First, let me extend a warm thanks to my host Biblofilter. He was the perfect host and without him, the Denmark leg of the tour would not have been nearly as enjoyable.
The gaming culture in Copenhagen is quite remarkable. I went to a gaming café once South Korea (board not computer) but the gaming café in Copenhagen as quite remarkable. It was so big, but nicely appointed, clean, and stocked with more games than the average American game store. And crowded! We got there early but a few hours later, it was completely packed and Biblofilter informed me that was normal.
Then, there was the gaming store itself were we held the Tournament. Biblofilter can fill in more details in the comments, but it was amazing. It was 3 stories tall and filled with everything imaginable from Magic to Warhammer and had plenty of gaming space left over.
As for the Tournament itself, we had six players play four intense rounds over the course of the afternoon. We had planned for 8 players, but unfortunately 1 did not show, so Biblofilter was gracious enough to step down and act as judge for the remaining 6 to keep the numbers even.
My games:
Game 1: Force Master vs Earth Wizard
This was brutal game and the only one that went to time for me. With his wizard tower and ballista, he gave my poor Force Field a good work out. I spent the first part of the game trying to dismantle his infrastructure, with it being replaced as fast as I could destroy it. I was jinxed more times than I care to remember and eventually had to retreat just to get myself properly equipped and buffed. Near the end, I threw caution to the wind and we started trading heavy blows. Time ran out and I thought I had him on life, but a last action Hurl Rock from his tower tipped the life balance by 2 points to his favor. Very close game.
Game 2: Force Master vs Druid
This game went a bit easier for me. I took a chance and got lucky, killing his tree very early in the game. After that, the mana and action lose took its toll and I was able to Force Crush and beat down the Druid.
Game 3: Force Master vs Necromancer
Like the Druid, I got aggressive early and dissolved his Libra Mortis very early in the game. He set up a temple of light to counter my invisible stalker, which threw me a little. I was able to stay out of its range and bring him to me. Without his book, he could not get out his zombie brutes fast enough to overcome my force field and I was able to unleash a lot of damage on him quickly.
Game 4: Force Master vs Orcish Warlord
This was by far the most brutal game I had played in a long while. There was a lot of back and forth. I was able to kill some of his key creatures and he was having difficulty with some of my enchantments, but we traded some fierce blows. On the last turn of the game, we had beaten each other within an inch of our lives. I was able to get a Force Crush on him and knew he would die during upkeep. He got off a last Flame Blast and knocked me down to my last two life and burned me. The game was decided during upkeep when I rolled for my burn. I took 2 burn damage, bringing my life exactly to 0 while he went exactly to 0 with Force Crush Damage. I think it was the first time in my Mage Wars career that I ended a game in a dead tie.
So, with a record of 2-1-1, I earned second place in Denmark. Interestingly enough, the winner was the Necromancer from my 3rd game. It was his only loss.
After Game 1: Warlock and Priest vs Druid and Orcish Warlord
After the official tournament, a few of us retired to Biblofilter’s house for a game of Domination. We settled on a team game and I chose a Warlock that I had been using for Domination games earlier in the week (with no success I might add). My team was able to grab 2 of the 4 orbs first, so we got a lead in points. The winning factor was my 4 Steel Walls. The walls stalled the other team long enough that we could build up our points to win. The last turn was very tense. The Druid and Warlord were able to pull down the last wall, but hindering terrain prevented them from reaching our orbs in mass. With turn order on their side, they secretly created a FAST, FLYING, ELUSIVE orcish super trooper to tag one of our orbs. Fortunately, a clever Warlock had a Rouse the Beast up his sleeve and was able to use it on his teammates recently summoned Guardian Angel to gain the last action and retrieve the stolen orb.
After Game 2: Druid vs Force Master
After everyone else had left, Biblofilter and I had one last game before it was my time to move on to Poland. All I can say is BEARS! So many grizzly bear. They could fly, were fast and were strong (come on, who puts bear strength on an actual bear). Needless to say, I had to spend most of my time fighting them and fending them off instead of concentrating on the enemy mage. I managed to kill one, put another to sleep with only 1 health left and my Forcfield was keeping the last one at bay. Unfortunately, I was also tangled vined to the teeth and Biblofilter had a Dispel on a wand and was eating away at my many enchantments. He stayed two zones away so I could not use my last dissolve to take care of the wand (it was actually steal equipment, which is worse because that is a full action to use) and the bear had to be dealt with before I could turn on my restraints. Oh well, you can’t win them all.
On to Poland
I spent a day on the ferry crossing from Sweden to Poland. I even had the chance to stop at an IKEA in Sweden. I thought it was cool and sort of ironic. I got in very late, but I had a really good nap on the ferry (I rented cabin, seemed like a good investment for an 8 hour trip) so I was relatively well rested the next day. My host, Konrad, picked me up to my hotel and took me to this nice little gaming store in downtown Szczecin.
Unlike Germany and Denmark, my Polish tournament experience was more Mortal Kombat style. Not so much a bracketed tournament as me just fighting one guy after another. This actually worked out well because players drifted in and out during the day as their schedules permitted, so I was able to play everyone who was interested. I managed to hold my own and was undefeated in Poland, but all the games were very close. My most grueling match was my first against Konrad who was using a solo “you can’t touch me” Warlock. He whipped out TWO battle forges and I swear, I have never seen anybody actually use every equipment slot simultaneously until this match. Near the end game, he would switch out his gloves for attack or defense as needed, and here is a pro tip, you know how you have a spell on a wand but want to change it but don’t feel like using a precious quick action to do it? Use your battle forge to simply swap in a new wand as a deployment. Live and learn.
I spent the first half the game getting beaten within an inch of my life and not being able to retaliate. A tactical retreat enabled me to recuperate and I was lucky that I was able to get a Thoughtspore up with a dissolve on it. The Warlock didn’t have the means to take it down late game and it was able to slowly dissolve his defenses to the point where I could actually attack and get in some damage. Fortunately, it was not a timed event and I was able to stall things out until I had the advantage.
All in all, I played 5 different game in Poland, the last of which wore me out completely and I had to retire for the night. My host escorted me back to my hotel at that point. It was an awesome day. I should mention that Konrad was nice enough to take me out to lunch to get American style hamburgers. This was greatly appreciated because having since moved back to Europe, it is too expensive to try to live like an American, so I usually have to stick to local cuisine. A little taste of home is always welcome.
I actually started this post some time ago, but kids and moving from America to the Czech Republic (along with spotty internet access) have kept me from finishing it promptly. A clear memory of all my opponents has been the causality, so please forgive me. As I write, I am now on the train to Prague for my final stop on the Trent Magnus European Goodwill Tour. Wish me luck!
