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 . . .