Dwarven Warriors 2022: Witness accounts from Michael Schroers and Martin Purrio

Real Magic, proper oldschool. Dwarven god-damn Warriors. It is my great pleasure to give the stage to Michael and Martin. Enjoy! /Mg out

Finally it was on! After weeks of discussing which drinks we could serve the lady of the house, which giveaways we could bring, and if Erwin deserved a present or not, Dwarven Warriors was just a few hours away. Being able to take a day off and sending the students home early, gave us a head start.

After all the waiting the enthusiasm was almost unbearable, so we quickly had a proper curry wurst for lunch and grabbed some ice cubes at the gas station to cool our drinks. In the end preparation is everything! Michael did already have the pleasure to participate in 2021 and has been pushing Martin to build a deck ever since, but when Martin met Erwin and the Dutch crew for the first time no pushing was needed any longer. The energy of the gathering at 4000 recharges your batteries for weeks and weeks to come... at least ours.

So off we go to slowly roll down the Dutch motorways. After a few hours of driving we arrived at Erwin’s place pretty relaxed and ready to go off!

We were warmly greeted by our hosts Marijke and Erwin before entering the garden, where the "Magic" was going to happen. Nick, Dyan and Hunter were already jamming cards and drinking beer for various hours so we jumped right in not wanting to miss another second!

Purple, who joined soon after we arrived, having fun with his new life counter and a huge Howl from Beyond.

Nick enjoys enchanting all my permanents except a lonely mountain.

The feeling of Dwarven Warriors is special. Because it is hosted by the Demmers in their residence, you don’t feel like attending a tournament, but like visiting old friends for a garden party... a huge one. As at a friend’s party, everything is provided. Beer (bottled or from the tap), soft drinks, cocktails made by Purple himself, snacks and lunch, dinner and breakfast were all served to us.

With all the players being handpicked by Erwin, there were only the best of people, so the whole feel of the tournament was more than friendly. This year there was Hunter from the US, the Catalonian Crew, a crazy Belgian, ze Schermans, icemen from Norway, the Frisian connection, and the Dutch Guild attending.

Within the next hours quiet a bunch of people had already arrived and were jamming cards, changing and preparing decks or just enjoying the gathering. We, for ourselves, were pondering deeply about the correct number of Pestilences and Grizzly Bears. In the end most bears had to go to make room for a second hurricane main and more artifact removal... those pesky books seem to be everywhere.

Deck after the tournament: In favour of changes, Orcish Artillery and the last Grizzly have been removed from the main deck. Additions for next year will be two Fogs in main and side.

Between 2:00 and 3:00 am we sneaked away to get some sleep before the next morning called. For some of us the night was tough... heavy snoring, profuse sweating and circulatory problems had to be overcome. But being old hands those unwanted side effects of heavy partying did not really restrict us. After a substantial breakfast around 9:0 or 10:00 we felt prepared for the first beer at high noon.

The hosts giving an opening speech.

Some random guys smiling and drinking beer.

The next 18 hours were spent as follows: Beer, games, beer, beer, games, beer, beer, games, beer, games/bye for Martin, beer, games, beer, games. In between Marijke and Ere prepared and served various snacks and meals to keep everyone fed and strong. A huge shout out and many thanks, hugs and kisses for these two wonderful ladies without whom the weekend wouldn’t have been possible and I'm certain people would not have had that much fun!

In the end time passed too quickly. We had tons of fun and Michael even won a few games with his RG stompyish deck. Martin had an amazing time as well, but could only score one win with his BW Pestilence deck. For next time, the acquisition of a pack of Zombie Masters has been contemplated.

All in all, the tournament was pushed into the background by all the new and old friends we met and chatted with during the breaks and before and after the tournament.

Then suddenly the winners were about to be proclaimed by Marijke, so everybody was called into the garden and made shut up. When our names were called as the winners of the Dwarven Warriors Cup, we first didn’t believe in our ears, because we both did not perform admirably in the tournament. But the trophy is not awarded for performance in the tournament, but for some other, softer and deeper skills. Anyhow, we were more than happy to have taken down our first trophy for the Rhineland Avengers and won’t question Erwin’s decision!

The dwarf himself...

...and two happy Avengers back in Germany Sunday afternoon.

Albert from the Hanseatic Oldschool crew took down the final of the tournament against our host, Erwin. We can only speculate, if Erwin, being a true gentleman, maybe didn’t want to win his own tournament, but everybody who has ever seen Erwin play, knows that he always plays to win. 

On the high note of ze Schermans winning the prices at the Dwarven Warriors Cup in 4000, the official part of the Tournament ended. Or so people thought. Having witnessed a few tournaments, we knew that at least one person always tends to drink one beer too many and in general does not get any recognition for that, so we prepared a Rhineland Avengers and Dwarven Warrior branded Beer cooler, to award to the “Tagesvollster” (The most drunk person of the day). This Saturday it was Henk, who easily took the win in this category. In the true spirit of the award, he lost the cooler in the bathroom and had no memory of winning it, when he was confronted with his failings in the morning.

Deep at night the party moved into the club house to give the neighbors the chance to catch a few hours of sleep. Tables were moved and the dance floor was opened. There is always a next level! Around 5am the real final four was proclaimed by Erwin, who was still partying with Richard, Hunter and Michael all sporting the rare Dwarven Warrior shirts made by Wilfred. The last picture of the night was taken, when Benja our crazy Belgian jumped out of the bathroom making it a final five.

Last men standing with Benja in the bathroom.

Thank you Erwin and Marijke, you are an amazing family and outdid yourselves again. It was a great pleasure to enjoy the weekend with the friends we have made during our oldschool journey. We wouldn’t miss any of it and can’t wait to hand back the trophy next year to rock again in 4000!