22) WildRat 2023: The Quest for Kentucky

The Wildcat is an annual 40 person Invitational Kings of War tournament hosted by Jim and Robin Livers. It's a very friendly tournament because it doesn't count as a master's qualifier or anything, so the super competetive hardcore power gamers mostly don't bother with it. That isn't to say that there aren't some excellent generals present, because there are, but they aren't there to mercilessly curb stomp anybody like they do at the GT. In fact, if the event staff thinks your army list is too nasty, or just looks frustrating to play against, they will politely ask you to submit something more in the spirit of FRIENDLY competition.

I arrived in Dayton KY on Thursday night for the traditional pre-tournament BBQ, and Jim's famous brisket. It was awesome. I was the token new guy, this year, and everyone was very welcoming.

Friday was the Wildcat doubles tournament. My rats paired with Cody's Orcs for three games. Cody and I were a good matchup, but our army lists were not. We lost all three games! Our opponents were Elves and Dwarves, Dwarves and Northern Alliance, and Forces of Nature. The Forces of Nature players were running almost identical lists comprised entirely of air, earth, and fire elementals. After the doubles tournament, everyone went out to a German Beer hall for food, drink, and live music.

Saturday was day one of the Wildcat singles tournament. My rats faced off against three different armies.

Game 1 was against John P's Dwarves, and my rats won their first tournament game, ever! John was very patient and understanding with me when I had questions about rules. It was a great game. The scenario involved marching to hold certain table sections as territory. Dwarves are very slow, and they always struggle with this type of scenario, so I had an advantage from the start.

Game 2 was the "Invade" scenario against James' Forces of Nature. It was a brutal grind of a battle, because both of our armies are very durable, and very good at healing. It wasn't until the 5^th and 6^th turns of the game that my defenses really started to crumble. James won a solid victory by having pretty much his entire army on my half of the table at the end. Scud Light at least had a good time, beating unicorns to death to stop them from healing anyone. In hindsight, I lost this game on the first turn, because I wasn't aggressive enough. I should have pushed everyone forward as far as their maximum movement, to get clear of my own half of the table before first contact. I was too conservative with my march moves, and it meant that the whole game was fought on my side of the board instead of his.

Game 3 was against Shawn S's Ogres. This army caught me completely off guard. I had no idea that Ogres could be so good at shooting. His boomers (Ogres using cannons like shotguns) and his Ogre Magi spellcasters simply blew away an entire horde of my infantry in the first turn. My Vermintide, my Hackpaws, and my Tunnel Runners managed to mess up his right flank pretty bad, but the scenario was all about controlling an objective on the centerline of the table, and my core of infantry couldn't survive the storm of gunfire to hold it. It was a victory for the Ogres.

At the end of day one, I was 1-2. After the third game, Shawn, Cody, and I went to Gold Star to get Coneys and Spaghetti Chili. There was a gaming swapmeet at the tournament venue that evening, and I managed to pick up some nice vintage minis for future rat lists.

I didn't get to play Ernie, but at least I got to meet him. Maybe next year! 

Sunday was the final day of the Wildcat.

Game 4 was against John H's Empire of Dust. This was a really funny game, because the scenario involved grabbing loot tokens and running them into your opponents deployment zone. My speedy little rats grabbed as many tokens as they could, and then just ran for their lives from his shambling mummies, stone tomb guardians, and angry cursed pharohs. I lost a LOT of my army fighting a rear guard so certain units could escape with the tokens, but it was a win for the rats! Also, Scud Light was critical in this game, because he somehow managed to hold up a great undead wyrm for four whole turns. By the time the undead dragon had finally finished off my rat, there were no casters anywhere near him to cast a surge spell on him, and it was too late for him to have any affect on the battle.

Game 5 was against Sean D. Sean D had a Varangur/Northern Alliance variant list. Instead of using norse barbarians, though, he painted up an army with a Central American Native theme. He had Aztec warriors instead of Vikings, and Giant Jaguars instead of Polarbears. It was a gorgeous army! Both Sean and I were very cautious the first couple of turns, but then both armies finally got stuck in. The scenario was simply "Kill" or deathmatch. No special objectives or missions. I don't really feel like I made any big mistakes this game, and I hate to ever make excuses about bad luck, but man, did I have some bad luck this game. Just terrible dice rolls all around. Especially nerve checks. I just couldn't seem to roll higher than a four all game! Heavily damaged enemy units that definitely SHOULD have routed did not, and it really messed up my center and just kind of trapped most of my army in a bad spot. Sean probably still would have beat me regardless, but at least it wouldn't have been such an absolute thrashing!

With my final record of 2-3 I finished well in the bottom half of the rankings, but I had so much fun that I really don't care. I didn't enter this tournament expecting to win. Heck, I'm thrilled I had any wins at all. The tournament had a ton of prize support, and I won some really great boxed sets to build new armies with! I also won third place for best sportsman, which is kinda wild considering that I was the token new guy this year, and nobody knew who I was!

Well, maybe the rat costume helped me stand out...

Thank you to Jim and Robin for hosting this wonderful tournament. Thank you to the Dayton KY VFW for the lovely venue and the hearty breakfast and lunch meals. Thank you to all of the other players who were so welcoming and so patient with this newcomer. I learned more this weekend than I have the whole year of 2023, because you all were willing to answer questions and help coach me throughout the day. I hope to see you all at future events.

All that said, I need to reflect on what this weekend meant to me, and what it was. When I committed myself to doing a tournament this year it was equal part goal and equal part reward. The trip proved to be something completely different to me, though, once I actually hit the road.

I've traveled a lot in my adult life. Usually against my will because I was ordered to by the government. But even when I have taken fun little vacations with my family, it was never like this. This time I was alone. I didn't have to pack for everyone. I didn't have to make arrangements and checklists for everyone. I didn't have to drive everyone. I didn't have to manage and budget meals for everyone. I didn't have to pay for everyone. I didn't have to get people up and dressed and on the road on time. It was just me. For five days I had zero responsibility. I didn't have to be an adult.

I mean, seriously. I'm 41 years old, and I spent three days in a rat costume playing with toy soldiers. That's it. I'm sure of it. That is the closest to being absolutely carefree that I will ever be in my life.