Manticon 2017


Once again the hordes of gamers have descended on Henry Horton State Park in Tennessee (a little south of Nashville) for the second annual Manticon!  This tournament is unique in that it has a mulligan round, an optional game on Friday night that can replace any normal round score if needed. So you aren't necessarily screwed by that one bad game.

This year we did learn a few things from last year.  We reduced the mulligan rounds from (one on Friday, one on Sunday) to 1 (only on Friday).  This allowed us to give out the awards Saturday night, when everyone was there and the excitement was at its highest.  One of our intentions was that the tournament could be played as a single day event - if people couldn't commit to the weekend the could just play the four games on Saturday and still have a shot.

The new Clash of King tournament supplement came out only a week before the event, however registered players were polled, and it was decided to use the new rules from the book (which were put into the downloadable tournament pack) but not the new spells or magical artefacts (nor banning artefacts).  So for some people it may be the final hurrah for their Dragon rider w/ ensorcelled armor, or their Tree Herder with a Medallion of Life.

Gavin FINALLY arrives
We had a bit of a slow ride down due to two traffic backups we hit in Cincinnati and Louisville, but overall arrived safely.  However traffic was once again the bane of Gavin on Friday as between that and real life creeping in he wasn't able to get to the venue until after 6 (when he had hoped to be there by noon).  Ink, staples and scrambling to get tables set up aside, we started the mulligan round close to on time.  We had a great turnout for the Friday night game, with 27 people playing in the optional game.

Nice hall at Henry Horton State Park
Plenty of room as the mulligan round starts up
We had three rows of tables and no one was crowded

Jeff O'Neal and Chris Bowen face off
Greg Brewster and Timothy Smith check out the battlefield
Jesse Cornwell faces Gavin Gossett, playing the ringer army
Seth Cook moves his unit while playing Buck Chzanowski
Dan Payne plays George O'Connel
Kara Brown prepares to attack Drew Gaddy
Charlie Ryan faces David Lundy across the table
Brian Luttrell counts his dice while playing Bryan Tucker
Amy Stamper squares off against Patrick Justice
Andrew Shadel goes head to head w/ Tim Bowie
Shawn Williams faces Jon Carter in a battle of the undead
Joe Cottrell watches Josh Koziura
Andrew Summers watches Devlin Smith roll his dice
Taylor Lee plays Lamar Eddings
We even had a couple trying out The Walking Dead:All Out War
Saturday morning dawned way too bright and early, and the smell of sausage and coffee filled the hall as breakfast was prepared.  People started showing up well over an hour early to grab a bite and chat a bit.
Our stalwart kitchen crew
Round one gets started and the hall is filled with the sounds of dice and the occasional "Hip Hip - You Suck!" as snake-eyes are rolled and people earn Mantic Moolah.
Round one is on!
Billy Smith poses while George O'Connel picks up his dice


Charlie Ryan and Josh Koziura
Joe Cottrell patiently waits for Seth Cook to measure exactly
Seth Deaton plans his attack against Daniel Cammack
Evan Henshaw watches as Shawn Williams moves his forces
Greg Brewster moves against Andrew Shadel
Bryan Tucker checks his line of sight against Buck Chzanowski
Dan Payne faces Kara Brown
David Luncy watches Larry Essick roll to attack
Jeff O'Neil ponders while Rob Phaneuf smiles
Devlin Smith and Todd Perkins are distracted by Rob at the next table
Ryan Johnson moves while Patrick Justice watches
Lamar Eddings prepares to move against Tim Bowie
Tim Smith and John Blair battle it out
Andrew Summers watch Amy Stamper reach to move her units
Chris Gibney watches as Chris Bowen checks his move
Taylor Lee pushes his forces forward against Drew Gaddy
Jesse Cornwell laughs as Jon Carter measures his move
Brian Luttrell plays Jeremy Gossett (playing the ringer this round)
Lunch of burgers and chili dogs allowed our huge team of paint judges to carefully examine every army, with 3 paint scores for each army.  This kept me quite busy during round 2 (so much so I didn't get pictures of the various tables).

Of course I did get pictures of all the armies!

Brian Luttrell's Salamanders
Jesse Cornwell's Ogres
Jon Carter's Undead

Chris Gibney's Basileans

Taylor Lee's Varangur
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Andres Summers' Brotherhood
Amy Stamper's Dwarfs
Chris Bowen's Abyssals

Drew Gaddy's Herd


Jeff O'Neal's Goblins
David Lundy's Dwarfs
Daniel Payne's Undead
Devlin Smith's Empire of Dust
Lamar Eddings Dwarfs
Tim Smith's Herd

Ryan Johnson's Elves
Jeff O'Neal's Goblin
Tim Bowie's Brotherhood

Greg Brewster's Dwarfs
Patrick Justice's Night Stalkers
Todd Perkin's Elves

Seth Deaton's Dwarfs
Joe Cottrell's Basileans
Rob Phaneuf's Ogres
Larry Essick's Nature
Kara Brown's Abyssal Dwarfs
Charlie Ryan's Basileans
Billy Smith's Goblins
George O'Connell's Ogres
Seth Cook's Orcs
Bryan Tucker's Undead
Josh Koziura's Varangur
Dan Cammack's Twilight Kin
Shawn Williams' Undead
Andrew Shadel's Ogres
Chris Chzanowski's Abyssal Dwarfs
John Blair's Goblins
Evan Henshaw's Dwarfs
Plus a few pictures of some of my more favorite minis

we don't see enough cool banners anymore
I like the drider conversion using spider bodies
Is this 4 or 8 minis?  Don't care - rule of cool overrides it!
Haunted keep on the display board
Truly awesome conversion for a horde of fight wagons

that is one pissed off goblin snowman
I hate to see what he leaves in your stocking
love the war trombone shooting a snowball
YES, somebody doing unit banners - and a nice job
nice reaper model as a Steel Behemoth
beauty is in the eye of the beholder
very creepy Night Stalkers
now that is what I call a giant!
I have always liked squigs :-)
and more squigs
and more squigs
double the banners, double the fun
nice conversion
when I saw this model come out with an orc riding it, I thought it looked stupid, an orc in a pile of cabbage.  With a salamander riding it, it is much more cool.
Dinner was spaghetti, which a huge plate and salad for a non-wallet breaking $5.00
yummy dinner at a great price
And then we got started with the fourth and final round.
final round!
Chis v Seth
Charlie v Ryan
Brian v Evan
David v Lamar
Larry v Buck
Patrick v Josh
Taylor v Rob
Greg v Andrew
Kara v Todd

Andrew v Seth
Dan v Gavin (the ringer)
Chris v Jesse

Billy v Amy
Jon v Joe
Jeff v Tim
Drew v Bryan
Ryan v Dan
George v Devlin
Shawn v Tim
And there was even a game of King of Tokyo going on as well
GO-JIRA!
And then the dice settled, the lamentations of the women faded into the background, and I worked to tabulate the final results.  You can see all the results on warscore.

Manticon Geezer Award - Larry Essick (oldest player)
Manticup of Shame - Seth Deaton (lowest battle score)
Sportsman of the Year - Kara Brown (highest sportsmanship score)
Best Painted Army - John Blair
3rd Place Best General - Devlin Smith (battle points only)
2nd Place Best General - Jeff O'Neal (battle points only)
1st Place Best General - Timothy Smith (battle points only)
Grand Champion - Shawn Williams

Our winners (L-R):Seth Deaton, Shawn Williams, Kara Brown, Jeff O'Neil, Devlin Smith, John Blair, Larry Essick and Timothy Smith
a motley crew if ever there was one
Sunday dawned bright and (a little too) early.  Gavin had planned a quick campaign but most people opted for either some quick board games (I tried King of Tokyo and won! (the wings are OP!)) and then headed out for the long drive home.

It was another great weekend of rolling dice and having fun.  A few minor hiccups getting set up on Friday but otherwise things went pretty smoothly.  We hope to max out at 40 next year, and maybe add a team award and a table (player or team brings a mat and terrain and sets up a table for the weekend for the tournament) award.  Perhaps also go with a player's choice as well as best painted award (splitting out the player votes from the judged painting).  A last thought was also possibly do a Mantic Moolinaire - the player who earned the most Mantic Moolah over the weekend (I know Amy Stamper earned 7 from rolling snake-eyes - including 3 times in her final game!).

Gavin and his crew do a great job, the venue is clean with plenty of space, and I am already looking forward to Manticon 2018 (March 2-4 2018).  See you there!

Manticon 2017

Final Results

Place Name Army Club Opponents Battle Attrition Best General Painting Addtl Painting Favorite Army Best Appearance Early List Favorite Opponent Best Sportsman Total Awards
1 Shawn Williams Undead birmingham Jon Carter, Evan Henshaw, Drew Gaddy, Jeff O'Neal, Timothy Smith 114 5530 114 20 46 1 67 5 11 16 151 Grand Champion
2 Timothy Smith Herd Greg Brewster, John Blair, David Lundy, Amy Stamper, Shawn Williams 110 5155 110 20 40 2 62 5 6 11 143 1st Place Best General
3 Jeff O'Neal Goblins birmingham Chris Bowen, Rob Phaneuf, Josh Koziura, Shawn Williams, Tim Bowie 106 4780 106 20 35 1 56 13 13 140 2nd Place Best General
4 Devlin Smith Empire of Dust memphis Andrew Summers, Todd Perkins, Ringer, Daniel Payne, George O'Connell 100 3560 100 20 33 53 5 8 13 133 3rd Place Best General
5 Jesse Cornwell Ogres wv Ringer, Jon Carter, Chris Gibney, Andrew Summers, Chris Bowen 96 5220 96 20 31 51 5 7 12 128
5 Kara Brown Abyssal Dwarfs owk Drew Gaddy, Daniel Payne, Seth Cook, Daniel Cammack, Todd Perkins 86 5140 86 20 39 1 60 5 16 21 128 Sportsman of the Year
7 Seth Cook Orcs atlanta Buck Chzanowski, Joe Cottrell, Kara Brown, Seth Deaton, Andrew Shadel 98 5234 98 20 52 2 74 5 2 7 127
7 George O'Connell Ogres Daniel Payne, Billy Smith, Joe Cottrell, David Lundy, Devlin Smith 98 4210 98 20 47 67 5 4 9 127
9 Bryan Tucker Undead atlanta Brian Luttrell, Buck Chzanowski, John Blair, Todd Perkins, Drew Gaddy 87 4410 87 20 44 6 70 5 8 13 126
10 Ryan Johnson Elves birmingham Patrick Justice, Buck Chzanowski, Josh Koziura, Daniel Cammack 93 6005 93 20 15 35 5 2 7 120 Counter Charge
11 Patrick Justice Night Stalkers atlanta Amy Stamper, Ryan Johnson, Andrew Summers, Larry Essick, Josh Koziura 88 4765 88 20 28 48 5 5 10 118
12 Billy Smith Goblins memphis George O'Connell, Andrew Shadel, Brian Luttrell, Amy Stamper 76 3835 76 20 49 9 78 5 6 11 116
12 Daniel Payne Undead wv George O'Connell, Kara Brown, Larry Essick, Devlin Smith, Ringer 82 4730 82 20 11 1 32 5 8 13 116
12 Joe Cottrell Basileans wv Josh Koziura, Seth Cook, George O'Connell, Chris Bowen, Jon Carter 90 2825 90 20 26 46 5 1 6 116
15 Jon Carter Undead owk Shawn Williams, Jesse Cornwell, Chris Bowen, Tim Bowie, Joe Cottrell 84 4500 84 20 40 60 5 4 9 113
15 Brian Luttrell Salamanders augusta Bryan Tucker, Ringer, Todd Perkins, Billy Smith, Evan Henshaw 81 4550 81 20 31 3 54 5 4 9 113
17 Drew Gaddy Herd augusta Kara Brown, Taylor Lee, Shawn Williams, Buck Chzanowski, Bryan Tucker 79 4925 79 20 34 54 5 8 13 112
18 David Lundy Dwarfs atlanta Charlie Ryan, Larry Essick, Timothy Smith, George O'Connell, Lamar Eddings 77 3585 77 20 37 57 5 9 14 111
19 Daniel Cammack Twilight Kin memphis Seth Deaton, Tim Bowie, Kara Brown, Ryan Johnson 76 4295 76 20 30 50 5 5 10 106
19 Rob Phaneuf Ogres memphis Todd Perkins, Jeff O'Neal, Seth Deaton, Greg Brewster, Taylor Lee 72 4815 72 20 34 54 5 9 14 106
21 Taylor Lee Varangur BG Lamar Eddings, Drew Gaddy, Evan Henshaw, Andrew Shadel, Rob Phaneuf 66 4870 66 20 42 1 63 5 11 16 103
22 Chris Bowen Abyssals memphis Jeff O'Neal, Chris Gibney, Jon Carter, Joe Cottrell, Jesse Cornwell 73 4385 73 20 33 53 5 4 9 102
23 Tim Bowie Brotherhood wv Andrew Shadel, Lamar Eddings, Daniel Cammack, Jon Carter, Jeff O'Neal 83 4990 83 9 5 14 5 4 9 101
24 Andrew Summers Brotherhood Devlin Smith, Amy Stamper, Patrick Justice, Jesse Cornwell, Greg Brewster 67 4510 67 20 30 50 5 7 12 99
25 Larry Essick Nature David Lundy, Daniel Payne, Patrick Justice, Buck Chzanowski 73 2750 73 20 18 38 5 5 98 Manticon Geezer Award
25 Amy Stamper Dwarfs owk Patrick Justice, Andrew Summers, Greg Brewster, Timothy Smith, Billy Smith 68 6420 68 20 24 44 5 5 10 98
27 John Blair Goblins Timothy Smith, Bryan Tucker, Evan Henshaw, Charlie Ryan 54 3075 54 20 51 8 79 5 10 15 97 Best Painted Army
28 Charlie Ryan Basileans BG David Lundy, Josh Koziura, Lamar Eddings, Ringer, John Blair 60 3315 60 20 39 59 5 11 16 96
29 Todd Perkins Elves Rob Phaneuf, Devlin Smith, Brian Luttrell, Bryan Tucker, Kara Brown 60 2800 60 20 32 52 5 10 15 95
30 Lamar Eddings Dwarfs Taylor Lee, Tim Bowie, Charlie Ryan, Chris Gibney, David Lundy 51 3725 51 20 21 41 5 14 19 90
31 Greg Brewster Dwarfs wv Timothy Smith, Andrew Shadel, Amy Stamper, Rob Phaneuf, Andrew Summers 56 3910 56 20 41 61 5 6 11 87
32 Andrew Shadel Ogres Tim Bowie, Greg Brewster, Billy Smith, Taylor Lee, Seth Cook 57 4140 57 20 15 35 5 4 9 86
33 Buck Chzanowski Abyssal Dwarfs wv Seth Cook, Bryan Tucker, Ryan Johnson, Drew Gaddy, Larry Essick 55 3955 55 20 27 47 5 3 8 83
34 Josh Koziura Varangur Joe Cottrell, Charlie Ryan, Jeff O'Neal, Ryan Johnson, Patrick Justice 53 4155 53 20 26 1 47 7 7 81
34 Ringer (W) Jesse Cornwell, Brian Luttrell, Devlin Smith, Charlie Ryan, Daniel Payne 57 4455 57 20 0 20 4 4 81
36 Chris Gibney Basileans Chris Bowen, Jesse Cornwell, Lamar Eddings, Seth Deaton 47 3230 47 20 25 45 2 2 69
37 Evan Henshaw Dwarfs Shawn Williams, Taylor Lee, John Blair, Brian Luttrell 43 3290 43 12 8 20 5 5 10 65
38 Seth Deaton Daniel Cammack, Rob Phaneuf, Seth Cook, Chris Gibney 36 3120 36 20 42 62 4 4 60 Manticup of Shame


Because it is all fun and games . . .

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