So this weekend is NiCon and there are a few Wellingtonians venturing up to Auckland to battle the northern barbarians.
Looking through the field I’ve worked out that there are 60% of participants that I have not played before and only two of the non-Wellingtonians I’ve played more than three times. Therefore I’m hoping to get some games against new opponents over the course of the weekend.
My target in Skaven tournament games is always a 14 point average. At Runefang I failed to get there while at NatCon I managed to achieve it. This average is realistic given that Skaven aren’t generally a combat army so struggle to get the big 20-0s you need to average higher. Scoring 84 points over the 6 games puts you in the mix to achieve a Top 5 finish.
So who do I think will be there or thereabouts at Nicon?
Well my Top 5 in no particular order are:
Dan Butler – using Skaven and needs to show some form going into the ETC. The pressure is all on Dan and this is his chance to show that he can do more than roll 5s for Daemonic Saves and six-dice monkey the Dreaded 13th Spell. Will try to tell people that the Jezzails are a fluffy choice but they are in the list at the direction of his ETC captain so you can judge that for yourself.
John Willenbruch – I’ve never played John (in fact never met him). However he is coming off some very strong form winning both Over the Top and The Wandering Orc with his Brets. Hoping we get to play at some stage over the weekend.
Reid Pittams – Nobody will get many points off Reid. His Vampire list is the ultimate bus with accompanying support units generally hard to harvest. On top of this he is NZ’s premier Fantasy player of the past ten years. He is my favourite to win the event.
Sam Whitt – Sam will have learned a lot after a horror Day 2 at The Horned Rat. Sitting on Table One going into Round 4 he endured little luck in his battles versus Ogres and Empire. I suspect that he is less likely to repeat the errors he made that day and with his combination of Destroyer, Taurus, Warmachines and Metal Magic he has the tools to hurt a lot of his top table competitors.
Tom Dunn – this list is speed personified with the bonus of the all-encompassing 5+ Ward Save. Sporting a Bloodthirster, Tom doesn’t want to see cannons and with only one Dwarf, two Empire and bugger all Ironblasters I’m sure he is very happy. Coupled with that the presence of seven Wood Elves in the field is going to only increase his smile. More than any other army in the field this is the one that can get the big wins.
Of the rest of the field, I think the most likely to force their way into this group are Phil Wu (High Elves), James Page (Dark Elves) and NZ’s ETC Dwarf player Thomas van Roekel. Ross Hillier-Jones won’t lose a lot of points (given 2000+ points in three units) but I suspect that he will spend the weekend being re-directed and chasing shadows. Rory Finnemore was fast finishing at The Horned Rat but here he is using a new army.
There are seven Wood Elves playing and I think that any of them will be doing well to make the Top 10. Why? The preponderance of armoured units and/or deathstars will hamper their ability to gather points. With the need to average 13 points/game to make the Top 10 I think it will prove a target too difficult.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
8th Edition Rule Change Redux - The Unpredictability of Magic
The last of the items on my list of 8th Edition Rule Changes to review two years on was the (un)predictability of magic.
Here’s what I said two years ago:
In 7th Ed, magic was largely predictable and to a large extent people set themselves up from a defensive standpoint. You knew if you had 5 DD plus 2 scrolls you could stop most things especially in the Comp environment which had a 10PD max cap. Yes there was still one die raising and the odd game changer got through but it was rare at the top end of tourney play.
8th Edition is much more fickle. You can't rely on it either way as much as you could. The ability for a Lvl 1 to pick up 6 dice means it is high risk/reward. You can build a magic phase to defend against it but the certainty is less. For my Skaven list I've gone through the books and built a list that can grasp the winds of magic if they are there but can also go a game without me getting anything off. I think this reflects how magic should be.
Re-reading it I think that the analysis stands the test of time. Magic in 7th Ed was very predictable and it was mostly a defensive phase than an offensive phase (magic missiles, VCs and TKs excepted). Effectively everybody acted like a Dwarf and built their list to ensure that they rarely got hurt. If anything looked like it would break the mould then the Comp stick came out and bashed it back down.
And this fitted the ethos of 7th Edition, where everything was about certainty and removing the unlikely from the game. If you knew your distances and knew your rules then it was unlikely you’d be put into a position where you’d have to adapt when something unpredictable occurred and bit you in the ass. It was the time of the micro-manager.
Magic now is entirely different. It is unpredictable. You know that you will likely have a lot more spells flying your way over the course of the game and as a result you’ll have to swallow a few dead rats. The skill now is knowing what to let through and what to stop – and also knowing what you’ll have to stop later in the game.
The decision-making that occurs in the game now is far more interesting for me as a player than I felt it was under 7th. There a good eye and a good list went a long way. Now the list still has to be “good” but there are layers that you need to build and offsets you need to make. And at the end of the day you can still get steamrolled by the Winds of Magic if they fat-tail.
Isn’t that what you should expect from the Winds of Magic? A degree of fickleness.
Rule Change: A
Here’s what I said two years ago:
In 7th Ed, magic was largely predictable and to a large extent people set themselves up from a defensive standpoint. You knew if you had 5 DD plus 2 scrolls you could stop most things especially in the Comp environment which had a 10PD max cap. Yes there was still one die raising and the odd game changer got through but it was rare at the top end of tourney play.
8th Edition is much more fickle. You can't rely on it either way as much as you could. The ability for a Lvl 1 to pick up 6 dice means it is high risk/reward. You can build a magic phase to defend against it but the certainty is less. For my Skaven list I've gone through the books and built a list that can grasp the winds of magic if they are there but can also go a game without me getting anything off. I think this reflects how magic should be.
Re-reading it I think that the analysis stands the test of time. Magic in 7th Ed was very predictable and it was mostly a defensive phase than an offensive phase (magic missiles, VCs and TKs excepted). Effectively everybody acted like a Dwarf and built their list to ensure that they rarely got hurt. If anything looked like it would break the mould then the Comp stick came out and bashed it back down.
And this fitted the ethos of 7th Edition, where everything was about certainty and removing the unlikely from the game. If you knew your distances and knew your rules then it was unlikely you’d be put into a position where you’d have to adapt when something unpredictable occurred and bit you in the ass. It was the time of the micro-manager.
Magic now is entirely different. It is unpredictable. You know that you will likely have a lot more spells flying your way over the course of the game and as a result you’ll have to swallow a few dead rats. The skill now is knowing what to let through and what to stop – and also knowing what you’ll have to stop later in the game.
The decision-making that occurs in the game now is far more interesting for me as a player than I felt it was under 7th. There a good eye and a good list went a long way. Now the list still has to be “good” but there are layers that you need to build and offsets you need to make. And at the end of the day you can still get steamrolled by the Winds of Magic if they fat-tail.
Isn’t that what you should expect from the Winds of Magic? A degree of fickleness.
Rule Change: A
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
8th Edition Rules Change Redux - Scenarios
I’ve blogged numerous times regarding the use of scenarios at tournaments. My point in the past is that the rulebook scenarios act as a natural determinant of comp given the victory conditions or special situations inherent in each.
The UK – which is currently the home of most of the warhammer media (podcasts) – is heavily lined up against scenarios. Their opposition is generally based on the potential for non-games or the introduction of luck. I can’t help feeling that some of the most vocal detractors of scenarios dislike the fact that they are forced to adapt either their standard list (pre-event) or tactics (during the event) as a result of scenarios. I may be doing them a disservice but I don’t think that is the case.
To me the scenarios provide an extra layer of complexity into the game – and tournament planning – that requires a player to think more. It adjusts builds – inclusion of standards for B&G, increases the risk of deathstars (Meeting Engagement and Dawn Attack) – and has the potential that you’ll be faced with a situation outside your comfort zone.
The discussion around randomness and the introduction of luck is fine until you consider that there is luck pretty much involved in all aspects of the game – be it charge distance or the number of wounds caused by a warmachine, for example.
The introduction of scenarios was for me a key part of the 8th Edition experience. It reinforces that the game is now about risk management more than anything else. I see the removal of this aspect as a bit of a cop-out that makes the game less variable and rewards a standard build for each army which is generally centred on a concentration of force). If suddenly your Mage is off the table then this can either be a good thing or a bad thing – and if you can’t see that it can be both then you really haven’t thought about that scenario. Likewise if you haven’t paid for protection on your character and he is isolated from your army in Dawn Attack then you’ve made a choice by investing the points elsewhere. Like all army choices that should come with risk, not certainty around an impossible to get to bunker being available all the time.
Quite clearly for me scenarios are a win (and probably reflect my background in 3rd Edition, less so 4th Edition, 40k).
Rule Change: A
The UK – which is currently the home of most of the warhammer media (podcasts) – is heavily lined up against scenarios. Their opposition is generally based on the potential for non-games or the introduction of luck. I can’t help feeling that some of the most vocal detractors of scenarios dislike the fact that they are forced to adapt either their standard list (pre-event) or tactics (during the event) as a result of scenarios. I may be doing them a disservice but I don’t think that is the case.
To me the scenarios provide an extra layer of complexity into the game – and tournament planning – that requires a player to think more. It adjusts builds – inclusion of standards for B&G, increases the risk of deathstars (Meeting Engagement and Dawn Attack) – and has the potential that you’ll be faced with a situation outside your comfort zone.
The discussion around randomness and the introduction of luck is fine until you consider that there is luck pretty much involved in all aspects of the game – be it charge distance or the number of wounds caused by a warmachine, for example.
The introduction of scenarios was for me a key part of the 8th Edition experience. It reinforces that the game is now about risk management more than anything else. I see the removal of this aspect as a bit of a cop-out that makes the game less variable and rewards a standard build for each army which is generally centred on a concentration of force). If suddenly your Mage is off the table then this can either be a good thing or a bad thing – and if you can’t see that it can be both then you really haven’t thought about that scenario. Likewise if you haven’t paid for protection on your character and he is isolated from your army in Dawn Attack then you’ve made a choice by investing the points elsewhere. Like all army choices that should come with risk, not certainty around an impossible to get to bunker being available all the time.
Quite clearly for me scenarios are a win (and probably reflect my background in 3rd Edition, less so 4th Edition, 40k).
Rule Change: A
Weekend Hobby feat. Pete's Bits Emporium
I had a bout of manflu over the weekend and didn’t get anything like the hobby I wanted to get done.
On Saturday I had a game against Mike using our NiCon lists. I’m pretty sure that our dice sensed the impending dose of sickness I was to be afflicted with as they were atrocious. Mike had two turns where his Slaan failed to cast the first spell he tried causing him to forfeit the rest of the phase. He also had a Stegadon die which caused a block of Saurus and a Skink unit to flee off the board.
I had my Doomrocket misfire for the second time ever (I note your concern) and in a combat where Mike’s Salamanders and Skinks air-balled my Skavenslaves rolled eight “1”s and two “3”s for their attacks. Over 50% of my artillery dice rolls were misfires and when rolling six dice at Plague I managed 15 after adding in the +4 for my Seer. It really was one of those games. Just shocking rolls – both ways.
The good thing is that I have obviously got it out of my system ahead of Nicon and so next weekend my dice are going to be on fire. I feel I should apologise to my opponents now given how good they are going to be.
Hobby-wise I tidied up some of my Skavenslaves and re-based some weapons teams. I also re-started work on a Doomflayer that has stayed half-finish on my desk for the past six months or so.
However, the big thing I did was start to clean up my surplus bits. For years I have sorted them by race and kept them in separate containers. This has led to a massive requirement for storage. This weekend, accepting that a large number of projects that I had planned are never going to occur I started going through the boxes – keeping models I wanted – and putting all the bits into a single 40k box or a single Fantasy box. My intention is to bring these to local events and people can take what they want. There’s lots of crap in both boxes but maybe there is the odd gem people want e.g. 25 Lizardmen standards, 200 Skaven shields, Steam Tank cannon and wheels, Orc lobber crews (x2) etc. Similarly for 40k, I have vehicle and infantry parts from most races that people may find useful. From now on as I finish building models I’ll look to re-stock the two boxes.
I hoping people will find the boxes useful and take advantage of them to track down models/bits they are after.
On Saturday I had a game against Mike using our NiCon lists. I’m pretty sure that our dice sensed the impending dose of sickness I was to be afflicted with as they were atrocious. Mike had two turns where his Slaan failed to cast the first spell he tried causing him to forfeit the rest of the phase. He also had a Stegadon die which caused a block of Saurus and a Skink unit to flee off the board.
I had my Doomrocket misfire for the second time ever (I note your concern) and in a combat where Mike’s Salamanders and Skinks air-balled my Skavenslaves rolled eight “1”s and two “3”s for their attacks. Over 50% of my artillery dice rolls were misfires and when rolling six dice at Plague I managed 15 after adding in the +4 for my Seer. It really was one of those games. Just shocking rolls – both ways.
The good thing is that I have obviously got it out of my system ahead of Nicon and so next weekend my dice are going to be on fire. I feel I should apologise to my opponents now given how good they are going to be.
Hobby-wise I tidied up some of my Skavenslaves and re-based some weapons teams. I also re-started work on a Doomflayer that has stayed half-finish on my desk for the past six months or so.
However, the big thing I did was start to clean up my surplus bits. For years I have sorted them by race and kept them in separate containers. This has led to a massive requirement for storage. This weekend, accepting that a large number of projects that I had planned are never going to occur I started going through the boxes – keeping models I wanted – and putting all the bits into a single 40k box or a single Fantasy box. My intention is to bring these to local events and people can take what they want. There’s lots of crap in both boxes but maybe there is the odd gem people want e.g. 25 Lizardmen standards, 200 Skaven shields, Steam Tank cannon and wheels, Orc lobber crews (x2) etc. Similarly for 40k, I have vehicle and infantry parts from most races that people may find useful. From now on as I finish building models I’ll look to re-stock the two boxes.
I hoping people will find the boxes useful and take advantage of them to track down models/bits they are after.
Guardcon Comp Restrictions
The Players Pack for Guardcon is up on the Cityguard Forum and included are the comp restrictions. Again it is a Hard Cap system (hooray) with what look like reasonably light restrictions for most armies.
I have cut and paste the restrictions (below) for those that don’t venture north of the wall into the wastes that are Auckland.
The restrictions are pretty light for most armies. I'm personally not convinced by the restrictions on the CoC for some armies. I think that you could restrict it to model on foot only - and that would get rid of the Pegasus/Disk builds which seem to being targetted.
My only concern on the pack is the restriction on Big Magic. I think that giving characters a Look Out Sir encourages Death Star builds. The NZ scene has not cottoned on to adding MR3 to their death stars yet but when they do and it is coupled with a LOS against big spells it will make them almost impervious to all but other death stars.
I have cut and paste the restrictions (below) for those that don’t venture north of the wall into the wastes that are Auckland.
The restrictions are pretty light for most armies. I'm personally not convinced by the restrictions on the CoC for some armies. I think that you could restrict it to model on foot only - and that would get rid of the Pegasus/Disk builds which seem to being targetted.
My only concern on the pack is the restriction on Big Magic. I think that giving characters a Look Out Sir encourages Death Star builds. The NZ scene has not cottoned on to adding MR3 to their death stars yet but when they do and it is coupled with a LOS against big spells it will make them almost impervious to all but other death stars.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Nicon - "It's Mine, You Can't Have It"
Looking through the Nicon lists over the weekend, there has been a real shift in the game meta.
Putting aside the Athel Loren House Party for the moment, the lists of a lot of the participants are characterised by a nod to points denial than has been seen in the NZ game previously.
What do I mean by Points Denial?
Effectively, it is concentrating the points into a limited number of units so that unless your opponent destroys that unit there is only a limited size loss that you can take.
For instance, look at my Skaven. My Screaming Bell unit contains two characters and a sizeable core unit and tips the scales at 871 points. Given it is Unbreakable and well warded it is very hard to destroy. To get its points takes awhile and I do my best to ensure that my opponents have to invest an awful lot of resource to get it. Therefore they need to make a decision early to commit to taking it out or concentrate on my other units.
However, in terms of Nicon, such a concentration of resources is not unusual. On the blog on Friday, I noted in the comments section the growing phenomena.
One of the Warriors of Chaos lists has 2000 points invested in three units of Chaos Warriors & Chosen. Checking the Vampire lists it is even more pronounced. One of the two lists running the Black Knight "bus" variant has the potential to concentrate 1800 points in a single knight unit while the other uses two knight units to corral 1700+ points. Even the Ogres are starting to get in on the act; there is potential for one of the builds to concentrate 6 characters into a 16 Ogre Bull unit and have it weigh in at 1700 points.
Now this is not a criticism of the tactic - how can it be I use it myself - rather it is an observation of how the game is changing. Last year Mal Patel used the tactic with his Lizardmen "Fun Bus" and was very successful, rising to New Zealand's #1 ranked player while winning multiple events.
Two of the last three books - Ogres and Vampire Counts - actively support the build and I'll be surprised if we don't see other armies look at the build throughout the year. Dark Elves, for instance, can construct their "Death Star" with Cold One Knights and characters as a lot of the Europeans have been doing lately e.g. Danes at last year's ETC, more recently Ben Curry in UK.
So what will it mean here?
I'm not sure. It could lead to much tighter games in local events where the battle is focused on harvesting "support units".
I'm hoping that it stops the move to put restrictions on "Big Magic" which is the natural defence against the Death Star. Giving characters "Look Out Sirs", restricting Mindrazor attacks etc just encourages the concentration of points into units. Personally I think there has to be a downside to Points Denial builds - yes even Skaven and Ogres - and that is in part the susceptibility to "Big Magic".
Looking forward to NiCon. I think this move in the meta is fascinating.
Putting aside the Athel Loren House Party for the moment, the lists of a lot of the participants are characterised by a nod to points denial than has been seen in the NZ game previously.
What do I mean by Points Denial?
Effectively, it is concentrating the points into a limited number of units so that unless your opponent destroys that unit there is only a limited size loss that you can take.
For instance, look at my Skaven. My Screaming Bell unit contains two characters and a sizeable core unit and tips the scales at 871 points. Given it is Unbreakable and well warded it is very hard to destroy. To get its points takes awhile and I do my best to ensure that my opponents have to invest an awful lot of resource to get it. Therefore they need to make a decision early to commit to taking it out or concentrate on my other units.
However, in terms of Nicon, such a concentration of resources is not unusual. On the blog on Friday, I noted in the comments section the growing phenomena.
One of the Warriors of Chaos lists has 2000 points invested in three units of Chaos Warriors & Chosen. Checking the Vampire lists it is even more pronounced. One of the two lists running the Black Knight "bus" variant has the potential to concentrate 1800 points in a single knight unit while the other uses two knight units to corral 1700+ points. Even the Ogres are starting to get in on the act; there is potential for one of the builds to concentrate 6 characters into a 16 Ogre Bull unit and have it weigh in at 1700 points.
Now this is not a criticism of the tactic - how can it be I use it myself - rather it is an observation of how the game is changing. Last year Mal Patel used the tactic with his Lizardmen "Fun Bus" and was very successful, rising to New Zealand's #1 ranked player while winning multiple events.
Two of the last three books - Ogres and Vampire Counts - actively support the build and I'll be surprised if we don't see other armies look at the build throughout the year. Dark Elves, for instance, can construct their "Death Star" with Cold One Knights and characters as a lot of the Europeans have been doing lately e.g. Danes at last year's ETC, more recently Ben Curry in UK.
So what will it mean here?
I'm not sure. It could lead to much tighter games in local events where the battle is focused on harvesting "support units".
I'm hoping that it stops the move to put restrictions on "Big Magic" which is the natural defence against the Death Star. Giving characters "Look Out Sirs", restricting Mindrazor attacks etc just encourages the concentration of points into units. Personally I think there has to be a downside to Points Denial builds - yes even Skaven and Ogres - and that is in part the susceptibility to "Big Magic".
Looking forward to NiCon. I think this move in the meta is fascinating.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Music To My Extremely Pointed And Twitchy Ears - The Joys of Hard Caps
I’m really enjoying the Skaven-Envy (I hesitate to call it ‘hate”) both here and on the City Guard forum after the release of the NiCon lists.
See to me this is the joy of a Hard Cap composition system. The criteria are all there upfront so you know exactly what you could be getting into when you put your list together. So my sympathy level is flat-lining.
When I chose Skaven I looked at the various criteria and what I had seen at recent events before I wrote up my list. My biggest fear was that I would run into a VC-Scream list which hurts both of my current armies – Skaven and Ogres. As a result I knew I had to have a solution or I had to take a chance. I think my list is mid-ground. But boy was I happy to see neither a Terrorghiest nor a Banshee in any of the Vampire lists. They are still extremely dangerous to Skaven but would have been worse with the “scream”.
These choices apply to all armies. In a hard cap system you should always look at what you are likely to be facing across the table. So if you are a Warrior of Chaos player and you fear the 13th Spell then you need to have an answer…..an obvious one is to bring a Knight bus. Another is to have the option of Pandemonium in your spell choice.
Oh course, all this planning goes for naught when I miscast Turn One and my Seer disappears into the Warp!
See to me this is the joy of a Hard Cap composition system. The criteria are all there upfront so you know exactly what you could be getting into when you put your list together. So my sympathy level is flat-lining.
When I chose Skaven I looked at the various criteria and what I had seen at recent events before I wrote up my list. My biggest fear was that I would run into a VC-Scream list which hurts both of my current armies – Skaven and Ogres. As a result I knew I had to have a solution or I had to take a chance. I think my list is mid-ground. But boy was I happy to see neither a Terrorghiest nor a Banshee in any of the Vampire lists. They are still extremely dangerous to Skaven but would have been worse with the “scream”.
These choices apply to all armies. In a hard cap system you should always look at what you are likely to be facing across the table. So if you are a Warrior of Chaos player and you fear the 13th Spell then you need to have an answer…..an obvious one is to bring a Knight bus. Another is to have the option of Pandemonium in your spell choice.
Oh course, all this planning goes for naught when I miscast Turn One and my Seer disappears into the Warp!
NiCon Fantasy Lists
The lists for NiCon have been released and you can download them here
A quick race breakdown:
Wood Elves 7
Skaven 4
Warriors of Chaos 3
Lizardmen 3
Vampire Counts 3
Ogres 3
High Elves 2
Empire 2
Dark Elves 2
Chaos Dwarfs 2
Tomb Kings 1
Orcs & Goblins 1
Bretonnians 1
Daemons of Chaos 1
Dwarfs 1
So all the races sans Beastmen. Very pleasing so see that all but one person has decided to act responsibly and not take Dwarfs.
Seven Wood Elves!!!! Tree-hugging is alive and well in Auckland, it appears. Imagine what would happen if they got a new book!
There are some interesting builds there.
For the record I'm taking Skaven - and the first thing I checked - there are no Puppets listed in the WoC lists!
A quick race breakdown:
Wood Elves 7
Skaven 4
Warriors of Chaos 3
Lizardmen 3
Vampire Counts 3
Ogres 3
High Elves 2
Empire 2
Dark Elves 2
Chaos Dwarfs 2
Tomb Kings 1
Orcs & Goblins 1
Bretonnians 1
Daemons of Chaos 1
Dwarfs 1
So all the races sans Beastmen. Very pleasing so see that all but one person has decided to act responsibly and not take Dwarfs.
Seven Wood Elves!!!! Tree-hugging is alive and well in Auckland, it appears. Imagine what would happen if they got a new book!
There are some interesting builds there.
For the record I'm taking Skaven - and the first thing I checked - there are no Puppets listed in the WoC lists!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
GW June Releases - Pictures of Flyers from White Dwarf
So the call on "Flyers" for June was the right one.
Three flyers to be released:
Three flyers to be released:
- Space Marine Stormtalon
- Necron Night Scythe
- Ork Bommer
For Fantasy there is an enormous amount of the range being converted to Finecast. Pretty much all the remaining metals for O&G, Dark Elves, Tomb Kings and Lizards are making the transition.
Coupled with this it looks like the USA is having a price rise - which probably means us as well. The numbers quoted are 5% for Finecast and 10-15% for plastic kits in the USA so brace yourselves
Tournament List Submission
One of the things that is most annoying for a TO and/or Umpire is when participants fail to make the deadline for army list submission.
You will generally find (always in the case of events I run) that the date when army lists are required to be submitted to the Umpire is stated upfront. That some people can’t work to the timetable is incredibly frustrating to the umpire.
Why?
Well Umpires (like participants) have a life. It is an unpaid role (I give a small gratuity in models) and it takes a fair whack of time. Not only do they give up their weekend – when I’m sure most would rather be gaming – but also there is preparatory work before the event. This includes checking participants’ army lists to ensure that they are correct and legal.
Most umpires will seek to put aside a lump of time to do this so that they can go through them methodically – usually race by race – to reduce the overall requirement. It can be exceedingly frustrating to get lists late (and wrong) which drags out the whole process.
It also penalises those people who have got their lists in on time, in the expectation the rest of the field would do the same. How? Well increasingly TOs are sending out the lists to participants before the event so they can familiarise themselves with opponents’ lists, checking out items or units they don’t know the rules to. This is a good thing as it decreases delays at the actual event where people need to go through and explain their list to their opponents. It also acts as a second check for Umpires that they haven’t missed anything when vetting the list.
Given this, it is annoying that the Umpire for Nicon has had to send out two reminders for lists that were due last Sunday. The deadline was clearly stated in the Players Pack so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone). With 35-40 participants at the event I can sense his frustration at not receiving them all as requested. He has indicated that he will be penalising players one tournament point if they are not in on Thursday.
To me this doesn’t go far enough. In future I will be asking Umpires at any events I am organiser of to penalise people 10 Tournament Points for not having their list in by the deadline and 5 points for every day after. Penalties need to be meaningful if some individuals feel that the tournament rules that apply to other participants don’t apply to them. It’s another symptom of the Generation Me and their sense of entitlement! Too busy on the Facetwitter and Diabolical 3.
This will be in force for both Warhammer Achievements and Fields of Blood – The NZ Warhammer 40k Grand Tournament.
You will generally find (always in the case of events I run) that the date when army lists are required to be submitted to the Umpire is stated upfront. That some people can’t work to the timetable is incredibly frustrating to the umpire.
Why?
Well Umpires (like participants) have a life. It is an unpaid role (I give a small gratuity in models) and it takes a fair whack of time. Not only do they give up their weekend – when I’m sure most would rather be gaming – but also there is preparatory work before the event. This includes checking participants’ army lists to ensure that they are correct and legal.
Most umpires will seek to put aside a lump of time to do this so that they can go through them methodically – usually race by race – to reduce the overall requirement. It can be exceedingly frustrating to get lists late (and wrong) which drags out the whole process.
It also penalises those people who have got their lists in on time, in the expectation the rest of the field would do the same. How? Well increasingly TOs are sending out the lists to participants before the event so they can familiarise themselves with opponents’ lists, checking out items or units they don’t know the rules to. This is a good thing as it decreases delays at the actual event where people need to go through and explain their list to their opponents. It also acts as a second check for Umpires that they haven’t missed anything when vetting the list.
Given this, it is annoying that the Umpire for Nicon has had to send out two reminders for lists that were due last Sunday. The deadline was clearly stated in the Players Pack so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone). With 35-40 participants at the event I can sense his frustration at not receiving them all as requested. He has indicated that he will be penalising players one tournament point if they are not in on Thursday.
To me this doesn’t go far enough. In future I will be asking Umpires at any events I am organiser of to penalise people 10 Tournament Points for not having their list in by the deadline and 5 points for every day after. Penalties need to be meaningful if some individuals feel that the tournament rules that apply to other participants don’t apply to them. It’s another symptom of the Generation Me and their sense of entitlement! Too busy on the Facetwitter and Diabolical 3.
This will be in force for both Warhammer Achievements and Fields of Blood – The NZ Warhammer 40k Grand Tournament.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)