11-02-2012, 07:45 PM
My Saturday started with an alarm ringing at stupid o’clock, leaving me tired and at work. After rushing to get my job finished as quickly as I could, it was time to get home, grab a shower and something to eat, and then head off to my B&B.
However the main part of the day prior to any event, is preparation. What I need to do is, make sure I have any items that I will need in the event. This is includes the models that I will need, on top of any markers, pens, rulebooks, movement trays, templates, terrain, etc. For me most of this was done, on the Friday evening, as I was traveling to the event a day earlier. If I was going to and from the tournament on the same day, this would be the last thing I would do, before I jump into bed.
This aside, one of the most important things you should do before an event, is read the tournament pack. The one for Ice Breaker is fairly simple. It tells me I will be playing 4 games over the day, at 80 minutes per game. These will be 35 soul stone games, with one pre-declared faction, that is fixed for the day. Finally it lists a pool of 5 strategies, that a random 4 will be played over the day, and that I can only use each scheme once during the day. Other events may require you to send in an army list, or tell you of painting requirements etc, and it is best to make sure you know what you are competing in.
So having read through the rules pack again, I have some more preparation to do. Firstly I need to read through all the scenarios that I can possibly play. I will do this several times, to make sure there are no small, but important points that I over look. For instance in this event, during a shared Destroy the Evidence, an insignificant model cannot interact with an evidence marker. Selecting a crew full of insignificant models to do this, would leave me in trouble. However when it comes to interacting with the Treasure counter, during a shared Treasure Hunt, an insignificant model can do so, although at the end of the game, there are other penalties with doing so with such models. An other point to note is the time limit in each round, is fairly tight. Using more complex models, can delay my game, causing problems. As an example, if you are playing Hardcore Warmahordes, with a 30 minutes clock before you lose, taking 2 units of 10 Bile thralls would be a bad idea. When working out all those spays could take over a minute each, meaning you would time out a huge amount. On the other hand taking 3 Heavy Jacks, with fairly simple activations, will speed you up, and put the time pressure on your opponent.
So having read, and re-read the scenarios several times, I start to think about how to deal with them. for the foreseeable future I plan on only using Rasputina as a master, which puts me at a heavy disadvantage, due to her being fairly slow, and also one of the weakest masters in the game. However my plan is to get to know how she works, and the easiest way to do that, is play her a lot. So With several of the strategies involving travelling across the board, I look at models and combo’s that will work with Rasputina, that increase my mobility. This is something you should be doing before an event, such as if your playing Warhammer Fantasy, and you are playing the Watch Tower game 2, you should work out, when creating your army list, one how to hold the tower, two how to take it should your opponent get into it first. For example, if I was using an Empire army, I would look at taking 30 or 40 Flagellants, as they can gain Hatred, and they use Flails. When assaulting a building, combatants split at the end of the combat phase, meaning every combat is the first round. So you are always getting re-rolls to hit, and +2 strength. Giving yourself an idea how to win a game, when it comes to army selection, is a huge advantage. I also look through all the rules again, just making sure everything works how I expect it will.
Then I try, and usually fail, to get a good nights sleep. So basically the final day before an event, I try to spend preparing fully. Reading rules, and packing everything together. It’s that simple, and a little dull, but hopefully it gives you a bit of insight into my pre-tournament preparation. Tomorrow or Monday I will give you some actual news on the event.
However the main part of the day prior to any event, is preparation. What I need to do is, make sure I have any items that I will need in the event. This is includes the models that I will need, on top of any markers, pens, rulebooks, movement trays, templates, terrain, etc. For me most of this was done, on the Friday evening, as I was traveling to the event a day earlier. If I was going to and from the tournament on the same day, this would be the last thing I would do, before I jump into bed.
This aside, one of the most important things you should do before an event, is read the tournament pack. The one for Ice Breaker is fairly simple. It tells me I will be playing 4 games over the day, at 80 minutes per game. These will be 35 soul stone games, with one pre-declared faction, that is fixed for the day. Finally it lists a pool of 5 strategies, that a random 4 will be played over the day, and that I can only use each scheme once during the day. Other events may require you to send in an army list, or tell you of painting requirements etc, and it is best to make sure you know what you are competing in.
So having read through the rules pack again, I have some more preparation to do. Firstly I need to read through all the scenarios that I can possibly play. I will do this several times, to make sure there are no small, but important points that I over look. For instance in this event, during a shared Destroy the Evidence, an insignificant model cannot interact with an evidence marker. Selecting a crew full of insignificant models to do this, would leave me in trouble. However when it comes to interacting with the Treasure counter, during a shared Treasure Hunt, an insignificant model can do so, although at the end of the game, there are other penalties with doing so with such models. An other point to note is the time limit in each round, is fairly tight. Using more complex models, can delay my game, causing problems. As an example, if you are playing Hardcore Warmahordes, with a 30 minutes clock before you lose, taking 2 units of 10 Bile thralls would be a bad idea. When working out all those spays could take over a minute each, meaning you would time out a huge amount. On the other hand taking 3 Heavy Jacks, with fairly simple activations, will speed you up, and put the time pressure on your opponent.
So having read, and re-read the scenarios several times, I start to think about how to deal with them. for the foreseeable future I plan on only using Rasputina as a master, which puts me at a heavy disadvantage, due to her being fairly slow, and also one of the weakest masters in the game. However my plan is to get to know how she works, and the easiest way to do that, is play her a lot. So With several of the strategies involving travelling across the board, I look at models and combo’s that will work with Rasputina, that increase my mobility. This is something you should be doing before an event, such as if your playing Warhammer Fantasy, and you are playing the Watch Tower game 2, you should work out, when creating your army list, one how to hold the tower, two how to take it should your opponent get into it first. For example, if I was using an Empire army, I would look at taking 30 or 40 Flagellants, as they can gain Hatred, and they use Flails. When assaulting a building, combatants split at the end of the combat phase, meaning every combat is the first round. So you are always getting re-rolls to hit, and +2 strength. Giving yourself an idea how to win a game, when it comes to army selection, is a huge advantage. I also look through all the rules again, just making sure everything works how I expect it will.
Then I try, and usually fail, to get a good nights sleep. So basically the final day before an event, I try to spend preparing fully. Reading rules, and packing everything together. It’s that simple, and a little dull, but hopefully it gives you a bit of insight into my pre-tournament preparation. Tomorrow or Monday I will give you some actual news on the event.
Star Wars Legion - Rebels
Guildball - Alchemists
Blood Bowl - Lizardmen
Guildball - Alchemists
Blood Bowl - Lizardmen