Preparing for the Mechanicon GT.

The Mechanicon Grand Tournament for Warhammer 40,000 for 2012 has combined their resources with The Warstore.com to create a single weekend full of gaming, tournaments, and fun.     This will be my 4th time attending the Mechanicon and the first time I look to bring something other than my orks.

Back in 2009 I attended my first ever large Grand Tournament.   I brought my Orks of Waaagh! Karnage and finished 23rd overall, winning 1 game, losing 2, and drawing on 2.      But what I got out of that weekend was well worth the price of admission.

Meeting many gamers from all over the area, and in  what has been referred to me as a "Throwback" style tournament to what the Grand Tournaments of Yore were like.    This was a relatively laid back event that acknowledged ALL aspects of the hobby we so much enjoy.      It wasn't just all about Winning and Losing like many of the WAAC style events are (Win At All Costs).    While those type of events do have a place in the competetive community, it doesn't not particularly appeal to my tastes.

The Mechanicon opened the doors to me on laying the ground work that would eventually become the Berks Spring Assault sereis of tournaments.    Focusing on Sportsmanship and fairplay an also recognizing painting and modeling all appealed to the reasons I am involved in this hobby.     It was refreshing to me to see an event that provided an atmosphere that celebrated ALL of these aspects of gaming.

While I didn't do great in my first big tournament debut, I made many new friends and had a great over-all gaming experience.    Being able to sit back and socialize with your opponents and friends after the games and off the table over food and a beer or two really made for a nice time.

It is weekends like this that give adult gamers a chance to get out, enjoy our hobbies and enjoy our time with our friends.    I recall my first night there, I got a pick-up game against Steve Smith from P.A.G.E. in a game of 40K, with my orks and his Chaos Marines.   I won that battle, but more importantly, I made a new friend.    Just this past year at Dakkacon at Showcase Comics, Steve and I would meet again on the field of battle in a tournament that feature "MY" format, the 1000-point tournament that is Berks Spring Assault!    We had a classic battle, and again my orks defeated his Slaanesh-loving warriors.    

We also clashed at Mechanicon last year in the Battlefleet Gothic, with my Ork ram ships hammering his cruiser in ramming attacks, allowing my Warlord to board his vessel and destroy it.    Steve went on to win 1st place in that tournment, but my antics managed to get me 2nd place.       We chat online and have invites to get together on occasions with our clubs to meet and play 40K or Battlefleet Gothic.   It is developing friendships like that is the reason I enjoy going to the Mechanicon GT so much.

My second year in 2010 I did slightly better, finishing up around 16th overall.   Still not very good, but again, having more fun, making new friends and reconnecting with old ones again.    I got my first time in battlefleet gothic, placing 2nd and just having a great time with my friends.  More of our club members attended and even ran a 40K Kill-Team tournamenet.   I took 2nd place in one of those events too.

Last year was my 3rd time at Mechanicon.   Our gaming club ran 40K Kill Team tournaments again.    My son Ethan, now a growing gamer, was able to play on his own using his Imperial Guard army.     I took my orks again, my army list now honed to a solid and formidible force.    My army based around the theme of two large mobs of 20-stormboyz each, and everything else there to support them.      I won 3 games, lost 1 and had a draw in the end to another formidable Ork army.

The last battle was the most classic.   We agreed to have an Ork version the Thunderdome....Two orks enter, one ork leave.   Both Warbosses entered the central structure......winner take all.    If one of us survived the game was over and we were going to go drink some beer.     Both warbosses took each other out and we duked it out for 4 rounds before agreeing that we were at an impasss and the game would end in a draw.     It was my best performance ever in a Grand Tournament.   I took 6th place overall.     What got me more was that I was voted Best Sportsman overall!    That to me was just as good as winning 1st place.    Our gaming club prides ourselves on sportsmanship and I had just given a speach about that to everyone as we promoted Berks Spring Assault 3, our tournament for April 2012.    How appropriate it was that my friend John Tinney took 2nd best sportsman and I took 1st, just really sealed the deal and emphasized everything I had just conveyed to everyone.

This year I'm torn between running my son Ethan's Imperial Guard army or my Lamenter space marines, that are a variant of Blood Angels.    I am still currently working on finishing my Lamenters, but with lots of work to do as of the time of this posting, I may not have them finished.    If not, I have a solid list of Imperial Guard with Space Marine allies for 6th edition that I have been doing very well with recently, having defeated Space Marines and Tyranids with.     If the Lamenters are not finished, the Guard will come to play.

If you are out there looking for something to do that weekend of October 26-28th, come out and see what the Mechanicon is all about, and also that there are many other events available to you at the Warstore weekend.  Come out and enjoy it with us!

There will be other games besides Warhammer 40K, such as fantasy battles, flames of war, Battlefleet Gothic, Warmachine, and of course, Heavy Gear by Dream Pod 9, which has become a new favorite game in the Berks club, a growing element of players are looking to get more and more involved with.