Signals from the Frontline #440 Tournament Preparation

Show Notes

Date

6-13-16

Intro

• Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube!  Join our Forums, too! If you would like to be a guest on the show, email Reece at Contact@FrontlineGaming.org
• We sell tabletop games and supplies at 20% off! Hit us up for your next gaming order at Orders@FrontlineGaming.org or visit our webstore at FrontlineGaming.org.
• You think Reecius’ T-Shirts are cool? Buy yours, here!

News

• New release: Armoured Containers! Make sure to shoot those orders in to frontline gaming and save 25% off retail this week! Also, check out those pre-orders!
  • 888-781-5120
  • Orders@FrontlineGaming.org
• Las Vegas Open registration will go live on July 1st! www.lasvegasopen.net

• The next ITC Update Poll will go up next week, so be ready for that.
• Check out the Age of Sigmar learning league battle report between Reecius’ Wood Elves and Raw Dogger’s Khorne army. We had a really fun time and are enjoying the game quite a bit.

• Frontline Gaming is taking on new content producers! If you’d like to apply, please email Reece at: Contact@FrontlineGaming.org

Upcoming ITC Events

• Two Headed Ogryn Team Tournament, Origins Game Fair, Columbus, OH, June 17th, 2016
• Comicpalooza, Houston, TX, June 17-19th, 2016
• Titans’ June 1850 RTT, Timonium, MD, June 18th, 2016
• GT: Oldschoolowe Leśne Manewry, Lodz, Poland, June 18-19th, 2016
• The Battle for Santa’s Summer Home, End Zone, Clearfield, UT, June 18th, 2016
• Oldhammer Tournament, Great Escape Games, Sacramento, CA, June 18th, 2016
• Lords of War, Glimpses, Sherwood, OR, June 18th, 2016
• Iron Warriors Singles Tournament, Origins Game Fair, Columbus, OH, June 18th, 2016
• GWNG June Brawler, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, June 18th, 2016
• 40k ATC Primer Tournament, Atomic Empire, NC, June 18th, 2016
• Father’s Day Bash, Game Wizard Blue Sky Hobbies, Bremerton, WA, June 18th, 2016
• Gunjah the Bead Forest June Rtt, Cedar City UT, June 18th, 2016
• Battle for the Wooden Spoon, Bartlesville, OK, June 18, 2016
• Clash at the Aerie, St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, June 18th, 2016
• Warhammer 40k ITC Tournament, San Antonio, TX, June 18th, 2016
• Culexus Joe’s Intergalactic Tag Team Smackdown, Top Tier Board Games, Hattiesburg, MS, June 19th, 2016
• ND Monthly, Montreal, Qc, Canada, June 19th, 2016
• Father’s Day Brawl, Games and Stuff, Glenn Burnie, MD, June 19th, 2016

Rumors: The Rumor Section is gathered from the web and is not in any way information we receive from  any manufacturer nor is it necessarily accurate. This section of the podcast is intended for entertainment purposes only.

Rant Session

Tactics Corner

• Tournament Preparation: How to go in ready to do your best!
  • First step: Logistics.
    • Get your army as close to fully painted and based as you can. This is not only for your own sake but is a courtesy to all the other players that invested time and energy into painting their armies. Also, it helps to earn you more points for events that have paint scores!
    • Make sure you have an easy way to move your army around from table to table. A Tablewar Display tower is absolutely awesome for this, as is a display board. Just make sure your display board isn’t too big as it can be hard to stow it away.
    • Have your dice ready to go. If possible bring color coordinated dice and have the amount you use most frequently set on the table and ready to rock. As an example, in my Astra Militarum army, I use Vultures, which use 20 dice for the twin Punishers and 3 Dice for the chin mounted Heavy Bolter. I always have 20 big dice and 3 little dice on the table as that is the most I will typically need at any time and makes it easy and fast to go through my shooting phase. Further, I usually separate the dice into groups of 5 to make it super quick to grab as many as I need.
    • Have any templates you use frequently ready to rock. Also, things like wound counters, stunned markers, smoke and wrecked markers help speed the game up and keep things accurately tracked.
    • Bring a pen or pencil! You always need one.
    • Make sure you have all your rules! Be courteous to your opponent and TOs and always have your relevant rules handy.
    • Make sure to bring a copy of your list for each opponent. Not hand written lists, please! Those suck to read. Make sure your list is printed. I prefer to have very simple lists with just the name and size of the unit plus any upgrades listed. Some folks like Army Builder or Battle Scribe lists which also come with some of the rules.
  • Second Step: Preparation
    • Read the event missions and FAQ! Seriously, this is the single biggest step you can take to maximize your success. If its an ITC event, that makes it nice and easy as you are probably already used to the missions and FAQ. If it is different, study those suckers.
    • Practice the missions! This will help to prepare you so that you aren’t trying to figure them out on the fly. Again, if it is ITC this step is easy.
    • Play the same list many times over. Knowing your army is MUCH more valuable than having the latest and greatest net list. Nothing beats experience. Try to play the same list with as many repetitions as possible and you will win more games more consistently than if you jump from new list to new list.
    • Practice against lists you are likely to see at the event. Typically, you can guess pretty accurately what net lists are going to be making an appearance at a tournament and these days, can even guess with what frequency they will appear. Knowing what to do against these armies is invaluable.
    • Practice against the lists your list is weak against and in the missions your list is not strong in. The favorable match-ups are not going to give you good practice, playing the most challenging games will teach you how to best use your army to overcome these and strengthen your game in general terms. It can be frustrating to do this, but the experience it gives you will make you a better player.
    • Swap armies with your tournament buddies. I have found this is a GREAT way to gain new insights as to how other armies play. Just swap armies in a practice game with your friends and it will give you new insights as to how armies work that you will be facing.
    • Read other Codexes! Just keeping the rules fresh in your mind helps a ton to not be blindsided by rules and combos you were unaware of.
  • At the Event: Perform!
    • Take a deep breath to get those pre-game jitters out. Staying relaxed is critical to thinking clearly.
    • Always, always read the mission before you start just to make sure you know what you are trying to do. This sounds like a Duh! comment, but even at high level play folks miss this from time to time.
    • Always review your opponent’s list. Ask questions, make sure you understand what it does and if anything is unfamiliar clarify that BEFORE the game starts.
    • Define terrain with your opponent before you start playing.
    • Set the stage for a great game by chatting with your opponent a bit before you start, be polite, and friendly. If you send out good vibes, you will find they are pretty much always returned to you making for a more enjoyable game.
    • Stay calm and think about mission objectives, even if your dice are cold or you are losing in the present moment. I can’t say how many times a player that was losing has come back to win by focusing on the mission objectives.
    • Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. The only thing worse than a soar loser is a crummy winner.
    • The mental/emotional aspect of competitive play is where the best players separate themselves from the pack.
    • Most importantly: HAVE FUN! That’s what you’re there for, so stay light hearted as much as possible and enjoy yourself.
  • After the event: time for reflection.
    • Think about what went right and wrong in your games. Try not to focus on the dice too much as it is not something you have control over. Think about the moves you made that were good, and those that put you in a poor position. Be honest in your assessments or your own performance, don’t be afraid to admit when you goofed or when you made a slick play.
    • Think about your mental performance, when you lost your focus and what trigerred it. Understanding how to keep yourself calm and focused and how to avoid your anxiety triggers and how to bring yourself back to a state of focus are critical skills to master if you want to win a Major level event. This will also help you to be a more pleasant person to play against.
    • More practice! The games you lost, play them again if possible to see how you could have done better. This will help you master your list for the next event.
    • Lastly, go to lots of tournaments! They’re super fun, and repititions will get you over the jitters you get at tournaments. You’ll be able to achieve focus much easier.

Rules Lawyer

Completed Commissions

• Check out this awesome Tabletop Plus Distopian Wars commission! Hit us up for your next paint project!

List Review

Hi guys, big fan of the show. Hope to make it over from Ireland one of these days to say hello. I have a pretty topical list – the new Space Wolves. Let me know what you think. It would be good to get your take on the new Wulfen models and the new Deathpack formation too.

Cheers lads!

Ed (ZeroDiscount)

List for review:

• Legendary Greatpack – The Ironwolves (930pts)
• HQ – Wolf Guard Battle Leader – Thunderwolf Mount, Power Fist, Storm Shield (140pts)
• Troops – Blood Claws x 5 – Flamer (65pts)
• Transport – Drop Pod – Deathwind Launcher, Teleport Homer (35pts)
• Troops – Blood Claws x 5 – Flamer (65pts)
• Transport – Stormwolf – Multi-meltas (215pts)
• Troops – Grey Hunters x 5 – Melta Gun (80pts)
• Transport – Razorback – TL Lascannon, Dozer Blade, Storm Bolter, Extra Armour, HK Missile (55pts)
• Troops – Grey Hunters x 5 – Melta Gun (80pts)
• Transport – Razorback – TL Lascannon, Dozer Blade, Storm Bolter, Extra Armour, HK Missile (55pts)
• Heavy Support – Long Fangs x 4 – Multi-melta, Plasma Cannon (85pts)
• Transport – Razorback – TL Lascannon, Dozer Blade, Storm Bolter, Extra Armour, HK Missile (55pts)
• Wulfen Murderpack (440pts)
• Elites – Wulfen x 5 – Pack Leader w. Frost Claws, T-Hammer & SS x 2, Great Frost Axe, S-frag Launcher (220pts)
• Elites – Wulfen x 5 – Pack Leader w. Frost Claws, T-Hammer & SS x 2, Great Frost Axe, S-frag Launcher (220pts)
• Space Wolves Deathpack (480pts)
• HQ – Wolf Lord – Thunderwolf Mount, The Black Death (180pts)
• Troops – Grey Hunters x 5 (70pts)
• Fast Attack – Thunderwolf Cavalry x 4 – Storm Shield x 3, Power Fist (230pts)

TOTAL – 1850pts