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Thursday 23 November 2017

Game 118: Elara2 vs Abby2

Game 118 – Vs Mark Ellis - Legion of Everblight – 22/11/17

My list:
Elara, Death’s Shadow (Defenders of Ios)
-Sylys Wyshnaylrr, The Seeker
-Manticore
-Manticore
-Chimera
Arcantrik Force Generator
Houseguard Thane
Arcanist Mechanik
Arcanist Mechanik
Arcanist Mechanik
Fane Knight Skyreth Issyen
Heavy Rifle Team
Heavy Rifle Team
Max Houseguard Halberdiers
-Officer & Standard Bearer
Max Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters

His List:
Absylonia, Daughter of Everblight (Oracles of Annihilation)
-Carnivean
-Carnivean
-Seraph
-Shredder
-Scythean
-Proteus
Blighted Nyss Sorceress & Hellion
Blighted Nyss Shepherd
The Forsaken
The Forsaken
Blackfrost Shard

Following Blood and Oil a number of members of the club have decided to switch up factions for a bit. Mark has finally put away his Mercs and is currently trying out various stuff in Legion to see what he likes the feel of. I dropped Elara into his Abby list to give my test list a very different challenge to the last 2 games. I was pretty confident going into the game as I was sure that my guns would make a decent hole in his expensive heavies, but failed to win the roll to go first. After Mark declared Bracer to start on a Carnivean, and I Advance Moved my Halberdiers, we got going.

Mark starts by having the Braced Carnivean further boost its armour to 22 with Spiny Growth, Trampling forward and then being Slipstreamed up by Abby. The rest of his forces advance up the table with the Scythean moving up the left flank with the Blackfrost Shard to deal with the Nyss.



With no Spell Martyr in Abby’s force I advance up to just outside threat ranges without her triggering Pack Hunter. She would still be able to , but doing so would leave her much further up the table than she would want. The Halberdiers go into Shield Wall and one of them is given Scything Touch ready to go into the Heavies next turn. The Fane Knight continues his curse of being massively misplayed by me and flanks hard on the right.



With me staying out of Mark’s threat ranges but having good enough guns to force him in to me, he is forced to unfavourably commit. Both Carniveans advance up and spray into me but his dice don’t make up for how bad RAT4 is. In the end I only lose the spotter from the HRT and 2 Halberdiers. The Braced Carnivean reapplies Spiny Growth. The rest of his forces move up, toeing zones and keeping out of threat ranges where they can.



Time to see how hard this list can attrition into a heavy beast brick. The answer is very. Elara feats, granting everybody Boundless Charge and Ghostly, before the guns open fire. The AFG knocks down and puts some damage into Proteus, and the HRTs make a start on the lower armour Carnivean. The Halberdiers then charge in using their Mini-Feat for Gang, and take out both the damaged heavies, butting a bit of damage onto the ARM buffed Carnivean. The Manticore then charges in, and between Force Generator, Concentrated Power and Scything Touch hits the Carnivean at straight dice damage. I leave it on one box. The Nyss move up and shoot some CRAs at the Scythean and toe the zone. Neither of us score but I am in a strong position on attrition.



Mark uses his remaining beasts and some well placed Blight Shrouds to clear out all of my Halberdiers (apart from the banner hiding well at the back) but can’t clear out the right zone as I have the HRT toeing it at the back. The Blackfrost Shard spell off 2 of the Nyss and the Carnivean that was left on one box was healed up with Psychosurgery and then, boosted from Alpha Hunter and Abby’s Feat, takes out the Manticore. The Sorceress flies up and makes my life difficult with Wind Ravager.  Mark scores the central zone to take a1-0 lead, but he is already down to about 5 minutes on the clock.



All I need to do in order to keep control of the game is to take out what I can safely, keep hold of the scenario and stay safe. I manage exactly 2 of these things. The Nyss clear out 2 of the Blackfrost Shard and I prepare a plan to take out the Hellion. My brain falls apart and for some reason I decide I need Elara in the zone, so after putting Boundless Charge on the Manticore she Teleports into the zone, well in threat range of the Scythean. Thankfully my dice come back to save me and the AFG spikes 2 massive damage rolls to take out the beast, but there was no need to take that risk. The HRTs finish off the Carnivean on the right and I end my turn, still 1-0 down on scenario, but having taken out all of Mark’s combat beasts.



Mark looks at the table for a minute or so, and effectively concedes. We discuss the game for 5 minutes as his clock runs down.

VICTORY


This feels like a really strong matchup for me, and going first would have made it a very simple game indeed. Carniveans just seem so overpriced at the moment, as unbuffed they fall over so easily, and even with all the tricks Abby can bring they don’t threaten that far. I like this Elara list, but some elements feel very out of place, namely the HRTs. I would like to try a list including some of the new Vyre lights, so will be rushing to get them painted once they release next month.

Tuesday 21 November 2017

Game 117: Elara2 vs Madrak1

Game 117 – Vs Ste Passey - Trollbloods – 15/11/17

My list:
Elara, Death’s Shadow (Defenders of Ios)
-Sylys Wyshnaylrr, The Seeker
-Manticore
-Manticore
-Chimera
Arcantrik Force Generator
Houseguard Thane
Arcanist Mechanik
Arcanist Mechanik
Arcanist Mechanik
Fane Knight Skyreth Issyen
Heavy Rifle Team
Heavy Rifle Team
Max Houseguard Halberdiers
-Officer & Standard Bearer
Max Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters

His List:
Madrak Ironhide, Thornwood Chieftain (Band of Heroes)
-Trollkin Runebearer
-Dire Troll Mauler
-Dire Troll Bomber
Fell Caller Hero
Trollkin Champion Hero
Stone Scribe Chronicler
Max Trollkin Champions
-Skaldi Bonehammer
Max Trollkin Champions
Max Trollkin Fennblades
-Officer & Drummer
Min Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes
-Stone Scribe Elder

With the troll CID updates dropping about a month ago it was time to see what the latest scary list has to offer. Madrak1 with double Champions and literally anything else brings a unique combination of armour and super high defense, as well as very strong hitting power. I played Elara2 into it, partly as she was who I wanted to try out, but I think she is a decent shout as she brings both a Defence and Armour reduction to the table. Ste won first turn and, after I Advance Moved my Halberdiers, got moving.

This Madrak list is not subtle. He casts Even Ground and puts the rest of his Fury into the Stone. Everything runs up, with Tactician making it a bit easier for them to get where they need to go.



I advance up ready to gain some scenario presence. The AFG runs up to take a strong firing position whilst the Fane Knight flanks hard on the right (this feels like a mistake, as I didn’t get an awful lot out of him over the game). Elara casts Scything Touch onto one of the Halberdiers, and advances up into the trench. A manticore puts down a Covering Fire in front of the Fennblades, to allow me to advance up my Halberdiers in Shield Wall without the threat of them being charged.



Ste takes the one charge available onto a Halberdier, but can’t roll the 9 needed to hit through Set Defence. The unit uses it’s Mini-Feat to run further up the table and jam me. The rest of his forces continue their advance under Even Ground. Madrak Feats to prevent me charging into him.



Marked for Death is a great spell to counter this list with, but it pretty much means that you need to concentrate on one unit at a time. For this turn I cast it onto the Fennblades and use the Halberdiers, Menticore and AFG (Forgot that Hard made them immune to collateral damage, which was frustrating) to remove most of the unit. I manage the threat ranges on the left unit of Champions and prepare to commit to them next turn. My Manticore on the left destroys the objective for a 1-0 lead.



As predicted, Ste’s forces in the centre destroy my Halberdiers, but they bought me some time which is all that can really be asked. My good positioning on the left means that he can’t really get anything else, but he does engage the AFG to reduce it’s options next turn. The Bomber turns round to shoot at the Fane Knight, but leaves it mounted. My objective is destroyed to move to 1-1.



I switch Marked For Death onto the unit of Champions on the left, and throw my entire army at them, and after a frankly absurd amount of effort and attacks the unit is wiped out. The amount of effort that it takes to wipe out a 17 point unit is incredible. I get salty, and remain so to this day. I contest all the zones and the score remains at 1-1.



Ste continues to attrition really hard. The Bomber attempts to finish off the Fane Knight, but doesn’t get close enough and the dismount can be outside of a inch. The Champions kill off the central Manticore and the Mauler Tramples over the Nyss Hunters, killing a couple of them. Madrak has the central zone locked down to take a 2-1 lead.



Over the course of the game I have put a reasonable amount of chip damage into the remaining Champions unit, and after switching over Marked For Death onto the unit, work on removing them and taking a good attrition position. The dice have other ideas however. I don’t roll over a 5 on a damage roll all turn, and don’t take out a single Champion, leaving me in a horrible position. I am able to take out the Mauler with my remaining Manticore though, but the Fell Caller Champion prevents me from scoring it. Nobody scores and I remain 2-1 behind, but do not have the attrition lead I was hoping to at this stage.

I was annoyed and forgot to take a picture, sorry. Ste clears out the middle zone and finally rids the right zone of the Fane Knight. Marak attempts to bounce an axe shot onto Elara, but thankfully misses. Ste moves 4-1 up but is down to only about 3 minutes on the clock.



I consider a few options with how to proceed. I could try and clear out the remaining Champions, contest all the zones and hope to hold out for a clock win, and realistically I probably should have done. Instead I look for a clean win and go for an assassination. This was definitely the wrong call as it is do dice dependent. I do land the Marked for Death on the second attempt and the AFG reduces Madrak to 1 box. But with tough, Scroll and a single transfer it is still a tall order. I try to clear out a path for my Manticore to charge, but can’t clear the lane, so have to rely on getting the 3 shots. I roll a 1 and the run is over. I concede.



DEFEAT


OK. A few days have passed since playing this game and I’ve had a bit of time to consider the matchup. I actually quite like this Elara list into this, and with a second unit of Halberdiers or going first I feel I would possibly even be favourite in the matchup. Despite the loss I am starting to really like Elara, she has an amazing toolbox and I definitely want to try some other stuff with her. The more positive thing out of this game though, is the elevation of another clubmate into a really competitive player. Ste has been in the game for about 3-4 months now and has really quickly reached the point of being a real threat, especially with how quickly he has got his head around this Madrak list. This is only a good thing going forward for the club as we go from strength to strength.

Game 116: Elara2 vs Deneghra1

Game 116 – Vs Brian Russell – Cryx – 15/11/17

My list:
Elara, Death’s Shadow (Defenders of Ios)
-Sylys Wyshnaylrr, The Seeker
-Manticore
-Manticore
-Chimera
Arcantrik Force Generator
Houseguard Thane
Arcanist Mechanik
Arcanist Mechanik
Arcanist Mechanik
Fane Knight Skyreth Issyen
Heavy Rifle Team
Heavy Rifle Team
Max Houseguard Halberdiers
-Officer & Standard Bearer
Max Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters

His List:
Warwitch Deneghra
-Kraken
-Reaper
-Slayer
-Defiler
Pistol Wraith
Warwitch Siren
Bane Lord Tartarus
Max Bane Warriors
-Officer & Standard Bearer

Post most major events I switch up my lists and try out something new. I have seen a lot of fellow Ret players having good results with Elara2, so I decided to give her a go. I only have one unit of Halberdiers posted so the list isn’t fully optimised yet but I decided to see how it feels regardless. First up was Brian, who was proxying a Kraken to see how that felt with Deneghra. I win the first turn and off we go.

After Advance Moving the Halberdiers, they Shield Wall and advance up the table, the distance they can reach is incredible. The rest of my forces run up whilst Elara advance, casts Scything Touch on a Halberdier, and Teleports further forward to take up an aggressive position.



The Banes advance up the right flank, threatening the right rectangular zone. After the Arc Node runs up into threat, Deneghra casts a Crippling Grasp onto the Halberdiers. The Kraken advances up and fires it’s AOE at them, killing the one directly hit, and 2 of the others. The rest of his foreces move up, but not aggressively enough.



I’m not in a rush to destroy everything, and want to try out Elara’s toolkit so make a start on the forces on the left. I use the Chimera to Arc a Marked for Death onto the Pistol Wraith, and shoot the Bone Chicken with the AFG, slamming it down. The Halberdiers then use their Mini-Feat and destroy both. The Manticores lay down some Covering Fire in front of the Banes and the rest of my forces move up.



The Banes pour through my ill constructed Covering Fire wall, and get a decent presence in the left zone. The Cryx Heavies clear out all but one of the Halberdiers, before the Kraken aims and shoots at the Fane Knight, dealing 5 points of damage to him. Deneghra moves into the trench but doesn’t Feat.



With Brian staying back too much it is time to punish him by getting up on scenario. I destroy the objective with the shots from the 2 HRTs (rolled pretty high) and move the Manticore up to toe the left zone, building a better Covering Fire wall with the second Manticore. With Scything Touch cast onto the last Halberdier, they and the Nyss charge the Slayer and destroy it. I score 2CP to take an early lead.



The Cryx jacks do a good job of clearing out the left flank, destroying several Nyss and finishing off the Fane Knight, but the Banes get pulled in 2 different direction so that neither zone is heavily contested. Brian doesn’t bother to Feat as he knows the game is up anyway. I score the left zone again to lead 3-0.



Only needing to clear one zone to win I decide to do it the classy way. After the AFG slams the Reaper out of the zone Elara Feats and charges into Tartarus, buying attacks on it and the 2 Banes until they are all dead. I score 2 more CP to win 5-0.



VICTORY


Brian has been getting a lot better recently, but still being new to the game I think he got caught out by how quickly I could lock him out of the scenario and win by 5CP. I liked the feel of the list, but know that I didn’t play is particularly well. I don’t really think the HRTs and AFG particularly fit in the list, and I will be trying a double Halbs list once I get them painted. Like the look of her though and can’t wait to play more games.

Wednesday 15 November 2017

Game 115: Kaelyssa vs Gaspy1

Game 115 – Vs Matt Townsend – Cryx – 12/11/17

My list:
Kaelyssa, The Night’s Whisper (Legions of Dawn)
-Helios
Arcanist Mechanik
Arcanist Mechanik
Arcanist Mechanik
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution
Max Dawnguard Sentinels
-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard Bearer
Max Dawnguard Sentinels
-Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard Bearer
Min Dawnguard Destors
Min Dawnguard Destors
Dawnguard Sentinel Scyir

His List:
Iron Lich Asphyxious (The Ghost Fleet)
-Deathripper
-Deathripper
-Seether
-Seether
Min Blackbane’s Ghost Raiders
Min Revenant Crew of the Atramentous
-Revenant Crew Rifleman
-Revenant Crew Rifleman
-Revenant Crew Rifleman
Min Revenant Crew of the Atramentous
-Revenant Crew Rifleman
-Revenant Crew Rifleman
-Revenant Crew Rifleman
Min Revenant Crew of the Atramentous
-Revenant Crew Rifleman
-Revenant Crew Rifleman
-Revenant Crew Rifleman
Revenant Cannon Crew
Captain Rengrave
Pistol Wraith
Hellslinger Phantom
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor

It turns out that when you lose to move down to the 4-1 bracket games don’t actually get any easier… I was drawn against Matt Townsend who beat me at 2-0 in the Nationals earlier in the year. To settle this grudge I would have to get through his interesting trio of lists. Gaspy1 Ghost Fleet, Denny1 Scourge and Goreshade3 Dark Host. Last time we played he dropped Coven Host into me so that wasn’t much of an indicator. I decided to drop Kaelyssa, as she felt like she had the best worst matchup of the lot, and Matt dropped Gaspy Fleet. I wasn’t too disappointed in the match up, but the Destors would have to do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of clearing the infantry. With +1 to go first Matt comfortably won first turn and we got moving.

Matt just runs up. No spells, no frills, just gets up the table. The Arc Nodes take each flank and the Blackbanes flank on my right, I don’t have any magical attacks over there apart from Eiryss so they might be a bit of a problem.

I try to be cute and intermingle my Sentinel units in a clump, to make is difficult to avoid triggering Vengeance on both. I cast Banishing Ward on the front unit of Sentinels, Refuge on Kaelyssa herself, and Blur on Helios to protect against shooting. I Feat and advance up with everything in my control area.



Matt moves up and starts taking some potshots into my army, dealing some damage into a Destor. He then makes the move that I wasn’t prepared for at all. He moves up 2 Revenants, then casts Breath of Corruption on both, killing them and creating a cloud wall that will instantly kill my Sentinels. Matt moves the Hellslinger to his flag and ends his turn. I need to rethink a lot of my strategy.

I need to work out how to get my Sentinels into the game, or I am going to start losing and quickly, and the number 1 priority is to take out the Arc Nodes, so that at least Gaspy has to commit to build the clouds. The Destors on the right charge and destroy the right Deathripper, before Repositioning back into the zone, and the left Destors advance into the cloud and shoot at the one on the left. I get very lucky with my shots here as I hit all 3 8s to hit, and the damage is enough to take out both Movement and Arc Node. Kaelyssa shoots the Hellslinger off the flag with a Phantom Hunter shot, and the Scyir runs to my flag to give me a 1-0 lead.



Matt pushes up and kills what is available. He puts some shots into the Scyir on the flag but can’t remove him through Iron Sentinel, but he is able to kill off all of the Destors on the left and all but one on the right. Gaspy himself holds back and camps. 3 Ghost Pirates charge Eiryss, but none of them are able to roll the 10 to hit her. We both score, and I lead 2-1.



I feel that it is time to commit Helios. I can charge him into the Seether on the right, contesting the flag and the right zone, and leave me to concentrate on winning the game on the left. I cast Banishing Ward onto it before sending him in, naking it really difficult for Gaspy to remove it in response. I don’t quite kill the Seether, but do remove both arms to leave it almost useless. The last Destor kills the 3 Blackbanes that attacked Eiryss, freeing her up to shoot and kill Blackbane himself. With no clouds out the Sentinels charge up, killing the left Seether and flooding the zone. I score again to lead 3-1.



Matt realises that he has to commit hard on the left and charges Gaspy in. He kills a Sentinel with his charge attack, and throws down another Breath of Corruption, killing several more. Then the dice go against Matt again as he misses a 5 to Parasite a Sentinel unit. Gaspy Feats and Breathes again, but hasn’t removed as much as he hoped. The Revenants on the left have no more luck, as they struggle to remove Sentinels, and more shots into the Scyir fail to kill him. By the end of the turn I have lost a lot, but not as much as I should. I score another point on my flag to lead 4-1.



With the luck going heavily my way in the last turn finishing the game off isn’t too difficult. There are only 7 Pirates and a Pistol Wraith in the zone that I need to clear for the win, and after Vengeance attacks, shots from Kaelyssa, and the Blue Sentinel’s activation the zone was cleared for a 6-1 scenario win.



VICTORY

I’m not going to pretend that dice didn’t go massively well for me in this game, but sometimes you just have to accept the good fortune. Matt took it extremely well given the circumstances and kept upbeat throughout. In hindsight Vyros would probably have been the right drop but I was so scared of Denny Scourge that I just didn’t feel comfortable in it.


All in all I finished the event at 5-1, finishing in 5th out of 82. I was delighted with the result as I think it cements my improvement over the year and shows that I can compete with the best players in the country. I really like the Vyros and Kaelyssa lists but never felt like I had the opportunity to drop Issyria, so I think that needs looking at going forward. That is really it for major events until next year, so plenty of time to try some different things, including the 3 casters I haven’t put on the table yet. Thank you for reading,

Game 114: Vyros2 vs Rask

Game 114 – Vs Michael Dick– Minions – 12/11/17

My list:
Vryos, Incissar of the Dawnguard (Forges of War)
-Sylys Wyshnaylrr, The Seeker
-Griffon
-Griffon
-Griffon
-Griffon
-Griffon
-Griffon
-Aspis
-Aspis
-Imperatus
Arcanist Mechanik
Arcanist Mechanik
Arcanist Mechanik
House Shyeel Artificer
House Shyeel Magister
House Shyeel Arcanists
House Shyeel Arcanists

His List:
Rask (Will Work For Food)
-Targ
-Ironback Spitter
-Ironback Spitter
-Blackhide Wrastler
-Bull Snapper
Alten Ashley
Bog Trog Mist Speaker
Dahlia Hallyr
-Skarath
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor
Rorsh
-Brine
Wrong Eye
-Snapjaw
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew

Following game 4 on the Saturday of Blood and Oil we returned to the house we were staying in, and when the draw went up later in the evening I found that I was playing Michael Dick, who was staying with me in the same house. We briefly discussed the game, both knew that it had to be Vyros2 against Rask, and got a decent night’s sleep. Fast-Forward to the morning and, after going through the formalities, Michael won the first turn and we got going.

I was in an unusual situation in this game. I was pretty certain that this match up against an equally skilled player would result in a win to me. Unfortunately I wasn’t playing against a player of equal skill, so I was going to need some things to go my way to get the win. Michael starts, predictably, by running up the table, pretty quickly with the +2 speed from the Theme benefit. He casts Fury on one of the Spitters and Admonition on the other.

I will need to play the forest in the centre well as it is a big advantage to me in the match up, and I decide to swing my forces to one side of it to threaten the parts of his army over there. Vyros casts Deceleration to protect against the surprising number of guns in the Minions force, and takes position behind the forest in the zone. I Feat, throwing up 2 Aspises and a Griffon to tempt him in.



Michael surprises me by backing up pretty significantly. Players don’t often respect Vyros’ Feat to this extent but he clearly didn’t want to lose a heavy early on to a Feat-moved Imperatus. He takes a few pot shots into me, but I Shield Guard them on to Aspises, and the damage is healed back over toe following rounds.



The central and right zones are only contested by a Swamp Gobber and Bull Snapper respectively, so I look to score 2 early CPs and take a Scenario lead. A Griffon charges through the forest, contesting the left zone and killing the Gobber to take the central one. The Magister simply pushes the Bull Snapper out of the zone and, once Vyros moves in, confirms a second point. I need to get further up the table, so Vyros fires off a speculative Twister, which scatters well and gives me a nice cloud to hide Imperatus behind in a threatening position. I send up an Aspis to jam and cover Imperatus with another in case I have missed something. I move into a 2-0 lead.



Michael kills off the two lights that I had thrown forward, and repositions himself further round the flanks to start threatening my back lines. He starts clearing out some of my back lines with a 3-leap Electro-Leap from Orin which takes out 2 Arcanist Mechaniks (sloppy play from me to not see that). He contests all of the zones and scores the left to move to a 2-1 lead for me.



I can’t clear the central zone so need to concentrate on contesting the left and scoring on mine until an opportunity presents itself. I push the Bull Snapper out of the zone again, and Vyros takes advantage of Orin’s positioning (and having used all of his Power Tokens) by killing him with Twister, setting up another usefully positioned cloud. This allows Imperatus to stay relevant in the game, and I use 2 lights again to sure up his position. I run an Arcanist unit to contest the left zone, but another minor error means that the far one isn’t within 12” to be able to contest next turn. I move 3-1 ahead.



Michael finally commits something significant. The Wrastler on the right takes off the blocking Aspis, and Brine comes in from downtown to take out 2 Griffons. The Bull Snapper charges the Magister but misses the attack, and their endless duel continues. Michael scores the central and left zones to even the game up at 3-3.



At this point I have Imperatus and 3 Griffons left against 6 heavies so I need to turn things around quickly. Vyros starts off the Synergy chain by finishing off the Bull Snapper, and puts out another Twister cloud, killing Targ and further blocking Snapjaw’s line of sight. I complete my Synergy chain and take out both the Spitter and Brine. We both score our circle zone to move to 4-4.



More Minion Heavies come in, but this time Michael’s dice desert him and he can barely roll a 6 to hit to save his life. As a result his Furied, Raged, Boundless Charged Wrastler fails to take out a Griffon, and as it is within range of a zero camp Rask he has no choice but to waste Wrongeye to finish it off. He does contest my zone and score his own to take scenario lead for the first time but it isn’t a good turn for him.



Not one to shy away from fortune I take the gift that the dice have given me. I have to use Vyros to start the Synergy chain as I have so few activations left, and unfortunately this requires casting Easy Rider, leaving me on no Focus. I do destroy both heavies but have Focus left over on Imperatus so may have over-committed. We each score our zones again and Micheal takes a 6-5 lead.



The last round has swung attrition significantly in my favour, but it is uncertain whether I would be able to bring the scenario back in time. Unfortunately for me Michael spots an assassination angle that I had missed. He casts Fury and Boundless Charge on Skarath, and after one Overtake move he is able to get onto Vyros, killing him with 2 attacks.



DEFEAT


A disappointing end to a really good game. Was a shame to make a mistake after I’d just got back into the game by some pretty good play. Michael was a real joy to play against, and to be able to compete with players of his level shows that I am really starting to get somewhere with my Ret now. Into the last round now and I was really hoping that a strong start to the event wouldn’t fade away to nothing.