The Assault Phase

TOURNAMENT SPECIFICS

Date and Time

The team tournament will be held on July 30^th 2011. We will start as promptly as possible at 10AM and play 3 games allowing for 3 hours per game with a short break to eat between the first and second. The games are long, and the day is longer. Please come prepared for an entire day of tournament play.

Location

The team tournament is being presented by The Assault Phase gaming club, and will be held at Parker, Banner, Kent & Wayne Comics and Games in Cornelius, NC. Please see the web site for PBKW for directions or other information: http://www.pbkwcomics.com/

Registration & Cost

This is a team based tournament. A team consists of two players, each with their own army list (configuration details are covered later). Each team will pay an entry fee of $20 (or $10 per person). Teams should register prior to the day of the event for several reasons that will be covered shortly, but to register simply send an email to one of the addresses below, or call PBKW @ 704-892-GAME (4263). We will take 25 registrations, and allow for a few more to show up the day of.

Register HERE

You can also register by posting on the The Assault Phase forums, but if you do please ensure that you leave some form of contact information.

All that is required to register is the name of the team and contact information. We’ll let you know if you are on any kind of waiting list of back log.

Prize Support

Prize support will come from entry fees and GW tournament support. Monetary prizes are presented as store credit for use at PBKW (which carries an excellent selection of all popular gaming supplies and games). We also plan to have some random events during the tournament during which small prizes can be won for performing actions during a game. If you win a prize you will walk away with the prize that day.

Jon Kirby, a valued member of the Assault Phase gaming group, has been generous enough to donate a large lot of Black Library products for additional prize support. We have not yet determined the distribution method for these, but the contents of the collection is listed below:

· 17 Omnibuses

· 4 SM battle books

· 27 Novels

· 15 Horus Heresy

· 4 WHFB

· Quiz book

· Audio Book

· IG primer (damocalies gulf ed)

These books are in excellent condition, but have been read, and are not considered to be part of the primary prize support. They are a great reason that just about anyone could win something during the tournament.

Configuration

This tournament will use a modified shared force organization requirement. This is listed below. In addition, individuals in a team must also adhere to the force organization chart listed in their individual codex.

Modified Shared Force Org.

HQ = 2 required + 1 optional
Elite = 4 optional
Troops = 3 required + 4 optional
Fast Attack = 4 optional
Heavy Support = 4 optional

Each team may use in total no more than 2500 points. Each team member is required to field 1100 points minimum, leaving 300 points to be shared according to the needs of the team.

Clearly built army lists must be presented for each individual, and will be checked during the tournament. If any list is found to be incorrect the team using that list will forfeit the game(s) it was used in giving a maximum victory to the opposing team(s).

Team Synergy

We want this tournament to be very fun, challenging and interesting for folks that are up to planning for it. Outside of rules that specifically state that they only affect certain friendlies or certain factions (we don’t want to break any established rules) we are going to completely open the door to allow any combinations and synergies you can come up with that are not explicitly denied by existing rules.

An example of something that would be allowed:
Eldar Seer Council picked by a heavy support Land Raider and casting fortune on the land raider.

An example of something not allowed:
Genestealers deploying in a Space Marine Drop Pod. You can’t buy a drop pod as a dedicated transport for Genestealers, only for marines.

Everyone is challenged to come up with the most interesting/powerful synergies they can.

If you have a question about whether something specific will be allowed, please post the question to the Assault phase forums at The Assault Phase .

Scenarios

See this posting http://www.assaultphase.com/assaultforum/thread-40-post-1230.html#pid1230

It’s been a while since I’ve updated the blog.  Sorry folks.  I’ve had a log going on personally, kids taking up time, work, etc.  Hobby sometimes need to take a back seat.  I totally need to get some more folks on here blogging for the club and themselves.  Since truthfully, I won’t have as much time as I used to.  But I promise to get some updates including the finished scratch built Warhound titan.  Well… not painted fully.

This weekend we took a 2.5 hour drive up to Raleigh, NC to play in a tournament called “The Meat Grinder”.  DakkaDakka link where we heard about it.  It was held at Game Theory, a mid size hobby store focused on games.  It was a long hard fought day, but Assault Phase really represented.  Going to the tournament we had Kirby, DC, Jason, and Rob met us up there.

Why was this worth the drive, missing our own local tournament, and knowing we were competing against each other?  A fully painted Daemon army averaging around 2000 points!  We weren’t the only ones who thought this was a worth while tournament to head to.  I met folks from South Carolina, Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, etc.  Some folks drove over 4.5 hours to come to the tournament.

So how did I (DC) do?

Here is the list I took to the tournament.  I called this my Skulltaker Deathstar

1850 Pts – Chaos Daemons Roster – Daemons

HQ: Skulltaker (1#, 175 pts)
   1 Skulltaker, 175 pts = (base cost 140) + DS: Juggernaut of Khorne 35

HQ: Herald of Khorne (1#, 130 pts)
   1 Herald of Khorne, 130 pts = (base cost 70) + DG: Unholy Might 15 + DGK: Fury of Khorne 10 + DS: Juggernaut of Khorne 35

Elite: Bloodcrushers of Khorne (6#, 280 pts)
   6 Bloodcrushers of Khorne, 280 pts = 6 * 40 (base cost 40) + DGK: Fury of Khorne x1 10 + DG: Chaos Icon x1 25 + DG: Instrument of Chaos x1 5

Elite: Flamers of Tzeentch (3#, 105 pts)
   3 Flamers of Tzeentch, 105 pts = 3 * 35

Elite: Flamers of Tzeentch (3#, 105 pts)
   3 Flamers of Tzeentch, 105 pts = 3 * 35

Troops: Bloodletters of Khorne (10#, 160 pts)
   10 Bloodletters of Khorne, 160 pts = 10 * 16

Troops: Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (5#, 95 pts)
   5 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch, 95 pts = 5 * 17 (base cost 17) + rDGT: Bolt of Tzeentch x1 10

Troops: Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (5#, 95 pts)
   5 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch, 95 pts = 5 * 17 (base cost 17) + rDGT: Bolt of Tzeentch x1 10

Troops: Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (5#, 95 pts)
   5 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch, 95 pts = 5 * 17 (base cost 17) + rDGT: Bolt of Tzeentch x1 10

Troops: Plaguebearers of Nurgle (5#, 75 pts)
   5 Plaguebearers of Nurgle, 75 pts = 5 * 15

Heavy Support: Daemon Prince of Chaos (1#, 165 pts)
   1 Daemon Prince of Chaos, 165 pts = (base cost 80) + DG: Iron Hide 30 + MC: Mark of Nurgle 30 + DGN: Cloud of Flies 5 + rDG: Daemonic Gaze 20

Heavy Support: Soul Grinder of Chaos (1#, 185 pts)
   1 Soul Grinder of Chaos, 185 pts = (base cost 135) + rW: Mawcannon – Tongue 25 + rW: Mawcannon – Phlegm 25

Heavy Support: Soul Grinder of Chaos (1#, 185 pts)
   1 Soul Grinder of Chaos, 185 pts = (base cost 135) + rW: Mawcannon – Tongue 25 + rW: Mawcannon – Phlegm 25

I’ve never really run Skulltaker in a tournament list.  When mech/guard was the rage, he was rather overcosted and useless.  My initial hope was he would make his worth by pitting me against a Tyranid player where he shines.  But with a herald and a fully kitted out death star crusher list, this unit could also pop vehicles with rending.

Round 1: Daemons vs. Dark Angels, BoLS style Kill Points

In this match, I think my opponent made a few key mistakes and didn’t capitalize on mistakes I made.  The army was a deathwing style 3 terminator squads with Belial making them troops.  He started them all in reserves to deep strike and rely on teleport homers on bikes.  The land raider was left on the board empty and Devastators were put up in a building away from the main force.  These were the big mistakes which swung the game my way right at deployment.  I had a lone unit for my soft guys to focus on away from the action and with the terminators deep striking, I could almost guarantee my self first charge since they can’t assault on a deep strike.

How things were, I decided to not suicide bomb my flamers and instead brought in my horrors to shoot up the devastators. Crushers off to the center to challenge anybody and everybody since all the terminators were off the board. Soul Grinder #1 misshaped and opponent was able to place anyway, but stuck my back on my own side, behind cover, and behind my troops in the far corner.  Since my horrors were tossing a gazillion shots at the devastators they did not bother with my lone vehicle and instead shot at the horrors.  The other big mistake.  Two las’s and two krak’s could have taken that Soul Grinder out in one turn. 

The rest was just me pushing slowly left to right and killing things as they came on the board.  I had a bit of a rough time with Belial and his unit.  I also started to learn a bit about storm shields and thunder hammers that I didn’t account for.  Only thing left at the end was a Land Raider immobilized with no weapons.

Round 2: Daemons vs Daemons, Objectives and corners

This was Kirby and myself.  I learned he smashed his previous Tau player and it was now going to be his Slaanesh Fiend spam army against my Crusher Death Star army.  This was actually a great game choice as it pitted two totally different Daemon tourny ideals against each other.  It was a hard fought match to be sure.

My game plan going in was to keep his units moving through terrain.  While some had grenades most didn’t.  I deep struck mostly in a bit of a castle maneuver at the beginning.  Keeping the horrors in the corner and the grinder and crushers out nearby so little could come in and kill off the soft little pinks.  Still a ballsy unit of fiends got inside and I had to move the crushers in to clean up what was left surviving the volley of warpfire.

Flamers eventually moved in to support, more pinks in the other corner.  We had one exhausting 5 squad multi combat going on between my Prince of Nurgle, plague bearers, bloodletters and his Prince of Slaanesh, fiends.

Just based on point objectives I managed to get max points, although the victory point numbers were really close as there was a lot on the table at the end.

Round 3: Daemons vs Blood Angels, Pure Victory points

Last game between the 1st and 2nd place players.  My opponent was known as Juice and there could not have been a nicer guy at the tournament.  This game literally was a “chess match”, to use his term.  I knew some strengths about his army, and he knew well what mine was capable off.

At the beginning of the game I started off at a huge disadvantage.  On the first drop 165 point Daemon prince mishaps and dies!  That hurt me right away.  So I did not go right on the offensive and take risky deep strikes.  I did plop one squad of horrors out behind enemy lines.  My hope was that there would kill off a small devastator squad out in the open before they died themselves.  You know, a much better kill point differential.

We had his HQ and terminator squad and my death star list circling each other around a building waiting for the assault opportunity. Near the end he moved a Vindicator in too close and my death star lunged after it and then began running after the vehicles on the other side, getting one or two more immobilized results.  Half points at least.

I decided to show the first balls and changed bloodletters in at the terminators, through terrain and ending up going at I 1.  My mistake was that I kept targeting stormshield thunder hammers until I realized that I should target the HQ’s with worse saves and worth more at like the very end of the game.

The game went all the way to turn 7.  I managed to score a minor victory and got just enough points to win first place.

The army I won is still being painted.  But here are a few pictures of items finished or in progress for an idea of the painting scheme.  Looks really nice.  Gordon is a good painter!  My own army is old and chipped, this will help fill in those missing elements and replace damaged models. 

It’s been a few months since the INAT FAQ has been updated.  This FAQ has become the standard for resolving rules disputes in many tournaments.  You will usually see it in use in the large tournaments not so much in smaller local ones.  So let’s dissect what makes up the Independent National Tournament FAQ.

First off, this document is huge, 115 pages at current running.  That’s a good 20 pages longer than the rules section of the Warhammer 40,0000 rule book.  There is also a 38 page appendix that includes FAQ for Apocalypse and Imperial Armor.  The FAQ includes not only rulings for general rules however, but also ruling for army specific questions.  It also contains any FAQ rulings that Games Workshop has already released in their FAQ’s.  So you only need to look in one place.

In the FAQ there are two main sections, Rulebook Queries and Codex Queries.  20 pages of the FAQ are dedicated to the rulebook.  The rest is for the various codex questions.

Personally I think that having a set FAQ is a necessity due to the number of questions that creep up during tournament play and cannot easily be decided on a dice roll without argument.  But maintaining a FAQ document can be a chore if you intend to cover every codex and rules question out there.  Big props go out to the several individuals involved in the rule council for this FAQ.

What do you think of the INAT FAQ and FAQ’s in general for use in play in tournaments and casual games alike?

DakkaDakka – Warhammer 40K Forums – INAT FAQ v4.1 (w/revised Blood Angel & Tyranid sections) now available! | You can never have too much Dakka.

Bold title for an article right? First let me say this, this is not going to tell you how to win with your army in particular, this is going to be about the general principles behind how you win a Warhammer Tournament.

 1) Winning Big- The nature of a tournament victory.

Before we get to deep into this topic you must understand the specific nature of a tournament and how it differs from a normal game, because winning a tournament is not about winning a game (at this point in the article, please click on link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OvpzForHyU , let the song play, continue reading and enjoy getting pumped my friends). Winning a tournament is about winning each game you play AND winning big. That might seam like something simple, but the fact that you have to win each game “big” is a truth that eluded me for a long time. When I was playing my beloved Chaos Marine / Emperors Children A.K.A The Purple People Eaters army, I did a lot of winning, BUT I won very few tournaments at Parker Banner Kent and Wayne. And after about a year of this I finally realized that minor victories weren’t getting me to the place I wanted to be. Was I winning? Yes. Did I come away with prize money? No.

            This is the first lesson in winning a 40K tournament. You have to realize that winning your game is not enough -you have to win big- because someone there IS winning big and if that someone is not you, then kiss first place good bye. Now this is not the only way to play in a tournament and it is most certainly not the only way to have fun. This is just the way I approach competitive environments in which I have a desire to win. This attitude of winning big can translate to most other areas of life as well, IF it is an area you want to be very successful at. I didn’t want to marry a girl I kinda liked I wanted to be crazy insane about my wife. I don’t want to make “B’s” in nursing school, I want first place! In fact I have told the people that I sit next to that I am “going to win this class” the girls look at me like I have a 3^rd eye, but the one other guy in the class heard me say that, gave me a glare and said “psssst…I’m winning this buddy”. I don’t like running, chess or World of Warcraft(anymore) and so I don’t care if I place top 10 or top 1000 in any race, chess match or guild run, but I like competitive Warhammer 40K and so I want to be number 1. This doesn’t mean that you have play like a jerk and freak out every time you roll a “1” on your 2+ invo save, it just means that when you think about tournament play you have to keep in mind the nature of a competitive tournament. So lesson 1 in winning a 40K tournament has to simply be a shift in your mental approach to the competition. Bring your -A- game, play to win big. This is the intro article, next we will get into specifics. But until I put that one up, here are some questions I have for you…

1)    How has your approach to tournament play changed sense you started the hobby?

2)    Look at you current view of your tournament play style; have you been playing to win OR to win big?

3)    Do you still view tournament matches like a casual pickup game?

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Time: Oct 2nd.  Registration begins at 10am, games begin at 10:30am
Entry Fee: 10.00

Now for the details!
1850 Points or less (no more than 1850)

This is not a Games Day.  It’s a punch in tournament.  Come prepared wit your hardest list.  Games will have a strict 2.5 hour time limit.  There will be 1 hour between the 1st and second game, 30 minutes between the 2nd and 3rd game.  Prizes will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers and one random prize.

You must have a clean written army list with you to show your opponent.

We will try to post the scenarios online prior to the tournament.  Check back at least the day before to see the scenarios.

You can help us plan by preregistering at Parker Banner Kent and Wayne before the event.

Tournament Missions

The notion of analyzing problems to find the best solution is something that I enjoy doing. I think there is something in every guy that finds this interesting and fun. And I think this is an aspect of War-Gamming that we often do when we are playing but don’t think about in terms of problems and solutions.

            Here is what I mean…When you are creating a list for your army or trying to decided what unit and HQ to include, don’t look at it like a simple model or troops choice, but instead look at it like a possible solution. Every game and battle we face and play in has its own set of problems. I.E. the mission objectives, the terrain, your opponent, your teammate…coughcough..Simon cough, deployment, etc. Now look at your army and tactics as the solution. Hopefully this will put a slightly different spin on the game. Now when looking at a unit in your army, think of it as a solution to a set of problems you might face on the battlefield.

            This can be a very helpful approach to someone trying to make a competitive army or really anyone desiring to win in tabletop war games. So when you look at your army list think about all the different problems you might face in battle, if you don’t have a solution for them, then I would expect defeat or pray to the dice gods for a match up you can handle. 

            The better of a player you are the more you will be able to incorporate into your solution when figuring out how to beat your opponent. For a beginner, their solution will be found by looking at their army for an answer to the problem of “how am I going to win this game”. They will see the mission objectives and look at their Army list for how to achieve them. The intermediate player will begin to look beyond their army for solutions. They will incorporate terrain and deployment and think about how to use the field itself as a means to achieve victory. The most competitive players will go even further. The will intentionally use not only terrain, deployment and their army as solutions, but they will also use turn and time control (this means playing for the turn you will actually be ending on, so if you know the game is 2 and half hours long and you will probable only make it to turn 4, realize you have 4 turns to win or loose). They will use their opponent as a weapon against himself, goading him/her into making mistakes in order to capitalize on the laps in judgment. This just gets more and more complicated.

            No matter where you are in your War – Gamming carrier the principle is simple. Problem/Solution. The problem is “how am I going to win this game and get the most points possible”, the solution is found in what army and experience you bring to the table.

Joshua

Hello friends…long time no chat.

         Well this month is going to be fun for me, because as of right now I am going to get to come and play in the 40K team event. Because of that I have been thinking about how to best formulate a list and a few tactics that might come in handy when playing with a partner.
         When I was working for the school system here in charlotte I heard several people tell me over the years a simple and annoying solution to problems I would bring up at work. They would say, “well maybe you should think outside the box”, and I would say “well maybe I should kick you in the ear”….not out loud, but I said it all the same. And you know what, I came to a resolution when thinking about this supposed “box” I was being told about. And that’s that everything outside the box doesn’t matter, cause you have absolutely no control over it whatsoever. Not even a little bit. And if you think you do, then you my friend are living in a little place called Delusion, which I think is at the corner of Fantasy and NiceTry. But what does this have to do with 40k Joshua? I’m glad you asked Assaultphase readers. A team tournament is something in which there are a lot of elements that are going to be out side of your box. Who will you be paired with? What type of army will they have? Will they bring troops or all heavies? Should I bring assault units or my big guns? What if they all deep strike? Should I bring reserves? What if I roll all 1’s the whole day and a black warp tears down the fabric of time and space and all my dice get sucked into the time warp and then pop back out a second later BUT they’re all showing 6’s now! Is that CHEATING! IS IT!YOU KNOW THAT COUNTS! (then we all turn into orks)WAHHHHHG!
Sorry, all I am trying to say is, that when thinking about how to play in a game that already has a lot of random whosits and whatsits gallor, the best way to handle the unknown thing-a-ma-bobs is by keeping it simple.
          1) Stick to what you know. If you have a unit that you rock face with, use it.

          2) Make a balanced list, that way no matter who you are teamed up with you can complement their list to help their strengths AND you will be able to fill in where they are weak.

          3) Attitude. I hate harping on this one, but there is going to be a lot of unknowns and crazy 40K Shenanigans in a team event, so don’t freak if the two heavy hitters in the event get paired together, crap happens. You might get paired with your nightmare bizaro-world teammate OR you might get the guy (or girl, I’m looking at you Mrs.Nid) of your dreams. Either way, the picking of your teammate is outside of your control (outside your box) so don’t freak y’all.

         4) Have fun trying for crazy combos you have never had the chance to get. I.E. the Tau player who gets paired up with the Ork Mob OR the Daemon player who is fighting WITH the Grey Knights! Weird….yes, possible…likely.
Either way, enjoy the day the best you can because Team events at this level of play don’t happen often. So savor battles, relish running hand in hand with your sworn enemy for the afternoon and……with your powers combine(the rest is up to you).

Josh

Shaking things up, the next club day will instead be a Team Tournament with randomized pairings.  Games will be played in typical tournament format.  3 games, top seeds playing for 1st.  Missions will also be something different, geared to team format.

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Entry Fee: 10.00

Army composition is per standard force organizational chart per person (not team)
Army Size, each person will need a 1000 point army

Rules clarifications

• Transports cannot carry models from a teammate.
• Army wide abilities that are “Chapter Tactics” or affect “Your Army” such as Vulcan’s ability to reroll melta shots do not confer to a teammate. (They aren’t part of your army after all)
• Abilities that target or benefit “Friendly Models” such as Pedro Kantor’s Inspiring Presence ability will confer to your team mate.
• Independent Characters cannot join units from your teammates army.
• You can’t shoot your teammate.  No matter how funny it would be.

Team Tournament Hints/Tactics

• You do not need to load up on troops.  Since each army needs a typical 2 troop choices, there will be a guaranteed minimum of 4 troops per team.
• Watch out for “Your Army” vs. “Friendly Units” wording.  Post here if you have a question about any rule.
• Chaos marines and Chaos Daemons both have “Chaos Icons” and can be used between teammates if you are lucky to be paired together.
• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.  If you plan a horde army it does not play well with a gun line blast marker firing army.  You’ll shoot your own guys.

If you have other questions about rules or want to share some tactics help, please post in the forum.

Tournament Scenarios

Cheer on your local winners, Scott, DC, and Dickey this weekend as they attempt to smash all comers to bits down in Greenville, SC at Borderlands.

Semi Final Scenarios

Preliminary Round Results

40K ‘Ard Boyz (2010 Rules Posted): Page 3 | Games Workshop

Coming up in May, several stores (hopefully in your local area) will be hosting the ‘Ard Boyz tournament.  The ‘Ard Boyz tournament is a very competitive tournament hosted in three parts for the right to be the best player in North America.

Preliminaries on May 15, 2010
Semifinals on June 12, 2010
Finals on July 17, 2010

The local store over here, Parker Banner Kent Wayne, will be one of the sites hosting the ‘Ard Boyz this year.  It is where I will be playing and helping make sure the event runs smoothly.  It also may take the place of our normal monthly 40K tournament in May.  Still to be decided on that.  Either way I hope to see as many of you at the store as I can.  So make sure you register early.

If you are in NC, but PBKW is not close to you, there are other locations across NC and beyond.

The Hobbit 910-864-3155 Rick/Fleiet/Al NC
Hobby Chest 910-353-4473 Dan NC
Rules of Engagement 252-652-6538 Ed NC
HTU Charlotte S: 704-509-5717 Liem NC
Hit Point Hobbies 910-692-8447 John/Breck/Chris NC
Game Connection 919-217-5795 Ron NC
Parker, Banner, Kent & Wayne 704-892-4263 Matt NC
All Fun & Games 919-233-7727 Mike NC

So what is all the hype about ‘Ard Boyz, and what do you need to know if you are planning to participate?

First, this tournament is 2500 points and the quality of paint job does not matter.  The event is all about skill with the game.

Second, the tournament is a GW sponsored event.  All models must follow the typical rules for Grand Tournaments and such sponsored by GW.  That is they need to be Games Workshop models from either the Fantasy or 40K line.  Unfortunately, even Lord of the Rings models by GW are not allowed (licensing restrictions).

Third, think long and hard about what it means to win the tournament.  What you are doing is winning the opportunity to compete in the Semifinals.  And you have to provide your own transportation.  The Semi-finals are unannounced where they will be at.  The finals will be in Chicago.

When you attend ‘Ard Boyz you want to prepare yourself to play any list and any type of player.  The armies will be heavy hitting, and the players will be both fun and challenging.  So put your big boy pants on and I’ll see you at the table.