The Spanish Raid Maryland – April Tournament AAR

By Tom Mullane

This past April I turned 39. And when my wife asked me what I wanted to do with my birthday weekend, I told her I had it all planned out. I would be heading down to Maryland to play in my first Blood and Plunder tournament in nearly six months.

Glenn Van Meter, Tyler Stone, and I had been plotting and scheming for months to put on a land tournament at Critical Hit Games in Abingdon Maryland.

The cards had been printed, the terrain had been made, and the invites sent. Heading into the weekend we had 24 signed up but expected a few would drop for the usual reasons. Since I was traveling the furthest, Glenn and Tyler generously told me I could play in the tournament without acting as a TO. (I would not be taking any prize money obviously, because I’m an eagle scout who wouldn’t break the sacred vow we all took as Tournament Organizers).

This tournament I would be bringing my Spanish, to see if my multitude of games getting my clock cleaned might finally pay off. My friends Niguel and Shane get credit as my sparring partners in the lead-up to this Tournament.

I’ll start by making a point about how nice Critical Hit was as host. They opened early to allow us to set up. They had plenty of Firelock products in stock, and generously provided some of their own terrain.

The space was excellent, and the tables turned out pretty well.

One of my creations, with hills I made over the past few months, scatter terrain for temple walls, and some Moai Statues from amazon’s fish tank selection.

Nothing says lush fields of grain like cut-up welcome mats. (and more of my jungle hills) I found that once they were put on the table, my hills were enormous for a 3×3 board. I will be chopping them down to size and rebuilding them. The sets I made with aquarium plants also need an airbrush to take out the neon look of some of the vegetation.

In terms of the overall quality of terrain, the prize goes to Tyler. Who found creative ways to make roads and hills that looked fantastic. You can see his work on display in the ruined river crossing below.

I also made use of some of my Flames of War terrain and hills to give us some variety and temperate climates. I thought the hills, which are some of my originals for 15mm, work for this pretty well. We were expecting some possible Fire on the Frontier Lists, and we did get a few, but not too many. People are still feeling out what to bring and what will work.

My list was Spanish Tercios. I had finally decided to start taking stuff with special rules that would help me in the jungle, or in bigger fights. I also erred on the side of larger units and tried to take some guys that would be durable enough to outlast some of the more common opponents I expected to face.

After getting folks signed in (18 total participants) and setting up my enormous coastal fort on a demo table for some sea games, we were ready to roll.

Round #1

I was set against the newest player with the fewest games under their belt. We met on one of the boards I had built, and I did my best to help provide him with some guidance on what to do and what not to do. (including a key moment where I demonstrated what not to do by charging out into the open and getting shredded like cheese).

Trading shots and cover, it looked like the game would be swinging my way, but some clutch shots to take out some Lanceros, as well as my boneheaded play would see the game turn in his favor. This was a loss for me and a win for my opponent. (A perfect start for the new guy)

Round 2 – Vs. Dick Caldwell (our carpool friend)

Here I got to play against some Scottish Highlanders. (there were several who brought Scots Militia) and we were playing the new scenario we had built for the tourney. The aim was to kick over boxes until you found the right one and then try and hold it. But as luck would have it, I found it on turn 1 and proceeded to park on the objective.

Dick was forced to advance across the board into a pile of Lanceros and other Hostigadores who poured fire into him from cover.

With one win and one loss, I was feeling pretty good. My list was playing better than I expected, and I found that learning the rules a bit better over the past few months had given me a pretty solid leg up in this thing. One round remained, and in the meantime, I took a tour of the other games on display.

Round 3 Ron McFarland

Here I played against my vote for the best-painted trophy, a spectacular French Army force. I managed to seize the compound in the middle and took on all comers as they assaulted the walls. Once again, the Lanceros murdered some units in close range and basically won me the game. Pushing my troops and exhausting them to get into position also paid off handsomely, as the French couldn’t’ crack the fortified nut in the middle of the board.

With two wins and a loss, I finished 4th! The best I’ve ever done at one of these!

I was graced with three wonderful opponents and had an amazing day overall. We wrapped up the night with a huge sea game between all the gathered folks who hung out. We grabbed some Maryland Pizza (which as an NY’er I am obligated to complain about) and played with the big ships until we were graciously asked to let the staff close and go to bed.

With players from as far away as North Carolina and New England, we were blessed to have this many participants. We hope to host more of these in the future and will keep you posted when we do.

I packed up the car, headed back to the farm, and headed off for Easter Breakfast in NY the next day.

Thanks to all who came out, and we hope to see you again.

Thomas “Chairborne” Mullane has been a writer and podcaster for No Dice No Glory since its inception. He teaches High School History in NY and Lives in Danbury, CT. He is a player of Flames of War, Bolt Action, Dungeons and Dragons, and Blood and Plunder. Tune in to “Tales of the Sail” if you want to hear what he sounds like, and please say hi during the next HMGS convention.