PSA on Rankings HQ

Just a quick PSA -

Rankings HQ has been non-responsive for over 2 months now to repeat attempts to upload the 2012 NOVA Open 40k results. There's a strange issue where I am unable to get them to show up in my list of tourneys I can upload results for, but several random events like the Onslaught GT show up on my list instead.

I haven't been able to get any replies since April 3, when he said my account should be good to go (and was not). Also offered to send results sheet to him, for them to upload. No response to that.

For anyone curious, the results are otherwise ready to go, sheet is fully filled out / etc. Simply can't upload and cannot get RHQ to reply to any of many repeated PM's. After a good deal of frustration, and some similar finagles last year where RHQ challenged us to prove we actually had 204 participants, figured a PSA was necessary for those who've been asking why we hadn't posted results yet.

A better tournament tracking system is needed. Hmm ... torrent of fire ...

 - Mike

40k Summer League - DC/MD/VA - Playoffs Yield NOVA Invitational Spot, and Cash - Run by IFL

Go here for full info and to sign-up;
http://www.ironfistleague.com/forums/General/Events/annual-ifl-road-to-the-nova-open-invitational-2013/
...below is excerpt:


Who: All DC area 40k gamers

What: The annual IFL Road to the NOVA Open Invitational – a six week Warhammer 40K 6th Edition 1850 league with the top 8 players competing in a 3 round playoff for an invite to the NOVA Open Invitational held August 29th – September 1st 2013.

When: Games start June 3rd and end July 14th.

Where: DC area local gaming stores or an agreed upon battle location

Why: To earn a chance to battle with 32 of the best players in the nation for $2,000 in cash prizes. . . 4 Days . . . 32 Players . . . 5 Rounds . . . 1850 Points.

Cost: Entry fee is $25.

Timeline:
Registration: 5/15 - 6/1
League schedule posted: 6/2
League Play: 6/3 - 7/14 (each week is Mon-Sun)
Playoffs: Location will be at Mike Brandt’s hacienda and date is TBD – most likely the fourth week in July or 1st week in August

Registration: Cost is $25 with $20 of each fee going to a prize pool with the remainder to the IFL and to support food/drinks for the playoffs. To lock in your spot pre-pay with Pay Pal to treasury@ironfistleague.com and note what the payment is for in the comments (IFL Road to NOVA Invitational) and your name / IFL forum login. Obtaining your IFL forum access is simple and free at http://www.ironfistleague.com/SignUp.aspx

League play:

- Participants will play 6 games over the 6 weeks against randomly paired opponents based upon current gaming location and then filled out by other league participants – we will try to minimize traveling but that is contingent upon how many players sign up at each respective gaming location.

- Each week we will use the NOVA Open 40k Primer Missions with week 1 using mission 1 and so on through week 6.  http://www.novaopen.com/wp-content/...er2013.pdf

- This is a 40k league so folks can get in their required weekly games WHEREVER AND WHENEVER they choose - at a nearby DC game store or other suitable battle location agreed upon by the opponents.

- A couple of DC 40k open gaming nights for your consideration are: Tues at IFL game central – aka Brittany's Restaurant , Woodbridge, VA; Wed at Dream Wizards , Rockville, MD; Thurs at Game Vault , Fredericksburg, VA; and Fri at Eagle and Empire , Alexandria, VA.

- Opponents can use the IFL forum thread or PM function to coordinate games – access is free and requires filling out a short access form.

- You have one week (Mon-Sun) to play your game. If you cannot play your game that week you can reschedule your game to be played in the subsequent two weeks (as long as it is before last day of the regular season).

- Whenever a game cannot be played in the week it is assigned, a reschedule is no problem.  However, the gamer requesting the postponement must be credited as the ʺpostponerʺ.  If the game is not played by the end of the season it counts as a loss for the postponer and a win and 20 battle points are awarded to the opponent. If it is a mutual postponement, the game will be labeled as such, and if the game is never played, the game will result in a draw with 5 battle points awarded to each player.

- The Winning player will report whether he won by primary, secondary, tertiary, or tiebreaker or by how many battle points on the league’s google doc spreadsheet – see below for point breakdown.   To validate score, both players will have to input their initials in a cell in the spreadsheet for the score to be official.

Tiered Missions:
Win on Primary - 20 battle points
Win on Secondary - 15 battle points
Win on Tertiary - 10 battle points
Win by Tiebreaker - 5 battle points BOTH PLAYERS REGARDLESS OF W/L

Cumulative Missions:
Win by 5+ Mission Points - 20 battle points
Win by 3-4 Mission Points - 15 battle points
Win by 1-2 Mission Points - 10 battle points
Win by Tiebreaker - 5 battle points BOTH PLAYERS REGARDLESS OF W/L

- Rankings will be made by win/draw/loss and then by battle points. In the event of a tie for the final playoff spots, a play-in may be used to determine seeding - this call will be made by the Commissioners.

- Games are self-policed – any arguments will be settled by a dice roll-off if not located in the rulebook and/or subject to interpretation. Report any rules abuses to the Commissioners – they will review and take action accordingly to include issuing warnings to rules abusers.

- League games will be played without a time limit and will end per 6th Ed Basic Rule Book criteria. Playoff games will be completed per the Invitational parameters set forth in the NOVA Primer.

Army lists:

- Must be submitted upon registration/payment to: theironfistleague@gmail.com Players must use one 1850 army list for the entire league.  Allies and fortifications are allowed except for the Fortress of Redemption. No Forge World is allowed.

- For League play we will accept proxies with the goal of a fully painted WYSIWYG by the playoffs. If a top 8 army does not meet this standard by the playoffs they will be disqualified - the next ranked player down will be invited to the playoffs and so on until the 8 player requirement is met. A player can always petition the Commissioners for a waiver if there are extenuating circumstances that prevent meeting the established standards.

*********Update**********
- New Eldar:  due to the impending release of the new Eldar codex on June 1, we have adopted the following policy:  Players that commit to playing Eldar as a primary detachment or ally submit a list using the old Eldar codex.  Within 72hrs of the codex release (or it is acquired via other means), Eldar players must resubmit their lists.  After that, all lists will be made public and accessible via Google docs.



Prizes:
Estimated minimum 20 players x $25 = $500
$100 set aside for playoffs food/drinks
Purse: $400
1st place: 35%
2nd place: 25%
3rd place: 12.5%
4th place: 7.5%
5th place: 5%
6th place: 5%
7th place: 5%
8th place: 5%

Staff: League Commissioners – Madd_Mike, Shrinedawg, and Purdune (IFL Forum names)
** All rulings and interpretations made by the league commissioners are final.

Revolutionizing 40k Tournament Gaming - Debut at the NOVA Open 2013; Torrent of Fire

40k Shouldn't Be Like the DMV

Waiting in line, taking a number, just trying to get some info. Airports, hospitals, voting booths...same deal.  Enough already! Warhammer is YOUR TIME.

That's why the 2013 NOVA Open is set to unveil Torrent of Fire to give you back your time and focus on the game. No more standing in lines. No more scrambling to find out who won or lost. No more waiting. Get live streaming results of every game, whether you're in the gaming hall or half way around the world.

This fall Torrent of Fire will revolutionize the way tournament information is gathered, recorded, and shared. But that's not all. Sign up now to be the first to receive all breaking news and updates.

This is the 2nd teaser from the NOVA newsletter about Torrent of Fire. TOF is a major NOVA Open sponsor this year, set to unveil its revolutionary new product(s) at the NOVA. They'll have a booth, and reportedly there will be booth babes as well, and most importantly ... their software will be integrated with the NOVA itself.

Stay tuned ...

On the Whiskey blog front, coming later today is a post outlining the rationales and tactics for the 40k Primer / Missions for this year's GT and Invitational. It's a little odd to be posting that sort of thing perhaps, but it's been requested enough there's a compelling reason to. Stay tuned for that as well.

Having Fun at Terrain Days

Just a quick one here ...

Our film and social media guy, Ethan, put together this short 40 second candid from last weekend's terrain day ...

If you're local to the DC area, you should join us ... they happen once or twice a month :)

http://vimeo.com/65480539

Charity Raffles - Gorgeous Armies and Awesome Contributions; Grab a Few Raffle Tickets, Learn About It!

The NOVA Open Charitable Foundation is a formal 501c3 transparently and fully dedicated to leveraging the power of our community toward raising resources and volunteer hours in support of highly regarded charities.

Three charity raffles will be ongoing from now through this year's NOVA Open, highlighted by the "Redemption of the Fallen" project, put together in support of Doctors Without Borders by several exceptional artists within our community.

All raffle proceeds go in support of either Doctors Without Borders (Redemption of the Fallen 1850 pt Dark Angel army painted by a group of motivated 40k artists), Fisher House (House of the Silent King, a 1000 point Necron army painted by Stiffneck Studios), and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (Lightish Red, painted and donated by Brendon Caulkins, a 35 point Khador Warmachine force).

Besides the artists who put these raffle armies together, these projects are also supported by The Warstore (who provided the Dark Angels army for Redemption of the Fallen, http://www.thewarstore.com/), The NOVA Open (who provided the Necron force for House of the Silent King, http://www.novaopen.com), and KR Multicase. KR will be providing custom foam and carry cases for EACH of the raffled armies. http://www.krmulticase.com/

Work in Progress and finished pictures will be coming soon, including on the blogs of the artists.

Check it out ...
Redemption of the Fallen 1850 Point Dark Angels:
http://novaopenfoundation.org/?tcp_product=redemption-of-the-fallen-army-raffle-ticket

This army will be painted by award winning (including golden daemon for some) painters: Tim Williamson of the Tau of War (who spearheaded the rebirth of the Doctors Without Borders project), Chris "Jawaballs" Dubuque, Mike Cho, Dan Withers of Valhalla Games, Gabe Dobkin, and Sean Gibson.

House of the Silent King 1000 Point Necrons:
http://novaopenfoundation.org/?tcp_product=house-of-the-silent-king-army-raffle-ticket

Painted by Stiffneck Studios: http://www.stiffneckstudio.com/

The Lightish Red Khador Warmachine Force:
http://novaopenfoundation.org/?tcp_product=the-lightish-red-army-aka-pink-raffle-ticket


One of the lessosn learned from artists and contributors was that past projects of this sort ran into some difficulties due to the legality and challenges for online raffles, which are considered games of chance. Tireless amounts of time were put in by a small group of people (not including myself on this one!) to create the Foundation as a formal, legal, charitable nonprofit through which our community can efficiently and effectively raise money and dedicate time to excellent causes.

Go get some raffle tickets! :)

As an aside:
While I've always had the goal of driving the NOVA Open to a place where we can help give back to the world, the credit for organizing and running the Foundation does not go to me. For reasons ranging from time commitment to conflict of interest, I do not sit on the board of the Foundation. It is run by a trio (really a quartet) of people who've put in countless hours making sure this is done correctly - legal, transparent, and dedicated to the greater good of the world. Help honor the hard work they've put in by helping us show that we can spend our loose change on more than just plastic toys (all in the hopes of doing some good, and winning some gorgeous plastic toys! :p)

AdeptiTeam, AdeptiSingles, AdeptiCon!

Well, it's AdeptiCon week ... one of the more enjoyable hobby times of the year.

I'm playing in the Singles for the first time in a while, but rather half-heartedly ... haven't had time to really build out an army I want, and don't feel comfortable forcing opponents into the slow tedium of facing my 6th Nids ... so I'll be using an army cobbled together from old guard models and borrowed bits and bobs.

Singles list will be Khanderstorm ... Khan + 3 Tfires + 3 Stormtalons + Guard, basically. Should be enjoyable and fun, with limited expectations ... hoping to have a good time primarily :)

In the team tournament, we had a grand plan to go as "3 TO's and a 3PO," with me, Kopach, Neil Gilstrap of 11th Co GT/Podcast, and Ed Miller of BFS GT. Ed had to drop for his daughter's grad, so we picked up a sub and cobbled together the requisite models for the list we're bringing (double guard, sm, da), and are also looking to go and have a fun time. Look for us in the lists ... playing us = receiving some cool shwag :)

If anyone wants to get together and BS over a beer or anything else at AdeptiCon this year, let me know via e-mail, here, or wherever! I'll be road-tripping in again on Wednesday, and hitting up the Lombard Giordano's on Wed PM with a host of various celebs and goobers.

Cya'll there!


OH - GET YOUR WEEKEND BADGE TODAY IF YOU HAVEN'T: THEY GO UP BY $5 TOMORROW!

Current Singles Iteration:
Korsarro Khan - 160
Librarian w/ Gate, Null - 100
Lord Commissar - 70

5 Tactical Marines w/ Combi-Melta - 100
5 Tactical Marines w/ Combi-Melta - 100

Platoon Command Squad - 30
Infantry Squad w/ Melta, Power Axe - 65
Infantry Squad w/ Melta, Power Axe - 65
Infantry Squad w/ Melta, Power Axe - 65
Infantry Squad w/ Melta, Power Axe - 65
Infantry Squad w/ Melta, Power Axe - 65

Platoon Command Squad - 30
Infantry Squad w/ Melta, Power Axe - 65
Infantry Squad w/ Melta, Power Axe - 65
Infantry Squad w/ Melta, Power Axe - 65
Infantry Squad w/ Melta, Power Axe - 65

Storm Talon w/ TL Assault Cannon, Skyhammer - 125
Storm Talon w/ TL Assault Cannon, Skyhammer - 125
Storm Talon w/ TL Assault Cannon, Skyhammer - 125

Thunderfire Cannon - 100
Thunderfire Cannon - 100
Thunderfire Cannon - 100

NOVA Countdown Updated! Skytide Tau

Special thanks to Austin Sincock, of http://23lines.blogspot.com/

Alongside playing Thunderstorm SM lists, I've been fiddling w/ a Tau baseline of 3 Skyrays (stock), and 3 Riptides (heavy burst cannon, twin fusion blaster though leaning back toward SMS, and interceptor).

Coupled w/ a ton of Kroot, Pathfinders, and double Ethereal, I've been really enjoying the tactical flexibility, durability, and functionality of the list.

What about ya'll?

That's it!

140 days to NOVA ... and getting quite excited!

Why or Why Not Forgeworld?

So the "major" GT scene is split this year on the issue of Forgeworld. Events like NOVA, 11th Co, BFS, AdeptiCon are going without it for their GT's ... events like BAO, WGC, FOB are going with it.

The most important thing to lead off with is this:

There is no correct answer to this question.
There are valid and invalid reasons for holding each position, certainly, and that's mostly what I'll ponder about ... but there are no correct or incorrect answers to the simple question: Should FW be allowed in your GT.

No matter what you do, the internet punditocracy is going to have its own thoughts about whether you should or shouldn't.

With regard to NOVA, it was a fairly large internal discussion with a lot of back and forth ... here's what pushed us to having FW be in the Trios and Narrative, but not the GT or Invitational:

1. Evidence came out over the year from UK testers that was fairly definitive as to the subject of playtesting - FW isn't playtested, or even involved in the balancing/playtesting process (such as / whatever it is).
1a. The game is increasingly balanced for all levels of play, with each new updated codex ... lending more credence to NOT including (in the more competitive formats of the GT and Invitational) non-tested/balanced rules.

2. None of us could remember ever really playing pick-up games at local game stores, social game nights, or local GW's where anyone - especially casual players - was even routinely aware of FW, much less interested in playing with FW rules. The push to use them was coming almost exclusively [at least on our radar] from more tournament-savvy people (though not exclusively from competitive minded people).

3. MOST gamers, even those who advocated FW heavily, weren't even aware of the existence of half or more of the units they wanted to legalize. As a result, many of the arguments about balance fixated on Sabres, Boarding Flyers (w/e their name is, I always forget), etc., and they consistently wound up stammering when faced with units like Quad Guns, or the (can't remember his name) Shrouding/Disordered + Nullzone/Divination 160 point libby, etc.

4. Arguments about "balancing" flyer-heavy armies were rendered somewhat pointless by the broad lack of consistent tournament-wining success by flyer-heavy armies.

There were a number of arguments for and against exclusive of those, but those seemed to consistently crop up more commonly.

On a personal level, I don't care all that much ... the only thing that gets to me is the lack of open, blatant admission of desire on the part of those who are really pushing hard for FW. There are plenty of players who want to use their cool FW models ... but they've been pushing to legalize FW for years, long before 6th edition.

Truth: Fifth edition was very vehicle-heavy
Truth: FW doesn't have all that much that's dramatically or meaningfully better than stock standard codices in terms of anti-vehicle

Truth: Fifth edition didn't have allies, and MOST of the really powerful FW stuff is IG
Truth: Now that MOST of the armies in the game can ally with IG in some way, the more powerful FW units are now more broadly available

Truth: Sixth edition is more infantry-heavy, and more flyer-heavy.
Truth: Forgeworld units - especially IG (see above) - are quite exceptional at killing flyers and infantry (Especially mass infantry, see: quad gun) ...


None of these factors are considered on a regular basis by truly casual or majority gamers. They are considered by power gamers ... by meta-reacting gamers ... by people who want to bring the most powerful army possible to the table.

I'm often one of these guys ... and there's NOTHING WRONG with admitting that you want to use FW b/c it gives you powerful answers to big infantry formations, and to flyers.

That component of the argument didn't really impact any decision making on our part ... BUT I see a ton of people out there trying to come up with all kinds of oblique ways to argue for FW, when at the heart of it for a LOT of them it's simply that FW gives them a lot of potent options, and they want to use them.

It's always a hot button issue to discuss, but what really is the motivator?
One of our local more prominent competitive gamers wants to go to WGC this year. He really wants to take a bunch of sabres, vultures, and quad guns. I could almost swear he's more excited to go to WGC as a direct result of FW legality. BUT his reason is not b/c he thinks FW is cool ... but b/c he believes most poeple wont' be taking FW, and doing so himself gives him a huge natural advantage over them.

Food for thought and discussion ... acknowledging (and don't go at me on this one, please) that there's NOTHING wrong with legalizing FW at a tournament, and it's totally just a tourney-by-tourney decision ... what are the REAL reasons it's being pushed by so many more players this edition who are loud and vocal on the internet (many of whom are known competitors)? Is it being pushed so much more b/c suddenly GW has done something or made some big announcement that it's meant to be included in most types of games ...? OR is it that the shift in the meta of 6th edition + allies inclusion now aligns the powerful units OF forgeworld with a much larger # of players ... all of whom naturally have a conscious or subconsious inclination to try and get whatever boost up they can within a brand new gaming environment?

There's nothing wrong with any answer ... but there is something wrong with judging people for it ... so try to keep discussion focused on trying to figure out WHY people want it so much all of a sudden ... and not on whether you think they're smart or good or wrong or right as a result.

NOVA Format Amendment - Warlord Traits

Just a quick note for those playtesting / preparnig / etc. -

With the new Tau codex Warlord Table enabling re-rolls of certain results based upon what gear/abilities your Warlord has, we will probably revert the choice for Warlord Traits to the standard Rulebook approach. The reason for this is that while we believe rolling once while selecting 3 tables (book + rulebook inclusive) is more fair for a one-off tournament environment (aka not in leagues/seasons, or pick-up games), this new rule would force us to create a permutation for our permutation ... and that's getting too far from the basics of the game.

So, pending formalization, presume you will be handling Warlord Traits at NOVA exactly as the rulebook dictates.

NOVA Reminders - Discount Fading

Just a quick couple of reminders for all

First, hotel rooms are booking at an accelerated rate this year. It is important to remember, we give away

$2,000 CASH

To people who stay at the Hyatt Regency. This is also the cheapest hotel you can stay at within any reasonable distance, at $85/night for NOVA attendees.

You should book your rooms now even if you are simply considering it ... why?

The # of raffle tickets you get toward the 5 prizes - $1,000, $250, $250, $250, $250 - is directly proportional to how far in advance you book, and how many nights you stay.

SO ... if you book now, and end up attending, you get more raffle tickets. If you end up not going, just cancel your rooms more than 24 hours out.

Reserve rooms here

Additionally, vendors this year will be offering a special extra discount only on THURSDAY NIGHT of the Con. AKA, find a way to get there Thursday even if you're a local, to drop in on the early goings-on, early seminars, and get some sweet extra deals in the vendor hall.

The vendor hall is MUCH bigger this year, located in the fancy shmancy Regency level at the base of the Indie elevator. You'll be able to see all the vendors laid out from above.

The 40kGT is over 50% sold out at this point (130/256 sold). We've done this in 61 days of sales, vs. doing it in 156 days last year (more or less). Get your 40k GT ticket if you haven't yet. We usually experience a pretty hefty sales spike after AdeptiCon. Just a courtesy note ... considering past paces, this bodes toward a sellout (though obviously you still have time!).

Finally, Weekend Badges go UP in cost by $5 each on April 15. If you're going, grab one now.