It's been a busy start to the year as you may have gathered from my previous post. On top of Prospero's finest I've also got a new job (start soon), ran December's End (my first Malifaux tournament of the year), got guinea pigs and planned the tournament calendar for the events I'll be running in Aberdeen.
This post is a chance to reflect upon these (maybe not the job and pets) and talk about the big Mo-that's right, Forward Momentum.
December's End was a big success, albeit with a couple of hiccups. It was an 18-player, best of three, 1 day event, and the one big thing I'd taken from the last event was to be really prepared ahead of time. I felt I was, with score sheets and blank league tables printed. I had secured prizes from various sources. So naturally all I needed was something to go wrong.
What happened was every tournament organiser's nightmare: a last minute drop-out. As a result I had to take part. Now, I love playing Malifaux, that's why I'm Wyrd's north of Scotland henchman, but what I don't love is playing Malifaux whilst keeping tabs on 17 other gamers, answering rules/logistics queries and keeping a tight eye on the time. I also don't like the horrid realisation that half your prizes haven't arrived as the company who've agreed to do prize support haven't dispatched them (several weeks later, still nothing). The tournament ran well, there were many happy gamers, no complainers (or Proclaimers... da dum da dum da dum...) and naturally lessons were learned.
Firstly, prizes. Thankfully I've got enough soul stones through the henchman programme to afford an official Wyrd prize pack. This gives 16 people prizes, comes with spot prizes in the form of Mystery Boxes and some nice certificates for 1st-3rd places. This eases the strain a little, as it comes with something for every participant as well, so the need to get custom stuff made is not as high. I will likely still get something small for every player anyway but at least it's one less stress. Relying on the goodwill of companies to supply prizes is not something I really want to do again after the disappointment of Sarrisa not sending the promised prizes.
Secondly, 16 players will be my limit. 18 is too tight for ABZ in my opinion, plus 16 neatly fits the prize pack. In a small enclosed area with small windows less is best. I like the idea that everyone gets an official prize as I feel it gives the player a bit more of an experience and the thought of regular attendance 'unlocking' rewards on the web store is a big draw.
Thirdly. Playing in your own tournament is bad! Obviously winning it is a no-no, but you can't play so badly you effectively hand out a bye each round. The logistics of running and playing are hellish as it's so easy to lose track of something, either in-game or at an organisational level (like someone's score) which can have huge repercussions later on. Thus there needs to be a better system in place to deal with this, most likely a dedicated 'ringer' who can be relied on to step in.
Hopefully these lessons will make A Scottish Som'er (a true one-day event on 20th May) my best yet, and I am very excited for what should be a great day.
http://themostexcellentandawesomeforumever-wyrd.com/topic/125373-a-scottish-somer/
I also have a small (12 places) 2-day Infinity tournament planned for the start of April which will be an exciting experience and something a bit different. It's been trickier to find support for this so I'm a little apprehensive about how it will actually run. Currently I think it's only going to be local gamers as there hasn't been the same level of interest from further afield.
So, what else? I assembled Magnus the Red last night and base coated him this morning before work. I'm using a black base as there's a lot of gold/bronze which I find struggles on a white base. The skin n is going to be red with some cadian(?) mixed in for a more 'realistic' look. The copper hair is going to be a challenge, I can't recall the last time I painted copper, and I want it to look like hair and not actual metal. The force weapon is something I'm agonising over as there's so many choices of colours it could be, and I'm not sure what would best compliment the reds and golds that will make up the rest of the models. I'm leaning towards a classic green but I'll do it last to get a feel for what the model is missing. The outstretched hand might have some OSL glow in it to suggest the start of a spell, yet again for a splash of colour, and because it fits for him to be casting rather than just gesticulating. The scarabs with have a green hur to them, maybe even painted as jade for some more colour, and I'm fairly sure the robes will be white. I'm not sure how I'll paint the Book of Magnus yet, I'll need to hit Google and see if there's a description of it. For once my internet search history will feature pictures of a large one-eyed monster... I am really looking forward to painting him, I'm thinking I'll start on him tonight whilst finishing my first Tactical Squad. And playing The Witcher: Enhanced Edition. And Gwent (although I've won my six rounds so not as much of an issue). Oh, and paying attention to Danielle and the Guinea Pigs....
So, the Big Mo... Going forward it's going to be a busy year. I've got the two aforementioned tournaments I'm running, there's the Scottish Malifaux GT ran by Kai (60 players?!?) on the 22nd-23rd of July, various real life commitments like work, a holiday with Danielle, trips to London for the NFL, and hopefully a couple more tournaments. I'd like to do a 30k one be I know I'd need expensive Forgeworld kits (Spartan being #1 amongst these)and practice. I'm a wee bit dubious about a 40k one as I would need a fair bit to make the Sons an effective 40k force. My intention is to get a Storm Raven and use plasticard to make it into a Storm Eagle. As they use the same base it's not as much of an issue as to its size, and the extra guns can be ascetic. I will just need to ensure I've got the main guns present and correct. I will try to crunch the Thousand Sons into Codex: Spage Marines and see what the end product resembles and take it from there.
There's also a few new Malifaux things I'd like. The Guild Mounted Guard, Alison Dade, cards for my Emissary (got the Perdita Avatar), plus the Queen's Return (complete with Doctor Dufresne) are the current 'must-haves', but the other new Guild models and some Arcanist constructs including Joss to get Hoffman properly running would be nice too. Then there's the small matter of getting it all painted in time for the next tournament. There's nothing worth than having two thirds of your crew painted up, preferably in a matching colour scheme, then your key model in bare plastic or a nearly-there base coat. I always feel I'm cheating my opponent somewhat, especially when said model goes on a rampage, killing off their best stuff (admittedly this was not the case with my Yan Lo crew!). At least my usual culprit, the Peacekeeper, is painted.
Until next time, take care and I hope you enjoyed reading this.
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