Bravery One British Open (BOBO 2018)

So this last weekend (28 and 29 July 2018) saw the return of the Bravery One British Open, a unique event on the UK Age of Sigmar tournament scene held in the Engine Shed in Lincoln – think wargaming tournament, concert and lads football team weekend away all wrapped into one. I can only think of a small number of other events which have produced the same amount of enthusiasm and compliments over social media. The organisers obviously put on a very impressive show for the largest Age of Sigmar Second Edition singles tournament so far (80+ players!).

In this post, I’ll cover the pack, the results, the top 3 lists and as much of the great atmosphere of the event as I can reasonably do from half a world away. However, before I dive into the recap post itself, I want to acknowledge @Warhammer_AoS, @thehonestwargamer, @nathprescott, @J0N_atan, @JonScrivens, @theadamhughes, Bravery One, @ws10gaming, Dark Fantastic Mills, Age of Hobby, feldherr.net (and Pwork Wargames for their involvement in and contribution to the event.

The whole weekend was streamed by The Honest Wargamer on their Twitch channel, so you can go back and watch all the list analysis, games, interviews, clips and coverage. The coverage received a massive amount of praise over the weekend from attendees and people around the world watching at home.

BOBO 2018 Age of Sigmar Rules

Due to the proximity of the event to the release of Age of Sigmar Second Edition and the new FAQ, the BOBO organisers had the difficult task of getting the lay of the new land quickly and deciding on the rules set which would be the most fun for players involved. They chose GHB18 scenarios and Malign Sorcery realm artefacts (but without realm spells or realmscape effects).

Further, the organisers added a number of rules changes intended by them to reduce negative play experiences. The most notable of these being:

priority for the first turn was determined by a roll-off rather than who finished deploying first. In the event of a draw, the player who finished deploying first won
no stacking of any command abilities
armies could only summon one unit a turn
only one Engine of the Gods could summon a turn
Lord Kroak could only cast Celestial Deliverance once per turn
Wyldwoods did not block line of sight (which had been confirmed by the 24 July FAQ).

Check out the full pack for more details.

BOBO 2018 Prizes

The BOBO guys put on a fantastic spread of prizes, including some amazing 3D printed trophies from Dark Fantastic Mills.

BOBO 2018 Results

1st Place – Jack Armstrong (Stormcast)
2nd Place – Dan Ford (Murderhost)
3rd Place – Pirate Pete (Order Draconis)
Best Paint – Ben Booker (Skaven)
2nd Paint – “Little Tom Thumb”
3rd Paint – Tim Fisher (Daughters)
Coolest Army – Lee Bromley (Floating Kroak)
Best Sports – John Greene
2nd Sports – Pirate Pete
3rd Sports – Rob Noyes
Club Champions – WS10 Gaming (a gaming group from the heart of the West Midlands)
Top Social Media Poster – Adam Cunis
Wooden Spoon – Colin

The full gaming results were:

The sports results were:

BOBO 2018 Top Age of Sigmar Army Lists

1st Jack Armstrong – Stormcast Eternals

2nd Dan Ford – Murderhost

3rd Pete Humpage – Order Draconis

Order Draconis
Realm Shadow
Strategic Genius

Dragonlord Host Battalion
Dragonlord
Dragonlord (quicksilver potion)
Dragonlord (Doppleganger cloak)

5 Dragon Princes
5 Dragon Princes
5 Dragon Princes

Archmage on Dragon

Spells
Maelstrom
Shackles
Palisade
Geminids

For more list discussion from BOBO 2018, check out the Honest Wargamer’s list preview video.

You can also check out the round 5 draw to see the armies that were around the top tables going into the last round.

BOBO 2018 Best Painted Armies

Here are some shots of the armies nominated for Best Painted at BOBO 2018 that I’ve managed to locate from Twitter. A big thanks to @WarchiefBaz for putting up pictures.

For more, better quality pictures of the Best Painted armies at BOBO 2018, check out the Honest Wargamer’s Facebook page gallery.

#Streethammer

So one event unique to BOBO is the infamous Streethammer. Players buy a start collecting set, assemble it and then compete against other players in a winner takes all battle literally. If you defeat your opponent, you get their start collecting set. The battles are fought on the floor, using cups and any old thing as terrain. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jack Armstrong came away victorious again by using a Beastclaw box to beat a Death set, and then using the Death set to beat Darren Watson’s Beastclaw.

The weekend may also have included:

“gryphracing”
“Through the Keyhole” – guess which of the organisers’ owns the house in the video (in true UK 90s style)
nerf gun firing squad for the guy with square bases
random prize bingo
spot prizes including best dressed, monster hunter, priority choker
a 30ft bar