Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

MVBrandt wrote:Sounds like the SVDM was a fantastic weekend! I'm eager to hear more of the feedback, and I am super bummed I wasn't able to make it up (personal and work life got in the way, as is wont to do). Congrats to Mike and his crew, and to whoever won the event / NOVA Invitational spots / etc!

I ended up taking Best Overall, but since I got my tickets at Conflict, Vinny Pau, a good friend, managed to get his for 2nd best overall

Ideal ending for me, and an overall great event. I never thought I'd develop such a love for Ruby Tuesdays...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Fishboy wrote:I can honestly say that the Massacre part of the event was my sallamanders being massacred by everyone else hehe.
I had 5 fun games but was honestly not a fan of the format. If you lost one game then you pretty much lost the event with no chance of making it up. That is great for ard boyz but a GT should cover more than just a win loss with no reason to continue after your first loss. If NOVA wants to do it I am happy for them but why does every event think they have to copy that? Make your event just that, your event.

There were no ties and primary tie breakers were pretty much the secondary. This meant that if you tied without the secondary or lost the primary you pretty much lost all points. Paint was the only secondary scores which pretty much meant there was not enough scoring diversity to make it a hobby event. Just smash your opponent and move on.

I will say...2 of my wins were unbelievably close games. One of which I wasn't able to pull off both Primary and Secondary because of it (against Tim)

Tim ended up taking best general (with a loss) and 3rd best overall/general (don't remember which) was Kevin (the guy I played in the guard mirror match)

Actually, the only undefeated person at the end was myself, so the other 5 top spots all went to players with a loss. I do agree that the format needs some refining, and I think one change to consider is just making sure that the tiebreaker for the primary, isn't the secondary objective. Because then if it's a close game and goes to tiebreaker, you win both secondary and primary and basically get max points. I think 1 or 2 missions were like this (I'll check my packet when I get home).

yea Mike SVDM was alot of fun. Was looking to toss a few back with you over the weekend, bummer you got tied up.

Speaking of tied up. Fishboys biggest problem was that for the majority of the Tournament he spent admiring what a real Salamander army should look like not something you see in a fruit bowl.

However much to Jawaballs disdain, fishboy took best paint with his Vulcan Space Neuts. Fishboy i suggest you watch it...Jawa is contemplating something along the lines of a Tonya Harding if he sees you on the registration list of the next Tourny he attends.


Ed"pissclams"Miller

I would like to thank Mike and his helpers they put on a great tournament. It was tons of fun with some excellent terrain and great looking armies. It was worth the drive and I look forward to next year.

@Dakka_X3 Come on down to NOVA and I will buy the first couple rounds. Bring your eldar too so maybe we can do the iconic DE vs Eldar fight!! besides my DE are still tired from working through all of those orcs.

@zedsdead I agree with almost everything you said. With one exception. too much terrain. I disagree and think that we tend to play on too little terrain and it gets us into this rut where we do not realize how much terrain equals 25% of the board. Most of us are use to 10-15% IMHO. But then again I am a DE player so I love terrain

Take a look at the NOVA primer missions that came out. They are calling out specific terrain pieces to use in practice that include 3 pieces that block LOS to some of which can block LOS to a unit the size of a LR or carnifex.

Check it out Page 5. http://novaopen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Primer-2011-GT-Missions-v3.pdf

zedsdead wrote:yea Mike SVDM was alot of fun. Was looking to toss a few back with you over the weekend, bummer you got tied up.

Speaking of tied up. Fishboys biggest problem was that for the majority of the Tournament he spent admiring what a real Salamander army should look like not something you see in a fruit bowl.

However much to Jawaballs disdain, fishboy took best paint with his Vulcan Space Neuts. Fishboy i suggest you watch it...Jawa is contemplating something along the lines of a Tonya Harding if he sees you on the registration list of the next Tourny he attends.


Ed"pissclams"Miller

ROFLMAO!!!! By the way that is Skittles Marines so its the candy bowl not the fruit bowl hehe. I enjoyed talking smack with Jawa...now I can not wait to see how bad he smashes me on his blog hehe.

Ed it was good to see you and your group again.

Fishboy, while I do think every tournament organizer should put his own heart and soul into the definition of the format, it would be important to me to clarify that the NOVA does not have a one-and-done format in terms of w/l ... undefeated as a requirement ONLY applies to Best General. Best Overall can be won with a 50% win record if your sports and painting is high enough, as competitive score/win record is only 33% of the total.

Furthermore, as stated already, there will be 16 best generals at the NOVA this year - anyone who goes 4-0 on their 2nd day (including the 4-0 finisher on Day 2 from among the 0-4 finishers off Day 1, turning Day 1: win or loss: into a seeding/heats day, not a make or break day).

I'm back in NYC and about to fly back to London.

Thanks for a fantastic tournament. The weekend was a lot of fun, flawlessly run, and everyone I played was a great opponent. Unfortunate that I couldn't stay around for the last game but not to worry.

I didn't take many Dakka names though, so if we've met but I didn't get your Dakkaname, let me know..

I had a blast. It was the best event run by Mike yet.

The format was clearly advertised well in advance, and it has a unique approach. It may not be my favorite format but I enjoy diversity at events, so I have no gripes there.

There is now a HUGE amount of events going on and if you want to just run the same system at every event then many gamers will not have a chance to play how they like. Some like the hardcore competition, some like hobby style, and many do not like any type of competitive format and just enjoy being able to get games in. The next event at Showcase is a Forge World List approved 1850 RTT - Talk about something different!

I would suggest ditching the display tables in the center to allow easier movement in the main room. It was great to see the armies lined up but the traffic flow suffered.

The tables and terrain were all well above the norm and it is wonderful to see a focus the play surfaces. In my opinion, having proper terrain and tables can be more important that your rules pack and many attendees were able to get good ideas about how to improve the tabletop environment at their home clubs.

Wish that I could have been there. :(

Grats on the event Mike!

Vinny, glad you got your ticket.

Thanks Mike and crew for a great weekend! This was a great experience for my first tournament. I am now spoiled with nice terrain... I learned a lot and met some friendly players along the way (I was the Nid player that didn't do so hot). At the end of the day, the goal of playing 40k all weekend was achieved. I'll definitely be back next year. Oh yeah, being able to basically trip and fall in to the bar after a day of gaming was damn convenient. Showcase is a bonus too, because it has EVERYTHING.

Cheers.

vwjetta1997 wrote:Thanks Mike and crew for a great weekend! This was a great experience for my first tournament. I am now spoiled with nice terrain... I learned a lot and met some friendly players along the way (I was the Nid player that didn't do so hot). At the end of the day, the goal of playing 40k all weekend was achieved. I'll definitely be back next year. Oh yeah, being able to basically trip and fall in to the bar after a day of gaming was damn convenient. Showcase is a bonus too, because it has EVERYTHING.

Cheers.

It does not have strippers.

Mike... Your store needs more strippers

frgsinwntr wrote:

vwjetta1997 wrote:Thanks Mike and crew for a great weekend! This was a great experience for my first tournament. I am now spoiled with nice terrain... I learned a lot and met some friendly players along the way (I was the Nid player that didn't do so hot). At the end of the day, the goal of playing 40k all weekend was achieved. I'll definitely be back next year. Oh yeah, being able to basically trip and fall in to the bar after a day of gaming was damn convenient. Showcase is a bonus too, because it has EVERYTHING.

Cheers.

It does not have strippers.

Mike... Your store needs more strippers

Actually I think he did have strippers....paint strippers that is >

Fishboy, while I do think every tournament organizer should put his own heart and soul into the definition of the format, it would be important to me to clarify that the NOVA does not have a one-and-done format in terms of w/l ... undefeated as a requirement ONLY applies to Best General. Best Overall can be won with a 50% win record if your sports and painting is high enough, as competitive score/win record is only 33% of the total.

Furthermore, as stated already, there will be 16 best generals at the NOVA this year - anyone who goes 4-0 on their 2nd day (including the 4-0 finisher on Day 2 from among the 0-4 finishers off Day 1, turning Day 1: win or loss: into a seeding/heats day, not a make or break day).

Glad to hear you say that. All I kept hearing is this is the NOVA format and even Mike stated he was copying NOVA.

For a few extra bucks, I'm sure you could entice some of the Big Gunz to remove articles of clothing...

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little......

Fishboy wrote:
Glad to hear you say that. All I kept hearing is this is the NOVA format and even Mike stated he was copying NOVA.

This happens - truth is that the format is numerous tournaments all going on at once. Since the competitive types want straight w/l style competition for clear(er) evaluation, they get that. The traditional types want battle points + painting + sports so they get that. The composition types want more army variety and to be able to compete with their softer lists, so the new bracketing system gives them that. The emphasis last year was definitely on the "competitive" undefeated best general track, helped along by certain blogs covering it pretty hard. Just trying to clarify it a little more as we mature

Dashofpepper wrote:For a few extra bucks, I'm sure you could entice some of the Big Gunz to remove articles of clothing...

In no way would I ever consider giving Justin or Mike Ludwig money to take ANYTHING off.

I would consider giving them money to put things on

Fine, at the next Showcase event ... I'LL take things off.

frgsinwntr wrote:

Dashofpepper wrote:For a few extra bucks, I'm sure you could entice some of the Big Gunz to remove articles of clothing...

In no way would I ever consider giving Justin or Mike Ludwig money to take ANYTHING off.

I would consider giving them money to put things on

No worries, you won't have to pay a dime, I'll buy lap dance after lap dance for you from those two.

Id quit 40k for that

lol there are some things even I don't have a response too........

Dashofpepper wrote:Salamanders own mobs of Ork BOYZ, but don't necessarily own orks. =D

You are correct. Thank you for the neccessary clarification. Waaagh!

vwjetta1997 wrote:Thanks Mike and crew for a great weekend! This was a great experience for my first tournament. I am now spoiled with nice terrain... I learned a lot and met some friendly players along the way (I was the Nid player that didn't do so hot). At the end of the day, the goal of playing 40k all weekend was achieved. I'll definitely be back next year. Oh yeah, being able to basically trip and fall in to the bar after a day of gaming was damn convenient. Showcase is a bonus too, because it has EVERYTHING.

Cheers.

Were you the "stealer shock" player? If so, a great game!!! I was the anchient Alpha Legion lizard herder.

MVBrandt wrote:Fine, at the next Showcase event ... I'LL take things off.

Damn, if Mike starts taking things off, ladies might start showing up at 40k events.

targetawg wrote:

frgsinwntr wrote:

Dashofpepper wrote:For a few extra bucks, I'm sure you could entice some of the Big Gunz to remove articles of clothing...

In no way would I ever consider giving Justin or Mike Ludwig money to take ANYTHING off.

I would consider giving them money to put things on

No worries, you won't have to pay a dime, I'll buy lap dance after lap dance for you from those two.

Now I just threw up a lot


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Dashofpepper wrote:

MVBrandt wrote:Fine, at the next Showcase event ... I'LL take things off.

Damn, if Mike starts taking things off, ladies might start showing up at 40k events.

Only to make them appreciate what they have at home!!!

Cable wrote:Were you the "stealer shock" player? If so, a great game!!! I was the anchient Alpha Legion lizard herder.

Yup. That was me. Nice, army and fun game! Had to take a while to get all those classic models. Good stuff.

I would like to Thank Mike Clark for the well run tournament and excellent choices of swag like a glass and tactical templates which are useful for everyone. The terrain was excellent looking really awesome with a decent mix of line of sight blocking and area terrain. Prizes was really nice as well. Got a Khorne daemon prince which I will convert into a bloodthirster using max mini wings for my daemon army.

Would also like to thank my opponents for 5 fun games.

Also thanks to Brad who gave me a ride and was a great roommate.

Mike could you please share the painting rubric that would be really nice so I could know what I could improve for next time? Am sure other people will be interested.

I have to agree with targetawg that Ruby Tuesdays has some really good food.

Will write tourney reports at some point

Kirika wrote:I would like to Thank Mike Clark for the well run tournament and excellent choices of swag like a glass and tactical templates which are useful for everyone. The terrain was excellent looking really awesome with a decent mix of line of sight blocking and area terrain. Prizes was really nice as well. Got a Khorne daemon prince which I will convert into a bloodthirster using max mini wings for my daemon army.

Would also like to thank my opponents for 5 fun games.

Also thanks to Brad who gave me a ride and was a great roommate.

Mike could you please share the painting rubric that would be really nice so I could know what I could improve for next time? Am sure other people will be interested.

I have to agree with targetawg that Ruby Tuesdays has some really good food.

Will write tourney reports at some point

Kirika actually reminded me of a conversation that came up at Ruby Tuesday's between a bunch of us about swag bags.

The swag for this event was absolutely A+. I think one comment was that at some events (and swag is free, so I'm not complaining!), swag is centered around more eccentric items, bits bags, odd bits and bobs, which unless you're lucky may not be useful or apply to you/your army. The swag may have been "less" in a volume sense at SVDM, but the quality was incredibly high. A logo'd tactical template (which I've always meant to get but never did) is useful for everyone, and who doesn't love a logo'd pint glass! Beer or not, it's a nice keepsake, and is a good drinking class. For me personally, this was a huge plus for the swag.

The terrain also was top notch, for me it felt like a bit too much of it, but I play Imperial Guard and of course, like open shooting ground, so I'm a biased reviewer.

Mike was also really receptive to questions about paint scores, and was very candid with what I could improve on to up my score, which I appreciated. I never expect to get full points, but I try to get progressively better, so knowing what I didn't earn points for is really useful.

I'll be back next year for sure, and if any of you folks were on the fence about whether or not to attend, do so next year, you won't regret it!

Hopefully by this time next year my house will be unpacked and I won't have just moved across the country, and be waiting on reimbursement for all my liquid capital. =p

Sorry I missed it Mike; sounds like it went smoothly. Haven't seen any of the stupid junk that followed you last year. =D

Where are the pics, for those who were there! I'd love to see some in-game shots, or just shots of how everything was set up. Sounds like it was awesome!

I had a great time at the SVDM. Met a lot of cool peeps. Armies were looking great this year. Mad pops to the Drop Pod Vulcan list that got best painted. I hope I can achieve that caliber of painting in the near future. I felt I had really great games with all my opponents. There were no serious disputes and everyone I played was cooperative as far as helping each other along for a smooth game. Round 5 took longer than I expected, I don't know how that happened, but I do apologize for the inconvenience of having to wait for us to finish. But it was a good game none-the-less. Had fun picking on Nick (Yermom) with everyone at Ruby Tuesday's. Thanks to Mike for all the prize support and giveaways and to all the others who helped in the event. See you guys at the next tourney. I think I will be at the Colonial GT in April.

P.S. ... Oh, and congrats to all the winners!

have to agree with targetawg that Ruby Tuesdays has some really good food.

Hehe I love all the comments about the "food" at Ruby Tuesdays. The "food" was sooooo good that everyone kept dropping things on the floor to see the "food" bend over to pick it up heheh.

Mike looking forward to this next year.