40K Deep Thought: A New Approach to Competitive Gaming
Black Blow Fly has been running 40K tourneys for over ten years and has some words of grey haired wisdom.
Black Blow Fly here swinging through your hood to spread some more mischief and be a big nuisance. You probably would never know that I’ve been running 40k grand tournaments (GT) for over a decade now. I’ve seen a lot of things come and go and the first thing I’ll say is no comp is the best. Comp is always subjective and there is no getting around that by any means because all TOs are human.
What is Comp and Why It Sucks
Do you really want someone telling you what you can bring to a tournament? Remember the old saying Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. Comp is a means to restrict what people bring and it used to be very popular over a decade ago in the US… But really not anymore here in a truly competitive environment.
By the way in case you were wondering…
Comp = Army Composition Restrictions
let me just change this one little rule…
Changing Core Rules
The flip side to comp is changing actual rules which by some including me is also considered a big no no. Changing rules can effectively and easily effectively induce comp since by very specific rule changes you can nerf the units you don’t like for whatever reasons such as Death Stars.
Recently there has been a lot of work to hold down the assault phase in favor of super shooty alpha strike armies for whatever reason. Ideally all TOs should strive for the ultimate balance rather than infuse their own personal biases and agendas into the game – especially at a very broad level.
One of the things about changing core rules is no TO is an actual developer so there is no way they can really predict or see the collateral damage they will inflict on the tournament scene… And they do.
The Beaky System
So I spent a lot of time this year thinking how to develop a system that would make for the most fun overall for everyone attending my GT. I have illustrated some of the pit falls above in regards to comp and outright changing the rules. I decided that I would design my own system this year exactly how I think best and not necessarily follow in the foot steps of the big boys.
1. The first thing I want is one day as opposed to two so people traveling from far away have more time to go home after the event is over. This year the event which is in central Florida has people coming away from as far as Miami and Louisiana plus it’s sold out yet again.
2. The second thing I want to do is eliminate Gargantuans and Super Heavy Walkers in favor of 1650 points and more rounds to determine a true winner. This is comp straight up but I think it’s fair in the regards to how it’s applied overall – there are no big winners or losers. A lot of people have told me they really like this aspect.
3. The third thing I want to do is blend the new and awesome GW errata and FAQs with ITC. ITC is very popular this year in the USA – the proverbial 666 pound gorilla that can do no wrong. If something is popular there must be a good reason and I can get behind that for all the right reasons. The main thing we should all be aiming for is the ultimate fairness. It’s so amazing to see GW getting back into the game at this level and they are absolutely addressing everything including many of the rules abuse that falls out from some unnamed poorly moderated 40K rules forums.
The Way Forward
While there is no perfect system some are way by far much better than others. You can’t argue with success either… While people are fickle if you’ve got something good it works and at the end of the day that’s what players want – especially when they are paying their hard earned dollars and spending time to attend your event.
A perfect system would require a very balanced rule set. I think GW realizes they need to clarify 40k even though there is no intention on their part to develop the game into a truly balanced system, hence the popularity for the Aussie HATE and the US ITC systems. It takes some real work to develop a system that appeals to a wide spectrum of players that want to travel and play. My new system can easily be incorporated into a multi event… Think about it.
~What’s your take on the three point Beaky system?
