No such issues this time as we had the properly stunning NWGC venue to ourselves (apart from a few local gamers here and there. Thanks to the doubles format we only needed seven tables too so there was plenty of space for people to set their armies up and move around to watch the other games when they were done with theirs. I'm pretty sure this helped make the event feel more relaxed than last time on its own.
As a reminder, Double Trouble events differ from normal doubles tournaments in that no one shows up with a partner. Instead, they arrive with a 750pt list and get paired with a new partner and two new opponents in each and every round. It's deliberately a social event first and a competitive tournament second. You struggle to bring too much filth in a 750pt army as it is and you can't rely on synergy between your force and the other half of the army. Numbers were slightly down on last time (28 compared to 32) but I think the imminent release of 8th didn't help me. Still, nothing I could do about it as I'd had the date booked in for a long time.
Results
Come back tomorrow and Tuesday for the painting competition round up but here's the final table from the tournament itself:
Click on the image to enlarge it if you're having trouble making out the text. Bear in mind the positions are pretty meaningless. The tournament prizes are separated into Master Tactician (most VPs from Maelstrom cards) and Genocidal Maniac (most "blood points" i.e. destruction of enemy units). The former going to David Irving and the latter going to Mark Hinson. It's interesting to look back to DT1 and think that Matthew Grimes' summoning Daemons list wouldn't be anywhere near as effective in the upcoming 8th edition. Anyway, I'm not sure how the hell David managed to accrue quite so many VPs but his opponents vouched for the numbers! I guess if your games are going to seven turns then there's plenty of scope for it.
My good friend Matt was frustrated to narrowly miss out on the blood points title but it's worth noticing that he played with Mark in the second round and matched his score in the final round. He'd have needed to table his game one opponents to tie things up (but would still have lost on VPs as a tiebreak anyway).
Rob Nathan should win a second award for Most Consistent Performance but he actually managed to score less points than he did at DT1 (41.66 compared to 43.84 to scoop the Nobody Loves Me Award for lowest combined total).
Sadly no trophies this time round but hopefully I'll be able to reinstate them for DT3. However there was, as ever, a generous raffle. I gave away a Shadow War rulebook, three scenery kits, a start collecting set (the winner selected BA), Gangs of Commorragh (which Matt won, can't wait to give it a go) and finally a Warhammer Quest: Shadows Over Hammerhal box (worth £90 RRP). I think that's pretty good for a 28 strong event giving everyone a 1 in 4 chance of a prize. More than half of the prizes were worth double the ticket price too!! For those who don't already know, I do this as my method of discouraging people from bringing pure filth. The tournament prizes are always worth less than something you could get by sheer luck of your name being drawn from the bag.
Finally, a big thank you to everyone who came along to the event. Thanks also to the incredibly generous Element Games for allowing me to run the event at their stunning venue. Seriously, the place is easily the best place I've played in a tournament (OK I didn't actually play but you know what I mean). Mats for every table, a massive array of scenery, storage space under the tables for your reserves etc and much improved decor compared to the old NWGC before Element took over. We should be supporting companies like Element who are prepared to invest in making venues that make tournaments more enjoyable. Why not pre-order your copy of 8th edition from them (if you haven't already)? Yes, I do receive a small cut of the sales but their service is excellent.
All that remains for me to say is that Double Trouble 3 will be at the NWGC on June 9th 2018 and I'll be hosting a new singles event "Nevermind The Blog Wars" (thanks James Coldrick for the name suggestion) on November 11th 2017. Stay tuned to the blog for more details or join the Double Trouble group on Facebook.
Thanks for running it Alex, was a good relaxed atmosphere I think engendered by the prize/victory structure of this event. You don't technically need to win a game to come top, just score a frakload of VPs before you die and yo could lose every game yet be awarded the master tactician award... admittedly it's unlikely but it's feasible... :P
ReplyDeleteI certainly didn't see anything I thought was too beastly... ok, the last game against three land raiders I had nothing I could do to him, and my teammate threw every weapon he had at it (all four of them) missed with every armour pen roll and got annihilated for his efforts, but on the flip side my teammate in the round before was running 6 grav servitors, 3 haywire servitors and Cawl... he'd have mocked the land raider list, so luck of the draw really...
Now, to see what 8th brings us...
Despite coming 2nd to last, it was an excellent day of gaming. My Lascannon misses were becoming almost comical by the end and I don't think my list was actually *that* bad, I just had one of those terrible days in terms of luck.
ReplyDeleteOverall, no issues, although facing Custodes was like trying to destroy a mountain with a BB gun, and the Eldar Warp Hunter puts out a lot of death for it's points, but other than those very minor headaches, I didn't have a problem. I am waiting to see how Forgeworld pans out for 8th before ever saying "Re-ban Forgeworld!" or anything like that.
Great event again and eagerly awaiting November's event!