Life as a TO :)

*wink wink Dave*

Just over 2 1/2 weeks to go till Fields of Blood (operating under the umbrella of GuardCon - the City Guard Gaming Convention) and time to reflect on what's been accomplished so far. Despite standing in the shadows of the TOing giants and the mind-bogglingly large tournaments happening over in Oz with increasing frequency I feel like I'm holding my own and the final product will be well worth attending. This is certainly largely thanks to the support of some good friends (one of whom I've not yet actually met!). Dave Grant, Phil Comins and Marcelo Rouco in particular have been very supportive of my noob TO efforts; offering sensible and timely advice, positive encouragement, and helping me solve problems (sometimes before I've even created them!). Phil's been so supportive he's even gone the extra step to set my mind at ease by grudging me with his High Elves for round one. Cheers mate...

So what's been going on in the background? Clearly a lot of work goes into putting on one of these things (even one with only 38 players takes some co-ordination) but even I've been astounded by the sheer amount of time invovled. I've partly brought this upon myself, mostly because I want it to run smoothly and put systems in place so that it's easier next year (that thinking is a bit pre-emptive I know...). What's done?

- obviously the tournament pack is done and has gone out. No serious complaints. Positive response to having 6 rounds.
- secured independent (and highly qualified) painting judge.
- army lists written up, checked. Waiting for just one more and they'll be sent off to the judges. Dave Grant retyped all the lists for Tin Soldiers into a generic format; taking out all the personality (which sounds a bit brutal I know) but importantly leaving the judges with the essentials - units and numbers - which is all the information they require to make an informed decision. No major issues with getting the lists, received the occasional second or third draft from a few people but easy to change once the list is already typed up.
- hard copies of all Direwolf FAQ documentation.
- grudge match-ups underway and a good response to this so far.


The Army Lists

Reading what people are taking has been a huge learning experience in and of itself! I wrote my list before the first one came in (Lizards - the same list I would have taken to CtA...) so I wouldn't be tempted to change it based on what I might face (not that I have any idea how I really could anyway). Boy oh boy there's some interesting stuff in there! I can't say much more than that at this point. Lots of Daemons (to be expected) which should make for some amusing matchups in later rounds (as the Daemon players potentially end up playing each other). A little bit of everything with I think every army in the Warhammer world represented which is pretty cool.

More on the lists after the tournament...


The Players

38 is an ok number. I was definitely hoping for more people but it's a starting point for future growth (first year City Guard have run the event). I was convinced to relax the requirement for painted armies and that has allowed a few more people to come along - hopefully all those Wellington players who are attending the raft of one-day tourneys run by the Warlords will see fit to get up here next year.