Prepping for a Grand Tournament

Today we're going to discuss a topic of competitive play that my group and I enjoy most, traveling to Grand Tournaments and Major Events. In fact, many good friendships were made doing this and led to the birth of the GCWA. I won't pretend to be a great tournament player but I've been to many large events such as the Las Vegas Open, Wargames Con, the Crucible, and ATC with appearances at regional GTs like the GCWA GT and the Come the Apocalypse GT. These are always great events for testing you abilities as a general and having a fun weekend of gaming. At bigger events, the convention is worth the trip in and of itself and there will often be Narrative and Team events going on in addition to the Singles tournament. So let's dive on in!

You just returned home from your first tournament, and something strange has happened. You've got a fever! And the only prescription...is more 40k. Fear not, this is a contagion that strikes at the mind of 40k players everywhere with a virulence that would make Nurgle giddy in his garden. Suddenly, you're checking your FLGS events page to see when the next tournament is scheduled, and you realize that there's nothing coming up for months. You expand your search to surrounding areas and an event page for something called the Gulf Coast Wargaming Alliance GT or Come the Apocalyse GT (Shas'o/Jarl) or Warzone ATL pops up. A quick look through the event description shows that it's be a few hours away and promises two days of gaming with vendors and it's attached to a larger convention! Calls go out and a group is assembled. It's time to march to war.

Planning the Trip

First things first. You've got a group and presumably someone is willing to drive. Now you just need a place to stay for the weekend. Many events will be held either in a hotel conference center or a standalone venue, but many will have some arrangements made for lodging. Check on the event page to find the event hotel or at least a hotel within a short drive of the venue, it'll make the time before and after the event much less stressful as you're moving about with your army. It'll likely also save you some money if the event got a block rate for the convention.

Virtually every event will have a means of preregistering for the tournament. Get on that list. This cannot be stressed enough, you don't want to drive five hours to be told that they reached their player cap and you don't have a spot. The event pages will have a plethora of information about registering for the event, mission packets, con badges for access to the gaming and convention areas, and even in some cases VIP bags. Try to get all of this knocked out as early as possible. It reserves you a spot and gives you time to cancel should life events occur.

Also of importance, GTs and Majors typically require army lists to be submitted to the Tournament Organizers (TOs) 2-3 weeks ahead of the event. This is a way for them to ensure all lists are legal, but it does require players to lock down what they're playing well ahead of the event. I've provided a link to my previous article on Building a Tournament List here with my advice on how to prepare your army for a tournament. Print out at least 6 copies of your list in a presentable format for your opponents, many tournaments will state this as a requirement but it's just good form in general. Some opponents may like what you were running and want a copy for future reference. You also need to have a hard copy of all of your rules on hand. Digital versions are amazing and convenient...until the battery dies. Hard copies guarantee that you'll always have your rules on hand and won't be required to pass your expensive tablet or phone around to show your army's rules.

Last but not least, paint your army. GTs aren't your local tournament where you see Grey Legions squaring off against black and white primed armies. GTs will require some painting standard. The rule of thumb is a 3 color minimum with basing, if you accomplish this with your army then you'll likely be good. Many GTs also sponsor a Best Painted award so don't be afraid to go all out and get that Golden Daemon model out there.

Now you have a group, a car, and a hotel. When is the best time to arrive? Well this depends on a couple factors. Many events will have their GT over a Saturday and Sunday with Friday going towards a fun event for those that decide to get there early. These events are often a lot of fun; and if you can get the Friday off from work, they make a great way to break into the weekend and mentally prepare yourself for a weekend of gaming. The prizes usually aren't too bad either. But, even if you don't plan on playing in the Friday night events, it's usually beneficial to arrive the night before at a decent hour so that you can get settled, eat, socialize and get some sleep. You're already planning for 3 games the following day and 2-3 the day after so you may as well get there in enough time to get rested. And trust me on this one, you don't want to be getting in after midnight for a 9am tournament start. Unless you're running zombies and plan to empathize with your army.

*Remember that this is a vacation, see what's around the venue and what specials the convention is running. Many conventions will have deals set up with local businesses for the con goers to partake in, take advantage of these!*

Pre-Event Checklist
1. Travel bag (chargers, personal hygienic kit, change of clothes)
2. Your Army, rulebooks, and printed army lists
3. Hotel Reservations
4. Event Registration and Confirmation
5. Army List submitted on time
6. All the guys riding with you

The Grand Tournament

Morning comes, the horns sound and beckon you to the Great Hall of Battle (not really, the other hotel guests wouldn't appreciate that). You've got your army in its tray and your group makes their way to the gaming area. Maybe this will be your first look at the convention hall, but even if you stuck your head in the previous night, this will be a sight to take in. Players will be threading their way through crowds of wargamers, greeting old friends and meeting new ones. Vendors stands are bustling with stands devoted to gaming accessories, cosplay items, books/comics, and a variety of other booths with an assortment of wares. Give yourself enough time to get checked in and receive your tournament packet so that you can go meander. One of the coolest parts about a GT or Major is getting to see all the armies and talk to their owners. The first Major I attended was Wargames Con in Austin, TX and the winning army was a G.I. Joe Cobra Commander themed Astra Militarum army. The extra time beforehand will let you take in all of this, get your bearings and maybe check out some of the booths or demos that will be up and running.

Don't get lost in the spectacle though. As the clock gets closer to the start time, have your army ready to go as it'll likely be a rush to get to the tables. Many tournaments have moved towards using the Best Coast Pairings app (available on Apple and Android for free) and it's highly advisable that you download this. It will show you table pairings, rankings, army lists, and allow you to input results without having to return to the Judge's Table. Excellent app that makes it easier on everyone. It will also likely be the place where you'll find your table. Once you've got your table and opponent, it's all 40k from there. Roll some sixes and have some fun!

What's different from a regular tournament?

Glad you asked! Keep in mind that you aren't just playing for today, there's a whole other set of games to be played the following day as well. Therefore, you have to conserve energy so you aren't completely fatigued. Grab a drink or a snack, sit down when your legs get achy. You're not in a sprint, this is a marathon so don't burn out early.

There also needs to be some tempering of expectations as far as results are concerned. The bigger the event gets, the better the players in attendance are likely to be. If you read the Final 8 at LVO or the top tables at Adepticon or Nova, you'll be reading a Who's Who of the 40k Competitive World. There will be top players at these tournaments and they're consistently going to be placing at the top because, well that's what makes them top players. These guys not only know their rules backwards and forwards but likely know yours as well. It's a completely different level of competition than what you'll be used to from your local tournaments. With that in mind, know that there's a good chance of crossing paths with some really good players. You likely won't be competing for a top spot your first time out, but learn from these players and the others you come across. Even the types of armies you see will be different than your local events. There are a lot of cool ideas for army builds that show up at GTs as everyone is theory-crafting about how to break the meta. Many won't work but there may be aspects that can be incorporated into your army.

Now I hope you don't misunderstand as the above isn't meant to be a discouragement. On the contrary, I hope this relieves the pressure to win every game. That's always been a tough lesson for me as I'm very competitive by nature, but tend to live in the middle tables at GTs. To be honest, I think I usually lose the first game. The middle tables are a lot of fun as these will be filled with players of comparable skill, most of whom are very good in their own right but haven't managed to breakthrough into that upper echelon. You're playing for fun but many of the players in this level will still be in contention for best in faction so the games will be fun and competitive. Don't get discouraged with a 3-2 or even 2-3 finish. This is a bigger pond you're jumping into but that will help the growth as a competitive player. Learn from your opponents, recognize mistakes and tendencies that need to be corrected and make changes accordingly.

Wrapping Up

As always, remember that this is a game and a hobby that a lot of people have poured countless hours into, yourself included. Conventions and Major Tournaments like what I've described are a chance to showcase your abilities in all aspects of the hobby while celebrating this great game we all enjoy with like minded people. Have fun and take it all in, maybe you or one of your friends was in contention for a Best of Faction. Honestly, for many that's a worthy enough prize to compete for. Higher placing is just gravy on top. Maybe you found a really cool accessory in the vendor's area and made a contact that can get you those pieces needed to finish up your army. Maybe you got to throw dice against one of the best in the community. Maybe you just had a nail biter against a player that matched you move for move in what was the hardest fought game you can remember. Maybe you met some guys at the hotel bar that turned into good friends by the end of the weekend.

Some combination of these have happened to us all and it's what makes events like these amazing. It's what brought dozens of players from a handful of FLGS along the Gulf Coast together to establish the GCWA. Many of the friends I have now were made on road trips to a tournament.

The Tournament Bug may be straight from Nurgle but it shouldn't be something to be feared. Embrace it and dive in. It's a big community, and we're always happy to see new faces.

See you at the tables!