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I've got a local tournament coming up near where I live and since it was 1.) only a 1,000pts, and 2.) all the good players I know are going to another one at a different shop, I figured I would try my hand at entering my first tourney. Thing is, I've never played in a tournament before, although I have watched one at my local FLGS, and it looked like a ton of fun. This is no 'Ard Boyz though, this seems to be a fairly laidback tournament with some store credit for prize support, so I'm hoping to maybe get lucky and grab 3rd or 2nd and score some free guys to buff up my little IG force.

What I was hoping for was some advice for a guy who has never played a tourney before. What are the do's and don'ts? Are there any unspoken rules of etiquette or anything like that? Any little tips to save headaches beforehand?Obviously, showering and having your army ready to go when you get there are good ideas, but anything past that I'm totally clueless on. Feel free to vent horror/awesome stories of your tournament experiences as well if you feel like it. I'd just like to get an idea of what I'm in for before I sign up and any advice I can get beforehand would be great!

I can also post a potential list of what I was thinking about taking if you guys want to see that as well.

If someone makes a move that your not 100% certain on, ask to see the codex. Most of the time its spot on, but sometimes you catch em trying to pull a fast one.

Just some general advice I can offer:

1- Be punctual: If the tourney starts at 10, be there at 9:30 so you can get your stuff organized and ready for play by 10. It'll be greatly appreciated by event organizers and will help ensure the tournament moves smoothly

2- Be sure to clarify any potentially confusing issues before game start: If you have units that have special rules that allow them to do something other units may not, share that with your opponent. Discuss any items of wargear in both armies that may cause confusion. Remember to establish the cover saves provided by the terrain and what portions of the terrain are dangerous or difficult.

3- Be prepared: Read and re-read your rulebook and codex and thumb through any other up-to-date codices you have the night before. Also, make sure you have a full set of templates (or two), copies of your army list, turn counters, dice, scatter dice, army, etc. etc. You can even take it a step further and have everything packed and waiting in the car so you don't have to race to gather everything in the morning.

4- Be quick to ask questions: If something going on doesn't seem right during play, ask your opponent/judge/TO about it before preceding. Just ignoring potential rule violations by your opponent can easily snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. In addition, don't be shocked if someone asks you questions about actions you take and be willing to show them proof that it is a legal move and be willing to yield if proven wrong.

5- Be polite: As I said above, ask if something seems wrong, don't accuse, insult or get belligerent over issues. If they can't be reasonably resolved peacefully and timely, involve a judge or TO. This aids your sportsmanship score as well, if there is one to be considered and helps prevent people from calling you TFG.

6- Remember that it's just a game: Some people have a hard time with this. ESPECIALLY if there is prize support. They can become soo enamored with the thought of claiming the grand prize, they forget that this is a hobby and is meant to be enjoyed. Never let bad dice, rude players or cheats ruin the game for you, if you can. Remember that this is all for fun.

7- Keep the game moving: In a tournament, you only have a set amount of time to play each match. Unless it's critical that a certain rule is properly interpreted, be willing to result to the "Golden Rule" to quickly resolve game issues.


Far from all inclusive, but that's the advice I have to offer

Bring a carry tray of some sort if you can. It really helps when moving between tables.

Wear comfortable shoes and bring a bottle of water. Most tournaments take all day, so standing on your feet the whole time can be a pain.

Other than that, I think themandudeperson covered all the biggies.

< Taken by the void dragon. >

I'm going to be running 70+ guys and a leman Russ most likely, is there an easy way to section off the tray so my guys dont get mixed up? I'm running 2 large platoons and several smaller units and its going to be hard keeping them from getting all jumbled together.

I was thinking about just using a cooking tray like what you would use for cookies or something (a clean one obviously) I'm just worried they'll slide around and get jumbled together.

Is it a good idea to print up all the stats of your guys so you can double check if you need to, or is it simpler to just keep your codex nearby? I thought about just printing off like10 copies of my list on Army Builder and giving one to each opponent so he would know right away what my guys do and make rolling easier as well as get rid of rules questions.

Some great pointers have already been presented, I would like to add though specially since this is your first tournament.

Do not go in expecting to win!

Go expecting to have fun and to learn, no one ever is perfect the first time they try something. If you expect to come in second or third you may be too focused on the ends to learn from your experiences (and mistakes) in the middle.

Also my ritual before a tournament included checking I had everything I needed, packing my gear, loading the car, everything I had to make sure I took with me, (my lists ect) that didn't go in the bag and my personal effects (Cigarets, lighter, money, ect) went on my desk and the keys to my car went on top of them.

I then stopped thinking about warhammer for a few hours and went to sleep. It helped to clear my mind and let me concentrate the next day instead of staying up and having all the "What if...?" scenarios run though my mind.

Good luck hope you do well and have fun.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Extra copies of the list are great, never a replacement for the codex/BRB not everyone has every codex and even with a print out list there will still be questions, a copy of the latest FAQ/Errata is always handy too.

Definitely a few copies of your list.
Bring some super glue - just in case you need to do a quick repair, or so you can loan to someone who needs to make a quick repair.

Everything else I can think of has already been said.

Bex wrote:Some great pointers have already been presented, I would like to add though specially since this is your first tournament.

Do not go in expecting to win!

Yeah I don't expect to win, I'm just hoping I'll do better than I normally would since the really good players at my club are going to another one across town. They're known for going around and cleaning out prize support from all the other stores (they're nice guys, they're just really good and nobody else can really keep up with their lists)

I don't expect to win, I just hope to not get last place.

It's going to be a huge learning experience, but I think I'll have a lot of fun, and it'll give me a chance to play against people that aren't intentionally holding their list back against me because I'm new (some of the nicer vets at the club do this so I don't get beaten too badly)

And who knows, maybe only 4 people will show up and I'll get 3rd place by technicality! You never know!

for winning

- focus on the objectives. if your game is kill HQ, or take this objective or whatever, as many tourney games are such - focus on getting that objective early and do everything you can to hold it. make your opponent play your game.

- think critically. if you have an enemy unit thats nearly wiped out, but cant threaten much or contest claim objectives from you, ignore them and move on. if that enemy monoloth or land raider is immobilized, down to 1 gun etc, i would leave it be and focus on other more critical things, like that unit of scouts camping his home base, or the rhino squad moving up towards your or another objective, and so on.

- have a strategy/battle plan for each game. before you even roll the dice for deployment you should look at the opposing army list, the scenario and the table. try to formulate an overall attack plan - then implement it. sometimes difficult to do, and it may not work out, but having a plan and using it is often the diffrence between a tie and a loss or a win.

- otherwise be prepared. have your rule books, templates (mark them with your name if you havent already) dice and tape measure. good shoes are a good thing to have, as is light munchables (like some nuts or beef jerky) and water if your stuck in a long game.

- be prepared to be polite respectful and courteous. no one likes playing a douche, or dealing with a loosing one, or worse a winning one.

- be prepared to encounter and deal with TFG. there is usually always at least one... and latley they seem to travel in packs. best way to ive found to deal with em, is play to the letter of your rules and minimize chances for them go ape nuts on ya.

- make sure models are painted and based. alot of tourneys have prizes for presentation, you may not win but it earns points when the other guy is all grey and black models.
-have fun and keep the victory happy dance to a minimum.

This isn't the only article on tournaments on Dakka, and not everything in it is mandatory, but it's pretty darn good:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Tournament_Preparation_Guide

MrMoustaffa wrote:I'm going to be running 70+ guys and a leman Russ most likely, is there an easy way to section off the tray so my guys dont get mixed up? I'm running 2 large platoons and several smaller units and its going to be hard keeping them from getting all jumbled together.

I was thinking about just using a cooking tray like what you would use for cookies or something (a clean one obviously) I'm just worried they'll slide around and get jumbled together.

Is it a good idea to print up all the stats of your guys so you can double check if you need to, or is it simpler to just keep your codex nearby? I thought about just printing off like10 copies of my list on Army Builder and giving one to each opponent so he would know right away what my guys do and make rolling easier as well as get rid of rules questions.

You need to spend some time on a table moving your army around. If you take a large model army then your opponenet will expect you to be able to move them with some reasonable level of speed. Don't though clump them up for speed and allow half your army to be taken out with template attacks ...

If in different units then marking the bases differently can be helpful for you and your opponent.

Know your codex. Stick post it notes on the relevant pages you know you will need to refer to.

Most of all play the mission. If it's an objective mission then don't get greedy work out which one's you can take/contest and play for those.

Above all, remember to tell us how it went!

Don't:

Be a pushover. Challenge everything you hear because people are almost always lying to you.

Bathe. If you stink you won't notice, but your opponents will and this will distract them.

Do:

Physically intimadate people with your bulging muscles. Scowl at everyone. Look like you will fly off into a rage at a moment's notice. Tell them you are a Vietnam vet, even if you weren't born until after the war. If you do this your opponent will be too busy thinking of his real life safety and won't give the game his full attention.



Alright, by now you hopefuly realized I was joking, so do the opposite of what I said.

As with most games but especially at Tournaments/high stress events: the person who makes the fewest mistakes almost always wins. Make a checklist if you have to but don't defeat yourself by rushing through a turn. Don't ever point out an opponent's mistake until after the game.

Know the event's specific rules/guidlines.

Clear every customized model you have with a TO BEFORE the start of the tourny.

Bring your BRB, codexeses (even ones for armies you aren't playinf), dice, templates and other assorted supplies.

Watch your things like a hawk. Nine times out of ten the guy that takes your stuff is doing it unknowingly (like smokers pocketing a borrowed lighter right in front of the person they borrowed it from) though.

Be polite but firm with everything/anything you do.

Make sound effects.

HAVE FUN!!!

Practice timed games. Not a big deal at 1k, huge deal at 2k. The clock can really change the game, especially with objective based games.

Know your enemy.
You need to know the major threats and how your army can deal with them or indeed the minor threats and how to ignore them or a lot of them time the major threats and how to ignore them.

Read the enemy's list and look for weak points like, for example, lack of long range weapons compared to your own.

Try to get in a load of practice against grey knights and necrons as they should be in the highest numbers and people seem to be fielding models from all over their codex.
However knowing most deathstar/troublesome units from most codices and their weaknesses is a huge advantage, for example, keep in doors against the doom of maltai or however it is spelt.

Another point: Try thinking about weird positions for your models. this is not discussed here much and not even on bat reps. You can gain advantages by placing models in clever ways, not only cover and shooting lanes but also limiting contact available for cc or maximising a counterassault if you get charged.

Wow thanks for all the input guys, it helped a lot. A lot of the tournament articles on dakka are a little dated and got confusing at times, but this cleared up a lot.

As for the tournament, I got invited to participate in the one at my main store and its kind of a weird one with customized rules. Anyone have advice on dealing with custom scenario type tournaments, or is it pretty much the same thing?

Long story short, modified FOC at 2,000pts, with some crazy scenarios to match.

HQ:1*
Elites: Unlimited
Troops: 2*
Fast attack: 1*
Heavy: 0-2

*you have to bring that many period, no more, no less

Sounds like it'll be a ton of fun. One guy said he's bringing at least 13 dreadnaughts.

Those rules not really helping IG at all. Though they can cope with it.

MFletch wrote:Those rules not really helping IG at all. Though they can cope with it.

What's funny is the list I'm thinking of running is almost legal for normal games, as I only took 5 elites. I'm taking an Ogryn/Yarrick Deathstar, Marbo, and a few 5 man stormtrooper melta squads. I think it'll do ok, but when I was writing this list it made me painfully aware of how much I hate IG's elites. The only ones that looked remotely passable were Marbo (god what I'd give to just field 16 Marbo's) and stormtroopers but they're uber expensive. Most of my points STILL went into Heavy Support and infantry, even though I only got 2 slots for each. It's going to take several tries before I get this list where I want it.

I can post a list and the custom scenarios if you guys feel like looking at it. Although I have a feeling that no matter how I slice it, I'm going to be at a bit of a disadvantage. The scenarios are what really make it interesting though. For example, in one, troops can't capture objectives, but everything else that doesn't have an AV can (namely elites, since most people will have between 6 to 15 of them). Also in that scenario, anything that's not an elite or a tank deepstrikes, meaning I can deepstrike in a 30 man powerblob with meltas and Commisar Yarrick wherever I want. It's like on one hand, it screws me over, and then on the other hand, gives me hilarious opportunities for shenanigans. I really can't wait to see how it goes, it's going to be nuts.

I will try and help here.

Don't go in looking to win the tournament, There are too many variables, and playing just for the win can be a quick way to lose sight of having fun. Focus on playing your army as best you can, while trying to make the game as enjoyable and straightforward for your opponent as possible.

Don't get down or frustrated by bad dice. They happen. Make jokes about them. If you act sour and complain, then the game quickly loses all of its fun.

Roll your dice in front of your opponent, and always announce what you are rolling for before you roll it.

There is more to say, but this is all I could come up with at this exact moment. Have fun.

Think ahead of time where you want to place objective markers based upon the scenario. Often players overlook how important that can be. You've got a high model count army so keep that in mind. Probably you'll want to go first so keep that in mind as well.

< Taken by the void dragon. >

MrMoustaffa wrote:Wow thanks for all the input guys, it helped a lot. A lot of the tournament articles on dakka are a little dated and got confusing at times, but this cleared up a lot.

As for the tournament, I got invited to participate in the one at my main store and its kind of a weird one with customized rules. Anyone have advice on dealing with custom scenario type tournaments, or is it pretty much the same thing?

Long story short, modified FOC at 2,000pts, with some crazy scenarios to match.

HQ:1*
Elites: Unlimited
Troops: 2*
Fast attack: 1*
Heavy: 0-2

*you have to bring that many period, no more, no less

Sounds like it'll be a ton of fun. One guy said he's bringing at least 13 dreadnaughts.

Having fun is always important, especially in a tournament with custom rules. Be prepared to get beaten by the armies that the custom rules end up benefitting. As you said, there will be players that bring 13 dreads or a swarm of terminators. I tend to like custom tourneys though, as at one of my LGS (off at college so I have two) has fun scenarios for some of them.

MrMoustaffa wrote:I'm going to be running 70+ guys and a leman Russ most likely, is there an easy way to section off the tray so my guys dont get mixed up? I'm running 2 large platoons and several smaller units and its going to be hard keeping them from getting all jumbled together.

I was thinking about just using a cooking tray like what you would use for cookies or something (a clean one obviously) I'm just worried they'll slide around and get jumbled together.

Is it a good idea to print up all the stats of your guys so you can double check if you need to, or is it simpler to just keep your codex nearby? I thought about just printing off like10 copies of my list on Army Builder and giving one to each opponent so he would know right away what my guys do and make rolling easier as well as get rid of rules questions.

Build a display board. If you have time, one of these really adds to the appearance on your army, unifying it's theme, and also makes it a lot easier to pack up and move from table to table. You just remove the models from the table as they are killed, and place them in the relevant spot on the display board.

Things to take:

Pen and paper.

Calculator

One copy of your list for each game, plus an extra. It is common curtesy in my area to give your opponent a copy of your list before the game starts. Bring one for each opponent.

Army book and Rulebook.

Dice. It's bad form to always ask to use your opponents dice.

Templates and tape measure. Also, bad form to ask to use your opponents.

CLARIFY AT ALL TIMES! Say what you are attempting to do during your movement phase, and ask if your opponent agrees with you. This will avoid much heated discussion later in the game. Obviously this only applies to moves that may-or-may-not come off, like attempting to move a unit far enough behind terrain to give a cover save, or attempting to move a vehicle so it will be hull down. For any disagreements, don't be afraid to ask for an independant ruling.

Always clarify the terrain as well. Agree on what each terrain piece will be. Will it be difficult, dangerous, impassable, what cover save will it give, is it area terrain, etc.

That should just about cover it. Always remember you've never played this person before, so they will have different gaming quirks and different ways to play the rules. Be open to things and just remember to have a good time and enjoy your games of toy soldiers!

So just a quick question, what do you guys think is the max amount of models you could bring to a tournament before it becomes too cumbersome? I'd imagine playing with a time limit can be a huge deciding factor in what you bring.

Reason I'm asking is because for the tournament this weekend I'm considering bringing two full platoons along with 50 conscripts each (over 200 infantry models alone, not counting the rest of my army) and seeing if I can catch people off guard. However, with only 2 hours a game, I'd imagine that'd screw me over timewise correct?

MrMoustaffa wrote:So just a quick question, what do you guys think is the max amount of models you could bring to a tournament before it becomes too cumbersome? I'd imagine playing with a time limit can be a huge deciding factor in what you bring.

Reason I'm asking is because for the tournament this weekend I'm considering bringing two full platoons along with 50 conscripts each (over 200 infantry models alone, not counting the rest of my army) and seeing if I can catch people off guard. However, with only 2 hours a game, I'd imagine that'd screw me over timewise correct?

It depends on how much moving you do and how quickly you do it.

Generally, as a Guard army, the quicker the game is over the better for you since you will do most of your damage in the early turns of the game, while your opponent will do most of his damage in the later turns (once he gets into combat). So running out of time will probably be in your benefit, but is a phenomenally evil thing to do deliberately.

Generally, I wouldn't take an army to a tournament unless I was intimately familiar with it.

MrMoustaffa wrote:Wow thanks for all the input guys, it helped a lot. A lot of the tournament articles on dakka are a little dated and got confusing at times, but this cleared up a lot.

As for the tournament, I got invited to participate in the one at my main store and its kind of a weird one with customized rules. Anyone have advice on dealing with custom scenario type tournaments, or is it pretty much the same thing?

Long story short, modified FOC at 2,000pts, with some crazy scenarios to match.

HQ:1*
Elites: Unlimited
Troops: 2*
Fast attack: 1*
Heavy: 0-2

*you have to bring that many period, no more, no less

Sounds like it'll be a ton of fun. One guy said he's bringing at least 13 dreadnaughts.

Please, let me have that FOC for my Nids. Couple of tervigons and then unlimited hive guard - like about 25-30 of the critters.

With those rules, just turn up to have a blast. You will see some crazy lists rocking up, mass termies, dreads etc.