Yearly Archives: 2010

First Stab a Tau Lists

Leave a reply

So, here are some first cuts at some Tau Empire lists. I’ve been following The Tau of War for kind of a long time.  While I haven’t feverishly analyzed his lists, I’d like to think that a few things that maybe sunk in:

  • Fire Warriors are for objective holding, not for leveraging 30″ Pulse Rifle shots.  They belong in Devilfish that stay off the table as long as possible.  Small squads, good.  Big squads, wasteful.
  • Shas’el w/ Targeting Arrays are almost as good as Shas’o but cost 15 points less.
  • Shield Drones are good for Broadsides.  Gun Drones are almost as good, and are cheaper for everything else.

… that sort of thing.

I’ve taken some quick stabs at 1,000 point and 1,500 point lists; I don’t have any illusions about them being great, or even good… but they’re a starting point.

The 1,000 point list, in particular, seems awful… light to me.  10 Kroot, 5 Suits, 2 vehicles and some stuff that hides off the table as long as possible skeeves the crap out of me.  It’d probably be worth converting that Hammerhead into more Kroot or Stealthsuits or something.

HQ
Shas’el – Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, HW Multi-tracker, Targeting Array

Elites
Crisis Team x2 – Missile Pod x2, Flamer x2

Troops
Fire Warriors x8
– Devilfish – D. Pod
Fire Warriors x8
– Devilfish – D. Pod
Kroot x10

Fast Attack
Piranha x1 – Fusion Blaster, D. Pod, Flechette Discharger

Heavy Support
Broadsides x2 – Targeting Array x2
Hammerhead – Railgun, SMS, D. Pod, Decoy Launchers

The 1,500 list just stacks on top of that.  Doubles down on the Shas’el, adds a small Stealth Team, upgrades the Broadsides a smidge and adds the Barracuda.

Why the Barracuda?  It’s IA, not codex, and points-heavy, I know.  Really, I’m throwing it in there ’cause I want motivation to finish putting the thing together and paint it.  I expect a few games after putting it on the table, it’ll be replaced with Pathfinders, another Piranha, and more suits of some sort.

HQ
Shas’el – Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, HW Multi-tracker, Targeting Array
Shas’el – Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, HW Multi-tracker, Targeting Array

Elite
Crisis Team x3 – TL Missile Pod x3, Flamer x3, Team Leader w/ Bonding Knife
Stealth Team x3

Troops
Fire Warriors x8
– Devilfish – D. Pod
Fire Warriors x8
– Devilfish – D. Pod
Kroot x10

Fast Attack
Piranha x1 – Fusion Blaster, D. Pod, Flechette Discharger

Heavy Support
Broadsides x2 – Targeting Array x2, Team Leader w/ HW Drone Controller, Shield Drones x2
Hammerhead – Railgun, SMS, D. Pod, Decoy Launchers
Barracuda

Any thoughts?

(No clue on the source of the Fire Warrior image.  Clearly w/o permission.)

Considering the Greater Good

Leave a reply

One of my friends, as I’ve mentioned, is starting to sip the 40K Kool-Aid, and is considering buying into the game.  Another friend, likely motivated at least a little bit by said Kool-Aid sipping, is finally taking a long-postponed plunge into the game (the high quality and low price point of the Wargames Factory Shock Troopers probably didn’t hurt, either).  I’ll be walking them through how to play the game and letting them get a feel for the armies they’re interested in tomorrow night.

It’s got me thinking about how nice it’ll be for them to progress in the game at roughly the same pace.  It’s also got me thinking that this is a great opportunity to start a new army; one I can grow at the same pace theirs do.  I don’t need another army, though, and I’m not altogether sure I want one.  I’m only just now really getting to the point where I can cut loose with my Daemons.

At the same time, I’m thinking about the upcoming Forge World Friendly tournament, where players will be encouraged to put as much FW resin on the table as their hearts desire.  I’ll be running, not playing in the event, but that doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about FW resin… and when I think about FW resin, I think Tau.

The Tau Empire was my first 40K army.  I’d only bought into it because I figured I’d get tired of painting Skaven.  I made the switch to Dark Angels about a year later, then 5th came out, and I’ve never really come back to the Tau.  I’ve never figured out how to play them in 5th though, to be fair, I’ve never really tried.

It’s a shame, too, because my Tau aren’t fully painted, and I’ve got some cool stuff just waiting to hit the table.  It’s kind of criminal that I’ve got a shoebox with a Barracuda, Remora Drones and Shas’o R’myr just… sitting, unassembled, in it.

Plus, I’ve come a really, really long way in terms of my painting skill.  When I started painting my Tau, I hadn’t really done any miniature painting in nearly ten years.  I’m much better, now.

See what I mean?  It’d be nice to revisit the army.

Right now, I’m telling myself that the Tau would be a better match up against my friends’ new armies.  Certainly better than the Daemons, which are a quirky army before to zero in on filling it with nothing but things that scream, “BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD.”  That, and starting small will help me relearn the army.  I can’t sit down and write a 2,000 point list for them; I just can’t.  A 1,000 point list, though, is kinda doable and growing it to 1,500 shouldn’t be too hard.

So, for the next little bit, while I wrap up Sternguard and get my Khornate conversions for non-Khornate models lined up (still need to post about Tzeentch), I’m going to be doing some thinking about what a small Tau Empire list might look like.  I do know that any list will see a lot of that resin.

So, who knows?

(Tau Pathfinder image is by slipgatecentral.  Used w/o permission.)

Revising the Dark Angels?

Leave a reply
When Ron posted about his Deathwing, I have to admit that I made a face.  
His list isn’t codex legal, it’s just stuff that he wants to play, in terms of theme, fluff, and Unforgiven.  This sort of thing is totally fine for casual games, or games in a small group.  Jervis isn’t going to kick his door in and arrest him for Doing It Wrong or anything… but it’s not entirely portable.  It’s not the sort of thing you can take to a tournament.  With as large a player base as we have in the IFL, it’s not the sort of thing you can just drop on the table without some warning.
Boy, it’s a nice idea, though, isn’t it?  In many ways, I’m frustrated by the inconsistencies between the Dark Angels codex and the Space Marine codex.  I don’t expect the two books to be the same (because, in that case, we wouldn’t need two books), but the disparity between how things work in one book and how they work in another is just headache inducing.
This isn’t helped by the fact that we’re not going to see an update any time soon.  If GW keeps up their pattern alternating between Imperial and non-Imperial codices, maybe we could see an update sometime in 2011.  (It sounds like Grey Knights are dropping late this year, which covers pretty much all of the Imperial books save Black Templars and Dark Angels.)
It’s a bit of a touchy subject for me: I’ve been rolling with the DA codex and plan to continue to do so (when running my Dark Angels and not my Khornate Daemons)… but I’m quite frustrated by the difference.  Folks who cannot understand that frustration really tick me off.  I gave the Imperial Vox Cast a try until they went on a rant about people who play Dark Angels should quit their bitching, etc.  Uh-uh.  :stop:  :delete:
Some folks have taken it upon themselves to try to reconcile the two books:  
Austin‘s taken a stab, with what’s basically a single page document that suggests using the DA book, but with rules, costs and unit options for certain units taken from the Space Marine codex.  It’s pretty spartan, but not bad.  Worth checking out.
The most recent issue of the AstroMag (#6) has a segment in that summarizes a much more in-depth attempt by Captain Kellen to bring the Dark Angels codex in line with the Space Marine book.  The full treatment can be found here (not really a page there, just a file host).  It’s 60 pages, including fiction and art; the Astromag article summarizes the changes.  What’s really great about this approach is that he tries to justify every choice he makes (in the full document).  There’s a lot to be said to be said for that sort of transparency.
I’m on board with almost all of his changes.  He makes good cases for them and, in many ways they’re a superset of the changes Austin proposes: just basic stuff that says a Cyclone Missile Launcher is a Cyclone Missile Launcher is a Cyclone Missile Launcher, you know?  He goes a bit further, though, and brings over units: he makes a fluff-based claim to Sternguard Veterans and Sgt. Telion Naaman, for example, but cannot do so for other units like Ironclad Dreadnoughts or Land Raider Redeemers.

The only place I disagree with him is where it comes to Librarians.  I’m on board with not bringing over the full list of Space Marine psychic powers… but his arguments for simply using the powers in the Dark Angels book don’t hold up.  “It has been clear that the Dark Angels have different powers than other chapters,” he says… but the basic Dark Angel psychic powers, Hellfire and Force Barrier aren’t really different from The Avenger or Force Dome.  The former is an unreliable version of the Space Marine power and the latter has the same fluff as the Space Marine power, but is mechanically useless.  I’d swap the powers: The Avenger for Hellfire and Force Dome for Force Barrier and leave Mind Worm.  Mind Worm might not be all that useful, but it is unique.

I also don’t like his treatment of Ezekiel’s Psychic Hood.  The table-wide psychic hood is one of the extremely few things the Unforgiven have going for them, but I really feel that if we’re updating equipment and options, we have to take the bad with the good.  That means making the Psychic Hood 24″, you know?  I get why he made the choice, but I disagree.

I’m not likely to crack either of these approaches open and, even if I did, I doubt it would change my list in any substantial way… it’d just synchronize the way equipment behaves.  I honestly don’t see having a better Storm Shield changing the number of Storm Shields I take, you know?

I thought I’d bring it because, between thinking about running Deathwing at ‘Ard Boyz (using the unmodified Dark Angels codex) and Ron’s confession that he’s running fast and loose with the codex, it’s rattling around in my forebrain.

What do y’all think?

(Images are from the Deathwatch RPG site and classic GW DA art.)

Sternguard Veterans – 7/10

Leave a reply

Finished the second batch of Sternguard Vets.  Four more down, two (and a half or so) to go!

I’ve told Mark I’d get them to him next Tuesday, so I’ve got just a hair over a week to paint two of these guys and do the last few details on the Apothecary.  Should be doable, but I need to make sure I keep in mind that doing the bases takes longer than I expect it to and that I need to allow for time to paint some gloss varnish over the black base rims before I Dullcote the whole thing.

Battle Brother IV:

Battle Brother V:

Battle Brother VI:

Battle Brother VII:

‘Ard Boyz 2010

Leave a reply

I thought I’d be missing out on ‘Ard Boyz this year because we’ll be celebrating the extremely awesome Mrs. Rushputin’s birthday on that Saturday.  I was okay with this, because I’ve never actually played in an ‘Ard Boyz; I ran the first one for Game Parlor and… missed the second one for reasons that escape me (probably work).

As it turns out, however, for whatever reason (I’m sure there’s a good one, possible that I’ve missed) my FNVLGS* The Game Vault will be hosting theirs on that Sunday, rather than that Saturday.  Between this extremely convenient scheduling fluke and the slightest bit of prodding from Casey, I’ve decided to head out to it.

Now, I can’t run my Daemons at 2,500.  It just can’t happen.  My Tau, I’ve yet to figure out how to play in 5th… it could happen but, let me assure you, it won’t.

That leaves my largest army, and one of my favorites: my Dark Angels.  This is particularly convenient, because during the first ‘Ard Boyz, I wrote up a DA list to run at ‘Ard Boyz.  All Deathwing.

Two HQs.  Nine Deathwing Terminator Squads.  47 models.

I have no illusion that this is a particular ‘ard list or anything, but it should be fun.

Deathwing ‘Ard Boyz
2,500 points

HQ
Belial – Sword of Silence, Storm Bolter
Grey Knight Grandmaster – Nemesis Force Weapon, Storm Bolter, Psychic Hood, Ungents of Warding

Elites
Deathwing Terminators x5 – Cyclone Missile Launcher
Deathwing Terminators x5 – Lightning Claws x1, Thunder Hammer, Heavy Flamer
Deathwing Terminators x5 – Lightning Claws x1, Chainfist, Assault Cannon

Troops
Deathwing Terminator Command Squad x5 – Apothecary, Standard, Lightning Claws x3, Thunder Hammer x1, Chainfist,  Heavy Flamer
Deathwing Terminators x5 – Cyclone Missile Launcher
Deathwing Terminators x5 – Cyclone Missile Launcher
Deathwing Terminators x5 – Cyclone Missile Launcher
Deathwing Terminators x5 – Lightning Claws x1, Chainfist, Assault Cannon
Deathwing Terminators x5 – Lightning Claws x1, Chainfist, Assault Cannon

That leaves me with 5 points to throw in an extra chainfist somewhere, I dunno.

They Grey Knight Grandmaster is a new thing for me.  I’ve never run one before.  He’s taking the place of my Terminator Librarian (ironic, because my Terminator Librarian will be taking his place as a model); I think he’ll do everything the Librarian does, only better and for marginally fewer points.  For 20 points more, he’s got more wounds, more attacks (with the +2 strength of the Nemesis Force Weapon).  No, he doesn’t have any psychic powers, but who cares?  I sure as hell never took the Dark Angels Librarian for his psychic powers; he’s there to add punch to the assault Deathwing Command Squad and to run psychic defense: he’s got the same table-wide Psychic Hood the Dark Angels Librarian has… throw the Ungents of Warding in for a few more points, and things are even better.

Ungents of Warding?  That’s freaking how Blessing of the Blood God should work for Khornate Daemons: ignore psychic powers on a 4+.  Period.

Anyway, Belial chills with one of the Cyclone Missile Launcher squads.  The Grandmaster goes with the Command squad.  Given that I’ve been rocking the Daemons for the past however long, I’ll probably just Deep Strike everything in.  Five squads come in on the first turn via Deathwing Assault.

Could I run this with Space Wolves?  Maybe.  Probably.  Who cares?  I’m throwing down for the Lion, not the Wolf.

(Now, I’ve just got to assemble the last 16 terminators or so.)

* Friendly Not-Very-Local Game Store.  The Game Vault’s anywhere between 45 minutes to two hours away from where I live in Manassas, depending on the how generous Northern Virginian traffic feels like being.

Demo Lists

Leave a reply

A friend of mine who’s been slowly drinking the 40K Kool-Aid by reading Black Library books is starting to consider buying into 40K.

I’ve had him take a look at the armies, to pick ones that he thinks are Cool (because that’s the most important reason to play an army) and, having picked a few, we’d proxy up a few demo lists to get a feel for how they play (because having a playstyle you enjoy is the second most important reason to play an army).

He’s settled on Blood Angels and Imperial Guard.  Both are choices I think we can all agree are objectively A-OK.

So, I’ve thrown together a list for each, both at approximately 1,000 points.  I’m not looking for gimmicky builds or extreme points-efficiency… just lists that capture the overall feel of the army.  It doesn’t take a min-maxed list to reveal that Tau like to shoot things and Orks like to krump things, for example.

Here’s what we’ll put on the table:

Blood Angels

HQ
Captain – Jump Pack, Lightning Claws

Elites
Sanguinary Priest – Powersword

Troops
Assault Squad x10 – Jump Packs, Meltaguns x2, Powerfist
Assault Squad x5 – Meltagun
 – Razorback – TL Heavy Bolters
Tactical Squad x10 – Plasmagun, Missile Launcher, Powerfist
 – Rhino

Fast
Baal Predator – HB Sponsons

Imperial Guard

HQ
Command Squad – Bodyguard, Carapace Armor, Meltagun x2, Powerfist
– Chimera

Troops
Infantry Platoon
– Command Squad – Vox, Meltagun x2, Powerfist
– Infantry Squad – Vox, Flamer
– Infantry Squad – Vox, Grenade Launcher
– Heavy Weapons Squads – Heavy Bolter x3
Veteran Squad – Vox, Meltagun x3, Powerfist
– Chimera

Fast
Hellhound x1 – Smoke Launchers, Heavy Flamer

Heavy
Leman Russ Battle Tank – HB Sponsons
Griffon

I figure we’ll put both on the table and take turns with them.  Or maybe I’ll work up a 1,000 point Tau list or something… I definitely won’t run the Daemons; they’re a mite rock-paper-scissors, and therefore would make for lousy examples.

EDIT: Mike Van Brandt suggested an even better IG list:

Imperial Guard

HQ
Company Command Squad – Standard, Meltagun x2, Flamer
– Chimera

Troops
Infantry Platoon
– Command Squad – Flamer x3
— Chimera
– Infantry Squad – Flamer
– Infantry Squad – Flamer
– Infantry Squad – Flamer
– Heavy Weapons Squad – Autocannon x3
– Heavy Weapons Squad – Autocannon x3
Veteran Squad – Vox, Meltagun x3
– Chimera

Fast Attack
Scout Sentinels x3 – Multilasers

Heavy Support
Leman Russ Demolisher – Heavy Flamer

Bloodthirster vs. Daemon Prince

Leave a reply

More than anything, this is really just a heads-up to people I might play.  I’d like to document what I’m doing and why.

What

For pickup games, or pretty much any game that isn’t a tournament (and unless I’m running a Khornate Daemon list that includes both Bloodthirsters and Daemon Princes), I am going to use the Daemon Prince models I’ve converted as Bloodthirsters.

With a tournament, when I’m lugging around my huge display board and all that other stuff, things’ll be different… but on an arbitrary Tuesday, this is how it’s going to be.

Why

Although I rather dislike the Bloodthirster model, that’s really not why I’m doing this.

Practicality drives this.  Bloodthirsters are big, top-heavy and metal.  While I keep the majority of my army magnetized to plastic drawers, I’ve got a separate little foam thing I have to pack my Bloodthirsters in.  This isn’t crippling or anything, but it is annoying.  (Don’t get me started on my Soul Grinders.)

My Daemon Princes are plastic, light, and can be transported in the same drawer as my Bloodcrushers.  By using them instead of the Bloodthirster model, I reduce the amount of space my army consumes during transport by nearly half.

Also, they’re converted.  Not heavily converted or anything, but a little.  Enough to make them personal.  I like the models more, and that’s worth a lot!

How

I think I can justify this.

The Bloodthirster has enormous wings, yes.  Huge wings.  Its wings account for twice of its height.  The wings on the Daemon Prince aren’t very big, but that’s okay.  The wings don’t count..

Line of sight must be traced from the eyes of the firing model to any part of the body of at least one of the models in the target unit (for ‘body’ we mean its head, torso, legs and arms). Sometimes, all that may be visible of a model is a weapon, an antenna, a banner or some other ornament he is wearing or carrying (including its wings and tail, even though they are technically part of its body). In these cases, the model is not visible. These rules are intended to ensure that models don’t get penalised for having impressive standards, blades, guns, majestic wings, etc.

– Warhammer 40K, pg 16

So, wings and such are to be ignored for the purposes of Line of Sight.  We can ignore them.

Look at the bodies.  They’re very close to being the same size.  For game purposes, the Minotaur model and the Bloodthirster model are the same size.  They’re on the same size base (60mm) and are very close in terms of height and width.

So, when I put the Minotaur Princes on the table as Bloodthirsters, I do so because they’re just about the same size.  It’s a hair shorter, but negligibly so.  Besides, I don’t think drawing line-of-sight to a Bloodthirster has ever been a problem for my opponents.

(And I’m talking the current Bloodthirster, not the classic Greater Daemon of Khorne who is, I think, about the size of a terminator.)

Conclusion

Like I said, this’ll just be for pickup games, and for games that I don’t plan on running both Bloodthirsters and Daemon Princes.  And, hell, once I stop agonizing over ordering some Battlefoam, everything’ll be packed in together, and it’ll be a non-issue.  But, until then…

Sternguard Veterans – 3/10

Leave a reply

Just slapped some varnish on the first three of the Sternguard Veterans I’m painting as part of the Battle for the Cure tournament/auction.  Between stripping the minis, work, in-laws and recovery from surgery it’s taken me way too long to make progress on these guys.

Now that I’ve got a recipe for everything going into this, the rest of them should come through pretty quickly, I think/hope/pray.

I still need to touch base with Mark to find out a couple of details (do I need to go in and paint the flex black, or does he like it green?), but I’d say they’s done.

The first battle-brother:

The second battle-brother:

The third battle-brother:

Painting Progress – 20100425

Leave a reply

I’ve been quiet ’round these parts for the same reason I haven’t really done much of a damn thing, hobby-wise, over the past week: I’ve been resting up post-surgery.

In a perfect world, being around the house for a week would equal immense hobby progress.  Not so; I’m so tuckered out, a stab at some highlighting late last week resulted in exhaustion and vertigo.  I hope that passes quickly this coming week: I’ve got to finish these f’ing Sternguard, you know?
I did take a pair of WIP photos the other day.  They’re a bit farther along than these, but not by much.
This first one is of the guys I’ve been working on.  The weapons, straps, parchment and purity seals need doing, but that’s about it.  Bases, too, of course. Less than a day’s work when I’m up to it.
 
These are the guys that still need starting.  They’ve been basecoated, but that’s all.  I need to go back and do a bit of sculpting on one: a shoulder pad has… been messed up.  Other than that, I expect they’ll cruise once I get to them.
Using the same color scheme Mark uses on his guys, for obvious reasons, but I’m trying to put a lot of skill into implementing it.  
For example, he basecoats Knarloc Green, dry brushes Camo Green and wraps things up with a Thraka Green wash.  The result is good.  I’m basecoating Knarloc Green, then rocking out an edge highlight of 50/50 Thraka Green and Camo Green thinned with matte medium and a thinner edge highlight of pure Camo Green before washing over things with a Devlan Mud / Thraka Green / Badab Black mix (the proportions of which are written down somewhere around here).  Debating going back and doing a teeny bit or two of Camo Green highlights on the brightest points.
So, should fit in just fine with his guys while, at the same time, standing out.

6/19 – 40K ForgeWorld-Friendly Tournament

Leave a reply

Something that came out of the discussion about how to run the IFL RTT this past weekend was an observation that, before 5th Ed. came out, Flyers and other units from Imperial Armour books were par for the course at IFL tournaments.  When 5th ed came out, that vanished.

Now, I’ve got opinions about the default inclusion of Forgeworld rules that don’t necessarily jive, I think, with the wider 40K blogosphere (there’s a blog post on that rattling around in my head)… but regardless of what I think should and shouldn’t belong in a tournament baseline, there’s always room for tournaments that step away from the baseline.

So, I’ll be running a tournament with the express purpose of encouraging folks to break out their ForgeWorld models.

When: 6/19
Size: 16 Players
Registration Fee
This is not an IFL Member’s only event.  Everybody’s welcome!
Preregistration is $5 for IFL Members,  $10 for non-IFL Members.  Registration at the door is $10 for IFL Members, $15 for non-IFL Members.
Pre-registration can be given to any IFL council member (Ben, Chris K, Chris S, Doug or Me) or gifted via PayPal to Treasury@IronFistLeague.com (be sure to note in your payment what you are paying for).
Army Composition
  • 2,000 points
  • Legal GW Codices and Army Lists from Imperial Armour books only.
  • Forge World and GW Datasheet models and units are allowed. However:
    • See the Adepticon 2010 Imperial Armor & Apocalypse Units document to reference what armies can take what, as well as where to find the most recent rules for those models and units.
    • No Superheavies or gargantuan creatures.  On the off chance that doesn’t cover everything, no models with structure points, power fields or void shields.  No units identified as “WMD” in the Gladiator document.
    • You must provide rules for anything you put on the table.  If you do not have a hard copy of the rules (the FW book, a photocopy of the rules, etc.) for a model/unit, you may not put it on the table.
    • Be prepared to answer questions about your units.  Be prepared to repeat yourself.
  • The rules for Flyers found in Apocalypse will be used, rather than the rules for Flyers found in the various Imperial Armour books, with the following changes to update them to 5th Edition:
    • Flyers without  Hover Mode must always begin the game in reserve.
    • Blast weapons that do not have the anti-aircraft special rule cannot hit flyers
    • Units embarked in a flying transport that is not in Hover Mode never count as scoring units so long as they are embarked.
  • All models must be painted to, at minimum, the Three Color standard.
Scoring
  • Battle Points – (5-20 points, plus 4 possible bonus points/game) Scenarios will fundamentally be based on the rulebook missions, tweaked with some rules from the Battle Missions book.  VP will be tracked, at the very least, for tie-breaking.
  • Appearance – (0-30 points) Scored using the Army Appearance Checklist found in the Grand Tournament 2008 Packet.  This score will be reduced to 75% (that is, calculated score * .75).
  • Sportsmanship – (0-10 points/game) Scored using the Army Appearance Checklist found in the Grand Tournament 2008 Packet.
  • Favorite Player – (2 points/vote) Each player will note their favorite player.  Criteria for this is up to the player: you like their army the most, their attitude the best, or they paid you $10.
Prizes
100% of entry fee, plus (possibly, waiting on a vote) prize support from the IFL, will be split across the following prizes:
  • Highest Overall (40%)
  • Most Battle Points (30%)
  • Highest Soft Score (30%) (Everything but Battle Points)
Ties for overall will be broken by soft scores, then battle points, then overall VP.  Ties for battle points will be broken by overall VP, then soft scores.  Ties for soft score will be broken by battle points, then overall VP.
Sign up in this thread here, please, or in the comments on this thread.  If we run out of space, I’ll fill spaces by timestamp.

I’m pretty confident about the format here.

Sportsmanship and Appearance scores are there, and are objective.  Everyone showing up knows how they’ll be calculated.  I think that’s key.

The GT Sportsmanship checklist kinda-sorta covers comp the way I think it should be expressed.

Discounting bonus points and favorite player votes, hard and soft scores both roll up to the same maximum point level.  This is either very clever or a big mistake… but it’s intentional, regardless.

Shockingly, I’ve already written up the scenarios.  I think they’ll be fun; different enough from standard games to be interesting, but without too many special rules to make them goofy.

If you’re in the area, and can make it out to Game Parlor Chantilly, this should hopefully be a really good time!