Post by Gilvan Blight on Nov 3, 2007 17:57:46 GMT -5
I know this section of the board is sadly lacking content, so I thought I would toss some thoughts up based on the D&D Minis tourney I just got back from.
First off it was my first ever organized event, and only about the 3rd time I had even played the game.
It was hosted by Hugin and Munin, a FLGS with some great tables for playing this type of game one. The tables were just wide enough to fit the map and each players row of cards.
All participants received a Desert of Desolation Map, a Mummy mini and a D20 with some kind of gate instead of a 20 on it.
We were then given 2 Desert of Desolation Packs and given 20 minutes to make a 200 point war band.
My pulls were pretty cool. Three different Drow including two leaders, a perfect combo for a sealed booster game. I got a horse which made me happy, as they are the newest edition to the rules (mounts) and everyone can use a Horse mini for Roleplaying. My rares were a Naga and a Giant Fire Elemental, both rather cool minis. A couple Tieflings, an undead, a farmer and a couple others rounded out my pulls.
The war band I made consisted of the Three Drow and a Spider Swarm to start. I added the two Tieflings next. I finished it off with the Naga and Elemental.
Once players had their warbands we were paired off. Sorry to say I am horrible with names, so couldn't really tell you who I played.
The First game went great, as far as a fun session. The player I was up against was really cool with the fact it was only my third game and showed me some tricks for keeping track of damage and abilities (beads for damage, card condoms and dry erase for abilities). It was a close match, which I eventually lost due to time running out and being behind. The biggest thing about the first game was how much I learned about the game. There were quite a few things that I had been playing wrong when playing at home (no moving diagonal when there is a corner!). We did find a few rules issues though that seemed odd in this first game. Thankfully there were a couple of 'experts' present who were really good at interpreting the rules. Though I still disagree that a swarm should provide melee cover.
The Second game was a ton of fun. At this point I was figuring out what all my guys could do and how they worked together. I was still horrible at forgetting things like concealment on my Drow, but I was getting better. Thankfully my opponent was rather cool about it and actually reminded me a couple times when I made a mistake. The biggest lesson I learned in the second game is how much difference the map makes. The map we played on had a ton of smoke running through it. My opponent used this to such a great advantage that none of my spellcasters could ever target anyone with a spell since they couldn't see them. This was a quick game finished well under the time limit but was a ton of fun as I got to see a lot more strategy instead of someone winning by brute strength alone. I also learned the importance of keeping my commander safe, especially when my elemental dies when she dies.
The Third game saw my first victory. Well to be honest it was more like my opponent lost. He literally rolled 6 1's in a row on the same die at one point. This game reinforced the necessity of knowing all of your troops abilities. Not only did I 'find out' that my drow had spell resistance (had missed that earlier) but my opponent found out his Gelatinous Cube had Blind-sight. This one was the closest match yet. I literally thing I only won this one due to bad die rolls by my opponent.
The Fourth game was pretty much a total rout by my side. I made the mistake of trying to fight the battle far too close to the exit points. This meant that when my guys failed a moral test they routed right off the board with no chance of rallying. My opponent suffered the same fate, but not nearly often enough. I also got a good lesson on how powerful Fire Immunity and Damage Resistance are. Again the map played a pivotal role in the battle. We were on a map where there are these dragon statues, having one of your guys near them gave all your guys resistances. My opponent actually used the Farmer Figure to run between statues so that his guys always had a bonus vs my team (vs lightning for the Drider and vs Fire for the Elemental). The last match was probably the most brutal but taught me something else new. Now that I know what my guys can do, I need to pay way more attention to what my opponents guys can do. Also I had to be reminded repeatedly that when charging I need to charge the nearest enemy. My opponent used this rule very well against me.
At the end of the event, I ended up dead last. But hey, so what. I was the most inexperienced player there so I am happy to have won one game at least. The event was quite a bit of fun, and was a great learning experience. As Ian pointed out, you play with the same people all the time you make the same mistakes every time, playing with new people you learn where you went wrong. The venue was great and the players were all very cool and very understanding of having a n00b in their midst.
I'll definitely consider signing up for another one of these.
First off it was my first ever organized event, and only about the 3rd time I had even played the game.
It was hosted by Hugin and Munin, a FLGS with some great tables for playing this type of game one. The tables were just wide enough to fit the map and each players row of cards.
All participants received a Desert of Desolation Map, a Mummy mini and a D20 with some kind of gate instead of a 20 on it.
We were then given 2 Desert of Desolation Packs and given 20 minutes to make a 200 point war band.
My pulls were pretty cool. Three different Drow including two leaders, a perfect combo for a sealed booster game. I got a horse which made me happy, as they are the newest edition to the rules (mounts) and everyone can use a Horse mini for Roleplaying. My rares were a Naga and a Giant Fire Elemental, both rather cool minis. A couple Tieflings, an undead, a farmer and a couple others rounded out my pulls.
The war band I made consisted of the Three Drow and a Spider Swarm to start. I added the two Tieflings next. I finished it off with the Naga and Elemental.
Once players had their warbands we were paired off. Sorry to say I am horrible with names, so couldn't really tell you who I played.
The First game went great, as far as a fun session. The player I was up against was really cool with the fact it was only my third game and showed me some tricks for keeping track of damage and abilities (beads for damage, card condoms and dry erase for abilities). It was a close match, which I eventually lost due to time running out and being behind. The biggest thing about the first game was how much I learned about the game. There were quite a few things that I had been playing wrong when playing at home (no moving diagonal when there is a corner!). We did find a few rules issues though that seemed odd in this first game. Thankfully there were a couple of 'experts' present who were really good at interpreting the rules. Though I still disagree that a swarm should provide melee cover.
The Second game was a ton of fun. At this point I was figuring out what all my guys could do and how they worked together. I was still horrible at forgetting things like concealment on my Drow, but I was getting better. Thankfully my opponent was rather cool about it and actually reminded me a couple times when I made a mistake. The biggest lesson I learned in the second game is how much difference the map makes. The map we played on had a ton of smoke running through it. My opponent used this to such a great advantage that none of my spellcasters could ever target anyone with a spell since they couldn't see them. This was a quick game finished well under the time limit but was a ton of fun as I got to see a lot more strategy instead of someone winning by brute strength alone. I also learned the importance of keeping my commander safe, especially when my elemental dies when she dies.
The Third game saw my first victory. Well to be honest it was more like my opponent lost. He literally rolled 6 1's in a row on the same die at one point. This game reinforced the necessity of knowing all of your troops abilities. Not only did I 'find out' that my drow had spell resistance (had missed that earlier) but my opponent found out his Gelatinous Cube had Blind-sight. This one was the closest match yet. I literally thing I only won this one due to bad die rolls by my opponent.
The Fourth game was pretty much a total rout by my side. I made the mistake of trying to fight the battle far too close to the exit points. This meant that when my guys failed a moral test they routed right off the board with no chance of rallying. My opponent suffered the same fate, but not nearly often enough. I also got a good lesson on how powerful Fire Immunity and Damage Resistance are. Again the map played a pivotal role in the battle. We were on a map where there are these dragon statues, having one of your guys near them gave all your guys resistances. My opponent actually used the Farmer Figure to run between statues so that his guys always had a bonus vs my team (vs lightning for the Drider and vs Fire for the Elemental). The last match was probably the most brutal but taught me something else new. Now that I know what my guys can do, I need to pay way more attention to what my opponents guys can do. Also I had to be reminded repeatedly that when charging I need to charge the nearest enemy. My opponent used this rule very well against me.
At the end of the event, I ended up dead last. But hey, so what. I was the most inexperienced player there so I am happy to have won one game at least. The event was quite a bit of fun, and was a great learning experience. As Ian pointed out, you play with the same people all the time you make the same mistakes every time, playing with new people you learn where you went wrong. The venue was great and the players were all very cool and very understanding of having a n00b in their midst.
I'll definitely consider signing up for another one of these.