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Just got back Monday evening after the 3 day tri-athalon that is Adepticon.

First and foremost - my thanks and admiration for the guys that pulled this together. You can't find a more professionally ran series of tournaments anywhere. And these are BIG tournaments. Everything ran smoothly and was done very well. As a gamer - I appreciate the hard work and personal sacrifices that went into this event. It was a job well done.

Second - the venue is very good for this - although a trifle small as the event keeps growing. I felt like the main 40K room was about at max capacity for the team and nationals tournaments. Still - good hotel with reasonable rates for Chicago area.

Last - on the inevitable noise about cheating, shenanigans, chipmunking, etc that is all the rage on the internet now.

Gladiator - I played 4 games against some fine stand up people. I lost some, I tied some, I won some, I got lucky, I had bad luck - I got beat up bad, I beat up a guy bad - but in every game I HAD FUN and I truly hope my opponents did as well. I saw none of the bad things that people complain so much about. I place at 40th overall.

Team Tournament - my team played against 4 other teams - we won big and had a few draws/minor losses. All the teams I played were stand up guys that I'd play again anytime (even though the Hod and MBG were on one of them! (just kidding guys)). No shenanigans - all rule questions worked out amiably. No big drama that I'm aware of. Some tough games and great opponents. A special hats off to the great Space Wolf player we faced in round three who brought his little brother to fill in for a guy who had to drop at the last minute for health issues. We took 6th overall. This is the PREMIER event at Adepticon - in my opinion. It's great fun to play 4 games with 4 of your best bud's in the team environment.

Nationals - I played 3 games again against three stand up guys. A big win, a little win, and a little loss - all good for 31st place overall. No rules issues, cheating accusations, or any crap like that. Met three guys with a similar hobby that I got to face off on the table against and have a great time - one from Ohio, one from MN, and one from LA - and I'm from TN. What other venue lets you get to play people from all over the US?

As far as some general thoughts:

1) Imperial Guard is the army of choice currently. LOTS of guard "leaf-blower" type lists. Out of 11 games in all three tourneys - 6 of mine were against Guard. It's a tough list.

2) Space Wolves are the second flavor of choice. Not scientific - but a lot of Wolves were running around the tables.

3) The tourney circuit is just fine. The internet drama is just a bunch of noise.

4) Brandon Palmer is my new painting/converting God-Emperor! The "Scallywagon" army he had in the nationals was hands-down THE most spectacular army I have EVER seen. Incredible!

Again - a sincere thanks to the guys that do this every year. It was a blast!

Aldonis wrote:and one from LA

Where from in LA? And do you remember his name?

I'm from LA and played in both the New Orleans and Baton Rouge Groups, so there's a chance I might know him, just wanted to check.

LA = Los Angeles ...

Sorry for the confusion

Thanks for the kind words - we take great pride in providing a fun 3-4 days of gaming. The BNB guys had an impressive showing in the 40K Team Tournament and were in the running all day long. The Smurfs will have their day!

The 40K room was at max capacity Saturday & Sunday. We can fit 120 tables in there with that layout. Add in some PP events on Saturday and every table was full.

I thought the venue was great! (Westin Lombard) Something very comical and surreal about seeing large and sweaty gamer nerds rubbing elbows with business types.

However my only gripe would be that I was expecting a bit more cosplay. Oh well, That Battle Sister chic made up for it.

We've never had much of that. Maybe 1 or 2 people tops every year.

Matthias wrote:We've never had much of that. Maybe 1 or 2 people tops every year.

Well the fantastic painted armies that were present made it up for that. I thought you guys did a fantastic job, best war game event I ever went to. Extremely well-run tournament with the amount of attendees that were there. The swag bag was well worth my trip from Seattle alone.

That Scallywaggin army is INSANE. Went to the guy's website; he is absolutely brilliant. Had I the cash, I would commission him for a showcase army, absolutely.

GMM does amazing work. I tried to get him to do some Flames of War or Legends of the Old West for me - but he is slammed with work and really only doing 40K/Fantasy...and doing it very, very well. Always look forward to seeing his work at the convention. His Eldar from last year were fantastic.

I went to check it out and provide some support to player and vendor friends. The wife and I got a room at the Westin - one of the finest hotels we've ever stayed in. My favorite moment was coming down on Sunday morning and reviewing every army during the paint judging of the 40k Championships. Just one fantastic army after another, a real treat. I'll go again next year and probably play this time.

Matthias wrote:GMM does amazing work. I tried to get him to do some Flames of War or Legends of the Old West for me - but he is slammed with work and really only doing 40K/Fantasy...and doing it very, very well. Always look forward to seeing his work at the convention. His Eldar from last year were fantastic.

Don't know for sure, but...

Did GMM do the Iron Warrior themed Chaos army for Team Tourney?

That army was awesome to look at.

I had such a good time! I loved it, and my team and I are already planning for next year. I had a brilliant time from the first day to the Sunday night Poker tournament. Great show, well worth the expense.

And yes, the tournament scene is absolutely fine, most of the loud mouths on the net that talk trash about tournaments don't even play in them, so who cares.

Those of us that go, have fun. We all play good games (I didn't have a single bad game) and drink beers together after. If you don't go to the tournaments I truly feel like you are missing out on a great aspect of the hobby and the larger community.

Can't wait for next year!

Reecius wrote:(I didn't have a single bad game)

That's what those Flesh hounds in your back field said.

Hahaha, yeah, that mission was so dumb!

Who designed that, honestly? A fantasy game where you get charged first turn is just fething dumb.

But, my opponent was a cool guy, a little nit picky with the rules, but hey, it was a tournament. I enjoyed the game despite getting anally reamed starting turn one with a rear charge by Flesh Hounds. Ouch.

Actually, he wasn't really nit picky, it just seemed that way to me because I don't know the rules that well. He was a cool guy, just the match up and mission boned me before the game even began.