Thoughts on Steamroller 2015

Player Responsibilities

Being prepared for a tournament is essential for every player. In the Logistics section, they list what all a player should bring with them and they even include a link to a pdf with all the templates published in No Quarter for convenience of printing at home or elsewhere. Be sure to have spell effects next to the model, and some markation for when a warcaster has popped feat; judges are likely to rule that such effects are not in play if there is no marker.

It should be noted that players should have two copies of their lists with them. A list cannot be more than 2 points down from the point level of the tournament.

Army lists have to have an SR2015 objective (all 8 varieties are on page 8) for each army list. In effect, an objective needs to be picked for list A and list B. They can be the same, or different. They will remain the same through out the tournament This also means that you have to select it before you even know who you'll be playing.

Permission has been granted to photo-copy theme forces. I wonder if this also applies to the document that Press Gangers can access that has all the theme forces. They don't provide a link like they do to the template sets.

Modeling and Painting

There are rules for all the Privateer Press Exclusive models, including the Kilt-lifter. Nice to have some confidence.

There is a note that units must be clearly identifiable. Having two or more of the same units may necessitate a very clear paint scheme so that others can tell the difference. Green, dark green, and light green might not be enough of a difference in models. If painting them to have some distinct difference is goes against the paint scheme of the army, then consider getting different colored rubber bands to mark them differently. If a judge gets called over and can't tell the difference in units, then it is unlikely that they will judge in your favor.

Conversion

Conversion rules stay pretty much the same. As an occasional EO, be upfront with any conversions that you intend to bring. What you think might be a very sweet conversion might not pass muster to another. This also might fall in line with making it so that your opponent has an idea of what they are facing.

Sportsmanship

While the serious tourney players need not fear the inclusion of soft scores, there are some interesting things to note in this section. The one that gets me is in the concession area. An EO can disqualify someone that concedes if they feel that the concession was done in an unsporting manner. I dislike that someone who removes themselves from a tilting situation to not be an unsporting player might have to suffer more than just losing the game.

This brings up another point, you need to be your own advocate. Nothing is worse than a judge telling you that he would have done something if he had been told about it during the game. If something is fishy, then ask for a judge.

Event Organizer Responsibilities

There's not a lot here that will concern most players right off. Number of rounds, timing, how scenarios are chosen; things that happen that a player can't really control. Only a few changes to begin with, but there are some things to think about.

Terrain

There are classifications for terrain and how they can be placed. No terrain in deployment zones, basically outside of 10 inches from either board edge. Restricted terrain (i.e. - linear obstacles and obstructions) needs to be 5 inches or more from flags, objectives, and other terrain. Other terrain needs only 2 inches of space. Anything added after deployment follows the normal rules for placement. Trenches can be placed touching other trenches.

Scenario elements that are scored but in the wrong place due to shifting during play, are scored and then corrected. Resetting scenario zones is an acceptable reason for pausing the clock.

Starting the Game

The starting roll has an interesting bit of wording.

The player with the higher result can choose to be the first or second player. The second player chooses his table edge. The first player deploys first and takes the first turn.

This is interesting as winning the roll can be used to go second and then decide table edge. I'm not sure that this is for the best, as I think one player should get to choose first or second, and the other gets to pick table edge. One player getting to choose both... Well, them's the rules.

I'll cover the scenarios and variants in the next posting.

Looking at 2014 and 2015

As a new year rolls in, it's time to look at the resolutions made in the past year. Alas, I fell asleep at the wheel on this one. I'll attempt to do better this year.

So, what to talk about? Let's look at what has happened, and what can be hoped for in the year to come.

I am no longer a Press Ganger. Studying and working were too much for me to keep that schedule going. Our local Press Gang goes on strong without me needing to be there, though I'm always glad to help when I can.

2014 was quite a year for rule changes. The painting/conversion guidelines were a bit odd. In the end, I think that it's mostly going to be the TO's judgement except at the few Privateer events that really matter (Iron Guantlet, Lock and Load).

The death of the “Khador Arc Node” by ruling solves a problem, but creates an exploitable situation that may end up souring folk on the game. Essentially, if a player's unit is not all within command of the leader, then they cannot receive beneficial spells from the friendly 'casters. However, the same rule does not hold true for an opponent who can cast malignant spells on the out of command unit. It's even possible for the opponent to create that circumstance. I can foresee that I would go on tilt when the ruling is used against me.

Lock and Load is growing for the better. Every year has been an improvement on the previous year. I'm looking forward to Lock and Load 2015. I hope that the success that they had in getting people to play the Bodgers games and High Command will translate over into giving the RPG more love. It would be nice if there were enough organized play sessions to meet demand.

I'm disappointed that I didn't play in any tournaments at Lock and Load. I was at work both times that the schedule went live. I'll probably give this year a pass as well, unless the Old Guys Pro-Tour makes an appearance. There will always be a part of me that hopes we will see a less grueling tournament schedule.

A few year's ago, cameras started hitting the scene. It really affected the 40k side of the street, as it showed players that were cheating in a format that really called to Win at All Cost (WAAC) players. This was the year that enough footage made it out to the masses to present questionable situations. It also showed how ugly the community can get.

I can only hope that more respected voices of the Warmachine community take a lead on such things. How many podcasts have briefly touched on the issue with an immediate deferment of willingness to talk about it? Oz Machine really handled the issue of video taped cheating well, and I hope that it will serve as a template of how to properly handle such issues in the future.

There are a lot of good things on the horizon. Privateer's models are getting better and better; Dozer and Smig, Bradigus, Jaga Jaga... So good. The community is looking at improving some of the problems that organized play can have. (Check out this idea for fixing Journeyman leagues: http://museonminis.com/forums/index.php?topic=4639.msg82585#msg82585) It will be great to see how it all unfolds.