Event Review- West Coast GT

The West Coast GT was started by Fred Whitney and Bill Curry, who run the West Coast Hammertime Podcast.  It is fairly reflective of both the general SoCal Warhammer scene and somewhat influenced by their interest in the US Masters.  The event has grown to be the second largest Warhammer event in the entire state, drawing over 80 participants last year.

 The Basics-
Years Active: 3 (I have attended them all)
Format:  5 games, 2500 points, standard limitations and no special characters
Comp System:  Swedish modified
Sports System:  basic thumbs up or down system
Painting System:  Checklist with two judges
Battle System:  20-nil

Venue-

The Elks Club of Mission Viejo has hosted this event all three years.  They are amazing hosts and provide access to their club bar and plenty of cheap food over the course of the weekend.  There is also a Friday Night Karaoke thing at their club that everyone participates in during the setup.  As venues go, this one is tied with Waughpaca for the best in the country, save for the lack of a close hotel but with superior drinking options.

 Tables-

In the past Fred used my old leagues tables, but he has since switched to the Front Line gaming mats which are far superior.  The terrain is mostly from our old events and is very sturdy, ample, well maintained, and generally top notch.  Aside from removing the setup space, this event has the best and most balanced terrain of any event in the nation.  Fred and Bill have done a great job of keeping it that way.  Honestly, no other event comes close to the quality in this department.

Swag-

This has varied from year to year, but there has always been a little something to take home.  Last year, it was custom Mickey Mouse blast templates.

Scenarios-

Somewhat wonky and overly complex, the scenarios are at least interesting.  Their scenario design guy has been refining them from year to year.  They basically remain constant and some of them involve using special models in your units, for which they have conversion contests.

Crowd-

This event has one of the best and most diverse crowds of any GT, easily on par with both QCR and Waughpaca.  There is a wide mix of armies, builds, player types, and playstyles present in this event.  Arguably, this is the main draw for this event, as the other major club in SoCal (Leadership2) actually plays in this event (a lot are busy running QCR) as do a good chunk of the Texans.  The room is honestly even more diverse than Paca.  It is much more competitive in tone than Paca, however.

Boozing-

If the crowd were not a good enough reason to go, this would be the clincher.  The Elks let people open tabs and serve people all weekend.  The booze is inexpensive for California and they do not wimp out on the strength of the cocktails.  If you are somehow still standing after a full game of drinking like a fish, there is a beer party at a nearby bowling alley every Saturday.  Really, only Alamo and Paca edge this one out and even then only by the barest of margins.

Competition-

The three largest and most successful clubs in California play here, including the mighty Leadership 2 and Club Capri.  Several other respected clubs come up for this event from San Diego and Texas, making this arguably one of the most skilled rooms in the entire Western Timezone.  The players are all generally fair and fun, as well.  It does not get up to the whole Serious Business level that the Masters does, but in my experience this is the event with the toughest path to victory in the west, but that's mainly because a couple key people from LD2 do not play in their own event.

Overall-
In three years, I have had some of the best experiences of any GT at this event and it keeps getting better every year.  It is the equal of Paca in a lot of ways, but I am biased a little since its the one GT where I get to sleep in my own bed at home every year.  While it is not the best in any category (other than terrain), it is excellent in every area.  This is really, along with Paca, one of the best well rounded fun GT experiences that anyone can have.  If you want to try an event on the West Coast, this is the one to attend.