The Game Plan for 2020: Back to Tournaments

I had a few tastes of my old love during 2019 so far.  Not much, with a small scale 40k event, a MESBG special event...

But they have been great.  I used to be a tournament player a decade and more ago (and not to shabby either), and while I stated upon my return those days where gone, adrenaline is a strong mistress.

Surely, I could go bungee jumping instead, but no, that is not my thing.  Afraid of heights you see...  So instead, I am going to get my "fix" again in the tournament scene of various wargames.  It won't be like the good old days where I was away like once a month or so, if only for the whole hauling around of complete armies.  But there are a lot of smaller game systems out there becoming more popular by the day.  Underworlds comes to mind, where I can travel with my whole army in  courier bag for example.

But being involved in the organisation of our clubs first event in years, Hammers and Swords 2019, has sparked the embers into a smoldering fire... and combustion into a raging inferno is eminent!

Of course, there is also that 9th Age army I'm building, and that force, being infantry heavy, will be a serious logistics operation, but I estimate that will only be twice or thrice in the year.  There is Ipsqueek now to consider, so leaving Noshi on baby duty every weekend is a receipy for disaster.

But that does influence my painting choices as well for the coming months of course, as I'll be prioritising on those forces and get them ready as fast as possible, to a decent standard (so sorry, I'm staying away from those Contrast paints) to grab those paint points at a good average rating.

Personal ambitions at those events will be modest for the first year 'full in' again, and I'm looking a bit at my Magic 'career' for indicators of level.  In this first year, I aim not to end last in the tournaments I play, with the occassional aroud half the table result intertwined.

Come 2021, because it helps to plan long term and 'upp your game' as such, I hope to put down constant 33% results, being winning 1 in every 3 maches I play on competitive levels.  The year after, I should be able to settle in my old ratio: winning 2 out of 3, with semi-constant top 10 finishes in the 'game of choice'.  That should put me back 'on the map' and help out the clubs T3 rating.

Talking club ratings, I also have that sneaky ambition to end as 'first of the club' in larger events we might attend en masse, but it's that en masse part I'm going to try and work on as well in the future: mobilise the old gang again to go on road trips!

Because while 'Da Noobs' are the most active tournament group within our club, maybe it is time to ressurect 'The Far Side of the Galaxy' after all those years again and show those upstart snotnoses that we old farts aren't out of tricks just yet...