As long time readers will know, Paul and I try and get to Australia's premier gaming event, CanCon, every January, but being in the US has made that rather difficult for Paul this year. So I stepped up to the plate to represent the Cave's interest's...
As January was a crazy month for me I hadn't committed to a tourney other than the one day SAGA event held on the third day of CanCon. I was lucky enough however to go along on the Saturday, Day 1 of CanCon, and filled in as the 'Gumby' player for the Bolt Action tournament.
The TO gave me his Fallschirmjaeger to use, a fun list complete with a Quad 20mm AA gun and a captured Sherman tank (used as a PzIII)
I ended up playing all three games on Day 1, lost them all (well drew the last game) but had a blast, and met three excellent guys.
My highlights included managing to fire 4 Panzerfausts in one game (usually my PzFaust toting Jerries cop it before getting their round off), and seeing the 20mm 'Lawnmower' wreak havoc amongst the Russki hordes (always satisfying)
Half of one hall..Bolt Action and Bloodbowl is in the left hand corner.
The other half of the hall...one of two halls mind you...
The traders had their usual bumper stocks available to tempt roaming gamers, and CosPlayers were out in force this year. For me, it was a great chance to catchup with gaming buddies including Anfernee and Bish, and refresh acquaintances with John and Ian of War and Peace Games.
The main trader area..click on the pic for better view
Ahh gamer stench.....actually not too bad this year....
The one day Saga tournament on Monday was my first competitive Saga tournament, having been involved in an ongoing 5 game campaign with my main Canberra gaming mates (more on that in another post) I took my Anglo Danes, which I had painted up last year. Game 1 was an Anglo-Dane civil war against a great chap I met in the Bolt Action Tourney, Tony, and his own Anglo Danes. We played a Crescent and Cross scenario, which was essentially kill the other guy.
My Warlord getting stuck in....
We drew that one as the winner had to score a clear three more points than his opponent, and I scored 2 more than Tony....
Game 2 was a modified Crossing the Ford scenario from the Saga rulebook, whereby points were scored by whole units vice individual models, and only units of more than 3 figures counted...so no Warlord points!
This one went down the wire, and clearly I had annoyed all the local clans because my opponent, Rupert, was another Anglo-Dane player. Lovely chap, and in the end we managed to kill each other's Warlord in a Mutual Assured Destruction duel, whilst our lads failed to cross either bridge in sufficient numbers to count. Highlights were the Warlord clash, the lone Hearthguard who singlehandedly held my left hand bridge for most of the battle, and my Levy who showed what they lacked in fighting ability they made up for in spirit....
It started as a peaceful river.........
The Lone Hearthguard...gallant chap
Ready, on 3 we both swing and.....
After two civil wars, my Danes decided to have a holiday in Northern Africa, where they were to encounter the Moors....this was my first game against a Crescent and Cross army, and it showed...not owning the book definitely had me at a disadvantage, and my Warlord showed his true colours by remaining bribed by Moors Gold almost the entire battle, effectively fatigued out right from the start.We played the C and C scenario involving blinds moving around the table until revealed by their owner, so I tried to be tricky and split my Levy into 3 groups of 4 to confuse his perception of where my more hurty units were...sadly, that just made them easier to kill and totally ineffective in shooting, allowing my opponent complete control of the battlefield to ride in, javelin my best units, and scamper away whilst my Warlord counted his gold....other than getting to see a beautifully painted mounted army in action, it wasn't a good game for me...oh well live and learn....
After the blinds are revealed........
Enemy ? What enemy ? I'm sure you chaps can handle it.....
..about sums up my game.....
All in all the Saga tournament was a fascinating day and it was great to again meet new players and see some amazing armies on display. The highlight would have to be Bish winning second place with his Anglo Saxons, the same ones he beat me with in our campaign. Well done Bish!
Thats it for CanCon, hopefully both Paul, Right Stuff and myself will be able to bring you a combined report of CanCon 16 when he returns :)
Great report James. Cancon was a blast again this year and it was fantastic to catch up with you and all the other mates I have made through wargaming.
ReplyDeleteThanks John, it was great to catchup, albeit briefly, and great to see you guys besieged by eager gamers!
DeleteNice report J. Looks to have been a well attended day too.
ReplyDeleteOne of th great things about CanCon is that it goes for 4 days so you get lots of opportunities to shop, play, peruse and shop again!
DeleteAwesome stuff mate - I must admit I did mope about the house a little knowing I was missing the fun. I cheered myself up buying stuff online, rationalising that I would have sent the money there anyway!
ReplyDeleteYour Anglo-Danes look awesome - I didn't get to see them finished before I left. Interesting that the SAGA TO was mix/matching between the 'classic' SAGA war bands and C&C, as they aren't balanced against one another. I like the sound of the different scenarios though.
I imagine using the quad 20mm in your BA games was reminiscent of the final battle scene in Saving Private Ryan.
Yes, hopefully we'll be back for CanCon 2016. I think we might need to arrange a Aussie Bloggers get together, probably involving cold beverages!
Great report, looks like an amazing event. The C&C SAGA warbands certainly seem more powerful than Dark Ages ones. It seems like you have to keep up with all the latest battleboards to have a chance in an open competition these days.
ReplyDeleteNice report. Looks like it was another excellent CANCON. Cheers
ReplyDelete