++ ARMY SELECTION ++
Note: These details are
correct for 2009.
This category counts for 0-30
points.
DEFINITIONS
Roster: A spreadsheet with
all of the units and characters in your army with their full
points values
Background: A written document of one or more pages which
describes the history of your army, or a fictional account of
one of their engagements, or similar introduction. Can also be
multimedia presentation, we have laptops on which to view it.
Theme: The idea of your army, and how that concept is
supported by the models you have chosen. Theme can be explained
verbally to the selection judge.
ARMY ROSTER
15 points maximum
Your army roster must be emailed to us before the convention
1. Was the army list emailed
by the due date and in the correct format?
10 pts.
Please use this
Excel sheet, and email your roster
to arclists40K at hotmail dot com by midnight
Monday 12 January 2009.
- NOTE: If your army
list is not received by the deadline, and if you do not
contact us to let us know it will be late, you will be
dropped from the Registered Player List and be placed at the
bottom of the Reserve List.
- If you are on the Reserve
List, you must still send in your army list. Reserves may
be promoted to Registered if they have sent in their lists.
- Late entrants and
Emergency List players will have 24 hours to email their
Army roster after their entry is accepted.
2. Is the army list correct?
0 pts = List not correct
5 pts = List correct per the Codex. All additions are correct,
all points values are supplied, and the list adds up to no more than 1200pts.
ARMY BACKGROUND & THEME
15 points maximum
Your army background and theme will be judged during one of your
games
3. Are things named in the
army roster?
0 pts (Poor) = No
1 pt (Okay) = Army and army commander named
2 pts (Good) = Plus all squads named
3 pts (Great) = Everything is named including squad leaders and
any vehicles
4. Has an army background been
provided?
0 pts (Poor) = No background provided
1 pt (Okay) = Yes, but minimum effort, e.g. one paragraph of text
2 pts (Good) = Yes, solid effort, good writing which really conveys the
flavour of the army, and some effort in presentation e.g. some images
or interesting paper stock
3 pts (Great) = A real standout, you've gone far
beyond the minimum needed to provide as background, and showed
real flair in the presentation
5. Does the army have a theme?
0 pts (Poor) = No sense of theme, or incorrect theme - your
selections actually go against the core background of the army
you are using (e.g. shooty Khorne army)
1 pt (Okay) = Fair effort, it's a standard Codex army
2 pts (Good) = Yes, your army selections display solid thought
about the army, and it really fits the spirit of the background.
You have used the Codex creatively to build a 1200pt strike
force with a coherent sense of unity and purpose.
3 pts (Great) = An outstanding theme which goes beyond the Codex, our judges are impressed
by your effort and originality. We rarely see such a fresh take
on this army.
6.
Do the miniatures support the background and the theme?
0 pts (Poor) = No. It might have sounded good on paper, but looking
at the models, it's hard to get any sense of a theme at all
1 pts (Okay) = Yes, but at minimum. It could be any army of its
type.
2 pts (Good) = The army strongly feels like the one described in
your background. The characters stand out, and the army seems
ready to set out on one of the exploits that you have described.
3 pts (Great) = A fantastic effort, you have shown real attention
to detail. Key characters from your background are modelled and
show the same personality on the table as they do on paper.
Basing and colour scheme show consideration of their home world,
or their current theatre of operations. Your objectives fit the
theme, hell, maybe even your dice do. In short, the miniatures really bring the story of the army to
life on the table.
7. Masterclass - is this army
one of the top ten picks?
3 pts
++ FAQ ++
Are there any restrictions on
what I can take?
No, you can use whatever is in
your Codex. This is a change from previous years, but as the
Codices are becoming more specialised, it is more difficult to
construct fair guidelines that work equally for all armies.
But, we still believe that it's good for an army to have a solid
core of troops (in previous years we have suggested 40%, and we
stand by that). Arcanacon missions favour armies with lots of
scoring units. We will be using Escalation in at least two
missions this year, so taking plenty of infantry troops choices
will both balance your army and give you an advantage in certain
missions.
When should I submit my
roster?
The deadline for submission of
army rosters is midnight Monday 12 January 2009. Rosters submitted after
that time will miss out on 10 points, as noted above.
Army rosters must be submitted
electronically by the due date to with the file format of Firstname_Surname_ArmyType.xls .e.g. David_Smith_SpaceWolves.xls and
using the Excel format supplied. If you cannot use Excel then
please have a friend assist you. Handwritten rosters and rosters in other
formats such as army builder will not be accepted and will be
treated as both incorrect and late. Please email your roster to
us.
What is the difference between
army roster and army background?
- Army roster is the list of
the units in your army filled out on the form provided.
Note: you may use your own preferred format for play at
the event, but we must have the roster submitted in the
format cited above.
- Army background/theme is
additional text, images or props which together describe the
background or story of your army. Some people call this
"fluff", we call it an essential part of your army.
Note: you may reformat your roster and include it as part
of your background/theme presentation, as some people like
to include full stat blocks, pictures, etc. This is fine, as
long as we get a version of your roster to mark via email in
the format noted above.
The roster must be handed in by
the dates mentioned above. The background/theme must be handed
in at the tournament before the first game. Your
background/theme can be presented as a printout or
electronically via memory stick, CD, laptop etc.
What makes an army list correct?
All selections are correct and
legal as per the current Codex, all points values and addition
are accurate, all choices are clearly listed with the points
values for each model and for all equipment, and the army does
not total more than 1,200 points. See the Example1 and Example2
tabs at the bottom of the Excel spreadsheet for what we mean here.
What if my army roster is
incorrect?
If your army is incorrect and you
point out the error to us no points will be deducted for an
incorrect list prior to the competition start. Once the
competition has started if the player point out any errors no
points will be deducted for an incorrect list, but at least one
point, at the discretion of the organisers, will be deducted per
round played.
Should the organisers or an
opponent find an error before or after the commencement of the
first game then the list will be both marked as incorrect and at
least one point, at the discretion of the organisers, will be
deducted per round played.
Why do I have to use Excel for
the Army Roster?
Getting everyone's lists in the
same format makes it a lot easier for us to mark. We have many
lists to mark in a short space of time, and format variation
really slows us down.
If you have not used Excel before, ask someone to show you. The
spreadsheet is already laid out, and all you need do is type in
your names, equipment and points values. When you add the totals
to the boxes, the spreadsheet does all the calculations for you.
Try it, we reckon it's pretty good!
Remember, you can reformat your list as part of your
background/theme presentation if you like.
Why do we need to provide
names on our roster?
We want to see that you have
personalised your army. After all they are more than plastic and
metal aren't they? To receive one point your army, army
commander and all independent characters should be named. To
receive two points you need to also name your squads. To receive
three points all squads, squad leaders and any vehicles should
also be named. The names should fit the theme and type of your
army. Names like Fred 1, Fred 2 will receive no points.
What do you mean by
background?
You have personalised the men now
its time to create your unit history. Stories, battle honours,
and unit back ground will add to your opponent's enjoyment and
the hobby. Here we look for an army which is original and
striking, and much more than just a Codex list; they are heroes.
Furthermore, the unit choices on the roster match the story
theme of the army.
What do you mean by extra
effort in army background presentation?
This is where you can go O.T.T.
with your background. To receive one point you would have a good
choice of font and layout that makes the background easy to
read. To receive two points you will have needed to add
pictures, stories, or the like to demonstrate the theme of your
army. For maximum points the background could be presented as an
army banner, sacred item, written on the sword of doom, or a
really cool document that is Codex quality, or beautifully
inscribed by hand on parchment. As part of your presentation,
feel free to present your army roster to us again in your preferred format;
the Excel version is for convenience for checking each list, but
if you prefer to present full stat lines and images, here is the
place to do that.
How do you determine if the
miniatures match the theme?
When we judge your army roster, we form a picture of how such an army will be
modelled and present itself on the table. We will then go around
and look at each army. If you have a very characterful
background with a collection of models that do not seem to
represent the theme, you may lose points here. These points
exist to reward people who really model the army to fit the
theme.
What stops other players from
taking tough or cheesy armies?
A massive part of Arc 40K scoring
is Sports. Statistically and empirically, if people don't like
your army, they will not give you an Excellent sports rating. We
believe that if you put down an army that is so all-powerful
that it sucks the fun out of the opponent's game, then you
haven't exactly been sporting, have you? Further, this year we
have introduced the "Unbalanced" vote for players to bring our
attention to armies that are overcooked.
So, on the organiser's side it seems like we've lifted almost
all restrictions on army composition, but it's the players who
are going to experience your army first hand. We recommend that
you be reasonable.
++ PRINTING DEAL ++
Our sponsor
BookPOD
(run by WAU regular killermike) will be offering a printing deal
for 40K players.
Contact
BookPOD
for more details, or "killermike" on
WargamerAU, using the subject line "Arcanacon printing
deal".
