Into the Quarantine Zone - Northampton, Sun 8 November

[OldManMyke]

Will stick some terrain in the car

[PanzerHarris]

Cheers for the terrain offers, all gratefully received! 

I've updated the top post with details of the painting competition and the trophies we've ordered.

[Thingster]

After worrying this would be the first ever event with no drop outs, I'm in.

Now to base and undercoat everything. 

And learn how to play better. 

In a week. 

Right then...

[OldManMyke]

And work out how to get there :)

[Thingster]

And that. (Done, still working in the rest)

Can't upload the pictures here, what does everyone think of these proxies? https://mobile.twitter.com/romanrubberduck/status/662602272652845056

Edited November 6, 2015 by Thingster

[PanzerHarris]

Just so everyone knows, the latest FAQ will be in use. 

Unzipped versions of the docs are available here; https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4hf5anlmk9kgd92/AABpP_mSY2IQyU28KVb56FCQa?dl=0 

[PanzerHarris]

Postcode for the Mayorhold car park is NN1 3HA. Free all day, secure multi storey job. It's where I'll be!

To get to the venue from there, head out of the pedestrian exit, cross the road and go down the hill. You should go past a Subway on your left. Turn left, go through the Market Square, and the Market Place shopping centre is ahead of you. 

Go to the escalators at the back of the centre, go up a floor, and Warzone is in front of you on the right. Tournament is upstairs.

[Boiling Point Bob]

Thought I would get this down quickly as I'll forget and lose the plot if I dont do it now. This maybe TL:DR (as the kids say). Short version...Had Fun!

Just back from my first ever Malifaux event having only really picked up the game 4 weeks ago. My name is Sean, I'm 45 and have gamed since, well, forever. I started with WFB 1st Ed. But to be honest my main hobby has been historical gaming (I playtest for Peter Pig). Fantasy wise I dabbled in fantasy with RPGs and such until I got hooked big time with WFB 6th ed. I faded a bit in 7th and stopped all together in 8th. I then took up Warmachine which I enjoy but find the competitive scene too much for me as a social/casual gamer who loses more than I win. Which I don't mind but when you start to feel incompetent, not just bad, the fun can stop.

My mate and I did try M1E using just a crew box each (my Perdita v his Sonia). We enjoyed it but never progressed as we play so many other games we couldn't find the time to dedicate to learning what was a challenging game to get to grips with. We were both intrigued by M2E and bought the book but had never got around to playing it. Then we ran into Joel Henry and Dave Brown demoing at the Derby show in early October. Our juices began to flow and a couple of weeks later we tried a 30SS game. We rather enjoyed it and we are both hooked. Along with a couple of other  new players at the Stoke club we are hoping to start our own little 'scene'

When I saw that Panzer was running an event not too far away, I decided to jump in (with some encouragement) as I know that if I want to learn this game properly then I need to play more games. I'd really like to do some Vassalfaux but I'm having some computer issues at the moment. I was eager and nervous in equal measure. I really wanted to come along and have some fun games, but didn't want to ruin anyones day through ignorance and incompetence. Of course, I needn't have worried.

So I was up bright and early to drive the 101 miles to Northampton. A nice easy drive all the way until getting into the town and getting stuck behind Rememberance Day parades and then the sat nav failing me in finding the location of the shop. I DID find a great wargames shop, but the wrong one. Fortunately the very kind Matt Ledgerwood led me to the place I needed to be and I was introduced to the faces behind the voices, Matt Spooner, Lee Battrick and Mike Marshall along with Rory and others. All pleasant fellows to put one at ease for the coming day.

From my point of view the whole thing ran really smoothly. As a newcomer, I didn't feel too over awed at the gaming and social side of things. Its always difficult when you don't know anyone and they don't know you, but I'm sure if I can make a few more events things will become more natural.

Onto the games. I ran the same crew all day with the Viks, Taelor, Bishop, Student of Conflict and 2 Ronin. I has managed 3 50SS games prior to the event, 2 against  Sonia (2 wins) and 1 against Misaki (a loss)

I had 3 great games. First against Rory with the Dreamer. To be honest, I didn't have a clue as to what was going on. Over the course of the game he seemed to empty the contents of his figure case onto the table, kill the odd figure and win 9:3. Viktoria of Blood came close to killing Teddy but that was my highlight. I may need to go and have a look what all his stuff did because it was a blur. But Rory was a top bloke and he talked me through every thing and was very gracious in his victory. He even passed a few tips over to me.

Second game was against Craig Wood in a mirror match of Viks v Viks. His build was way off mine with Void Wretches, a Freikorp Trapper and Librarian and the Malifaux child. You could tell he had a better handle on what his crew could achieve. Viktoria of Blood did kill Lazarus which was nice, but it ended in a 6:3 win to Craig. Another top bloke who I would love to play again.

The last game was against Hayden Smith with Lucius and a beautifully painted crew. Mid game it looked like I might actually win until two mighty FUBARS on my part. First I forgot all about Deliver the Message and charged Viktoria of Ashes into a fight that engaged her with a second model that I didn't kill. Secondly I happily manoeuvred Bishop across the table for Entourage not realising it had to be a leader or henchman to complete the scheme. Viktoria of Blood had done sterling work killing the Peacekeeper (I think it was called) which made me smile. Hayden won in the end 7:4 and it was another great game with plenty of laughs and swings in fortune.

I came 2nd last, which was nice! Having said that, I think I learnt something new from each game and became more confident in my activations. I really don't care too much about winning. I never have. I want a good fun game that both players enjoy. I try to win, but I'm happy either way. The small section of the community I met today seem a top bunch and I'm glad I took the plunge. I'm gutted I'm missing the GT (family commitments) but I am signed up for Gertfaux. I will keep an eye out for other events between then and now.  I think I'm going to enjoy the ride.

Thanks to Panzer for organising, to my 3 opponents named above and to Joel H, Matt S,Matt L, Mike M, Lee B, Craig J and anyone else who took time to talk to me. It's nice when people take time to say a few words as it makes a newcomer feel that bit more welcome into what is a very established scene and can be a tad daunting to a first timer 

Edited November 8, 2015 by Boiling Point Bob
spelling

[mythicFOX]

Thanks for running a great event Panzer.  Had a great time, good to see some of the new and returning faces again.

[PanzerHarris]

Thanks everyone for coming, and again thanks for the kind words. It was a really great event to run, as it always is with the Malifaux community! We had a lot of players taking in their first tournament (nearly a quarter of the field) and everyone seems to have enjoyed it. Big win for everyone there.

Final prizes worked out as follows;

Winner: Craig Johnson (10T)
2nd: Matt Ledgerwood (Ressers)
3rd: Joel Henry (Neverborn)

Best Painted: Haydn Smith (Guild)
2nd: Ben Halford (Ressers)
3rd: Matt Spooner (10T) (DBW)

Best Sports: Ross Clarke (Gremlins)
Honourable Mention: Craig Bennett (Outcasts)

Best Loser (Last Place): Ian Bennett (Ressers)

Best Craig Woods: Craig Woods (Outcasts)

A quick word on sportsmanship - I've never seen anyone manage to achieve votes from all of their opponents before, so to have both Ross and Craig do it here was amazing! Unfortunately there was only 1 trophy, and Ross took it due to getting a vote from an opponent he beat 10-0 and taking it on the chin when he blew up his own Master with someone else's Punk Zombie!

Final placings and the results from each round are here for the stats freaks. Thanks again to all, and hope to see you at the next Warzone event. 

[Wake of Godzilla]

Just to say thanks for an awesome day - great event Panzer, lovely to see everyone again and meet some new faces. 

Looking forward to the story encounter at the end of December!

[McPigish]

It was absolutely brilliant mate!

Had such a blast the whole day, thank you.

Lmao wong thought he was safe surviving all the punk zombies on 1 wound, then francois runs in kills the zombie. Forgetting about black blood which kills wong!

Ooops lol