Ottawa Casual Tournament - Part 1

Su Jian vs the world.

Last weekend, we held an Infinity tournament here in Ottawa/Hull at the Boutique FDB. Although not explicitly aimed at beginners like the last tourney, the atmosphere and scenarios were still designed to create a casual, friendly environment. We had a solid turnout of eight people, with a good mix of newer and more experienced players. I did not participate as I was running it. Overall, the tournament went pretty well and I look forward to the next one.

The scenarios used were the ones I posted up earlier, and are listed below. They were made to have different objectives each round, but all of them generally encouraged moving models up to the halfway mark, which is doable even for a slow force, and supporting them throughout so they could complete their objectives.

Round One: Crack the Code
Round Two: Rescue the Survivors
Round Three: Control the Sector

Keisotsu using the buddy system.

Endalyon came in first with the strongest overall record. The random draw prizes went to Bayruun and Oni_dave. Zebuth got the most VP for the day.

Below are the top four rankings of the tournament, as well as the other players with their factions. Following that are shots of the tables used during the day, then the army lists everyone used.

1st: endalyon (Aleph)
2nd: Tevesh (Haqqislam)
3rd: Zebuth (Yu Jing)
4th: oni_dave (Ariadna)

xth: bayruun (Yu Jing)
xth: Henshini (Yu Jing)
xth: Penemue (Ariadna)
xth: WiLDRAGE (Combined)

The desert board, featuring free-standing LoF blocking structures, including some tall ones.

The industrial site. Characterized by rooms on the outside and fierce fighting in the middle.

The abandoned complex has room to move around, but corners to duck behind as well.

The asphalt pit contains many opportunities to gain higher ground, but that reward carries risk.

The Victorian era portal reappears. Its restrictive zones generally favours mobile units.

bayruun - YU JING

  IMPERIAL AGENT Lieutenant MULTI Rifle / Pistol, Monofilament CCW (61)
  CELESTIAL GUARD Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife (25 | 0.5)
  2x KEISOTSU Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife (9)
  SHÀNG JÍ Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower / Pistol, Shock CCW (42)
  GŬILÁNG (Minelayer) Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (26 | 0.5)
  Yaókòng HÙSÒNG HMG, Antipersonnel Mines / Electric Pulse (28 | 1)

 200 Points | SWC: 2

Henshini - YU JING

  CELESTIAL GUARD Lieutenant Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife (13)
  CELESTIAL GUARD Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife (25 | 0.5)
  2x KEISOTSU Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife (9)
  SÙ-JIÀN Spitfire, Light Flamethrower, Panzerfaust / Pistol, CCW (56 | 2)
  DOMARU Chain Rifle, E/M Grenades / Pistol, EXP CCW (29)
  HARAMAKI Blitzen, Combi Rifle / Pistol, DA CCW (33)
  GŬILÁNG (Minelayer) Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (26 | 0.5)

 200 Points | SWC: 3

Zebuth - YU JING

  ZHANSHI Lieutenant Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife (11 | 1)
  3x KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife (5)
  CELESTIAL GUARD (Kuang Shi Control Device) Combi Rifle + Light Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife (13 | 0.5)
  TIGER SOLDIER HMG / Pistol, Knife (35 | 1.5)
  NINJA Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Shock CCW (48 | 0.5)
  ONIWABAN Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Monofilament CCW (44)
  Zhanshi, ĪSHĒNG Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife (15)

  3x SHAOLIN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, Shock CCW (5)

 196 Points | SWC: 3.5

oni_dave - ARIADNA

  LINE KAZAK Lieutenant Rifle / Pistol, Knife (9)
  2x LINE KAZAK Rifle / Pistol, Knife (9)
  PARA-COMMANDO HMG / Pistol, Knife (32 | 1)
  VETERAN KAZAKS (CH: Mimetism) AP Rifle, Light Flamethrower / Pistol, CCW (47)
  VETERAN KAZAKS (CH: Mimetism) AP HMG, Light Flamethrower / Pistol, CCW (61 | 2)
  CHASSEUR (Minelayer) Rifle, Light Flamethrower, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (20 | 0.5)
  112 Light Shotgun / Pistol, CCW (12)

 199 Points | SWC: 3.5

Penemue - ARIADNA

  VETERAN KAZAKS Lieutenant (CH: Mimetism) AP Rifle, Light Flamethrower / Pistol, CCW (47)
  LINE KAZAK Rifle / Pistol, Knife (9)
  LINE KAZAK (Forward Observer) Rifle / Pistol, Knife (12)
  ZOUAVE (Forward Observer) Rifle, D.E.P. / Assault Pistol, Knife (23 | 0.5)
  VETERAN KAZAKS (CH: Mimetism) AP HMG, Light Flamethrower / Pistol, CCW (61 | 2)
  SCOUT (Forward Observer) Ojótnik, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (29)
  DOZER Rifle, Akrylat-Kanone / Pistol, Knife (19)

 200 Points | SWC: 2.5

Tevesh - HAQQISLAM

  SALADIN Lieutenant Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, CCW (37)
  NAFFATÛN Rifle + Heavy Flamethrower / Pistol, Knife (12)
  MUYIB (X Visor) Heavy Rocket Launcher, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (34 | 1)
  ODALISQUE Spitfire, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife (31 | 1)
  LASIQ Viral Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife (26)
  AZRA'IL AP Rifle + Light Flamethrower, Panzerfaust / Pistol, Knife (36 | 0.5)
  HUNZAKUT (Forward Observer, Deployable Repeater) Rifle + Light Grenade Launcher, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (24 | 0.5)

 200 Points | SWC: 2.5

WiLDRAGE - COMBINED ARMY

  ASWANG Lieutenant Combi Rifle, Adhesive Launcher / Pistol, Knife (25 | 1)
  MORAT Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife (16)
  MORAT (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife (19)
  SEED-SOLDIER Combi Rifle + Light Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife (15 | 1)
  SEED-SOLDIER (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife (17)
  ANATHEMATIC Sepsitor, Plasma Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, CCW (99 | 2)
  2x ÍMETRON Electric Pulse (4)

 199 Points | SWC: 4

endalyon - ALEPH

  DEVA Lieutenant (G: Synchronized) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser+Devabot / Pistol, Knife (26)
      DEVABOT Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse
  ASURA Hacker (Hacking Device Plus) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, AP CCW (77 | 0.5)
  NAGA (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (27 | 0.5)
  DALETH Rebot Combi Rifle / Electric Pulse (21)
  NETROD Electric Pulse (4)
  PROXY Mk.1 Engineer Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (14)
  PROXY Mk.2 MULTI Sniper Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife (29 | 1.5)

 198 Points | SWC: 2.5


I managed to convince Endalyon, Penemue, and Tevesh to run different army compositions from what they're used to, for the sake of challenging themselves. So, their army lists may have some unusual choices, and may even be different from what they usually advocate.

I also want to give a shout out to Wildrage and Bayruun. Wildrage, a new Infinity player, was mostly running units he had never played before, because he prioritized playing with models he liked over going with the sure bets. Bayruun has been a long time proponent of the Crane Agent, and put his money where his mouth is by making it his Lt.

I'll have another post up later with more photos, as well as comments on how the day played out.

Tournament Scenario - Control the Sector

Round 3 – Control the Sector

There is an enclosed valley that headquarters has identified as a crucial sector that must be brought under our control as soon as possible. Possession of this sector will make or break our campaign in the area. Send out your best team and don’t let up until it’s ours.

Rules:
Two CD sized Objective Zones are along the x axis of the table, each one 10” from the centre. No terrain may be touching a Zone. Nothing may be deployed touching a Zone. The game is played under No Exit Conditions.

Starting on turn two, at the end of each player’s turn, check to see if any Zones are Controlled by that player (and only that player). A player Controls a Zone by having at least one figure completely on the Zone without any opposing figures also completely on the same Zone. Markers cannot Control or contest a Zone.

No Exit Conditions: The Retreat!!! rule is not applied in this scenario. In addition, if any figure, weapon, or equipment would disperse off of the table, it instead stops at the point it would normally exit.

Scoring:
+1 VP: Each time a Zone is confirmed as Controlled.

Tournament Scenario - Rescue the Survivors

Round 2 – Rescue the Survivors

A plane containing political VIPs has encountered a terrible storm and crashed. There are only a few reported survivors, and the enemy plans to take them as prisoners. Your mission is to immediately go to the scene, gather the scattered VIPs, and bring them back safely.

Rules:
There are four Neutral Civilians at the ends of an X pattern 8” from the centre of the table. The game is played under Unstable Conditions.

Starting on turn two, a figure may attempt to Synch with a Civilian. To do so, it must spend a Short Skill and succeed at a WIP-3 roll. If it fails, the Civilian will flee, disengaging automatically from Close Combat and moving 2”, applying the Dispersion rule. A figure may have up to two Civilians Synched.

Civilians cannot be synched with Remotes or Impetuous figures.  If a member of a Fireteam other than the Link Leader is Synched with a Civilian, it is automatically removed from the Fireteam. Civilians cannot be targeted by attacks. After 4 turns, the game ends and players count up VP.

Unstable Conditions: Troops using Infiltration or Mechanized Deployment to deploy outside their Deployment Zone must succeed at a PH-3 roll. Impersonators must instead succeed at a WIP-3 roll. Failure results in dispersion. These penalties are cumulative with any other penalties. In addition, AD: Tactical Jump cannot be used, and the PH roll for Combat Jump suffers a -3 penalty.

Scoring:
+2 VP: Each Civilian you are Synched with at the end.
-2 VP: Each Civilian you killed during the game.

Tournament Scenario - Crack the Code

We just had an Infinity tournament here in Ottawa. While it was not exclusively for beginners like the last tournament we held, it was still beginner friendly, so the scenarios were kept fairly simple. I'll have an actual tournament report up in a few days, which will cover how it went.

Meanwhile, I'll be posting up the three scenarios used, split up into individual posts, in case anyone finds them of interest. All scenarios have a turn limit of four full turns. The player with more VP at the end is the winner.

----

Round 1 – Crack the Code

Intelligence has gotten wind of critical data that must be collected from an enemy camp. Infiltrate the compound and gather as much data as possible before you run out of time. Be warned that the data is well encrypted, and cracking the code will require an expert.

Rules:
Three 25 mm Console Markers are along the x axis of the table. One is at the centre, and the other two are on either side 14” away. Nothing may be deployed within 4” of any Consoles.

Starting on turn two, a Specialist figure, but not equipment, may spend a Short Skill while in base contact with a Console to Interact with it. Roll a d20, and if the result is 15+, the Interact is successful. As well, all Consoles are now unlocked for both players. This unlocking may only happen once. After they are unlocked, starting on the next player’s turn, any non-equipment figure, even if they are not a Specialist, may successfully Interact with a Console with a Short Skill WIP roll.

Specialist Troop: Engineers, Hackers, Forward Observers, and your Lt count as Specialist Troops for this scenario.

Scoring:
+1 VP: Unlock the Consoles.
+2 VP: Successfully Interact with a Console. Limit of 1 per turn.

Malifaux's New Plastics - Part 1

A friend and I got some Gencon Malifaux stuff through Wyrd's online store, and they finally arrived a couple days ago. I picked up Mei Feng's Rail Crew as part of my slowly growing Arcanists, and Miss Terious for my Guild. I know that a bunch of people have already put out pictures and reviews for Malifaux's plastics, but the plastics are still quite new so I thought I'd toss in my two cents.

Rail Crew Sprue, Front Side

Rail Crew Sprue, Back Side

The Rail Crew is all on one plastic sprue. This means that the packaging was a large but thin box, which is very different from the old packaging. I guess we'll see how stores adapt to that. The actual miniatures look alright, and there are a couple of spare/alternate parts on the sprue, which is a nice touch. For the most part, they seem to be attached to the sprue at logical places so you won't have a nightmare trying to clean up flash in awkward, visible locations.

Miss Terious Sprue, Front and Back

Miss Terious is all on a single small sprue. I had heard people express concern that her axe seemed very fragile and prone to breaking, and assumed they were exaggerating. They were not. The axe is extremely thin and the plastic doesn't seem particularly sturdy at that thickness. I feel like some parts in the Rail Crew box also have this problem. I can only try to be careful and hope that it stands up to the rigors of actual use.

Generally speaking, here's what I noticed about the new plastics:

• Scale and proportions of the models are different. Less heroic scale and more realistic. Reminded me a little of Infinity's scale, which is noticeably smaller and sleeker than Malifaux's.

• The plastics seem to allow for smaller, better scaled accessories like weapons and hair. Hopefully these small parts will hold up under stress better than they would have in pewter.

• Models generally have less, as well as softer, detail compared to before. It's very noticeable on larger areas that seem unnaturally smooth, but smaller areas do sometimes have greater fine detail.

• Despite what people may want to think, the actual miniatures do not look exactly like the CG renders that are shown, much less the art.

• Prices don't seem any better, although I don't recall Wyrd claiming that they would be, and it's possible that the initial prices are higher to help cover the start up costs.

Overall, switching to plastics doesn't seem like it was a terrible idea. I'm not convinced it was an improvement, but at worst, it was a sidestep. At the least, conversions will be easier now because plastics are easier to work with than pewter. Anyway, I think that once Wyrd gets the hang of it and works out their production kinks, it will be business as usual.

I'll be busy during the next few days, but as soon as I get a chance to assemble these models, I will post up another entry covering how easy or difficult the assembly was. At that point, I'll have a better idea as to how much the change to plastics really affected the average Malifaux gamer.

Ottawa Beginner's Tournament - Part 2

The Fiday spectacularly fails another WIP roll on the objective.

The first round was something of a warm up for the players, as some of them were not familiar with all the rules and abilities, including, in some cases, of their own units. Despite Doctors, Engineers, and Hackers automatically passing their WIP rolls against the objective, very few of them actually went for it. I did notice jean1951's Fiday fail multiple WIP rolls.

In other news, Lali managed to hack a Zayin Rebot, which caught my eye mostly because I'm so used to not seeing hacking happening at 200 points. Later in the day he also used hacking against a Su-Jian, so it was definitely something he was watching for.

Haqqislam snipers lining up their shots.

The second round mostly featured expensive, powerful models failing to actually cause damage. For example, Century's Multi Sniper Naga deployed on an elevated platform with great LoF, but was taken down by a Viral Sniper Lasiq before turn 1 even finished. Henshini's Su-Jian also missed both Panzerfaust shots on the objective, which probably ended up costing him the round.

Something interesting this round was seeing oni_dave's and Penemue's Vet Kazaks pairing off on opposite sides of the board, then stalemating each other for most of the game. Neither wanted to risk their valuable models against the other's Flamethrower.

Highlander Grey in the middle of his rampage.

Two reasonably similar models that are known for frequently dying before accomplishing anything went on rampages this round. Penemue's Highlander Grey took down a Naga, Zayin Rebot, and scored a wound on the Asura before being taken down. Henshini's Domaru Butai exploded three Naffatun in CC, and then cleanly got away with the objective.

For Penemue, all of the Aleph heavy hitters being dead or wounded meant he could safely protect the objective when he picked it up. For Henshini, the Domaru directly neutralized Haqqislam's defenses and then pulled the objective from their cold, dead hands.

Weekly cheerleader rally.

Overall, I think the scenarios were simple enough that the players didn't have to worry much about how they worked and could instead focus on just playing. In that regard, they were a success. However, I had not anticipated how often ties would be coming up, nor how low some of the scores would be.

In retrospect, it makes sense. Being new to the game, the players had different priorities than the people I tried the scenarios with. They preferred to attack the enemy forces instead of scoring the objectives, and games often closed out with players scrambling for VP as they realized how low they were.

I'd like to give special thanks to:
Penemue, who helped me out with the tournament in multiple ways, including driving over myself and a lot of terrain.
Boutique FDB, for having a large and cool playing area for us, as well as having a standing inventory so players could easily collect prizes.
All of the players, because without them there wouldn't have been much of a tournament.

And now, time for some more pictures.

Ariadna carefully checking out the dangerous intersection.

That smiley face means he likes you.

The Japanese forward guard loves Odalisque long time.

Yes, those are all Camo Markers.

Aleph sets up shop.

A Vet Kazak scopes out his next target, the Asura.

Haqqislam getting real comfy in their Deployment Zone.

Opposing Aleph forces face off. The Dasyu manages to survive.

The Asura and Deva have a nice chat while the Naga is murdered off-screen.

Ottawa Beginner's Tournament - Part 1

Fireman is ready to cut the first guy who comes around the corner.

This past weekend, we held an Infinity tournament at the Boutique FDB over in Hull. Infinity has picked up a lot of new players recently in Ottawa and especially Hull, so the tournament was aimed at beginners. No experienced players were allowed to enter, and the tournament itself was fairly casual. The rules were similar to the Newbie Tournament we ran earlier in the year.

200 Points
No TAGS
No Link Teams
Announce if you have Hidden Deployment or AD

We were supposed to have a solid turnout, but a combination of several last minute cancellations and others just not showing up left the numbers a little low. There were five players, plus Penemue who ended up joining to make it an even number but was not eligible for prizes. Aside from the fact that I counted as an experienced player, I was running the tournament so I did not enter.

The scenarios were the ones I posted up earlier:
Round 1: Let the Expert Handle It
Round 2: Destroy the Totem
Round 3: Find What Was Lost

Rival Nagas and Devas both attempt to secure the objective.

 
These were the army lists used:

Henshini - YU JING
  CELESTIAL GUARD Lieutenant Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife (13)
  2x KEISOTSU Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife (9)
  ARAGOTO Spitfire / Pistol, Knife (29 | 1.5)
  SU-JIAN Spitfire, Light Flamethrower, Panzerfaust / Pistol, CCW (56 | 2)
  DOMARU Chain Rifle, E/M Grenades / Pistol, EXP CCW (29)
  NINJA Combi Rifle / Pistol, EXP CCW (38)
  TOKUSETSU EISEI Doctor Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife (14)
  YAOZAO Electric Pulse (3)
 200 Points | SWC: 3.5

oni_dave - ARIADNA
  LINE KAZAK Lieutenant Rifle / Pistol, Knife (9)
  2x LINE KAZAK Rifle / Pistol, Knife (9)
  VETERAN KAZAKS (CH: Mimetism) AP Rifle, Light Flamethrower / Pistol, CCW (47)
  VETERAN KAZAKS (CH: Mimetism) AP HMG, Light Flamethrower / Pistol, CCW (61 | 2)
  HIGHLANDER GREY Rifle, 2 Light Shotguns, Grenades, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, CCW (30)
  CHASSEUR (Minelayer) Rifle, Light Flamethrower, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (20 | 0.5)
  112 Light Shotgun / Pistol, CCW (12)
 197 Points | SWC: 2.5

Penemue - ARIADNA
  LINE KAZAK Lieutenant Rifle / Pistol, Knife (9)
  2x LINE KAZAK Rifle / Pistol, Knife (9)
  VETERAN KAZAKS (CH: Mimetism) AP Rifle, Light Flamethrower / Pistol, CCW (47)
  VETERAN KAZAKS (CH: Mimetism) AP HMG, Light Flamethrower / Pistol, CCW (61 | 2)
  HIGHLANDER GREY Rifle, 2 Light Shotguns, Grenades, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, CCW (30)
  CHASSEUR (Minelayer) Rifle, Light Flamethrower, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (20 | 0.5)
  112 Light Shotgun / Pistol, CCW (12)
 197 Points | SWC: 2.5

jean1951 - HAQQISLAM
  GHULAM Lieutenant Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife (13)
  NAFFATUN Rifle + Light Flamethrower / Pistol, Knife (10)
  2x NAFFATUN Rifle + Heavy Flamethrower / Pistol, Knife (12)
  ODALISQUE Spitfire, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife (31 | 1)
  DJANBAZAN Sniper Rifle / Pistol, CCW (33 | 1)
  LASIQ Viral Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife (29 | 1.5)
  HUNZAKUT (Deployable Repeater) Sniper Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (25 | 0.5)
  FIDAY Rifle + Light Shotgun, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, EXP CCW (34)
 199 Points | SWC: 4

Century - ALEPH
  ASURA Lieutenant MULTI Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, AP CCW (73)
  2x DAKINI Tacbot Combi Rifle / Electric Pulse (13)
  DEVA Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife (35 | 0.5)
  NAGA MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife (39 | 1.5)
  ZAYIN Rebot HMG / Electric Pulse (27 | 1)
 200 Points | SWC: 3

Lali - ALEPH
  DASYU Lieutenant Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife (35 | 2)
  2x DAKINI Tacbot Combi Rifle / Electric Pulse (13)
  DEVA (Sensor) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife (26 | 1)
  ASURA Hacker (Hacking Device Plus) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, AP CCW (77 | 0.5)
  NAGA Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (26)
  2x NETROD Electric Pulse (4)
 198 Points | SWC: 3.5


Final standings were:

1st - Lali (Aleph)
2nd - Henshini (Yu Jing)
3rd - oni_dave (Ariadna)
4th - Century (Aleph)
5th - jean1951 (Haqqislam)
xth - Penemue (Ariadna)

I didn't get a chance to really sit down and watch any particular games, so I don't have any specific battle reports. I did take pictures, but many of them were quite blurry. I am very much an amateur at photography, and am quite lost without a tripod.

These are the tables that were played on. I'll put up a second part later with some shots of games in progress, as well as thoughts on how things played out over the course of the day.

High tech dirty corridors and ruins.

Black building complex. A mostly indoors map.

Pseudo gravel/green water table with blocky objects.

Mountain oasis in the middle of the desert.

Terraclips table so oni_dave can run the store while owning people.