Those of you who enjoy playing in WARMACHINE and HORDES tournaments will be interested to know that Steamroller 2013 has begun closed Alpha testing! Here at the mother ship we playtest everything extensively, and our OP is no different. We test and tweak and test again to ensure our tournament rules are smooth and streamlined and will provide players an awesome experience.
What’s the best way to test out a new Steamroller? By running an entire tournament, of course! In fact, we’re going to get together this Saturday (weekdays are for work!), and I’m going to host the first full-length SR 2013 tournament ever. The staff is crazy excited, and the smack talking has already started. In fact, almost as soon as he signed up, Ed Bourelle found himself with a bounty on his head. Why did this happen? Literally, no reason.
Here’s the rundown of who’s going to be participating. Who do you think will win?
Will Shick – The director of business is a crafty one, the king of the sucker punch. It doesn’t hurt that he owns just about every single army you can field, so he knows the dirty little tricks every faction can pull off. Shick will be bringing the hurt with his Retribution of Scyrah force.
Ed Bourelle – I’ve been playing against Ed for years, since way back before we both worked at Privateer Press. He’s going to bring Cryx, and he’s going to hurt someone’s feelings. That’s just the way this goes.
Lyle Lowery – Our marketing manager seems like a nice, laid-back guy—until he starts a game of WARMACHINE. Lyle’s a real threat with his Khador army, and after recently losing an Unbound game to Ed, he’s looking for some revenge.
Jason Martin – For someone as neat, organized, and disciplined as he is, Jason sure does like to set things on fire. He’s going to be bringing his Protectorate of Menoth force and laying waste to anyone who gets in his way.
Jack Coleman – Our development assistant has been playing for years but still manages to have a few tricks up his sleeve. Jack’s bringing his Trollbloods to the table, and knowing him, he’ll make all the Tough rolls.
Cody Ellis – Cody is our production quality control lead and a great Legion of Everblight player. He’s coming to the competition with one goal in mind: line ’em up and gun ’em down.
Oren Ashkenazi – Oren is a wily product packer with a deep love for Khador. He’ll be bringing the pain to his opponents and send them packing with nothing but a blister full of shame.
Johan Cea – Another product packer, Johan is completely unpredictable. He’ll be bringing his Cygnar army to the battle, but no one can anticipate his play style. That might be just enough to help him win the whole tournament. He’s our wild card in this bout without a doubt.
William “Oz” Schoonover – Of course development is involved in this battle royal! Oz is deadly with his Searforge Alliance armies, and he is more than capable of piloting the forces of Rhul all the way to victory.
David “DC” Carl – Speaking of development, you had to have known DC was going to jump at the chance to throw down and break some hearts. He’ll be leading a Protectorate of Menoth army into battle for this tournament—and carrying a giant target on his head.
Dianne Ferrer – My assistant is fairly new to the tournament scene, but that doesn’t mean she won’t leave you bruised and beaten. Her Thornfall Alliance army is beast heavy, beat heavy, and full of brutality.
Bill French – If you ever met our retail support specialist in person you’d probably think, “What a nice guy.” On the field of battle, though, Bill is ruthless. He’s bringing his Mercenary army and a cutthroat mentality to ensure he is victorious.
Erik Reiersen – One of our resin workers, Erik is a dangerous foe on the table top. His Legion of Everblight force is just plain nasty and capable of taking on anyone.
Bryan Cutler – Bryan, our project director, has been playing WARMACHINE and HORDES for years and years. With all his experience, it’s going to be very hard to catch him off guard or surprise his Protectorate of Menoth force.
Chris “Chops” Lester – Another of our awesome resin workers, Chris loves his Mercenaries, especially the Rhulfolk. He knows his faction inside and out and is capable of playing any style needed to score a win.
Stuart Spengler – Formula P3 hobby manager Stuart’s Khador army doesn’t just look great; it will also rip off your face. At least his opponents will get to gawk at his beautiful miniatures while losing horribly.
Caitlyn McKenna – Caitlyn is one of our mold makers and a fan of all things blighted. She’s known for packing as many Shredders into one of her lists as she can, so her opponents had better be ready to deal with the swarm of death she’ll be sending their way.
Bryan McClaflin – Bryan was playing WARMACHINE long before he came to work here as a metal caster. He’s incredibly skilled with his Protectorate of Menoth army and has a knack for always overcoming the odds.
Ron Kruzie – Our very own studio director, Ron Kruzie, is bringing his gorgeous Skorne army to the table for five rounds of pure violence. If Ron and Stuart face off, get ready to see a great-looking and insanely bloody match.
Those are our contestants, nineteen cutthroat players all vying for the championship. Want to know how it all goes down? Guts N Gears will be covering the event this weekend, and of course you can look forward to an after-action report from me letting you know who came out on top—and who walked away a broken husk of a player.