So...I have just returned from a great weekend of ASL in St. Louis...and am sitting in my office and feeling that depression that follows time spent with friends playing the world's greatest game...ASL. This was my second time at the STL Tournament and I enjoyed this one even more than last year's. Last year I finished 1-3 on the weekend. This year...I managed to turn that around and finished 3-1, which is my best tournament performance to date. I also got in one free play game with Dan Best on Saturday (so yeah we had our regular Saturday game in the middle tournament). We're just that good at playing some fast ASL.
A big thanks to Jim Burris, Jeff Ital, Doug Kirk and all the members of the St. Louis Area ASL Players who worked so hard to put together a great tournament. The location continues to be great and the hotel itself is set up well to support a tournament. The only problem that I ever see with this and every tournament I have attended is where to put all the "KIT". Good grief, we ASL players lug around a lot of KIT to play the game we love. I mention it, because tables designed to support 4 players are often limited to two, because kit is stored on the other half. Now, this is not a complaint...as like everyone else I have a ton of kit too. It's just an observation and something we all as players need to be cognizant of. As for me, I've taken to leaving the bulk of my kit in my vehicle and bringing to the table only those boards and counter sets needed for the day's rounds. Not quite as convenient, but it works for me.
As for the tournament, itself, everyone is very welcoming and the camaraderie is something special in St. Louis. Another great aspect is that a lot of the Kansas City ASL players attend the STL Tournament and in kind the St. Louis Players attend the KC Tournament in March.
So you get to see a lot of familiar faces and catch up with folks that you might otherwise only see once a year.
OK...now for the recap of what was an amazing weekend of ASL.
ROUND 1: ASL Scenario WO27 Checking Out vs. Dave Ginnard (ROAR: Ger. 11 / USA 13)
I'm not a fan of DASL, but the scenario was the perfect size to kick off the tournament and the complexity was on the low scale with only a single vehicle in the game.
It would be a straight up infantry slugging match in the city.
Dave would be the attacking German SS and I the defending Americans.
This would be my first time playing against Dave and I had been looking forward to it for months. Dave would launch two attacks with one to my right being the feint and the one to my left being the main effort.
Dave's dice would initially give him fits. For nearly the first two turns, his rolls were in the 8-11 range, while mine were giving me a ton of 3's and ton of German Sniper Checks...which Dave would fail to convert till late in the game. My boys held well until we hit the fourth turn. Dave's SS were nigh unstoppable and my dice didn't give my fire lanes and D-Fire attempts the juice needed to slow them down. Dave made excellent use of smoke and dashed a lot, which in a DASL game is a great move as you not playing over a large area, so the combat is close making dashes very effective indeed. So after Dave had me in the corner and had taken control of 7 buildings, I gave the concession. Dave had a great win to start off the tourney.
Going into Round 2 - I was 0-1.
ROUND 2: ASL Scenario J63 Silesian Interlude vs. Richard Trippeer (ROAR: Ger. 103/Rus. 122)
This would be the first time playing against Richard, who was a relatively new player to ASL. He had played Wes Vaughn in Round 1. With only 10 or so games played, I was impressed that he had played against one of the game's greats.I knew I would be a much easier opponent to take on than Wes.
Richard and I would play a great game with a lot of give and take and some wild moments as well.
Richard would be the defending Russians and I the attacking Germans. I came on with all my boys in armored assault. Richard had the 45LL AT gun on the hill. His first shot and first roll would be boxcars. AT Gun was MALF'd from the start and would be lost with a 6 on the very next Rally Phase. A disheartening start to the game. Richard's Russians would struggle as the dice continued to produce high rolls and my German armor began to surround his infantry. Richard would shine however in Close Combat. Twice he would create heroes and fanatic squads that would be bedevil my German grenadiers. But unfortunately for Richard, his armor was unsuccessful against my Panthers and Panzerfausts. The game would go to the start of Turn 6 and be a German victory.
Going into Round 3 I was 1-1.
ROUND 3: SP270 A Small Stack and a Schnapps vs. Dan Best (ROAR: Ger.1 / Rus. 4)
Ever the gentleman, Dan indulged me when I asked to play the Schwerpunkt Scenario "A Small Stack and a Schnapps", which was not in Round 3, but was part of the scenarios in the Any Round category. So may thanks to Dan for letting us play this one. It would turn out to be a really fun scenario that went down to the wire...always the best kind.
Dan would have three Jagdpanzer IV's to try and stop 2 x T-34/85's, 2 x IS2m's and an IS2. His infantry were mostly 4-4-7's and mine were 6-2-8's and 5-2-7's. My infantry would be very successful in the game and I would take a large number of German prisoners. I rarely like to take prisoners, but discovered that doing so can often force DM'd squads to put up their hands early and often. So, taking prisoners can be helpful from time to time.
To win the game, my Russians had to have one fully functional Tank and control the U6 Building. Dan's expert use of his armor and Panzerfausts left me with only one IS2m which was under Low Ammo. The final tank duel was between a hull down Jagdpanzer IV and my IS2m. We had traded acquisitions and I had to get a turret hit to take Dan out. In my final chance, I got the hit and took out the Jagdpanzer. With control of the building...it would be game over and a Russian victory.
So going into Round 4, I was at 2-1.
ROUND 4: ASL Scenario 102 Point of the Sword versus Craig Walters (ROAR: Ger. 16 / British 18)
Now Craig Walters and I would be matched up for Round 4, which started around 7:00 PM. Now Craig had just finished a tough Round 3 match against David Ginnard that only finished after adjudication around 6:00 PM. So both Craig and Dave had next to no down-time between the two rounds. Craig was the 2013 Tournament Champion and certainly one of the great players at the tournament. I had not had the chance to play against Craig at earlier tournaments as I usually didn't win my first round game, so didn't get matched up with players like both Craig and Dave, who are almost always in the top five finishers. So like my game with Dave, I was really psyched to play another of the top tier players.
Craig and I were in the back corner of the room and I caught this shot of Craig as he prepared his attack.
Craig would have the British and I the defending Germans.
Unfortunately, I would only get this one picture as our game would finish very quickly.
Craig and I wouldn't get through the Turn 1 British movement phase. As Craig's 6-4-8's began moving across the open ground, my HIP HMG with 9-1 leader began opening up. My dice were as hot as I have ever seen them. And I use the same dice in all my games....so long-time readers know their somewhat dubious history. But in this scenario...2's, 3's, and 4's were nearly every roll. At -3 this was just murderous on the 6-4-8's. Other residual fire hexes of 1 and 2 were resulting in KIA's as I rolled 2's and 3's down 2 for moving in open. After 5 of the 6-4-8's had been killed outright and another 2 were broken....yet another K/2 result against the 9-2 and another 6-4-8...which Craig yatzheed for both the leader and squad....well that was enough for Craig. He had enough and gave me the concession. I was stunned and felt really bad. You never want to see that kind of situation occur in any ASL game. I had never been that successful in a defensive fire ever in 40 years of playing SL/ASL. It was just a freak moment that resulted in massive losses for my opponent. So, Craig and I shook hands and cleaned things up and chatted for a bit. I'm glad I had the brief opportunity to talk to him and certainly wish our game had gone the distance, but I also understand the frustration that ASL can create on those rare occurrences. I hope Craig and I will get another opportunity to play at either KC or STL next year.
So at the end of Round 4 , I would be 3-1.
Round 4 would be my last, as I would head home Sunday morning and miss Round 5. Later today, I learned that Randy Schurtz would win the tournament. So congrats to Randy on a great accomplishment!
So the 2018 St. Louis ASL Tournament is in the history books. Here now are some pictures from the event. Already looking forward to next year!
See you in 2019!!!
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