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It has been my experience that in the big tournaments, by the final round, the top tier players are playing against other top tier players. And its not that the other players arent of quality or good sportsmen, it could have been a string of bad luck, or a few missed chances that made for a loss or whatever the case may be. But the bottom half of the tournament players are in no position to win the big prizes and are probably ready for a relaxed game after the competitive nature of the tournament.

So here is an idea...

On the last round of a tournament, would you as a player be opposed to a "Scenario" game?

Example....

The table is set up in a fashion that would suggest an Imperial Bastion is being assaulted by an opposing force. Trenchworks are in place and when you set up, players roll off for attacker and defender and set up in a likewise manner. The game is then played out using a non-standard 40K mission. Unique victory conditions would apply and the likelyhood of a "Balanced" list succeeding would increase.

Any feedback would be appreciated,
Thanks Guys!!

That could be a fun idea. It could be logistically difficult to pull off exactly as you're imagining since (from the way it sounds) the TO would have to re-dress most of the tables to set up the special scenario terrain.

I really like the direction that Rob's taken with this year's Golden Throne where Day 2 is the Finals for the folks who won their Day 1 pods, but everyone else is playing in a secondary RTT.

Another neat spin on that would be, instead of playing an RTT, play a bunch of special scenarios like the ones you've imagines. That could be easier for TOs since they could redress the tables overnight.

Just be cautious about favoring "balanced" armies. That's a pretty arbitrary distinction. Ask 5 people what "balanced" means and you'll get 7 different answers. It's much more important that the scenarios be fun than it is for them to favor some preconceived notion about what the right kind of army is.

Great Feedback Amerikon!!

I have the unique position as one of the TO's of the Bugeater Grand Tournament. I am also the guy that makes all the terrain for the Tournament s well, so I can certainly craft the tables to be scenarion specific.

And as far as the "Balanced" thing is concerned, its just a personal observation...armies that have a bunch of different types of units from around the F.O.C. just seem to do better in non-competitive games, thats all.

But thanks again for the feedback, it just makes for a better event every year!

Something similar at the last Nuke-con or maybe it was Nuke con two years ago was done. Most players liked it but the ones that were there to win really hated it. Many expressed they felt cheated because they did not factor that in to their list construction. Personally I think its fine, since GW doesn't support tournaments anymore. TO's are free to do whatever they want. My guess is most people will love it but a handful will feel as if they have been cheated out of the chance to win. Either way as the TO you have to deal with the unhappy people so going in with eyes wide open I see no reason not to do it. Maybe include it in the BugEater primer pack or at least mention that game 6 will be a unique scenario, something no one has seen.

That way people are aware their maybe a curve ball before they plunk down their entry fee.

Great feedback!!

Adding the scenario into the tournament pack would be easy.

Anyone else have some thoughts?

One thing to keep in mind is that balancing scenarios is a lot harder than balancing "standard" tournament missions. When the only real factors are deployment type and objective placement the mission might favor some armies over others but it probably isn't going to be completely broken to the point that one player doesn't have any fun. And there's a good supply of well-tested missions to borrow from if you want something other than the book missions but don't trust your own design skills. But when you start adding in "weird" rules and mission objectives that aren't symmetrical there's a lot more to keep track of in trying to balance them, and a lot more opportunity for things to go wrong. And even "casual" players who don't care too much about winning at that point aren't going to have much fun if they have to play a one-sided game because of the special scenario.

A final standard mission, on the other hand, doesn't do anything interesting, but it's a safe bet that nobody is going to play a completely broken game. And the players are still free to have a relaxed attitude about the game if they're tired after a long day.

Great advice peregrin.
I agree. The scenario would be a simple one, no swapping FOC slots, no one has to lose any models or anything like that.
Just something to put a little excitement in the days last game.
Thanks again for the feedback!!
It makes our Bugeater better every year!