Bendigo brings a unique spin with supplied dice, new scoring system and a pack that shakes up the meta!
When Measured Gaming decides to do something a bit different they sure don't hold back. Posed as more of a boutique event, Rural Rampage attracted a number of interstate players who were all keen to throw some dice and see what the club had in store.
This is the first time Rural Rampage has actually been able to go ahead due to the plague over the last couple of years. With that much hype behind it, the boys were keen to ensure that it would be one to remember.
Overview
Battleplans were announced in the player pack ahead of the tournament allowing players to design lists for the best possible outcomes.
Format | 2-Day, 5-Rounds, 2000pts |
Date | 4-5 June, 2022 |
Battleplans | Game 1 - The Vice Game 2 - Survival of the Fittest Game 3 - Marking Territory Game 4 - Tooth and Nail Game 5 - Savage Gains |
Players | 38 |
The lists were a genuine surprise for organisers with a massive swing back to Chaos and a healthier representation of Death armies than we've seen in a while. All of the lists are available over at tabletop.to
Now for some of the more unique features of the weekend:
Dice were supplied to all players and HAD to be used in place of people's own dice. They could use their own for wound markers or counters, but the supplied dice were introduced to ensure ease of reading opponents rolls. For thsoe of you that listen to Bush Radio you'll know that a dice standard is something that has been discussed on multiple occasions.
The anti-submarine scoring system (at this point it is yet to receive a cooler name but the discussion is happening over at the forums so go check it out). The short version of this scoring system is that each loss caps the points you are able to win in subsequent rounds. The aim of this system is to ensure the podiums go to the best performers, not a player who drops the first round and smashes through the remainder of the tournament.
Friday Night
The Friday night of a Measured Gaming event is a staple of the whole experience. There is of course the setup-phase, followed by the drinking-phase, followed by the responsible-player-egress-phase then finally the more-drinking-than-we-really-should-the-night-before-a-tournament-phase for the chosen few. Did we see a few seedy players on Saturday? You bet your ass we did. If this paragraph feels familiar, its because it's the same as the Vic GT recap article. I'll say this for certain - the Bendigo tournaments are consistent.
Day 1
Round 1 saw the play-dates (grudge matches) that were pre-arranged get underway.
In the upset of the round, Coots (pictured here) took Joel McGrath (Measured Overlord) out of contention for a podium due to the scoring mechanism introduced for this tournament.
The Vice is an interesting battleplan which favoured the more forward thinking and mobile armies. When it was all over the kitchen fired up and filled the cake-holes of some hungry (and perhaps tipsy) players. Big shout-out to the staff of the Bendigo Club who managed to keep the food and drinks flowing.
Rounds 2 and 3 went off without issue and everybody gathered round for another instalment of the famous festivities of the 'WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!?' Saturday Night Prize Draw!
Saturday Night Price Draw
Arguably the best part of and Measured Gaming event is the Saturday night prize draw. Here's how it works:
A name is randomly drawn from the pool of players.
The players have a choice - either accept the mystery prize in a box selected by our host and prize-giver extraordinaire, OR roll the oversized inflatable dice to try and get a 6 to choose something from the showcase 'big-ticket' prizes. But here's the catch - fail to roll that 6 and you walk away with nothing!
Rinse and repeat until all the prizes have been given away.
So why would you risk rolling instead of a sure thing mystery prize? Simple - there are a bunch of booby prizes littered throughout including 40k kits, random stuff from other games, single models that nobody wants and best of all, packets of SAO biscuits (If you don't know why this is funny go and look up Soggy SAO).
Ryan Chamley managed to walk away with 2 Krondys sets (one by rolling a 6 and the other was IN THE BOX! Funnily enough we think he might have been slightly disappointed not getting a box of SAOs.
A very special thanks to the main sponsor of the tournament: GUF Bendigo. These guys literally made it rain with plastic and they continue to support the local Bendigo scene in a massive, massive way. Without their generous donations your hosts could not have possibly given away so much cool stuff. If you're in the market for anything hobby related please do consider shopping with them and supporting a great Aussie gaming store.
Day 2
Now players were really in the thick of it. Those sitting on 3-0 were gearing up for a solid 2 rounds of tight gaming, deep speculation and almighty strategy. Everyone else was just having fun and enjoying the experience of being back at a tourney. Dice were rolled, models were removed and a few quiet bevvies were had. All pretty standard really.
Overall the feedback was positive from attendees and I'm sure we'll see a few of them return next year for the 3rd annual Vic GT. Big thanks to Dalton for TO-ing and to the guys at Measured Gaming for putting on another great event.
Having the supplied dice was really good. You didn't have to feel guilty if you started rolling really well.
- Adam Mitchell
Results
1st - Wayne Buck
2nd - Tyson Gleeson
3rd - Pat Nevin
Last place (Wooden Spoon) - Steve Sweet
Best Sports - Tyson Braithwaite
Runners up - Shane Trease, Michael Thomson
Coolest Army - Graham Nightingall
Runners up - Andreas Nicolay, Luke Doman
Painting Awards:
Foot Hero - Ian Pierce
Large Hero/Monster - Andreas Nicolay
Unit - Luke Doman
Best Painted - Adam Mitchell
Best Display Board - Luke Doman
Best Narrative - Jayden Andrea
Coolest Army winner Graham Nightingall's clown themed Nurgle.