FAO- those mighty warriors off to pillage porstmouth next weekend

Ok chaps so the best tournament event in the UK to date is upon us.

We have quite a few tourney virgins and maybe one or more just plain ol regular virgins as well (im looking at you Mr. Matson)

Ok so I just thought that with this in mind we (I hope the farmer boys will add their considerable tournament xp to this as well) could give you guys the benefit of our knowledge to help your first big tournament be a smooth and hopefully hppy experience.

Firstly:

What to bring?

1. The most important item for the tourny (one which i didnt have for my first one and was a nightmare) is a tray or other sufficient carrying device. This makes the process of moving from table to table so much easier and helps protect your models in the scrum of activity that kicks off after everyone finds out what table they are on.

2. Pen and paper. This is a very important bit of kit. Firstly i use it straight away when i ask the opponant his name. I find it much better to write this info down straight away, as then you have a record of who you have played and secondly it avoids any embarrasing moments when you forget your opps name. Having paper also allows you to keep track of info during the game. I find that i write down all the units i have killed and what turn and how. This can help solve any points discrepencies that may occur at the end.

3. Good humour. It is a long and tiring weekend, just take things with a smile and try to be courteous to your opp. after you have just wiped out his mega deathstar with a cheeky spell. On the flip side try and smile when the same happens to you. Very hard to do i know as this stuff happened to me last year but nobody likes a whinger and sportsmanship can make a big difference to your overall scores.

4. Relevent FAQ's and rules

How it all works.

Im not sure if they will post a first round draw online but what usually happens is that round 1, you get drawn against a random opp. and given a table no. You then go to that table and meet and greet the enemy. Play the game as per the rulespack (make sure you've read and understood this). Score up and hand in the score sheet. Round 2 you get drawn with the people that had similar results to you, so for example if you won 20-0, you will most likely be paired with other 20-o victors, conversly if you got the 0 then the opp you ac will most likely have got 0 as well or there abouts. Same process untill games 3-4 where you should find yourself playing people of the same ability as they have had 2-3 games getting the same sort of points as you. So if you've done a coops and smashed all in your path then by game 4 you will be playing the best players there, if you've been cooped! then by game 4 you'll most probably find yourself in the naughty boys room playing chumps. (not a destination you want to be in) I literally just avoided this dread place last year, had there been a game 7 id have been down with the chumps and probably crowned King Chump!

Have fun whoever or whatever you play. Take the game seriously, play as well as you can and dont let the opp. get away with things if you feel things are not correct, but enjoy the fun of it and have a good time with the opp. Sometimes its hard a some players can be right grumpy bastards or just all out for a win at all costs. But conversly there are people out there who play hard and fair and have a great laugh doing it.

Prizes.

There are prizes for 1,2,3. Best general of each race, most sporting, best painted (players and judges choice) and wooden spoon. This all means that there is something for everyone to aim for. For example Mike 'Teabag' Tetley is taking ogres. While you may not win the event playing ogres you can still compete for best overall ogre general which is a great feat to achieve. I myself am aiming for best painted and top Orc and gobbo general. (think i have more chance with the best painted!)

Accomodation

We are booked into a pub/hotel just round the corner from the event which is a lovely place serving fullers beer and good food. The evening get together for all the gamers is just over the road from the hotel so there is no driving involved so beers ahoy!
Accomodation as it stands is:

Farmer boyos (sorry no palace this year)
The one and only Coopster and his whipping boy Avery
Teabag and chef (Andy, mike didnt get that nickname from being related to the tetley tea people, but for what he does to roomies that are asleep, enjoy!)

As for the Matsonmeister ive heard rumours he is defecting for the evenings.

General stuff

Guys make sure you know your army book inside out (teabag make sure you know your gorger rules!) know their stats off the top of your head to keep things running smooth. 2 and a half hours seems like a long time but many games only get to turn 4, the more turns you have the more points you can get which means the higher up you place. Knowing what you need to roll, to save, hit etc will speed up the game considerably. Make sure you know what your units are capable of. Remember steadfast can be a killer for units nowadays that rely on smashing through on one turn. If your not sure what to expect from an enemy army or are playing an army you have never played before, ask one of us experienced tourny goers as the likelihood is that we have faced such armies before.

Think about the deployment of your army, use the battlefield to aid your victory. Use the board edge or impassable terrain to guard a flank, set up redirections with throw away units and such. Im sure you guys know all this but a friendly reminder never hurts.

Most importantly of all, in the start of turn phase pause and make sure you have declared everything you want to happen. This literally can be the difference in glorious victory and ignominious defeat.

For example, I was playing owen the other day and I had trolls ready to charge (couldn't fail) his mortar. I got sucked into to other charges on another part of the battlefield and didnt pause and forgot to declare the troll charge and moved the other chargers. When i realised my mistake it was too late as id move my troops. In his shooting phase the (lucky im a muppet) mortars shot with supreme accuracy (again!) and smashed loads of gobbos causing a panic test. LD 9 with re-roll. I rolled a 10 for my first dice, luckily the reroll saw me pass but because i was too eager to move other chargers, that momentary lapse in concentration could have and would have cost me the game.

Food for thought

Sorry about the length of this tome. Enjoy!