Keith Conroy sent us a letter to the Kings of War Community, and we are very excited to share it with the KoW Community! Thanks to Mike Rossi for the excellent pictures for the article.
Now that the (Empire of) dust has settled, I wanted to take some time to thank members of the community and give some insight into my Master’s journey. First off, thank you to the South region for stepping up on short notice and hosting Masters this year. Mark, Todd, and Ryan did an exceptional job hosting all of us. Speaking of hosting, thank you to Jeff Swann on behalf of all of our stomachs. I will be adding Lonewolf to my GT bucket list strictly for the Korean/Thai fusion.
The six games of Kings of War I played this weekend were without a doubt the toughest yet most enjoyable I have ever played. I had six quality opponents from almost every region and each game came down to just a few key decisions and dice rolls. Grant Fetter, Rob Allen, Jeff O’Neal, Aaron Chapman, Jeff Swann, and Travis Tim: that was an intense gauntlet to survive through. You all were fantastic opponents with super clean play and I thoroughly enjoyed our games. For those who had not heard about game six, Travis Timm won our game and we ended up with only a single point separating us overall. Congratulations to Travis for a very well-deserved 2nd place and also for giving the best hugs at Masters. In the coming weeks, Tom and I will be putting together an article on the games and tactics specifically.
A lot of people commented on Universal Battles this Master’s weekend. I wanted to give a shoutout to Keith Randall (best name in Kings of War), Kris DeGrow, Jesse Bilbija, Chris Murphy, Skullface, Jon Vanase, Greg Person, Bart Koehler (or maybe Jacqueline?), and Adam Ortyl for helping me playtest the Herd list on UB and in real life. As Greg Person and I were discussing on the plane ride home, last we heard the legend was that I had played 10,000 games of UB and was playing PBEM games during my opponent’s turns at Masters. Who knows, it might even be true. (I may have been responsible for the rumor that he was still playing PBEM games during Masters, still not convinced he wasn’t – Editor)
Joking aside, Universal Battle and Kings of War was incredibly important to me during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were dark days for all of us, and we all ache for socialization and some semblance of normalcy during that tumultuous experience. Our community helped me during that time in ways I cannot express in this article. I have many fond memories of listening to live-streamed Call to Arms games while doing yard work and following standings as religiously as I would a sports season. Every game reminded me that better times were on the way, every match an excuse to talk and laugh with others from all around the world. Thank you to the Dash28 crew, Steve Forrester, Adam Ballard, and all those who ran virtual GTs last year.
Now that we are able to play in person, I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up the Northeast Region. We’ve all been friends since the old Warhammer days and lucked out by staying together as a community through the transition over to Kings of War. It’s funny when you think about how you talk to your old college friends or “real life” friends sporadically, but you feel like you can talk to your gaming “hobby” buddies every day. The practice days post-vaccination were invaluable to shake the dust off and play in real life. Our unholy alliance of Unplugged Gamers, New England War Kings, and Shambling Hoarders took top three in every category at Masters. We look forward to our continued grudges and shenanigans now that Masters is over and a new tournament season has begun. Fun fact: by the time you have reached this section Da Great Khan will have already declared war against the Unplugged Gamers. Thank you, Mike Rossi and Corey Reynolds for representing our region and always punctually informing us that we have been outvoted. My only regret is that Doug and I did not recruit even more spies during Tyrants of the Underdark. Maybe next year…
Having been a wargamer for almost two decades, I consider myself extremely fortunate that we have all found Kings of War. There are some games out there where some factions and armies just flat-out cannot place at a tournament, let alone win one. Our game is far from perfect, but we as a community and game are always striving to make it the best it can be. I hope the tradition passes next year to another Dark Horse candidate (thanks Tom!) and we continue to show the wargaming world why ours is the best product and scene out there.
It’s been a long, strange hobby journey since Chris Murphy and I started played Axis & Allies and Risk in 8th grade, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sincerely,
Keith “Lawful-Good Doppelkeith” Conroy
