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Larry Burman meets Britain's Matt
Ellis in the opening rounds of the Battle Cry sequel.. |
GM Tony Curtis is five years removed
from his "ringer" role as the 2006 champ. |
Blocks & Blades ...
Round 1 was the swiss portion of a modified swiss-elim format
played in 4-player groups. A round robin within each group using
the Cannae scenario followed with the best record in each group
advancing automatically along with enough of the best runners-up
to advance 16. Side selection was handled by players bidding
victory banners. Carthage achieved a 36-30 win advantage. The
average banner advantage was 2.8 for both sides. The bids decided
the victory in five cases for the Romans and three cases for
the Carthaginians so balance wasn't much of an issue.
The second round was another group round-robin using Gabiene
from the 1st Expansion. This time, only the winner of each pod
would advance to the semis. Antigones won overall 13-11 by just
over four banners while Eumenes won his victories by just over
two.
The semi-finals were conducted as two-game matches, playing
both sides of the Battle of Ipsus. In the first match, 2007 champ
Bill O'Neal faced Joe Yaure. Both players won as Selecus. Bill
however was better as Antigonus, capturing seven banners versus
Joe's four. In the other battle, defending champ, Chad Mekash
met Jack Morrell. This time Antigonus was victorious on both
ends and Jack edged Chad 5-4 in banners as Selecus.
The last test was Asculum pitting the upstate NY rivals in
a rematch of the 2007 Final. Both players lost with the Romans
by identical 6-2 scores so it was decided on total blocks lost.
Bill regained his title by winning the rematch by losing 30 to
Jack's 37.
Attendance remained stable and was fortified by the presence
of all five former champions. These scenarios seemed well balanced.
We'll have to see where we go next year inasmuch as a new expansion
will be out before Christmas.
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Pete Stein sends his old blocks against
young Joe Yaure in group play. |
Commands & Colors Ancients draws a consistent field year after year. |
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