War unending may define the Old World, but at Gen Con Indy 2013, the dust of battle has settled, leaving one man the undisputed champion – Robert Graves. Robert learned to play Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game only a week before the Regional Championship near his home in Louisville, but his first place finish at that competition started him on a road that led him to victory at Gen Con Indy one month later!

At the North American Championships in Indianapolis, Robert’s Imperial support and his Wood Elf army carried the day, earning him the prestigious title of 2013 North American Champion for Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game!

2013 North American Champion Robert Graves with runner-up, Sean Johnson

The Battle for the Old World

The competition at Gen Con Indy 2013 was intense. After four Swiss rounds, eight competitors took the field for single elimination play. Of these few elite players, half used Chaos capitals, leaving two players playing Orc capitals, and two players to represent the Empire. Despite their stronger representation, both the Orc hordes and the minions of Chaos were thrown back by Robert Graves and his Wood Elf army, fighting under the banners of the Empire. Below, he writes about his experiences in the elimination rounds of the North American Championships.

A Champion’s Perspective

After I had successfully passed through the Top 8, the semifinals match was against my opponent from the third Swiss round. Just like in the Swiss rounds we split the first two games. In our second game, I was completely devastated by his End Times, which in addition to providing him with an army of large units, put all my copies of Pageant of Shrikes (City of Winter, 97) into my discard pile, effectively negating my ability to ever cast Judgement of Verena (Core Set, 49) or have Hidden Grove (Omens of Ruin, 7) protect me. In our deciding game, he took his mulligan only to end up with a hand that never contained an End Times, and I advanced to the final match.

My final opponent, Sean Johnson, was also using End Times as his restricted card, which had been a popular choice during the tournament. Instead of using an Orc capital, though, he was using Chaos. His deck also featured Summons of Chaos, and a combination of cards that gave him alternative ways to attack me, rather than being totally reliant on End Times for victory.

My plan remained the same. I needed to set up a Hidden Grove to defend myself and let him cast End Times or Summons of Chaos, before reseting him back to nothing with Judgement of Verena. I was able to complete my play fairly easily in the first game. In the second game, I lacked a Hidden Grove and ended up taking a ton of damage from an early Swarm of Bats. I wasn’t able to stabilize after my Judgement of Verena cleared his board. In our deciding game, though, my deck was running smoothly again, and I used my Friedrich Hemmler and Forest Dragon to attack his Kingdom and Quest zones while Hidden Grove kept his units from damaging my capital at all. That game decided the match, and I was the champion!

Visit the Hall of Heroes

To read Robert Graves’s full tournament report from Gen Con Indy 2013, and to see his deck list, visit his place of honor in the Hall of Heroes. We look forward to seeing Robert once again at the FFG World Championship Weekend this November 7th – 10th in Roseville, MN, and we hope to see you there as well. Make your plans to join us for the ultimate battle for the Old World!