PAROI II / Bunker Brawl IV

Back from another weekend of Blood Bowl tournament action in Illinois. This time around it was PAROI II on Saturday and Bunker Brawl on Sunday. I brought Vampires to PAROI II and Ogres to Bunker Brawl. 

Not much to say about my performance in PAROI II. I thought my roster was pretty solid, and though I am terribly out of practice, I didn't feel ill prepared for my games. I ended up taking home the last place Wooden Spoon award. In my defense I had terrible dice all day and had the fortune to play not one, not two, not three, but four teams that all spammed Guard as a skill choice on their players. The lowest number of Guard pieces I played against was four and it was as high as six for my other games. Needless to say... it was not fun. It made me re-think attending tournaments that allow skill spam in this way as in the hands of a hard team like Dwarfs (which I played twice) you're just up shit creek with a team like Vampires (at least if you are me). 

Bryan (Xtreme) from Zlurpcast did a nice write up of the event, including the game we played after my two ties, so I would recommend checking that out! In the meantime here is me getting my award for last place...

Losing can be fun!

Spent some time after the event drinking beers and eating greasy pizza with the cool kids, then caught a few zzz's and ate some breakfast before heading back to the GW Battle Bunker for Bunker Brawl IV! 

Bunker Brawl is a Streetbowl tournament and it was my first time playing this format of the game. I brought Ogres as I thought their high strength, high armor, and mighty blow could really smash a few teams in the streets. Turned out I was right. 

The Bulltimore Bullies smashed heads and forgot names on their way to the top of the casualty charts! I was just shy of my first BB tournament win on Sunday but was once again stopped dead by my new nemesis Valdric. Here is a quick rundown of the games as I remember them that day:

Game 1 - Ogres vs Undead

Katie and I had played the day before, with her Dwarfs stomping several mudholes in my Vampire team before I managed a crazy 0-2 comeback in the second half to tie the game. This time I was out for revenge and I told her so from the beginning. Game started strong with the Bullies smacking around a Ghoul and Wight who managed to regen and come back in later. Once the blocks started rolling the Ogres way it was just a matter of time before they scored and won the game. Revenge was had as was a good game. 

Game 2 - Ogres vs Lizardmen 

Mike had one formidable team of lizards and I was a bit nervous coming off my big win over his better half. In this game the skinks managed to score on Turn 2 after all of the Ogres boneheaded out for the first time that day. The Bullies came back strong, and with some key blocks taking out a Saurus, and a kick to the head taking out the Kroxigor, the Bullies were able to shrug off the high movement and strength of the lizards to tie up the game. This game was almost another win for the Bullies until an Ogre tripped over the goal line one turn before the end of the game. D'oh!

Game 3 - Ogres vs Chaos

Jonny P was running the event and also playing in it. He insisted on making me touch his cup to reveal the things hidden within. I managed to ignore that and trick his Minotaur into blitzing a Snotling on Turn 2. The result was this...

Jonny wanted me to point out the hair sack on his Minotaur.

The Bullies managed to get the ball away from the Chaos before losing it again allowing a score on Turn 4. After receiving the kick off and getting into position the Bullies realized they had no chance of scoring and beat the crap out of some more Chaos players. Receiving the kick off in the second half the Bullies managed to hobble into the end zone to tie it up. The rest of the game I don't really remember but it was fun and it broke my streak of losing to Zlurpcast hosts (having lost my last game against Jonny and the game on Saturday against Xtreme). This was Jonny's 200th NAF game! Honored to be part of that tradition and looking forward to the next time we meet...

Life is hard in the streets...

Game 4 - Ogres vs Lizardmen

Due to a low turnout and me winning games the last pairings were a bit wacky. Someone was going to have to play an opponent they had played previously so Mike and I decided to play the "true top table" in a rematch for the title. The first part of the game was almost identical to our first game, with all the Bullies boneheading out on Turn 2 and allowing the skinks to quickly score. The rest of the game was a comedy of errors, with the Bullies almost scoring a tie in the first half before a freak Skink block took down the ball carrier and left the Ogres without enough time to get the ball and score. The second half was a bumblefuck of Bullies trying to get down into the lizard's endzone but giving up the ball and another score to the lizards instead. Fun game but ultimately a let down for me as I was truly hoping to go "all the way". Instead of the big win I went home with the MOST BRUTAL award for cracking skulls and forgetting names.

So what did I learn? I like Streetbowl! Also, Ogres can be fun in the right situation. Also, I don't like Guard especially when 4 to 6 players have it. Also, be sure to always check your opponent's roster before you play as mistakes do happen.

Now I am back home and sick with some kind of hellish summer cold. Perhaps I will use it as inspiration to finish painting this Nurgle Warrior for the Chaos Cup legacy team? Stay tuned....

Progress report 7/13/12 - Nurgle Legacy WIP

Working on a Nurgle Warrior for the Chaos Cup 2012 Nurgle Legacy Team! Color scheme will be Dark Green, Red, and Yellow. I will have some metal and white on my mini as well. Here is where I am as of today...

Primed! Ready for nurglin'paint.

Basecoats are on and it's time for some layers!

More updates to come later next week as I get this guy looking real nasty for inclusion in the team!

Beer Review - Southern Tier Krampus.

Been far too long since I posted a beer review. I am actually on a bit of a beer drinking hiatus at the moment (drying out some), but perhaps it is time for a little Krampmus in July?

 

Southern Tier Brewing Company - Krampus (Imperial Helles Lager)

Beer Type: American Double/Imperial Pilsner

Appearance: 22 oz. brown bottle with a cartoon Krampus "goatman" brandishing chains and birch branch. Nice! Beer poured a nice copper/amber color with a thin off-white head.

Smell: Plenty of hops in the nose, plus a bit of earthy bread.. does that make sense?!

First Drink: Sweet malt at first followed quickly by a citrus/bitter hops. Simple, direct, and to the point.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, not too strong but not too weak. An overall medium body.

Last Drink: More citrus and bread flavors coming through as the beer warms up.

Drinkability: First beer I have had from this brewery, but damn if this isn't a fine lager! A lot of flavor going on here.

Notes: While there is nothing outwardly "holiday" about this brew it does carry a bit of holiday cheer.. or perhaps that is the 9% ABV talking?

Verdict: 4.25 out of 5. This beer does Krampus proud.

Links: Beer Advocate and Southern Tier Brewing Company.

All Zlurp'd out.

It has been a week since I lost last place in Zlurpeebowl VIII. The pain remains....

Aside from my dismal performance I did manage a "not so respectable" 0-2-4 record for the weekend. I made it to the bottom table to play for the coveted "Weak Sauce" award but was ousted by a ringer Necromantic team to lose the last place trophy. In fact it was the second time I had to play that Necromantic team in the event (the first time we tied). It was a not so close match, made even less so by the Blizzard we had to play in for the whole game. You try getting a score with all Movement 4 pieces in a fucking Blizzard! Go on! I dare you!!

I didn't do a very good job of taking notes for match reports so here is a quick rundown of the weekend as I remember it. 

Friday - stopped by Dark Horse Brewing for lunch on the way to Indy, discovered the Untapp'd app for my space phone, drove a long time talking about Blood Bowl, unpacked at the house and learned a new game I picked up called Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Duel At Mt. Skullzfyre, went to Xtreme's house for a pre-zlurp event and played the inannugural match of Space Bowl (which my team won.. go Genestealers!), drank a bunch, lost at Rat Ogre Bowl, and went back to the house to play more Battle Wizards before crashing. 

SPACE BOWL!

Rat Ogre Bowl!

Saturday - got up and felt like crap, drove to Zlurpeebowl VIII and started my first match against Jonny P's Amazon team. Fun game, lost it 0-2 with nothing spectacular to report (failed my first Zombie pass of the weekend) against the all blodging roster. 

Zombies with the ball! But not for long....

Second game was against Goblins. Lost it 0-2. Nothing else worth mentioning (except my opponent's trolls didn't Really Stupid out once the entire game that I recall). 

Third game was against Skaven. Lost it 0-3 but the game was a ton of fun. Managed to do lots of damage with Zlurpus and at one point he even had the ball and almost scored! Really fun match overall, and I was proud I managed to hold the Skaven to 3 with my Movement of 4 (and he had a 10 Movement Gutter Runner before I fouled him into oblivion). 

Zlurpus has the ball!!

Fourth game was against Undead. Tied this game 1-1 and almost, just almost won it! Tripped over the goal line on my first GFI after three 5+ dodges into and out of tackles zones, and a 5+ pick up of the ball. Epic game, and a great way to end the first day.

Went back to the house for the Zlurpee after-party (edit: the show is up now... hear me ramble on about nothing important here) and hung around while Zlurpcast recorded their live show. Played  a bunch of games including Tsuro, Zombie Dice, and participated in the ZWF Tag Team title match with the newly created Lladnar. Lots of beer and fun. Good times... and if you listen to Zlurpcast you might even hear me ramble on for a bit about my metal show The Grind and a few other things (assuming I make the cut).

Lladnar & Gunny take on S-Fuse and Other Guy for the Tag Team title.

Sunday - got up and felt like crap, packed up and left the house, found out I was playing a Necromantic team on the bottom table. Didn't understand how that happened but proceeded to hold the Necro to a 1-1 tie. Was really pumped to play on the bottom table for the "Weak Sauce" award until I found out I had to play the same team again. Ergh. Lost the second game 0-2 and hated myself. Drove home exhausted and slept for the better part of the day and licked my wounds. 

Next year I might bring a slightly better team. Maybe.