Adepticon Bound and Down

We have another guest editorial from Raw Dogger, this time about preparing for Adepticon.

Hello all, Raw Dogger here again.

I’ve decided to take a break from my normally slated SUCKS articles for something a little different. This year I made the decision to make the holiest of nerdy pilgrimages, the spiritual quest of the un-deodorized if you will. That’s right; I decided to take the immortal journey to the one and only Adepticon. One does not make this decision lightly, mind you. There are several factors to take into consideration when planning a trip to Adepticon. The first and foremost would be the cost factor. I signed up for two events, the team tournament on Friday night and the Championships on Saturday and (hopefully) Sunday. Just getting the pass and paying for the two tournaments cost upwards of $150. You also need to factor in transportation to Chicago, which for someone like myself flying from Northern California, can be quite substantial. The hotel itself costs around $150 a night, and you need to plan to stay at least 4 nights if you are from out of town. Then there are the costs of making the army itself. I started a brand new army (more on that later) for the convention, and acquiring (and even assembling/painting) can be fairly costly in and of itself. Factor in food and miscellaneous expenses while at the convention and you are easily looking at spending about a grand after all is said and done. Now, there are ways to cut down on cost such as piling four to a room in the hotel, getting super saver deals on your flight, and bringing an army that is already completely finished. There are also several unconventional methods to pay for Adepticon such as eating ramen for every meal, switching to low quality beers, or selling your body at truck stops. But let me tell you from experience, those options can really leave a bad taste in your mouth! If you can bear the financial strain and can somehow get an entire week off from work (from what I hear you’ll need it) the payoffs from going to this Con of Khans are well worth it. The people you meet and the friends you make will be life-long, and the tales of the Hooters trips with Dan from the Eternal Warriors will be legendary.

The purpose of writing this article isn’t to make you envious, though that’s unavoidable. I wanted to write this series so that people could get an idea of what it is like to experience Adepticon from a complete noob’s perspective. I want people to see the hard work and inevitable stress that go into preparing for the tournaments and, hopefully, see the joy that comes from completing the journey.

Now, for the part you’ve all been waiting for. I decided to forgo my normal Blood Angels (yes, people, I actually use Blood Angels normally) for the more competitive, and frankly easier to use Imperial Guard. It is a variance of the typical leaf blower list that you see in competitive Guard lists, what with 13 vehicles, Psycher Battle Squads and the like. I have put my own spin on the list, however, and added units not normally seen in such lists to make it more viable against the wide range of threats that will be seen in the Championships. These units include Hell Hound squadrons and naked Leman Russ Battle Tanks. I have also made the decision, largely in part because of my team tournament teammates (more on this next article) to make traitor guard, more specifically Nurgle following traitor guard. The conversion opportunities with this are limitless, and I have gotten some of our more hobby inclined Team Zero Comp teammates, as well as my local GW manager Seth, to help me out with this. I really hope you enjoy this series, and I will try my hardest to make the articles interesting, humorous, and most importantly, offensive to as many readers as I can. Until next time, this is Raw Dogger saying “I’m just here for the pizza.”