Whatever issues one might have with the RHQ system of rankings, and whether its existence benefits or detracts from the spirit of the game as a whole, it surely has done great things for the tournament scene. So long as an event will contribute to the entrant's overall rankings, it is an extra motivation to participate, and to be competitive.
We certainly found that to be the case, and our frequent tournament attendances are beginning to pay off in getting our names 'up there on the board'.
As a club, Tronhammer is currently ranked #4 in the New Zealand rankings, behind the City Guard, Christchurch Wargaming Club, and The Mournival.
We are very proud of our achievements this year, and hope to improve on our tournament play and better our game against the top players. Next year we hope to enter more of our club members into the local tournament scene, which this year has been very lively despite the '8th Edition killed Warhammer' fallacy going around.
Recent and Upcoming Tournaments
The T3 Comp-Free Fantasy Tournament
Jimmy and I entered this, and what a great event. Jim took away 1st place (well done mate!) and I managed 6th, despite the difference between 6th and 3rd being 1.5 points or something. So close!
Despite freeing up comp requirements, the lists that appeared were very moderate. Jim had a hard list, but it fit into the usual comp requirements anyway. Mine was probably the worst, and my results were mediocre, which has me questioning the need for comp (yes, including caps); so long as people enter the tournament with the right spirit, as all 12 entrants did in Tauranga. Yes, lots of artillery can be devastating, but in the games where they miss (or heaven forbid, people anticipate the possibility of facing them and counter them tactically), it get's balanced out.
I felt the scenarios also made things balanced. Had I the same matchups on different scenarios, there would have been some different results, which spurs me on to make sure I can deal with those potential mis-matches in future by taking a list that can deal with more situations.
What was different was that there was no ill-feeling generated by being told not to bring something. Everyone had fun with armies they enjoyed playing with.
Having a lot of space also helped things, and there was an ease about it that made the weekend a pleasure. The games I lost were the best, most fun, and most strategic games I have played at any of the tourneys I've been to. One of them was against Jim! Some of my games were so close, we didn't even know who won until we tallied up the points afterward. What more could you ask?
Hamish, the TO, mentioned his games in his blog, and also got to guest post on the Fields of Blood blog (thanks for the shout-out!). Big thanks for Hamish and Blair and the T3 guys for making us feel welcome.
Unlike the US and UK, NZ has very little choice when it comes to tournaments to attend and the comp[osition requirements] used, so I was thrilled to be able to support a group who did something a bit different. Hopefully we can put on a similar event in future, or perhaps even get a campaign going on!
GuardCon 2011
This could well be our last ranked tournament of 2011, and what a great way to finish up the year. The City Guard guys make for quality games and opponents, and Phil has some great prizes in store. The lists have been toned down considerably for this one so am looking forward to switching from an artillery line at T3 to an infantry line at GC.
Tronhammer Ultimate Grand Tournament of Awesome... 2011
What more needs to be said? Forget NatCon, NICON and the rest... this is the highlight of our 2011 tournament calendar!
Been a fun year, next year we might have to put some focus on this RHQ stuff, see if we can improve some of this ranking bizzo.
ReplyDeleteNice update Tim, and well done to the Tronhammer boys for the great results. :-) Keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteThe TUG-TOA 2011 sounds exciting, i'll be looking to read more about that...
thanks for the comments on the T3GC tourney, if you hold something over your way let me know asap and I will email it out to our Fantasy players. Any idea on a planned date as the earlier I can start earning brownie points, the earlier she-who-must-be-obeyed might let me play ha ha..
ReplyDeleteNo probs Hamish, happy to support the event.
ReplyDeleteI sent some feedback to Andrew at RHQ and he updated the icons on the NZ rankings - gratz on picking up the Greenskin icon!