The Quiet, Dignified Death of Comp

Felt the chill in the air, did you?  Thought it was the impending march of winter?  Nay, I tell you, that is but Nature’s mournful exhalation.  

Though I’m sure Nature held her breath somewhat when passing over Rochester, New York, ’cause who wants to breath in the sweet reek of unwashed sweat, beer farts, and way too much Axe body spray?

This guy, that’s who.  Da Boyz GT was an absolute blast – and don’t worry, because I’ll tell you all about it over the next few weeks – but let’s get to the getting, because the most important thing happened when it all wrapped up.

Jay, Tournament Organizer extraordinaire, handed out a sheet asking for feedback and I’ll bet you any amount of money you care to name (not to exceed my net worth, which is currently a negative number) that the vast majority of attendee responses could be summed up in two words:

And I have it on good authority… Jay’s… that comp will indeed be ditched.  Da Boyz, perhaps the last great holdout, has turned its back on what has become a failed institution.

There are two things you would ask if I could tell you what I wanted you to ask:

1)  “Brent, besides complimenting you on having great hair, Jay mentioned he enjoyed your fair and even-handed treatment of composition scores in a recent article… then he gets rid of comp at his own event?  What’s up with that?”

I’m glad you asked!  Yes, Jay did chat with me at the event and let me know how much he enjoys my articles.  He’s a great man.

Look, the dude wants to improve his event, and he identified the only real area which could use some improvement.  Personally, I think he knew what he was going to do before handing out the survey.

2)  “Brent, being the mastermind behind the Storm Buster, the Dyson Pattern Storm Raven, which ironically is much cooler than what GW recently came out with, perhaps you’ll know… what’s so different now than in years past?”

I’m glad you asked!  Because the wave of public opinion has finally crested (thanks in no small part to you bloggers out there… you know who you are, and so do I), and people are tired of arbitrary restrictions on composition which, at the end of the day, doesn’t really stop folks from playing what they want…

…as long as they’re willing to take the hit.  So what happens when you play your army, which you’ve worked so it reaches a decent composition score, against a dude who brought the toys he actually wanted  to play with?

Well, you’ll learn two things.  The first is the dude you’re playing is probably from Toledo, and second you’re not going to have fun losing.

Not that you care about losing, right?  I mean, you’re the one dude out there who pays good money to attend a competitive event so he can lose, right?  At least you got to show off your army, right?

Right.  

Your opponent won’t win the event, since his Comp is too low… but he knocked you out.  Are you okay with that?

If you think you are, you’re full of crap.  I pretty much guarantee that by the time you get to your first major GT you’re secretly hoping to be the dude who goes home with all the toys.

Reality can be crushing.  Trust me, my first wife is living proof of that.

Let’s wrap this up with a couple of facts.

• Da Boyz was an awesome event and a real success.

It was a great event, Comp or No Comp, and Jay and his crew deserve mad props for giving everyone their money’s worth.

Oh, for the many who subscribe to the ‘No-It-Wasn’t-Because-I-Stayed-Home’ theory of judging the merits of an event… I was there, you weren’t.  That should be enough, but if it isn’t try this: the event was larger than last year and delivered what it promised to the attendees.

The success of this event takes nothing away from the success of other events – it ain’t a zero sum game, folks.

• The winner deserved to win.

Greg Sparks from the Toledo crew won every game with a list which scored well in composition.  He knew what he was doing, and you won’t find out a week from now his army was illegal.

(As I edit this article, I realize that’s a somewhat cheap knock on some recent events.  That said, I can be a somewhat cheap dude… and the point has merit, so it stays.  It doesn’t mean I don’t admire what those events accomplished, because the circuit it is a changing!  We’re very lucky to see the rise of so many great Indies after GW… well, let’s leave it there.  That’s for another day, methinks.)

He’s also the dude who handed me the worst beating I’ve taken in the last five years.  Then he sat next to me at dinner, force-feeding me nachos and beer, and generally propping me up.  If I cried on his shoulder a bit, so what?  Public sobbing doesn’t mean I’m less of a man.

Right?  Right..?

• Da Boyz set a gold standard in terrain.

Seriously.  I personally think events should take a page from this event and realize standardized terrain isn’t always necessary.  The current thinking is understandable, but perhaps a bit flawed.  Wouldn’t you rather play on a table you don’t see at home?

Also, the missions were great fun.  I’d shell out the money to return next year, even if Jay wasn’t planning on making some – in my opinion – improvements.  If he’d decided to stay the Comp Event of the Indy… well, I’d of decided that’s pretty okay.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this past weekend a blast.  Jay, I hope you forgive me… but c’mon, you had to know I was going to write about it!