ROAD TO ATLANTA: FACTIONSTRESS

Oct 17

The LGT is in our rearview mirror which means The warhammer Finals are getting in sight! In this Episode I will discuss how I will prepare myself and make a game plan for a big tournament so I can achieve my goals by ranking as high as possible.

I finally did it, after 4 editions of LGT I finally hit the 5-0 bracket! It has been a goal of mine for the last 2 years and I managed to crack the puzzle and push through! I now have “proof” that spending more time on studying the terrain, analyzing your games and recognizing the opportunities and seeing the flaws in your army can help you win games! Now looking at Atlanta I plan to use my same system again, this system could be applied to any large event you go to, so feel free to try it as well!

When preparing for an event I usually use this 5 step plan. I’ve already touched on some bits in previous articles but this time we'll be diving deep into preparations! So in no particular order, here are the 5 steps I take to prepare for a big event!

What kind of terrain am I playing on?
Is there an event specific FAQ or any special rulings I need to be aware of?
What is the meta going to be?
What are my army options?
What will be my mental and physical health at the event?

*Warhammer 40000 Tampa bay grand tournament*

What kind of terrain am I playing on?

Warhammer is played between 2 players but I'd like to think that terrain is the 3rd player who can make you win or lose your game. Terrain (rules) in 40K can either make or break your army(list) so you really need to be conscious of what kind of table you will be playing on. I base my army faction and lists for a big part on what kind of tables I will be playing on.

Looking at the GW tables they are quite dense compared to the LGt tables, the big difference is that they use big acrylic plates with sparse terrain on them. This means while the terrain does block line of sight you can easily cross it without the hindrance of movement. The result of this is that most armies will be very explosive in their damage output as Melee and shooting can work very well on this terrain. There are 4 terrain layouts and 9 missions to play, with some combinations of those two you will have primary objectives out in the open. As there is no clear path of which mission goes with which terrain layout you will have to plan for all 36 possibilities. Having tools like extremely durable units, respawning models or having Lone-Ops in your list makes holding primary a bit more reliable. After examining the terrain I have come to the following conclusions:

terrain is very dense but movement is not hampered by buildings.
you need speed to get firing angles or to cross terrain for melee.
holding primary will be tough as objectives are in the open.
Either table your opponent very fast or be sturdy enough to win on points.

Is there an event-specific FAQ or any special rulings I need to be aware of?

Atlanta has no specific FAQ, it’s an event organized and run by GW themselves which means they follow their own rules strictly. for the LGT however, there was an extensive FAQ which differentiates a lot from the WTC FAQ. Not knowing those changes could make you lose your games in a rough manner. For example, the WTC FAQ has a clear ruling on charging through walls, creating situations where you can stand “in” the wall thus preventing situations of units being unchargeable. If you rock up with your all-melee army to the LGT and you find out they take the charging rules very RAW and you can not charge units which are exactly 1 inch from the wall you might be in for a rough weekend!

So whatever you do, ask your TO if and which FAQ they use for their event and ask your questions ahead of time to make sure you don’t get surprised by any rulings you weren’t aware of.

*Lennt Craft-it, destroying his opponent at LGT.*

What is the meta going to be?

The meta is a word which is being thrown around a lot in competitive 40k. What it basically means is the current 40k tournament scene. In this case, it is what factions and lists I can expect, and what kind of players will attend. The golden tickets can only be received by either winning a tournament or being the runner-up. This means I can expect THE BEST OF THE BEST! Now I have no assumption I can beat guys like Jack Harpster or Mani Cheema but I can give most players a good game and with a bit of luck snatch a few wins here and there.

The Dataslate has changed the 40K landscape drastically in mostly positive senses. Looking back at LGT and Tampa Bay I am making the following conclusion:

Eldar are still very good but beatable. They’re still a hot contender to win events, it’s a high-skill army, and any mistake from the pilot can create an autolosing scenario.
Chaos Knights: The ultimate stat check with a strong primary play, they’re in it to win it.
Tau: An undercosted army with outrageous speed and damage output, but they bleed secondary points and primary play is not their strong suit. They will have a positive win rate but don’t expect them to win the event.
Votan: Another undercosted army with way too many guns, but these shortkings are still not very fast. They run into the same problems as tau but with their melee options have a better chance in the primary scoring department.
World eaters: As proven by Anthony Vanella, the boys in red are back! With their speed and melee threat they have solid control on the primary and can make any faction/player reconsider their game plan. Add in Angron and you have a spicy mix of explosive damage output which can catch you offguard and make you lose the game out of the blue.
Space Marines: The boys in Powerarmour have a brand new codex so you can bet your ass they will be present in large numbers. From what I’ve seen you can expect several builds with the vehicle build being very popular.

To have a positive win rate at this event I need to be able to tackle most if not all of these factions whilst keeping in mind that I will run into GOOD opponents who will not be caught off guard or be uninformed. To deal with the meta I believe you have 2 options, either you pick one of the meta lists and make sure you play your heart out or you understand the meta and manage to build a counter to the meta with an army list which is totally original. Finding a counterlist is very hard to do, but very rewarding if you manage to do it!

Angron the red angel, stomping his way to a 55+% winrate

What are my army options?

Out of all the meta factions I have the most experience with Tau and Worldeaters and Eldar as a far third option. I personally am not the kind of player who goes reinventing the wheel by himself, I’d just drown in all options so I tend to stick with what is tried and tested.

I’ve already had some games with Worldeaters on the GW terrain layouts and I have to say, they feel pretty solid! You have the potential to rush your opponent from turn 1 but you’re sturdy enough to play the waiting game and just hold your objectives and wait for the right moment to strike. This week I’m planning to get some tau games in, the tables look open enough for tau to make good use of their speed and shooting output but as with LGT it will be hard to stop your opponent from scoring primaries and secondaries. My LGT list with double breachers in Devilfishes did GOOD work but with a changing meta (Votann, Marines, Chaos Knights being all very tanky vehicles) I might consider bringing out my old friend Longstrike to Atlanta. While I’m not really busy with Eldar at the moment I’m not discounting them as an option just yet. It’s still a few weeks out to the event and I’m keeping my eyes open for any new innovations.

Now for some of you, this might sound a bit ludicrous to consider 3 armies for a tournament which is a few weeks out, especially if you consider acquiring the models and building/painting everything. I do not recommend it to everyone as it takes a lot of time and it comes with a lot of stress. I happen to be in luck with either owning the models or have the option to borrow them. if that’s not your case and you want to stick 1 faction I’d say the take from this point is to keep your options open as long as possible. If Space Marines is your go-to army look at every unit, not just the units you have already painted but consider buying 1 or 2 new units for every big tournament. The faction and list you choose have a big influence on your tournament results and you don’t want to bring a knife to a gunfight.

What will be my mental and physical health at the event?

Standing on your feet and playing 40K for 10 hours straight will take a toll on you, add flying to the other side of the world and you can be sure to get tired physically and mentally. To prepare for this event I will be flying in a few days early to deal with the jetlag. I’ve booked a hotel with my good friend Dick van der Harst at walking distance of the venue so we don’t have extra travel time. For me personally being comfortable makes my tournament experience so much better. Not only will I enjoy myself more but my tournament results will also be better. Spending a few more days in Atlanta is well worth the investment and I get to see a bit more of the city as well! While at the event I expect to feel pressure. I’m at a new venue, with a lot of unknown players, terrain I have never played on and judges/TO’s I don’t personally know. To deal with that pressure I’m doing a lot of prep work simply by talking to other players. Have they been to one of the GW events, how was their experience, how does the terrain work, did they enjoy themselves etc etc. Ultimately you want to have a good time and by knowing what you can expect you can ease a bit more into the experience.

When arriving at a large tournament or during the breaks I sometimes walk outside with music in my earplugs, just to catch a breath of fresh air and unwind. it helps me relax and conserve my energy for the rest of the day. When you go to a large event give it some thought on what you want from the event as an experience and make sure you are comfortable and happy during the experience. Losing a game is not a problem, so long you’re comfortable and happy.

conclusion

As you can read I’ve already done a lot of preparation but there is still so much to do!
I’ve narrowed my factions to choose from down to 2, with a 3rd option in case something crazy happens. I’ve tested the World Eaters on the GW terrain and this week it’s full focus on tau. After that, I should be settled in my choice and from then on it’s full practice mode and painting! I’ve been really enjoying the process and I encourage everyone to try and find what works for them to prepare for a tournament! If you have any advice yourself or have questions about visiting tournaments you can head on over to our discord for discussion with our gaming community. Want to support the DTC40k ranking and and all our projects? Please consider being a Patreon, it would be greatly appreciated!

For the oncoming weeks Adam will take over the Road to Atlanta series and interview Dick, Rob and Thomas Beckers who will all be representing the Netherlands at the Warhammer finals so keep an eye out on those posts ;)

Dino Kho