How to prepare for a tournament, Part one

I've decided that to better help people as a whole, I've decided to write a 3 part series on how to prepare for a tournament. This can be for any miniature game system, and can even be transposed onto other games as well. It will focus on part 1 (How to choose your army, and analysis) part 2 (how to psychologically prepare) and part 3 (setting goals and expectations). Without further adieu..

Preparing for a tournament, Part 1: How to choose your army and analysis.

So, you've decided that playing games in your friends basement is no longer enjoyable competition, you want to get out there and participate in maybe a local tournament coming up, or you just want to start getting into the tournament mainstream to get your name or club out there. For a new person getting into the tournament scene, this daunting task can seem almost impossible and might be a waste of money. This series is designed for those just getting into the tournament scene, or maybe some of the more veteran players who want to improve their standings at tournaments.

Choosing your lists.. How?!?

For those of us in the miniature world, we either have our one army that we know and love with a passion,(mine just happens to be dark elves) or we have several armies that we've collected and painted over the years. The first thing you have to decide before embarking on your tournament preparation is of course to choose your list.

Know the restrictions and points level.

It might seem like a given. The very first thing you should look at is the Format in which the tournament is being run. For fantasy it might be at a certain points level your not accustom to playing, example, you and your friends have always ran 1500 points but the tournament is 2500 points. This might make you sit down and ponder what exactly your current army (or armies) have.

Second, you have to see if the tournament that your going to is going to use any restrictions. You may be used to running that huge Gutstar, or Triple Heldrake list, but the tournament your going to is only allowing X number of points per unit, or restricting the number of things you can take in a list. This can also factor in to how you choose your army/list.

Lastly, How is the tournament going to be scored. If it's not in the website of the tournament, ask someone who is affiliated with the tournament to let you know how it will be scored, and some tournaments would even be so gracious as to provide missions that the tournament will be running for playtesting purpose.

What do you want in a list?

The first thing you want to do when creating your tournament list, after doing the things in the paragraphs listed above, is what do you want the list to do?

First and foremost, It's highly recommended that you build your tournament lists to be classified as "balanced". You can build a list that is designed to just go forth and smash people in the face, but if you face off against an army that's the complete counter to yours, then that will ruin your tournament experience.

How do you build a "balanced" list you might ask? Well, it starts by analyzing your chosen army (or armies) strengths and weaknesses. An example of an armies strength and weakness can be something as simple as, Dark elves have excellent and hard hitting choices and amazing magic support, but their weakness is that the majority of the army is only toughness 3 with little to no armor save.


When analyzing your strengths and weaknesses, it's important to look at each individual unit/model that you have and decide on the proper distribution of elements.These elements are as followed

• Character
• Shooting specialist
• Close combat specialist
• Fast element
• Cannon fodder/throw away unit

It's important in creating a balanced list that you have a good mix of each of these elements listed above. The ratio will vary depending on points level but it's recommended that for every 500-750 points in the list that you have Either one fast element in your army or one cannon fodder/throw away unit in your army. This is more prevalent in fantasy than in any other gaming system, but the concept can be carried to the other systems.

Why would you even include those two categories in any list that you make? Well, for one thing you may design an army that's sole focus is shooting your opponent before they get in, but you might get put up against someone who can theoretically make it into close combat on turn 2, and in most gaming systems once a unit is in close combat you can't shoot at them. meaning that huge point investment has gone to waste. The reverse is true if you focus solely on close combat. your going to be spending a few turns getting towards your opponent and if they have these elements in their army they will just redirect you, or just avoid you the entire game and you will have done nothing but stand there for 2 and a half hours pushing miniatures across the table.

With the fast elements/throw away units, you can help out your chosen path. Want your opponent to come closer so that you can charge them with your badass character or unit? Place a throw away unit in their way to force them to make the decision to either get closer, or waste their shots on it protecting your other units. Likewise if your a shooting army, you can slow your opponent down with these speed bumps allowing you to have more time to target and whittle down your opponent.

These "Chaff" as they are commonly referred to can up your game plan tremendously. In a game where match ups are important, throwing two to three units down can help you see your opponents battle line before you place anything of importance down.

In conclusion:

Once you get a list that you think is good, fits in with how the tournament is being run, and that you feel comfortable with, it's time to do some playtesting.. Tips on playtesting will be the focus of part 2 with some hints on how to put you into that tournament mindset.