Welcome to the Leviathan Incursion Finals

We are but a week away from the culumination of the Leviathan Incursion Series. Four qualifying events that have narrowed down to eight players vying for the trophy.

Leviathan Incursion One 

Leviathan Incursion Two 

Leviathan Incursion Three 

Leviathan Incursion Four 

It's been an interesting set of tournaments, with seventeen factions appearing. It's given the successful Generals a lot to think about. They were sent this briefing -

Welcome victorious Generals, to the finals of our Arks of Omen Incursion series. After four events and 31 unique players, the field has whittled down to just the eight of you. Now we shall see who gets to walk away with the trophy, and the bragging rights.

The event is on Saturday 30th December 2023, at Neutral Ground.
Round One will commence at 11am, getting there earlier will give you more time to set up and prepare for kick-off. Matches will be 2 and a half hours long. End of time procedure will be to finish the Battle Round and score final points then. Concessions will require calling me over to adjudicate the final points scored.

Prizes will be store credit for the top 50% (top 4) and a trophy for first place. If two flights occur, the the top 50% of each flight will gain store credit and then the winner of each flight will play a fourth round to determine who wins the trophy.

Pairings will be handled via a Challonge Bracket, with the first round paired via seeding from the four qualifiers. This seeding has been generated via an ELO system.

As Leviathan draws to a close in December, I will require lists to be finalised and sent to me in advance. With the event being on the 30th, I will want the lists sent to me by the 23rd. This will give me time to double-check the correct points are being used. I will then publish the factions that everyone is playing once they have all been checked. This will give you some time to make battle plans with the force you have submitted. Unless I spot an error and ask you to change something, the list is set in stone and cannot be changed.

The missions for the Finals will be –  

F - Supply Drop, Chilling Rain, Search and Destroy

I - Take and Hold, Hidden Supplies, Hammer and Anvil

N - Priority Targets, Chosen Battlefield, Dawn of War  

The order of these missions will be revealed during the player briefing on the day.

Late submission of your list will incur victory point penalties, as will errors on the list. Make sure it’s correct before you submit it. Also, I will be locking in any Balance Dataslate/Codex/other material release changes on the 16th of December. Anything after this won’t be used for the Finals. This gives you a week to react to any potential changes.

If you cannot attend the finals, let me know ASAP so that I can offer your spot to the next eligible player, as determined by their ELO ranking.

Good luck Generals, and see you on the 30th of December.

And now the lists are in. For this event, I am making them fully public, so that the rampant speculation can begin. The Generals will also have plenty of time to theorycraft their match-ups

James Evans 

Straight out of UCG, James brought a Votann list to the fourth qualifier and is running the same list back for the Finals

Leagues of Votann - Oathband

Kâhl , Warlord, Forgewrought plasma axe, Rampart Crest,  Volkanite disintegrator, Grim Demeanour

10x Hearthkyn Warriors, Theyn, Autoch-pattern bolt pistol,  Close combat weapon,  Kin melee weapon, Weavefield Crest,  9x Hearthkyn Warrior, 9x Autoch-pattern bolt pistol, 7x Autoch-pattern bolter , 1x Comms Array, 1x L7 missile launcher, 1x Magna-rail rifle, 1x Medipack, 1x Pan Spectral Scanner

Sagitaur , 1x HYLas beam cannon

Sagitaur , 1x HYLas beam cannon

3x Brôkhyr Thunderkyn, 3x Graviton blast cannon

10x Einhyr Hearthguard, Hesyr, 1x Teleport Crest, 10x Concussion gauntlet, 10x Exo-armour grenade launcher, 10x Volkanite disintegrator

Hekaton Land Fortress , 1x Armoured wheels, 1x Heavy magna-rail cannon, 1x MATR autocannon, 1x Pan Spectral Scanner, 2x Twin bolt cannon

1000 points

Alex Krysta  

Part of Dick Van Dice, Alex has found success with the Aeldari even after the nerfs

Aeldari – Battle Host   

Asurmen, Warlord

Farseer , Witchblade , Fate’s Messenger

Illic Nightspear

10x Guardian Defender, 1x Bright lance

10x Dire Avengers , Dire Avenger Exarch,  9x Dire Avenger, 11x Avenger shuriken catapult

5x  Fire Dragons, Fire Dragon Exarch , Firepike , 4x Fire Dragon , 4x Dragon fusion gun

5x Rangers

5x Swooping Hawks, Swooping Hawk Exarch, Hawk’s talon,  4x Swooping Hawk , 4x Lasblaster

10x Warp Spiders , Warp Spider Exarch , 9x Warp Spider , 10x Death

995 points

Kit Scott  

Leader of the Neutral Ground home team, she has refined the Salamanders across the season

Space Marines - Salamanders - Firestorm Assault Force

Captain in Gravis Armour, Warlord, Relic blade

5x Aggressor Squad,  Flamestorm gauntlets

3x Eradicator Squad, Multi-melta

3x Eradicator Squad, Multi-melta

Gladiator Valiant, Icarus rocket pod,  Ironhail heavy stubber

10x Hellblaster Squad, Plasma pistol

3 xInceptor Squad, Plasma exterminators

1000 points

Ian Atrill  

A veteran, and Dick Van Dice's Ork expert

Orks -  Waaagh! Tribe

Beastboss on Squigosaur , Thump gun , Headwoppa’s Killchoppa

Mozrog Skragbad , Warlord

10x Boyz , Boss Nob , Power klaw , Rokkit launcha

10x Boyz, Boss Nob, Power klaw, Rokkit launcha

Trukk, Wreckin’ ball

Trukk, Wreckin’ ball

10x Gretchin, 1x Runtherd

3x Squighog Boyz, 1x Bomb Squig

3x Squighog Boyz, 1x Bomb Squig

3x Warbikers, 1x Boss Nob, 1x Big Choppa, 2x Choppa

1000 points

Aaron Hurrell  

A member of Da Boyz, Aaron has had a lot of success across all three Incursions so far. Is this his time to win the Finals?

Necrons - Hypercrypt Legion

C'tan Shard of the Nightbringer

Technomancer, Staff of light, Warlord

Transcendant C'tan

5x Deathmarks

5x Deathmarks

1x Lokhust Destroyer

1x Lokhust Destroyer

6x Canoptek Wraiths 6x particle caster

1000 points

James Soper   

 Another member of Da Boyz, James works hard and I'm glad to see him in the Finals

T’au Empire - Kauyon Incursion

Cadre Fireblade, 1x Marker Drone, 1x Shield Drone, Through Unity; Devastation

Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit , Warlord, 2x Cyclic ion blaster,  1x Fusion blaster, 2x Shield Drone, 1x Shield Generator,Exemplar of the Kauyon

10x Breacher Team, 1x Support turret missile system , Breacher Fire Warrior Shas’ui ,  1x Guardian Drone,  1x Shield Drone

10x Strike Team, 1x Support turret missile system ,  Fire Warrior Shas’ui,  1x Guardian Drone, 1x Shield Drone

Devilfish, 2x Seeker missile 2x Twin pulse carbine

Devilfish, 2x Seeker missile 2x Twin smart missile system

6x Crisis Battlesuits, 1x Crisis Shas’vre , 2x Cyclic ion blaster, 1x Fusion blaster, 2x Shield Drone, 1x Shield Generator, 5x Crisis Shas’ui , 8x Cyclic ion blaster ,5x Fusion blaster ,10x Shield Drone, 3x Shield Generator

 Hammerhead Gunship, 1x Armoured hull, 1x Railgun, 2x Seeker missile, 2x Twin pulse carbine

995 points

Phil Edwards  

Spearheading the Grimdark Gestalt's assault on the Incursion Series, Phil is here to show that narrative players can still compete

Adeptus Astartes,  Black Templars - Righteous Crusaders

Bladeguard Ancient

Chaplain

Chaplain in Terminator Armour, Relic Shield, Sigismund's Seal, Warlord

5x Intercessor Squad, Astartes Grenade Launcher,  Intercessor Sergeant, Plasma Pistol, Power Fist

10x Primaris Crusader Squad, 3x Primaris Initiate w/Chainsword & Heavy Bolt Pistol, 5x Astartes Chainsword, 5x Heavy Bolt Pistol, 2x Power Fist , 4x Primaris Neophyte, 4x Astartes Chainsword, 4x Bolt Pistol, Primaris Sword Brother, Pyre Pistol

6x Bladeguard Veteran Squad, Bladeguard Veteran Sergeant, Plasma Pistol

5x Terminator Assault Squad , 5x Storm Shield, 5x Thunder Hammer

Redemptor Dreadnought , Heavy Flamer, Icarus Rocket Pod, Macro Plasma Incinerator, Twin Storm Bolter

1000 points

Olly Stokes  

The final member of Dick Van Dice in the finals, he struggled with 9th edition. Is 10th edition finally his time to shine?

Necrons - Canoptek Court

Chronomancer

Overlord with Translocation Shroud, Warlord   

Technomancer, Dimensional Sanctum

Transcendent C’tan

10x Immortals, 10x Tesla carbine

3x Canoptek Scarab Swarms

3x Canoptek Scarab Swarms

3x Canoptek Scarab Swarms

6x Canoptek Wraiths, 6x Particle caster

1x Lokhust Destroyers

1000 points

That's the competitors, and their lists. If you want to follow along with the event, it's on Challonge

Leviathan Incursion Finals

If you are local, feel free to come down and witness the carnage. There will also be tables free should you fancy a game of 40k yourself

The Incursion series will also return in February

Working on a Tournament logo

Branding is important, so I'm currently trying to design a logo for Baron Administrator Tournaments.

This is my current first draft, done via Inkscape. It's useful to give an idea as to what I'm going for. I've even found a Font for the text. Now to actually find someone skilled to improve it....

Baron Administrator Tournaments - Standard Star Wars TCG Events

As I and a few local players love the game so much, I'm going to rededicate some time to running monthly Star Wars the Card Game events again. These will be held at Dark Star Gaming.

I will charge for the events to pay for prizes, time and tablespace. This will recoup the costs of the prize kits I've already bought.

As I have a complete collection, this will allow me to experiment with different deck ideas and as there isn't a competitive scene anymore I can try really outlandish decks.

The event will be 3 rounds, as per the FFG Tournament Regulations, with no top cut and run as per the Relaxed tier;

"Tournaments at this level are welcoming to all players, regardless of
experience level. Players are encouraged to help each other improve and
learn, so long as it does not significantly disrupt the game. The focus is on
creating a fun and friendly environment. The Relaxed Tier is used for Wave
Championship-level events."

Price will be £5, and prizes will be drawn from our available prize pool. All players will get a prize.



That's the event structure I'll be using. Let me know your thoughts, especially if you are planning on attending one.

Did you enjoy what you read?
Do you have something to say?
Do you have an opposing opinion?
Feel free to comment below, and please share this post with your friends.

Baron Administrator Tournaments - Standard Keyforge Events

I'm going to run twice monthly Keyforge events. While the event style and Prize Kits are aimed at weekly league play, I feel the time is spent better over two tournaments a month, one Best Of One and one Best Of Three. I'll be running these at Dark Star Gaming.

I will charge for the events to pay for prizes, time and tablespace. This allows me to keep ordering prize kits for Keyforge from Asmodee themselves, through G.I. Games.

Initially, I'll be running Archon Format, Solo Play, to gauge the player base and to see what they want both format and variant-wise. As the game grows and interest is shown I can look at the other ways of playing and talking to Dark Star about stock for a Sealed Format event.

Archon Format, Solo Play, Best of One

In the Archon format, each player brings a deck to the tournament. This deck must be an official, unaltered KeyForge Archon Deck that the player either obtained ahead of time or bought at the event itself. 

The standard way to play for both Archon and Sealed formats is referred to as Solo play. In a Solo tournament, each player uses the same single deck (that they either brought themselves or received at the event, depending on the format) for the entirety of the tournament.

Typically, each round of a KeyForge tournament is a one-game match with a 35-minute time limit. 

The event will be 3-4 rounds dependant on attendance, as per the FFG Tournament Regulations, with no top cut and run as per the Relaxed tier;

"Tournaments at this level are welcoming to all players, regardless of experience level. Players are encouraged to help each other improve and learn, so long as it does not significantly disrupt the game. The focus is on creating a fun and friendly environment. The Relaxed Tier is used for Store Championship events."

Price will be £5, and prizes will be drawn from our available prize pool. All players will get a prize. 

 
  
Archon Format, Solo Play, Best of Three

In the Archon format, each player brings a deck to the tournament. This deck must be an official, unaltered KeyForge Archon Deck that the player either obtained ahead of time or bought at the event itself. 

The standard way to play for both Archon and Sealed formats is referred to as Solo play. In a Solo tournament, each player uses the same single deck (that they either brought themselves or received at the event, depending on the format) for the entirety of the tournament.

Typically, each round of a KeyForge tournament is a best-of-three match with a 90-minute time limit. 

The event will be 3-4 rounds dependant on attendance, as per the FFG Tournament Regulations, with no top cut and run as per the Relaxed tier;

"Tournaments at this level are welcoming to all players, regardless of experience level. Players are encouraged to help each other improve and learn, so long as it does not significantly disrupt the game. The focus is on creating a fun and friendly environment. The Relaxed Tier is used for Store Championship events." 

Price will be £5, and prizes will be drawn from our available prize pool. All players will get a prize.
  


That's the event structure I'll be using. Let me know your thoughts, especially if you are planning on attending one.

Did you enjoy what you read?
Do you have something to say?
Do you have an opposing opinion?
Feel free to comment below, and please share this post with your friends.

Baron Administrator Tournaments - Standard X-Wing Events

I'm going to run monthly X-Wing events, aimed at local players but welcoming anyone. There are two good venues for this, Dark Star Gaming and Antics Model Shop.

I charge for the events to pay for prizes, time and, in the case of Dark Star, tablespace. This allows me to keep ordering prize kits for X-Wing from Asmodee themselves, through Antics and G.I. Games.

As we have two venues, I feel now is a good time to try running two different formats for events, alternating venue each month. Hyperspace and Extended. This keeps the events different, as I will often run them back to back on the same weekend, and allows people to practice for events like the System Open and Hyperspace Trials. It also provides an event for the players that have started their gaming experience with Second Edition, and feel overwhelmed by the selection of ships available in Extended.

Extended 

"Explore all the starfighter battles X-Wing has to offer. The Extended game mode encompasses every component for X-Wing Second Edition, including the ships only found in the Conversion Kits. Choose a faction, then select up to 200 points of pilots and upgrade to create your squad."

The event will be 3-4 rounds dependant on attendance, as per the FFG Tournament Regulations, with no top cut and run as per the Relaxed tier;

"Tournaments at this level are welcoming to all players, regardless of
experience level. Players are encouraged to help each other improve and
learn, so long as it does not significantly disrupt the game. The focus is on
creating a fun and friendly environment. The Relaxed Tier is used for Wave
Championship-level events."

Price will be £7, and prizes will be drawn from our available prize pool. All players will get a prize.

Hyperspace   

"The Second Edition game mode is an ideal introduction to players new to X-Wing. This game mode includes only those components found in the second edition Core Set and ship expansions. Choose a faction, then select up to 200 points of pilots and upgrades to create your squad."

The event will be 3-4 rounds dependant on attendance, as per the FFG Tournament Regulations, with no top cut and run as per the Relaxed tier;

"Tournaments at this level are welcoming to all players, regardless of
experience level. Players are encouraged to help each other improve and
learn, so long as it does not significantly disrupt the game. The focus is on
creating a fun and friendly environment. The Relaxed Tier is used for Wave
Championship-level events."

Price will be £7, and prizes will be drawn from our available prize pool. All players will get a prize.



That's the event structure I'll be using. Let me know your thoughts, especially if you are planning on attending one.

Did you enjoy what you read?
Do you have something to say?
Do you have an opposing opinion?
Feel free to comment below, and please share this post with your friends.

FFG Nationals

Last weekend I was Judging at the UK FFG Nationals, run by Asmodee UK.

A weekend of National Championships for Fantasy Flight Games, plus side events and some surprises.

Thursday

An early morning coach journey for me, to get to the ICC on time. That's normally how I travel to these events, and I've been to Birmingham quite a few times in the past twelve months. No delays en route and I used the journey to catch up on the last few weeks of the White Book Podcast.

Set up day, and the first opportunity to catch up with people I've worked with before, and meet the new staff. On Asmodee's side of things, I had met everyone previously and I had also already met most of the Judges. Despite this event effectively being my 1 year anniversary of Judging with Asmodee UK, the more familiar faces are starting to feel like family.

Set up went smoothly, spoiler alert; it's physical work and consists of being told where to put stuff. Boards on tables, tablecloths, gaming mats and table numbers don't just put themselves into place. There was also discussion of who was doing what and when. All in all though, the relaxing calm before the storm.

Friday

My job Friday was simple; Scorekeeper for Imperial Assault. The event was small enough that it could be run on TOME, and there was going to be 5 rounds. The majority of games went to time, or near enough, giving me the rest of the round to relax and settle in. The only hiccup was the round where I was chatting to Rich (who was Marshalling the event) and Mike Budd about some stuff and distractedly forgot to print and hand put the match-slips. Easily fixed within a couple of minutes though.

I've gotta say, being involved in an event for a game you don't normally play is dangerous. A friend of mine has the Imperial Assault core set, and watching this tournament reminded me that the game is fun to play. One of the players had an Ahsoka Tano with Lightsabers lit up from within, which looked awesome. There was also quite a variety in the lists I saw.

X-Wing day one part one was also taking place, and had a small field. Seriously deadly though, containing the current World and European champions, the at-the-time current UK National champion as well as several other National champions and known X-Wing celebreties. With a score of 5-1 needed to qualify for Sunday, it was looking like a murderous day.

Saturday

I was Judging the event alongside some other staff, with Vince Marshalling as usual. It was a smooth day, rulings-wise, although there was some controversy I'll address later. Interestingly, the ship I answered the most rules questions about was the U-Wing.

It was a much larger field than Friday, and saw some repeat attendance. It also required a 5-1 record to make the Sunday. However, despite the size, it ran well which is a testament to Vince's experience.

Three of the Darkstar Marauders were able to attend, Troll, Newby and Nezumi. All three played well and had some close games. I think they would agree in saying the event made a fitting end to First Edition.  

Saturday evening I managed to play some Keyforge. The game plays really smoothly, and is simple to understand. I can already see the potential for wanting to own a few decks to have a varied experience. Chains is an interesting way of balancing power level within the game. I'll talk more about it in a future post.

Sunday

The day of the Top Cut. As the day went on, Judging became a much more intimate affair. Less games going on meant more ability to watch the games in detail. By the quarter finals, I was able to find a good position to watch three of the games at once.

With the semi finals, I was able to focus on one of the games; Fishy versus Ashok. They claimed, post game, that it must have been boring to watch but it wasn't. They both completed a circuit of the board before Ashok used bombs to lock out his deployment zone, and actual combat was forced. The game ended a couple of turns later with what little combat that happened being decisive. Between watching the two looking for the optimal place to engage and their banter, the game was good to watch.

The final round was painful to watch. Tom Reed's red dice didn't want to roll hits/crits which resulted in Fishy's ships surving shots that they normally wouldn't. He still had to fly well and deserved his win.

After the cut came the packing away of all the stuff we had set up on Thursday. As you would expect, it's a much quicker process. Still, lots to do though. That evening, in the hotel, a group of us played a couple of games of Tortuga. It was a fantastic hidden identity game and worth playing if you get the chance. French versus English fighting over treasure, but no-one is sure who is on which side. If there is an odd number of players, then the odd player is Dutch. They win if the result of the game is a draw. Thanks a lot to Ross Graham for sharing this game with us.

Controversy 

If you've made it this far through the blog post, you may be wondering about the controversy I mentioned earlier. Or, maybe you were at the event and witnessed it first hand or conversely read the multitude of posts about it on the Facebook groups.

A decision was made on the Friday to allow competitors who hadn't qualified for the Sunday X-Wing top cut to play again on the Saturday. This was decryed as grabbing extra money and allowing some people two attempts at qualifying. It caused a lot of fuss, bad feeling and anger.

I wasn't privy to the decision, nor the process that lead to it. Mike Budd put his hands up as the person responsible. This lead to him taking a lot of flakk, both in person and online. Kudos to the man for being able to not only agree it was a mistake, but make himself available to discuss people's grieveances.

My opinion -

The true error was communication. While many may think it's unfair, or unusual, to allow players to enter two qualifying events for the Sunday the true problem was lack of choice. Because nothing had been said before the event, the assumption was you could play Friday or Saturday but not both. This lead to people deciding to only come to the event for the Saturday or opting to play other game systems.

Had it been communicated to the players beforehand that they could attempt to qualify on both days, then people that would want two attempts could plan accordingly. And that was the problem, the players that hadn't played on the Friday only had 1 chance to make it, while those that failed on the Friday had a 2nd chance.

It's a lesson to be learned. I strongly suspect that such a mistake will not be made in future and the ability to play or not play in both qualifying days will be clearly communicated. Presumably when the tickets initially go on sale.

The player reaction was mixed;

Some players took it in their stride. They either weren't aware of what was going on, didn't care or kept their opinions to themselves.

Some players, that played on the Friday but didn't qualify, took advantage of the rule and played again on the Saturday. For some of them it proved to be the correct choice as they managed the 5-1 record on their second attempt.

Some players got angry or upset. I can, up to an extent, understand their frustration with what must have felt like an unfair decision. I can sympathise with them, especially if you really wanted to make the cut and have a decent run at being National champion. What I can't agree with is some of the vitriol I witnessed, especially on the Facebook groups. Passions run high, but getting angry at the decision doesn't help. Especially after it had been publicly acknowledged and apologised for. All that was going to do was keep the bad feeling going and allow it to put a cloud over the whole event.

A final group of players were exemplified by (but not solely made up of ) the Weekend Warlords. They decared that, because they found it unfair that not everyone would be able to take advantage of playing two days, that their players that failed to qualify on the Friday would not play again on the Saturday. They didn't fault anyone for playing both, as the rules allowed it, but their personal sense of honour and fairness wouldn't allow them to.

Whatever your stance on the issue at the time, we can all agree that it is highly unlikely that it will happen again. It is a shame that such controversy happened at the last First Edition X-Wing UK Nationals.

Finally

This is where I would normally do some shout-outs. However, I can't. There were far too many people who made the weekend fantastic, that I dare not list any for fear of forgetting someone. The X-Wing community, by and large, is amazing and I can't wait to see them transition to Second Edition.

Hopefully I'll get to more events between now and next years Nationals and see more of the wonderful people.

X-Wing Store Championships - event 2

Today I was Judging the second and final of this year's Store Championships in Plymouth, held at Dark Star and in association with G.I. Games. It's the third Store Championships held at Dark Star.

With 11 players, the recommended number of Rounds is 4 with no Top Cut. I decided to add a Top Two to add a Final to the event, as the atmosphere when everyone is watching is really good. The two players that made the cut agreed to a 75-minute timer, as they didn't think they would need more time, (they were right).

There were no interesting Judge calls, this late in the game everyone knows what they are doing, especially amongst the Marauders.

We only had one Scum list, a different player to the Antics event. There are dedicated Scum players in Plymouth, they have just had availability issues this summer.

In a reversal of the last event, we had six Rebel lists, with the most popular ship being the Gold Squadron Y-Wing. Got a diverse range of lists though, even the Y-Wings had different turrets, trying different sneaky tricks.

Four of the lists were Imperial, with Quickdraw appearing in three of them. This will be the last we see of that ship in these lists, as the TIE/SF transfers to the First Order faction in Second Edition.

After 4 rounds and a Top Two cut, our winner was.....

Pete Yarwood

"Quickdraw" (TIE/SF Fighter)

• Expertise
• Fire-Control System
• Advanced Optics
• Lightweight Frame
• Special Ops Training

 "Backdraft"

• Expertise
• Fire-Control System
• Advanced Optics
• Lightweight Frame
• Special Ops Training

Nu Squadron Pilot

• Harpoon Missiles
• Long-Range Scanners
• Os-1 Arsenal Loadout

This was a well-deserved victory, as Pete went undefeated for the day, including beating Matt Coles in the Swiss and the Final. This also gave the DarkStar Marauders their fourth Store Champion for the close of First Edition;

• Jon Vicary (at Mad for Miniatures)
• Matt Vicary (at Antics)
• Matt Coles (at Kirton)
• Pete Yarwood (at Dark Star/G.I. Games)

This year the team has really come together, travelling to more events as a group and giving both moral support and gaming advice. It's been a pleasure both to watch and be a part of.

Next up is Second Edition. People are already getting excited and building lists, as everything has been spoiled and FFG have released the point values. New ships have also been announced and new Factions are coming later. it's gonna be great to see where the game goes from here and to see the DarkStar Marauders perform better than ever.

X-Wing Store Championships 2018 - event 1

This season, I'll be participating in 3 X-Wing Store Championships; 2 as a Judge and 1 as a player. End of June was the first of these, Judging at Antics.

We had 9 players out of the maximum 12 that Antics can host. Not much to report from a Judging point of view. Things ran smooth, although I did let the timing slip about 20 mins by the end. The players know what they are doing, so there were next to no Judge calls as well.

We had 1 Scum list, with the most popular ship being the Kihraxz. It's a shame to see a faction so underplayed.

We had 2 Rebel lists, both flying the Falcon and an Arc. While that's not much better attendance than the Scum faction, at least we didn't see the dreaded Ghost Fenn.

We had 6 Imperial lists, with Quickdraw, Omega Leader, Colonel Vessery and Countess Ryad all appearing on 2 lists each but with no duplicate lists. Aces were the order of the day, with only one list taking a Decimator.

After 4 rounds and no top cut, our winner was.....

Matthew Vicary

Kylo Ren (TIE Silencer)

• Autothrusters
• First Order Vanguard
• Push the Limit
• Fire Control System
• Threat Tracker

Whisper (TIE Phantom)

• Advanced Cloaking Device
• Veteran Instincts
• Sensor Jammer
• Director Krennic

With his brother Jon winning down in St Austell, that gives the Vicarys two Store Championship Titles so far this season. It's also Matt's second year winning at Antics proving the brothers are ones to watch this year.


Next event for me is playing at Kirton. Can I do better than my performance at the Regional? What am I flying? Guess we will find out in two weeks.....

FFG Europeans and UK Games Expo

You may have noticed a break in my weekly publishing schedule recently. That's because I was away for a couple of weeks. The second week was a Stag Do (what happens on tour stays on tour), but the for the first I was working at the FFG Europeans and attending the Asmodee Uk Retailer Summit.

All of this was held at the UK Games Expo, a yearly convention to celebrate all things gaming. I was fortunate and had a short period of downtime across the weekend to have a quick explore. There was a lot to see and do, far too much for the hour I had available and probably far too much for just a one day ticket. I did get a chance to check out a game a playtested a while ago that's coming soon and will talk about that more once my NDA allows.

If you are into gaming, especially tabletop,  it is the UK event to check out.

As an employee of G.I.Games, I was able to attend the Retailer Summit this year. It was an interesting event, almost a mini-convention in itself, with presentations from some companies and the ability to walk around and talk to representatives from others. It was a really good opportunity to network, as well as see some of the things that are coming soon from the big companies like FFG, Wizards and Wizkids. I can't go into too much detail on information we were given, as a lot of it was confidential, but we did get an early look at the X-Wing Second Edition Rebel Conversion Kit.

The bulk of my time was spent working at the FFG Europeans. This was the 2018  European Championships for Star Wars X-Wing, Android Netrunner, Game of Thrones, Star Wars LCG, Star Wars Armada, Star Wars Imperial Assault, Runebound and Star Wars Destiny, plus side events for all those games. That's a lot of players playing a lot of games across three days. Speaking as a Judge for X-Wing, we had nearly 500 players in the main event. I believe Netrunner had 300. It was huge and involved long days for players and Judges.

The X-Wing was split into two Day One events, with the top players in each day qualifying for the Day Two knockout rounds on Sunday. That allowed us to manage 500 players without needing 250 tables for one game system and without needing to do 7 rounds. It's only 1 less round at 250 players, but it makes a difference.

I enjoyed the weekend, despite the long hours. The highlight was seeing two of our local players; Matt Coles and Mark Smith, make it through to Day 2. With such a large field that's a real achievement, especially with the current World Champion, last years European Champion, the current UK National and other high caliber, known players in attendance. I'm really proud of them especially flying lists made up of ships they love, not just flying what the zeitgeist says is good.

Next year, the Europeans are going to be in Poland. Hopefully I'll be able to judge at them. Judging in another country will be an interesting experience. The current Judge Team are all fantastic and Alec Thorne has taken over the reigns from Alex Watkins. Also, UK Games Expo will be hosting next years FFG UK Nationals which will keep us doing big tournaments there.

Shout-outs to the following people who made the weekend the great experience that it was;

• Alex Watkins
• Alec Thorne
• Corina Cretu
• Dawn Stangroom
• Dan Eggle
• Matt Coles
• Mark Smith
• Pete Yarwood
• Chris 'Preeko' Preece
• Ian Atrill
• Matt Vicary
• Chris Thomas
• Les Harvey
• Vince Kingston
• Kris Mitchell
• Liam Hall
• Seb Brady
• Craig Barrett
• Carl Sheppard
• Nick Bond
• Paul Cadwell
• Brad Andres
• Pierre-Anthony Corrado
• Poul Holmelund
• Fernando de la Torre
• Wojciech Pe
• Kasia Wlazlo
• Tomas Zelazko
• Rasta Maice
• Simeon Dellapina
• and Ben 'Bengar' Cox

Plus the rest of the Judge team, most of whom I didn't get much time to speak to.