Friday, September 21, 2012

Steel City Showdown
A Snake Eyes Gaming Warhammer 40,000 Tournament




Snake Eyes Gaming is proud to announce the 3rd Annual Steel City Showdown.  Every Fall between 35-50 players gather at Legions Games in Pittsburgh to test their mettle against one another for three rounds of Warhammer 40,000.  At the end of the day one participant will have earned the right to hoist the Steel City Sword and claim the title of Champion until next year.

The Steel City Showdown is Snake Eye Gaming’s biggest tournament of the year.  We always try to do something special for the participants – in previous years we’ve had random prizes or raffles.  A tournament packet containing all of the rules, guidelines, and scoring system will be available at the bottom of this post in the weeks leading up to the event.  Similarly, the missions for the tournament will be made available prior to the tournament.

There is no time for peace.  No respite.  No forgiveness.  There is only WAR.

Rules Packet

Mission 1

Where:                   Legions Hobbies & Games
                                Pines Plaza Shopping Center
                                1130 Perry Hwy
                                Pittsburgh, PA 15237
                                (412) 366-3725

When:                  Saturday, October 20th
                              11:00 AM – Registration
                              12:00  PM – First Round Begins
                              Army lists will be collected during registration.

 What:                  3 round, 1850 point Warhammer 40,000 tournament
                               Participants will be given 2 hours and 15 minutes for each round
                               There is NO painting requirement.  Unpainted models will NOT hinder
                                          your ability to win Best Sportsman or Best General prizes.
                              NO proxies although conversions are accepted (and encouraged!).  All models must
                                          be WYSIWYG.

 Cost:                    $20 for each participant.  The entry fee includes a lunch of Subway/Pizza that will
                                         be served between Rounds 2 & 3.
                              Food will be available for non-participants for the cost of $5 per person.

Awards:             Best Overall
                             Best Sportsman (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
                      Best General (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
                             Best Painted (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
                             Snake Eyes Award
                             The Feast of Blades

6th Edition          Allies are acceptable (consult the Allies Matrix in the Rulebook for options).
                          Players will roll for Warlord Traits prior to each game.
                           Each player receives 1 Force Organization slot for Fortifications.
                         Terrain will be set up by the judges prior to the event.
                           Mysterious Terrain rules will be used where applicable.
                           Missions will contain ALL deployment rules, scoring methods, and Objective details.
                           The new Chaos Space Marines Codex is fully legal for the event.

 Forge World      Forge World army lists and units are permitted with prior approval from the judges.
                         We will keep the list below updated with all lists and units that we have approved.
                       No Experimental Rules, Super Heavy Vehicles, Gargantuan Creatures, or Apocalypse
                                          Formations will be permitted.
                        You must have the official rules that detail the unit(s) that you are using.

Forge World units that are currently cleared for use:

  • Land Raider Achilles
  • Land Raider Helios
  • Land Raider Prometheus
  • Caestus Assault Ram
  • Contemptor Dreadnoughts (All Patterns)
  • Siege Pattern Dreadnought
  • Any Special Character from IA8, IA9, IA10, IA11
  • Space Marine Siege Assault Vanguard Army List
  • Commander Shas’o R’ala
  • Commander Shas'O R'Myr
  • Pathfinder Tetras
  • Piranha TX-42
  • Tau XV9 Hazard Battlesuit
  • Tau XV9-01 Battesuilt
  • Necron Tomb Stalker
  • Eldar Warp Hunter
  • Death Korps of Krieg Siege Army List
  • Mole Launcher
  • Imperial Heavy Mortar
  • Imperial Quad Launcher "Thudd Gun"
  • Hades Breaching Drill
  • Imperial Guard Centaur (All Patterns)
  • Cyclops Demolition Vehicle
  • Thunderer Siege Tank
  • Chaos Decimator Daemon Engine
  • Grot Bomm Launcher 
  • Lucius Pattern Dreadnought Drop Pod (must be represented by the appropriate Forge World model) 
  • Nurgle Blight Drone
  • Eldar Corsair Army List
  • Eldar Wasp Assault Walker
  • Eldar Hornet
  • Eldat Nightwing Interceptor
  • Eldar Phoenix Bomber
  • Eldar Fire Storm



25 comments:

  1. Greetings, I have played in several of the Snake Eyes tournaments before, which have indeed been fun and enjoyable. However, a few questions/points regarding this tournament that need some clarification:

    1. In my extended experience, a 5th edition 1850 point game ran much faster than a current 6th edition 1850 point game does, yet those 5th edition games certainly took over 2 hours, 15 minutes to play. In addition, a large majority of players in previous years were unable to finish any of their tournament rounds (Orks, horde armies in particular), even moving at breakneck speed. Would it be possible to lower the point value or increase the game time to accommodate this? In my humble opinion, a 1650 point setup at 2 hours, 15 minutes or 1850 point setup at 2 hours, 45 minutes would allow most players to actually finish their games, and in this, feel like their particular game (and their chances for ranking) equally compared to all other games.

    2. In relation to this above point, there were concerns in previous events about the "dice down" rule when time had elapsed, especially during the middle of the round. Official 40K tournaments at GW stores allow players to continue their full turn until it is over; will you consider changing to this as well, to prevent player abuse and allow for fair play?

    3. Although you mention that no proxies are allowed, can you detail a bit more into what you mean by that? Previous WYSIWYG proxy armies have been declared "legal" so it is important that attendees know that is, and is not, allowed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the questions and for your interest in the Steel City Showdown. If you are still unclear or have follow up questions after reading the responses below please feel free to contact us for a more in-depth conversation. We’ll address your questions/concerns point-by-point.
    1. Your first question asks both about the point level of the tournament and the time limit for each round. First, we’ll address the point limit; the 1850 point value of the Steel City Showdown is already locked in. Second, we’ll address the 2 hours and 15 minute time limit. We firmly believe that we are providing more than enough time for player’s to complete their games (for reference, Games Workshop’s official tournaments only offered 2 hours and 30 minutes per round for 2500 point tournaments). Time management is a key skill for tournament play regardless of a player’s model count.
    2. We adopted the dice down rule after years of organizing and running tournaments. Experience has shown that it is the fairest and smoothest way to end each tournament round.
    We frequently announce how much time is left in the round so that players can gauge their actions accordingly. Players that cannot agree on whether or not another round should be started are encouraged to consult with a judge. We will fairly adjudicate whether or not a new round can be started and completed with enough time for each player to take their turn.
    Without a hard dice down time players can and will begin new rounds with only minutes left in the round. There are a couple of ramifications of this onto all of the other participants. First, everyone else is forced to wait for the people that have not finished their game before pairing for the next round can be announced. Second, players that stand to gain the most from forcing the game to continue will pressure the other player into continuing since there is no real time limit.
    3. Snake Eyes Gaming does not allow proxy models at our events. We do allow (and encourage!) enthusiasts that choose to go the extra distance with their models by customizing their force. Whether or not the model is converted or assembled out-of-box it must be WYSIWYG. We encourage any players that have a question about the tournament validity of a conversion to consult with us before the event. You are always permitted to review your opponent’s army list; if that opponent has conversions in their army make sure you clear up any of your questions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, according to the Throne of Skulls official rules (http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m2000984a_Throne_of_Skulls_Rules_2012.pdf), they run 1500 points, not 2500 points, in 2 hours and 30 minutes.

      Delete
    2. My previous post was not referring to the Throne of Skulls but rather 'Ard Boyz. 'Ard Boyz was a 2500 point tournament in which participants were given 2 and 1/2 hours to complete their games. Having participated in 5 'Ard Boyz and Judged another 2 I can safely say that most participants were able to finish their games.

      Delete
  3. Hey Deathwolf, quick question regarding Forge World: Will you allow units of Grot Bomm Launchaz to be taken in Ork lists?

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  4. Deathwolf, would I be able to bring a caestus trident force to the tourney

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree that 2:15 may not be enough time to complete all the turns for a round. However, it should be enough time to play at least 4 or 5 turns, thus, a winner can still be decided.

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  6. The Grot Bomm Launch may be taken as a fast attack choice. Please see page 54 of imperial Apocalypse second edition and the forge-world 6th edition Vehicle update.

    The Caestus Assault Trident Force is an Apocalypse Formation only and as such is disallowed for this tournament.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Guys, will you be permitting Chaos Space Marine players run the Codex?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ed, I think you are asking if we will permit players to use the new chaos marine codex that comes out on October 6th?

      We will get back to you on that.

      Delete
    2. The Chaos Space Marine Codex is permitted.
      After all, we allowed the new Necron book at last year's Steel City Showdown and it had only been out for a couple of weeks as well.
      Enjoy!

      Delete
  8. Dear Snake eyes people, I often run my deamons in your tournaments and i may or not be there on the 20th due to tother stuffs, but regardless, what are the rulings on blight drones? are they fliers or still skimmers, and how many hllpoints to they have (being forgeworld) if i didn't mention it.

    -Cory D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cory,

      Blight drones are flyers that can hover with 3 hull points. Please see http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF/v/vehicle6thupdates.pdf

      Delete
    2. Thank you! this is what i couldn't find!

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  9. The Lucius Pattern Dreadnought Drop Pod is permitted only with the appropriate Forge World model. A normal Drop Pod with no seats might be suitable to carry a Dreadnought but only the Lucius Pattern is designed to permit Dreadnoughts to assault from it on the turn that it arrives.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Rules question for you guys. How will you rule the Necron Night Scythe and its passengers when the Night Scythe is shot down? Do the models within take the 'Crash and Burn' wounds or don't they? According to the Codex, they are not permitted to disembark and must come in from reserve on the next turn. The fluff (while not rules, I know) states that the troops are not really inside the Night Scythe but rather ‘beamed’ to the surface from elsewhere. But I can also see the argument why they should take the test. I just have a feeling I am going to see this more than once and I want to play it correctly at your event.
    GW has not provided a clear answer to this, so where do you guys come down on this issue?
    Thanks,
    Ed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ED, to put it simply we are ruling that models within take the 'Crash and Burn' wounds.

      1. Scatter
      2. S6 hits on models under the crash
      3. S10 no armor saves on embarked models
      4. Necron Models placed back into reserves

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    2. Ok great, thanks guys! I will know how to play it without bothering you with a rules question. I am looking forward to the event!

      Delete
  11. Since GW has not yet released an offical box set of cultists (other then the ones in the dark vengence set) is it acceptable to use Imperial Guardsmen as Chaos Cultists. They have the similar stats and weapons.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perfectly acceptable, just make sure your opponent knows they are cultists. FW renegades make great cultists as well as some of the other 3rd party makers.

      Delete
  12. I'm looking forward to when they release the box of cultists so I can use them as Imperial Guardsmen. :-)

    Any idea when the mission/rules/faq packet will be made available online?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The first mission and rules/FAQ will be posted this week, we are still nitpicking what we have to make sure everything is clear and concise.

      Delete
    2. Gotcha, certainly a better choice to have it be right rather than have it fast.

      Good luck!

      Delete
  13. A couple quick rules questions came up over the last couple of days and I wanted to share the answers with everyone:
    1. Can the Caestus Assault Ram perform a Ram while Zooming?
    Yes. While the Caestus is Zooming it can ONLY ram targets that are also Zooming. Conversely, while the Caestus is Hovering it can ram any target that is NOT Zooming.
    2. If Skulltaker is mounted on a Chariot of Khorne can he issue/accept Challenges?
    Yes. The Chariot of Khorne removes the Independent Character RULE from Skulltaker, it does not change his profile to exclude the Character portion of his unit type. Furthermore, the Chariot of Khorne does not follow the rules for Chariots outlined in the Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook. The prohibition against issuing/accepting challenges from the back of a chariot only applies to characters mounted on VEHICLES with the Chariot type.
    3. Can Abaddon the Despoiler join a unit of Chaos Space Marines that has a Mark of Chaos?
    No. An Independent Character with a Mark of Chaos can NOT join a unit that has a different Mark of Chaos. Since Abaddon has all four Marks of Chaos he can ONLY join units that do not have any Mark of Chaos.
    4. Can I use my Chaos Daemons if they are mounted on square bases?
    Yes, provided they are the same size as the bases that came with the model. Models have to be mounted on the bases that they came with (a scenic base of the same size is sufficient). Since Chaos Daemons come with both round and square bases either type is acceptable.

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  14. In the previous edition both of a PBS's powers could be used from within a chimera. Some question has been raised if that is still possible under the new rules. How would you guys rule that?

    ReplyDelete