments of Ryougabot)
$25 House Mouse Games Gift Certificate
WotC Official Support
-----Skahen x4
-----RotV Master Set
-----Wave 9 x2

All prizes will be placed in a prize pool for selection in the following order:
-----Champion (1st)
-----Runner-up (2nd)
-----Sportsmanship (Based on vote)
-----3rd Place
-----4th Place
-----Most Creative Army (Theme and/or Synergy) (Based on vote)
-----5th through Last Place

List of Attendees [16]
Vydar & friend
briaka & son
jetjake
kevindola
Jooky & son
ProtoFury & 2 friend (KingKreigh and DomoSamurai)
ElderberryNSprouts Family x4
jdtenor

Maybe [0]

(If your name isn't on the list and you are planning coming, please, respond to this thread so we can add you and plan accordingly. I'd like our count to be as accurate as possible so we can be sure to accommodate everyone.)

DISCLAIMER: All information is non-contractual and subject to change as deemed necessary by the tournament organizers.

[Vydar]

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION:
I sent a PM notifying the eight people I know who expressed an interest in Peoria area events. (I also PM'd most users in Illinois that weren't in a Chicago suburb.)

Unless others are opposed, I prefer to steer away from overused/overpowered figures. Here are some tournament ideas and rules:

1) "B-List Tournament:" No figures with a Power Ranking higher than B+ allowed.

2) "Low GPA:" Weighted average GPA no higher 2.7 (B-).

3) "Faction Pure:" Only figures from one general allowed in an army.

4) Draft #1: Every map has a set of figures assigned to it (e.g. RotV Master Set figures). Players draft from that pool prior to playing at that map.

5) Draft #2: Every player brings a set of figures. Before playing the game, player's figures are combined into a pool and armies are drafted for play.

6) Sideboard: Bring 600 points of figures, select a 450 point army after you see what your opponent has brought.

7) Jexik's Shake-up

Other Rules
1) No Marvel figures.
2) Adjacent trees give a +1 defense against ranged for S/M/L figures.


Please, post your comments and ideas. I'd particularly appreciate feedback on:

1) Tournament rules and format,
2) Army point values (450 points),
3) Which maps to use (Select from BOV),
4) Which glyphs to use (vote complete),
5) How to handle prizes.

[briaka]

Hey Vydar! Looking forward to another event like last year. My son and I had a great time although too short.

Looking at the battlefield download section, I think any of the BoV maps would work well (1 MS), and I can bring terrain to build most of them. I don't have a TJ set though, and only 1 SotM, VW, and TT. Any multiples of those I wouldn't be able to build. I also like Quests of HS Battlefield #1, Castle Frozenstein, Puddles of Blood. I have one downloaded from Ch1can0 that apparently isn't up anymore, that we really liked to play on. It is Black Rock Castle and not symmetrical, but fun. I'll try to upload a pic sometime.

Prizes: I'm all for stuff I don't have yet: Ticalla Jungle, Aquilla Alliance, Wave 9, Promos. Of course anything will do!

Hope we get many responses!

Having never been in a tournament, I can't suggest a format or point value.

[jetjake]

I'd love to come. I didn't get a chance to last yeat, but I'm marking this date now. I have (or have access to) lots of terrain, if we need it. Figures with a power ranking B- and below have an average cost of 100pts/figure where B and above are 91pts/figure. (Are overpowered figures cheaper?) I would say that because they are less used and relativly more expensive, I'd suggest a point range around 450 vs the typical 400 tourney.

[kevindola]

As of now, I would be able to participate.

I would vote for:

1) Tournament Format depends on how many people we get. If we get 6-10 people then probably some variation of a straight single elimination. But we might need to wait till closer to the date until we see the participation. I am also in favor of a World Cup style format, where you break off into groups and play round robin, which determines a final 2 or 4 for single elimination (but that might take too much time)


2) 400+/-20 point armies

4) The fewer glyphs the better. I prefer strictly non d20 rolling ones and I usually play with lower power. For example:
Defense +1
Range + 2
Move + 1
Attack +1 (melee attacks only)

5) How did prizes go last year?

[Vydar]

I put a link to the SSS Swiss Tournament Rules in the first post and the options that I felt would be best for our tournament. Based on what I've been reading, my selections are the same as the official tournament rules they are trying to get finalized. Let me know what you think.

I brainstormed some tournament ideas and rules I'd like to add to the second post. The drafting ones, unfortunately, would add significant time to the tournament, so they may not work. The idea of making all trees provide cover was done by the Tree Town Open tournament last year (the biggest NHSD tournament). I don't own Ticalla Jungle, but I have RttFF, so I thought that might be a good addition.

Originally Posted by jetjake

(Are overpowered figures cheaper?)

Not necessarily (look at Q9, Nilfheim, and Braxase), but the cheaper something is, the better of a buy it might be, so that does contribute to relative power.

Originally Posted by kevindola

5) How did prizes go last year?

There were none. I ran a casual play event (i.e. not a formal tournament) and we missed out on prize support. There is no guarantee that prize support will be given this year though. Some tournament organizers get sponsored (I don't have the time nor do I suspect we'll get enough people to cash in on this), some have everyone bring a prize like a booster pack, and some charge an entrance fee (both to rent building space and purchase prizes). Just for Fun has always allowed free use of its open gaming space, but it would be nice to support the store for their hospitality. I'm going to talk to the owner of Just for Fun and see if he'll give us a discount on buying some prizes from him the day of the event. In that case, we'd have to charge an entrance fee.

Regarding glyphs, I think maybe I'll have everyone send me their ranked votes and I'll tally them up and announce the glyphs we'll be using. Maybe we can eliminate some that are overpowered before the vote (+2 Defense and +1 Attack for example).

[jetjake]

I think we should have a prize for the lowest average ranking army. Who's got the guts to fight w/ the "D" army??

[Ryougabot]

Originally Posted by jetjake

I think we should have a prize for the lowest average ranking army. Who's got the guts to fight w/ the "D" army??

That would be awesome. One of the things I liked about the event las year was the casualness. I like to play Heroscape, and it becomes less fun if it becomes a cutthroat tournament. I have been to a few Battletech tournaments that were no fun.I mean where else would an army of DW7000, 800 and 9000, be seen in public. I lost, but I had fun doing it.

I would make two "sets" of games, one set casual and anoteher tournament. Or let it be up to a vote of all confirmed showing up.

That being said, I will probably not be able to attend...If my PE exam is that weekend or after, I will be studying, If it is before, I will be looking to burn some steam anyway.

[Clarissimus]

I'd love to come to this but I have a prior commitment to Forest City, IA. Last year there was an event on the Sunday after NHSD . . . any chance this could be moved to the afternoon of the 18th?

I certainly don't expect everyone to change their plans just to accommodate me, but maybe there were others interested in attending the Tree Town Open.

[Vydar]

Originally Posted by Clarissimus

I'd love to come to this but I have a prior commitment to Forest City, IA. Last year there was an event on the Sunday after NHSD . . . any chance this could be moved to the afternoon of the 18th?

I can't do Sunday, but I believe playa1 might do an event near Urbana-Champaign that day. He's the one that ran the Sunday event last year.

I'd go to the Tree Town Open myself if it weren't so far away.


Looking at Glyphs, here is my first pass:
Good Glyphs
Dagmar (+8 Initiative)
Valda (+2 Move)
Lodin (Lucky 20-sider)
Nilrend (Negation)

Unsure
Gerda (+1 Defense)
Ivor (+4 Range)
Crevcor (+1 Common Attack)
Ulanlva (+1 Unique Attack)
Wannok (Wound)
Oreld (Intercept Order)

No Point/Doesn't Make Sense
Brandar (Artifact)
Kelda (Healing)
Mitonsoul (Mass Curse)
Sturla (Revive)
Rannveig (Wind)
Proftaka (Pit Trap)

Too Powerful
Astrid (+1 Attack)
Erland (Summoning)
Jalgard (+2 Defense)
Thorian (Thorian Speed)

[MrQuatsch]

I am putting the date on the Calendar. Went to Champaign's last year and had a great time. Daughter took 5 place(I of course took last). As far as fielding a "D" army, every Army I field is a "D" because I am the one fielding it.

[briaka]

Originally Posted by MrQuatsch

I am putting the date on the Calendar. Went to Champaign's last year and had a great time. Daughter took 5 place(I of course took last). As far as fielding a "D" army, every Army I field is a "D" because I am the one fielding it.

LOL. That's about the way I feel about my own!

I am planning on attending. Unsure if my son will come. He's a little uncertain about all the "tourney" stuff. I am too but am better at receiving a beat-down than he is.

He and I have been playing on a large map recently called "Last Defense" on page 13 in the 2MS section. Too big for a tournament game I think, although we have been finishing in under 12 rounds, but might be good for a casual exchange. Lots of holes, LOS blockers, and height options.

Looking forward to it.