What a weekend!
For the 9th time, we gathered in the tranquil Mehrhoog on the Lower Rhine for the German SAGA Grand Melee.
We played 5 scenarios featuring armies from the Age of Knights & Crusades. If you’re interested in the rules and scenarios, you can download the tournament guide HERE.
The venue was buzzing as 42 players from 6 nations (Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Poland, and Spain) competed for the title, each writing their own chapter in their personal SAGA journey.
The event was completely sold out, and the atmosphere was incredibly friendly, fair, and respectful.
Every player received a goodie bag with a round counter from Reconquer Desings (a Madonna carved in stone), a small trophy as a keepsake, and a casting frame with Victrix Miniatures—a huge thank you to Victrix for this!
Below, you can see the trophies for the top three players, as well as the awards for Best Army and Berserker of the Year.
Painting Competition
After three thrilling games on Saturday evening, we enjoyed pizza and held the painting competition. Anyone who wanted to participate could present their army. Every player had a vote for their favorite, and a jury then had the tough task of selecting the finalists from the pre-selection.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t attribute one army to its artist because the name on the voting slip was illegible. If this was you, please get in touch so we can rectify this!
Some more detail shots of the armies.
The quality of the armies was exceptionally high, and for the first time, the preliminary voting was very close, with no clear favorite. We’re considering revising the format for next year.
Winner of the painting competition:
Berserker of the Year
For years, we’ve awarded the coveted title of “Berserker of the Year” to the player who eliminates the most enemy warlords. In case of a tie, the player whose warlord died the most times wins. If there’s still a tie, an arm-wrestling match decides the title.
This year, life wrote the best script: For the first time in the history of the Berserker of the Year, we actually had an arm-wrestling showdown! Poor Roman had to face his girlfriend, Pia. After a fierce duel, they “agreed” on a draw—probably for the best, to keep domestic peace!
Final Battles and Awards
After the last battles on Sunday, it was time for the award ceremony. Once again, we received a fantastic selection of prizes. A huge thank you to our supporters: Gripping Beast, Victrix Miniatures, Wargames Atlantic, Fire Forge Games, and PWork Wargames.
Die diesjährigen Gewinner sind:
It looks like the Free Companies might soon be back in business after their outstanding performance!.
Closing Words
And with that, another Grand Melee comes to an end. I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our amazing catering team (Veit, Rena, Raik, Emma, Marie, and Steffi), our sponsors, the helpers with data entry (Fjell and Dworschi), everyone who lent a hand with cleanup (especially Ulrich and the Posa Boyz), and above all, my friend Christian, without whom very little would work.
We hope to see you all next year for the 10th!!! German Grand Melee!
Mirco