A (non-40K) Adepticon 2012 Retrospective

Considering the profusion of blogs invested in covering every last detail of the "Big Two" 40K/Fantasy experience at Adepticon, I felt it might be interesting to focus solely on the (mostly) non-GW events from Adepticon 2012. As some of you may know, Adepticon began as an almost exclusively GW-focused independent event 10 years ago. Within the past few years, the staff and organizers have diversified the systems covered well beyond the domination GW once enjoyed. 2011 saw a big expansion of the open gaming section and this year was larger than ever. I tried to get some pics of everything this year but, with so much to see and do, there are things I missed (notably, the beautiful Carentan demo table for Bolt Action, the Hail Caesar demo on Saturday night, and the Dust Warfare demo table by FFG) but this post should give the reader a good overview of the variety of both open tournaments and demo games available this year.

Wreck-Age

Well, this is it - the completed demo table I assembled for the crew at Hyacinth games. It's arranged for a specific scenario, which is why most of the modular terrain is absent.

This was the first time I was able to demo the game and it plays very fast (~15 minutes!) and furious. Players of futuristic skirmish games will be familiar with the mechanics involved. One of the nice features is that each player's specific scenario objective is hidden from their opponent, which can make for interesting gameplay and keeps your attention for fear of missing some vital tactic.

 Special thanks to the Hyacinth team for contributing blisters of their awesome minis to the Necromunda tournament as well!

LotOW - Battle of Little Big Horn

I unfortunately missed out on getting tickets to this demo but was able to watch a few turns Thursday night. As you can see, the minis painted for this demo were amazing!

Robotech Battles

To my utter surprise, there was a demo for the upcoming Robotech Battles game! The minis, especially the Zentradi, are excellently modeled resin minis and I'm pretty excited about trying this out. Check out their Facebook page and the Adepticon interview below with Jon Paulson.

Infinity

Some of the nicely-painted demo miniatures

Attendees were able to play some demos (the demo board is pictured below) as well as a tournament on Sunday (missed pics of that). I expect that this system will have a lot more followers come 2013.

Freeblades

An interesting skirmish game developed by DGS Games, this is probably the most "fleshed-out" promo demo from this year. It's based on a fantasy RPG so the fluff is well-established, going so far as having a full-color vinyl map of the world available!

Malifaux "Cake" Tournament

Probably the wackiest concept for a tournament, Malifaux "Cake" returned for its second year. If you're  unfamiliar, its a normal tournament with the requirement that each player also bring one pastry item. This can range from Little Debbie cakes to a full-blown Nightmare Teddy cake with chocolate tombstones! I'm sure most players loved it but it was tortuous for those of us who are lactose-intolerant.

It was tough to get pics of the various warbands during my walkthrough, but I was able to get some shots of the excellent tables available for the players. Being a LotOW player, I especially liked the "saloon interior" board (pictured below).

Flames of War - Early War Tournament

This was my second year playing in the Early War tournie and this year was both good and bad. All the players were especially great and I had some really tough opponents. Unfortunately, the boards were arranged as 4x4' sizes which, at 1265pts., was a huge hindrance for my Panzer Co. and gave players running British Armored Companies immense benefits. Hopefully, they'll change table sizes back to the standard 4x6' next year or I can foresee myself and a lot of other casual players bringing power lists specifically designed for the smaller table size.

Some of the awesome terrain!

Warhammer Historical - Singles Tournament

A system and time period I've always meant to get into, just a glance around the tables this year sold me on the idea of joining in 2013. Here's just a small sampling of some of the excellently painted armies players ran.

Privateer Press

Privateer had its own packed room this year and I wasn't able to get many shots of tournament play so, instead I tried to get as many pics of their great studio miniatures and the amazing 4'x4' diorama from this year.

                 

Flames of War Mid/Late-War Tournaments

To finish out, here's a sampling of the terrain and armies from the Mid and Late War tournaments this year. See you again next year!

Road To Adepticon: The Malifaux & Co. Puppet Show

Well, I finished my Malifaux crew last Wednesday. Unfortunately, I was then informed that the Malifaux Adepticon tournament would not accept proxy miniatures! So, I now have al day Saturday free...and it looks like I'll be entering this in the painting competition.

Collodi's Marionettes - these are TOR Gaming's 'Britanan Troopers' and carry over Collodi's general appearance and uniform colors. While I really like these minis, pinning their tiny wooden legs to the display bases was an absolute nightmare. You can tell, by looking closely, exactly where I punched through the leg and had to repair it with CA glue (as the mini was already painted).

The Wicked Dolls - Again, these minis are from TOR Gaming, the 'Britanan Grenadiers'. While they suffer from the Troopers brittle legs, they were a little easier to assemble. Since I wanted these dolls to be easily distinguishable from the Marionettes on the tabletop, they are painted in a bright orange color which, unfortunately, pictures can't do justice to. Out of all the models in this crew, these little guys are my favorites.

Insidious Madness - this proxy mini began life as a D&D pre-paint, I then used it in the 1st Adepticon Necromunda tournament as one of the "monsters" in the 'It Came From The Sump' scenario, and finally it ends here. I cut off the integral base, scraped off what little paint there was (the mini is actually clear, which makes it perfect for a ghost), then repainted the 3 tongues and teeth. After a coat of gloss varnish, it was done.

And, one final behind-the-scenes shot! Enjoy!

Road To Adepticon: Malifaux Collodi & Zoraida

My Malifaux "Collodi" - the puppetmaster. Since there's no 'official' miniature for this character yet, I simply took an Iron Kingdoms Curator (adding a GS-sculpted hat) and replaced the Discerning Beast with an OOP GW Marrionette Familiar.


This is obviously Zoriada - the voodoo witch. I GS-sculpted her dress as I thought the original model was a little gratuitous, rather than menacing. Her Voodoo Dolls (while nice) were really difficult to paint with any kind of definition. It's a shame too, because they're such an interesting touch.


Finally, here's another preview shot of the puppet stage display base. Enjoy!