Staying the Same
Whilst I want Blog Wars to continue to evolve there are a few key ideals that will (hopefully) never change. These are things that are ingrained in the identity of the event.
- A single Special Character will remain a compulsory requirement. This is part of the identity of the event and despite GW deleting some prominent SCs I still think all of the factions have decent options.
- The raffle will continue to offer much better prizes than the tournament. I want people to enjoy three games in a relaxed atmosphere. Of course they should try to win their games but I don't want them to write their lists as dirty as possible because I'm offering a big prize to the winner. You can show up, lose all three games and still walk away with a bigger prize than the overall winner (but no certificate - unless you come dead last of course).
- Scoring will be fixed at 33 VPs per game (30 Primary, 3 Secondary). This helps to minimise the impact of simply receiving a bad draw as each round is worth the same number of points. I think it works well but perhaps that's just me?!
- Two spot prizes will be given in each round for specific things. Nothing too exciting but just a little token worth about a fiver for something stupid/awesome that you achieved in your game.
- The Venue - I'm happy with the venue and particularly with the support I receive from the owner as it makes the event a simple as possible to organise. The tables are decent and the location is accessible. I'm not particularly happy with the food but I'm coming to that later.
- Prizes for Best Painted Army and Best Painted Character. It's nice to have awards for both and it's rare for them to go to the same person. It means you could get your army to three colour minimum but focus on your SC and still have your efforts acknowledged.
Up for Discussion
As always I want to here your thoughts on the event and I endeavour to take your comments on board when writing the rules pack.
- Army Selection - over on the BW9 page I've posted up the proposed army selection criteria. I think it's a reasonable system but I want to hear your thoughts. Could be changed to simply two detachments of any kind for simplicity but I'd then rely on an element of self-policing so we didn't see 3 riptides and 3 wraithknights for example. What do you reckon to the current plan?
- Imperial Knights - they're certainly not overpowered, especially with the changes to Destroyer weaponry, but I've previously limited them to 1 per army. Would you be happy to see this lifted to allow up to 3 knights in a list? I can't see much of an issue. Of course some people will find it hard to deal with but if you know it's in there at least you can write your list accordingly in case you face it. Should Gerantius be allowed as an SC and should the Adamantine Lance formation be allowed?
- Tactical Objectives - as I discussed in an earlier post I'm looking to change the final mission to a Maelstrom one. This is to keep things fresh and embrace 7th edition a little more. Were you totally happy with the old "Control Freak" mission though and would prefer it to stop? Any thoughts on Maelstrom being used at BW?
- Best Conversion Award - I sometimes find that the other hobby awards (best army/best character) actually go to the army which features the best conversions. You can have an army of simply assembled models with an excellent paintjob overlooked because an army with a comparatively mediocre paintjob had some eyecatching conversions. Would introducing a conversions prize solve this?
Anything Else?
I'm going to be working on some behind the scenes improvements to make the event run more smoothly and I'm going to be talking to the venue nearer the time about the food as it wasn't up to scratch last time in my opinion. However, I'm also interested to know if you think there's anything else I can improve. Please comment below about anything from the list above or whatever else you think needs changing.