Part 6d: Hail to the King baby!

Awards and aftermath of the UK East Region Clash of Kings

I would qutoe Ash but I’m a big fan of The Duke!

+ + + PICTURE HEAVY BLOG!! + + +

3 games, 3 wins, narrowly beating Mark Wright to the top stop by 2 Tournament Points out of 60. Little bit embarrassed to win ‘my’ own Tournament but I played the armies put in front of me and although I played to win it wasn’t (I hope) at the cost of my opponent (the whole WAAC mentality). But at the end I passed on all my prizes anyway, and happily, as for the Staff it’s not about coming, crushing our opponents and winning prizes  it’s about playing the games we enjoy with the Mantic Fans out there!

Mark and Jamie were tied for 2nd going into the last round so I gave Mark (top Undead player) who won his last game the 1st place, a Dwarf one player set, limited edition Art prints and of course the East Region Blaine Trophy:

Behind Mark we have Daniel Campbell (Elves) who scooped a unit of Werewolves along with his certificate and limited edition art print:

Jamie Leeder (Elves) ended up finishing third (4th before I stepped down) so he got a limited edition art print, a unit of Trolls and as on any other day he would have played Mark for the Top Spot instead of me I gave him my Ticket to the Final. I’ll most likely be running the Event and feel it was fair splitting my prize pot between the top two players!

Of course Events aren’t just about winning and we rewarded the Most Sporting Opponent and Best Painted Army at the East Regional.

Carlo Contrino received 3 out of 3 votes from his opponents as their Most Sporting Opponent over the day. He received a certificate, metal blister and limited edition art print. I think it’s really important to reward good sportsmanship as at the end of the day it’s a hobby that we all give up our free time to partake in, about Toy Soldiers, that some people can take a little too seriously at times!

We next had the Best Painted Army or Best Army as I think we should judge it in future (so takes into theme/conversions etc and not just technical skill) which went to Jamie Leeder’s Nature themed Elf army. We all enjoy playing against painted armies (mine will get there I promise) and Jamie had made a really good effort with the theme and model selection of his army. For this award it has to be majority Mantic models (if they have been released) so currently he could win this award but once the new units ship with the 2nd Ed Kickstarter he’ll not be eligible with this army. Still – win it whilst you can!!

And of course at every event there are Winners… and there are Dave’s! Dave was smiling all day and took his defeats well, and is proof that us Staff aren’t all filthy gamers looking to win all the events! I didn’t have a prize for the ‘Wooden Spoon’ to start with but Dave let slip he needed some for his Kitchen, so on my lunch break I picked him up a set from Tesco!

The final curtain

As I did the awards I asked the gathered gamer’s for a show of hands. “Hands up if this is your first KoW Tournament?” and 5 put their hand up (including Luke)! Based on the positive feedback following the event from the gamer’s I think this is a really positive start for the Clash of Kings this year in the UK. I know several gamer’s have only just got into the game and that is based in part on the venue, Athena Games, providing a pleasant place to meet up and game but also down to the hard work of the local Pathfinder Leon getting people into the game! So well done both of you!!

Massive thanks from me and the rest of the Mantic Team who traveled across for the Event. We had a cracking day and will certainly be back next year. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if the East Region expanded next year based on last weekend!

My list

Having had a few days to think about it. Why did I win?

Well Luke would have you believe it’s all about the List Build (Cavalry) and although I agree to a certain extent I think he’s just bitter the internet told him he had the filthiest list!

The list was strong but I’ve also got many years of ‘competitive’ wargaming behind me from the days of Thrones of Skulls at Warhammer World to playing at the European Team Champs in 40K. This experience helps a lot when thinking about how to play a game and, dare I say it, tactics! Although I’ve not played Kings of War properly in a year or two having played it before also prepared me for the Event.

However no Event is won without a bit of luck – and I think I got a load last Sunday!

Game 1 getting first turn and wavering most of my targets instead of routing. The draw, playing a (no offense intended) inexperienced player round 1 and avoiding the Undead infantry lists all day – I could have got bogged down in combat against these units.

And not playing any shooting greater than 3 warmachines… Game 1 was 1 zapp spell, Game 2 was 1 zapp and 3 mortars, and Game 3 was 3 Bolt Throwers. This meant all my units got into combat pretty much unscathed. I very rarely broke my opponents units on the charge instead needing another turn so if they can counter charge me and I’ve already taken some damage I am a lot more likely to pop before I get a chance to charge again. I do have a fair bit of healing and inspiring but it’s a less certain prospect about breaking my opponent’s units. Especially if I have some bad rolls on the healing.

List weaknesses – the defense on the Panther Cavalry is really low and I think if people payed a little more attention to these I could be in real trouble. And with no shooting or zap spells I struggle to deal with small skirmishing blockers like Luke’s Gargoyles meaning I have to charge them to deal with them opening me up to counter charges if my opponent can set it up!

Still the list played well, will be interesting to see how it fairs north of the border at 6s2Hit in about 10 days. This weekend I need to get back on at painting and see if I can make a significant improvement on their last outing!

Anyway that’s it for the East Region Clash of Kings – thanks for reading! Come back next week for an update before the Scottish Regional.