I spoke with Mike McTyre of Old World Legends, a Southern California based Old World Community with big plans for the game!
Old World Legends, OWL for short, is an ambitious community for gamers who are all in on The Old World. They are holding an RTT in a week, wrapping up the first season of their league in three weeks, and holding a 44 player GT on June 22-23. The comp for these events is the most open out of the events highlighted in my previous articles. OWL events are currently set at 2,000 points, no unit restrictions besides what is already printed in the army lists. Mike McTyre, the TO for OWL, was kind enough to discuss his views on comp and the up and coming Old World Tournament scene. Here is our correspondence:
HH: Do you mind telling me just a little bit about your history with the hobby and tournaments?
MM: Always happy to talk about Warhammer and the hobby! I walked into my first Games Workshop store 27 years ago and walked out with the Warhammer Fantasy 3rd Edition rulebook, Undead army book, a box of skeletons and a vampire lord. That was an awesome day and my passion for the hobby has only grown. Over the years I have dived into many of the GW games including Inquisitor, Necromunda, Battlefleet Gothic, Blood Bowl, and so many more. In particular I played a ton of 40k as my secondary game, and you guessed it, as Blood Angels.
I have been fairly active in the competitive scene for a long time with loads of great memories from RTTs, Grand Tournaments, Team Events, Games Day events, and a lot of other formats that have come and gone over the years. Some of my best friends come from people I have met or hung out with at warhammer tournaments. In the last few years I have finally gotten my painting skills up enough to compete on the hobby side of things and that has brought another level of fun and enjoyment. The last year or so I toured around my BA Display Board around SoCal and at LVO with an actual TV Backdrop, the joy it brought to people when they saw it was so much fun.
While casual pickup games at home are great, I really feel the tournament scene large and small is where the hobby and community really thrive. Players developing their gaming skills, hobbyists showcasing their latest creations, and friends hanging out all weekend rolling dice and telling stories about their glorious victories or crushing defeats is incredible.
HH: You have a really active discord, which is awesome, and a league going as well. Are you seeing a lot of brand new players, returning WFB players, or a mix?
MM: Like so many other people that played Warhammer Fantasy I was crushed when GW decided to no longer support the game. While AOS has a lot of great value it did not replace the rank and flank depth that I enjoyed so much from Warhammer Fantasy. So when GW announced the return of the game with The Old World it was an easy decision, I was all in and wanted to create a thriving community for it in SoCal.
We really have a broad mix of players in the community. Some players are either brand new or played Warhammer Fantasy back in the day, but I find that most players have moved over from 40k, AOS, MCP or other games as the setting and in particular the ruleset depth of The Old World is really appealing. I think this a testament to the fantastic job The Old World design team has done in revising the ruleset, the immersion that comes from seeing armies (not skirmishes) clash upon the battlefield, and as a result of GW streamlining their other games which removed some of the depth that many games enjoy.
The great news is that most gamers play more than one game, they don’t have to pick and choose just one. I believe The Old World fills an important role in the gaming spectrum and offering from Games Workshop and will continue to thrive and grow over the years to come!
HH: This first Old World Legends tournament looks pretty beginner friendly – 2,000 points, no list building restrictions, no painting requirements (yet!). Do you expect a pretty friendly atmosphere or do you think it’s going to get competitive?
MM: We have already had our first RTT in March which was a big success and our next one coming up in April and then May, followed by our first GRAND TOURNAMENT in June. The goal is to build the community and I believe that the tournament scene is a major factor in the motivation of players. Having consistent events enables players to try out their latest army ideas, to showcase their incredible looking armies, and to make new friends. The Old World, like every other Warhammer game, is a social experience and bringing a larger group of gamers together amplifies the fun!
So far the events have been very friendly and a great place to learn and get involved for beginners and I expect that to continue. As always there will be some very skilled players that are testing out their latest army builds and are striving for best General but these players are often the most friendly and are great teachers. What new players need to know is that veteran players LOVE to talk about their armies and hobbies. Going to events can be the best way to learn how to play the game and get some great tips. Another important note is that the tournament and community improvements that have been developed by the 40k and AOS scenes over the last decade are directly transferred over and are the baseline for The Old World events.
HH: Can you tell me about your philosophy regarding comp and whether you expect to be putting list restrictions in place in the future?
MM: I think Games Workshop has been doing an incredible job in the recent years supporting the competitive scene for 40k, AOS, Kill Team and other games they produce, but this was not always the case. Warhammer Fantasy back in the day (over a decade ago) did not have this level of support, quite far from it, and as a result the community needed to create their own comp rules in an attempt to self balance the game.
That brings us to today and the launch (we are still so early in this edition) of The Old World. The design team has already told us they are going to provide balance updates and support the competitive scene, and their first real FAQ that was recently released was in my opinion fantastic. While no game is ever perfect, I think the current ruleset, army lists, and points values are a fantastic starting point. As more and more games are played the community will find cracks and edge cases that will need to be addressed, but as much as possible I would like to leave this to The Old World design team to address those things as needed.
I do see other events providing comp rules, some of which are nearly identical to Warhammer Fantasy 8th edition comp rules. While that is not a direction I am going down, I firmly believe each TO needs to establish a scene for their local community and provide an awesome gaming experience for their players and what their community wants. As for myself and Old World Legends (OWL) we don’t currently intend on imposing any comp rules or army restrictions for our events unless it becomes necessary, which so far it has not. I am hopeful that The Old World design team will continue to support the competitive scene as they said they would. The game is still so early in its lifecycle and I can’t wait to see what else is coming out this year and how “the scope of the project has expanded”!
Warhammer The Old World is an incredible game, I am so happy this game format has returned and I am looking forward to seeing the community continue to thrive and grow over the coming years.
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