ScrapYard Armory

Saturday is always a great day at GenCon.  Lots to see and do.  Lets get right into the action and report on what happened.

Solaris Melee Challenge

I had an amazing day in the arenas.  I managed to successfully hit on a Death from Above as well as rack up the chips from head shots, critical hits and even a solo kill before going down in a blaze of glory.  Alas I ended up placing 9th and did not make the top 8 cut for the finals.

My good friend and ScrapYard editor “SaxyWolf” made it to 4th to make it to the finals and after several hours of intense competition in his Shadow Hawk, he was the 3rd one to be destroyed.  Not bad for a first time GenCon attendee.

The winner was piloting an Imp C (clan variant) and used a significant quantity of Edge to secure victory.  I enjoyed the changes made this year and I hope they make the updated rules available for download soon.  Not everything is perfect but the Demo Agents work their butts off to make it enjoyable for everyone.

Canon Event Update

In the continuation of yesterdays battles, the Word of Blake was on the defensive and were pressed back to their dropships.  The chasing Ghost Bears made a valiant charge but where unable to bring them down.  All Word dropships managed to lift off but with little in the way of firepower on board.

The last events of the day had the Ghost Bears beating up on the remaining Wobbies left behind on planet.

CamoSpecs Sweeps Machines of War Category

The Camo Specs team made an impressive showing in the miniatures painting contest, bringing home First, Second, and Third in the Machines of War category.  Here is the full list of BattleTech awardees and an additional miniature that I missed in yesterdays report.

• Machines of War 1st – Christopher Dolega, Rifleman
• Machines of War 2nd – Mark Maestas, Anubis
• Machines of War 3rd – Ross Hines, 1st Ghost Marauder
• Units – Stephen D’Amato Sr. – Eridani Light Horse

Well done by all.  Very good to see Iron Wind Metals making a splash in the painting contest.  I’ll be picking up my ‘Mech Sunday (I didn’t win anything, but I’m not surprised) and will post some pictures after the convention.

Painting Classes and Miniatures

Speaking of painting, I did my best to learn a few tricks at the convention.  I took another painting class which I enjoyed thoroughly and will certainly try out some of the techniques I learned.

To give myself a little practice, I picked up a healthy lot of sci-fi 28mm figures from the Reaper Chronoscope line that I believe will work really well for the RPG game.  I am very interested in trying out the Quick Start RPG rules in a tactical combat situation.  Stay tuned in the future for more.

Battle the Masters Event

The final event of the day was a massive battle pitting the masters of the BattleTech universe against the poor lowly battleTech gamers who buy all the stuff they write.

Each player, of which there were 20, were to chose any tournament legal chassis to play with.  The Masters each picked ‘Mechs between themselves until their force was 21 ‘Mechs strong.  The pilot’s skill for each ‘Mech was based on weight class.  4/5 for Assaults, with improving skill by 1/1 down to lights at 1/2.

I plan a full report on the event in short order but it is just too late (early) to do the game justice right now.  For now, only a few pictures until I have time to write up a full report.

The Pods

After the Masters game I shuffled my way over to the BattleTech pods only to find a two-plus hour waiting list to get into a mission.  By the way, it was past 2AM at that point.  Needless to say, I had no plans of being awake at that hour.  I am surprised but pleased that there was so much interest in the Pods.  Obviously the more exposure the better for BattleTech.  A very good sign for the franchise.

Many Demos and More

No Con is great without a healthy dose of demos.  It is always good to see what’s out there and what the next big hit might be.  Even if you may not want to play it in the end, it is refreshing to learn something new and open your gaming horizons or just get a different perspective.

• Exillis – A hybrid computer and miniatures game without a rule book (the computer tracks everything for you).
• Rezolution – Sci-fi tactical combat system that plays fast and has a unique artistic flair.
• Arcane Legions – Miniature wargaming for dummies.  Fast play, collectible, and a system that removes operator error from movement.