Last year i went to the NAFC. Won the sevens the night before and went 6-0-0 in the NAFC itself. By mistake my roster was 10TV over day one, and corrected for day 2. They asked me to play on when i had offered to withdraw. But clearly there was no way i should take credit or any prizes given the circumstances.
I went back this year.

my weekend was not the controversy free 'just enjoy yourself' i had hoped for.
I played the sevens Friday night, defending the title i somehow lucked my way to last year.
first 2 games went great, i was 2-0-0, game three was different to any game of bb i have ever played.
In the first three turns my opponent counted to six while moving a piece seven spaces. each time when i said 'sorry mate that was one too many' he said 'no no no' without looking at the board, and debated it before even deigning to check. Turn 4 i started a blitz action declaring the witch would move 2 then hit on three, as i did the move he said no its hit on four. and pointed to a spot my witch hadnt been in as my starting square, I had to go back a turn and show him that where his goblin had dodged off the witch and reached showed she couldnt have been where he said and could only have been where i said.
i have made counting errors, i have seen opponents make counting errors, there is way they behave, there is an atmosphere, it gets solved. This was different, this felt totally different every time. And every mistake just happened to be to his advantage, it had stretched my belief beyond a reasonable point.
Then i started my last turn of the half and declared 'so, turn 6', he says no, turn 5. again presenting him with a huge advantage were it true.
It wasnt. he was a cheat. i called a ref over qand explained every mistake, and every time he was wrong, and ow i am expected to agree with another mistake to his advantage?

The ref ruled a dice roll, higher number decides which turn it is.
So in had a choice, accept the dice roll, and either way i felt that implied i accepted one of us made a mistake, and then have to spend 30 minutes more watching everything this hugely unpleasant man did, said and rolled, and be ready to question it every second. Or concede, call the man a cheat to his face, and have a nice refreshing beer.
So i was 2-0-1 for sevens, had a lovely refreshing beer, and called the man the cheat he is.

The NAFC itself began and I was lucky enough to win the first couple of games against some very decent opponents with Rydogs well coached Nobs, and a good 2-0, then 8ulldog pushed me really hard with his chorfs, but i somehow stopped his drive for 2-0-0 then span into thulean and my worst nightmare, underworld.
I have never beaten underworld in NAF style, with any race ive tried. Nor do i even pretend to have a plan as to how to try to.
This iteration had 15 players, 2 rerolls (and leader) 2 kegs, a bribe, a biased ref, a Sherman tank, a division of paratroopers and some WMD's.
A broken disjointed DE drive somehow got home, and then thulean one turned, needing never more than a 3+ and a couple of three die blocks, and very few of them.
Second half i went straight for the throat, but missed, and despite him securing the ball and leaving seemingly my entire team WAY upfield i got the ball off him and won, i couldnt tell you how, i couldnt do it again. i suspect i rolled all the dice. So, 3-0-0 overnight.

13 people had 3-0-0 including Hankok, SickAsEggs, Purplegoo, KFoged: great coaches and lovely people i am fortunate to consider friends and some other top notch coaches, and 37 more had 2-1-0. There are no mugs in that group usually. Some of the very best in BB, and some decent players, like me, on a run of good dice. But few easy games, and everyone still has everything to play for.
Game 4 i got KFoged with his skaven.
I did mange to drive home, it took a 4+ dump off and 2+ catch (so no rerolls as his turn) and a lot of elfy nonsense, but we somehow got there.
So KFoged one turned, without drama, question or fuss. Simple as.
second half again no choice, 'go for the eyes boo, go for the eyes' time. But despite god like dodge-into-cage dice i couldn't get it off him, and he was easily in range with one turn to go, and i was hopelessly misplaced. I laughed as i put my cknooring threat in place, then cage dived with a witch, rolling 5's, 6's and 4's at will, took the ball from the middle of a cage, walked out and got a friend by her to see if it helped.
it didnt, he stripped the ball off her, got it tacklezone free and snaked the pick up needing only two 2+'s to score, and win.
i disgraced myself by celebrating his snake, and can only apologise again. tasteless of me.
It takes more than i have as a coach to stop KFoged, it takes snakes.
there then followed a turn of the most disgusting elf bullshit you might ever care to see. and a certain loss became an extraordinary win.

game 5 was probably the easiest apart from game one. Again i remembered the good dice. got 2 zombies off, and the undead, with their slow arse guard mummies never got over the half way line until turn 6. 2 ghouls 4+, 3+'d through, one with the ball, but i had plenty to three dice the ghoul, with wrestle frenzy, got it down, got it safe, and drove home second half. My opponent finished high in the rankings, but never had good dice against me, and i felt his build wasnt ideal to face elves.

So i was 5-0-0. I will confess a certain feeling of vindication, after last year.
In the NAFC the two top coaches after 5 rounds compete for the win, decided by Strength of Schedule in case of ties. Winner is winner, loser is runner up.
There had been six on 4-0-0. three of us won, scs.sam, who was 2 SoS points ahead of me, and purplegoo, 2-4 points behind me. My opponent had had a better SoS than purplegoo's, i had some reason to hope.
The draw came out, purplegoo was 4 points ahead of me on SoS. My opponents had all shat the bed in the 5th round, his had clearly triumphed. Thats a big swing.
But, thems the breaks, you know how it works going in. And i had had some hella good luck to get there. its fine.
So game 6 vs watfudboy, a lovely guy and very good coach, he had dorfs.
I sacked him turn 4, but snaked a gfi to be away with the ball and he scrambled it home. i 2 turned and went for it. took the ball, ran off but multiple dwarf GFI took it back. he never crossed half way, i was never losing, but couldn't secure the win.
So 5-1-0, the highest placed non 'finalist' gets 'best in league', 'Jock/bb_Jock' pipped me to that by 1 SoS point. Rick Wreckless having suffered an early draw tore through the rest of the Tournament to also have 5-1-0 but was 4 SoS behind me.
I finished third. I get nothing.

i have coached 11-1-0 at successive NAFC's. i have nothing to show for it.
i do not expect to see dice like that again, but i guess must just hope i do.
After all, i do get lucky sometimes.