Stepping off the NIC…

and into the real world. Decided to head out to Naperville today to go match blasters against a contingent from Naperville, a group I dub “Napervillains”. A couple of their organizers showed up Chicago Showdown back in July, so it was only fair to return the favor and head out to see how their group rolls. Kane and Derek were the hosts, Snake from Nerfhaven and I were the NIC contingent.

The rules seemed basic enough for us: Gun hits counted, regular hits counted, could block melee weapons with your blasters, and respawns were at a predetermined respawn point. This group, in addition to including melee weapons during each round fashioned rules on “missile” projectiles (rockets, big blast rounds, even ballistic balls. They were considered a stronger hit and thus increased respawn time.

We only managed 2 game types, DeathMatch and Defend the Core. It was more than enough though as the Defend the Core round lasted more than hour, at least. However, that also meant we started to lose people like flies eventually.

My weapons of choice for the day started off with a vulcan, which did about as well as you could expect. Which means, not really. Honestly, the vulcan is not designed to run and gun. I would probably run as fast as the darts I was firing.

Truth be told, here was the hit I scored; I was being stalked by a member of the opposing team, and she was hiding behind a tree. I had to draw her out. I fiddled with my vulcan a bit and said loudly to no one in particular, “Is my button even on?!!?!”

She took the bait. Charged. I opened fire. I am wily like a fox!

That was about as epic as I got with the vulcan. After that, I ended up trading up for my RSCB’d BBBB. MOAR HITS.

Anyway, mostly stock ammo the rest of the day and good cover, really there wasn’t much else to complain about. If anything, lightly modded blasters with modest range. It was a good time, with the added dimensions of melee and more damaging rounds tossed in it made for a new kinda experience as opposed to the sparse trees, mobstacles, and open fields I was used to. Additionally, say what you want about range, the trees rendered a 80′ blaster useless. What really counted, was that we aimed correctly. Boy, did we.

In all, it was good to get to meet a new group of people and play by their rules. I’m here to experience the different games and see how people make nerf their own. The Napervillains certainly do that, and it’s an independent group of the NIC, where Snake and I stepped off the reservation into the unknown even moreso than usual. And we’re better fighters for it.

See you on the field!

*click*
RELOAD!

-VasTheStampede

Results! Chicago Regional Champs!

Finally found info on who took the first Regional Championship here in good ol’ Chicago…

THE NERFINATORS.

Full video found at Hasbro’s Nerf Dart Tag League section!

http://www.hasbro.com/nerf/ndtl/

Congratulations to the CHICAGO REGIONAL CHAMPION Nerfinators, now I wish I had stayed around to see it!

Many thanks to Ryan McDonough, aka McShowoff for posting up the news!

Next month: Boston Results! But the next stop: PORTLAND, OREGON. They’re coming!

Onward ever onward, people!

What are we doing here, people? On melee.

What you see is the N-Force sword, Thunderfury. Decent, got it on price-break for $10. Handles nicely, scuffs easily though so it’s limited use for sure. But that’s not what I’m writing about. I’d like to address the growing prevalency for melee weapons during NERF wars. Ok, ok, I know, I know we’re here already running around with children’s plastic toys but there is something I see a bit off here.

It’s one thing to want to use a melee weapon of some sort as a gag, but when I think of nerf fights, it involves blasters. Barrel taps, sure. Being smacked at with a pool noodle or having a sword thrown at me? It just makes me wonder why I even bothered to mod anything in the first place. It adds a dimension to battle, fine. It makes you want to compensate with a higher ROF and Range, ok.

But with someone who opts to NOT carry a melee weapon WITH their blaster, half the time gun hits count or they don’t want to have to resort to blocking with their blaster. Running the risk of possibly getting charged at by some douchebag who doesn’t know their own strength and swings for the fences on a blaster that, made of plastic, may not stand up well to a downward swing from a piece of PVC or balsa wood wrapped in pool noodle and duct tape. I know, crazy. Maybe we should all run around with scabbards and the like? But again, why did we even bother with our blasters if we’re going to be in CQC all day?

Don’t get me wrong. I like the idea of melee weapons, especially now with the inclusion of the N-force swords. BUT there’s the focus of the blasters we came out to use to tag people with, and not show off our sword-fighting skills. Or end up getting shot at by someone after you’ve already engaged another person with a melee weapon. Great way to spend a round… not really.

Bottom line: If I wanted to start swinging a sword in a mob of people, I’d just go LARP or something. But I’m not. I’m there to shoot and be shot at. Dare I say it, we know what to expect getting shot at with a high-powered nerf blaster. We don’t really know how everyone’s going to use a sword in the heat of battle.

This might sound like sour grapes, but it really isn’t. I’m not upset about being hit with a sword in a gunfight. It feels like the melee weapons take away from the blaster side of a nerf fight, especially since unless we carry melee weapons there’s very little to do against someone hard-charging close quarters with a sword. We could go for the barrel tap or a block, but again our blasters then become at risk. Breaking my +bow because I went for a roll or a jumping shot are okay offenses. Having my +bow broken because Johnny Moron decided to swing hard is UNDESIRABLE.

They’re your fights, do what you wanna do. You want melee, allow melee. Personally, I’m not a fan and will not allow them in rounds I host nor will I participate in melee-only rounds. If I wanted to sword fight, I’d go to a sword-fight focused group, not here. Ah well, take care and keep your breeches clean. Oh wait, swords don’t have breeches.

*click*
RELOAD.

-Stampede

A couple of things…

So Boston, how was the NDTL?

I wish I could have been there, hope you guys had fun!

Next:

Wendy’s Invitational Portland, OR Thursday, 8/13 2:00pm – 7:00pm Scrimmage

Friday, 8/14 3:00pm – 7:00pm Scrimmage

Saturday, 8/15 12:30pm – 3:30pm Ages 8-12 Tournament

4:00pm – 7:00pm Ages 13-17 Tournament

Sunday, 8/16 12:00pm – 3:30pm Scrimmage

Non-sequitur!

Wow, one of my earlier videos finally hit the 1,000 mark recently. My take on the Halo Laser Assault set!

Wahoo!