Spring 2025 mailer

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 2:42 pm

Do we have an idea what the date will be this year? Last year was the 6th.

ArchMaster Poster Joined: Apr 15, 2004 Posts: 2990

The April MI will be held on the weekend of April 5-6.

The ADM Freeze occurred this past weekend (Feb 22-23).

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2025 6:21 am

I'm pretty excited about the upcoming mailin, so I thought I'd write a few words about each class and what's inspiring me at the moment:

PRIMUS: I won some favorites potions in January, and used some to augment my crew here. I had some maxed natural aimed blows
and am hoping they can help me have more consistent returns.

- Most interesting warrior to me: My recently maxed SH favorite MACROS THE BLACK, who I fast tracked to Primus after his Eligibles TC.
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CONTENDERS: I've recently had some success here, winning 2 TC's last year after a 4 year drought (my first ever was April 2020). I'm looking
forward to see how 2 relatively new additions perform, former Eligibles TCs JMJ and Locked and Loaded. I'm also always excited to see if one
of my lungers can break through for a TV and possible stylemaster.

- Most interesting warrior to me: JIMMY THE HAND, a natural AB that was lucky enough to zap his SH to FI 6 months ago and has TV'ed.
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ELIGIBLES: I've had a high variance of success in this class, so I can never be sure what to expect. That being said, I'm busting a weapon
AB and have a group of offstyles battling for stylemaster potions.

- Most interesting warrior to me: LU PEPEROMIA PIZZA, who once TC'ed Apprentices but hasn't seen a tourney since graduating. I'm running
him parked in hopes of winning stylemaster or seeing something promising for a future bust.
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ADM: I'm mostly running the same guys I always do, a bunch of parked warriors of different styles. They'll be there to support a busting lunger of mine, Anno Domini.

- Most interesting warrior to me: I'll go with 2 here, THE MACK and ROYAL. They both landed at the top of the class after TC's in Challengers and Freshmen,
respectively. It'll be interesting to see how they perform compared to each other, having reached the same point from very different paths.
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FRESHMEN: Always one of my favorite classes, I'll be bringing the "wall" this spring, with a large percentage of my roster being total parries, to augment
a couple of strikers (one of which I accidentally trained over the line).

- Most interesting warrior to me: It's got to be LAZY B/B, who at a relatively young age managed a Freshmen runner-up before getting put in TV jail.
He's dropped back down and has a fresh new warrior name thanks to some goat magic.
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CHALLENGERS: One of my strongest classes perennially, I am sitting a few of my oldest to allow a different group a chance to shine (to go 1-3 and learn 2 skills...).
I have some young AB's that I want to get better, but still have a heavy hitter in Nightshade who could win it all.

- Most interesting warrior to me: In a world of men, he towered above them, 6 foot 8 and stitched together by some dark magic. An amalgamation whose limbs didn't
quite match in the light of the sun. Who is this man-made man?
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CHAMPIONS: I'm running a small but potent group here, led by last fall's Adepts RU, Swipey.

- Most interesting warrior to me: 2 of my 6 are timing, with CASH MONEY landing at 22 FE from an adepts timing TV. Can he do it again??
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ADEPTS: I'm running 3 timing warriors, and an old retired WS, Georgia Peach, to go with a timed PS from the arena. I don't expect any TV's.

- Most interesting warrior to me: I guess GEORGIA PEACH? He's a defense learner with decent stats, so maybe he'll be a surprise.
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INITIATES: I've got a half dozen running, but 2 are at the head of the class. One is a 9FE lunger who I like enough to not waste an FE on an arena fight,
and the other is a bonused slasher who had a great rookies run.

- Most interesting warrior to me: I often end up with TP's that end up in that awkward 6-8 FE range. Once in a while I time one despite the general negativity
towards scum, so I hope JELLO BULL does well.
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APPRENTICES: My least favorite class is getting a 5 pack, all different styles. I don't ever gauge how they'll do, so good luck!

- Most interesting warrior to me: GUAC is the guy here. A natural lunger with decent stats, he is learning really well and threw his 8th round fight at the FTF
to land here. Hopefully he won't disappoint, although normal damage and limited weapon selection is tough in this class.
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ROOKIES: I've got an okay batch ready to go here, with a handful of lungers being the best.

Most interesting warrior to me: I think I will go with a 7 ST TP. He'll be the one with the shortsword!
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Good luck to everyone!

Howlin Wolf

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2025 8:38 am

I sent in 21 entries after spending some cash timing a bunch of guys in 82, 84, and 85 which I don't do very often. Only sent a portion of them, but got a lot of different guys lined up for future basic runs. After missing last fall's mailer with USPS getting my strats there too late, I'm looking forward to this one! All my guys are in basic, like one challenger, couple champs, but mostly adepts thru rookies. A lot of PRs as I continue to chase a PR TV.

Is this rainbow prize very sought after? Kind of thought it was. Good luck everyone!

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2025 11:19 am

Like Howling Wolf, I'm pretty excited about the upcoming mail-in, so I was encouraged write a few words about each class and what's inspiring me at the moment:
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PRIMUS: I have zero competitive warriors here, so my best hope is for a stylemaster. Psycho Scientist has won a couple previously, so here’s hoping for one more. [Not that I have anything to do with the prize. I used the last one to add +1 to Psycho’s riposte.]

- Most interesting warrior to me: LOVITIA, my WS I am trying to get maxed for the next KoP. I hope she can get a SP train or two. (She’s also currently in the top ten in the Primus arena, a region normally reserved for ABs.)
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CONTENDERS: Nothing to write about here. No warriors entered.
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ELIGIBLES: Zippo.
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ADM: Nada.
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FRESHMEN: A developing class for me, but I don’t think any of my guys are quite in TV territory yet.

- Most interesting warrior to me: UNABOMB BEAR, a ST that has SC fave and Devastating damage. Best performance so far is a 5-3.
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CHALLENGERS: Again, a developing class for me, and none of my guys are close, with most still being in the 30-40 FE range. Just here for the learning, thank you very much.
- Most interesting warrior: Well, I have two two-time TVs going there (TP and ST), so it will be interesting to see if they can make it past round 5.
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CHAMPIONS: Not too many competitive warriors here, with just four timed warriors running (and a handful of warriors at 25 FE). We’ll see if any of them can surprise me.

- Most interesting warrior to me: MAROON MONK, a former Initiates RU. I think I have his weapon nailed down, so we’ll see if he can make another run.
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ADEPTS: More timed warriors than in Champions; nine, to be precise. The usual mix of offensives that seem to dominate this class. Also timing another eight, prepping for the FTF.

- Most interesting warrior to me: MIDNIGHT STAR, who was 7-0 at the January FTF on a timing run, before I threw the last three fights. Now we’ll see if it was worth it.
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INITIATES: Fourteen running here, all properly timed. Only one is a former TV (Rookies), and he hasn’t done well in the arena, so low expectations for him. Good mix of offensives here, with a few others thrown in. Any one of them COULD break out and be a star performer, since they all at least did well in their early tournaments. Time will tell.

- Most interesting warrior to me: ATLAS FIVE, my lone WS in the class. I don’t run too many wastes, so it will be interesting if he can exceed my expectations.
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APPRENTICES: Again, my roster of 22 is dominated by offensives. Mostly ABs, LUs, STs, but I do have an interesting trio of PRs running as well. I have yet to have a deep PR run, so maybe one of these three.

- Most interesting warrior to me: FAFNIR, my lone PL in the entire tourney. He’s a really good setup, but didn’t have a great Rookie performance (and, thus, ended up an Apprentice). I can’t say I’ve figured out a good early PL strategy either, so here’s hoping something clicks with this famous dragon.
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ROOKIES: What can I say? Is 48 a lot? A ton of ABs, as usual, but as a group, they are something of an experimental batch. If the experiment works, and gets me a TC, I have to give Chief Illiniwek credit for sparking the idea. (If it doesn’t, well, I will TRY not to blame him. 😉) I am also sending way more Slashers than I probably should, inspired by Doc Steele’s FTF Rookie TC. We’ll see how far Great damage can take them.

- Most interesting warrior to me: Not a single warrior, but the group of three Bashers I sent. I have yet to have any sort of good run with a Rookie BA, so maybe this is the tourney?
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Good luck to everyone!

Neon Necromancer

ArchMaster Poster Joined: Apr 15, 2004 Posts: 2990

I wasn't in attendance in Tempe, so I had some good stuff ready for April. My days of 100+ entries in a tourney are behind me, though, so I am not going to be competing on volume. My plan was to try to compete on quality instead.

Total entries: 40
Breakdown by tourney class: 2 Primus, 4 Contenders, 1 Eligible, 1 ADM, 5 Freshmen, 4 Challengers, 4 Champions, 2 Adepts, 5 Initiates, 1 Apprentice, 11 Rookies
Breakdown by fighting style: 10 AB, 1 BA, 10 LU, 1 PL, 1 PR, 1 PS, 3 SL, 8 ST, 4 TP, 1 WS

Primus

I have only two entries in the class. SNAKE OIL SELLER, who has two Primus TVs so far, and PARROT KEEPER, a LU who needs FE for the next King of Primus. SNAKE OIL SELLER's job just got a lot harder with 33 potential new perfect favorite ABs entering the world, so my slim hope is even slimmer.

Contenders

Just like those 11 Favorites TC prizes made Primus tougher, they also may make Contenders tougher if Lee allows the perfect favorites in this class. That said, I like my chances here better. My 4 entries have 2 Contenders runner-ups and 17 Contenders TVs between them. THIRD COURSE is the best of the bunch and frequently goes deep, although SPARE ANCHOR has had a great deal of success in a shorter amount of time and has the potential to surprise everyone.

Eligibles, ADM, and Freshmen

I entered one bust-out in Eligibles (a weak SL named HASSALEH), one bust-out in ADM (a weak FI AB named UNUKALHAI), and two bust-outs in Freshmen (a single-21 SL named SPYMUSTARD and a double-21 weapon favorite AB named ALPHA TUCANAE). Freshmen is one of my better shots this tourney, between the two bust-outs and three good sandbaggers (MU MENSAE, SPARE BALLAST, and MIRA), but I am an underdog so long as HW and TMM remember to send in tourney entries.

Basic

I don't have the volume here, but I might get lucky somewhere. My Challengers are all developing, so I have no chance in that class. My 4 Champions and 2 Adepts are all former TVs and still look nice on paper. 2 more former TVs round out my Initiates, and I have some pretty-on-paper entries in Rookies and Apprentices, which is all you can really hope for in those classes. I am running my Royal Court DYO PS in basic, which is my most fun entry.

With the renewed interest and volume in the tourney game, I can feel my traditional 1 in 2 chance of TCing in any given tourney from the past 15 years slipping. I'm not sure if its 2 in 5 or 1 in 3 (or worse), but I am pretty sure it is going to be a bigger struggle going forward.

Good luck to everyone in the tourney! Even though it is an uphill battle, I am looking forward to reading it.

ArchMaster Poster Joined: Apr 15, 2004 Posts: 2990

Minor correction:

Breakdown by fighting style: 10 AB, 1 BA, 9 LU, 1 PL, 1 PR, 1 PS, 3 SL, 8 ST, 4 TP, 2 WS

ArchMaster Poster Joined: Apr 15, 2004 Posts: 2990

The results are in. Congrats to all the winners!

My tourney was very good for not winning a TC. My 40 entries went 166-114-4-3 with 1 RU and 7 TVs, 3 of which won my stylemaster awards. 59% win and 20% award are super nice numbers, although everyone would give that up for one TC run!

Primus and Contenders

No lucky runs for my 2 Primus entries, but 3 of my 4 Contenders entries did what they were supposed to. THIRD COURSE seems very comfortable in that 3rd-4th place spot, and she got there again with a 12-3 record, which makes it 11 Contenders run-offs. SPARE ANCHOR was not far behind with an 11-3 finish and her 6th Contenders run-off. FISHWIFE also picked up a TV at 10-3, and will likely be exiled to Primus class for a few tournies.

Doc Steele's GROND had the tourney of his life, and beat both THIRD COURSE and SPARE ANCHOR in the run-offs as he cruised his way to a TC. Congrats to Doc on winning a TC with a LU in this tough class!

Eligibles, ADM, and Freshmen

My weak busts in Eligibles and ADM did what weak busts do and went 2-3.

Freshmen went very well, though. Two of my sandbaggers had off tournies, but Spare Ballast went 7-3 and was able to smell that TV air for the first time. Hopefully he'll start TVing soon.

My WL-DF AB bust, ALPHA TUCANAE, did respectable, but not well enough. He trained well early, but didn't train deep enough, missing 4th trains on both WL and DF. He was the only one able to stick a loss on the eventual TC, MAXIMILLIAN, but HW's CHATMON cleared him out of the way by beating him twice in the run-offs.

SPYMUSTARD was my most fun run of the tourney. He began life as an unassuming 6-10-13-17-21-12-5 SL with +5 Att and a few other offensive bonuses, and he outperformed in basic with an 11-3 Apprentices TV and an 8-3 Adepts TV on his way to ADM. I planned on setting him up for a relatively cheap 50 FE Freshmen bust just to see if his knack and SC favorite could carry him any further, but then I kept reaching for Great damage and ran him to 100 FE instead. He never did find Great damage, and went into the freeze looking like 14(8)-13(3)-13-20(3)-21-12-10(5). I would run him after each freeze trying for 11 DF and he eventually got the train. I trained WL twice more, then alternated WL-WT during the tourney.

SPYMUSTARD trained similarly to ALPHA TUCANAE in that he got trains early, but didn't train deep. He hit WL to 24 and WT to 21 in rounds 1 & 2, which was super lucky. He then missed 4 more WL trains and 13 more WT trains to get nothing else for the rest of the tourney. So from R3 to R18, he had 174 total skills. And he beat everyone except MAXIMILLIAN, who gave him all 3 of his losses, finishing up at 15-3 with a runner-up and stylemaster. If the matchups in the runoffs had gone differently and SPYMUSTARD could have taking out CHATMON earlier, then maybe ALPHA TUCANAE and him could've gone all the way.

Congrats to TMM on his continued success with PRs in Freshmen!

Basic

Basic went pretty well for me overall, with a LU TV in Champions, and LU and AB TVs in Initiates. My basic crew didn't do as well as my ADM crew, but they still managed a winning record and greater than 10% awards on small volume. My Rookies looked kind of blah, but at least two of them landed at 4 FE and will get Apprentices runs. Hopefully my next batch of Rookies will be stronger.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to be making the trip to Pittsburgh or not. The prize makes me want to, but the expense and travel make me not want to. Decisions, decisions...

ArchMaster Poster Joined: Apr 15, 2004 Posts: 2990

Bad math correction: "He [SPYMUSTARD] then missed 4 more WL trains and 12 more WT trains to get nothing else for the rest of the tourney."

Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2025 8:47 am

Well, at long last, my quest to TV with all ten styles was finally fulfilled, when Last Caress of Blood Red Skies 2, a 10(+1)-17-5-17-16(+1)-4-17 PR who always showed some knack but was cursed with little damage, TV'd adepts at 8-3-0!

She started 0-1 with a loss to an aimer, then pulled out a win after breaking both weapons against a TP, but was still hovering at 2-2 after round 4, before making a big run against a bunch of strikers to claw her way to 7-2. Now I'm sweating, like always when I get to this point...turn the page, and...she's matched up against Osksi Noble in round 10! Easy win against a stand-in, then she lost out to a lunger in a 6 minute brawl she likely would've won with normal or good damage. But who cares! At last, the PR TV monkey is off my back. Entering as a timed adept with only adv exp/rip. and exp/parry, and the little damage, I thought she had very slim chances, and had higher hopes for several other rippers I had going in, but she did it!

I also TV'd with a waste in rookies that overcame an input error, using a freaking short spear (instead of SC) for several fights, and handed the eventual TC one of his two losses in round 2.

Most of my other 19 entries didn't do much, but I am very happy with these results this time out!

Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2025 2:20 pm

Stik wrote:

Well, at long last, my quest to TV with all ten styles was finally fulfilled, when Last Caress of Blood Red Skies 2, a 10(+1)-17-5-17-16(+1)-4-17 PR who always showed some knack but was cursed with little damage, TV'd adepts at 8-3-0!

She started 0-1 with a loss to an aimer, then pulled out a win after breaking both weapons against a TP, but was still hovering at 2-2 after round 4, before making a big run against a bunch of strikers to claw her way to 7-2. Now I'm sweating, like always when I get to this point...turn the page, and...she's matched up against Osksi Noble in round 10! Easy win against a stand-in, then she lost out to a lunger in a 6 minute brawl she likely would've won with normal or good damage. But who cares! At last, the PR TV monkey is off my back. Entering as a timed adept with only adv exp/rip. and exp/parry, and the little damage, I thought she had very slim chances, and had higher hopes for several other rippers I had going in, but she did it!

I also TV'd with a waste in rookies that overcame an input error, using a freaking short spear (instead of SC) for several fights, and handed the eventual TC one of his two losses in round 2.

Most of my other 19 entries didn't do much, but I am very happy with these results this time out!

Congrats on finishing the TV cycle. I haven't done that yet, but 2 of my 10 managed a TV and I had a winning record overall, so it was all good. One annoying death as a former TV/TC fight loser in Delphic Casino now will get to have a long trudge through the dead tournies.

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2025 1:31 am

Stik wrote:

Well, at long last, my quest to TV with all ten styles was finally fulfilled, when Last Caress of Blood Red Skies 2, a 10(+1)-17-5-17-16(+1)-4-17 PR who always showed some knack but was cursed with little damage, TV'd adepts at 8-3-0!

She started 0-1 with a loss to an aimer, then pulled out a win after breaking both weapons against a TP, but was still hovering at 2-2 after round 4, before making a big run against a bunch of strikers to claw her way to 7-2. Now I'm sweating, like always when I get to this point...turn the page, and...she's matched up against Osksi Noble in round 10! Easy win against a stand-in, then she lost out to a lunger in a 6 minute brawl she likely would've won with normal or good damage. But who cares! At last, the PR TV monkey is off my back. Entering as a timed adept with only adv exp/rip. and exp/parry, and the little damage, I thought she had very slim chances, and had higher hopes for several other rippers I had going in, but she did it!

I also TV'd with a waste in rookies that overcame an input error, using a freaking short spear (instead of SC) for several fights, and handed the eventual TC one of his two losses in round 2.

Most of my other 19 entries didn't do much, but I am very happy with these results this time out!

Well done! Kudos!

(Sheesh! A little damage ripper! More kudos!)