WaaaghPaca 2014: Tournament Review

Well, WaaaghPaca 2014 has passed us by. Time for the tournament report.

Similar to last year, the tournament was held at the Waupaca Ale House, a great little venue right off the main road. This is one of the main draws of the tournament and I hope they get to keep the venue after all the damage that some assholes caused on the first night before the tournament.

This year, scoring was changed up slightly so that all the scores were increased to 25 points each. Last year, there was a slightly different scoring system which was not as easy to understand. I liked the simple 25 point maximum for each category as it made overall calculations much easier.

This year, I placed in a tie for 12th (but ended up getting 15th after the strength of schedule tie breaker was added in). This is a significant increase from last year's placing in the low 40s of the tournament. Complete scores for the tournament should be up on the site soon, but my overall score breakdown was as follows:

• Total points accumulated was 85
• 19 Battle Points (went 4-1 for the weekend and missed 3 out of 5 bonus objectives. This is similar to last years playing, but in my one loss, I took a much larger points hit than last year.)
• 21 Paint Points (this was a large increase from last year. I plan on posting pictures of the entire army soon, but I was able get all the objective and subjective paint points except for those that involved favorite army votes. Next year I am already planning a better display board and some larger conversions to draw in some passer-bys.)
• 20 Sportsmanship Points (once again I did not get a single favorite opponent vote. I chalk this up to some bad match-ups where the games were over very quickly - including a turn 1 game - and the general level of sportsman who attends WaaaghPaca.)
• 25 Base Points (these were given for not screwing things up during the tournament and getting everything done that was supposed to be done)

The prizes this year were equally as amazing as last year. The Bear once again made handmade weapons for all the victors, this year themed as fantasy orc weapons. I can easily say that I am already suffering from post-paca depression and am already looking forward to next year and hopefully cracking the top 10. Now to get to work on some battle reports!

WaaaghPaca: Update #6

With WaaaghPaca descending upon us this weekend, I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss the five scenarios that I (and 99 other players) will be playing.

Each round will use the Man of Intrigue model. The model may not be on a base larger than 50mm square and has the following rules:

• Unless specified in the scenario, the MOI is attached to a core unit.
• He has no stats and can't be attacked or otherwise interacted with.
• He is deployed at the same time the unit he is attached to is deployed and he doesn't have to deploy with the same unit each game.
• The MOI generates additional fortitude for your army equal to the rank bonus (to a maximum of +3) of the unit he is attached to. 

Now, on to the actual rounds, themselves.

WaaaghPaca: Update #5

This coming weekend is WaaaghPaca 2014! And man, if I am not excited about everything this tournament entails. Besides flying from the sunny West Coast all the way to the frozen northlands of Wisconsin, I will be playing against some of the most beautifully painted and converted armies in the country which will, in turn, be played by some of the nicest and most sportsmanlike Warhammer generals. It’s like being locked behind closed doors for six months of the year breeds great hobby talent and a general sunny disposition to offset the bleakness of tundra. For those who haven’t attended WaaaghPaca before, these are the rules.

WaaaghPaca: Update #4

So over the last week I have been able to put a little bit more time into painting. I know I need to hurry up, and this weekend I plan on really pushing through these warlocks and starting the remaining monsters. I also need to order an army name plate and start work on an army display board that I can fit in my luggage (as I am flying to Milwaukee and then driving to WaaaghPaca). So, I have a lot of things on my plate to finish off before the tournament and only about two and half more weeks to get it done. I am on track to finish the warlocks for sure, but am worried about getting the rest done. Hopefully, if all else fails, I can get some base colors and initial washes/highlights done on the other models to get the basic paint points for the tournament.

Warhammer Resolutions 2014

It's a new year, 2014 to be exact, and that means resolutions. As this is a Warhammer blog, and one of my favorite hobbies is Warhammer Fantasy, almost all of my resolutions (or goals, as I like to think of them) are Warhammer related. This is what I hope to accomplish this year:

• Paint 10 Doomfire Warlocks
• Paint 1 Kharybdis
• Paint 1 Bloodwrack Medusa
• Paint 1 High Beastmaster on Manticore
• Paint 20 Wood Elf Glade Riders
• Paint 28 Wood Elf Glade Guard
• Paint 20 Dryads
• Top 20 at least 2 tournaments of 60+ people
• Top 10 at least 1 tournament this year
• Qualify for the U.S. Masters from the West Coast (I wasn't able to attend the Qualifier tournament this last year)
• Paint 2 separate pieces of terrain for the hobby room
• Get and put together a gaming board
• Lose 20 lbs (I know this isn't Warhammer related, but I'm getting fat and need to get this weight down so I don't accidentally tip a table over)
• Write at least 1 blog post a week
• Update battle reports more frequently (at least 1 a week after a tournament)
• Write 3 tactical articles

Now most of these goals should be pretty easy throughout the year, though I am trying to paint that Dark Elves before WaaaghPaca. And the Wood Elf goals could easily change if the book comes out and those units won't be playable any more (though I highly doubt it). As for the tournament ones, the big one is the Masters. I won't be going to as many tournaments this year as I am getting married in October and will probably end up missing the Qualifier again this year. This means that I really need to focus on the 5 tournaments in the circuit: West Coast, Bay Area Open, Quake City Rumble, Broadside Bash, and Saws. 

The writing goals may seem like they should be easy, but I find that I can easily get distracted with work and painting and life events when I am trying to get the site updated (especially when it comes to battle reports). This year, I want to put out a couple of good, quality tactical articles and more in-depth battle reports with both pictures and UB (or other software) showing moves, etc. I also plan on finally getting to player interviews and army specials. WaaaghPaca should bring enough material to carry this blog through the spring if I do it right. 

Here's to a new year of fun and games!

WaaaghPaca: Update #3

Right before Christmas I participated in the Battle for the Christmas Ham. A one-day, three round Warhammer tournament in Oakland, CA. The format for this year's Battle was 2000 point armies using the same rules as WaaghPaca, including the Man of Intrigue. This was great because I was going to be able to get three solid games in with my new list, figure out how I liked my magic item choices, and make necessary changes for WaaghPaca. I would also be able to throw my units around to see what kind of damage they could really do.