Hi gang! This is James, the henchman in Greenville, NC to share the results and some info from our 14 person tournament on Saturday 7/29 at Blue Ox Games here in town.
Results
1. Erik Lodal, Gremlins
2. Kemp Lambert, Ressurectionists
2. Alfredo Pupperino, Neverborn
4. Sam Newman, Neverborn
5. Patrick Healy, Guild
6. Elliot Triebenbacher, Ressurectionists
7. Craig Shipman, Guild
8. John Lilley, Neverborn
9. Chris Blue, Outcasts
10. Jim Ortiz, Arcanists
11. Samuel Leu, Guild
12. Braelyn Wagoner, Arcanists
13. Kelly Smith, Resurrectionists
14. Mike Metcalf, Outcasts
Master Breakdown
Guild (3 players) Nellie 58.3%, Perdita 33.3%, Sonnia 8.4%
Neverborn (3 players) Collodi 33.3%, Titania 25%, Lucius 16.6%, Zoraida 16.6%, Lilith 8.4%
Ressers (3 players) Reva 58.3%, Molly 16.6%, Tara 16.6%, Seamus 8.4%
Outcasts (2 players) Viktorias 50%, Tara 50%
Arcanists (2 players) Ramos 50%, Marcus 25%, Collette 25%
Gremlins (1 player) Somer 100%
Strategies and Schemes
Round 1
Standard Deployment
Strategy: Extraction
Schemes: Claim Jump, Dig Their Graves, Accusation!, Hidden Trap, Recover Evidence
TO's thoughts: Whenever I build a scheme pool I like to make things difficult -- because I'm evil. Actually, it's more that I like to build counter-intuitive pools that force people into difficult situations. I thought Recover Evidence would be a natural choice, given the centralized nature of Extraction, but it surprised me how many players went for Hidden Trap this round. I often feel it's a difficult scheme to pull off, and this resulted in some major final turn swings.
Average Player VP: 5.5
Round 2
Flank Deployment
Strategy: Headhunter
Schemes: Claim Jump, Frame for Murder, Leave Your Mark, Hunting Party, Set Up
TO's thoughts: I felt before the event that this was the second-most difficult round. I felt the trap players would fall into would be to build excessively kill-focused crews to force heads being dropped and score Hunting Party, with the risk that a interact-heavy crew could breach the backfield and score Leave Your Mark, potentially also having their scheme runner be the "sucker" for Frame for Murder. Scores were higher in Round 2, but it was the only round where no player was able to score a full 10.
Average Player VP: 6.1
Round 3
Corner Deployment
Strategy: Interference
Schemes: Claim Jump, Eliminate the Leadership, Accusation!, Show of Force, Search the Ruins
TO's thoughts: This was my favorite round when I created it, and the one my local players said they found the most difficult in preparing for the event. I liked the opposing forces of trying to score Interference with the center board-heavy Show of Force and Search the Ruins. The players who did best this round found creative ways of matching their opponent in models and finding interesting ways to accuse enemy models controlling quarters.
Average Player VP: 6.1
Round 4
Close Deployment
Strategy: Stake a Claim
Schemes: Claim Jump, Dig Their Graves, Leave Your Mark, Undercover Entourage, Tail 'Em
TO's thoughts: Watching the round unfold this was by far the most fun to watch. The top two tables saw Somer play Neverborn Zoraida and Nellie play Collodi, which was fascinating to see all four players use their control elements and tricks to try and stop the trickiest pool of the day (in my opinion). The combination of Leave Your Mark and Undercover Entourage could potentially result in huge VP swings either way, depending on how they were countered -- but it was also a potential trap considering the AP investment Stake a Claim requires. This was a blast.
Average Player VP: 5.71
Final TO thoughts: I consider a total scheme pool a success if I see a wide variety of schemes chosen, paired with an average VP lower than 6.5 on the day. In total players averaged 5.85 across all four rounds, which I hope they felt like was a decent challenge. The amount of control masters taken made games fascinating to watch, particularly in the later rounds when players were more-closely paired.
Top 10 Interesting Observations From The Day
1. No Ten Thunders is fairly rare in our meta. Two tournaments ago we have six 10T players in a 16-person tournament.
2. So. Much. Burt. At this point many of us know just how strong Burt Jebsen is, and there's no sign of that slowing down. Burt was used in a total of 18 games on the day, for an average inclusion rate in lists of 32.1%.
3. Wait ... is that FINGERS?! Voted Gremlin Henchman most-likely to induce opinions, Fingers appeared in two games on the day. These were the first two games I've ever seen him in compeditive play. His chatty aura is situationally incredible, especially in a pool like Round 4 with close deployment and interact-heavy schemes. Maybe it's time to consider clipping him from your Brewmaster sprue.
4. Sometimes you need a third tiebreaker. The finish for second and third was so tight that Best Coast Pairings gave up and put two players in the second spot. They tied on Swiss, Diff and total VP -- which took it to head-to-head.
5. Tara vs. Tara means that nothing happens. Outcast Tara and Resser Tara met in Round 2 and tied 7-7. May nobody ever be able to settle which is the better Tara.
6. I don't like to make sweeping generalizations, especially based on one tournament -- but it was interesting to see a potential Neverborn meta shift in the works with two players finishing 3rd and 4th with the faction with 3rd playing Collodi four rounds and 4th playing Lilith in just one round, Titania in one and Zoraida in two. Great to see the faction open up.
7. Weird science. Two Arcanist players in a four round tournament and no Sandeep just felt ... wrong.
8. Games with Reva predominantly featured her out-and-out kill combo of "Littany of the Fallen" and "Decaying Aura," but she had a 3-4 record on the day.
9. BREAKING NEWS: Somer is still good. Erik absolutely deserved the win on the day, and nothing should take away from that. He was masterful with Somer throughout the day, but the depth of the scheme pool showed just how adaptable he is as a master. Somer's ability to slot himself in where needed and fill multiple roles in a game continue to show his strength inside the Gremlins faction.
10. Far fewer rules queries. At this point people are fairly familiar with the FAQ and errata docs, which made for an easy day as a TO. I got to enjoy the games and answer less questions.
If you're reading this far: Thank you for ensuring my rambling wasn't in vain. The event was a blast and I hope everyone had fun. I can't wait for Wave 5 and see how things change by the next time we host an event in Eastern NC.