Intercontinental Tournament - 2022

Commands and Colors Napoleonics Intercontinental Tournament: 2022 
The tournament will use the rules from the base game, with supplemental rules and card decks from the Generals, Marshals and Tacticians expansion- this means using the tactician deck and other supplemental rules. Play will be conducted on vassal, or another platform that the players mutually agree to. Please log your games.

Swiss Draw Stage

The tournament will begin with 5 rounds of play using a swiss draw format. For these rounds, if a player wins both games, the winning player earns 3 points, and the losing player earns 0. If the players split the games, the player with more total points from the combined games earns 2 points, the the player with fewer points earns 1. If the players have an equal number of points or do not play both games, they each earn 1 point.

After the swiss draw stage is complete, players will be ranked by point total, using total point differential as a tie-breaker. If two players have identical point totals and point differential, they should use results of the games between the tied players as a tie-breaker. If they are still tied, they should play a single tie-breaker game of the same scenario, flipping a coin to pick sides. 

Elimination Rounds

The top 8 players from the swiss draw rounds will advance to the elimination rounds.

These consist of quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. In the quarter finals, semifinals, and finals, opponents play the same scenario twice according to the schedule. Winner will be determined by the total point differential from the two games, using the same tie-breaker procedures as described for the group stage.
 
Round 1 - Sorauren (French Right Early Afternoon) May 7-June 6
Round 2 - Orthez (French Right) June 7 - July 6 
Round 3 - Waterloo (Base Game) July 7-August 6 
Round 4 - Barrossa  August 7-September 6 
Round 5 - Grossbeeren  September 7 - October 6 
Quarterfinals - Eylau  October 7 - November 6 
Semifinals - Schleiz  November 7 - December 6
Finals - Gohlis  December 7 - January 6 
 

In Round 1, Game 1, Joe Biasco's French defeated Steven Duke's Allied army, 9 banners to 8.  Remaining casualties were 19 blocks eliminated on the French side while the Allies lost 8 additional blocks.  Yes, it was that one-sided. French should have failed an Army morale check with so many shattered units!:
The game was unlike any I have played recently but ended up being a very interesting 'cat and mouse' towards the end.  Joe kept his head and when the gods of card draws and dice shined against Duke, Joe was there to take advantage.  This game certainly reaffirmed what we already know but sometimes forget--you are never beaten unless you are beaten in your own head....  Congratulations to Joe on a well-fought battle and a very nice start to the Tournament!
 

In Round 1, Game 2, Steven Duke's French defeated Joe Biasco's Allies by a total of 9 banners to 5.
The French suffered 11 additional dead blocks while the Allies had 6 dead blocks. The French side was aided by some very good luck and snipers who killed two Allied leaders while losing a French leader in return. Fun game!

Rnd 1 
Game 1 
Josiah (French) 9 banners
Gonzo (Allies) 6 banners
French start shifted right to center in front of Brits with a Grand Manuever who had no center cards.  French attack in center initially not decisive and Brits draw center card and 2 Bayonet charges and subsequent turns.  Great French cards lead to swirlliung inf battle in center.  Both sides attrited, but French much more robust.  Then French bayonet charge on left.  Lots of posthumous Portugese medals given out.  Allie suicide attacks get 2 more Allied medals to make it look close.  It wasn't.

Game 2
Gonzo (French) 9 banners
Josiah (Allies) 1 banner
French again start with Grand Manuever, dcisive attack with Lt Cav and 2 Bayonet charges and the Portugese are crippled, later reaped for VPs just as first game.  Frorcded March X2 in center moves like 10 inf twice for French.  No one can stand to that, not even Wellington.  Or Josiah or me or anyone else.

Thanks to Josiah for fun and humorous match

The first game saw Mark's Allied forces storm off the heights in a bayonet charge, only to be slaughtered by French counterattacks. Mark was unable to recover after that and the French slowly drove the Allies back, securing an 9-3 victory for Jim.

The second game, Mark faced bad cards and mediocre dice. He tried valiantly to make something happen but the British musketry kept reducing his units as fast as he could replace them in the line. Jim's British had no such problems, having a multitude of Forced March and Line commands. The final score was 9-1 for Jim's Allies.

Mark is just getting back to the game after a break and deserved better. He took it all in good cheer and was a sportsman throughout.

Renaud (French, 9) vs Ben (Allies, 4)

This is a fairly balanced scenario, tough for both sides as there is a 3 hex wide no man's land with next to no terrain (a lone church in the center) so advancing 1 hex forward puts you within range of the enemy. It's in fact tougher on the French as Wellington's boys are of course on a hill and British infantry receives +1 when firing. I first tried to move my lone FA forward from my rear line. I was fortunate to have Artillery Reposition, but unfortunate that Ben had Short Supply. Back to my rear line, my FA went. That said, it allowed me to position it in my center sector, and to eventually bring it forward again in a more advantageous location. The first few rounds was a lot of positioning, waiting for the side who would get a Bayonet Charge or Forced March card to cover enough ground. As it were, the Allies got FM first, and were able to move 7 units in immediate firing position. British firing was fairly effective on my right (2 units reduced 2 blocks), but fairly ineffective on my left (1 hit?). Four of my units (full LN, 2 full LT, and 1 full FA) caused quite a bit of damage, and in a way the end was foretold. I continued sniping with one of my LT in the church and my FA, using Leadership and Fire and Hold twice, and the British line crumbled and retired behind the crest. I started moving forward to focus firing on a full strength British LN that was ahead of its line, did fairly well resisting to Bayonet Attack (Infantry Combat First), which I counter-attacked, and to a last-ditch British attack (First Strike), then closed the deal with my FA. 9-4.

Renaud (Allies, 9) vs Ben (French, 1)

Ben had a tough time (end game quote: "I have to say that was the most brutal game I've ever played"). He scored his only banner on his very last turn thanks to a Yahtzee (5 hits on 5 dice) against a full-strength British line. That was pay back for my eliminating two of his full-strength units in the same manner. Like good Old Nosey, I made good use of the reverse slopes to pull back my weakened units. I finished the game with a Bayonet Charge, eliminating my 7th unit on the first try with the Portuguese against a 2-block French LN) for a brutal 9-1 outcome (well, 10-1 since I also killed one of his leaders, for the second time--rolled after he left the field).

I certainly had nothing to complain about card or die roll luck in either game...

Round 1 game 1

David (Allies,4) vs Francois-Xavier (French 9)

Exciting first game with some sustained fighting for the church followed by a tussle for the high ground. The 9th medal was obtained by an all out assault against the heroic British grenadiers, who had inflicted heavy losses on the French throughout the game.

Round 1 - Sorauren French Right

Game 1

Mike Stanley (scipio1zama) – Allies – 9 banners – won

Eric Yorkston – French – 5 banners - lost

As the Allies, I started with a banner because I held the Oricain Heights, and I kept them throughout the game.  He launched several piecemeal attacks from the right and center with his LT units, and after a few turns I had disposed of three of them, along with a LN.  He moved some of his right flank units toward the center and advanced some more on the right.  Before much longer I was up 7-0, but at this point he eased off and we both spent a lot of turns cleaning up our lines, which we both found boring (If this were a Monty Python sketch, I would note the French taunts – “Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.”)

Like a fool I came down off the heights and attacked his line with mine – and I got the worst of it.  Over the next few turns, I lost 4 LN units and a leader while eliminating but two of the French.  However, those two were enough to get me to 9 banners and the win.  He was more patient than I and it paid off – up to a point.

Game 2

Mike Stanley (scipio1zama) - French – 9 banners – won

Eric Yorkston – Allies – 2 banners - lost

We both did some initial maneuvering on the right side of the board, including moving units to the center and getting artillery into position to fire, but except for a few desultory shots by both sides, the right played no part in the game.

I had intended to advance my left section units and go after the Portuguese, but my cards were not suited to the task, so I sought to set up a firing line in the center with the French LTs.  I had a Short Supply TAC card, so I knew I could move the British LT or GR back to the rear rank when it was time to attack. (Eric soon acquired the Short Supply and did the same to me.)  A Center Assault (which included a very lucky 4-for-4 hit on a British LN), followed by a Force March (which ordered 11 units!) and other cards, allowed me to kill 5 British units and win the attrition battle in the center, but my 4 now-damaged LT units were not positioned to take the Heights.

By this time, some left flank cards had come into my hand, plus another Force March, and I was able to close with the Portuguese on the Heights, kill all three of them and gain an absolute majority of the hill hexes for the win.

As a brand-new C&C:N player, Eric acquitted himself well enough, in spite of less than ideal cards. I anticipate his skills will rapidly grow with experience playing this fine game.

Round 1 - Sorauren French Right

Game 1
John Spicer – Allies – 7 banners
Mark Benson (RiverWanderer) – French – 9 banners

A closely fought game with both sides trading banners until near the end. After early skirmishing prompted a temporary British withdrawal at the other end of the ridge, John's Portuguese consolidated to keep a firm grip on the heights and its 1 banner Britiish advantage. A mid-game Force March came just in time to give the French a strong centre which kept the British line in check and allowed a gradual advance thereafter. Both sides were two banners from victory by the penultimate turn, the French managing to bring it home with a 3 hit melee and a leader kill.

Thanks to John for a good game, the return match is planned for Friday.
 

Round 1
Game 1
Mark McG (Allies): 7 banners
Stephen (French): 9 banners

French overran the Allies with a series of Forced Marches and Bayonet charges. Essentially all infantry scenario
 
Game 2
Mark McG (French): 9 banners
Stephen (Allies): 8 banners

French struggled for cards and dice early, but a mid game Forced March put the French into the hill zone, and almost had a 9:6 win when the Allies bayonet charged off the heights. Manged to get there in the end, but not quick enough.