70% Skill, 25% Luck, 5% Fate!

Last time we all were together, in 2019, GM Sam Edelston had the audacity to win this tournament. So, this year, the tournament’s vindictive theme was “scenarios at which the champion was eliminated – as early as possible – from previous WBC tournaments.”

As is customary in Memoir, our format was 2-game matches (each contestant plays both sides of the battle), in a single elimination tournament, with a Mulligan round the night before. We don’t bid for sides. Also, when signing in, every player draws a tiebreaker number that will be the final determinator if a match is tied on all other attributes. A higher series of numbers is reserved for players who bring a game, so bring your game if you can, folks!

Our attendance of 42 was approximately 20% below the past two WBC tournaments, which reportedly was similar to the overall convention. As was the case the past two WBCs, this year’s field included 9 past WBC Memoir champions. This year, we also had at least two WBC first-timers who are active members of the online Memoir tournament community.

It should also be noted that the winner of this tournament automatically earns the right to compete online for the annual Memoir Champions Trophy. This invitation-only tournament is open only to top finishers from the leading face-to-face and online tournaments. (Our 2017 WBC champion, Jon Manley, won the 2017 Champions Trophy against an incredibly tough international field of players.)

And now, on to the play-by-play.

MULLIGAN ROUND … SUOMUSSALMI

This is the 1939 Ski Troops scenario from the Russo-Finnish war that comes in the Eastern Front expansion. The six Finnish ski units can move 3 hexes and battle, move into forests, and battle, and retreat out of range. Very dangerous, especially playing against the Russian Commissar. The map offers possibilities for interesting action in all three sections of the board.

We had 17 matches – same number we had in the 2019 Mulligan – which included 8 sweeps, 2 splits won by Allies, and 7 splits won by Axis. The Allies won 12 games, versus 22 for Axis, by an average score of 4.50-5.12 medals and 19.87-23.63 figures.

Highlights: Five former champions were beaten and ordered to return in the morning for Round 1. David Armstrong won a split over David Schneider (2016) by a margin of 3 figures. Jeff Cornett won a split match over Chris Kalmbacher (2015). Trevor Schoenen swept Jarett Weintraub (2013). John Parker swept John Skiba (2010). In a clash of former champs, Jon Manley (2017) swept Joe Harrison (2005-2006). The biggest win for Allies was 6-1, scored by Timothy Manley. For Axis, John Parker scored a 6-1 win, and Jeff Cornett scored a 6-0 shutout.

ROUND 1 … SUOMUSSALMI

Same scenario as the night before. But where Round 1 had 16 matches in 2019, this year we had only 10, so this is where our attendance went down. There were 6 sweeps, 2 splits won by Allies, and 2 splits won by Axis. The Allies won 10 games and lost 10, with an average score of 4.50-4.55 medals and 15.25-16.79 figures.

Highlights: Andrew Richard scored the biggest Allied win, 6-1. For the Axis side, Peter Eldridge won 6-0, and Rich Golebiowski notched a 6-1 victory. In the tournament’s second clash of former champs, Joe Harrison swept David Schneider.

ROUND 2 … FORET D’ECOUVES

It’s August 1944 in a forest that’s inland from Normandy, and we see a map with a large mass of forest and town hexes in the middle. There are 9 German units protected by the terrain and, in some cases, sandbags. A force of 12 unprotected French Army units is trying to either pick them off or push them out.

Out of 11 matches, we had 6 sweeps, 4 splits won by Allies, and 1 split won by Axis. The Allies won 14 games and lost 8, with an average score of 4.91-4.18 medals and 19.46-18.46 figures.

Highlights: The biggest wins for the Allies were 6-0 scored by Christopher Miller and 6-1 scored by his brother, Matthew Miller. Biggest Axis win was 6-1, scored by John Skiba., as he eliminated David Wolfe, the 2019 5th place finisher. No former champions were eliminated, but Joe Harrison knocked out WBC first-timer Rich Golebiowski, who has been a strong competitor in online tournaments, in a split match that came down to the figure count.

Unusual things sometimes happen in tournaments. In the second game of GM Sam Edelston’s match, his opponent shuffled the cards while Sam was playing Their Finest Hour, and accidentally shuffled his own hand into the deck. The opponent, who was likely to lose the match on the next turn, conceded the game, demonstrating grace and sportsmanship. The GM summoned two AGMs, and the opponent described the situation to them, so they could adjudicate what score should be counted for the game in case it might become relevant for tiebreakers.

ROUND 3 … A BRIDGE TOO FAR

This scenario was created for the 2013 Belgian Open tournament, which featured original scenarios based on six classic WW2 movies. It’s the same battle as the base game’s Arnhem Bridge scenario, but at a different point in time and with a somewhat zoomed-in map. All infantries are Special Forces, and the Germans have some armor on both sides of the long, 3-hex bridge, and the British have a Heroic Leader. Armor can only enter the bridge from its ends, but infantries can also enter from certain edges on the Allied side of it.

We had 11 surviving players at this point, so Rich Golebiowski played as an eliminator. This round’s 6 matches included 4 sweeps and 2 splits won by Allies. The Allies won 8 games and lost 4, with an average score of 5.17-4.58 medals and 17.25-15.67 figures.

Highlights: The biggest Allied win was 6-2, scored by Geoff Heintzelman. Biggest Axis win was 6-1 by Matthew Miller. Ex-champs Christopher Miller and John Skiba fought an epic match, with John prevailing by a single medal, 5-6, 6-4. Dan Winnowski solved Joe Harrison, 6-5, 6-5. Additional sweeps were notched by Sam Edelston, Geoff Heintzelman, and Matthew Miller. Through three rounds, the only two players with perfect 6-0 records were Sam Edelston and Geoff Heintzelman.

ROUND 4 … THE KHALKHIN GOL SPARK

A standard-sized scenario from the Khalkhin Gol Battlemap expansion, this battle takes place in Mongolia, May 1939, shortly before the actual beginning of WW2. It pits the Japanese against Soviet forces, and the Commissar chip is used. Both sides have cavalry, and the Russians have armored cars, which were introduced in that expansion. Armored cars are 1-figure units, and you have to reroll a grenade to kill one. You can kill one with 1 die, or it can take 20. As contestant John Skiba said, “In this scenario, as go the AC rolls, so goes the game.”

All six remaining players were known to be extremely dangerous, including four past WBC champions. We had 2 sweeps, while the Allies won both games in the other match. Overall, the Allies won 4 games, and Axis won 2, with an average score of 5.33-4.67 medals and 23.00-14.33 figures.

Edelston vs Miller: In game 1, Matthew’s Japanese pressed forward in the center early with a 6-unit Infantry Assault, followed by a Direct From HQ that eliminated an engineer, tank, and cavalry. A Firefight and another DHQ brought the Japanese up to a 5-3 advantage. However, they pushed behind the lines of the Russian right flank and failed to take out a needed armored car. Sam Counter-Attacked the DHQ, eliminating an infantry and cavalry in the scrum on his right, while his other armored car sped forward to finish off a cavalry on his far left to steal a 6-5 win.

In the rematch, Sam’s Japanese had killer dice, knocking out both Russian tanks and both armored cars, plus an engineer and a cavalry, while losing just two infantries and a cavalry, for a 6-3 win. All kills in this battle occurred in the center. Match result: 12-8 sweep for Edelston.

Heintzelman vs Winnowski: In game 1, Geoff’s Russians concentrated their tanks and armored cars in the center. They rebuffed a Japanese Infantry Assault with several turns of heavy fire, but their dice against the Japanese cavalry were insufficient. Though the Japanese center was lacerated, one infantry survived, and it combined with the cavalry to knock out the Russian Left’s infantry and armored car. A gritty 6-5 victory for Dan’s Japanese.

The rematch played similarly, with Geoff’s Japanese Infantry Assaulting up the middle. The critical turn was a Russian Ambush, which saved Dan’s 1-figure tank. After punishing the Japanese center, the Russians moved to their left, where they trampled one cavalry and surrounded another, for a 6-3 win. Match result: 12-8 sweep for Winnowski.

Manley vs Skiba: In Game 1, Jon Manley’s Japanese tried to build a hand for a big push in the center and moved extra units there. When more big cards didn’t come, they finally charged forward with what they had, but their attack retreated multiple Russian units to safety. John Skiba’s Russians struck back with key hits and kills. The Japanese, realizing their assault was smashed and victory was likely out of reach, refocused on just getting as many kills as possible. 6-5 win for Skiba’s Russians.

In game 2, John Skiba’s Japanese massed their troops for a push on their left. Jon Manley’s Russians held little hope in countering this, with only one card for that section, but they slowed the Japanese advance and drew multiple Right cards. The Japanese eliminated the Russian tank and armored car, but they themselves were reduced to a lone, fleeing infantry. The surviving Russian armored car chased that infantry down, giving a 6-3 win to Manley’s Russians. Match result: 11-9 split in favor of Manley.

ROUND 5 … D-DAY: GOLD BEACH

This was among the special scenarios that Richard Borg created for the 2014 WBC tournament, using landing craft, Hobart’s Funnies, Supported Infantry, Big Guns, and the Stiff Upper Lip rule, all of which didn’t exist when the game originally was created.

Since we had only three winners in Round 4, the highest-ranked loser was reincarnated to play in this Semifinal round, giving new life to 2014 champion Geoff Heintzelman – who in that year had painfully eliminated GM Edelston at this very scenario. The three other survivors were Dan Winnowski, 2017 champion Jon Manley, and GM/2019 champion Sam Edelston.

Edelston vs Winnowski: Sam’s Allies began with a big Assault Center and Assault Left, and soon he was off the beach and occupied the two medal towns toward his left. But Dan’s artillery and infantry in the center did lots of damage. With the score at 3-2, an Allied Armor Assault nearly won the battle, but flagged one weakened defender into the woods. Meanwhile, critically, the German Big Gun scored three consecutive misses against a 1-figure Allied infantry in the water. The Allies advanced on their right, and the one surviving German infantry there couldn’t prevent them from taking the Radar Station objective for a 6-3 win … but with a lopsided disadvantage of 14-21 figures.

In the rematch, Dan’s Allies also began with an Assault Center, but after a few turns their attack stalled. With a 2-1 lead and plenty of targets, Sam’s Germans played Their Finest Hour and fatefully rolled 0 orders. The Allies responded with a Move Out, killing two infantries and taking two objectives toward their left. But the Germans eliminated a British tank in the center, and then their Big Gun finished a 1-figure infantry at the edge of its range. The Germans captured the Radar Station to hand Sam his first loss of the tournament, 6-4. Match result: 10-9 split decision for Edelston.

Heintzelman vs Manley: In game 1, Jon’s Allies began with an Assault Center. They advanced to remove the wire and took a single pot shot at the artillery, which scored a hit. The Allies continued in the center, and their petard mortar destroyed the artillery bunker – but that was the last of the good roll they had. They pumped about 12 dice into that artillery but couldn't kill it. Geoff’s German counterfire gained a 3-0 lead, though he had several single-figure units on the board. Ultimately, the Germans got the hot dice and completed three more kills for a daunting 6-1 win. Both players agreed that with just average dice Jon should have had at least 4-5 medals, and with a little luck he could have won.

In the rematch, Jon’s Germans whiffed with their first 9 dice against the British infantry. Their dice didn't get much better from there. Adding to that, they developed serious card problems. Geoff’s British simply overwhelmed the defenders, with the cards and dice running heavily in their favor. 6-4 win for Geoff. Match result: 12-5 sweep for Heintzelman.

ROUND 6 … HLEGU BURMA

From the Jungle & Desert Battlemap expansion, this scenario pits Japanese infantry against a mixed force of British armor and foot soldiers. The two sides are separated by two rows, with jungle and hill hexes protecting against most immediate dice – though the British armor can score hits from that distance. This match was played with the Jungle Combat deck alongside the regular Command Card deck.

Fatefully, it was reigning 2019 champion GM Sam Edelston defending his title against 2019 runner-up Geoff Heintzelman. A rematch.

Game 1: Geoff decided to be very aggressive with the Japanese to take advantage of their bonus die at full strength. He mounted a strong offensive against the left half of Sam’s British defenders, eventually attaining a 3-2 lead. However, Sam responded with a General Advance that finished off three weakened infantries, gaining a 5-3 advantage, and on Geoff’s next turn, Sam got a Stiff Upper Lip battle-back against a 1-figure attacker to snatch the victory.

Rematch: Geoff started game 2 with a bang. Finest Hour, 6 orders, and 8 hits. Followed by a Firefight and then a very effective Air Power. Even though Sam had recovered five figures with a Return to Duty Combat card, his Japanese were badly depleted. In the middle game, Sam played three consecutive turns without scoring a hit – including a wasted Barrage against a 1-figure, no-retreat tank. Geoff’s Brits kept plinking away at the Japanese from a distance. Sam played a Close Assault against two British units, but Geoff negated it with two Pull Back cards. Finally, Sam charged forward in the center with an Infantry Assault, hoping to gain some medals. In response, Geoff had been saving an Assault Center, which now ordered 9 units. Though Sam finally would eliminate that tank, Geoff played Direct From HQ and completed three more kills for a 6-1 victory. Match result: 9-7 split for Heintzelman, as he becomes only the second two-time Memoir champion.

MULTI-PLAYER OVERLORD GAMES

In addition to the tournament, we had four multi-player Overlord games. These are always a highlight, because many players only have a chance to play them at conventions. They also tend to be a source of great battle stories. As always, we had a mix of elementary and advanced Overlords; the elementary ones are particularly great for bringing in inexperienced players.

Thursday afternoon: MOYLAND WOOD.

This is an exciting, balanced, fast-playing map with opportunities for good action in all three sections and virtually no special rules. It’s similar to the standard-size scenario of the same name. We had enough players for two boards.

On Board 1: Allies were commanded by Sam Edelston, with left-to-right Field Generals Justin Hasty, John Parker, and Chris Mlynarczyk. Germans were commanded by Christopher Miller, with Field Generals Eric Paperman, Alex Nesenjuk, and Ethan Shipley-Tang facing them.

This battle was nasty, brutish, and short, as the German Center’s five turns played Direct From HQ, Assault Center, another Assault Center, Move Out, and Attack Center – for 7 kills plus a town objective (while losing only 3 units of their own). The Allies had only 13 orders against the Germans’ 23. The Allies were hampered by dice failures against 1-figure units. The Germans also outscored the Allied Left, 2-1, and the Allied Right, 3-2.

Final score for the German victory was 13-7 medals, 47-45 figures, in just 5 turns.

On Board 2: Allies were commanded by Jon Manley, who also played the Center. Hannah Manley played Left, and a new player took the Right section. Germans were commanded by Rich Golebiowski, and he played the Center. Timothy Manley played Right, and Matthew Miller played Left.

The game opened furiously in all sections. The Allies attacked instead of pulling back and rolled well, picking up a medal on their first turn. The Axis, trapped on their base line, had no choice but to attack in turn, and pushed the Allies back while rolling incredible dice. Turn 2 saw Their Finest Hour played by the Allies, then Countered by the Axis. After a few turns of bloody combat, the Allies had a comfortable 9-4 lead, but the Germans continued to attack heavily, especially in their Left and Center, gaining the next 7 medals, thanks in part to continued hot dice and cold Allied rolling, especially in the center.

Dramatic finish: The Allies started the last turn needing 4 medals to win, knowing they wouldn't get another chance. Three medals were easy kills, but the last one required a kill of a single figure armor unit. The armor Ambushed the attacker, who was a full-strength armor unit who had no retreat. The Ambush scored two hits, leaving the attacker alive to finish his attack, make the kill and win the game.

Final score: 13-11 Allied victory. Overall, a very fast, very action-packed game with both sides rolling hot dice and multiple huge swings of momentum.

Friday night, après-tournament: HIGH STAKES AT BRUYERES.

This is a “kitchen sink” scenario that was introduced in the Equipment Pack and uses many kinds of special units. It takes place in northeastern France in early 1945. Most of the German units have some terrain protection, while the Allies are generally out in the open. Combat cards are optional for this scenario, but we didn’t use them.

Allies were commanded by John Skiba. Left-to-right Field Generals were Joe Harrison, Matthew Miller, and Dan Winnowski. Germans were led by Justin Hasty. Right-to-left Field Generals were Chris Mlynarczyk, Christopher Miller, and Rich Golebiowski.

At the start, the Allies struggled to push forward, due to bad cards. Throughout the battle, they rarely ordered more than 1-2 units per Field General, and only got to play a couple of big cards. Early fighting was mostly in the Left and Center sections, because on the Right, the Screaming Meemies kept putting out smoke screens every other turn. On the Left, Joe picked off an artillery and pretty much had control of the German right. The Center battle went heavily in favor of the German armor, and only one Allied unit remained there by the end game.

Score-wise, the Allies had one good turn, when they killed off four infantry units to tie the game at 4-4. But the Germans soon surged ahead 7 to 5 and never looked back. The final result was never in doubt, with the Germans winning 12 to 8 on their 9th turn. The Allies never threatened to wrest the 2 town control medals from the Germans.

Saturday afternoon: BATTLE OF LAUBAN – ACTION 2

Late-war scenario that took place in Silesia pitting a large, mobile force of Germans in trying to dislodge a scattered force of terrain-protected Russian troops. Both sides have ample armor; the Russians have a bunch of machine guns, and the Germans have a bunch of Special Forces infantries that can move two hexes and battle. Combat cards are optional for this scenario, but we didn’t use them.

Germans were commanded by Rich Golebiowski, with Field Generals Kevin Collins, Matthew Miller, and Chris Mlynarczyk right-to-left. Allies were commanded by Jon Manley, supported left-to-right by Ethan Shipley-Tang, Christopher Miller, and Sam Edelston. Jon’s initial hand included both Finest Hours, 2 Counter Attacks, 2 Armor Assaults, and a couple of Assaults, so he felt pretty good about his chances.

On the Allied Left, much of the fighting revolved around a cluster of five forest hexes that the Russians had advanced to the front of, as the Germans tried to contest it, which resulted in significant losses for both sides. This was the tightest section of the battlefield, with 5 German units and 4 Russian units being destroyed.

Meanwhile, in the brother-against-brother center, the combat was in and around a cluster of town and ruins hexes, plus a couple of open hexes at the rear where unprotected Panzers could be targeted. Thanks to 4 kills resulting from the two Finest Hours, Christopher Miller outslugged Matthew Miller, 5-2.

On the Allied Right, Sam was able to order at least three units on most turns, and the Germans just couldn’t keep up. Three late infantry kills gave the Russians a 5-2 advantage in that section. So, adding all of the sections together, the Allies wound up with a 15-8 victory on their 9th turn.

Saturday evening: THE KHALKHIN GOL ENCIRCLEMENT

This Battlemap pits the Soviet army (and Commissar) against the Japanese in Mongolia in August 1939. All three Russian sections are loaded with tanks, while the Japanese relies more on infantry dug in behind sandbags. Only the Japanese Center has tanks. Each of the six Field Generals has a highly mobile armored car. This tends to be a fairly balanced scenario.

Russians were commanded by Joe Harrison, who also commanded their Left for most of the battle. Geoff Heintzelman commanded the Left briefly at the beginning, while Sam Edelston played the Center and Right. German commander was Jon Manley, with Field Generals Kevin Collins, Christopher Miller, and Matthew Miller from right to left.

On the Allied Right, there was constant battling, as the Japanese tried to pick off the Russian cavalry, and as Russian armor fired from a distance at the sandbagged Japanese infantry. The Japanese armored car got out and created some havoc until it was finally put down. Each side got 4 kills here.

The heaviest combat by far was in the center, where the Japanese came out aggressively, with their Commander feeling that was the only way they’d have a chance. They gained three early kills in the Center. But then an Armor Assault by the Russians destroyed a tank and two fragile tankettes. But the Japanese onslaught continued, depleting the Russian forces. At last, the Japanese penetrated deep enough to threaten the bridge objective. But, just in time, the Russian Left began to bring its units over to save the day. The Allies would wind up with 12 kills in the center, against 8 by the Japanese.

Those late-game heroics turned out to be the only excitement for the Allied Left/Axis Right, who had just spent five turns each doing initiative rolls.

This battle had a crazy ending: The Japanese needed just two more kills to win it on their tenth turn, but then … a Barrage against 1-figure tank failed. The Japanese Left did an initiative roll and got a grenade. Their Center was given an Armor Assault with no tanks, so they planned to order an infantry instead – except that they had an armored car tucked in the back row, so that had to be ordered. And a DHQ on the Japanese right scored only one kill. So, the Russians responded with a Probe Left that allowed them to take the Remisova Hill objective and eliminate a Japanese unit for the 18th medal. Final score in favor of the Russians, 18-16. A real nail-biter!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The GM wishes to thank AGMs John Skiba, Jon Manley and Geoff Heintzelman for their help in the tournament room and leading some of the Overlords. Thanks also to Jon Manley and Matthew Miller for leading the pre-tournament instructional demo. Thanks, as always, to Richard Borg for creating this wonderful game, and to Days of Wonder/Asmodee for continuing to support and expand it. And special thanks to the organizers of WBC for allowing us to make this North America’s premiere Memoir ’44 event year after year.