Lead Legionaries: Advance the Colors 2021 Saga Tournament

Lee P's Hospitallers and Bob B's Baltic Crusaders clash as tourney co-GM Jason S watches

The Jomsvikings run by Adrian John came out on top in the first-ever Saga Ohio tournament at HMGS Great Lakes' Advance the Colors 2021 convention. At the end of three rounds of play, Adrian's Jomsvikings were the only warband to win all three games among the 16 entrants. It is fitting that Adrian was one of the top finishers as he has been in the forefront of Ohioans promoting Saga for the last several years. He and Jim Beegan host a monthly Saga gathering at the Dragons Guildhall game store in Beavercreek, OH.

Steve S's Scots advance to close with Mark B's Normans during the 'Old Feud' scenario

Although we had 20+ people committed to play at one point, life intervened as it has in these past two years to drop our numbers to an even 16. Myself and co-GM Jason Stelzer decided to abandon our plans for a two bracket tournament when our Age of Crusades entrants dropped to only three players. The rest of the armies were all from Age of Vikings, and included four Viking armies, two Norman, two Anglo-Saxon, two Scots, and two Welsh. Our three armies from the Crusades book included Baltic Crusaders, Milites Christi, and Arpadian Hungarians.

16 players participated in three rounds of Saga battles at Advance the Colors 2021

Many thanks go to our generous sponsors that allowed every player to take home two picks from our prize pool. Hats off to Shieldwall Gaming Club, Gripping Beast, Game Table Adventures, Saga Ohio, and Tim Peaslee for their generous donations. Shieldwall Gaming Club and Game Table Adventures were both in attendance at the convention as vendors, and did very well on sales if my own purchases of more than $200 are any indication amongst the many Saga players in attendance!

Adrian J's Jomsvikings hold off a charge of Mike S's Vikings in the final round of the tournament

The tournament went three rounds on one day and featured two scenarios from Book of Battles and a final round of Clash of Warlords from the rulebook. All three rounds had preset terrain. I had run my potential terrain maps past an experienced crew of UK Saga players, who gave me great suggestions and feedback. The tournament opened with Feasting & Pillaging, with rules modifications that disallowed moving a unit with an objective marker on the opponent's turn or off-table. We followed up with Old Feud. A surprising fact was only one of the eight battles had its victor decided by one challenger dying and the opposite surviving. All three rounds allowed the "first player" (the roll everyone in Saga wants to lose...) being allowed to choose his table edge AND move one of the terrain pieces.

Mike S and Steve S battle it out in a tough-fought scenario of Feasting and Pillaging

Although our Toledo contingent was unable to show up for the convention, we did have a three-player group drive down for the day from Fort Wayne, IN. It was really nice to meet Mark Bishop, Troy Hill, and Phil Keifer in person. They all proved to be gentleman opponents, as has come to be expected of Saga players -- at least what we've seen here in Ohio. The other 13 players came from Ohio -- most from the Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, or Springfield area. For most players, this was the first time they had played three games in one day. The tourney GMs did their best to relieve their stress and streamline the games, giving two hours for each round and giving a lunch break of 45 minutes after round one. I honestly think that -- along with the friendly camaraderie among the players -- helped make this a more easygoing and fun experience than many may have been expecting.

Warbands from Age of Vikings predominated among the 16 entrants -- including four Viking armies

A really cool factor was that we had two players who had participated in Friday night's teaching session decide to join the tournament. In other words, their second, third, and fourth games ever of Saga were in this tournament! So, thanks to Steve Smith and Ron Nassif for being great sports and willing to learn the game in a tournament format! Steve borrowed my Scots army while Ron used a loaner Viking army. Vikings were very popular in this tournament, but that was partly because it is our favorite "teaching army" here in Saga Ohio. The only experienced player among the four Vikings was Mike Stelzer, who made it to the Final Four and was only edged out by tourney champion Adrian in the final round!

Adrian J, left, and Andy S's wage battle in Round 2 'Old Feud' - Jomsvikings vs. Anglo-Saxons

My thanks to Jason Stelzer, my tourney co-GM, for his tireless work resetting the terrain for each round and constantly circulating around the eight games being played to field any questions. This allowed me to focus on figuring out each round's matchups and not worry about monitoring the games themselves. Early on, I decided to make sure that our visiting players did not end up driving 2+ hours to play each other. None of our Fort Wayne, IN, players were matched up against each other. In fact, I tried to also not match up our regular Saga Ohio players against each other whenever possible. Still, I was able to preserve a "Swiss Chess" format and have winners playing winners, losers playing losers, and those with similar records in later rounds matched against each other. I also made every attempt to give our brand new players a good teacher as an opponent in all three rounds.

The black-clad Hospitallers (Milites Christi) of Lee Parker advance upon their Norman foes

It was fun to circulate amongst the tables and watch the games going on. Mark Bishop received lots of praise a great and fair teacher from less experienced players. No one seemed to angry with one another, nor did anyone complain about the matchups. Having abandoned a book bracketing method, I was able to use the diversity of armies to my benefit in hopefully providing interesting and challenging matchups for everyone. In two dozen games of Saga being played over the course of the tournament, I heard only one player complain that the matchup severely disadvantaged their army. I considered this a success, as everyone seemed to have a great time and enjoy their day of Saga. Our first round began at 9:30am and our last ended before 5pm. Jason and I could have squeezed the games and tried for 1:45 minute games, but we decided that the extra 15 minutes would come in handy to finish games that ran long. This definitely proved to be the case, especially in Round 2.

Prizes donated by Shieldwall Gaming Club and Gripping Beast

Prizes donated by Pulp Figures, Saga Ohio, and Gripping Beast

Prizes donated by Game Table Adventures and Tim Peaslee

I was pleasantly surprised to see our Saga Ohio regulars performed very well. Adrian John and Mike Stelzer, who have been playing in our group from the beginning, both were in our unofficial, undefeated "Final Four." Equally, I was happy to see some of our less veteran Saga Ohio players rose to the challenge of the tournament. Both Lee Parker, running Milites Christi, and Joe Dihrkop, playing Normans, were also in our Final Four. Congratulations to all four of them, as well as the other participants who performed well! It was interesting to see that Adrian -- who claims the Jomsvikings are one of the most deadly armies in Saga -- was vindicated in his ATC victory. Equally, it was fun to see Lee's Milites Christi -- who are on no one's list as the killer, unbalanced armies -- performed so well in the tournament. Modest as always, Lee attributed his winning to great dice rolling. But honestly, would it really be possible to win a Saga tournament (or any wargaming one) without average or above average die rolling?

Phil K and his Welsh take on Joe D's very successful Norman army (3rd place finish)

I really enjoyed to see the mix of armies being played in the tournament, as well. With 16 participants, we had nine different armies being played. It IS interesting that with 13 of 16 armies being from Age of Vikings, we had NO Last Romans or Norse-Gaels on the field. The Last Romans get beat up on a lot in commentary as one of the weaker Age of Vikings factions. And despite their ability to roll bucket loads of combat dice, I honestly think Norse-Gaels are the other weaker faction in Age of Vikings. Otherwise, I feel 10 of the 12 factions in that book are strong -- very strong! No one played Carolingians, but I understand that as the Proelium part of their battle board makes them a high-skill level army. Our main Irish player, Tyler, was unable to attend, otherwise that army would have been represented. One shocker may have been the absence of a Pagan Rus player. That army is always one of the most frustrating to play against. We also did not have an Anglo-Dane player because of a positive Covid test the week of the convention. All in all, though, I was very happy with the variety of armies that were played!

Mike K's Vikings advance towards their white-cloaked foes - Bob B's Baltic Crusaders

With only three Age of Crusades armies, I feel I should probably talk about that, as well. We lost two players the week of the convention -- Terry Doner was going to bring Mongols and Shane Evans was planning on Byzantines. Since I was GM, my Moors weren't going to see the field, either -- unless someone wanted to use them as a loaner, which no one did. Perhaps it is just a sign that Age of Crusades hasn't caught on as much as Age of Vikings? Bob Boggs did come and represent the Baltic Crusaders -- doing very well with them (as was to be expected), finishing 2-1.

Dave W's moves his Welsh warband forward to engage Troy H's Scots

Maybe this will give some folks ideas for new armies, too? I think a lot of people, like me, enjoy fielding those under-represented armies and winning with the "lower percentage" armies. I know that is why I am eventually going to field a Mongol army! Plus, I purchased a 4-point Gripping Beast starter set of crusader-type figures (the Spanish box, actually, though I will likely field it as Crusader or Milites Christi). Either way, I hope the exposure to so many different army types leads our regulars to field some new armies. I know Andy Swingle bought an Eastern Princes starter set, so it sounds like this movement is underway!

The mounted swarm of Jim R's Hungarians prepare to encircle Lowell L's Anglo-Saxons

Here were the final standings of the ATC 2021 Saga Ohio Tournament

Adrian John JOMSVIKINGS, 3-0, 17 tournament points
Lee Parker MILITES CHRISTI, 3-0-1, 15 tournament points
Joe Dikrkop NORMANS, 3-0-1, 15 tournament points
Dave Welch WELSH, 2-1, 12 tournament points
Bob Boggs BALTIC CRUSADERS, 2-1, 12 tournament points
Andy Swingle ANGLO-SAXONS, 2-1, 12 tournament points
Jim Randall ARPADIAN HUNGARIAN, 2-1, 11 tournament points
Mike Stelzer VIKINGS, 2-1, 11 tournament points
Mark Bishop NORMANS, 1-2, 9 tournament points
Troy Hill SCOTS, 1-2, 9 tournament points
Lowell Lufkin ANGLO-SAXONS, 1-2, 8 tournament points
Phil Keifer WELSH, 1-2, 8 tournament points
Steve Smith SCOTS, 1-2, 7 tournament points
Mike Kennedy VIKINGS, 1-2, 7 tournament points
Jason Viner VIKINGS, 0-3, 5 tournament points
Ron Nassif VIKINGS, 0-3, 3 tournament points

Lowell L, left, and Jim R battle it out in Round 1, Feasting and Pillaging

Here are the results of the first round battles using Feasting and Pillaging from Book of Battles

Andy Swingle's Anglo-Saxons defeated Mike Kennedy's Vikings
Adrian John's Jomsvikings defeated Ron Nassif's Vikings
Dave Welch's Welsh defeated Troy Hill's Scots
Lee Parker's Milites Christi defeated Mark Bishop's Normans
Joe Dihrkop's Normans defeated Phil Keifer's Welsh
Jim Randall's Hungarians defeated Lowell Lufkin's Anglo-Saxons
Mike Stelzer's Vikings defeated Steve Smith's Scots
Bob Boggs's Baltic Crusaders defeated Jason Viner's Vikings

Mark B's Norman spearmen move past rocky ground, ready to engage with the enemy

Here are the results of the second round battles using Old Feud from Book of Battles

Lee Parker's Milites Christi defeated Bob Bogg's Baltic Crusaders
Joe Dihrkop's Normans defeated Jim Randall's Arpadian Hungarians
Adrian John's Jomsvikings defeated Andy Swingle's Anglo-Saxons
Mike Stelzer's Vikings defeated Dave Welch's Welsh
Troy Hill's Scots defeated Ron Nassif's Vikings
Phil Keifer's Welsh defeated Jason Viner's Vikings
Steve Smith's Scots defeated Mark Bishop's Normans
Mike Kennedy's Vikings defeated Lowell Lufkin's Anglo-Saxons

Jason V, left, ponders deployment of his Vikings to face off against Bob B's Baltic Crusaders

Here are the results of the third round battles using Clash of Warlords

Adrian John's Jomsvikings defeated Mike Stelzer's Vikings
Lee Parker's Milities Christi tied Joe Dihrkop's Normans
Andy Swingle's Anglo-Saxons defeated Phil Keifer's Welsh
Bob Boggs's Baltic Crusaders defeated Mike Kennedy's Vikings
Jim Randall's Arpadian Hungarians defeated Troy Hill's Scots
Dave Welch's Welsh defeated Steve Smith's Scots
Lowell Lufkin's Anglo-Saxons defeated Ron Nassif's Vikings
Mark Bishop's Normans defeated Jason Viner's Vikings

Joe D's Normans advance towards their foes

For those interested in joining in the Saga tournament action, there is another Saga tournament planned for Cincycon 2021. It will be a three-round, Age of Vikings tournament on Oct. 23, 2021. There is a $5 entry fee and the tournament is being run by John Loy. I planning on attending, as are a number of others from the Saga Ohio group.