play: saga tournament: jomsvikings

Last week, with more than a little trepidations, I set off to Texas Toy Soldier for their July Saga Tournament. You see, I'd last played the game in February and had little-to-no clue what the last two expansions brought to the table. I also had spent the prior week or so trying to finish my vikings, but fell short of the mark. They were past a 3-color standard, but the bases texture was straight out of the sand box and the shields were all a flat brown.

My mind was soon put at ease. All the guys participating in the tournament were understanding regarding both my lack of recent play and not-quite-complete figures. Most were even highly complimentary of how they looked, despite their unfinished nature. A total of 7 players started the tournament, which was to be best of 3 rounds all played with the "Kill the Warlord" scenario. Winner by best win-loss ratio, total points killed as the tie-breaker.

GAME 1: Jomsvikings vs Scots - A fiercely bloody battle with some very wily Scots. This one came down to a single die roll. On the last turn we had a Warlord on Warlord clash where the Scot had to make 1 save on 3 dice to stay alive... and flubbed all three. I killed his Warlord despite a Scottish 20-19 point lead.

GAME 2: Jomsvikings vs Byzantines - First time playing against the Byzantines, and I didn't enjoy it. It wasn't my opponent's fault, he was a good guy and played his forces well, but between the inherently strong defense of a fast and shooty army with a mounted general able to cower behind a mass of troops, "Kill the Warlord" is a tough road to hoe with a foot-slogging, melee only army. Add in consistent denial of Wraith by my opponent, and I was a sitting duck. Byzantine win by points, 11-2.

GAME 2: Jomsvikings vs Pagan Rus - First time playing against these guys as well, and I've got to say I like 'em. Some incredibly nasty tricks up their sleeves led to the near annihilation of a warrior unit that got caught out in the cold. "You can only move 4 inches. Oh, and your unit that isn't within 6 inches of anybody is now max fatigue. Oh, and every unit on the board with a fatigue marker takes off that many models - the fatigue stays." is a nut-buster of a combo. Fortunately, I was able to use my battle board to deny the Rus some of their other shenanigans, and managed to pull away with a 26-14 point victory.

After the bodies were laid to rest in their foam trays, it was determined that three of us were tied for first with a 2-1 record. When the points were tallied... I somehow came in on top! Netted me a $20 store gift certificate for my efforts, which I'm still trying to figure out how to spend. I was pleasantly surprised with how well I did, despite the lack of experience, and am looking forward to getting in more games soon. The Jomsvikings will definitely be staying on the painting table 'till they're done.