April MI 2023

ArchMaster Poster Joined: Apr 15, 2004 Posts: 2958

I read in Chatzy that Vlad heard from Lee that April 1 is the date of the next mail-in.

That puts the ADM freeze date on the weekend of February 18-19. Remember, there is no basic freeze. Basic warriors are classed based on their FE on the date of the tournament.

April mail-in is generally a 'warrior creation' TC prize. Last April was a stat-switch prize, so my guess is that this April will be some form of DYO (but I've been wrong before). Stylemaster prizes seem like a regular feature now, too. More information to follow as it is revealed to us by the oracles of RSI.

ArchMaster Poster Joined: Apr 15, 2004 Posts: 2958

Once again, Vlad came through with the scoop (in the form of a tourney announcement).

The TC prize is ten bonus potions, restricted to Initiates class or higher.

The ten stylemasters who don't TC in each class win one bonus potion each. Stylemaster prizes won in Primus are restricted to Primus warriors of the same style. Stylemaster prizes won in ADM are restricted to ADM warriors of the same style. Stylemaster prizes won in basic are restricted to the team that won the prize.

Warriors in Eligibles to Rookies who start 0-2 will be entered into a Fool's Tournament for each class, the winners of which will be TVs.

The tourney is on April 1. Strategies are due on Wednesday, March 29.

Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:50 am

I usually do not do a pre-tourney summary, but ...................

I am sending 46:
nothing from Freshman and up
Chal - 2 (would have been 3, but one graduated out from under me)
Cham - 0 (would have been 1, but another "surprise" grad)
Adep - 6
Init - 10
Appr - 10
Rook - 18
style breakdown:
AB = 7
BA = 10
LU = 2
PL = 1
PR = 2
PS = 1
SL = 5
ST = 17
TP = 0 (first tournament ever with no scum)
WS = 1

appx 4 or 5 are not fully prepped

expecting no deep run or TC

half are arena warriors

estimate expectation 5 TVs

Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2023 10:58 am

Note: I was concerned with only 46 sent, so I added five more. And I was amazingly disappointed with not having all styles represented, so for the good of all managers, I made sure one was a TP.

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2023 5:44 am

I rarely have the funds to participate in tourneys anymore and have done zero tourney prep. But after winning a free tourney entry in KOP, I decided to send in a few more, 6 in total. I do not expect much. One is in Freshman and he went 9-3 last time he ran in Freshman 12 years ago. Good luck to all.

Expert Poster Joined: Dec 31, 2021 Posts: 57

I submitted a mere 7. Was busy and just did the no-brainers Smile

Expert Poster Joined: Dec 31, 2021 Posts: 57

Decent rep at least. 2 former TV's, 2 former Stylemasters.

Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2023 2:09 am

And ....... we are off!

ArchMaster Poster Joined: Apr 15, 2004 Posts: 2958

I ended up with 66 entries.

Broken down by class: 9 Primus, 5 Contenders, 1 Eligible, 1 ADM, 7 Freshmen, 3 Challengers, 3 Champions, 4 Adepts, 0 Initiates, 0 Apprentices, and 33 Rookies

Broken down by fighting style: 23 AB, 13 ST, 6 LU, 4 PR, 4 PS, 4 TP, 3 BA, 3 PL, 4 SL, 3 WS

I was disappointed that the prize was ten bonus potions instead of the DYO that was due. One is always useful but not very fun, the other is fun but not super powerful. I would have preferred fun. It didn't impact my roster at all, however. I had a plan of what I wanted to do and I went ahead with it.

I figured there would be two consequences of the enormous Rookie class at the January FtF. One, I assumed that people might be a bit Rookie'd out. They already love loading up on Rookies at FtFs as a matter of routine, and it seems like some people overdid it in January. So I knew that I wanted to run a lot of Rookies. Two, I thought that people might have a lot of lazy but good Apprentices and Initiates entries. When Rookies starts with roughly 1000 warriors and goes for 20 rounds, there are going to be a LOT of warriors who land at 4-3 and 5-3, and there will also be superb warriors who land at 10 FE or just below. It is hard not to run those, even when you are unexcited about the prize or are busy with other stuff. So that is how I ended up running 0 Inits, 0 Apprentices, and 33 Rookies. It was a strategic decision that I will have to wait and see whether it pays off or not.

I think my best chance is in Contenders, where I have a very nice warrior named THIRD COURSE who has gone 10-3, 11-3, and 13-3 in the previous three tournies. I tried a small tweak to part of her strategy which could backfire, but she is very solid and I have two other Contenders with multiple TVs and one additional one who frequently puts up 7-3 performances. Hopefully one of them can get through to the finals.

I ran an Eligible over the line, a grizzled Freshmen TC who didn't have much left to bust. HUMAN PRETZEL learned gateway skills for three turns in 102 and is going into the tourney as a 23(16)-20(9)-7-13(5)-24(3)-10-24(4) AB with 206 total skills. He will be trying for WL and DF to 25 during rounds 1-9, then switching to SP in 10+ for a grab at any skill he can get before retirement. He is an EP favorite, although he is using FI against LU/ST/SL/BA. I think he has a low probability of success with the limited bust-out, but he has some shot.

I also busted a single warrior in ADM. MORDANT DESSERT is a 17(4)-14(5)-4-21-13(6)-9-21 AB who trained DF 3 times leading up to the tourney, going from 170 total skills to 185. He has many flaws: Good damage, QS favorite, Par favorite learn, low WL. His virtue is that he landed near the ADM line after running in Challengers, and I thought it was fairly cheap to get a bust out of him before retirement. So he'll be taking his shot, and likely will come up short.

Aside from those classes, I am trying out 7 sandbaggers in Freshmen. While I am hoping for a few TVs and stylemasters, I have no idea what to expect. My best Challengers are gone, but I have some warriors on the cusp who could finally step up. I have two generic STs and one LU who formerly TC'd Rookies in Champions, but they give me little cause for hope. My Adepts are very fun with three former TVs, but their styles (BA, PS, ST) leave something to be desired.

So that's that. My hopes lie in the ADM classes, unless I get really lucky in Rookies. And while I would love to get my first Primus TV, I have learned by now not to expect that.

Good luck to everyone in the tourney!

Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2023 6:02 pm

I sent in like 25, biggest squad I've sent in a long time. Lot of guys in low adepts and the like, just trying to pick up FE and skills though. You're welcome in advance...

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2023 2:08 am

GOOD LUCK to all.
FEDEXes seemingly on time for Friday.
Others probably more dependent on USPS than RSI!

Expert Poster Joined: Dec 31, 2021 Posts: 57

I picked up my 7 entries earlier from a huge stack of fights, I'm not supposed to say anything though I don't know how much I can spoil without the newsletter?! I did get one TV and possible style master(s). You can guess who the TV was.

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2023 3:29 pm

Congrats, Professor

Expert Poster Joined: Dec 31, 2021 Posts: 57

Thanks Ben. I am running Team Argonauts fyi, we went a mediocre 7-9.