Huzzah! FOW Tournament 2016 AAR
May 16, 2016 20:22:21 GMT -5
Post by captainecho on May 16, 2016 20:22:21 GMT -5
Its been 2 years since I attended a Maine tournament up here in South Portland. And I took third back then in a desert Themed MidWar tourney. Last year I didn't go because there was no tourney. And while its a fun little convention, I didn't know anyone who was going really well. It would have made for a lonley time up there.
I do have friends in the area, and Gerry Lane, one of the participants for the New England Regional had mentioned he would be hosting a tourney there this May. So I jumped at it thinking I would get a similar experience to the last time I was up. Back then, we had a 20 man tourney. But I did get the vibe that the thrill had left for many of the players in the north. Bolt Action was the bigger game at the time, and very little FOW could be found at vendors.
When I arrived this time, I found that there was only team yankee to be found on offer. And while there were some nice fully painted armies for sale in the FOW category, very little if anything was on offer in terms of product. I learned from talking with some of the vets here that the major hobby seller in the region had a falling out with battlefront, and had acted accordingly. Its too bad, because its a great convention and there are a lot of people there.
Needless to say I arrived on Saturday morning to find only 7 players ready to fight it out. one of those players would go home with severe stomach issues, and another would effectively rage quit after his second game. Leaving only 5 behind.
With that said, I think Gerry did a nice job as the TO, served as an effective ringer, and brought an impressive amount of extra terrain pieces as prizes, and had as the grand prize a huge working light and magnifyer. Will Shoemaker and some of his friends brought an impressive amount of terrain and fashioned 4 very nice tables.
On to the games!
Game 1 - Free For All vs. A German Infantry Company
I played against someone I had not met before. I believe he was at the NE Regional, but we never drew each other.
My List:
51st highlanders (Overlord) - all main platoons are Reluctant Vet, all Armor is Confident Trained
1ic and 2ic
Full Rifle
Full Rifle
3X UC's
6pdrs X4
light mortars X4
Breaching Group (full)
Breaching Group (full)
Crocs X3
8 platoons before deployment
up to 12 platoons after deployment
Always attacks
His List (From what I remember)
2 infantry platoons MG panzerfausts
mixed panzer platoon (2 Panzer 4's and 2 Panzer 3's)
Nebs X3
3 Panthers
MG's/Heavy platoon
recon of some kind
6 platoons when Kampfgrupped
The Bulk of the fighting would take place on my right flank, where I sent 5 Shermans and 3 crocs along with an infantry platoon towards the defenders.
I left some UC's and had the other breaching group play cat and mouse through the town to tie down the other dug in infantry and some AA guns. His lines of sight were essentially covered by smoke the entire game, and his panthers only managed to kill some Shermans.
As I advanced on the right, I managed to win a gun duel with the Panzer platoon and wiped them out. The return fire from the Panthers finished them off. But no harm to my score since I had only lost one out of 11 platoons. He did not know this, since the breaching groups are a confusing thing for me to try and explain to the uninitiated. That would become a problem later.
My Crocs were able to flame the living shit out of the AA guns and the infantry platoon in the woods, paving the way for 2 assaults by my infantry platoons. He dropped trap teams, but they did no good as he dropped them all at once. He managed to kill another AVRE platoon but I whittled him down until he failed a company morale test automatically after I killed his CO.
When hea learned it was not a 4-3 due to my large platoon count, he was very passive aggressively angry, and while somewhat polite, clearly did not take it well. I tried to calm him down, but I thought it was best to leave him alone after the game. He was that mad.
I won 5-2 (which beceomes a 6-2)
Round 2 - Will Shoemaker's Japanese Tanks in Hasty Attack.
Will elected to autoattack, mostly so he would have only one objective to defend. I kept 2 breaching groups, the crocs, and an infantry platoon on the table. Which means I started with 15 tanks on the table. All of which were essentially invincible to his AT
he advanced under cover of dark, but I kept the tanks between 10 and 12 inches, and unloaded MG after MG at him. Then the crocs came in and killed another 8 stands. I also blew up his Bunker buster guns with 1 round of stationary 6pdr fire.
We called the game on turn 3 7-1 to me
i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff367/Captainecho/Flames%20of%20War%20Tournament%20Brothers%20Grimm%20Feb%202012/20160514_124253_zpsegmchew1.jpg
My final game, played for 1st place was against A friendly older guy who brought Phil Messiner's list from the NE regional. At this poiny, my phone died and I couldn't get pictures. which is a crying shame, because this was one of the best games I have ever played in terms of how fun it was.
He defended in Hold the line.
his List
1 cmd Puma
3 platoons of 2 pumas each
2 KT's
4 STuh42s
1 set of 2 nebs
He began with the Stuhs in ambush the KTs on the table, along with the Nebs.
his Stuhs nearly wiped out my shermans and 6pdrs but they hung on for nearly 7 turns in the face of endless neb bombardments.
on the other flank, using the cover of buildings I brought up 2 infantry platoons, crocs, and pertard mortars, along with other shermans.
I flamed the KTs and hit them 10 times. 5 each tank, on one, I passed the firepower and bailed it. But on the other, I couldn't make a 5+ on 5 rolls of the die. I assaulted anyway, but couldn't bail the tank.
What followed was a series of bloody assaults through buildings and the death of 2 puma platoons, the Stuhs, 2 infantry platoons, and the 2ic.
I finally lost on a company morale check having lost 5 of 9 platoons. It was amazing and I picked up 3 points. good enough for 2nd place.
lots of fun, here are some pics of the other stuff I saw.
I do have friends in the area, and Gerry Lane, one of the participants for the New England Regional had mentioned he would be hosting a tourney there this May. So I jumped at it thinking I would get a similar experience to the last time I was up. Back then, we had a 20 man tourney. But I did get the vibe that the thrill had left for many of the players in the north. Bolt Action was the bigger game at the time, and very little FOW could be found at vendors.
When I arrived this time, I found that there was only team yankee to be found on offer. And while there were some nice fully painted armies for sale in the FOW category, very little if anything was on offer in terms of product. I learned from talking with some of the vets here that the major hobby seller in the region had a falling out with battlefront, and had acted accordingly. Its too bad, because its a great convention and there are a lot of people there.
Needless to say I arrived on Saturday morning to find only 7 players ready to fight it out. one of those players would go home with severe stomach issues, and another would effectively rage quit after his second game. Leaving only 5 behind.
With that said, I think Gerry did a nice job as the TO, served as an effective ringer, and brought an impressive amount of extra terrain pieces as prizes, and had as the grand prize a huge working light and magnifyer. Will Shoemaker and some of his friends brought an impressive amount of terrain and fashioned 4 very nice tables.
On to the games!
Game 1 - Free For All vs. A German Infantry Company
I played against someone I had not met before. I believe he was at the NE Regional, but we never drew each other.
My List:
51st highlanders (Overlord) - all main platoons are Reluctant Vet, all Armor is Confident Trained
1ic and 2ic
Full Rifle
Full Rifle
3X UC's
6pdrs X4
light mortars X4
Breaching Group (full)
Breaching Group (full)
Crocs X3
8 platoons before deployment
up to 12 platoons after deployment
Always attacks
His List (From what I remember)
2 infantry platoons MG panzerfausts
mixed panzer platoon (2 Panzer 4's and 2 Panzer 3's)
Nebs X3
3 Panthers
MG's/Heavy platoon
recon of some kind
6 platoons when Kampfgrupped
The Bulk of the fighting would take place on my right flank, where I sent 5 Shermans and 3 crocs along with an infantry platoon towards the defenders.
I left some UC's and had the other breaching group play cat and mouse through the town to tie down the other dug in infantry and some AA guns. His lines of sight were essentially covered by smoke the entire game, and his panthers only managed to kill some Shermans.
As I advanced on the right, I managed to win a gun duel with the Panzer platoon and wiped them out. The return fire from the Panthers finished them off. But no harm to my score since I had only lost one out of 11 platoons. He did not know this, since the breaching groups are a confusing thing for me to try and explain to the uninitiated. That would become a problem later.
My Crocs were able to flame the living shit out of the AA guns and the infantry platoon in the woods, paving the way for 2 assaults by my infantry platoons. He dropped trap teams, but they did no good as he dropped them all at once. He managed to kill another AVRE platoon but I whittled him down until he failed a company morale test automatically after I killed his CO.
When hea learned it was not a 4-3 due to my large platoon count, he was very passive aggressively angry, and while somewhat polite, clearly did not take it well. I tried to calm him down, but I thought it was best to leave him alone after the game. He was that mad.
I won 5-2 (which beceomes a 6-2)
Round 2 - Will Shoemaker's Japanese Tanks in Hasty Attack.
Will elected to autoattack, mostly so he would have only one objective to defend. I kept 2 breaching groups, the crocs, and an infantry platoon on the table. Which means I started with 15 tanks on the table. All of which were essentially invincible to his AT
he advanced under cover of dark, but I kept the tanks between 10 and 12 inches, and unloaded MG after MG at him. Then the crocs came in and killed another 8 stands. I also blew up his Bunker buster guns with 1 round of stationary 6pdr fire.
We called the game on turn 3 7-1 to me
i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff367/Captainecho/Flames%20of%20War%20Tournament%20Brothers%20Grimm%20Feb%202012/20160514_124253_zpsegmchew1.jpg
My final game, played for 1st place was against A friendly older guy who brought Phil Messiner's list from the NE regional. At this poiny, my phone died and I couldn't get pictures. which is a crying shame, because this was one of the best games I have ever played in terms of how fun it was.
He defended in Hold the line.
his List
1 cmd Puma
3 platoons of 2 pumas each
2 KT's
4 STuh42s
1 set of 2 nebs
He began with the Stuhs in ambush the KTs on the table, along with the Nebs.
his Stuhs nearly wiped out my shermans and 6pdrs but they hung on for nearly 7 turns in the face of endless neb bombardments.
on the other flank, using the cover of buildings I brought up 2 infantry platoons, crocs, and pertard mortars, along with other shermans.
I flamed the KTs and hit them 10 times. 5 each tank, on one, I passed the firepower and bailed it. But on the other, I couldn't make a 5+ on 5 rolls of the die. I assaulted anyway, but couldn't bail the tank.
What followed was a series of bloody assaults through buildings and the death of 2 puma platoons, the Stuhs, 2 infantry platoons, and the 2ic.
I finally lost on a company morale check having lost 5 of 9 platoons. It was amazing and I picked up 3 points. good enough for 2nd place.
lots of fun, here are some pics of the other stuff I saw.