TheChirurgeon’s Road Through 2025, Part 40: Challengers Team Prep

Welcome back, Dear Reader, to my ongoing hobby and competitive progress series for 2025. Previously on Road Through 2025, I was doing more hobby work and testing a terminator-heavy Thousand Sons list. This week I’m finally in the final prep for the Challengers Cup and heading to Salt Lake City for the event.

In fact, as I write this, I’m currently in the house we’ve rented ahead of the team – we’ve rented a pair of joined houses for the weekend with a host of beds in order to house our team of weirdoes. And I’m here by myself at the moment, because well, planning 8-man teams events really sucks. This is my second of the year, and the second time I’ve had to make last-minute adjustments to the roster. Last time around it was replacing Chase “Gunum” Garber and Ben Cherwien; this time around it was four replacements. First it was Liam “Corrode” Royle and James “One_Wing” Grover, who were going to come out a few days early to do some hiking and regular vacation stuff. Then they decided travel to the US wasn’t in the cards this year which, fair, but meant we had to replace them. Then it was Chase, who had the same issue that sidelined him from Ottawa, and then for the last few weeks I’ve been trying to replace Scott Horras, who can’t play in the final round.

It has not been my favorite experience, to say the least, and because I bought the tickets early, I’m now the only one at the house, waiting for everyone to get here.

The good news is, it’s a pretty nice house. Or pair of houses.

The Team

I’ve talked about these guys, but it’s worth going back over them in detail. Note that the event had a team vote last week, and we voted to use the new balance update and drop Challenger cards from the event. This was the right call, even if it means lists were finalized late.

Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

Army: Death Guard

It’s me! I’m back on my Death Guard bullshit, running Mortarion’s Hammer again in a teams environment. It’s the same list I’ve been running for weeks now, and the same list I ran at the Tabled Talk GT earlier this month. I think they’re still a great army, and post-dataslate very much have the power to beat most lists.

My list - click to expand

ettin DG hammer list (1990 points)

Death Guard
Strike Force (2000 points)
Mortarion’s Hammer

CHARACTERS

Lord of Contagion (120 points)
• 1x Manreaper

Lord of Virulence (130 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Power fist
1x Twin plague spewer
• Enhancement: Tendrilous Emissions

OTHER DATASHEETS

Deathshroud Terminators (160 points)
• 1x Deathshroud Champion
• 1x Manreaper
1x Plaguespurt gauntlet
• 2x Deathshroud Terminator
• 2x Manreaper
2x Plaguespurt gauntlet

Foetid Bloat-Drone with Heavy Blight Launcher (120 points)
• 1x Heavy blight launcher
1x Plague probe

Myphitic Blight-haulers (100 points)
• 1x Bile spurt
1x Gnashing maw
1x Missile launcher
1x Multi-melta

Plagueburst Crawler (210 points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
2x Entropy cannon
1x Heavy slugger
1x Plagueburst mortar

Poxwalkers (65 points)
• 10x Poxwalker
• 10x Improvised weapon

Exported with App Version: v1.40.0 (93), Data Version: v674

James “Boon” Kelling

Army: Aeldari

James is also back on his Elf Bullshit, but buoyed a bit by point drops to several key units in the recent balance update. The big difference this time around is that James is no longer running Seer Council and instead running Aspect Warhost, with a list that’s quite a bit more versatile than the one he ran in Ottawa. I expect he’ll win more games this time.

Boon's list - click to expand

Okay Booner (1995 points)

Aeldari
Strike Force (2000 points)
Warhost

CHARACTERS

Baharroth (115 points)
• 1x Fury of the Tempest
1x Shining Blade

Eldrad Ulthran (110 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Mind War
1x Shuriken pistol
1x The Staff of Ulthamar and witchblade

Fuegan (120 points)
• 1x Fire Axe
1x Searsong

Lhykhis (120 points)
• 1x Brood Twain
1x Spider’s Fangs
1x Weaverender

Maugan Ra (100 points)
• 1x Maugetar

BATTLELINE

Storm Guardians (100 points)
• 10x Storm Guardian
• 8x Close combat weapon
2x Flamer
2x Fusion gun
2x Power sword
6x Shuriken pistol
• 1x Serpent’s Scale Platform
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Serpent shield

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Wave Serpent (125 points)
• 1x Shuriken cannon
1x Twin bright lance
1x Wraithbone hull

OTHER DATASHEETS

Dark Reapers (90 points)
• 1x Dark Reaper Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Missile launcher
• 4x Dark Reaper
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Reaper launcher

Falcon (130 points)
• 1x Bright lance
1x Pulse laser
1x Shuriken cannon
1x Wraithbone hull

Fire Dragons (220 points)
• 1x Fire Dragon Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Firepike
• 9x Fire Dragon
• 9x Close combat weapon
9x Dragon fusion gun

Rangers (55 points)
• 5x Ranger
• 5x Close combat weapon
5x Long rifle
5x Shuriken pistol

Shining Spears (110 points)
• 1x Shining Spear Exarch
• 1x Shimmershield
1x Shuriken cannon
1x Star lance
• 2x Shining Spear
• 2x Laser lance
2x Twin shuriken catapult

Swooping Hawks (85 points)
• 1x Swooping Hawk Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Hawk’s talon
• 4x Swooping Hawk
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Lasblaster

War Walkers (85 points)
• 2x Starcannon
1x War Walker feet

Warlock Skyrunners (45 points)
• 1x Destructor
1x Shuriken pistol
1x Singing Spear
1x Twin shuriken catapult

Warp Spiders (95 points)
• 1x Warp Spider Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Powerblade array
• 4x Warp Spider
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Death spinner

Windriders (160 points)
• 6x Windrider
• 6x Close combat weapon
6x Shuriken cannon

Shane Watts

Army: Leagues of Votann

Shane’s still running Leagues of Votann, but with the new book. He’s been a big proponent of the Brandfast Oathband detachment and while he’s recently started to come around on the Hearthband thanks to the balance update, this is where he has all his reps.

Shane's List - click to Expand

Covenant of Hashut (2000 Points)

Leagues of Votann
Brandfast Oathband
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Brôkhyr Iron-master (80 Points)
• 1x Brôkhyr Iron-master
◦ 1x Graviton hammer
◦ 1x Graviton rifle
◦ Enhancements: Signature Restoration
• 1x Ironkin Assistant
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Las-beam cutter
• 1x E-COG
◦ 1x Plasma torch
• 1x E-COG
◦ 1x Manipulator arms
• 1x E-COG
◦ 1x Autoch-pattern bolt pistol
◦ 1x Close combat weapon

Buri Aegnirssen (110 Points)
• 1x Autoch‑pattern bolt pistol
• 1x Bane

Ûthar the Destined (95 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Blade of the Ancestors
• 1x Rampart Crest
• 1x Volkanite disintegrator

BATTLELINE

Hearthkyn Warriors (100 Points)
• 1x Theyn
◦ 1x Autoch-pattern bolt pistol
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Theyn’s melee weapon
◦ 1x Theyn’s pistol
◦ 1x Weavefield crest
• 9x Hearthkyn Warrior
◦ 9x Autoch-pattern bolt pistol
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x HYLas auto rifle
◦ 1x HYLas rotary cannon
◦ 7x Ion blaster

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Sagitaur (95 Points)
• 1x Armoured wheels
• 1x HYLas beam cannon
• 1x Twin bolt cannon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Brôkhyr Thunderkyn (80 Points)
• 3x Brôkhyr Thunderkyn
◦ 3x Close combat weapon
◦ 3x SP conversion beamer

Cthonian Earthshakers (110 Points)
• 2x Cthonian Earthshakers
◦ 2x Autoch-pattern bolt pistol
◦ 2x Plasma picks
◦ 2x Tremor shells

Hekaton Land Fortress (240 Points)
• 1x Armoured wheels
• 1x Heavy magna-rail cannon
• 1x MATR autocannon
• 1x Panspectral Scanner
• 2x Twin bolt cannon

Hernkyn Pioneers (80 Points)
• 3x Hernkyn Pioneer
◦ 3x Bolt revolver
◦ 3x Bolt shotgun
◦ 1x HYLas rotary cannon
◦ 3x Magna-coil autocannon
◦ 1x Panspectral Scanner
◦ 3x Plasma knife
◦ 1x Rollbar Searchlight

Hernkyn Yaegirs (90 Points)
• 1x Yaegir Theyn
◦ 1x Bolt revolver
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Plasma knife
• 9x Hernkyn Yaegir
◦ 1x APM launcher
◦ 7x Bolt revolver
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Magna-coil rifle
◦ 7x Plasma knife

Ironkin Steeljacks with Heavy Volkanite Disintegrators (180 Points)
• 1x Steeljack Theyn
◦ 1x Heavy volkanite disintegrator
◦ 1x Plasma knife
◦ 1x Preymark Crest
• 5x Ironkin Steeljack
◦ 5x Heavy volkanite disintegrator
◦ 5x Plasma knife

Exported with App Version: v1.41.0 (3), Data Version: v685

Scott Horras “Heresy”

Army: Astra Militarum

Scott’s on Astra Militarum, running as many Rogals Dorn as he can fit into a list – the same thing he’s been doing all edition. He’s made a few adjustments to his army since the balance dataslate dropped but the overall strategy remains the same.

Scott's List - Click to Expand

Get in the Dornhole, Shinji (1990 points)

Astra Militarum
Strike Force (2000 points)
Combined Arms

CHARACTERS

Gaunt’s Ghosts (100 points)
• 1x Ibram Gaunt
• 1x Bolt Pistol
1x Gaunt’s chainsword
• 1x Colm Corbec
• 1x Corbec’s hot-shot lascarbine
1x Straight silver knife
• 1x Elim Rawne
• 1x Rawne’s lascarbine
1x Straight silver knife
• 1x Hlaine Larkin
• 1x Larkin’s long-las
1x Straight silver knife
• 1x ’Try Again’ Bragg
• 1x Bragg’s autocannon
1x Straight silver knife
• 1x Oan Mkoll
• 1x Lascarbine
1x Mkoll’s straight silver knife

Rogal Dorn Commander (290 points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Coaxial autocannon
1x Heavy stubber
2x Meltagun
2x Multi-melta
1x Oppressor cannon
1x Pulveriser cannon
• Enhancement: Grand Strategist

Rogal Dorn Commander (285 points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Coaxial autocannon
1x Heavy stubber
2x Meltagun
2x Multi-melta
1x Oppressor cannon
1x Pulveriser cannon
• Enhancement: Death Mask of Ollanius

Ursula Creed (85 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Duty and Vengeance
1x Power weapon

BATTLELINE

Cadian Shock Troops (65 points)
• 1x Shock Trooper Sergeant
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Sergeant’s autogun
• 9x Shock Trooper
• 9x Close combat weapon
7x Lasgun
1x Meltagun
1x Plasma gun
1x Vox-caster

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Taurox (75 points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Storm bolter
1x Twin autocannon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Kasrkin (110 points)
• 1x Kasrkin Sergeant
• 1x Plasma pistol
1x Power weapon
• 9x Kasrkin
• 9x Close combat weapon
3x Hot-shot lasgun
1x Hot-shot laspistol
1x Hot-shot marksman rifle
1x Melta Mine
2x Meltagun
2x Plasma gun
1x Vox-caster

Rogal Dorn Battle Tank (250 points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Coaxial autocannon
1x Heavy stubber
2x Meltagun
2x Multi-melta
1x Oppressor cannon
1x Pulveriser cannon

Scout Sentinels (55 points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Hunter-killer missile
1x Lascannon
1x Sentinel chainsaw

Campbell “SRM” McLaughlin

Army: Black Templars

Our Space Marine slot is Campbell, who’s running Black Templars. After some big success with the faction last year (Campbell has become fully comp-pilled), he’s been slowly getting reps in with the new army – most recently at NOVA – and improving with them.

Campbell's List - Click to Expand

Ironstormy (1995 Points)

Space Marines
Black Templars
Ironstorm Spearhead
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Emperor’s Champion (90 Points)
• 1x Black Sword
• 1x Bolt Pistol

High Marshal Helbrecht (120 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Ferocity
• 1x Sword of the High Marshals

Marshal (80 Points)
• 1x Master-crafted power weapon
• 1x Plasma pistol

Marshal (80 Points)
• 1x Combi-weapon
• 1x Master-crafted power weapon

Techmarine (85 Points)
• 1x Forge bolter
• 1x Grav-pistol
• 1x Omnissian power axe
• 1x Servo-arm
• Enhancements: Target Augury Web

Techmarine (90 Points)
• 1x Forge bolter
• 1x Grav-pistol
• 1x Omnissian power axe
• 1x Servo-arm
• Enhancements: Adept of the Omnissiah

BATTLELINE

Assault Intercessor Squad (75 Points)
• 1x Assault Intercessor Sergeant
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Thunder hammer
• 4x Assault Intercessor
◦ 4x Astartes chainsword
◦ 4x Heavy bolt pistol

Crusader Squad (150 Points)
• 1x Sword Brother
◦ 1x Master-crafted power weapon
◦ 1x Pyre pistol
• 5x Initiate
◦ 3x Astartes chainsword
◦ 5x Bolt pistol
◦ 5x Close combat weapon
◦ 5x Heavy bolt pistol
◦ 2x Power fist
• 4x Neophyte
◦ 4x Astartes chainsword
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Impulsor (85 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
• 1x Multi-melta
• 1x Shield Dome
• 2x Storm bolter

OTHER DATASHEETS

Infiltrator Squad (100 Points)
• 1x Infiltrator Sergeant
◦ 1x Bolt pistol
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Marksman bolt carbine
• 4x Infiltrator
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Marksman bolt carbine

Land Raider Redeemer (270 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 2x Flamestorm cannon
• 1x Hunter-killer missile
• 1x Multi-melta
• 1x Storm bolter
• 1x Twin assault cannon

Repulsor Executioner (220 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
• 1x Heavy laser destroyer
• 1x Heavy onslaught gatling cannon
• 1x Icarus rocket pod
• 1x Multi-melta
• 1x Repulsor Executioner defensive array
• 1x Twin Icarus ironhail heavy stubber
• 1x Twin heavy bolter

Scout Squad (70 Points)
• 1x Scout Sergeant
◦ 1x Bolt pistol
◦ 1x Boltgun
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
• 4x Scout
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
◦ 2x Boltgun
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Heavy bolter
◦ 1x Scout sniper rifle

Sword Brethren Squad (130 Points)
• 5x Sword Brother
◦ 4x Heavy bolt pistol
◦ 3x Master-crafted power weapon
◦ 1x Thunder hammer
◦ 1x Twin lightning claws

Sword Brethren Squad (130 Points)
• 5x Sword Brother
◦ 1x Heavy bolt pistol
◦ 4x Master-crafted power weapon
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 2x Pyre pistol
◦ 1x Twin lightning claws

Exported with App Version: v1.41.0 (3), Data Version: v685

Norman Greenberg

Army: Chaos Knights

Norman’s back on Chaos Knights, something everyone expected. Chaos Knights had one hell of a summer but are looking quite a bit less powerful following the points adjustment and Q3 balance update. That said, Norman has a ton of reps with the army, though few with a list running zero daemons.

Norman's List - Click to Expand

Challengers_New_Pornographers.mp3 (2000 points)

Chaos Knights
Strike Force (2000 points)
Infernal Lance

CHARACTERS

Chaos Cerastus Knight Atrapos (395 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Atrapos lascutter
1x Graviton singularity cannon

Chaos Cerastus Knight Lancer (385 points)
• 1x Cerastus shock lance

Knight Despoiler (395 points)
• 1x Daemonbreath meltagun
2x Daemonbreath thermal cannon
1x Ruinspear rocket pod
1x Titanic feet
• Enhancement: Bestial Aspect

Knight Despoiler (375 points)
• 1x Daemonbreath meltagun
2x Despoiler gatling cannon
2x Heavy darkflamer
1x Titanic feet

OTHER DATASHEETS

War Dog Karnivore (150 points)
• 1x Diabolus heavy stubber
1x Reaper chaintalon
1x Slaughterclaw

Exported with App Version: v1.40.1 (94), Data Version: v675

Thomas “Goatboy” Reidy

Army: World Eaters

I met Thomas in person at Frontline Gaming’s Dallas Open back in 2022 and we hit it off immediately. Thomas is one of my favorite people in this hobby, and as a fellow Chaos sicko it’s always fun to talk shop with him. He’s running World Eaters, helping us cover our “80 berzerkers” list hole.

Goatboy's List - Click to Expand

Goatboy World Eaters (1995 Points)

World Eaters
Berzerker Warband
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Daemon Prince of Khorne (220 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Hellforged weapons
• 1x Infernal cannon
• Enhancements: Helm of Brazen Ire

Slaughterbound (110 Points)
• 1x Lacerator and daemonic claw
• Enhancements: Berzerker Glaive

OTHER DATASHEETS

Chaos Land Raider (220 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Combi-bolter
• 1x Havoc launcher
• 2x Soulshatter lascannon
• 1x Twin heavy bolter

Chaos Spawn (90 Points)
• 2x Chaos Spawn
◦ 2x Hideous mutations

Eightbound (135 Points)
• 1x Eightbound Champion
◦ 1x Chainblades
• 2x Eightbound
◦ 2x Chainblades

Exalted Eightbound (140 Points)
• 1x Exalted Eightbound Champion
◦ 1x Chainblades
• 2x Exalted Eightbound
◦ 2x Chainblades

Forgefiend (170 Points)
• 2x Ectoplasma cannon
• 1x Ectoplasma cannon
• 1x Forgefiend claws

Goremongers (85 Points)
• 1x Blood Herald
◦ 1x Autopistol
◦ 1x Chainblade
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
• 7x Goremongers
◦ 7x Autopistol
◦ 7x Chainblade
◦ 7x Close combat weapon

Jakhals (65 Points)
• 1x Jakhal Pack Leader
◦ 1x Autopistol
◦ 1x Chainblades
• 1x Dishonoured
◦ 1x Paired manglers
• 8x Jakhal
◦ 8x Autopistol
◦ 8x Chainblades

Exported with App Version: v1.41.0 (3), Data Version: v685

Wallace O’Donnell

Army: Chaos Space Marines

Wallace is a stand-up guy who worked with us to put on the 2023 US Goonhammer Open at the Baltimore Convention Center. He’s traditionally a Chaos Daemons and CSM player and stepped up to fill Chase’s spot after he was unable to attend the event.

Wallace's list - click to expand

Goon Team (2000 Points)

Chaos Space Marines
Soulforged Warpack
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Lord Discordant on Helstalker (180 Points)
• 1x Baleflamer
• 1x Bladed limbs
• 1x Bolt Pistol
• 1x Impaler chainglaive
• 1x Magma cutter
• Enhancements: Forge’s Blessing

Lord Discordant on Helstalker (185 Points)
• 1x Baleflamer
• 1x Bladed limbs
• 1x Bolt Pistol
• 1x Impaler chainglaive
• 1x Magma cutter
• Enhancements: Tempting Addendum

Vashtorr the Arkifane (175 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Vashtorr’s claw
• 1x Vashtorr’s hammer

BATTLELINE

Cultist Mob (50 Points)
• 1x Cultist Champion
◦ 1x Autopistol
◦ 1x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Chaos Cultist
◦ 9x Autopistol
◦ 9x Brutal assault weapon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Forgefiend (180 Points)
• 1x Armoured limbs
• 1x Ectoplasma cannon
• 2x Hades autocannon

Forgefiend (180 Points)
• 1x Armoured limbs
• 2x Ectoplasma cannon
• 1x Ectoplasma cannon

Helbrute (130 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 2x Heavy flamer
• 1x Helbrute fist
• 1x Helbrute fist

Heldrake (205 Points)
• 1x Baleflamer
• 1x Heldrake claws

Venomcrawler (110 Points)
• 2x Excruciator cannon
• 1x Soulflayer tendrils and claws

ALLIED UNITS

Beasts of Nurgle (65 Points)
• 1x Putrid appendages

Nurglings (40 Points)
• 3x Nurgling Swarm
◦ 3x Diseased claws and teeth

On top of this, a local Orks player is subbing in for Scott in round 6 when he has to fly back early to make an early Monday morning work obligation.

That’s a very solid team, and by Stat-Check’s Elo, we’re firmly in the middle of the pack, ranking 16th out of the 32 teams at the event. I’m personally hoping we can finish somewhere around 3-3 over the six rounds we’ll play, but I’m also just happy to be hanging out with the guys, playing Warhammer. I packed up and flew out to the house on Tuesday ahead of everyone else and I’ve been mostly working remotely and enjoying the place. It’s not a bad house – there’s a hot tub and the grill is solid – and checking out the local area. It’s not amazing, but there’s a grocery store and a number of places to eat nearby, even if most are fast food. It’s mostly a highway, but there’s some pretty terrain behind it.

My plan the first two days has been to eat cereal and sandwiches for breakfast and lunch and then go out for dinner and grab something hot. Today it was at a joint called Cubby’s, which serves a solid bowl of rice and beans and other stuff. But starting Thursday it’ll be family-style cooked meals using the grills at the houses. My current plan looks something like:

Thursday
– Burgers and Dogs
– Chips

Friday
– BBQ Chicken
– Sausage
– Baked Beans
– Salad/Vegetable TBD

Saturday
– Steaks
– Mashed potatoes
– Asparagus
– Mushrooms

Sunday
– Steak + Chicken Fajitas
– Rice + Beans

Cooking big meals can be a lot of work, but the grills help and doing big family style meals will both save us all money and generally be more satisfying than just ordering a bunch of pizza. Also, i personally love doing the big meals like this. I like going to the grocery store at the start of a group vacation and buying all the supplies, like I’m the Quartermaster. Running around the grocery store, barking orders at people, saying shit like, “I need 22 steaks, two pounds of cheese, three loaves of bread, and four dozen eggs – MY BOYS GOTTA EAT.”

Our Event Prep

I’m team captain this time around, a role I neither want nor am prepared for, but like I said – we’re just here to have a good time this time around. I’m not particularly invested in winning and unlike Ottawa, our chances are much worse. Both because our team is not quite as good as that one and also because the competition is much, much tougher. I don’t think winning the event is a super realistic goal for us, and so I’d rather focus on having a good time. That said, we did do some prep. The big thing was building a matrix. This is something Ben Jurek just talked about in his most recent Road to LVO article – you need to understand how your matchups look.

Here’s the thing about matrices: They’re kind of bullshit. Not as a general practice, but in more of the sense of they don’t take into account player skill. I don’t care how good the matchup is on paper, if I throw Campbell into John Lennon, he’s going to lose that game barring some insane dice outcomes. He might not get 0-20’d, but he just doesn’t have the experience and skill to translate that imbalance into a strong result. What I find the matrices do best is give you a “vibe check” on the matchup. A strong score usually says to me that “this person has played this matchup and is confident they could win it.” And that’s all I’m looking for at this level of play. In that sense, elo scores matter more to me than army matchups as well, because knowing where our team is just outmatched is helpful.

Note: We use scores 1-5 instead of 0-20. I like this more because it feels more like a range and 0-20 would be too scientific for this crowd.

When I built the matrix, I started by having the team fill it in, but I also looked at their most recent tournament games – many of them went to NOVA – and used those scores to fill in scores as well. This gave me a pretty good matrix, but also one that feels wildly optimistic – but this is a problem which i think a lot of player matrices will have. When you build a team of people who win 60-80% of their games, it’s not out of the question for them to score all their games as 12+ wins, regardless of whether that’s realistic. When I do pairings, I’ll be looking for the 3s and 4s and trying to identify where someone has played a matchup before – having faced an army is ultimately the biggest factor in being able to beat them and play well in that matchup.

One other thing we did was set up a scrimm with one of the local Maryland teams who is going to be at the event. This was basically practicing pairings, going back and forth and looking at how we’d fare if we matched up. This was helpful, particularly for me to re-acquaint myself with pairings; I’m not great at it and I wasn’t in charge of it at Ottawa. It’s generally not something I want to put a lot of time and energy into. I enjoy being on a team and playing at a teams event but I definitely do not so much enjoy the metagame of the teams format or the tremendous hassle and bullshit of corralling an 8-player team.

That said I’ll take a deeper look at our round 1 pairings today and build a plan for how we want to attack them.

Next Time: Challengers Cup Results

That does it for this week’s update but come back next week when I’ll be recapping the weekend’s games and talking about what’s next. With six games to play over the next three days and a lot of hangouts, I’m sure I’ll have plenty to talk about.

Anyways, I’ll see you next Thursday.

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