Call to Arms Fantasy Predictions

Tomorrow is Call to Arms and Fantasy has 24 participants. I posted the lists yesterday - sans Michael Vercoe (whose list was left out the final spreadsheet). One eagle-eyed reader picked up an illegal list and that is being rectified as we speak. I get to play policemen and intone "Rules are not guidelines, you know".

So what's going to happen?

Well we have 6 players in the Top 20 ranked players competing - Tim Joss, Tom Dunn, Mike King, Raymond Dick, Sam Whitt and Neil Williamson.

Any reasoned analysis says that we can forget the last two of these. If Sam was using Chaos Dwarfs maybe but taking his Orcs & goblins means that he has already written his excuses. Not that O&G aren't competitive, rather the act of taking them seems to betray a defeatist attitude - "But I was playing O&G", as if that explains everything.

Neil's taking his Brets. I don't think that they are going to enjoy all the Undead and I can't see how they can beat the Daemons.

So of the remaing four Top Rankers, I think Tim has the best list. However I'll qualify that by saying he has the best list against the full field but there are one or two people that will cause him headaches. If he hits them then dual caskets, dual catapults and Khalida and her crew mighn't be enough to save him. These lists are those with a degree of speed to get into the squishy stuff....It will be fascinating to see.

Tom's list sees the last hurrah for his flamers before they are retired (thanks GW). Strong list should see him in the top five. Raymond's list looks strong and I suspect him and Mike to do well.

Outside these guys, I can only see one threat and that's Reid. He and Ray have similar lists and I expect Reid to be on the podium.

I'm sure others will feel I am being overly harsh on their chances, the "War of the Beard" coalition of High Elves and Dwarfs chief among them. But seriously, Dwarfs? They will be doing well if their opponents last the weekend awake.

And High Elves. Well, Kenny has been in the UK for the past two years and if he thinks that that plus him bringing Tyrion is enough to elevate him from also-ran to contender, it says more about his generation's sense of entitlement!

So my Top Five in no particular order - Mike King, Raymond Dick, Reid Pittams, Tim Joss and Tom Dunn.

You'll note no South Islanders apart from Tim. I don't know what they get up to in Christchurch, and I don't want to know.