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hey guys, i am a causal gamer and i had just gone to my first tourney today and lets just say it was harrowing went 0-3 with only two points scored from linebreaker (loved them drop pods). anyway i was unprepared for the tourney scene so what some advice you can give to someone who just enter the arena?

You can never go wrong with a good TAC list at a local tournament. Plus practicing with the list you are bringing ahead of time is a must.

i know this might sound very simple but tactics is key to a victory, deploying behind drop pods and shooting threw them so the squad lives longer, putting them(drop pods or other vehicles) in spots that will block LOS to squishy units. Also Hq plays a great part, currently Pyshic powers are beastly and if you can get the right ones you can dominate. for example takigna librain and putting him in a drop pod w/ some tactical marines to aborsb some fire power and using (if you get it) Hallucination and possible messing up his squad(mind you this is all situational). Also knowing where to place the right model in a squad is a huge thing, never put special weapons in the front unless you are flaming. Keep them sorta in the middle so when you go to flame you move them to the front that turn so you get your shot off. Also be mindful you can measure what ever you want when ever you want. i normally will check range on my Aegis Quad cannon before i deploy it to make sure i can shot at what ever i want. Also be mindful how your vehicles move and how far you can shoot out of them(if your enemy is18 inch away from a Rhino you can move 6in, move 6inch out of the tank and rapid fire your bolters and what ever other special weapons you have(be mindful of your doctrines and the PROPER!! time to use them(in a tournament people are more strict on the rules make sure you when when to use your psychic powers and doctrines in the right time)). Other than that make sure you move all that was suppose to move and shoot all that is suppose to shoot same goes for assault. What i did when i started playing (12years ago) i would have a piece of paper w/ my turn steps (you could do in excel) but i would have my units on one side and each turn i would check off next to them when i moved then shot then assault, its a bit different now with pyshic power but same concept. What you start now as you become more active in the competitve arena will only improve down the road even more. all it is, is practice practice practice (with the same list) so you know how your army can preform.


PS. remember you can go to ground in open terrain and in regular terrain, ive seen so many people just say its just a 6+ save w/e but if its that or wipe out your squad why not. Also if the enemy is going to unload alot of shots into them(if holding objectives or KP mission) go to ground to start with before you lose 3 guys then decide well i can save more if i go to ground. its sorta a gut feeling but you should be able to get the hang of it. I dont really know your list otherwise i could offer a bit more help, if you wanna pm i can help you out unless you arent interested in that. eitehr way i hope you get better luck next time

My first piece of advice? Check your trust and your kindness at the door. People will take advantage of you in a tournament in a hot minute.

My article on Salamanders Tactica has some good advice for Drop Pod armies, and you might find that helpful.

Above all, know your rules, and try to know as many of your opponents' rules as possible. The more knowledge and experience you have, the more prepared you will be. Dakka has a wide range of tactics articles, and it can't hurt you to find out what other people are doing.

If your a casual player, consider just not going to tournies? You don't *have* to play that way if you don't want to.

@ dakkamite i think he wants to go to tournys so he would need help how to play in them

Some decent advice here, I have a few things to add.

Get plenty of rest before the event - it will help with your thinking and your disposition if you end up in any stressful situation.

Some people might indeed be jerks, I have run into a few.
But I have also run into some that just have different personalities or communication styles but are good folks, so while you should be wary of jerks, try to give other players the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.

Be a good sportsman, if so your reputation will get around as thus, an other good sportsman like players will gravitate toward you, and even offer to help you.

Try to be efficient in your game, and not waste any time if you can - indecisiveness plagues me in a lot of games, usually your first thought is the best one.

Finally - regarding lists and tactics....see if you can find a player in your area you respect, in both their playing skill and as a person. Ask them if they are willing to play a few practice games with you, and give you feed back on the game and the choices you made.

Overall, keep a positive attitude - this will win out over anything else. I don't get to play in as many events as I used to, but overall have had a ton of success and a lot of fun, and even a good reputation among many others. Occasionally, I win a few games too...

best of luck!

1. Practice your lists, against as many different armies and opponents as possible.

2. Be a polite, decent player. No tournament is worth becoming the TFG in the eyes of your local gaming group.

3. Know the ruleset at least reasonably well, and abide by it. Stay calm during any rules disputes that may pop up.

4. Have fun while at the tournament. It's a game of toy soldiers and dice, so don't take it too seriously.

You will get better over time, as you work out the local meta, how your army works and what does and doesn't work in given situations. Very, very few people take out (or even do well in) their first tournament.

ok thanks guy for the advice its really helpful and someone posted a question earlier of what list did i run in the tournament yesterday well it was an:
emperor champion
Chaplin w/ burning blade
2 squads of crusdaer w/ sergeant and power weapon in drop pods
2 squads of crusdaer w/ sergeant and power sweapon in rhinos
devastors w/ 4 lascannon
devastors w/ 4 ML w/ flaxx missles
devastors w/ 4 heavy bolters
that was the list for 1750 i was using the black templar chapter tactics it work fairly well against taudar in the first round but lost in the 2nd and 3rd round agaisnt other space marine players
now i also have one other question is assault worth it in 6th? i have heard mix things

post it in army list and get ready for people to pound it into a toruneamnet style list, it needs some changes (sorry to say).

kira721 wrote:
ok thanks guy for the advice its really helpful and someone posted a question earlier of what list did i run in the tournament yesterday well it was an:
emperor champion
Chaplin w/ burning blade
2 squads of crusdaer w/ sergeant and power weapon in drop pods
2 squads of crusdaer w/ sergeant and power sweapon in rhinos
devastors w/ 4 lascannon
devastors w/ 4 ML w/ flaxx missles
devastors w/ 4 heavy bolters
that was the list for 1750 i was using the black templar chapter tactics it work fairly well against taudar in the first round but lost in the 2nd and 3rd round agaisnt other space marine players
now i also have one other question is assault worth it in 6th? i have heard mix things

Ok well this is really simple to fix. Let me ask you, what gave you trouble when you played? Did your devastators die quickly? Did the drop podded marines do much after they arrived?

Your list, while being a reasonable setup for handling all targets, has a few flaws.

First, your drop pods come in one at a time and unsupported. I suggest getting another drop pod in the list or no dropping them.

The heavy bolter devastator squad, while a very good unit a killing troops and stuff, makes it so your troops have less of their priority targets to kill.

Instead of the flakk missile dev unit, a firestorm redoubt or aegis line would do better, for cheaper.


Always remember the following things when building a list:

Can I hold (enough) objectives?
Can I ignore/kill fliers?
Can the list kill 2+ saves and monsters?
Will my units be able to do their job?

That's really all it comes down to. Synergy is key, and make sure to not throw all your eggs in one basket. Good luck.

except for the first game the cover i was given, because the tables were preset, was either poorly or nonexistent so the devastors died faster than normal and the fact was most of the list i fought out shot me or took apart my units real fast

To echo what has been said before, practice is key. Not only does it give you experience in using your army, it also lets you see how other armies work. If you never knew mindshackle scarabs existed, for instance, you might have a rough assault phase against Necrons. It helps with target priority as well.

One quick thing that I haven't seen others bring up yet - Take a good look at what happened this go-through, and ask yourself "What could I have done differently here?" and "What kind of armies am I seeing the most of?" Playing a tournament in your area should not only give you an idea of what armies you're most likely to face (i.e. mostly tau, a little bit of everything, etc.). Also, it allows you too look at specific situations and tailor your list to better handle those challenges next time. Did you not have enough Anti-tank? Not enough anti-infantry? Etc.

Also, congrats to you for trying your first tourney, even if it was pretty rough. Keep at it!