The Nova Open and Gamesday!

Hey folks, back to work for me!

I just got back from the occupational therapist who I have been working with to fix my arm issues.  What a difference! I should have gone a year ago.  Maybe then I would have actually been able to paint something for Golden Demon and Armies on Parade.

I have two things to discuss with you right now. The Nova Open and Gamesday.  First of all, the Nova Open.

The Jawaballs 2010 Nova Open Army

I gushed about this event before. As you know I spoke pretty highly about it, ranking it up there at the top of the big three events that I have attended, Mechanicon and Bolscon 2009 are the others.  I plan on attending DaBoyz this year (provided that comp is not part of tournament scoring) and Adepticon so I might have to create the Big Five.  But until then... The Nova is my August retreat.  Why? Well it is close of course. (relatively) Flying to Chicago for Gamesday reminded me about the only drawback of Bolscon 2009. The distance.  But Nova is on the East Coast in the DC area.  Perfect!

This year I'm playing scouts!

Let me tell you now, if you are on the fence about attending, decide now. You are in.  While Nova is a highly competitive Grand Tournament played over 8 games, it is also noobie and hobby guy friendly. I spoke to my buddy John Steining, who only played one actual game over the last year, and HE is going!  He is a great painter and enjoys the hobby aspect, but after we talked about the noob friendly atmosphere of The Nova while eating steak at Gamesday, he decided to pull the trigger.  John is a great painter and really only collects 40k models. He barely knows how to play.  But he is in!

Why is Nova noob friendly?  Well, it is not entirely.  Let me be the one to say that if you are a tournament inexperienced noobzor, you can expect to take some lumps on day one. Hell, I expect to take some lumps of my own due to the list I am bringing, but that for another post.  But that is OK! Even if you lose all 4 games on Saturday, you can rest assured that you will be in another separate tournament on Sunday, playing four games, against ONLY other guys who went 0-4. Or at least as close as Brandt can make it.  That means that the part timers like John, or Drathmere online, will be sure to get in some games they have a chance to win instead of being fed to the wolves, (Or knights, pirates or vampires.)

The Nova is not just about the GT though. On Thursday night there is The Whiskey Challenge where 40k personalities including yours truly will be squaring up or taking challengers. By they way, this is your chance to drop the gauntlet on me.  I as of yet do not have an opponent.  Think you got the minerals?  Let Mike Brandt know you want some Jawa Loving and I will send you packing home to mommy Thursday night.  (For the humorless dolts out there I am just playing.)

On Friday there are two major events. The Nova Invitational where some of the top players in the country are going to fight it out for cash prizes by invite only, and the Trios team event where players are invited to form teams of three and engage in friendly but competitive face smashing.  I actually chose not to play in the invitational because the Trios sounded like too much fun!   Im sooo looking forward to having beers with The Stout Smurf, Joe Johnson, Ted Nagel, Bill and the rest of the bunch.  There has been question about why I chose the trios, but that is the answer. Sometimes 40k is more about having fun than it is winning.  Sure I would have a shot at that invitational thousand dollar Renaissance Man prize, but I will be fighting for glory amongst the best of the best in 8 games on Saturday and Sunday, I figured I could use a little social time on Friday.  Know what I mean?

So as of today, there are a handful of spots left in the Nova GT and maybe a spot or two in the invitational.  I believe the hotel block is filled or close to filling.  In other words. Don't wait any longer.  Get your ticket and reserve your hotel. Definitely stay at the hotel by the way.  40k is about being social and this is one of the top social events I have attended! There will be 24 hours open gaming.  I personally plan on taking on all comers Friday and Saturday nights.  If you are traveling to the Nova and want a shot, send me an email to schedule a game!

Now for Gamesday.  There is a lot to talk about and I will be doing a pretty big post on BOLS soon, but the weekend was fantastic!  I actually managed to get to some of the events like the Speed Demon competition this year and met a lot of readers and fans.  I spent the entire day with a smile on my face and enjoyed some tasty eats and drinks with good people.  Over the next week I will be uploading videos from the show. I didn't get any pictures because I only had a video camera. But I got about 3 hours of content!



Some Gamesday footage.

Alright, time to paint. My goal is to finish all of my scouts today.  :)  I will do an entire Nova army post soon.

Jawaballs