6th Leanings - The Big Questions

I'll expound on this article when I get in today, but it can't hurt to start the inevitable conversation.

Most of the new rules for 6th are actually quite fine so far ... and a lot of the rules in 5th didn't change all that significantly.

The things as a TO crew that we'll have to rapidly assess are as follows:

1) Doubled non-ally FOC at 2,000 points (I'm quickly and rather easily leaning toward simply keeping at one bog standard FOC at 2k, instead of doing something silly like making it a 1999 point tournament)

2) Allies ... this is the biggest of the elephants in the room; how deeply does it impact balance and fair play to allow Allies per the new rulebook?

3) Flyers ... if you've read the details of the flyer rules, this one's not a big deal ... their zoom abilities are quite managed by the movement restrictions placed upon them

4) Mysterious Terrain ... since this seems to only apply to a couple of piece types, we're leaning toward disallowed, but it's something we'll have to evaluate with the actual rulebook

5) Purchased Terrain ... almost for sure NOT going to allow Fortresses of Redemption; but should we be planning to allow some of the smaller pieces? Leanings in both directions

6) Missions ... how do the new Eternal War missions blend in with tournament play, and how will we structure them within the NOVA? Remember, the key is w/l, so we're not opposed to creating a slightly different approach to missions if the rulebook forces that ... but will it, should it, etc.?

Will expand on these, and in reaction to comments, as the day or three wears on.

 - Mike

Opportunities for Further Input and Thoughts - 6th at the NOVA Open, + Registration Update

So, we're nearing 6th.

All signs point to a 6/23 notice, and an accelerated 6/30 release right now.

The question then becomes, do we stick to our contemporary plan of going with 6th edition if there's 2 or more months for players to prepare?

Right now, we're learning toward yes, but can't make a firm commitment until we get closer in.

Why are we leaning for, why are we leaning against?

Pros and Cons for 6th Edition
Pros

• A certain number of people will be upset either way. There are going to be players who are irritated, including registered attendees, at us using 6th Edition. There will be just as many if not more who are irritated at us sticking with 5th Edition as it ages.
• 6th Edition will be 2 months old by the time the NOVA hits. In a sense, it's already a couple of months old. For better or worse, it's not quite the same as it releasing much much closer to the NOVA, where we'd be more of a swan song for 5th. Going with 6th  makes the NOVA the freshest, and first meaningful/large 6th Edition 40k event.
• Our staff can and will be able to tackle the rules into a proper mission format and FAQ document with plenty of time to spare. I'm not actually worried about our ability to digest the new edition, and rapid respond to the things we'll have to do.
• Current information suggests the Force Organization Chart will remain as it is, without the amendment of Percentages a la Fantasy. This means peoples' current 2,000 point lists that they are planning on bringing will entirely or largely be just as legal (though naturally their performance is going to change). This prevents attendees from being REQUIRED to run around purchasing a TON of new stuff.
• Allies and other quirky things are generally being pointed at as addendum rules, or rules for Team Games.
• 40k GT spots will be remaining by the time 6th Edition hits. It seems by some feedback to be more likely a person would sign up for the new edition at that point, than for the old one. If we stick with 5th, a higher % of on the fence registrants will save their cashola for "NOVA '13." We'd like to stick to our ahead-of-last-year-pace and sell out the GT :)
• Terrain rules changes can be mitigated to a degree with a clearly written and delineated rules packet. Also, if for any reason our 1,100 pieces of terrain aren't sufficient with the new edition, we have available loaner resources in the area that amount to over another 600 pieces of terrain. In short, we'll be fine on that front.
• Aside from the Invitational, which will remain 5th no matter what, all other 40k events would be in one system ... Narrative, Trios, GT. If we stick with 5th for the GT, people playing in both the GT and Narrative would have to bring armies tuned to both, or at least remember the rules from both well, and we'd have to make a harder decision on the Trios.

Cons

• A certain number of people will be upset either way. There will be players who are upset at us using 5th Edition. There are also going to be players who are irritated at us if we use 6th Edition.
• Despite my confidence in myself and our staff, we still could get some things wrong.
• Rules questions will be much more frequent, which will cause more strain on our judges, and a greater need for judges. We have MORE TIME THAN EVER for our rounds this year, but all time is still limited to a degree.
• ... ?

There are more pros, and more cons. What I want now, is to hear what you the attendee and prospective attendee think. Do you really care THAT Much? I want to hear if you're AMBIVALENT also ... the ambivalent ones are an important opinion, and one that rarely shares itself (understandably).

PS, our registrations are up in June in all events, and I wanted to update you all on those (all percentages are rough):

40k GT is at 80% sold (256 slots)

40k Narrative is 40% sold (No cap, but based on 32 player anticipation)

40k Trios is 50% sold (No cap, but based on 48 player anticipation)

Flames of War is 40% sold (2 x 32 player events)

Warmachine/Hordes is 40% sold (doubled to 64 slots this year)

Fantasy is 40% sold (doubled to 64 slots this year)

Infinity is 25% sold (16 slots)

VIP Bags are 75% sold (50 total bags)

VIP Bags and Completed DC Monument #1 - Native American History Museum

VIP  Bags are Now for Sale, info and links at the top of the newsletter (linked on next line)
Newsletter is Now Up for June
Our Chief Appearance Judge and Amazing Artist, Geoff, has Completed his Rendition of the Native American History Museum.

FYI THERE ARE ONLY 50 VIP BAGS TOTAL SOLD THIS YEAR, AND 25 ARE ALREADY GONE! We literally opened sales a couple of hours ago, and half are sold out. Grab while you can.

You guys have seen work-in-progress shots of the NAH Museum for some time now, here's the mock-lit final (all of our monuments will be fully LED lit by the time of the event).

For those who'd like to play a more interesting theme for the DC Narrative, your boards will often have pieces just like this as central points around which combat will occur (YES, these are intentionally huge, to help create a cinematic feel ... not necessarily a balanced game board!).

I already know one Necron attendee for the Narrative is planning 3 Doom Scythes to give his army that "Independence Day" feel!