Post Con Season

Adepticon...

Gencon...

NOVA...

They're all done, and my wallet is very thankful for that.

Of the three, Gencon was my favorite, as there was zero 40k competitive pressure to deal with. My schedule was my own, and I could game to my heart's content. While there, I L5R'ed my butt off, and cruised around the con otherwise. Fantasy Flight was a frequent stop, with Relic (think 40k Talisman, but improved) being the highlight. If they had had it there as anything beyond a prototype, it would have been mine. As it was, I picked up AEG’s Ninja: Legend of the Scorpion Clan, many Secret Weapon bases, some latex weapons for shits and giggles (one being a thunder hammer), and assorted odds and ends. I’m certainly going back next year, and I’m very pleased with the VIG companion ticket. So worth it, with the lounge/bag check/free sodas/shortened reg line. Oh, and the bean bag chairs in the lounge. Somewhere, there’s video of my friend supermanning into a pile of them after a sprint, after which she received the people’s elbow from me.

Adepticon was a mixed bag, mainly due to my illness. The day of the Team Tournament, I took ill, and had a 100 degree fever. I was sweating bullets and swallowing fistfuls of Tylenol to get through it. If it wasn’t for that, I would have had a great time. Adepticon is its own community now. I’m beginning to recognize people from different time zones now, which is weird to me. Still, I was proud of our team’s performance under duress. We improved our position again this year, even with the hurdle of facing the BoLS team in round one. Lessons were learned, and good times were had. I was just upset I had to skip the combat patrol the next day, as I was still sick.

NOVA would have been awesome, had it taken place about two weeks later. Mike and crew had to make some tough choices with some rules calls, and those really came back to bite me in certain games. It’s not their fault; it’s just that the GW FAQs clarified those rules in the exact opposite way that the NOVA did. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still had a good time, but by the time Sunday rolled up, I was done with 40k playing for a bit. I went to brunch with Kenyon instead, and had a great time there. I’m still going back to all three next year, Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise. I'm debating NOVA for next year, as it came so soon after Gencon. It killed my wallet. I still think I'm going to go, if for nothing else than supporting an innovative format.