Hobby: How to Tournament

Hobby: How to Tournament

Good day, ladies and gents of the interwebs.
Today I'd like to talk about tournaments, and making sure you are properly prepared.

Best Laid Plans

So, initially I wanted to write 2 articles about a tournament I went to recently, detailing my army list and tactics, and follow up with talking about how my army went.

Those plans went out the window before I even started playing my first game.

What the heck happened?

To give you a bit of background information before I start waffling on, I attended the Community Comp Team Challenge at the start of December.

This was an 1850 point tournament, where teams of 4 take it in turns to match their armies against each other at the start of each round. 5 games in total over the 2 day event.

The lists had to be 8 Community Comp points or less - aside from that, it was pretty open slather.

You may be thinking this article is going to start bashing the tournament.
Not at all. I had a great time, played against some amazing opponents, got to roll some dice and make appropriate whooshing noises at my Dark Eldar moved around the table.

The tack I'm taking is more about preparation, and being prepared for the particular tournament you're heading to.

Know Thy Enemy

I was unprepared for this tournament, not because I forgot dice or my army or something like that (although I did forget my Maelstrom cards - thanks Leigh!).
The army I put together was not the best I could have taken. We were able to see the lists our opponents had submitted, and my response to the overwhelming majority was "Guhr."

My army only used 2 of the 8 possible Community Comp points, and was playing against armies that were using the full 8 CC points. This tournament didn't have a 'composition' aspect to the final results, so I took a soft list - brought a knife to a gun fight - when I could have gone to town with unit selection and put some much nastier things on the table.

This is my own fault.
I should have read the player's pack more thoroughly, and asked more questions of my team mates to fully understand what to expect.

Cross your 'I's and dot your 'T's.

Different tournaments will all have their own specific focus for the scoring system they use.
At the Norris 1000, where I am one of the Tournament Organisers, we have a focus on Sportsmanship and Hobby. Other tournaments focus on Battle Points, others on Army Compisition, or a combination of any/all of the above.

CCTC had a limit to what you could take, in the form of the 8 Community Credits, but there was no disadvantage in the scoring when using all 8, or using 2 as I did.

For the uninitiated, if a tournament has a composition element to their scoring, you can get more points by taking 'softer' lists, rather than going ****s out for Harambe.
I usually take softer lists, but there was no need at this tournament.

Where to from here?

This error of mine could have been easily avoided.
Had I made myself more aware of what to expect, I could have won at least 1 game.

So, my advice - if you're going to a tournament for the first time, make sure you are properly prepared.

Tailor your army to the scoring system in place.
No Composition? Take a hard list.
Harsh Composition? Take a soft list.
Lots of Painting/Hobby point? Paint the bejeebus out of your army (or hire a commision painter).

And if it's a Maelstrom tournament, make sure you take your Maelstrom cards and numbered objectives.

Read the Player's Pack.
Talk to your Peeps.
Do all you can to make sure you're going to perform to your best on the day.

Cos, sure, lions may not limber up before chasing down that gazelle, but we're not lions.

BP - Be Prepared.

Hopefully this article has tickled your thought box and given you something to think about.