Jvesal

The ITC adopts all beta rules immediately as a rule, I think they should be in effect here even though it doesnt effect me. Once a Beta rule is out, they are basically supposed to be in use. YMMV.

Bummer that I cant attend either because the armies I play are already taken. Would have had more attendance if it wasn't so exclusive.

Flying in from Vancouver, Canada tomorrow night. Hopefully some of you guys can adopt me for Beers Saturday as I will be coming down solo!

No clue. I am a casual gamer who is hobby focused. I still don't like to lose every game though.

Hey guys,

I will be down for the annihilation weekender from Vancouver Canada and just curious about the meta down there. We just had wet coast GT up here (73 player ITC) and winners were as you expect Dark reaper heavy eldar and some of the nastier Tyranid list. Lots of superheavy tank guard lists etc. Just curious what kind of stuff people are playing down there so I don't get totally tabled.

Thanks!

I am going to drive down from Canada for this!

Thanks for all the replies, I have been to guardian before, super cool place. Just havent played any games there.

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Hey guys!

I am a member of Chop Gaming from BC, and made it to the OFCC way back when in 2003/4/5 in it's infancy so I am familiar with the great group and playstyle. I am in Portland for my restaurant about once a month down from Vancouver Canada, and looking to potentially bring my army to maybe get a game in or two but curious as to who and where I could connect with some guys to throw down.

I checked some of the other 40k event pages but it seemed the last posts were from 2015 etc so thought I would touch base to see if anyone could help! thanks

Jim,

 

I totally agree that the variety of tournament formats is key. I don't think Nate suggested he had a problem with any players, his comment was on the nature of the system.

 

Also, Nate, after re-reading your post I had another thought. The thought put into the paint scoring and how it affects overall really matters and not all 33% splits are equal. For example, is your goal with paint scoring to reward people who put in the time and love needed? Or to reward outstanding artists? I've been to some 33% paint events where a complete, consistent army that looks good on the table gets *almost* the max score, and the outstanding armies get maybe half a game worth of a lead. Say, I end up with a 29 (all boxes checked) and Jim ends up with a 33 (all boxes checked, + bonuses for awesomeness). Those 4 points are worth about half a game. I've also been to some events where paint was 33% and the paint scores varied drastically to the point where the best armies were getting effectively 33% and MOST armies 15%. That becomes a pretty daunting gap to make up on the table. My point is the percentage breakdown is less important than the specifics of the design and intent behind what and how much people are rewarded for various aspects of the hobby. 

 

I think that as tournaments mature and TOs see more results that design tends to get tighter and become a more accurate reflection of the TO's value system.

 

So, if the concern is the prospect of a poorly designed event, I would totally agree that it's no fun to travel somewhere to walk in and know that the structure as defined means you start out with no chance. And that that concern is something that TO's should be aware of. 

 

But I also agree with Jim that there is value in having soft scores. It's my opinion that soft scores, when applied thoughtfully and with some restraint, help build/attract/retain the kind of people that I want to have at tournaments, and that those people grow the tournaments in turn. Two people yelling at each other over a table covered in bare plastic is not something I've ever seen at a PNW fantasy event - and, to me, that's really important.

Your bang on my friend. I actually have benefited quite a bit over the years due to what I would say is "wonky" weighting in tournaments, i.e where my soft scores in paint/sports bump me up 3-4 spots. But not all tournaments are like that, and I like the good mix we have in the PNW. Some tournaments lean towards gaming more, and some give more points to soft scores, and as far as I'm concerned thats OK. because it means we get a variety of different tournaments.

I am actually an advocate of the painting rubrics where the painting score spread is fairly small (like your 4 pt example) and the trick is finding a balance so that the pro-painted/top armies dont get 1% higher than the 3 color minimums. its a balance every TO tries to find and no one system is superior. At the end of the day, I really like the spread of tournaments we have in the PNW and personally hope it stays a mix of hobby/gaming tournaments.

so im going to open up a pretty big can of worms, so apologies ahead of time for anyone this offends/objects strongly, pot stirring cause im sure it will but i wanted to get it off my chest:

           i wish that masters, regardless of its gaming platform of KoW/AoS/9th etc, just used battle(with objectives if used) for its ranking purposes.  or just a more 'standardization for masters purposes' from the data provided by the TO(yes thats probably a pain in the arse).  The overall for every tournament is just so different and paint can be as high as 1/3 of the points(it is absurdly high compared to events in other parts of the country) which i just dont see how that is a good measuring stick for a competitive event like the masters which grades things more traditionally/standard at their yearly competition.  i still think tournaments should have what they want for their overall, etc and prizes honestly id rather have more prizes go to those that put excellent paint and time into their armies cause they deserve it.  i think it more should be a tiebreaker or something with lower weight applied along with sports.   something that ' slightly separates' two basically equal generals.   they really shouldn't be as decisive as the game itself... obviously just my opinion but ill be frank: it defeats the purpose of competition playing when you start down with a terrible handicap so ill probably bow out of traveling to most competitive events and save it for something that has a more standardized ranking system(infinity's ITS is an example of reference that has recently dawned on me).  once again, this is not hit on the great painters as its an important and well respected aspect of the game.  its just when i think of a master player i think of the best players ive faced against, not really the best painters/enjoyable guys ive faced..

I have to politely disagree, only because I think your walking a dangerous path towards what the WMH tournament scenes is where 20% of armies are barely painted and the rest are bare plastic and metal.

Sports/Paint should be a part of every tournament, because it is a Hobby and not just a game, there is a reason we have Best GENERAL and Best OVERALL. Because they signify two different things. One is pure battle, the other is a aggregate score including things like Sports, paint and comp in some tournaments. Ultimately though I think a good balance is needed and it is nice to have different tournaments be different in order for us to have a wide range of options for how we like to play.

I really like the themed SPDM that Ricky Fisher runs and I like the more cutthroat events as well, if every tournament was identical in rules/comp/scenarios it would get old fast, and we would lose what makes each tournament unique. Furthermore I think the US Masters already awards Battle as the main component, Finally I would say that what you think the US Masters should be, might not neccesarily be the same as everyone. The masters as it currently stands is won on pure battle, so you are already getting your way. If you have a problem with the people who play/qualified this/previous years because you think they did it solely on "soft scores" well that is another matter all together. But personally I'd rather send 8 guys who are good players, have nice armies, and are great opponents to represent our region to the masters, than to send 8 people who are pure gamers and don't represent the whole hobby well.

Long term I'd like to support a game with an actual company behind. I'm talking 4-10 years here. We need a game that will keep growing and keep getting new players or the scene will die and disappear, and please don't cite BB as an example. BB has a very small buy in (12-13 models) and is more of a board game then serious large scale combat game. It is not even comparable.

This is why for me all the fan made editions are out. 9th age especially doesn't interest me, too many arbitrary changes and too much stuffed into one edition. It's like they are actually putting out 15th edition with the amount of changes.

This leaves AoS or KoW for me. Honestly, I can't support GW with what they have done to the game and the lack of support, communication etc. enough is enough. I am really liking the lack of shenanigans in KoW and the communication and support from Mantic, the game they have is a little bland true, but I feel like it's only 2nd ed and the game is only going to get better, plus they actually want us tournament players.

Ticket Bought. Should be about 3-4 of us Canadians Coming down.

Def gonna try and make it down for this.

I had to drop due to a wedding, but then decided [big bad swear word] it! So me and Veskit are leaving Vancouver BC at 10pm at night and going to drive through the night to get down for this.

Pumped!

Will try and make it, depends on Work, Ill know late march~

Hey Bro's

I registered thinking I could convince some club mates to come down but it looks like im solo mission at the moment. If anyone need an extra person in there room, let me know. I will be driving down from Vancouver, Canada!

Please don't allow the 1k point uber characters. They just dominate games (Nagash, KFC, Malekith)

Registered and Paid! Excited to head down south, Will be my first time since the first OFCC!

Are you using the scoring system for paint/sports from the US masters as well? The 40k Tournament has all the rules listed but the WHFB one doesnt.

Will people be there the evening before the event?

I'll be driving down from Vancouver and would love some pickup games the night before. Anyone who wants to smash hobby And beers let me know. Also anyone coming in from out of town who is looking to split accom or just make it cheaper for themselves let me know!

Pretty much every hotel and motel in Bellevue is good, because so many people come to visit Microsoft. If you can convince someone else to come with you, hotel costs shouldn't be too bad. If you don't find anyone else, let me know.

Think I'll get a ticket and just do it live! I'll let you know how my house hunting goes.

Thinking of Driving down from Van for this, any suggestions on places to stay near the venue? or Accom. Would rather not sleep in my car.