NOVA Open 2016 Approaching

NoVA Open 2011 Logo

I’ve finally settled on what I’m doing at NOVA this year.

This is the second year I’ve hit this point: Register early, Knowing that I’ll want to go but not really knowing what I’ll want to do there. Months pass as I enjoy gaming… just not games that happen at NOVA.  The convention approaches and I realize I’ve got nothing to do there.

I’m registered for a couple of seminars, most on Thursday, one on Saturday. I’ve signed up for the Capital Palette, of course, but this year I might not enter anything: the change in format (something I’m less than enthused about but remain open to) adds a layer of stress over the whole thing, and stress is not something I need more of in 2016.

I have one model that I might enter, if I can finish it in the next three weeks, which might or might not happen.

40K is still not something I want to go anywhere near.  30K’s not an option (somewhat more than a partially assembled copy of Betrayal at Calth is likely required).  Age of Sigmar is not for me. Most of the round-lip skirmish games are not for me.  I’m so offended by the Infinity painting expectations that I can’t bring myself to play it.

Now that they’ve posted some non-build-and-play events, though, I think I can get behind giving Wrath of Kings a run.  I like the game okay, they’re single-day events, and I think I can get things painted in time for it.

(Yes, it’s not lost on me that, offended as I am about Infinity and painting, I can expect to see some unpainted minis playing Wrath of Kings.  I could elaborate on why it’s less of a problem for me with Wrath of Kings, but it’d mostly be bitching about the Infinity approach to painting, and that’d be less than fully constructive.)

WoK to Paint

I think I can paint this up well enough in the 25 days or so until the tournament.  25 models.  I’d rather play Hadross, but I know I can paint people faster than I can trippy fishmen, so Goritsi it is.

There’s a Skirmish tournament on Friday and a Battle tournament on Saturday.  I have no illusions about being able to be fully painted for the Battle tournament.  My plan is to do the Skirmish tournament on Friday and decide: is it a non-event? Are people even there? If people are there, how painted are they? If the Friday Skirmish tournament goes okay, and if there’s a lot of bare PVC, I might do the Saturday Battle tournament.  Otherwise, I’ll sleep in and show up in time to learn how to paint sheer fabric.

This is my last year, I think, of registering for NOVA in January. It costs too much to have to find something to do.  In 2017, I’ll have to think about it and decide over the summer.