WBC 2015 Mage Wars Arena Tournament Report

[wtcannonjr]

Checkout the Tournament Event page here for background - http://www.boardgamers.org/yearbkex/mgwpge.htm

There is a 21-page PDF report available for those who want more detail. Here is the Dropbox link https://www.dropbox.com/s/wgh6pofmbc4uswo/WBC%202015%20-%20Mage%20Wars%20Tournament%20Report-Online%20Version.pdf?dl=0

Qualifying Heats
This round saw the player field of 29 improve their ability to kill a mage from a low of 5 kills in Heat 1 to 7 kills in each of Heats 3 and 4. Six of the advancing 8 players competed in all 4 heats while the other two were undefeated but played in only 3 heats. Two players enjoyed the game so much they drove to the local game store during the lunch break and each bought a copy!

Quarterfinals and Semifinal Play
No kills were scored during Saturday’s single elimination rounds and the top killing Warlock from the qualifying rounds fell in all 3 quarterfinal matches. Paul’s Priestess won both mirror matches as he advanced to the finals using Divine Reward as a key strategy. Bradford’s Wizard defeated a Warlock and a Beastmaster on his way to the finals.

Final Match (Paul Toro vs Bradford McCandless)
The match saw classic Wizard strategies of position control using Poison Gas Clouds, Wall of Stone, and Teleport spells with suppression of the Priestess’ ability to channel with spells like Mana Siphon and Mordok’s Obelisk. Paul’s Priestess played a Temple of Asyra opening, but aggressive play by the Wizard soon found the temple sanctuary under attack by a Gorgon Archer and a Darkfenne Hydra. From the center arena position the Wizard focused down the holy creatures as they emerged from the Temple. In response the Priestess began to focus on directly attacking the mage and using her Divine Reward ability to gain life. This strategy was then countered with a Deathlock spell that prevented further healing and life gain for the rest of the battle. On the last round of the game both mages had equal remaining health. The Wizard cast a Sleep spell on Samandriel, Angel of Light. This left the Priestess with only a mage action and a quickcast action to counter any Wizard attack that round and the Gorgon Archer was able to inflict the damage need for the Wizard’s tie-breaker victory. Congratulations to our Champion Bradford McCandless!

Thanks to …
• The 29 players competing in Round 1 who made this event such a fun experience for me to game master.
• Arcane Wonders for donating such an amazing array of additional prizes for players to win.
• Assistant GM Nick Losekamp for demo support and open gaming play.