We initially had 9 players with me the odd one out acting as sub. Sadly on the morning one of our players had transport issues so I got promoted to active player. Luckily for me Paul was driving - on the understanding I got the pizza in later - seems a fair deal.
We set out about half seven, stopped for breakfast and other refs, then arrived at York about half nine. As tournament players we were able to bypass the queues and get straight up to our spot and set up.
Players all arrived on time, and following some introductions we all "set to". the format was three games, each an hour long using the "Dogfight" scenario from the rules. The first two games would take us to lunch, and then after an hours break we would finish up, just in time for "Tea and Medals". We had quite a selection of Squadrons on show, covering all the main BRS factions - 3 RAF, 2 IJA\IJN, US (Marines), Luftwaffe, and my own Soviets. We also had some interesting "builds" - possibly the most interesting being the four Wildcat Aces with complementary skills, and at the other end the FW190 Squadron with a couple of average pilots but the rest all rookies. I'll post the full Squadron lists at the bottom so people can dissect them if they want.
I'll not go into too much detail on the matches other than to say they all played fairly smoothly and without any problems - a testament to the rules and the players, all fine chaps. The three game format worked well I thought, with the majority of games being decided before the hour cut off. It was nice to have a real break to both shop and "refuel".
I was interesting to see some of the games were quite "cagey" with all players using clouds and jockeying for position with very little initial shooting, while other games were pretty much "pile in and see who shoots best". I can't give much comment on the games other than the ones I played.
My first match was against Sean and his Zeros. This went ok - I was actually ahead until Sean was trying to work out how to get a shot on one of my Migs, and I, still in helpful organiser mode, explained how he could do it - and he promptly shot the poor Ivan down! (memo to self - its a competition - keep your mouth shut!). That game ended in a winning draw to the IJN as we both were forced to retire due to Boom Chits (morale) but Sean had one kill.
Second match was against Ross and his FW190s. I think I managed to put him on the defensive early on and he never really recovered, partly due to his Rookie pilots and partly due to my Migs getting in close using their Great Dive Trait - probably the only thing the Mig is good at. I also remembered my memo and didnt prompt Ross when he forgot to use his Robust Trait - I needed all the help I could get! We shot one FW190 down and Ross was forced to disengage - a 6 point win.
Last match was against Chris and his IJA J2M Raidens. Chris was probably the most assured of the guys I played, and his J2Ms had a lot in their favour, but I did have the numerical advantage and attempted to isolate one of his elements quickly. Chris made a minor error and I got lucky several times with my dice, isolating and shooting down a J2M before it could get to the safety of the clouds, which combined with some other Boom chits inflicted earlier caused him to disengage. I was very relieved at this!
All the players had some interesting Theatre and Doctrine cards in play, and they certainly has an impact. My "Restricted Airfields" was certainly a very powerful choice (possibly too powerful?) as it causes opponents with equal or greater number of planes to lose one at the start. That has two big impacts. Not only does it reduce the number of planes (and therefore boom chit capacity) but it also forces most opponents to deploy in only 2 elements, leaving me with the tactical advantage of deploying an element last. I wish I could say I had thought of this in advance, but my taking it was just down to pot luck. I suspect that will be a very solid choice for players using more expensive planes and high quality pilots. Ross and his "Low Level Haze" was also an interesting as it made surviving if you got into trouble easier, but that worked both ways. Chris had a great combo in Tropical Conditions and Tropical Filters, which nerfed the speeds of opponents who didn't take filters as equipment. Joe took Defensive Tactics. This is certainly a very powerful choice if you have planes with Tight Turn, effectively making most tailing shots deflection shots. As we were using the optional "need a crit to hit on deflection" this really made his Hurricanes buggers to nail down, but I think on balance it can also make you too defensive, and makes it difficult to line up shots for next turn. Most players took "Drop Tanks" and this is one of the cards I think we may have to think about in future Tournament use. It is free, and other than a minor initiative nerf on turn 1 helps negate many of the other Theatre card effects. Needless to say I took it!
As for builds - we didn't see any twin engine fighters. We were using the "Heavy Fighter" optional rule, which makes them easier to use but also easier to catch. On discussion I suspect for tournament play these should be made a bit cheaper if Heavy Fighter is in use.
Probably the most interesting "build" was Steve and his "Four of a Kind Aces" build. Each was chosen with a skill that supported other Squadron mates. Of course this is a very expensive way to build a list and at 500 points you needed to take cheap fighters - nothing more than 25 points, so it will be limited to Wildcats, Mig3s, I16s and that sort of thing. I think it was interesting, but only 4 planes means you are very vulnerable to accumulating Boom Chits. I also noticed that it meant Steve was pretty much forced into a very tight deployment and that he needed to keep close to each other to get the benefit. Dan and his Spitfires exploited this ruthlessly, one managed to trigger most of Steve's Ace skills and Steve failed a couple of retention rolls so lost them for the turn, another Spit got inside Steve's tight "Lufbery" and tailed and took a shot at a Wildcat - Steve rolled badly on the dodge and was shot down.
On mechanics - the new optional "crit to hit deflections" worked well - even though I missed most of mine (doh!) and everyone liked "open play" with the cards.
Certainly food for thought.
Overall winner was Sean and his Zeros, so he got a signed copy of Air Strike (thanks Andy Chambers). Me, Dan and Paul were the "runners up" and all grabbed a new Squadron Box set donated kindly by Warlord Games (thanks again). Best painted went to Sean's Zeros, and wooden spoon for finishing last went to Joe, both got a set of measuring tools from "Just Lasered" - thanks again to Mel at Just Lasered for donating those.
In discussion it looks like we are going to try and organise another event in Sunderland soon - I'm certainly interested in that, and I hope this could be the start of some more organised events for Blood Red Skies.
York Blood Red Skies Tournament – Player Lists
1. Steve Ellis – US Pacific Early War
4 F4 Wildcats
4x PS5 (Mother Hen, Set Them Up, Eagle Eyes, Reflexes)
Equipment – Tropical Filters, Drop Tanks
Doctrine – Aggressive Tactics
Theatre (1) Restricted Airfields
Theatre (2) Superior Armaments
2. Paul Davison – British Late War NW Europe
5x Spitfire XIV
1x PS4, 4x PS3
Equipment – Drop Tanks
Doctrine – High Altitude Performance
Theatre (1) Down Drafts
Theatre (2) Poorly Trained Opponents
Sorry - for some reason I lost the pic of Pauls beautiful Mk XIVs (Doh!) but this is a low res one
3. Dan Ibekwe – British Late War NW Europe
6 x Spitfire IX
1 x PS4, 3 x PS3. 1 x PS2
Equipment – Polished Performance
Doctrine – Intruders
Theatre (1) Met Office
Theatre (2) Radar Jamming
4. Joe Chandler – British Early War NW Europe
6 x Hurricane II
1 x PS5 (Blackout Master), 1 x PS4, 2 x PS3, 2 x PS 2
Equipment – non
Doctrine – Defensive Tactics
Theatre (1) Radar Support
Theatre (2) Met Office
5. Sean Griffiths – Late War Japanese Pacific
6 x A6M5 Zero
2 x PS 5 (Aggressive, Blackout Master), 4 x PS 2
Equipment – Drop Tanks
Doctrine – Aggressive Tactics
Theatre (1) Radar Support
Theatre (2) Bad Weather
6. Cam Murray - Late War Soviet Eastern Front
5 x IL2 3M
1 x PS5 (Mother Hen) 4 x PS 4
Equipment – none
Doctrine – Interlocking fire
Theatre (1) Low Level Haze
Theatre (2) Supply Shortages
Cam couldn't attend due to a last minute transport problem
7. Ross Hendry – Late War German North West Europe
6 x Fw190A
2 x PS 3
4 x PS 2
Equipment – none
Doctrine – Big Game hunters
Theatre (1) Low Level Haze
Theatre (2) Bad Weather
8. Chris Jarratt – Late War Japanese Pacific
5 x J2M Raiden
1 x PS5 (Aggressive) 1 x PS 4, 2 x PS3, 1 x PS2
Equipment –Tropical Filters
Doctrine – Aggressive Tactics
Theatre (1) Radar Support
Theatre (2) Tropical Conditions
9. Ken Natt (sub) Soviet Early War Eastern Front
6 x MiG 3
Ivan Pokryskin (The Right Stuff, Set Them Up) 1 x PS 4, 4x PS3
Equipment – Drop Tanks
Doctrine – Low Altitude Performance
Theatre (1) Bad Weather
Theatre (2) Restricted Airfields
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