Blood of Kittens is leaving for Austin tonight on the good old Red Eye. Blood of Kittens is making the trp to WAR Games Con 2010 the con (formerly known as BoLSCon) in order to give you all the convention coverage you crave. Everyone keeps on telling me this event has double in size from its inaugural year so it should be a load of fun.

This will be Blood of Kittens first trip to the heart of Texas. Like Adepticon Blood of Kittens will be posting pictures and videos starting Thursday of all the events as they happen. So check back here for updates. 

Coverage of the SEVEN game extravaganza of a singles tournament will be the main focus as the winners will get the tickets to Vegas for next year. The number of participants is so large that they have been divided into separate brackets that with time permitting each winner will play for supreme bragging rights.

The tournament will be my favorite point value of 1500…a boy can dream right? Instead they the games will be 2000 points with two hour games. What are the chances of horde armies showing up?

This year the event will allow Allies which unlike last year had many people butt hurt.  Here is a copy and paste of what you can expect this year…

Warhammer 40K 2000 Point Tournament v.1.0

Basic Rules

Armies will consist of 2000 points using a standard force organization chart.

The Warhammer 40,000 5th Edition Rules will be used.

Games Workshop FAQs will be used.

The BoLSCon FAQ will be used.

The following Codex armies are allowed:

Black Templars

Blood Angels (not currently released as of 1/13/2010)

Chaos Daemons

Chaos Space Marines

Dark Angels

Dark Eldar

Daemonhunters

Eldar

Imperial Guard

Necrons

Orks

Space Marines

Space Wolves

Tau

Tyranids

Witch Hunters

All armies must be drawn from the latest version of their codex.  If they refer to other codices, the latest version of that codex must be used.

Forge World/Imperial Armor rules are not allowed.  Forgeworld models can be used to represent appropriate models from a legal army.

Individual units that may have multiple rules versions will follow the rules presented in that army’s codex. This means a Black Templar Land Raider will function differently than a standard Space Marine Land Raider. Please take the time to review the FAQ’s for clarifications.

Special/Unique/Named Characters may be fielded unless their rules would not allow them in a 2000 point army.

The ‘What You See Is What You Get’ (WYSIWYG) rule is in effect. That means all units must be easily identifiable as the particular codex choice they represent and that any and all weapons/options taken for a unit must be clearly represented on the model(s).  Inaccurate and confusing models can be removed from the board at any point and for the duration of the game, at your opponent’s discretion.

You must provide access to your own rules (which include the actual Codex used for your army), dice, templates, pen/pencil, calculator, or anything else you’ll need during the course of regular play.

A separate printed army list is required for the judges and each of your opponents. (9 total copies).

In order to keep the tournament running on schedule, when time is called for a round, all player’s must drop the dice and stop playing – no exceptions. Because of this, please be aware of the time left in the round and do not start a turn you cannot finish.

If you field illegal units or models, they will be removed from play.  If you field models other than those on your list, those will be removed from play. 

Judges’ rulings are final and arguments or poor conduct by players will not be tolerated. BoLSCon reserves the right to eject you with no refund, on the discretion of the Head Judge and/or other Officers.

Tournament Rules

 

The BoLSCon 40K Grand Tournament is a two day event with four games Saturday and three games Sunday, allowing a much more accurate Swiss System than most tournaments.  To increase the enjoyment of our players, we will also split brackets after the first four games are completed.  The second day will see players either continue on the Championship Bracket or move into the Consolation Bracket for a 3 game tournament.  Painting and Quiz results from day 1 are used for both brackets.

Consolation Bracket

Among the changes from the standard 2-day tournament layout we have added to our system for BoLSCon is the concept of a consolation bracket.  At the end of day one, we will split the bottom half of the players into a consolation bracket.  The Consolation Bracket also has prize support for Overall, Best General, and Sportsmanship Awards; it is in effect a separate 3 game tournament.  You are not required to move to the Consolation Bracket; anyone who wishes to remain in the Championship Bracket (and would normally go to the Consolation Bracket) will have the ability to indicate their wishes on their score sheet for Round 4.

 

Scoring:

 

Championship Bracket:

Battle Points(74%): (329 points) 7 games, 47 points per round, objective based.

Sportsmanship(13%): ( 56 points) 7 games, 8 points per round, player scored.

Painting(6%): 25 points, judge scored.

Rules Knowledge(5%): 20 point quiz.

List Submission(2%): 10 points.

440 total points

Consolation Bracket:

Battle Points (64%): (141 points) 3 games, 47 points per round, objective based.

Sportsmanship(11%): (24 points) 3 games, 8 points per round, player scored.

Painting (11%): 25 points, judge scored.

Rules Knowledge (9%): 20 point quiz.

List Submission (5%): 10 points.

220 total points

Battle Points:

Each round will have the following scoring criteria:

Primary Objective: 20 points

Secondary Objective: 13 points

Tertiary Objective: 9 points

5 points worth of modifiers

Sportsmanship:

Choice of one:

1.This was a good game and my opponent was pleasant. Yes/No (6 points)

2. My opponent was incredible and I had a great time with them. Yes/No (8 points)

3. My opponent actively made the game unpleasant and I would prefer not to play them again, ever. Yes/No (2 points)

Selecting items 2 or 3 will have a judge speak with you, and possibly your opponent about the game.

Failure to provide your opponent with a copy of your list before the start of the round will result in a zero sportsmanship score for the round.  Before giving a zero sportsmanship score you must ask for a copy of the list.  If you give an opponent a poor sportsmanship score, expect a judge to speak with you and your opponent about the game.

Painting:

All models are expected to be fully assembled and painted to a minimum of a 3 color standard.  Paint scoring will be handled by judges, and scored as follows:

Any models not painted to a 3 color minimum standard: Ineligible for Overall Winner*

0-50% painted to good tabletop standard: +10 points

50-100% painted to a good tabletop standard: +10 points

Extraordinary individual models: +1/per (maximum 4 points)

Extraordinary painting for the majority of the army: +1 point

* If you have lost or damaged models in transit, speak to the judges prior to the beginning of the tournament, and we will probably waive this restriction.

Players wishing to enter the various Painting Contest Categories, please see the Painting Contest Page.

Rules Knowledge:

The rules quiz will be given before the start of the second round.

20 questions, 12 Basic questions, 8 Harder questions.

 Awards

Overall Champion – Highest Total Points

Best General – Highest Battle Points, Sportsmanship then Overall for tiebreakers

Best Sportsman – Highest Sportsmanship Points, Overall then Battle for tiebreakers

40K Rules Savant – Highest Quiz Score, tiebreaker quiz will be given if needed

 As you can see War Games Con is low on soft scores high on battle scores. Still not at the levels I would like, but close enough for a proper competitive event. If I remember correctly I am a judge for this, so that should be interesting.

If people have suggestions for what they want to see from my coverage comment away. Otherwise I hope to see many of you there!