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Author Topic: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul  (Read 23209 times)

sdougla2

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #15 on: September 14, 2014, 12:44:54 AM »
It was nice to get a chance to play with you guys. I'm glad I went. Thank you for organizing it Maverick87.
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Maverick

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #16 on: September 14, 2014, 01:02:29 AM »
it was great to have ya! I hope you can come down again some time to beat me some more! lol
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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #17 on: September 14, 2014, 07:16:32 PM »
Can anyone give a quick summery? What style books and who beat who?

sdougla2

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #18 on: September 14, 2014, 08:58:32 PM »
It wasn't really a tournament, as some new players were learning, and it was more casual than a tournament.

I played and won 3 games:

Game 1: Altar of Carnage Anvil Throne Warlord (me) vs Barracks based Anvil Throne Warlord

My opponent focused on enchanting and building up a Bloodcraig Minotaur, but he didn't pressure me early, I had better economy, and as soon as I killed his Minotaur, I was able to quickly focus down his mage. He had a few secondary threats in the form of a Slinger and an Anvil Throne Crossbowman, but I was never very concerned about his ranged firepower. I built up 4 Armor and a 5+ defense, at which point my mage wasn't particularly concerned. I lost a few Orc Butchers and my Gurmash over the course of the game due to a combination of his ranged firepower, his Minotaur, and much better dice rolls than I was getting, but I had enough economy that losing a few Orcs wasn't crippling.

Overall I felt that my opponent had a reasonable gameplan, but the execution was spotty. His opening was just slower and less efficient than it could have been, and he could have invested less into the Minotaur and gotten another big creature up. He could have gotten his 3 Outposts down within the first 2 rounds, in which case he would have been in a stronger position. He put Cheetah Speed, Rhino Hide, Bear Strength, and Nullify on the Minotaur, but if he had only put Bear Strength on it, he could have afforded another Bloodcraig Minotaur, and the other enchantments didn't have a big impact on the game. Regrowth or Vampirism would have been better options for keeping it alive than Rhino Hide and Nullify. Direct healing spells like Minor Heal would have also been better support. In addition, he spent a bunch of actions and mana on equipment that saw very little use, and he could have spent at least some of those resources on Armoring up his mage, which would have been more useful.

On my end I did a double Spawnpoint opening, filled up every equipment slot except my cloak and head slots, and used Meditation Amulet for ~4 rounds to get everything going. I really liked having Reflex Boots with the Rune of Shielding and an Elemental Wand with the Rune of Power. I played a few pieces of equipment that I didn't make much use of, but since I had so much economy, and I was using my Battle Forge to do it, it didn't cost me as much. Plus my underutilized equipment cost less than my opponent's underutilized equipment. I never got out Altar of Carnage because I always had something else I wanted to do more.

My opening went something like this:

Turn 1 (19): Battle Forge -> Construction Yard (4)
Turn 2 (13) [1] [1]: Deploy Meditation Amulet -> Meditate -> Barracks (2)
Turn 3 (11) [2] [1] [1]: Deploy General's Signet Ring -> Deploy Orc Butcher -> Meditate -> Garrison Post (4)

I wasn't real impressed with Gurmash this game.

Game 2: Altar of Carnage Anvil Throne Warlord (me) vs Mana Denial Wizard

My opponent opened with an Altar of Peace and a Sunfire Amulet. I did a similar opening to last game, but held off on casting a creature for another round and played a Bloodcraig Minotaur as my first creature instead of an Orc Butcher. I also opted for Harshforge Plate early, as a means of making it less cost effective to mess with me, which was a good choice. My opponent played Suppression Cloak, killed my Battle Forge with a Force Hammer and another attack, and Dissolved my Meditation Amulet.

I played a couple of Orc Butchers and moved my Minotaur to his starting corner, where his Altar of Peace was. He cast Acid Ball on my Barracks, but did no damage and only 1 Corrode, so he still didn't feel like he could kill it. In addition, he put Essence Drain on my Minotaur. I Conquered his Altar of Peace, and turned it into an Altar of Carnage. I never got much use out of Altar of Carnage this game, but it was practically free to cast it due to Construction Yard, so it was probably still worthwhile. I also Dispelled his Essence Drain. The Wizard put Pacify on all 3 of my creatures and played Mordok's Obelisk, so I played Harshforge Monolith next to it, moved all of my creatures into it's area of influence, and focused down Mordok's Obelisk.

Over this whole time I did very little damage to the Wizard due to the taxes on attacking him combined with Voltaric Shield spam, but I was in a pretty good position. Aside from Suppression Cloak, my opponent was pretty much out of global mana denial (he had Suppression Orb in his book still, but I didn't really need to move my creatures around anyway), he was being taxed himself to keep the Pacifies around, and his damage potential against me was quite low. I had 4 Armor and a 5+ Defense, so I wasn't real worried about him spamming attacks on me. He was out of Dissolves and Acid Balls, so he couldn't really make me less tanky. I had a bit of damage on, but I was healing that with Regrowth outside of the area of effect of Harshforge Monolith. I started summoning ranged creatures using only the mana from my Barracks, including Grimson Deadeye Sniper. At around this point, my opponent conceded because he didn't see how he could win. I was guarding my ranged creatures with my Pacified creatures, I was in the process of stripping his Armor with an Elemental Wand with the Rune of Power with Acid Ball attached, and I still had a massive mana base from Barracks. We both thought that the game would have ultimately gone in my favor, it would have just taken forever because it would have taken me a long time to get the mana I needed to make enough attacks, particularly through Voltaric Shield every round.

My opponent got unlucky on a few rolls (notably Acid Ball on my mage inflicted 0 Corrodes, so both Acid Balls did extremely poorly), but the real problem he faced was his inability to lock down my mana income. His mana was under tighter constraints for much of the game than mine was. I couldn't really attack him much of the time, but I could do other things.

Pentagram based Adramelech Warlock (me) vs Battle Forge based Priestess

This time my opponent was playing one of my builds, so he wasn't familiar with the spellbook. He only had the mana denial Wizard in terms of custom spellbooks at the time, so he played one of my spellbooks. This was only my second game playing the Adramelech Warlock, and I was trying to get a feel for swarming with her. I opened with a Harmonized Pentagram, and I played quite a few Firebrand Imps and Wildfire Imps. My opponent opened with a Mana Crystal and a Battle Forge, played a Knight of Westlock, and went after my mage. I removed Elemental Cloak and Dragonscale Hauberk, but I kept having trouble attacking effectively. My curses kept getting removed. This put me ahead on mana, as I had both Ring of Curses and an Enchanter's Wardstone, but I didn't feel like I had enough actions to replace them.

It ended up being a very close damage race, but once I had Marked for Death and Rust on my opponent, I was able to do a lot of damage very rapidly. My opponent eventually played Samandriel, Angel of Light, but that was towards the end of the game. I eventually focused down the Priestess, but the whole thing felt very precarious, and I always felt like I didn't have enough action economy to do everything that I was trying to do. If my opponent had focused on killing my Imps, I would have had a hard time keeping enough threats on the board to threaten the Priestess.

I need to do some more thinking about how to open with the Adramelech Warlock.

When I arrived, Maverick was playing the default Forcemaster spellbook against a Druid. The Forcemaster won.

While I was playing, there was an apprentice game played between 2 new players, Priestess vs Warlock I think. I don't know who won.

After that there was a 2v2 game, which was I think Priestess and Beastmaster vs Warlock and Wizard, with the Priestess/Beastmaster team winning. I think they were using the apprentice spellbooks.
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Maverick

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #19 on: September 15, 2014, 03:11:56 AM »
My poor mana denial wizard did not have much hope against all that mana economy the Warlord was slinging. I saw his strategy early game and rushed his battleforge/barracks as they came out. Unfortunately my rolls were terrible and I had to switch tempo and go on the defensive against the creatures that were spawning. I dissolved the meditation amulet early to slow him down and was able to take out the battleforge with a Force hammer paired with zap. I was not able to lock down the mana denial early enough in the match and he was able to gear up as a result which was turning the match into a very slow battle of attrition I was on the wrong end of. The harshforged monolith made my mana economy worse than his and after he equipped the reflex boots with the defense rune I knew continuing in a creature-less deck that was out of dissolves would be a slow pointless death. I think in a timed match I may have had a decent shot with a damage received tie breaker, but in a straight out brawl it was a poor match up for a mana denial book. His book was capable of channeling 8 + the added effect of alter of carnage and construction yard on top of his normal channel amount- a very difficult sum to lock down with mana denial.

In the second game I ran a priestess book that did remarkably well all things considered. It all came down to the final round where I ran 2 minor heals in an attempt to stall for another round of attacks. I was swarmed with various firebrand and wildfire imps and was frequently accumulating burns. I had a Valshalla angel and a knight of westlock with agony in the final round. I used the cursed knight to disable a guard and tried to swing in with Valshalla for the kill. The dice were not with me though and he survived with 2 or 3 health. I think if I would have rolled better on the Minor heals (buying another round) or instead used flame blast on him I could have had the match. It was really close so the dice could have swung it either way. I would not mind a rematch but with a priestess book of my own making.

We do not have prize support until I get ambassador status so for now I am working on building up the player base and training in new players for the area. Not counting sdougla2 or his friend he brought we now have 5 players for the area. I am hoping to at least double that. I have some friends in mind I will approach about it.
« Last Edit: September 15, 2014, 03:21:10 AM by Maverick87 »
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Maverick

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #20 on: September 23, 2014, 06:19:10 PM »
Alright folks,
 This next Saturday the 27th will be another meet up at The Source Comics and Games. I personally will not be able to attend as I said earlier in the thread but there will be 3 confirmed players that day. A few others have not gotten back to me for confirmation but may show up as well. It will be a CASUAL game this weekend as opposed to Tournament play as I am still waiting to hear back about Ambassador status. All are welcome and encouraged to show up. In my absence please direct your questions to Garret (Tall with Dark hair and glasses) he will be there setting up arena's around 5-5:30PM. I cannot wait to hear the victory report. Good luck!
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Maverick

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #21 on: September 28, 2014, 10:51:49 AM »
Thanks to WizardJordan and Boomfrog for showing up last night. From what I was told it sounded like everyone had a lot of fun. Hopefully I will see you both back again sometime so we can get a few plays in together. The next scheduled day will be October 11th at 6 PM at The Source. If there are any changes I will post here so remember to check this thread on game day.
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GeorgeFalcon

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #22 on: September 28, 2014, 03:33:13 PM »
It was fun yesterday at the source.  I hope we start getting a regular group of players down there and can start getting tournaments going!
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Maverick

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #23 on: October 08, 2014, 06:55:06 PM »
It is with a heavy heart that I must say this upcoming get together on the 11th is canceled. The Source Comics and Games is doing some kind of Magic The Gathering marathon and all space is being reserved for that event. Hopefully this set back is temporary and we can all still get together on the 25th for some Mage Wars. If the Source becomes an unreliable venue I will look to relocating to another site such as Fantasy Flight games convention center or Tower Games. As always please check this page regularly for updates as the situation may be subject to change.
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GeorgeFalcon

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #24 on: October 11, 2014, 01:37:36 PM »
We are meeting up at Tower Games in Minneapolis today. Not sure if it is permanent,  but come on down if you have time.
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UrNemesis

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #25 on: October 13, 2014, 06:55:05 PM »
Hey guys, I live in Robbinsdale really close to the Outpost 2000 in Crystal. I work every other weekend but if you guys would like to meet up sometime let me know. I actually was at the Source Saturday and had a pick-up game with a guy who had never played before. Worked out nice. Anyways, send a message and maybe we can get a game going. Outpost has a few players and an ambassador there. I also got my bro in law to start up.  Slowly but surely we will bring more into MW.

Maverick

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #26 on: October 13, 2014, 07:27:03 PM »
Hey guys, I live in Robbinsdale really close to the Outpost 2000 in Crystal. I work every other weekend but if you guys would like to meet up sometime let me know. I actually was at the Source Saturday and had a pick-up game with a guy who had never played before. Worked out nice. Anyways, send a message and maybe we can get a game going. Outpost has a few players and an ambassador there. I also got my bro in law to start up.  Slowly but surely we will bring more into MW.

You were at the Source this last Saturday and played? The desk worker told me all space was reserved for the Magic event. That is a little demoralizing though i am glad to hear you were able to get a game in. We run Mage Wars the second and fourth Saturday of the month at the Source any time you or your friends want to drop by. What days do you guys get together at Outpost 2000? Even if I cannot drop by personally I will spread the word to everyone in my play group. The more Mage Wars in our area the better for all of us.
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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #27 on: October 14, 2014, 12:09:48 PM »
As far as the gaming for me at Outpost 2000 goes, I call up to see if someone there will play a game and then I head over and get a game or two in. 2 of the main guys there play and can be found basically everyday. Others are hit and miss.

Maverick

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #28 on: October 23, 2014, 06:54:48 PM »
Hello Mage Warriors! Just a reminder that this Saturday the 25th is Mage Wars at the Source. We will be starting at 7pm this time as they have another event that goes until then. I will copy the other event below if anyone wants to show up earlier and participate in it.

Saturday, October 25th 11am to 7pm
At the Source Comics and Games

No Fees - No Registration
Just come to PLAY and have FUN! 
Featuring a wide variety of Mayfair and GMT games to Learn & Play
Door Prizes Drawn every 2 hours
Participation prizes for EVERYONE who plays at least one game!

If you have yet to get enough gaming in we will continue with our regularly scheduled Board Game night until MIDNIGHT.
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BoomFrog

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Re: Looking to start things up in Minneapolis/St. Paul
« Reply #29 on: October 23, 2014, 10:15:03 PM »
Unfortunately I won't be able to make it this time.  It's my wife's birthday and that trumps Mage Wars.  :)