40Kon - The Ringer Army

While In a perfect world I'd have a perfect number of players show up for a tournament, I'd never need a ringer.

Alas, we don't live in a perfect world. and nobody wants to pay for an event and sit out for 2 and a half hours.

So A ringer is always a necessity.

This is the ringer army for the montana 40kon.

SM Captain
-on Bike
-Power Weapon
-Hellfire Rounds
-Artificer Armor

SM Librarian
-on Bike
-Null Zone
-Smite

Command Squad
-on Bikes
-4 Plasma Guns
-2 Lightning Claws
-2 Thunder Hammers
-2 Storm Shields

Bike Squad (4 Bikes)
 -2 Meltas
-Power Fist
-Attack Bike w. Multi-Melta

Bike Squad (4 Bikes)
-2 Meltas
-Power Fist
-Attack Bike w. Multi-Melta

Bike Squad (4 Bikes)
-2 Meltas
-Power Fist
-Attack Bike w. Multi-Melta

Devistator Squad
-4 Missile Launchers
-Lascannon/TL Plasmagun Razorback

Devistator Squad
-4 Missile Launchers
-Lascannon/TL Plasmagun Razorback

Devistator Squad
-4 Missile Launchers
-Lascannon/TL Plasmagun Razorback
 2,000 Points

Now, a Ringer is not there to beat face. It's there to fill space.
I believe that if you play against a Ringer you get a win. Period.
That's just me.

I'll likely be playing the ringer, but not necessessarily.

If you play against the ringer you get 1 thing only automgically. A Win.
Since the 40kon Will be based on Both wins and points, this just does 1 thing. gets the first round's opponent into the upper bracket. They must earn their points. If I table the army I come up against, they have a large problem because they play with the big boys with very few points. If they beat the everliving crap out of me, well, they belong with the big boys anyhow.

Every other round of the event you always place the ringer against the Lowest player in the event. it's a non-issue.

Is it fair to everyone? not always. but life is not fair, we just deal with it as best we can.

Also, First round the Ringer plays a RANDOM player. so that random player could be the person I play most often, just as likely as it could be the person from Nova Scotia that I've never met before. There is never any malice in the Ringer's Opponent.

Ever.

Composition - Or "Seriously, This has not been needed since Rogue Trader"

Composition. the worst of the worst soft score offenders. It is a hold-over form 1st edition of 40k. You know, when you could arm your space marines with Shurican Catapults. Back then you could put whatever you wanted on the table. So Comp worked then, when you could make really stupidly overpowered stuff.

Now? well now each race has it's own book. no more mixing wargear between xenos and Space Marines.

No more running Orks alongside the Eldar.

Why is this still around?

Got me.

It is by far the most restrictive and the most subjective of all the soft scores.

Because Jim the Fluff Bunny says that in White Dwarf 3 that the deathwing were only comprised of certain named characters with their individual retinues, now all deathwing players that don't adhere to that get hit with a comp facepalm.....

Just let this worthless piece of ........ die already.

It's useless and worthless.

bleh. I hate comp if you did not guess. Both as a scoreing mechanism and as anything else.

Painting Scoring - Or Why Should This Count towards a TOURNAMENT

So you may have noticed I'm doing opinion rants on Soft Scoring. I hate soft scoring. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Every time I see it I almost need to hold back the need to Vomit on the playing surface.


So.....

Painting.
I love seeing painted models. I love playing with painted armies. I love to paint. However, does that make me better at playing the game? nope.

Do I believe that painting should be scored on a percentage basis in a tournament against battle points? Never.

Why? precisely because no matter how well I paint it does not make me better at playing the game.

Should painting be judged? YES. because of the time and effort required to paint an army fully. there should be some reward. It should not be tied to the overall score though. it should be an appearace award.

Sportsmanship - Or What The Crap?!?

Sportsmanship. One of our least favorite topics to discuss. It has it's proponents (many) and it's opponents (just as many including me).

Sportsmanship is MEANT to work like this:

Good humor, quality opponents are encouraged.
Dicks and Assholes are Discouraged.

Simple right? Not quite.

It really works like this:

You Beat me? low score for you. I figure I'll get a higher score and our overall match will be less of a loss for me, or if it was close I'll even come out ahead because of this "Soft" score.

...... Not quite the intended result Riiiiight???

How I think Sportsmanship should be scored:

Each player gets 1 vote. only one for the entirety of the event.

You vote for your FAVORITE opponent. The score has NO BEARING on overall tournament placement.
You can ONLY vote for somebody you played against.

The player who gets the MOST votes (3 in a standard tourney or more in a GT) wins the "Players Choice" award.

Simple really. that is it.

Problems Solved.

Moving on....