Monday, February 18, 2013

Matt's OwlCon Cup 2013 Report




I went to OwlCon XXXII at Rice Univ and played in the OwlCon Cup Blood Bowl tournament put on by the great guys from the South West Houston Blood Bowl League. If you are a gamer in the Houston, TX II highly recommend this great game con. We were in the building with all the board and miniature gaming as well the vendor hall. Although there was a small turnout, 5 coaches (Plus the TO Aiden), we all had a blast!

The rules for the team build were 1,100K plus a skill pack: 6xNormal or 4xNormal and 1xDoubles or 2xNormal and 2xDoubles. I took my Black Orc Bock Bashers Orc team. with the skills listed below

Points 55 pts Win, 30 pts Draw, 10 pts Loss
Bonus's: Loss by only 1 TD +6 pts, Win by 2 TD+  +6 pts, Same Cas, but >0 +8 pts, More Cas +8 pts

1 x Passer
4 x Blitzers (2x Guard, 2xTackle)
4 x BoBs (2xBlock)
3 x Linemen
3 x RR
1 x FF

Full Player list:
Player - NAF - Race - Team - League
Matt McDonough - WildManTX - Orc - Black Orc Bock Bashers - ABBL
Patrick Wynn - Sturmjarl - Slaan - The Nevermore Ravens - SWHBBL
Kent Raffray -  KRaff - DE - Phrog Phorce Phi - ABBL
Duane Moore - (TBD, joined onsite) - DE - Blood Bowl G's - ABBL
Brad Wales - Temujin71 - Necro - The Dead Rebels - SWHBBL
Aiden O'driscoll - mrrip - Khemri - The Desert Dogs  - SWHBBL
Game 1
The Nevermore Ravens - Dark Elf
Patrick Wynn - Sturmjarl

1xRunner (Leader)
4xBlitzers (1xGuard, 1xDodge)
2xWitchElfs (Wrestle)
4x Linemen
1xRR
2xFF
Apo

Game started off with Patrick getting +2 Fame but thankfully it never really played into the game. The first half showed off his agility and my caging. Half ended with game tied up at 1 but I had kept one of his WE out of most of the first half in the KO box. In the second half I caged up but time was running out so I had to force the ball forward to go for the win, but runner tripped and ball was loose. The DE scooped up the ball and were able to get ball within a few squares of a TD. My Black Ors saved the day first by blitzing the ball loose and they by bracketing the ball on the sidelines. In a last ditch effort the DE tried a bunch of insane dodges and a pickup to go for the score, they came close, they dodged to the ball and picked it up but failed to dodge back out. I could never really hurt his WE, even with Tackle or take out his lone Guard Blitzer. Great game and Patrick ended up 2nd overall

Black Orc Bock Bashers - Orcs 1 (2)
The Nevermore Ravens - Dark Elf 1 (0)
38 Points (Got the Hurt 'Em Bad Bonus, for causing more casualties)

Game 2 (Ringer)
The Desert Dogs - Khemri
Aiden O'driscoll - mrrip

4xTomb Guardians (2xMighty Blow)
1xPassRa (Leader)
1xBlitzRa (Guard)
7xSkeletons (2xBlock)
3xRR
1xBloodwieser Babe

Aiden was the TO and playing a Ringer team to even out the tournament. I really thought I was in for a beating from the Khemri, (they ended up handing out 7 Casualties in 3 game). Much to my surprise I KO's a Tomb Guardian on turn 2 and was pretty much able to beat him down with some RED hot dice rolling and get 2 first half scores. The second half was no different and the game ended midway through the second half.

Black Orc Bock Bashers - Orcs 3 (3)
The Desert Dogs - Khemri 0 (0)
69 Points (Got the Hurt 'Em Bad Bonus, for causing more casualties and Blowout for +2 TD)

Game 3 (Table 1)
Phrog Phorce Phi - Slaan
Kent Raffray - KRaff

4xCatcher (1xDodge, 1xSure Hands)
2xBlitzers (1x Guard, 1xTackle)
6xLinemen (1xWrestle, 1xKick)
4xRR

This was a ABBL showdown with a coach and team I was familiar with as I had recently faced Kent's Phrog Phorc Phi in the ABBL fall season twice and had a record of 1 L 1D. Also this was critical as a Win could win it for us but a Draw could cause us both to lose out. After winning the coin flip the Orc proceeded to cage dance down the pitch for 8 turns. I tried to keep my guard in opposite corners of the cage to prevent a leaping cage break. The Bashers scoring on turn 8 but also did not cause any significant carnage. The second half started with the Slaan sprinting down the sidelines. I was able to find a way to crowd surf the ball carrier out, cover the ball pretty well but failed to pick up the ball in a tackle zone. This left Kent a pick, pass and catch away from an easy score which he did. In typical Orc fashion the Basher caged right back up and started to drive, but the clock was starting to wind down. The Phrogs were able to pop the ball out with the Orcs in scoring range but it was still in scrum. The Orcs cleared the Slaan away from the ball and were a pick and handoff away from the win but the Passer double failed the pickup. The Slaan then attempted a Pass/Punt to clear the ball away from the end zone and seal the draw but an Orc Blitzer intercepted the pass and a quick handoff later had won the game!

Black Orc Bock Bashers - Orcs 2 (0)
Phrog Phorce Phi - Slaan 1 (1)
55 Points (No Bonus)

The Black Orc Bock Bashers still had to sweat out the final total as Patrick's The Nevermore Ravens has also finished with 2W 1D. When the final totals were in the Black Orc Bock Bashers were OwlCon Cup Champions edging out Patrick's Nevermore Ravens Dark Elf team by 2 points! I really tried to play a conservative game with careful but no over aggressive Defense and a Guard enhanced cage on Offence. I got a play coaches Patrick and Aiden that I had never played before.

Black Orc Bock Bashers Final Stats:
2 Wins 1 Draw
6 TD's Scored, 2 TD's Allowed
5 Casualties Given, 1 Casualty Received
2 Completions
1 INT

Other ABBL results:
Kent finished 2W/0D/1L
Duane finished 1W/0D/2L

We also did an informal ABB vs. SWHBBL Challenge, Here are the final totals

Records: ABBL - 5W/3L/1D SWHBBL - 3W/5L1D - Winner ABBL
TDs: ABBL - 14 TDs SWHBBL 7 TDs - Winner ABBL
Casualties: ABBL 10 Cas SWHBBL 13 Cas - Winner SWHBBL

Awards:
OwlCon Cup Champion - 162 pts - Black Orc Bock Bashers - Orcs - Matt McD - WildmanTX - Austin, TX
Runner-up - 160 pts - The Nevermore Ravens - Dark Elf - Patrick Wynn - Sturmjarl - Houston, TX
Most Offensive - 5 TDs - Phrog Phorce Phi - Slaan - Kent Raffray - KRaff- Austin, TX
Bloodthirster - 7 Cas - The Desert Dogs - Khemri - Aiden O'driscoll - mrrip - Houston, TX
The Wooden Spoon - Not awarded, too few coaches, But I think Aiden or Brad won it!
Best Team - The Nevermore Ravens - Dark Elf - Patrick Wynn - Sturmjarl - Houston, TX