The weekend of March 31st, April 1,2 and 3rd was AdeptiCon in Chicago. Ian and I decided to take it in. In reality my first outside of the Minnesota area gamer Con that wasn’t a tournament dedicated to one game.
I played in the Star Wars Armada Tournament on Thursday, Star Wars X-Wing Hoth Open on Friday and then the Flames of War Early War National tournament on Saturday. That’s a whole lot of gaming to fit into 3 very long (and sometimes without lunch break) days.
In all I played 12 games (3 Armada, 5 X-Wing and 4 Flames of War) Between the 3 I’d say the most fun was with Flames of War very closely followed by Armada and lastly X-Wing. All three events were well run, Dave from Battlefront I think did the best job with actual breaks between games and a lunch break. The Armada games were also well run and the players a good crowd. No lunch breaks, so if you needed a bio break or to grab lunch it’s up to you to make it happen some way some how. X-Wing same situation, the Hoth open was a 6 round match and you had to go basically 4-2 to move on to the Saturday rounds. Only ding against the Flames of War setup was there was no place for “stuff” on the game tables.
Thursday started with Ian playing in the Hoth X-Wing tournament and I played in the Armada tournament. The Schaumburg convention center is pretty nice and all the FFG events were pretty much in the same place. The tables were umm … pretty crappy so for 3×3 and 3×6 surfaces there was a very noticeable dip where the two tables joined together that didn’t match. Players just had to make do. Otherwise lots of space and elbow room to setup and keep your force.
You can see just how badly the tables fit together.
For Armada, I brought a force of 3 Gladiators, 1 Raider and a strong force of Squadrons with Motti as my Admiral. Assault Concussion Missles and Ordnance Experts for most of my Gladiators and my Raider I, I kept naked. Mauler, Howlrunner, Denar, Sontir Fel, and 2 TIE advanced made up my squadrons.
The first force I had to take on was a double ISD and Gladiator fleet. I was player 1, and selected dangerous territory. Yea minefields … and rocks to dodge around which for me was pretty darn easy.
My setup was to completely avoid the minefields which were configured in a line across my front. Demolisher and one of my Glads headed left to circle and be one end of the bottle, with my Flagship, Raider and fighters setup to be the front line to hopefully draw them in.
About mid- game here and my opponent did just as I asked, inching his ISDs down the center. I was winning the squadrons battle in the middle and otherwise keeping out of the minefields.
He would walk one of this ISDs into 3 different mines and the other ISD would otherwise give my Glads a good target. I didn’t write down the exact results from this game but I think it ended up 5-5 … *I think*.
Game two…
This looks to be the only picture from game two and pretty late in the game. I ended up winning this one 158-73 by what I wrote down. I don’t quite remember the mission that we played, all I remember was I was player one and the guy I was playing deployed his fleet in such a way that he had the MC80 and assault frigate with his squadrons to port and a couple of CR-90s to starboard. My Glads stabbed down the middle and to port concentrating on the CR-90s, taking them both out quickly. My squadrons held the line in the middle and then in the last couple of turns my Gladiators turned about but didn’t have enough time to go after the remaining Rebel fleet.
Game three…
Facing another Rebel fleet, the mission was Most Wanted. I was once again Player one, with a 7 point bid I was surprised I didn’t ‘lose’ at least once all day but hey luck was with me.
You can see the setup here which foretells of the swirling circle to come…. o Admiral Ackbar on the Rebel side … why yes, how did you guess?
In this one I didn’t rush out, I kept my pace to a speed 2 figuring I’d let him sprint and draw him into my Gladiator broadside, while I’m sure he was thinking he’d be trying to get behind me and go for the stern shots.
The squadrons went at it and my dice were just cold as heck. Against the A-Wings I just couldn’t bring them down. By rights I should have mostly shreaded them but of course with Counter-2 taken significant lumps. Well I took lumps. In this game a lot of my most effective anti-squadron fire was from my two blue dice Glads.
This picture also shows the one assault frigate going the opposite direction. That. That was my prey.
Coming down to the end here, Demolisher setup for the broadside as well as my Raider getting into it. We roasted that Assault Frigate.
Then … that’s when my flying ability went all Jar-Jar on me.
So instead of keeping a nice formation I ended up running two of my Glads into each other and between the damage they did to themselves AND to the minimal fire, it resulted in their demise. Take away the bad flying and I would have won the game. Factor it in and yeah, pretty bad 120+ point swing for the loss.
Still all in all a fun Thursday and ultimately an middle of the pack finish out of the some 28 players.
Friday
Hoth X-Wing tournament day two. I was ready for my try with 4 scum Y-Wings fitted out with Twin Laser Turrets and the card that fixed the turret forward but allows you the extra shot.
I first played against a sort of traditional Sontir Fel list with Omega Ace and another Imperial Ace. I won that one handily while only losing a single Y-Wing. The fellow I played against was a kindred spirit and former Napoleonic war gamer. Sadly in his area no one to play against.
I then found myself up on table 8(!) for my next round, so tough competition ahead.
Second game ways against a TIE swarm. I went in for the initial joust and my dice just were absolutely horrible. By rights I should have taken out at least a couple of TIEs if not 3 but only got 1.
I ended up losing this match, tho it was pretty darn close. He was down to two TIEs at the end.
Here it’s coming down to the end, and I was fighting pretty hard.
Game 3, I didn’t take any pictures but I played against a triple Jumpmaster list that included Boba Fett. I took out each Jumpmaster in quick succession. Boba never got to use his ability. 2-1 at this point!
Game 4, was against a Biggs, Chopper combination. You can see the Ghost there. In the initial joust I took out Biggs with my initial shooting and over the next couple of turns lost a Y-wing. I took out the Ghost but not before it released the Shuttle. This proved to be my undoing. Getting tired at this point I didn’t take my time and formation fly which is the strength of this list, likewise the guy I was playing started to make shifty moves. One, where he basically was trying to barrel rolled towards one of my Y-Wings and do it in such a way that he would move the model, find it wouldn’t fit, move it “back”, try again, move it back such that his real location was completely lost. That was the poorest of play I saw all week. So between some cold dice and again flying involving bumps and jostling of his ship he ended up winning just before time was called.
Probably should have called for a ref just due to how blatant it was but o well. I knew I wasn’t playing for Saturday anyway and frankly if he couldn’t cleanly win, later rounds weren’t going to reward that.
There I am at 45. Had a nice MOV going… and for the size of the crowd not too bad as of 4 rounds.
My fifth game (then I dropped) was against a well played Scum list that had an M3A with a tractor beam and 3 scum fighters I had no knowledge of their abilities. I didn’t prioritize the targets correctly and as a result I lost.
Overall Hoth was fun, save for the one game.
Saturday
The Flames of War Early War National tournament was really drew me to travel and attend AdeptiCon in the first place. Lost of familiar folks from prior tournaments and as you’d expect, a very good set of players to play against.
I was playing my Continental French Infantry. Technically this was their 3rd time I’d ever played with them. Seriously. They’ve spent a lot of time on my shelf.
First game I played against a German Light Panzer Company. He came in kind of timid and was trying to defeat my army instead of going for the objectives which was pretty open for him grab on my left flank. He very early brewed up my Laffy trucks with the 47mm ATGs so I was very much hurting for any sort of reinforcements. My S35 tanks were active (in the upper left) and driving towards the objective. Their one man turret making it less than great fire.
So my artillery suddenly gets hot. My 150 guns take out of a couple of Pz IIIs. I get my 76 guns on as reinforcements (Thanks Chris for loaning them to me!!!!!) and they prolong on and brew up one of the Panzer IIs going for the objective. Meanwhile in the background I’m going for the same with my S35s.
In what can only be explained as a “what the hell was that” series of die rolls. I get my 25mm AA guns as reinforcements. They come on, take out the last Pz II. My S35s having taking out the 2IC and the CiC are hanging on. My 150 artillery forces a platoon morale of another Pz III platoon on my right flank and they boogie. Likewise another recce having done the same earlier, which added all up is a company morale check and with no company commander or 2iC, I win. 5-2. It was crazy.
Game 2, was a Cauldron match. I hate Cauldron. Last time I played against Andrew from Able Kompany at Bane of War and he tabled me in two turns. Seriously. This time I’m playing against Will’s Japanese in a night action.
His initial setup was to go for both objectives, drawing all his forces together for a bull rush. Here on the right.
And on my left.
Thankfully as French we have supply carriers. Between that and extremely hot dice and I mean EXTREMELY hot dice, Will would be hard pressed, first attacking on the left and then in a few turns later on the right.
So Will on the left would assault in two parts, first pushing me out of the building and then into the “woods” where thankfully my Machine guns and dug in just all mixed together mowed him down.
On the right both my tanks and his tanks and his reinforcements were all mixing it up. Will crept up and then launched in. I quickly lost 3 of my 4 S35s and while I had my machine guns in support it just wasn’t enough to push it all back.
End o the game carnage, a loss, but a close one, 3-4.
Game 3, I would play Keith who is from the Twin cities. As fate would have it, the last time I played with my early war French was a couple of years ago… against Keith. So this time around it was my “revamped” force against his Light Panzer company. Of all the games over the weekend, this was the most fun. It was close all the way and what a battle!
Early on, Keith bull rushed in his recce to shoot at my AA guns. He took one out. This probably won the game for him. I did however take out that platoon at the bottom of my turn one.
The first wave of Panzers coming for the objective. Between my Laffy trucks and my AA and eventually my artillery this platoon would be turned back. In these 3 buildings by the way, they are full of French infantry and holding the objective that was out in the street.
Early on I pushed very hard for this objective. If I was going to win the game it was going to be here with my S35s. Did they disappoint? Yes…. they disappointed. In this game, they only took out like one Panzer II (Keith’s 2iC) and maybe one Panzer III.
My Laffy’s with their 47mm, were going back and forth between covering the field and the road for most of the game. I was amazed they lived as long as they did but with a little extra range as compared to the German guns and by staying under the cover of the AA, they stayed alive.
Getting towards the end of the game. My S35s were starting to go up in smoke. Keith getting his reinforcements. Mine were coming on table too but artillery and infantry can only do so much…
A 3-4 win for Keith. Great fun being in the hunt all throughout the game.
Game 4, played against a Finnish force. The fellow was from Canada and a really nice and very talented player.
I only took one picture of the entire game. I was the attacker, I think the mission was surrounded… basically the defender is in the middle of the table and the attacker gets to deploy on both sides. I put as much as I could on one side and put my Laffys on the other knowing full well that their lack of HE (and targets) meant this was not their fight.
Here you can see midway in the game, my S35s finally doing something and contesting the objective. My artillery did their job to dig out the Finns. I had waited a bit too long to get my infantry moving forward. This was just a the point I ordered them out of the trenches.
Anyway, I just needed another turn and I could have won it as I was going slow and methodical. I didn’t want to close assault with my S35s into a collection of normal infantry and some pioneers, I’d have lost my tanks had I done so and the game wouldn’t have been as close as it was.
I did lose tho, 3-4. So close!
Out of the field again I finished middle of the pack. That seemed to be the theme of the weekend.
From some other cool things around, the vendor area was awesome. There were demo games galore which Ian loved. He has a deep interest in Saga and Bolt action now.
This pirate game had me absolutely drooling. No idea what rule set they used nor what time it was played but WOW, what great 28mm figs and terrain.
Conference food was as would be expected.
Burp!
The vendor area was great with Battlefront having a great store (Hi Matthew!) and pretty pretties like these 15mm sailing ship accessories, it was hard not to bring home fun new things.
Now I can’t wait to put together Japs for Pacific FoW action. Oooooooooooo.
Looking forward to next year. Do hope it’s not at the same time as the Seven Years War Convention as that was super high on my list of things I’d like to attend too.