Cancon 2024 - Flames Of War Australian Nationals GT Report By Matt Dixon Canberra has always been a meeting place, even before it was the National Capital of Australia, Canberra was a meeting place with the city’s name derived from the local indigenous dialects. Cancon, Australia’s biggest tabletop gaming convention, held every year on the Australia day weekend, is no different.

Cancon both ends and sets up a new year of tournaments and is the meeting place for players across the country. Representatives from across this vast land come to the Capital in the best of spirits to compete, throw dice and have fun. For Flames Of War it sees the Australian Nationals, a chance for the top players from each state, and even some from across the puddle in New Zealand, to see who is top of the tables. For others, Cancon is a chance to meet old and new friends and have a good laugh over a friendly game.

I’ve had the honour of TOing Cancon for the last few years, taking over from many other esteemed TOs, too many to count here; but if one thing about Cancon is ever certain, it is that Cancon is going to keep you guessing and on your toes.

For Flames Of War, the oft expression is that Cancon has ‘no meta’. Take the latest greatest webhammer… watch it sink to the bottom card. Take what works in your state and look on in horror as the exact opposite turns up to thrash you. You can’t predict Cancon, and because of that, the chaos is great.

This year was no exception, with approximately ¼ of the players bringing Soviets and shaking up everyone's expectation, and that’s not even counting the two Romanian forces. Us and Germans rounded out the remainder, a shock lack of British forces that had performed well last year also raising eyebrows.

Once battle was joined the age old adage of it being the man and not the machine played out, but again in surprising ways. Some new players were definitely shaking up scene, often it’s not the list you take but how you use it, and some Soviet generals were definitely using it. As the final round came about Soviet’s made up half the Top 8 players, and some pluck and moxie had even driven one Soviet General, Nathan Ball, to the Top Table, and at his first ever Flames Of War tournament to boot!

Youthful exuberance will only get you so far, however, as the Soviet T-34s encountered the Veteran Late Shermans of Derek Prout from Victoria. A veteran of the tournament scene and former Cancon champion, age and wisdom won out and Derek took the finals. On the runner up table, only a point behind the leaders, Mark Ross from NSW showed everyone what some 38Ts can still do in Late War.

The Best Painted award went to its traditional recipient, David Geddes, who every year turns up with something so spectacularly beautiful it makes a beggar of belief. This year it was three companies worth of Romanian 38Ts, a swarm of angry little custom pennants flapping in the breeze. Best Sports went to Lachlan Keenan, who at only his second tournament ever, got a perfect sports score from each of the 6 players he rolled dice with.

The dust of Cancon has just settled and already a host of new events are on the horizon. It looks to be an exciting year to come, and what next year’s Cancon has to offer and amaze will be just as exciting to see as this year's was.