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Team Yankee at MOAB 2016
October 1–3, Sylvania, NSW
With Ken Snell
Another MOAB has come and gone, and Team Yankee has made its debut appearance at this great three-day event.
With a modest registration of 11 players, we designed the tournament to be flexible and accommodate the other playing interests of our players, with two one-day (three-game, 100-point) events. Then on Day 3 we threw caution to the wind and ran the ‘Battle of the Pylon’. This was a team-based, 400-point game that saw WARPAC and NATO forces facing off across the infamous Fulda Gap.
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| A balanced distribution of armies and formations ensured that majority of games were WARPAC vs NATO. From our observations, all army options were very competitive, with the results of some games coming down to a single die roll. |
| I’m grateful for the very generous support of our sponsors: Aetherworks, Hall of Heroes, War & Peace Games, Dice of War, Olympian Games, and of course Battlefront. All our players left each of the two days of competition with prizes that easily exceeded their registration fee for the tournament! |
| Special thanks to Aetherworks and Battlefront for facilitating VIP treatment for our players, who were able to acquire advanced copies of Iron Maiden and the Charlie's Chieftains army box set. |
| We enjoyed the company of Battlefront chairman Peter Simunovich on Day 1, and we’re grateful for the prizes he provided, including a signed copy of Iron Maiden, a box set of Charlie's Chieftains and a British artillery/salvo template. |
| In the tournaments on Day 1 and 2, we went with Battle Plans for all games and, while some missions were played a couple of times, it was always with a different player, table and army. Use of Battle Plans will be sustained for Cancon. It adds an exciting dimension to player choices – I strongly recommend this approach to other tournament organisers. We also allowed players the option of bringing two armies (NATO and WARPAC) so we could maintain those style of match-ups where possible. |
| 1st |
Garry Wait |
(West German Panzeraufklärung Kompanie & Panzergrenadiers) |
| 2nd |
Adam Brooker |
(Soviet T-72 Tank Battalion) |
| 3rd |
Andreas Cooper |
(West German Leopard 2 Panzerkompanie & Panzergrenadiers) |
| 1st |
Scott Elaurant |
(Soviet Afghantsy Air Assault Battalion) |
| 2nd |
Andreas Cooper |
(West German Leopard 2 Panzerkompanie & Panzergrenadiers) |
| 3rd |
Garry Wait |
(West German Panzeraufklärung Kompanie & Panzergrenadiers) |
| 1st |
Garry Wait |
(West German Panzeraufklarung Kompanie & Panzergrenadiers) |
| 2nd |
Andreas Cooper |
(West German Leopard 2 Panzerkompanie & Panzergrenadiers) |
| 3rd |
Scott Elaurant |
(Soviet Afghantsy Air Assault Battalion) |
| 4th |
Lachlan Cannard |
(Soviet Afghantsy Air Assault Battalion) |
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Day 3: The Battle of the Pylon
Our final mega-battle on Day 3 saw a convincing victory by NATO – not even 24 Hinds could stem their determined advance covered by a vast array of AA defences, although I’m sure the WARPAC forces will be back in strength at Cancon following a healthy counselling session with the Kommisars! As one of our players noted ‘…it was a highlight for me, and an intense and suitably searing experience of full-spectrum high intensity armoured warfare – what Team Yankee should be all about, in my view!’
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| My personal thanks to Bryan Sallans and Ralph Hart for the heavy lifting with terrain, which was of superb quality. Your efforts were much appreciated and added significantly to the success of the tournament. |
| With many positive comments from passers-by and observations of shelves emptying at our sponsors, I’d say Team Yankee is well established in Australia, can only grow stronger and is here to stay. |
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A final word to thank the organisers of MOAB – the Southern Battle Gamers – ably led by Kym Pennell: a great event that had something for everyone. We look forward to returning next year.
See you all (and new mates) at Cancon in January 2017.
~ Ken.
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| Garry Wait |
(West German Panzeraufklarung Kompanie & Panzergrenadiers) |
| Adam Brooker |
(Soviet T-72 Tank Battalion) |
| Andreas Cooper |
(West German Leopard 2 Panzerkompanie & Panzergrenadiers) |
| Scott Elaurant |
(Soviet Afghantsy Air Assault Battalion) |
| Scott Elaurant |
(Soviet Afghantsy Air Assault Battalion) |
| Lachlan Cannard |
(Soviet Afghantsy Air Assault Battalion) |
| Ken Snell |
(West German Panzeraufklarung Kompanie & Panzergrenadiers / Soviet T-72 Tank Battalion) |
| Ralph Hart |
(Soviet T-72 Tank Battalion / US Armored Combat Team) |
| Bryan Sallans |
(US Mechanised Combat Team / Soviet T-72 Tank Battalion) |
| Scott Norwood |
(Day 2 & 3: West German Panzeraufklarung Kompanie & Panzergrenadiers) |
| Daniel Mitchell |
(Soviet BMP Motor Rifle Battalion) |
| Chris Hallett |
(Soviet BMP Motor Rifle Battalion) |
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