11th Company GT 2012 November 10-11th

Once again, we will be hosting the 11th Company GT 2012 on Veteran's Day Weekend in Myrtle Beach South Carolina.

http://the11thcompany.freeforums.org/the-11th-company-gt-2012-myrtle-beach-sc-t3743.html


Date: Nov. 10-11 (Veteran's Day Weekend)
Length: 2 Days / 6 Rounds (Tentative 6 Rounds)
Tickets: $60 http://www.tangtwo.com/11thcompany/tournament.cfm
Max Participants: 64
40K Edition: 6th
Points Level: Tentative (likely 2000 TBA)
Format: NoVA Open Format (including Day 2 Brackets)
Mission Format: Tentative (likely NoVA Open unless dramatic 6th ed. changes)
Location: Clarion Hotel and Conference Center, Myrtle Beach http://clarionhotelmyrtlebeach.com/
Group Rate: Ask for the 11th Company Group Rate

BAO Format Scorer Beta 1.3 Update

http://the11thcompany.freeforums.org/post32294.html#p32294

Beta Version 1.3 Updates

- Dramatically changed the Sports Scoring application.  Final scores are now calculated by the computer rather than collected.  The algorithm used to calculate takes into consideration the average score a given player produces.  The goal then is to seek players who score well above average.  This helps out greatly with issues of players who always give away scores that are to high or to low.  To represent, the Sports Scorer now expects you to select Final Round when you are going to the final round. As players enter in their last round questionairre, it poduces the final file.

- Sports Scores are critically collected during the last round rather than afterwards.

- Sports Scores are now correctly imported into the main program.

- Created password box now which hides passwords as typed.  Helps with security.

- Added 4th category to the scorer which handles a player getting tabled.  A tabling is an auto-win.  Previously, there was no way to signify a table.  All scoring algorithms have been updated to handle a tabling score.

- Fixed issue with Appearance Scorer where the last item on the first category page had a duplicate entry.

The software has now been used to run 2 small RTTs.  These updates came from that experience.  Overall, the software worked very well, and there we no issues with players entering in their own data.

NoVA Open Promo Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW9S2Ll1xJ8

It's the continued innovation that the NoVA crew puts forward which what makes it one of the premier tournaments in the country.  You might think the video is silly (I thought it was actually very professionally done!), but you just have to appreciate the effort and the idea of it.

Great work guys and see you at NoVA.

Kill Point Denial Codex Review: Chaos Space Marines/Chaos Demons

Before I even begin, I am having as much trepidation about all the horrible 6th ed. rumors floating about, and would like to add a preface to this entire article series that in 2 months, none of this may even apply.

We don't even know if Kill Points will be a part of 6th ed.!

In other news, once again, the purpose of these review articles is just to examine what is available in the book with an eye towards potential use in a KP Denial build.  Keeping in mind that we are generally looking for high positive kill point potential, durable units, and a speed element.

Chaos Space Marines


Your capacity to build a CSM KP Denial list is about the same as Space Marines.  You have some very worthwhile and interesting options, and you will see a lot of overlap in concept here.  For that reason, this makes for a good pick for today's article because it will reinforce thoughts from the Space Marines article.

HQs:


Just in general, CSM HQ choices don't really add much to the army except for a beat-face commander.  This is true of everything except Lash, of course.  Lash is still a good buy!  It's a great buy for KP Denial because you can use it to get KPs off of infantry but also to keep assaults away from you.

Sorceror - Because of Lash, this is probably the most efficient KP denial pick, just at a cursory glance.  Take lash, put him in a squad.  Good to go.

Named Characters - Again, for KP denial, none of the named characters really add much.  For this reason, you are pretty good to take whatever.  Personal favs are Kharn and Abbadon.

Demons Princes - Demon Princes are the big NO-NO in this case.  Why?  Because they can be easily targeted and killed by enemy shooting.  Best left at home.

Fabius Bile - Mr. Bile deserves some special attention in this case.  The reason is that he can turn plain old CSM into Fearless units.  Fearless is always good, especially for an army that can be swept and can't regroup if below 1/2 strength.

Elites:


Chosen - Chosen are a tempting choice from the Elite selection because of their ability to outflank.  Rather than picking up speed units, units which can outflank are sometimes just as useful for late game contesting.  The only down side here is that you generally want to outflank them in a Rhino which will give up an easy KP.  However, with Chosen ability to pack so many assault weapons, marks, and combat potential, they have a good positive kill point potential.  Overall, it's not a bad thought, but not a great one either.

Terminators -  Just like with Marines, Terminators are durable.  Further, Chaos Terminators can pack 2 x Reaper Autocannons in a 10 man squad for 350 points.  You could also afford a Mark at that point to up them to a 4+ invuln which is nice.  Overall, though, it's still a normal Terminator.  These guys can get much better thought at a back-field KP denial roll if you team them up with a beater in the HQ slot, like Abby.

Troops:


The CSM book has a very interesting tidbit in here in the Troop selection that you won't find anywhere else. 20 Man Fearless Units.  It's like taking a Horde of Boyz but with a 3+ save and fearless.  All of your choices here are fearless, even the normal CSM if you take Fabius Bile as your HQ.  20 Man Squads aren't a requirement, but they do have a lot of positive kill point potential.  Chaos Troop choices are also pretty good at CC which is a good bonus, and just like with Terminators above, if you put a beater in the back-line, that's a serious deterrent to the enemy wanting to close in on you.

Chaos Space Marines - If made fearless by Bile, now you can pack a heavy weapon in up to a 20 man squad.  Gives this unit great positive kill point potential, Strength 5, and a lot of attacks.  Not great but worth considering.


Berserkers/Plague Marines - Fearless, decent CC, potential for huge squads.  The only problem here is lack of something long range to reach out and touch the opponent, but they could still have a role in objective holding or just being annoying.  Plague marines can carry some Plasma guns for a potential shot or 2 at light armor.  Plague Marines are also tough as nails.

Thousand Sons/Noise Marines - Both of these units, in bunches, can bring some pretty good anti-infantry fire to take out those small MSU squads that are so common.  They can also both have a long range weapon for potential light armor shots.

The bottom line for CSM, though, is cost of the units.  Everything is going to burn up points!

Fast:


Bikers - Just like with Space Marines, you have access to Bikers, some that can even be T6.  The downside is lack of an attack bike.  So, you might be able to use this as a speed unit, but it's kill point potential is going to be low because it lacks any ranged punch.

Heavy:


Havocs - An obvious choice here.  Huge squads and 4 heavy weapons.  Great positive KP Potential here.

Obliterators - Not as durable as one would like for KP Denial but do add a lot of flexibility with long range potential and deep striking potential.  They may end up giving up a KP, but any experienced CSM player will tell you that Oblits can usually earn their KPs before they go down.

Overall:


As we already know, the CSM book lacks a lot of useful tools for a KP Denail list.  However, it does introduce a great concept of taking HUGE squads and swarming the board.  There may be some potential here to Horde the board like Orks can do and control objectives simply by covering them up in bodies, letting the units with high KP potential pick up the slack for you.

Bottom line, though is, I'm not sure you could really effectively point it out.  Overall, I think there may be some merit here but probably not ideal.  I wouldn't know either without play testing.

Demons have a few things going for them in the KP denial department, easy access to fast units, easy access to BIG units, and ability to control the board with some lethal close combat abilities.  Combining these concepts, I think you can do well with Demons in a KP denial scenario.

HQs:


Fateweaver - Probably what everyone will jump to!  Fatey can be a good buy, but he can also be a bad one.  The problem with Fatey is that he will be your opponent's target #1, and he will give up a KP.  The upside is, of course, while he's there, he makes you tough.  In my opinion, I think he's a crutch.  You can probably do without.

Heralds w/o Chariots - Because Heralds can be ICs, they can hide in squads.  Because Demons can make some very durable squads, this makes these guys as a HQ choice, durable.  Specifically, I like Tzeentch Heralds as a KP denial idea because they can add BS 4 Bolts to a Rhino killing party.  They can also bring some anti-infantry fire as well.

Elites:


Fiends - Fiends have some potential here simply because they can be a fast element.  Charging a unit on an objective late game contests it.  Being a demon, you are fearless and will live for a round against most opponents.  Downside to fiends, though, is they also give up KPs.

Crushers - Just a brick of a unit.  Can absorb a ton of shooting.  Because of that, these guys can also sit near mid-field and present an enormous CC threat.  Basically, they create a Threat bubble that is hard to remove.  Because of that, this gives relative safety to shooty units which CAN pick up KPs, like Horrors.

Troops:


Horrors - I think that Horrors are the way to go, just in general.  The reasons are many.  First, they can be in a squad of 20.  That 20 man squad can put out enough fire power to kill a 5 man infantry squad.  Second, bolts are obvious.  Third, because you can hide Heralds of Tzeentch in these squads to add more bolts.  What you end up with is a brick of a unit that has a great positive KP potential.

The downside to Horrors is they can be assaulted and tied up.  Not a problem for Demons!  That's why you include a brick of Crushers or Letters who will baby sit these units.

Letters - Same as Crushers above.  Take a brick and create a big threat.  Keeps the enemy away from Horrors.

Bearers - Decent tar pit potential.  Horrible KP potential.

Fast:


Khorne Dogs - Fast unit, just like fiends, but in a bigger squad.  Not a bad choice.

Seekers - Again, very fast.  Big squad.

Screamers - Probably my favorite pick.  The squads aren't as big, but they have a 4++ can can turbo-boost 24 inches.  This makes for a great contesting unit.  Being fearless with a 3++ (after a boost) basically means you can't dislodge them late game, even with assault (because of 4++).  Great choice here for a speed unit.  Not to mention, they carry melta bombs and so themselves can pick up a lot of KPs in a multi-assault or against Dreadnoughts.

Heavy:


Nothing to see here!  No, a Nurgle Demon Prince is not durable. :P

Overall:


I'll pony up a list on this one because I think, unlike with CSM, there is a potential here for a pretty good army to examine.

HQ;
Herald of Tzeentch + Legion + Master + Bolt
Herald of Tzeentch + Legion + Master + Bolt
Herald of Tzeentch + Legion + Master + Bolt
Herald of Tzeentch + Legion + Master + Bolt

Elite:
8 x Crushers

Troops:
17 x Letters
18 x Horrors + Bolt
18 x Horrors + Bolt

Fast:
12 x Screamers
12 x Screamers

Weird looking!

The bottom line is, you are going to drop mid-field.  You are going to put your Heralds in with a Horror squad and start plinking away at Transport with Herald bolts while swamping infantry with the rest.  (Split fire from Legion and Sorcery).  When that unit gets low, move the Heralds to the next squad.

Your letters and Crushers are simply there to keep the enemy away.  Most armies can't advance into a combat potential that rough.  (Think about it, your opponent will want to advance on YOU.)

Screamers are there to hang out till late game and fly out to contest.

Hopefully this list points out some concepts.

1)  Great positive KP potential.
2)  Ability to control the board with a big threat bubble.
3)  Speed units to contest objectives late game.

Downsides


Some armies will have enough bullets and bodies to overwhelm you.

BAO Format Scorer Beta Version 1.2 Released

http://the11thcompany.freeforums.org/post31187.html#p31187

Fixes:

- Corrected known issue with Player Passwords being set to admin password when editing players in roster.
- Corrected known issue with Admin password being reset while editing players!  (Oops!)

New Features:
- Added "Remove Password" feature to both Roster Editor and main program.  This is intended for people who will not have players entering in their own data OR if you are just playing with the software.  Under Password, select Remove Password.  This will tell the program to stop prompting for passwords at each juncture.

- Added DEBUG Menu.

- Added Create Roster under DEBUG menu.  This will create a Tournament Roster automatically up to the specified number of players and rounds.  This will allow you to very quickly create tournament rosters without having to create them by hand.  This way, you can test/play with software easily.

- Added AutoFill under DEBUG Menu.  Use this in a round to automatically generate scores for all players in the round.  Use this to help you test/play with the software so as not having to hand key scores each round during your test.

Kill Point Denial: Lists Intro and Space Marines

Before I get to talking about potential for different codices, I wanted to do a little introduction to the type of lists that you will see.  Each list will contain hard to kill units, units which are designed to grab easy kill points, and units which are designed for speed in contesting objectives.

Past that, most of the lists I am going to offer are merely concepts.  I have no clue if they will actually work as I have not played them all.  What I am doing is building lists around concepts, intended to exaggerate useful tactics or points.  If you really wanted to use a specific codex to build a kill point denial list, I would put a lot more thought into it than the little glance I am taking to show points.

Accordingly, I can all but guarantee you that most of the lists I will present here are probably terribly inefficient and also not very good.  To further prove the point, I will point out areas where I see weakness in the list along with strengths.  The idea here is a learning experience (for both you and me, really) not an exercise in providing you with powerful lists, something which I won't even guarantee is possible with every codex.

My path forward here will be to identify some very good choices in each codex and explain why.  Then, using those choices, construct a list that shows concepts, discussing its strengths and weaknesses.

Space Marines


One of the older books, Space Marines has a lot of sneakery that can be applied to kill point denial.  Just at a n initial glance, here are some units which really catch my eye for a KP Denial theme:

HQs

Korsarro Khan - He allows you to take bikes as troops and outflank.  First off, troop bikes are awesome because they are both your speed element and potential scorers.  They also bring a decent amount of anti-tank capability for each kill points.  Furthermore, Khan will allow to null deploy and come on where the enemy is weak.  Great choice!

Darnath Lysander - 4 Wounds, 2+/3++, and Eternal Warrior.  For those Paladin fans out there, I see a lot of potential here for a model that can join a unit, and be used to absorb those one off S8 and Ap2 shots.  Not to mention, he's a beast in combat.  A model like Darnath causes your opponent to have to bring something bigger than just an above average assault unit if he wants to dislodge you.  Grey Hunters just won't cut it!  He also has Bolter Drill which could be used in combination with normal terminators for anti-infantry positive kill point potential, and he also brings bolster defenses which can be used to increase cover saves.  All around great choice!

Marneus Calgar -Not as good as Darnath, but again, Eternal Warrior and a beast.

Librarian + Gate of Infinity - Very good choice!  Gate of Infinity could be used to run away from the enemy or used to contest objectives late game.  This package allows you to avoid dying as well as pigeon-hole an objective on the last turn.  The psychic hood doesn't hurt either!

Master of the Forge + Conversion Beamer - Here's a unit that has an incredible range on a weapon that can easily gib a tank.  This is a good thought as we can stay out of enemy range and still potentially pick up an easy kill point or two.

Elites

Terminators - 2+ save and ability to carry 2 x Cyclones in a 10 Man squad.  4 Missile Shots are great at picking up easy transport kill points.  Also, combine that with Storm Bolters, and we have a pretty good squad at taking down 5 man infantry squads for easy kill points.  Durable and positive kill point potential.  Throw in Darnath, and you are cooking with grease!

Assault Terminators - One of the major weaknesses of most KP Denial lists is what I call the "Storm Raven Charge".  These are generally GK or BA lists that charge forward to deposit a lot of scary assault units.  Bad if you don't have something to blunt them!  This is that something.

Troops


Tactical Squad - 10 men, and a long range tank busting weapon.  Not a bad choice here!  Have a decent kill point potential and ability to run, hide, and score.


Scout Squad - Camo-cloaks + cover = kill point denial at its finest.  Cheap, scoring, go to ground for a 2++.  You can also take a missile launcher for the potential, not great, at killing a transport.


Bikes - Another great choice!  Able to carry a multi-melta that can move!  Able to carry plasma weapons that can move and fire, thus being able to potentially pop a rhino and stay away from the enemy.  More importantly, they can turbo for a 3++ to contest and because they score, even claim!  Probably the best choice.


Fast


Bikes - See above.

Assault Marines - Again, 10 men with potential to move fast, stick around in a fight, and potentially grab a transport kill.  Not idea here, but workable.

Heavy


Devastators - 10 x men with 4 ranged anti-tank weapons.  Great positive kill point potential!

Concept List: (2000)

HQ:
Darnath Lysander
Korsarro Khan + Moondrakken

Elites:
8 x Assault Terminators w/ TH/SS
10 x Terminators w/ 2 x Cyclones

Troops:
5 x Scouts + Camo Cloaks + ML
5 x Scouts + Camo Cloaks + ML
8 x Bikes + 2 x Plasma Guns + Combi-Melta + Attack Bike + MM
8 x Bikes + 2 x Plasma Guns + Combi-Melta + Attack Bike + MM

Kill Points: 8

Positive Notes:

- You can potentially null deploy the whole army to deny your opponent many rounds of shooting.  Deep striking terminators, whole army outflanking, walking on, etc.
- Darnath goes with the normal Terminators most of the time.  He can absorb one off wounds.
- Khan and Bikes can outflank.  Come in via reserves, mostly outflank.  Bikes can take pot shots at transports at 24 inches to earn easy kill points, or turbo around terrain to stay alive.  Great for late game contesting!
- Khan can also break off late game to turbo-contest by himself or be used to wreck a small 5 man squad on a back-field objective!
- Scouts are great for holding your own objectives if needed and have a 2++ if they go to ground.
- The assault terminators are there to protect you from a "Storm Raven Charge" or very fast moving assault army.
- The normal Termies have 4 missile shots for easy transport killing and a lot of storm bolter shots.

Negative Notes:

- Against a very fast moving assault army, or drop army, you may find yourself in trouble as you have little to hold them back with.  This would be a case where you need 2nd turn and to null deploy.
- Against an army that brings a tremendous amount of anti-infantry, this type of list doesn't quite have the durability I would like to see.  It will be durable against most lists, but there will be some to which it is not.
- Won't play well against another KP Denial style list.

General Feelings:

Not a very good list!  It does point out some very useful tactics though!

One that is really worth mentioning is the idea of using Khan to break off an late game contest.  Using ICs for this capacity is generally great because it creates another unit you can contest with.

You can also combat squad your bikes if you feel like you can survive enemy fire to add even more contesting potential.

Many KP Denial lists have a "fire base" that needs to be protected from fast moving assault.  Your assault terminators and Darnath are there for this reason.  Your normal terminators will be a fire base (not bad in assault either!) and will need some amount of protection against certain list styles.

Kill Point Denial #5: Playing to the Concept

So far in this series, I have discussed useful definitions, why KP Denial lists work in multiple objective missions, and a few of the more important unit choice concepts like durability, positive kill point potential, and speed units.

The last article before I start examining possible Kill Point Denial lists in Article #6 is to talk about playing to the concept of the list.  This is the most important aspect of the concept.  If you take a Kill Point Denial style list but are not prepared to play to the concept, it will most likely either net you a very boring game or not much success.

The basic game plan of Kill Point Denial is to gather a few kill points, generally very low amounts, while not giving up any of your own.  This will easily win your the Kill Point portion of a multiple objective mission.  The second concept is to either tie all other objectives, attempt to win one more objective, or let the opponent have one, tie one, and win on a tie breaker which is generally victory points.

There are some fundamental play tactics that go into winning the game in one of the above ways.

1)  You are generally in control of the flow of the game.


The reason why you are generally in control is that you are most likely already winning the game before it even starts on kill points.  From there, you are building your plan to either tie or win a second objective.  In this manner, you will often have the capacity to direct where the battle will be fought, what objectives will be contested, and where your opponent will end up moving.

The reason why this is generally true is because your opponent is already on his back foot.  The advantage and confidence of going into a game knowing that you have most likely won if nothing else happens is tremendous.  Furthermore, generally, your opponent has built his list, play style, and had practice games which revolve around "how do I kill my opponent?"  Except against very seasoned players, this puts you at a further advantage because most opponents won't even know where to begin to react to an opponent that is actively seeking not to die.  For example, in order for brutal assault units to work, the enemy has to be engaged at some point, which, with careful practice you will realize, is hard to do when you are running away from them.

As a point, it is almost always in your favor to go second because you want to control the game.  This way, you can see where you opponent will place his easy kill points, know where to blunt or counter your opponents moves, and more importantly, give you the last turn so you can use your speed units to contest objectives at the very end of the game while not giving up kill points.  The last point there is the most critical.

2)  Kill Point Denial doesn't really kill stuff


This is a fundamental principle more than anything else.  You have to clear your mind of all the strategy and tactics you have developed over the years about how to most effectively annihilate your opponent.  Most of us have a repertoire of tricks, traps, and tactics that we have learned on how to best put our pieces into position to maximize the damage they do to the enemy.  We have learned basic concepts like target priority, combined attacks, and bating traps used to knock our opponent's models off the table in the best way possible.

Kill Point Denial style is an entirely different kung-fu.  Useful tactics here don't revolve around destroying the enemy.  Useful tactics revolve around preventing the enemy from killing your units and ways to contest objectives.

Things like setting up screens, move + run AWAY, hiding weak units behind terrain, turbo-boosting for last turn objectives, using assaults to drag opponents off of objectives or to position yourself onto them for contesting, bating your opponent to one side of the board, keeping your opponent out of range, etc. are all ways in which Kill Point Denial works.

One of the real advantages here, as listed above, is that you will be playing a different kind of game than your opponent in most cases.  You also have the advantage of generally having had a lot of experience playing the type of game your opponent wants to play.  This means that you are generally much more capable of predicting what he will do than he is predicting what you will do.  (This of course doesn't work against very seasoned players.)

3)  Setting up Objective Opportunities

As stated earlier, one of the key components of Kill Point Denial is the last turn objective contest/grab.  This isn't always the case, but in a lot of lists, it will be.  To effectively do this, your mind set needs to be one of setting up Objective Opportunities.

For example, one very useful tactic I have found is what I call the bait and switch.  Take a core part of your army to one side of the board, generally out of range of enemy fire.  For a "kill 'em all" player, this means he will move to that side of the board to try and kill you.  This generally sets up objective opportunities on the other side of the board for your speed units.  More often, what will happen is your opponent will end up leaving a very weak unit or two to hold objectives while he advances on you.

Another very important tactic is using the fact that the game will end to stop your opponent's forward aggression.  For example, one very popular Space Wolf list that I commonly run into, what I call the "Kopach" list, generally involves a bunch of Rhinos with larger squads of Grey Hunters backed by Long Fangs.  (There is usually a scout squad or 2 as well).  This type of list really relies on you to stand your ground to fight with it.  If you, however, run from it for several turns, eventually, what will happen is that the Space Wolf player will be forced to stop his forward movement in order to back-track or guard objectives that litter the board.  He may continue with a couple of units, but this significantly weakens his front and makes it now very risky for him to send just a portion of his army into the fray while the rest is trying to take objectives in turns 4+.

Armed with that kind of knowledge, you can begin setting up the avenues with which you will contest objectives with your speed units or attempt to force a tie to win on Victory Points.  (If shrugging off 15 missiles a turn for 5+ turns isn't very easy for your army to do, you need to revisit the toughness of your list as a whole)

The important take away here is to think about how your opponent will play and how to set up opportunities for you to take or contest objectives late game.  This combined with point #1 is usually the major power behind a kill point denial strategy.

Conclusion


Just like any other strategy, there is no guaranteed win behind the entire kill point concept.  (That should be a given.  If there was a perfect list and perfect way to play, we'd all be doing it.)  Kill Point Denial lists and strategy though will generally produce very close, "skin of your teeth" style games where you eek out wins on the last turn through objective contesting.

If the concept of playing a very strategic game of 40K intrigues you more so than the concept of annihilating your enemy, it's something that is worth a shot.  If not, you may find KP Denial lists to be very boring to play as there generally isn't a lot of action in the games until the final turns.

BAO Format Tournament Management Suite Beta 1.1

In further testing of Beta 1.0, I found a critical error when scheduling tournaments for greater than 10 players. The algorithm used to schedule players was causing the program to run out of available memory trying to find the best possible of all possible scheduling permutations.

So, I revisited the algorithm as a whole and came up with a much smarter method which will still work through all possible permutations to find the best scheduling match possible but does so in order rather than all up front, thus no memory issue.

This method of scheduling I call the "bubble" method. The concept is to first "pure" pair all participants by their current battle points. Then sort that list.

Then starting at position 0, begin working the way down the list, finding the first possible match (as in not played before and not in the same group). When found, mark for both. Move to next position and start searching down the list again with the next position + 1. Continue doing this. If a conflict occurs where it is not possible to find a match, bubble up to the previous match and re-match the previous but starting at the last match + 1 in the list. Continue this process till a solid schedule is found or until you have completely bubbled back out of the list. If a complete bubble occurs, perform the same algorithm, this time only rejecting "played before". If still bubbles out, reject only "groups". If still bubbles out, scheduling is impossible so just return the Pure pairing.

I corrected a major issue where player passwords were not being correctly accepted to enter in scores.

I also added some more notifications to file creations to inform you of what kind of file you are creating rather than just showing you a save file dialog.

Download Beta Version 1.1 here:

http://the11thcompany.freeforums.org/bao-format-tournament-management-suite-t3611.html

BAO Format Tournament Management Suite

Over the past couple of months, I have been building the tournament management suite that we will be using to run the 2 RTTs at X-Con 2012 in May.

This software is designed to run battle points (can do win/loss as well with some creating scoring) tournaments which use the Bay Area Open GT Format for utilizing all 3 book missions in play as objectives for a single mission.

This suite also handles Sports Scoring, Appearance Scoring, Generalship Scoring, and Best Overall, including a lot of variations and options.

The entire suite is also designed to run a completely paper free tournament which can be nearly hands off for a tournament organizer, allowing players to register themselves, enter in their own round scores, sports scores, and collect appearance judge scores, using various applications and files, into the final scoring portion of the main program.

A very rudimentary document is included in the zip file which explains most of the details.

This software is currently in Beta Version 1.0. It's working, but I haven't fully tested it yet to work out any bugs. Also keep in mind that I didn't idiot proof it either. So, there are several ways I'm sure you can crash the program by doing inappropriate actions.

Feel free to use. If you find any bugs, send me an e-mail: 11thcompany@tangtwo.com

I will release a new version when I finish full out testing and bug fixing.

Here's where the zip file is:

http://the11thcompany.freeforums.org/bao-format-tournament-management-suite-t3611.html

I should mention these are .NET applications. So, will require .NET Framework 4 (probably) and most likely won't work on a Mac, as I don't think there is a .NET Framework download for Mac? Dunno! Not a Mac guy.

Kill Point Denial and Multiple Objective Missions / The New Power List Pt 4

In part 4 of this series, I will cover two more principles of building an effective Kill Point Denial list. Part 1 of this series introduced the concept and definitions including the key point that Kill Point Denial relies heavily on the Multiple Objective Mission format. The second article discussed the reasons why Kill Point Denial has great advantages in these style missions. The third article introduce the first principle of Kill Point Denial, using and identifying units that are "tough" and won't give up kill points.

Positive Kill Point Potential

Not giving up Kill Points by utilizing some tough units is only part of the process. To win at Kill Points, you still have to have a way to claim your own. When you combine a list's potential to not give up kill points plus claim some, you need to have a strong positive kill point potential. This is a more or less subjective measure on a list's ability to pick up some kill points while not giving any up. This is subjective because it varies from match-up to match-up, based on dice rolls, and a whole lot of other factors. (What does't in 40k?)

Increasing your Positive Kill Point Potential

One good way to do this is to include units which are very good at taking down light armor. Since the 5th ed. paradigm is to run heavy transport lists and since transports are generally "not tough" (see article 3), they give up easy kill points. Thus, one way to pick up easy kill points would be to specifically target these style vehicles with your list. The concept is you snipe out a few easy transport kills which ups your kill points while not giving away any and gain a substantial kill point lead. At that point, you are free to focus on other objectives or just running away for the win.

Another good way to pick up some easy kill points is designed around units which can take down small, 5 man squads with solid anti-infantry fire. Again, this is abusing the MSU paradigm. Since you know that a lot of your opponents will be utilizing small squads in their lists, design some anti-infantry shooting around taking them out easily. This is basically the same concept as aiming for easy to kill transports but just aiming for troops instead.

GENERALLY, aiming for transports is the smarter option because this will deny your opponent mobility which is tactically good for avoiding assaults as well as competing for another objective in the mission.

Foot units like 10 man devastator squads are both tough due to squad size as well as add a lot of positive kill point potential in their ability to take down light armor. It's very easy for 4 lascannons, for example, to kill a Rhino, netting a quick KP. The enemy has to dump a lot of fire into devastators to take them out, and when things get scary, they just pack up and run for terrain. ALL OF THAT creates a positive kill point potential.

Second Objective Plan

A solid KP Denial list should find winning at Kill Points to be extremely trivial through a combination of list and tactics. However, to really be successful with a KP Denial list, I have found that you absolutely need to include a plan for how you will score a 2nd objective in a multiple objective mission.

The reason for this is that this gives you options to win the game rather than just tie. Overall, then, this increases the tactical flexibility of your entire game plan.

Second Objectives change from tournament to tournament. How will you know what you need to do? Read the tournament primer and make a decision. Here are a few tips.

Speed units are a great way to contest and/or control objectives. This generally includes unit which can turbo-boost, move flat out, or are "tar pit" style units with 18-24 inch charge ranges. These units excel at doing things like contesting your opponent Cap&Control objective on the last turn to force him into a loss on that objective or simply contesting Seize Ground objectives to PREVENT your opponent from winning on that objective. Basically, units which can quickly re-deploy elsewhere on the battlefield while also using their speed to make them "tough" to avoid assaults and shooting with terrain.

(KEY POINT: Always remember that in multiple objectives, the game is not just to claim objectives but you can also win by denying your opponent the ability to get objectives)

Outflanking, back field, and reserve manipulation units are also very good here. Again, this tends to focus on contesting objectives. Just be very careful that you aren't giving up easy kill points just to have an out-flanking unit. Also, Deep Striking works very well here.

A more advanced tactic is the tar pit unit, just in general. These are the types of units which can engage in a close combat that will essentially last the entire game. Thus, they don't give up kill points, but more importantly, they prevent enemy units from moving away from the combat. This has many benefits if deployed properly. The first is, if you can tar pit a unit on top of an objective, the objective will be contested for the rest of the game. Likewise, if you can tar pit key enemy units, you can prevent them from getting to any objectives on your side of the board to assaulting your units.

The Short is, you need a plan

The key to the principle here is having a plan about how you will go about getting that 2nd objective. More importantly, it is having a plan above and beyond just winning the game on kill points.

Kill Point Denial and Multiple Objective Missions / The New Power List Pt 3

So far in this series, Part 1 covered some useful definitions of where this thought process is going focusing on Multiple Objective Missions and Kill Point Denial. Part 2 focused on some reasons why Kill Point Denial lists might be advantageous in a Multiple Objective Mission. This article is going to cover the Tao of Kill Point Denial. What are the useful principles and definitions when thinking about KP Denial?

This article will begin to touch on the discussion about what makes a Kill Point Denial list. The first discussion revolves around common game mechanics that can be used to identify potential units in a build which excel at denying kill points.

Well, the first and most obvious principle behind a KP Denial list is to make sure you don't give up Kill Points! (DUR!)

The less obvious yet still simple point though is that not giving up Kill Points doesn't necessarily have to translate to a "tough" unit or a Death Star. Yes, super units like wound allocated Paladins are very hard to kill, but there are other things to consider as well. Keep the following factors in mind while you think about the principle of being tough because you will see that a lot of units in the game are a lot tougher than you may have given them credit for.

Infantry over Tanks

Simple fact is, a single lucky shot can take out a tank. (Although this can happen to infantry too with templates, morale, and some other things). Generally, this is not true for infantry models. Further, Infantry can often carry that one gun that can take out a tank, earning them positive kill points, (positive kill points - when a unit kills 1 or more enemy units, thus earning its value in kill points or more)

In general, infantry is just tougher than tanks. I realize this flies right in the face of common 5th ed. wisdom, but the whole KP Denial strategy revolves around playing Multiple Objective Missions and not Book Missions. Infantry can more easily hide completely out of LoS, infantry can absorb more shooting on average, and infantry are more capable of getting positive kill points.

You just need to watch out for...

Shooting withers, Assault destroys:

So, like in most action shooters, for whatever reason, guns seem to do less damage than melee attacks. (Don't ask me, but if you think about it, there are a lot of games like this besides the one listed...) 40K shares this concept when it comes to INFANTRY, not TANKS. Here's why.

When infantry receive fire, if played well and on a board with enough terrain, they should have a 4+ cover save. Right away, even if you don't get your armor save, you still deny 50% of all incoming fire. You can even go to ground to deny 66%. You don't need an expensive model with an invulnerable save to protect you from AP 1/2 shooting like you would need in an assault to protect from Power style weaponry.

Since you can't be swept, killed by a Power Fist, caused to take fearless wounds, or a whole host of other reasons why assault murders infantry, suddenly, large, cheap units become quite resilient. Like an Ork Mob, a block of 20 Bloodletters, a 20 man CSM squad, and even 10 Blood Angels with Feel No Pain.

Furthermore, when your unit gets low, that's when you find a place to hide it out of LoS.

They key for most units (not all mind you, you need to be flexible)? Don't get assaulted!

Range Reduces Fire

Possibly the most effective way to survive the shooting phase is not get shot. (Dur!)

Thinking about it, for infantry models with a cover save and 10+ models, anti-tank weaponry isn't all that fearsome. Sure, you might have to use your cover save instead of your armor, but you can absorb a tremendous amount of damage.

Most anti-infantry fire is 36 inch range or less. (Look through the books, you'll see). Operating at long ranges (48+ inches) will make your units that much tougher simply by the fact that the enemy will either be out of range or simply unable to bring his anti-infantry fire to bear.

Terrain

Terrain is a huge consideration for the Kill Point Denial list. If you play in an area with very little terrain or very little LoS blocking terrain, your options for what will make an effective KP Denial list will be vastly more limited than if you play in an area with more LoS blocking terrain.

Being able to hide out of LoS is a tremendous advantage for a KP Denial list because you simply can't be shot. For example, one really excellent unit at KP Denial strategies are Space Marine Bikes. However, they are utterly reliant on terrain to achieve maximum potential.

Why?

Well, they are already Toughness 5 with a 3+ save. They have the ability to turbo-boost for a 3++. (Later I'll discuss more Tao of KP Denial and why Bikes are even better because of contesting potential) However, bikes are expensive and can die to concentrated fire power.

If you have an adequate amount of terrain on the board, however, Bikes can simply hide behind it. Then, when the enemy gets to close, like to assault, you turbo-boost away and behind more terrain. You continue to "frog hop" from terrain to terrain. Works great!

Without terrain, though, most KP Denial strategies now have to almost utterly rely on units with reserve denial strategies, that are just outright tough to kill, or other weird game mechanics.

The purpose of this article was just to discuss some thoughts that should be running through your head when it comes to identifying or selecting potential units or strategies for achieving a Kill Point Denial build.

The next article will cover some of the basic roles that need to be filled in a KP Denial list to achieve the kind of effectiveness described in the previous Part 2 article.

Kill Point Denial and Multiple Objective Missions / The New Power List Pt 2

So, the entire point of this series is to really discuss why a Kill Point Denial list might be so much stronger than the traditional transport based MSU that has been the hallmark of 5th Edition since Imperial Guard hit the scene.

The last article served to define some key elements to this argument. The first key to the entire discussion is that this notion is really intended to only apply to game settings in which MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES are in play.

The second is that Kill Point Denial lists are lists which are designed to deny Kill Points (duh). Although related to Death Star lists, they are not necessarily the same and in many cases are dramatically different. Many good Kill Point Denial lists don't have Death Stars.

So, why would a Kill Point Denial list have an upper hand in a multiple objective mission?

Consider a normal, multiple objective mission game. Let's say there are 3 objectives in play. The concept of a fair game then involves two players each competing over those 3 objectives. He who can earn the most, wins. The idea is that both sides must actively compete over the 3 objectives.

What if I all but guaranteed one side a single objective of the 3 before the game started? How would this alter the dynamics of the game?

Well first, the side that was already guaranteed the objective would:

- Only ever have to worry about competing over the remaining 2.

- Have the option of merely preventing his opponent from claiming the other 2 objectives, because he's already got one to win with.

His Opponent:

- Not necessarily expecting to have auto-lost one objective from the jump, tried to build his list to win all 3 objectives. He is now at an efficiency disadvantage to the guy who already knew he auto-claims one objective.

- Has to claim 2 objectives now to win, not just tie. Whereas, the KP Denial list only has to DENY 2, not claim any, or.....

....then another reality of 3 objective missions sets in, TIE-BREAKERS.

Many of the 3 Objective Missions that are in play in tournaments and GTs have tie breakers. What is usually the tie-breaker in a game? Victory Points.

Guess what else a Kill Point Denial list is really good at? Not giving up Victory Points!

Thus, we have another advantage:

- The Kill Point Denial list really only has to focus on stopping the opponent from getting ONE SINGLE objective, not BOTH. Why? He knows that he can force a tie on objectives, he'll most likely win on Victory Points.

Let's say we are in a tournament where the 3 missions objectives are the 3 book missions:

- Seize Ground (3 objectives in play)

- Capture and Control (roll dice and tie)

- Annihilation (kill points)

Now, just by the names above, how easy do you think it would be for a well designed KP Denial list to claim one of the above objectives and TIE in another?

(See what I did there?)

MSU or Transport Armies inherently come with a ton of kill points. Kill Point Denial lists can abuse this fact to almost guarantee wins on Kill Points.

However, MSU armies have no such return guarantee that they can claim mission objectives by completing Seize Ground style objectives. And even if they can, it will be even more difficult for them to claim a 2nd objective (Cap & Control, Quarters, whatever...) and then not lose on a VP tie breaker.

One of the big reasons for this is that the effective KP Denial List, once its had its core of KP Denial filled, should now focus on what it takes to contest Seize Ground objectives.

The next big reason is that, at the end of the day, you can't win Seize Ground by "doing something" and then simply not playing the game anymore.

By that, I mean that a Kill Point Denial list always has the luxury of "kill something and run" or "hide behind terrain". You can't do that an win at objectives. You have to stay in the game, the WHOLE game.

Anyways!

The entire point of this article is to try to convince you that there be some validity to this whole KP Denial Argument.

When in doubt, just refer to this guy for further instruction:

Kill Point Denial and Multiple Objective Missions / The New Power List Pt 1

5th Edition is winding down, and over the past few months, I have been digging through the concept of Kill Point Denial lists. In my opinion, at least until 6th ed. rolls out, Kill Point Denial lists are the most powerful list concept for the rising GT setting of using multiple mission objectives as part of the determination about who wins a game.

This is a very specific thought, but I really think it deserves some community consideration. Towards the conversation, let's note that I'm only really talking about GT style settings which include missions where multiple "book" "style" objectives are in play.

Multiple Book-Style Objectives:

First, I use the term "book-style" because I don't just want to limit the conversation to GTs which only use exact book missions. There are very important reasons for that!

I'm saying "Book-Style" because I'm referring to missions which are largely, loosely, or exactly spins on the 3 stock missions provided to us in the 40K rule book. Adepticon has a large number of "objectives" this year according to their primers, and most of them are variations on those provided to us in the BRB or previous BRB editions, with some exceptions. The NoVA Open is also similar in that it's missions are largely spins on the on the BRB missions with the exception of the "Quarters" mission, which is a spin on the previous editions BRB mission.

Then there are large events like the Bay Area Open which simply put all 3 book missions in play, exactly as they stand, with an exception to the number of seize ground objectives. This format is actually becoming quite popular in our local area as well.

Even events like the ETC which has a wildly variant format to most GTs, is still using book style variants in multiples to determine points earned per round.

The major contribution that I am taking away from this is not the actual missions themselves BUT the following two points:

1) The missions for these GTs involve multiple objectives being in play at the same time to determine a winner. Generally, this is he who accomplishes the most objectives or your ability to "tie down" (that is to play for a tie on some objectives and try to win on others).

2) A lot of these missions are based off the fundamental concepts of "take objectives" and "earn kill points".

Kill Point Denial Lists

I've mentioned this concept quite a few times either on the podcast, blog, or forums over the past few months because I am now firmly believing that KP Denial Lists are the new Power List in the waning days of 5th Ed. 40K. I'll explain why in a bit, but first, I need to define what Kill Point Denial is.

A Kill Point Denial list is a list which seeks to give up as few kill points as possible. In short, it generally seeks to abuse the Kill Point mission introduced in 5th Edition by building a list which will specifically try to grab a few kill points from the enemy while trying to deny the enemy the ability to claim any of their own. At face value, any army really seeks to do this, killing the enemy without getting killed, but the reality of this type of list in 40K is a bit more "gamey" than that.

It's easier to talk about this with examples. The new Necron codex provides a great one! Suppose I construct a Necron list with the intent of keeping the Night Fighting rule in effect for the entire game. Naturally, this would include an Imotekh + Chronotek combination along with a couple solar pulses. Using this concept, my goal will be to utilize Imotekh's Lightning special attack to destroy a vehicle or two during the game to claim a couple of kill points. Otherwise, my goal will be to hide my entire army behind terrain, in reserve, or use something like Scarabs en mass which are great for KP denial because they are so hard to actually remove from the table for most armies.

My overall goal? Rather than actually "play" a game of 40K, my goal is to "game" the Kill Point mission, kill 2 Rhinos, and otherwise do not engage my opponent at all. Then, I will try to win the game 2-0.

Imagine that you play a game of 40K where you spend almost the entire game trying to chase down your opponent who runs from you the entire time, for 5-7 turns, and finally defeats you because during the course of that, he killed 2 Rhinos. You lose! Wasn't that FUN?!

Deathstars

Deathstars live in infamy as the units in 40K in which a ton of points get put into a large unit which seems to overwhelm the opponent with brute force. Famous death stars are units like:

- Paladin-stars (Draigo-stars)

- Tyranid Tyrant-Death Stars

- Nob Bikerz

- Thunder Lord/Thunder Cav- Stars

- Large Terminator Units

- Jet-Seers

The reason I am bringing these types of units up is because at their core, Death Star units EXCEL at morphing into Kill Point Denial Lists. Why is that?

Because Death Stars are generally very good at claiming 2+ kill points before they themselves give up a single kill point. Since they are generally very tough and capable of earning more kill points than they give up, not to mention generally absorbing multiple opponent turns of damage, they allow for very easy scenarios in which the rest of the army can hide or run, again trying to win by a small kill point margin by effectively not engaging the enemy.

Also, argued as not being very effective by internet pundits, the general theory behind how to defeat a Death Star is to just dump your entire army into it OR to simply IGNORE it. Both of these strategies, when you think about it, are geared towards "objective taking". In kill points, you can choose to ignore the Death Star but not if its claiming a couple of kill points while the rest of your opponent's army hides behind terrain.

Kill Points Versus Objectives (MSU vs. KP Denial)

A year or two ago, the internet was ablaze with Space Wolf hate. Now, the 40K community has transformed all of that hate onto Grey Knights. Either way, a large part of the Space Wolf hate of yesterday centered around the idea of MSU lists being the superior list to the Death Star list. A lot of this hate really focused on the Razor Spam (Razor Wolves) and IG lists which were the basic transport + small unit paradigm which was doing so well at tournaments.

The arguments at the time were that MSU style lists were really good at objectives and "good enough" at Kill Points to win more GTs. The basic idea there is the "death star" list would lose in objective games and thus you only ever needed a MSU list because "death star" lists wouldn't make it into final rounds anyways.

Haters are gonna hate on whatever army they perceive as winning and come up with a myriad of reasons why. However, there is a legitimate points, I believe, that was brought up about the whole situation.

MSU = Better at objectives

Death Star (now Kill Point Denial) = Better at kill points.

This thought process in my opinion is very valid when you are considering book missions alone, where only one objective is in play.

However, in the next few articles, I'm going to examine the new reality of 40K, kill point denial, and how all of this applies to events with multiple objectives in play.