First, let me apologize for posting so late. I lost my power converter somewhere and my computer ran out of power. Fortunately, I was able to locate a new power converter on my way to Denmark, so I am all set now.
Mage Wars German Nationals 2016 in Bad Nauheim was fantastic. It attracted 28 players and was set in a very attractive “Bath House” (which is what the Bad in “Bad Nauheim” stands for) which was comfortable and more importantly, quiet. It was also part of a much larger gaming event that attracted a lot of families and had different games that could be checked out of a huge gaming library.
The judges were extremely nice and professional. They did a good job of looking out for me and trying to make me feel include. The language barrier was a minor problem, but most people I met could talk to me in English.
The tournament itself was well organized. Everything was set up ahead of time and we mostly started things on time. I think there was a minor delay at one point because the computer was not cooperating, but it was a minor thing. The best part was that there was plenty of space, so you never felt crowded, and it was a way from the general hubbub of the rest of the event, so it was not too noisy.
The tournament was divided into 2 days. Day 1 was 4 rounds of Swiss style and Day 2 was top 8 from Day one and a special side event for the other 20 players.
One special rule that I have not encountered before was that each player had to prepare 2 different mages to play, one for each day. Of course, I had my Force Master locked-‘n-loaded, but I had to come up with a second. So, I want to give a special thanks to my friend Millie back in NC. I more or less reconstructed her Necromancer book as best I could and used that. It served me well. Finally, the spells books were chosen at random, so I started with the Necromancer on day 1.
Now, here is the part where I wish I had been able to write this earlier while it was still fresh in my memory. If I make any mistakes, please forgive me and feel free to correct them.
I won my first three matches against a Dwarven Warlord, a Force Master and a Beastmaster (?). All of these matches were very close, often determined by a roll of the dice or initiative. The Dwarven Warlord hit me with several Hurl Boulders and a Meteor Strike, almost killing me. He had me dead to rights near the end, trapped by my own walls, but he was out of attack spells. For all of these games, a combination of Enfeeble and Cloak of Shadows is what saved my skin as I was able to stay away from the enemy and let my poisons wear them down. My fourth opponent was Thomas, a druid (who later went on to win the whole tournament). Same as the other games, I got beat within an inch of my life and Enfeeble/Cloak of Shadows myself to safety. Unfortunately, this time, I thought I was safe but got caught by a Thorn Burst that was not targeting me, but the vine token next to me, so my Cloak of Shadows could not protect me. I ranked 4th place in the end, so it was ok.
I would like to quickly mention at this point that it seems Germans love Hurl Boulder. EVERBODY threw at least one at me on Day 1, even the Druid.
Day 2 I got to play my Force Master and was paired with a Priestess round one. It was a hard match, and in retrospect, two mistakes I made cost me the game. First, he pushed me through a wall, which could not be avoided. My Force Field took the brunt and it was not too bad. However, I gambled that he did not have a second push, so I did not prepare for it and got pushed again, for way to much damage. At the end, I again thought I was safe with his one creature charmed and me with a charge on my Force Field. I could have runaway to recoup some of my health, but stayed to attack instead. Then, the Priestess punched me to remove the charge and then pushed me into the wall, which killed me.
It was a mentally grueling 2 days, but it was a lot of fun. For those who got knocked out on Day 1 or who got knocked out on the first round of Day 2, they had a special side event which turned out to be 3 and 4 player free-for-alls. I went against a Dwarven Warlord and a Beastmaster who had also been knocked out of the Top 8 during the first round (there should have been one more player, but he did not want to play in the FFA). The Beastmaster bird rushed the Warlord who took a lot of damage but summoned a lot of dwarven ranged units who took down the birds while I quietly did token damage to each side while buffing myself up as much a possible. When the dust settled, the Dwarven Warlord was heavily damaged and the Beastmaster had exhausted his resources. Though very heavily guarded, I was able to Mongoose Agility myself, slip in and finish the Dwarven Warlord. It was then just a few turns later I was able to finish the mostly unhurt Beastmaster as I Forced Crushed him in place and then proceed to deal as much damage as I could as quickly as I could, thus winning our small portion of the side event.
All in all, it was an awesome event. I would highly recommend to any serious Mage Warrior that they make plans to attend next year.
Next stop on the tour, Copenhagen!
