Tournement Tips and Hints

[musical-fool]

Hello all!

I have decided to go into this year's Throne of Skulls "tourni" as there is a group of people from the local GW store.

However, I have never played in a "tourni" before and I only play for fun not necessarily for competition.

To those hardened BOLS vets out there, do you have any advice for a noob? :D

Any tips would be handy not necessarily for Throne of Skulls but for any gaming competitions.

[DrLove42]

Be friendly

Seriously. Don't take it seriously. Its a sodding table top game. Be friendly and win or lose you'll have a good time

[SotonShades]

Shake hands at the start and end of the game, make eye contact and smile. Not to creep your opponant out, just to let them know you respect them and are looking to have a good game/congratulate them on a well fought game (even if it was a oneside wash out).

Be engaged. Unless you have a relative at death's door or some other equally vital emergency, keep your phone in your pocket through out the game and preferable off or on silent. I Keep mine on for the calculator to work out victory points at the end, but don't respond to txts or answer calls (other than to tell them I will call them back, and even then only because it's my parents). Pay attention to what your opponant is doing or saying (it's no fun having to explain that you are shootin unit A at target Q for the third time because your opponant is having a chat with his mate at the next table) and ask questions if you are unsure of something, with out being a male member about it.

Know your list. I am not saying instantly be able to recall every stat and points value for everything in your codex, but at least remember the basic statline for the bulk of your force and what each unit is armed with. I find practice games really help cement these kind of things in your mind. That said, have your army list to hand in all games, so that should you forget (and with bugman's just through the door, you've at least got a half decent excuse :P) you can check quickly. It is a right pain in the proverbial when your opponant spends ages rolling dice only to remember that there is a missile launcher in their instead of a lasgun and the such and such ability means he should have rerolled... blah.

As far as I'm concerned, those bits are all bout courtesy for your opponant. As far as winning is concerned (I might struggle here, I don't do it all that often ;));

Know your list. Play as many practice games as you can, preferably from the missions you'll be playing in the tournament, but also anything where your army is put at a disadvantage*. Play against as many different opponants and armies as you can (especially if it is someone you struggle to beat) and don't radically change your list too often or switch out weapons or wargear just because they performed badly in a single game. This will all help you work out exactly what your units are capable of individually and supporting each other. Find their limits, or your limits using them. It's also pretty handy to make sure you are playing the games to the timelimit that is going to be imposed upon you in the tourny itself. You don't want to find you never win because you can't get past turn 2!
*If you want to try something that may put you at a disadvantage, while still being similar to the missions from the rule book, may I suggest the Rules of Engagement (http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?t=18931) missions? I've rewritten the originals that were published in 3rd Ed 40k to work in the current edition, and they really can change the way you think about how you are using your models in different situations

Get a good night's sleep before your games. I really can't stress how important you will be finding this by the end of the day. Having hallucinated my way through the first day of a tournament because of lack of sleep (losing all my games), getting a good sleep and then winning all of my games the next day, I can attest to the importance of shut eye.

Play the mission. Well done if you take out 1400 VPs from your opponant, but if he has 2 lonely space marines holding 2 objectives and you haven't got any troops on the other three, he will still win the game, despite only taking off a couple of your tanks (yes, this has happenned to me at a tournament... all my dreadnoughts died so my 2 marines could win!). Sure tabling your opponant garauntees you a win and puts you in better stead in the rankings, but all it can take is for one trooper to hide on the last turn and you've screwed yourself.

Think, Think, Do. It's great to move all your models quickly, but make sure you know why you are moving them. I can't count the number of times I've forgotten this, moved a squad then realised I need to move another squad there or through a gap they are now blocking, or realising later I've blocked LOS or an assault. Even if your opponant is nice enough to let you move them back and do it in the right order you meant to, it's a serious time waster (possibly moving units 2 or 3 times instead of once) and could also get you called up against the judges for cheating.

Similarly, check all your units each phase. I've gotten in to the habbit of stepping back from the board at the end of each phase and actually pointing to each unit on the table top to make sure I haven't forgotton to move, shoot or assault something vital (it's amazing how often a unit in cover can go unoticed and miss out on an easy assault, or you can forget to shoot a squad of rapid firing bolters on to the last enemy models holding an objective...)

I've been told that most games of 40k are won or lost in deployment. I've never been too sure if I believe that or not. but I have seen it lost on deploying objectives. When placing them remember; if the difficult terrain you are putting it in makes it difficult for your opponant to shoot or assault your unit off of, are you going to be able to retake it there if he manages it? What about if you put said objective out in front of the cover, so you are nice and safe, but can spend turn 5 running out to claim it? Equally I have seen people put objectives high up on 4th or 5th storeys of GW buildings. Great defensively, but then when the unit claiming it gets shot off on turn 4, they realise they have no way of reclaiming it unless the game goes to turn 7. Again, plenty of practice games will let you know what works best for you and your army.



Right, well that was going to be a few quick pointers, but I got all excitededed :P
Hope it helps (unless you end up facing off against me... then I hope it all blows up in your face, much like many of my vehicles seem to do?!)

Shades

[david5th]

What he said :) .

+ keep hydrated. Standing around in that place will quickly lead to thirst so get a drink in time before each game.

[Defenestratus]

When you go to a tournament, you'll be doubtlessly forced to endure at least 1, but likely more individuals who base their entire self-worth on how well the play a game of plastic toy soldiers. The only place in modern society where they can act with bravado and esteem is the plastic toy soldier tournament. They will annoy you with the manner in which they play the game. Instead of being a pleasant chap, these people will try and deflate your own good time in order to inflate their own general inadequacies.

Dealing with these people is a testament to your own self restraint.

[musical-fool]

Wow! thanks for the heads up people!

You went into some detail Shades but I doubt we will face each other as I am going into the French Th of Sks, you never know though!

How do you deal with armies that you do not really know? Unfortuntely the only real experienceI have is versus SM and orks and the rare Nid!

[SeattleDV8]

Things to make sure you have with you
Dice, more is better and several colors can speed up rolls.
Your list printed out and copys for your opponents.
Tape measure, templates and markers.
Objective markers.
Paper and pen never hurts.
Your Codex, the BRB and having FAQs for your army (and others that impact your army) can be very helpfull)
A display board ( or something) to place your army on also for ease of moving between games.
The day can wear on and standing in place is harder than one thinks.
Good shoes are a must, Drinks and snacks can be helpful, but these may be availble at the venue (many times it an extra way for the venue to make profit, which helps keep prices down)

A Smile and a sense of humor( and sometimes a sense of the absurd)
It's alway better to be amused rather than annoyed.

I've known people that bring a checklist for psychic powers, special rules etc, that need to be done in a certain phase or time.
Take time to think, but don't waste time.

[celestialatc]

I find with tournaments that I forget to eat. Bring some snack bars so that if you are in the middle of battle you can take a quick bite.

[HsojVvad]

And shower. Not trying to make a joke here. I haven't been to a tournement, but I always thought it was a joke about people not showering, and went inot a store where the BO was horrible. Do NOT be that GUY.

[celestialatc]

And shower. Not trying to make a joke here. I haven't been to a tournement, but I always thought it was a joke about people not showering, and went inot a store where the BO was horrible. Do NOT be that GUY.

I went to a Con once and there was a guy dressed as a ninja who would sneak up behind you while you were playing and leave a bar a soap....he was a Soap ninja....it was hilarious!

[HsojVvad]

I went to a Con once and there was a guy dressed as a ninja who would sneak up behind you while you were playing and leave a bar a soap....he was a Soap ninja....it was hilarious!

LMFAO. Oh I wish I could see this. I would love to see the look on people who got the bar of soap. That is good. Thanks for sharing. :D

[DarkLink]

Yeah, there are showers in hotel rooms for a reason. I also recommend dropping by walmart or something and grabbing a big something or other to drink. And not soda. Water, or maybe a snapple. You'll need it.

[Wildeybeast]

Yeah, I haven't played in a tournament, but having been to WW when they are on I can testify it gets as hot as hell and is full of nerd sweat. So wear something cool, and make sure you have something to drink or at least money to buy them. And I'd stay away from alcohol (at least during the day), it's only going to dehydrate you further. I'd recommend going easy on it in the evening, playing with/against someone with a hangover is never fun, but I'm sure you already know that.