‘Warhammer: The Old World’- How and Why You Should Go To A Tournament
Going to a tournament is a major aspect of playing Warhammer: The Old World, lets talk about how you can do it.
There are a lot of ways to interact with the game of Warhammer: The Old World. You can play casually. You play with friends or strangers. Some people don’t even want to play, and just enjoy the hobby. Others take a more competitive angle to the game. For a lot of people a highlight of interacting with the game is going to events. These can me competitive tournaments, narrative events, doubles or team tournaments and other events.
For some people attending tournaments and events can be intimidating. If you’ve never gone it can be a hard thing to do, and outside of some people’s comfort zone. So today I wanted to take a little time and talk about how you can go about attending an event, and highlight a few you might want to think about going to.
Step One – Find The Right Event
The first step to going to an event is to the pick the right one to go to. There is something of a misconception that all events/tournaments are highly competitive an full of Win-At-All-Cost players. This simply isn’t true. There are some very competitive out there. At the same time there are plenty of casual events and narrative ones, and everything in-between. I would recommend looking at potential events you could go to. Review what options you have and see if you can find that might fit what you are looking for.
If you’ve never been to an event, a smaller local event is a great way to dip your toes in. Doubles events are also a lot of fun and great for newer players as you will have a friend there. If you don’t know the scene or rules as well as you’d like partnering up with a more experienced player can be a big help. The key is not to treat all events equally and find one that fits you. Now of course, not everyone has a ton of choices of events. In that case I still recommend trying one, but it can be harder.
Get Your Army Together
Once you have the event you want to go to, you’ll need to get your army ready. For some people this can be easy. But in this day and age with ToW one of the important things is to double check if the event has any special army composition rules. These could include restrictions, changes to rules and if they are using fan based updates such as the Renegade Pack. Any of these things might force you to change from your standard army. So check these ahead of time and make sure you can adjust your army well before the event.
This step can also be part of picking the right event. If you are looking for a more casual event finding one with comp that limits the most abusable units might be a big help. You can also check if events require painting or not. That could be a deciding factor on whether you want to go, and what you need to get ready.
Get In Touch With The Locals
In this day and age most events have an online presence. Most commonly these are either Facebook groups/chats or a Discord. Connecting with these groups can be a big help in going to an event. You can talk to other players and TOs and get to know them. Confirm any rules questions you have before hand. If you are traveling to an event you can get tips on places to stay/eat. If its a local event you can meet other local players. It will help give you an idea of the type of event and what to expect.
Ask The TO Questions Before Hand
If there are any major rules questions you have that might really effect your army, I recommend asking the TO (tournament organizer) or judges well beforehand. This might be about have a specific rule works or if a conversion you have is legal. Nothing is worse then getting to an event having planned your army around a model or comb or rule and finding out it isn’t legal. Make sure you know in time to change things.
Come Prepared
Making sure you are prepared can make an event go very smoothly. Good shoes are a must as you’ll be standing a lot. Books, dice, movement trays and any game tools. If you are using digital rules make sure you have a charger. Keep hydrated. A display board or cart to help you move your army around and keep things tidy is very useful. Also check if the event requires anything extra, such as objectives. If the event isn’t using something like BCP, bring a printed version of your list so the other player doesn’t have to awkwardly scroll your phone.
Don’t Take Things Too Seriously
Most importantly just have a good time. It’s game, and not taking things too seriously will make it so everyone has a more fun time. Even if you end up at the top table of a major event, being chill and having a fun time should be a priority. Being uptight and nitpicking ever rule doesn’t make for a better game. But everyone should also find their own joy.
Some Events Worth Looking At
Lastly I just wanted to highlight a few events that seem cool:
–Akron Brew Brawl– Jan 17th-18th, Akron, OH, USA. This is a 2 day 2000 pt event. This year it’s being run with a bit more a narrative flair and is very chill. It’s held at a Brewery and entry includes food and drinks. I’ll be attending and its been a very fun event in the past.
–Bloodbath In the Old World– Feb. 21st, Holt MI, USA. This is a one day 3000 pt event. While it’s not a huge event you don’t see a ton of 3K events out there so it promises to be a bit different. I’ll also be at this one.
–‘Renegades’ 3 Player Team Event – Jan. 10th, Perth, Australia. This is a 1 day 2000 pt event where players form 3 person teams. Team events are pretty cool and can be a lot of fun. They allow you to play a different kind of event.
–Warhammer the Old World GT Defcon 2026– Jan. 3rd, Linköping, Sweden. A 2 day, 2000 pt. event. This is a decently sized 2 day event in Sweden. I don’t know a ton about it, but they’ve got a nice player packet and have some common sense comp rules, so doesn’t seem like its a WAAC event.
–AdeptiCon– March 25-29th, Milwaukee, WI, USA. One of the big events in North American. This convention has events for basically every game system over multiple days. Old World has double events, a big singles GT and more. It can be an overwhelming event, but its massive fun.
–Richmond Open– May 1-3rd, Richmond, VA, USA. A two for one deal you see at many larger events. Friday features a one day doubles tournament with each team member bringing a 1000 pts list. Saturday and Sunday has a 2000 pts GT. Richmond is a great city and the event seems like it will be a ton of fun.
Let us know what events you are looking forward to going to, down in the comments!
