SeerK here to talk a little about Tournaments. Well 6th Edition has been
out for a couple months now. Tournaments on the local level have
been popping up like weeds over the past month. The First major
large tournament of the new edition, Nova, has come and gone.
Many players have been critical of 6th edition in regards
to tournament play or rather how it affects tournament play, the
randomness of things as well as the new fortifications and changes to
how terrain works and it set up. The rules changes and lack of clear
answers as to how special rules from the codex translate to the new
edition are proving to be a challenge with just casual play.
I did not go not Nova con so I would
like some input from spectators and participants. I am interested as
to how they handled things. I did hear last years winner won again
with a rather simple Space Wolves list. Of the 3 tournaments I have
played in so far in the new edition two were 1850 and one was a 2000
pt. The first allowed fortifications and allies as well as
Forgeworld models that had the 40k approved mark on them. The second
was a strait 1850 with no forgeworld, allies allowed and no
fortifications. The 2000 point was like the first but with a dual
force org.
So what have I learned so far? Smaller
is better. I don’t know why so many were theorizing that standard
games would be 2000 points when we were waiting for the new edition
to come out. The rules for allies and fortifications basically have
one intent, in my mind at least. They are there to get you to buy
more models and spend more money with Games Workshop. Clear and
simple.
This is especially evident in a
tournament format. The game begins to get very unwieldy and
difficult to keep track of once you start getting above the magic
1850 point line. Clear advantage goes to the player that is playing
to the missions and has a list built to exploit as many points as
possible in the missions presented. Although you can do this easily
in large point games, adding in allies and fortifications does not
always give you the synergy it would seem to give at face value. In
fact it can hamper many lists and armies. I really do thing that
tournaments should remain at 1850 or below.
Old School touched on this last week.
He played a 1500 point game and it was fun. Playing at smaller point
totals forces you to really stay on task and play to the mission. As
an Eldar player I have to do this with just about every list I make
because of the specialized nature of the army and its high point
costs. Grey Knight players also have this inbuilt into their list
creation. The Grey Knights are a small and specialized force.
Having said all that and having run a few tournaments myself I have a
few notes on the game as it stands in a tournament format. Remember
this is just an opinion and is how I would run a tournament. If you
have nothing constructive to add as a comment then keep it to
yourself.
Size
A tournament, unless there is a special theme involved, should not
exceed 1850 points. A Big GT tournament should run at this point
total or less. This helps keep games shorter and forces players to
build more focused lists.
Terrain
To keep things simple and despite what the rules say, terrain should
be set up before the tournament starts. The terrain should be set
like it has been for years. This makes sure you have a consistent
play area for all the games of the tournament. I personally would
avoid using the Mysterious Terrain rules. So far games I have played
they have not been any sort of factor and its one more thing to
remember that most players don't. I would use mysterious objectives
though as they can make a difference and most players will remember
them as they can give a tactical advantage.
Fortifications
This is a tricky one. As it stands right now fortifications, namely
the aegis defense line, is really the only kind of air defense that
armies have if they lack flyers. If I were running a Tournament I
would allow them. I would do this only because the only one you are
likely to see is the Aegis Defense line. This balances things out a
bit for armies that lack flyers. Keeping the point totals down also
really puts a limit on what a player can spend on fortifications as
well. If you want a functioning tournament list you aren’t going
to take a big fortification.
Allies
I would allow allies for the same reason as the fortifications.
Point limits are going to limit what you can take and most smart
tourney players wont take allies unless it actually gives a tactical
advantage. Rules must be clear though. This leads us into our next
section
FAQ
Well before you run a tournament you must provide players with a
forum to ask questions. The rulings for those rule questions must be
compiled into a master list that is available to everybody. This is
especially key for a larger tournament. Players want to know how
rules that are currently in question will be interpreted by the
judges and Tournament Organizer. Players must know how things are
going to work for list building. If you rule that Blood Lance cant
hit flyers, which it shouldn't, and their local store has been
running it as it can they will need to know that to make a list that
works in the tournament environment they are playing in. Really the
FAQ is probably one of the most important things to do while
preparing for a tournament. You have to sit down and make the tough
decisions about questionable rules and rules interpretations.
So there is my 2 cents in the subject of tournaments. Be it big or
small Tournaments can be a very fun experience. In fact the smaller
ones tend to be more fun that the larger ones. Tournaments are a
good way for a local store to really show off their war game
community. Its also a way for the community to come together and
maybe get some bragging rights. Regardless a tournament should be
planned out well in advanced and planned well. You can't plan for
every possible situation, but you can make it a lot easier for the
stuff that pops up often.
Until next time..............
Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes, War Calls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
