Tuesday, 3 September 2013

New home!

To make things more conversational, information about this year's B&S Brawl (28th - 29th September at Good Games Spring Hill) can be found in our Facebook Group.

The B&S Brawl - Shadowfist Brisbane


We look forward to seeing you at this year's event.

Monday, 17 September 2012

Queensland State Championship winning deck

Maximum Butt Kicking (53 cards)

Foundations (10):
5 Brave Villagers
5 Student of the Dragon

Hitters (9):
1 Wu Bin of Turtle Island
1 Shamanistic Lieutenant
1 Nomad Army
1 The Spirit of Kongxiangsi
5 Big Bruiser (RW version)

© Roberto Campus, Mike Jackson, Richard Kane Ferguson, Inner Kingdom Games
Events (21):
5 Equal Opportunity Butt Kicking
4 Dirk Wisely's Gambit
3 Final Brawl
3 "Is that all you got?"
2 Fighting Spirit
1 Ashes of the Fallen
1 Final Sacrifice
1 Thunder on Thunder
1 Back for Seconds

NFSS (1):
1 Secret Warrior Training Base

FSS (12):
4 Ancient Stone Arch
4 Mobius Gardens
2 Stone Dolmens
1 Festival Circle
1 LaGrange Four

The title comes from having the maximum number of Equal Opportunity Butt Kicking and Big Bruiser cards (subtitled "Kicker of Butts") legally allowed.

This deck's goal and strategy is to make sure nobody ever gets an advantage over you in terms of power or characters. (The working title was "The Advantage Engine").

The Ancient Stone Arches and Mobius Gardens are two incredibly powerful cards which between them make it difficult or impossible for other players to gain a power advantage over you by using Sites or Events. They can get power, but every time they do so you get power as well. If they don't get power, that's okay too. We're still even. It closes off all the game-paths were others get ahead of you on the power curve and beat you down, and that's a very large chunk of the game-paths where you lose.

The power people do get they often spend on characters, which you can kill extremely cheaply with Equal Opportunity Butt Kicking (henceforth EOBK) and Final Brawl. Then when the coast is clear you bash in their sites for the win.

Big Bruiser and The Spirit of Kongxiangshi both have solid synergy with EOBK, since the Big Bruiser weathers it fairly well and The Spirit of Kongxiangshi has Regenerate. Nomad Army is there for slightly cheaper beats, Wu Bin of Turtle Island is there just because he's awesome, and Shamanistic Lieutenant was there because I was metagaming against the possibility of Leonard King playing his Lotus deck.

(Leonard played his Mostly Harmless deck instead, but I saw so many Arcanomoths that I was definitely not sorry to have the Magic Cop on board).

My breakout star was Secret Warrior Training Base, included at the last minute on a whim and which I now have a lot of respect for. It turns out that it has great synergy with board-clearing effects, as well as with "Is that all you got?", and it turns 1-cost foundations which are normally a bit of a dead draw in the mid-to-late game into cost-effective threats.

If I had my time over I'd give serious consideration to switching out three or four Big Bruisers for Steven Wu and The Golden Gunman, and switching out "Is that all you got?" for Golden Comeback. Spot removal or denial was the one thing that caused this deck serious problems, and characters that couldn't be Killdeered or Imprisoned would probably been more effective for me. The Shamanistic Lieutenant did work well, but I think for general-purpose play Dirk Wisely would be greatly superior in that slot because on a cleared board he's a huge menace (especially with Secret Warrior Training Base).

This deck isn't much fun to play against, so it's not something you'd bring to a casual/friendly/social/
muckabout Shadowfist session. It doesn't have any cool combos or anything, really. It's just a stack of extremely powerful cards with a power engine that is very hard to overtake, and it wins by killing all your characters before you can do anything fun with them.

Cheers,

Kevin Lowe

Weekend Event Report

The Shadowfist players of Brisbane, old and new, decided to forego a perfect Brisbane Spring weekend to instead descend on the gaming tables of Good Games Spring Hill for the second annual "B&S Brawl". Run over two days, the weekend is a mix of Shadowfist-related fun including tournaments, trading and movies.

The weekend got off to an eventful start with the world first sealed-deck tournament using the yet-to-be-released Combat in Kowloon and Back for Seconds starter decks. As a promotional event, existing players brought along friends which helped swell numbers. With decks handed out randomly at the start, participants had a great time playing the new set, seeing the new cards and in some cases playing factions they'd not played before (or playing old factions which have been given a new twist such as the Ascended and Dragons). The results showed the decks play well against each other, with more than half the participants getting a win or time-out win throughout the tournament.

In the end Brisbane Shadowfist icon Brad Daniels took the prize playing the Lotus deck, with second place going to the Dragons deck and third to Mitch Haggman playing Jammers.

After a bite to eat those who remained for the evening were treated to a showing of the Tsui Hark classic "The Iron Monkey", the perfect way to end an afternoon of Shadowfist.

Sunday morning got off to an early start with the "Battle of Brisbane" draft event. A mix of illness and Sunday public transport issues saw the numbers down on what was expected, but the participants were buoyed by the attendance of Good Games store owner Corey Hill who has always been a great supporter of Shadowfist and considers himself a draft specialist regardless of the the game.

The premise of the "Battle of Brisbane" event is the use of custom Feng Shui sites designed by Steve Darlington, based on iconic local locations. Tournament participants selected 8 of these locations to use as Feng Shui pods to help with deck building. With a mix of old sets, including 7 Masters, Shaolin Showdown and Dark Future, the game included ancient sorcerors, Manchu soldiers and futuristic cyborgs fighting for control of Brisbane.

At the end of four rounds first place went to tournament organiser Leonard King ("rigged! rigged!!!") with second place going to Mitch Haggman and third place Cameron Watson. Corey came in fourth place; a good result considering he only plays Fist occasionally.

With the draft running overtime, there was only a short lunch break before the afternoon Final Brawl tournament for the State Title.

As always, the open, constructed format showed Shadowfist at its very best with a wide range of factions and deck styles. After 3 rounds points were tallied and players allocated their final tables. In the end though, the finalists' game ran less than half the allocated duration with Kevin Lowe's "Maximum Butt Kickin'" deck overpowering its opponents to take the game and the title. A player who doesn't want to be named came second, and Mitch Haggman came third.

Thanks to the support of Good Games we were able to offer a $50 store credit to the "New Recruit/Old Master", the highest placed new player who joined, or old player who rejoined, the game in the last year. This year's winner was Cameron Watson, who managed to do good things with a limited card pool to build a fearsome Darkness Monarchs deck, coming in fourth overall.

As a final prize, the title of "B&S Brawl Champion 2012" and accompanying plaque went to the player who scored the most match points across all tournament events. This year's winner, by a fair margin, was Mitch Haggman who placed in all three events showing his consistency and skill across a range of formats.

Congratulations to everyone who took away a prize over the weekend.

Thanks must go to;
Hamming it up at the end of the weekend.
Inner Kingdom Games and Daniel Griego for prize support, allowing us to use the CiK decks and having them prepared so soon after the success of the Kickstarter campaign. We were proud to be given the opportunity to be first in the world to run these cards in a tournament.

Corey and Cassie from Good Games Spring Hill, who continue to be massive supporters of our game and our playgroup. On top of the $50 store credit they also put a box of Seven Masters up as a prize, and paid for a staff member to stay late to allow us to have our movie.

Randal Wales for being the perfect collaborator and sounding board to help get this event up and running again. Vive la Flying Monkey Squad!

Kevin Lowe and Matt Barker for helping me cut up the printed CiK cards ready for the event. 3 sets of 6 50 card decks make for a lot of cutting and it couldn't have been done without you.

Steve Darlington for the feng shui sites, and for the loan of the hat.

Mitch Haggman for supplying the video projector, even though, for the second year in a row, he wasn't able to attend the movie himself.

Thanks to everyone who came along. I hope you had a good time.

All things being equal, B&S Brawl will return for 2013 so make your plans now to be in Brisbane for September next year.

Sunday, 16 September 2012

B&S Brawl 2012 Sunday results.

The Brawl is done for another year. Thanks to everyone who came along over the weekend and thanks to our hosts, Good Games Brisbane.

There will be a full report coming soon, but here's the results for the day.

Draft - Battle for Brisbane

1st - Leonard King
2nd - Mitch Haggman
3rd - Cameron Watson

Leonard won with a Hand/Lotus deck over Mitch by only 2 game points.

Final Brawl - State Titles

1st - Kevin Lowe
2nd - Name withheld
3rd - Mitch Haggman
New Recruit - Cameron Watson

For the second year in a row Kevin Lowe took out the title over a very strong field, with his Dragons dominating the final. A full deck list will be made available soon.

And in a result that surprised no one, the prize for the highest placed player that started or returned to the game in the last year was Cameron Watson and his Darkness Monarchs deck.

The final prize was for the highest points total across the weekend which went to Mitch Haggman. A great effort showing his consistent skill across all formats.

Saturday, 15 September 2012

CiK Tournament Winners

Everyone's had a great time with the world first Combat in Kowloon tournament, and the winners are;
1st - Brad Daniels
2nd - name withheld
3rd - Mitch Hagmann

Thanks to Daniel Griego and IKG for getting the new cards to us for this event. They've been well received and people are looking forward to the release in January.

It begins...

B&S Brawl 2012 is about to commence with the first ever Combat in Kowloon sealed deck tournament! Here's what's on offer.

Saturday, 25 August 2012

Weekend Timetable


Here's the breakdown of what's happening at B&S Brawl 2012.

Saturday 15 September

StartEndEvent
12:0013:45 Casual play
13:4514:00Tournament sign-in
14:0018:30Combat in Kowloon 
pre-constructed tournament
18:3019:00Dinner break
19:0022:00Movie - The Iron Monkey
22:00CloseCasual play

Sunday 16 September 

StartEndEvent
08:4509:00Tournament sign-in
09:0013:00Battle of Brisbane draft tournament
13:0013:45Lunch break
13:4514:00Tournament sign-in
14:0018:30Final Brawl tournament
18:30Event finished

Feel free to leave questions or queries in the comments below.

Thursday, 23 August 2012

More Prizes!

First up - any attendee who brings along a new player to a tournament event will be awarded 2 promo cards of their choice (other than KFC) from the stack available at Good Games. You can give them to your new player, split them between you or hoard them for yourself, it's up to you. With three tournaments over the course of the weekend there's an opportunity to get yourself a full playset of your favourite promo, with one left over for your display binder.

Plus, borrowing from a great idea from Steve D, you get a bonus promo if the attendee is female.

Please note the attendee has to have taken part in the full tournament event to be eligible for the promos.


Second - Good Games is kindly awarding another store credit prize this year, same as the "New Recruit/Old Master" prize we had last year for highest placed player who had started or returned to the game in the previous 12 months. Given a lack of new or returning players I'm deciding what to do with this. It may even wind up in the...

Third - The plaque sent from IKG this year is inscribed as the "2012 B & S Brawl Champion". With this in mind, the plaque will be a special individual prize for the player who scores the highest number of match points across all three tournament events on the weekend. If you can achieve at a high level in pre-constructed, draft AND FInal Brawl, then you deserve something special. Plus, the incentive also acts as a blatant attempt on my part to get people along to all three events. :-)

As always, if you have any comments on these prizes, or any of the tournament events please feel free to reply in the comments below.

Tuesday, 21 August 2012

Tournament Details - Final Brawl

"Let's do this!"

Premise: In the end it all comes down to a single battle, where the factions in the Secret War come together, make and break alliances, and fight each other for the ultimate prize. With the State Championship on the line, who has what it takes to survive and make the correct move at the right moment to achieve ultimate power? Who takes it? Whose regime reigns supreme?

How it works: Standard deck building rules apply, no other restrictions. Bring your deck along and kick as much arse as you can. Positions for the final round will be determined on points standing after 3 rounds with ties determined at the organiser's discretion. Prizes are awarded based on the result of the final round only.

Date/Time: Sunday 16 September - 14:00-18:30
Sign in fifteen minutes prior

Format: 3 player, 3 rounds, Round Robin + Final

Cost: There is no cost for this event

Prizes

  • Winner – "The Perfect Master"
    • KFC card
    • 5x Promos
  • 2nd
    • Mug
    • 3x promos
  • 3rd
    • Can of Whupass
    • 2x promos
  • Last place
    • 2x boosters

Monday, 13 August 2012

Tournament Details - "Battle of Brisbane" draft

Fighting for control of Brisbane
"This is why I keep fighting"

Premise: Heroes, demons and evil sorcerers from Ancient China, monks, martial artists and secret societies from the Qing Dynasty, cyborgs, rebels and robots from a doomed future all descend on modern day Brisbane. Who will control Toowong Cemetery, Lang park, Mt Coot-Tha and the Story Bridge for control of the world?

How it works: Standard "Whirlpool of Blood" tournament format, using older sets (no Syndicate).
http://www.shadowfist.com/node/1230
Participants will be given two pods of 5 foundation characters from their faction of choice (Seven Masters not available) and one of 8 Feng Shui sites featuring iconic Brisbane locations to build a deck before first round play begins.
Final positions are based on game points.
Players can keep their drafted cards at the end of the tournament.

Date/Time: Sunday 16 September - 09:00-13:00
Sign in fifteen minutes prior

Format: 3 player, 4 rounds, Round Robin. Maximum 12 participants.

Cost: TBA (still working out exactly how many boosters will be offered)

Drafted sets
Seven Masters vs the Underworld
Shaolin Showdown
Dark Future
Netherworld 2 (if available)

Prizes

Winner - "Netherworld Vet"
T Shirt
KFC card
5x promos
     2nd
Mug
3x promos
     3rd
Can of Whupass
2x promos

Encouragement Award
2x boosters