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Not sure if this is the proper area to post this but has anyone heard anything about the 'ard boyz tournament for 2012.

There will be no 'ard boyz this year, at least that's the latest word I got from GW.

really?! This was going to be the first year I entered. Where did you come about this information?

At this point I think this would belong in the rumors section...

It's still tournament info; it's just not known yet. Most 'AB posts go in here.

Last I heard, Ed Spettigue, the guy who organized a lot of the official GW tournaments in the US left the company. This is why there is also no Throne of Skulls currently scheduled for this year.

sharkticon wrote:Last I heard, Ed Spettigue, the guy who organized a lot of the official GW tournaments in the US left the company. This is why there is also no Throne of Skulls currently scheduled for this year.

That is correct (Ed no longer being at GW). HOWEVER, there will be a 2012-2013 tournament circuit. I don't know if there's a throne of skulls at the end of it, but I was told the 12-13 circuit will be finalized early March. But again, I was also told no 'Ard Boyz this year.

TimmyMWD wrote:

sharkticon wrote:Last I heard, Ed Spettigue, the guy who organized a lot of the official GW tournaments in the US left the company. This is why there is also no Throne of Skulls currently scheduled for this year.

That is correct (Ed no longer being at GW). HOWEVER, there will be a 2012-2013 tournament circuit. I don't know if there's a throne of skulls at the end of it, but I was told the 12-13 circuit will be finalized early March. But again, I was also told no 'Ard Boyz this year.

When I say that there is no Throne of Skulls, I mean that there is no ToS planned for the 11-12 circuit. Around the same time Ed sadly left, it was removed from the Mephis Bunker's list of events for the year.

I was under the impression Throne of Skulls was in Memphis this year.

Ed was still at GW as of a few weeks ago?

Last year I and a number of other folks won admission to the 2012 ToS in Mephis. Another friend of mine won admission just a week ago, as I recall.

TimmyMWD wrote:

sharkticon wrote:Last I heard, Ed Spettigue, the guy who organized a lot of the official GW tournaments in the US left the company. This is why there is also no Throne of Skulls currently scheduled for this year.

That is correct (Ed no longer being at GW). HOWEVER, there will be a 2012-2013 tournament circuit. I don't know if there's a throne of skulls at the end of it, but I was told the 12-13 circuit will be finalized early March. But again, I was also told no 'Ard Boyz this year.

Who was it at GW that let you know this? I've been asking trade sales for the info every week for two months, and getting "Not sure yet, we'll let you know".

Hey Mikhaila, when you do hear something solid can you let us know?

I'm deeply interested in whether or not there's an Ard Boyz this year.

Ard Boyz is a separate tournament system from ToS. It is run by the trade department.

sharkticon wrote:Last I heard, Ed Spettigue, the guy who organized a lot of the official GW tournaments in the US left the company. This is why there is also no Throne of Skulls currently scheduled for this year.

GW posted up about the tournament on Friday. No cancellation. Tickets go on sale when the current year ends in June.

http://www.facebook.com/gamesworkshopnorthamerica

Checked today with Trade Sales, they have heard nothing about 'Ardboyz being cancelled, but also couldn't give me the dates. My sales rep is checking up the chain to get an answer.

sharkticon wrote:Last I heard, Ed Spettigue, the guy who organized a lot of the official GW tournaments in the US left the company. This is why there is also no Throne of Skulls currently scheduled for this year.

Here is schedule for the Throne of Skulls:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?catId&categoryId§ion&pIndex=0&aId=14700053&start=1&multiPageMode=true

Wheew, was about to say...thought I'd won that ticket for nothin....

Interested to find out 'Ard Boyz dates, daddy needs another free army!

I don't think anyone really knows yet for sure, but I could have sworn that I saw something on the GW website that you could get tickets to this years Throne of Skulls by winning one of the Ard Boyz tourneys. Seems to me that it indicates that there will be an ard boyz but likely only a single round. Would make some sense as the round 1's are somewhat cheap for them compared to round 2's and i'm sure the round 1's generate a decent amount of revenue from people that need particular models to fill their 3k lists at the last second. (Frankly I don't care about the financial part, but I do like a good tourney though)

It seems like Ard boyz is going to happen, but where does one get a ticket and where is the schedule?

They'll eventually post the dates. You don't buy a ticket to Ard Boyz. Once the dates and locations are announced, you can call up your local store that's hosting it and get put on the list. AB is free entry, first come, first served. If you place top three at your local store, you then call up one of the (usually ~30 around the country) stores which is hosting the regional round, and reserve a spot for yourself there. If you place top three there, you then call up a Finals location to reserve your place in the Finals. The last two years there have been three finals locations- one in PA, one in Chicago, and one in CA.

Throne of Skulls is a weekend tournament to which you can buy a ticket. I expect you'll just be able to buy the ticket directly from GW over the phone and probably on the website.

Mannahnin wrote:They'll eventually post the dates. You don't buy a ticket to Ard Boyz. Once the dates and locations are announced, you can call up your local store that's hosting it and get put on the list. AB is free entry, first come, first served. If you place top three at your local store, you then call up one of the (usually ~30 around the country) stores which is hosting the regional round, and reserve a spot for yourself there. If you place top three there, you then call up a Finals location to reserve your place in the Finals. The last two years there have been three finals locations- one in PA, one in Chicago, and one in CA.

Throne of Skulls is a weekend tournament to which you can buy a ticket. I expect you'll just be able to buy the ticket directly from GW over the phone and probably on the website.

Last year Fantasy Finals were at Fantasy Flight Games event center in Minneapolis.

Thanks for the info!

Man, I hope they scrap the Ard Boyz...or at least revamp it. The current way it is done is terrible. I'd prefer that GW eliminates it...but it's all about selling people on the idea of bigger armies.

I've enjoyed it since 5th ed hit. No-restrictions 40k was pretty dumb in 3rd ed and 4th ed. But 5th ed is better-balanced and I've found AB a good time, even though I got knocked out in the first round last year, rather than going to the finals like in previous years.

CaptKaruthors wrote:Man, I hope they scrap the Ard Boyz...or at least revamp it. The current way it is done is terrible. I'd prefer that GW eliminates it...but it's all about selling people on the idea of bigger armies.

Why scrap it? Lots of people enjoy it and play in it.

CaptKaruthors wrote:Man, I hope they scrap the Ard Boyz...or at least revamp it. The current way it is done is terrible. I'd prefer that GW eliminates it...but it's all about selling people on the idea of bigger armies.

Why scrap a free event that lets people bring all their toys to the table and maybe win a free army, all for free?

Mikhaila, If they really do scrap Ard Boyz, you just have to fill in the void with one of your own tourneys. Filth to the nth degree is great fun once in a while.

They don't need to scrap it, but they do need to revamp it. The missions are continually poorly written and imbalanced, and really, 2500 is a piss poor points level. Games take too long and there's less generalship required when every army is brimming to the teeth with guns and tanks.

But I wouldn't be surprised if Ard Boyz had a hiatus with 6th edition to be launched this summer.

ard boys worked great for fantasy last year. Armies that were balanced won and armies that skewed towards too heavy magic, or shooting failed. Was there cheese, oh yeah. Triple hell pit, tripple hydra, you know it but in the end it was about balance.