The event, as usual, will be held at his local shop Battlegrounds. While we are beginning to push the space to its limits with the event sizes it is a great store with some excellent tables. They are very supportive and run by some great people. Thankfully, Ravenna Ohio isn't a vacation destination so the hotel rooms are quite cheap and with the lower entry fee it turns out to be a great event for not a lot of money. Despite this low cost I always feel as if I got more than my money's worth when I make the trip over to Neil's events.
With his event planned out and the spots filled Neil has been busy preparing thematic tables for us to play on. I am very excited to see his work first hand and for an event of this size, I really enjoy having each table represent a different Realm and have a different Realmscape Feature. Neil will also be using the hidden secondary objectives released by Games Workshop and this will be my first time using them and I am looking forward to getting to grips with them at a Matched play event.
Watching his, almost daily, progress pictures of the work he has been putting into getting everything ready has inspired me to give the event everything I have to prepare. Thankfully since he has released the Battle plans, Realms, and Features ahead of time I have been able to break everything down with the idea of how my list will want to win a game, what the Realms can do to hurt or help me in my quest for conquest and Blood!
Neil's work isn't just stopping at terrain either. He has acquired new gaming mats from Front Line Gaming as well as created cheat sheets for each table so we always have an easy reference to the Realm Spells, Features, and rules. While these preparations are mostly quality of life they are also proving that Neil is already thinking about the future of his events and providing a great play experience for everyone who makes the trip.
There is a lot of great ideas going on and the Rend 4 events are only going to improve over time. I can easily see the event growing to be a Grand Tournament with 50+ players or become a smaller and more intimate event with amazing tables and a great play experience. Whatever Neil's vision is I have little doubt he will achieve the goals he is setting out for himself.
I cannot wait for the event to arrive in early December and you will most likely see a lot about it in my posts over the next few weeks. You can also look forward to a recap of the event and how my games went on over the weekend. In case you were wondering I am planning on taking 150 Witch Aelves to the event and no I won't be using movement trays and I will easily finish my games in the time limit. I am excited to push The Witch Horde to the next level and decide if I will make the effort to track down another thirty Witch Aelves to max the horde out. Regardless of how it does, it will be a great time and I cannot wait for the even to finally arrive. Happy Hobbying!
Chuck Moore