themountainthatpwns-

There is a small, growing group in the SE side of MI, but if you're interested we can swing by and pick you up for the Chicago area regional. If you don't have cards, thats not a problem my friend and I own a playset of all the LCG cards and can hook you up with a deck to borrow if you want.

The game is and has stayed fun, and become overall cheaper to play than many other games. We're also heading to Gencon if you're interested in splitting a room. Anyway , again, we have extra cards and room for 2 on our way to Chicago if you are interested.

Thanks, depending on how things transpire, I'll prolly take you up on that. I'll keep the powers that be in the loop here.

Talked with AY and we're in. I think AY will drive, so I won't need a ride, but thanks for the offer ccgtrader!

We don't have decks. Ktom, would you or Sheik be willing to throw something together for us? I'm excited to play! Haven't been in a tourney in years.

The Mountain Rides again!? After years of being away? Brings a tear to my eye.

Yeah. I never really stopped playing, just stopped traveling everywhere and buying new cards. I'm sure I'm rusty as far as competitive play is concerned, but it should be fun. Hope to see you sometime in the near future Braz

I'll talk to Sheik and we'll have something for you Matt. Something GJ or Bara for you, Stark for AY?

Oh, it'll probably help you if you read this . It's the only new thing you can't really get from the cards.

It'll be great to see you guys! Looking forward to next week!

Yeah, Stark for AY would be great, Bara/GJ for me is perfect too! Thanks team! I'll read up on the Shadow dynamic, thanks for the heads up Ktom.

"For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in [Westeros] now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us" at the Chicago-Area AGoT Regional.

Two days.

Henry V? or is it IV?

Henry V - and I like Olivier's delivery over Branagh's.

"Once more into the breach, dear friends...."

ktom said:

FFG, if you're reading this, *please* post something on the front page about the regionals with the details the TOs supplied.

^^^ lulz... Sounds like the FFG I remember...

As one of the "West-Central Illinois" players, I'm looking forward to it; nothing against my local metagame, but it's a bit limited in scope.

LetsGoRed said:

if you post it, they will read (said by James Earl Jones....aka Darth Vader aka Erick Chirstionson [~wtf?!?])

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=1338

Lars said:

aka, Thulsa Doom!

Shenanigans said:

Wait where do you play at?

Staton said:

Come tomorrow and ask him in person. Prom King.

Shenanigans and goshdarnstud are two of the DeKalb players. See the earlier posts for my unfortunate inability to label anything geographically.

You know, at this point I probably have the time to come tomorrow. and I'm sure there would be extra decks to use (knowing how much you and adam like deck building!) but andrew and I were talking yesterday and we just don't have the money for the gas. we were actually thinking about coming up but its just not in the cards(pun intended!).

Staton said:

Yeah... considering the loss we're taking on the kit, the "no money for gas" reasoning, though certainly valid I'm sure, just isn't stirring my sympathies.

ktom said:

No offense intended ktom, but sometimes DeKalb does feel like the end of the world.

I'm really looking forward to the event tomorrow, as you might be able to tell by my late night posting.

Well good luck to everyone attending this event! Andrew and I are severely bummed that we couldn't make it. Hope to see some of you in Missouri!

Good luck everyone. I'm hoping to see a round-by-round...or at least post who breaks to out rounds.

We had a turn out of 12 people. Some interesting facts of the 12: I believe that for 5, this was their first "major" AGoT event and for 4 others, this was a return after a significant hiatus from competitive play.

The House breakdown was:

3x Lannister

3x Martell

3x Stark

1x Targaryen

1x Baratheon

I don't have board names, or even last names, for everyone, so bear with me. After 4 rounds of Swiss, the cut to final 4 was:

Casey (for old-times, yes - that Casey): Lannister
Malesh: Lannister
Tony: Targaryen
Adam: Lannister

In the finals, it was Tony vs. Casey, and Casey pulled out the win. It was a great day of gaming and it was a lot of fun to play against both new faces and old friends alike.

A note on the final 4: I know everyone is going to say "3 Lannisters in the field, 3 in the top 4, and another event won by Lannister." However, I would also point out that the 3 Lannister players were perhaps 3 of the most seasoned and experienced with competitive AGoT at the event. So there is a bit of a chicken-and-egg thing going on here. Did Lannister have such a strong showing because of the specific players who chose it as their House? Or did those particular players, guided by the strength of their experience, naturally gravitate toward the House as the best for competition? Hard to say. And it is worth noting that Targ, which people do not usually mention as being a highly competitive House right now, took second. Very decisively, I might add.

First off, thanks to ktom and everyone else who helped out setting this event up. Despite (or because of?) a 1-3 showing in the main event and an 0-2 record in the side event, I had a great time, particularly meeting everyone. As someone who played Magic competitively for a number of years and ran into plenty of rude and unfriendly duelists, I was amazed at how truly fun and likable everyone was.. Maybe it has something to do with the type of person who enjoys the books and/or the world of AGoT. As GRRM once said, this was "a good day...with Snow."

This was my first AGoT event and only the second time I'd played someone other than my one of my three local friends. As far as the Lannister-heavy environment, (3 out of my 4 matches) I wasn't shocked, as all the tournament results I'd seen on the web indicated Lannister was by far the most popular choice. Also, didn't we have at least four Lannister decks? I played against Casey, Adam, and Randy, all of whom were playing Lannister.

In any case, I certainly had a lot of fun, met some great guys, and learned a lot. Thanks again!

- Mike

P.S. The best exchange of the day (my apologies if I didn't get it exactly correct, this is from memory)

Voice from across the tables: "Hey, what does vigilant do again?"

Adam: "Not a lot of Baratheon in the Southeast Michigan metagame, huh?"

Nice to see the return of all those players. Casey really is a blast from the past. Way to come back with style.

As for Lannister, isn't it telling that the best players are choosing Lannister, even players I don't normally think of as Lannister players(Greg in Minnesota). Despite the recent bannings and erratas, Lanni still must have the most going for them. When other houses start getting 2-3 spots in the top 4 or winning all the major events, come back to me that the issue is the player and not the house.