Hello, fellow Warhammer 40k fans! SaltyJohn from TFG Radio, and one of the Las Vegas Open Head Judges, here to bring you a wrap up of this week in the ITC.If you follow my articles here on Frontline Gaming or you tune into TFG Radio on a regular basis than you’ll no doubt be aware of my opinion on how Competitive 40k needs to change and progress in order to become a more legitimate, “professional”, style game. I wrote an article a while back about the stumbling blocks to Pro 40k. In it I raise a few points about how 40k needs to change to become something that can be seen as a Pro level game. I’ve also been a broken record when it’s come to uniform list formats since 5th edition. I had this conversation on Facebook the other day and Michael Snider, a great GSC player in Idaho, reminded me that I was harping on this way back when he met me for the first time. It’s been a while now that I’ve wanted uniform list format, mandatory early submissions to BCP, and tightened rules of conduct for players. All of which would bring our beloved game of Competitive 40k closer to the realm of being a “pro” game. In terms of mandatory BCP list submissions, we’re there pretty much. In terms of a uniform list format, well, we could be and the benefits of it just went through the roof!
The Iron Halo GT was used as a testing ground for a uniform list format through BCP which enabled the guys at Best Coast Pairings to get some crazy data from the event! Just by using a uniform list submission format via the Best Coast Pairings app the BCP guys got us the amazing data below.
This type of data is indispensable to players, TOs, Judges, even Games Workshop. We can math hammer and theory hammer online until the cows come home. Speak anecdotally and discuss what occurs in our meta, local GTs, and basements until we’re blue in the face. But the data doesn’t lie, and what we’ve been without all these years in competitive 40k is hard data. Hard data of the sort and magnitude that can prove one way or the other the direction of the meta, which lists do well, what factions are played most and perform best, and there’s so much room for potential. With a uniform list format, submitted through BCP, it could even be possible to break down the percentage of which units are used in winning lists, games, or round by round in an event. This kind of data at the disposal of the players could create an even more finely tuned idea of where the meta is at and allow for players to come up with new builds that can more effectively counter the older dominant builds. It’s a truly exciting time to be playing 40k competitively, which means you are probably playing in the ITC and using the BCP app. That brings me to my overall point for this week’s article. It’s a short one because I want to get you to focus.
If we want this game to go to the next level, and I am sure you do by the fact you’re reading this article on Competitive 40k, then there are a few things we are going to have to commit to. One of those things is a universal list submission format. The ETC format (page 14 in the link) is a great one; simple and easy to use, it also has the benefit of working with what Best Coast Pairings has developed in order to get this data. I know people get attached to their way of playing, organizing, running events. Especially in 40k. In reality though, when you look at the games out there 40k is almost alone in not having a standardized list format. It’s time, for the good of the game on several levels, that we adopt one. It will make it easier to check the lists for errors, it will make it easy to assess lists across all the events, and the best part is the standardized list will allow for the BCP app to aggregate all this data, from all these lists and events into something really useful, and honestly, beautiful. As a Las Vegas Open 40k Head Judge I don’t get to dictate if we go this route for the LVO this year, but if the idea is floated by the Judges for our opinions, you know where I stand. Just think how much better these weekly ITC wrap up articles would be will all this data, and standardized easy to read lists, week in week out. I would really like to write those articles for you, and I would enjoy playing and judging that game a hell of a lot too.
Let me know what you think in comments as usual. I’m off to play Call of Duty Black Ops 4, the servers just went live and I am going to work tired tomorrow, I’m not going to argue about it.
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