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Being prepared at a tournament
https://www.swmgamers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15499		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  TimmerB123 [ Wed May 30, 2012 11:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Being prepared at a tournament
There are a lot of players that simply are not prepared for tournaments. And I don't mean knowing your squad and map, I mean having the proper tools.

1. Override.
If you have override on your squad, you need to bring in some sort of token or marker to indicate doors open or closed. If you have more than one character with override (rr the possibility of more than one - ie either Lobot), you need to have different sets of tokens or markers that distinguish themselves from each other. It drives me crazy when a player shows up with a squad with triple override and no way to distinguish who is overriding which door. They always say they will just remember, but that is not fair to your opponent. Besides, it is not uncommon between the 2 squads for there to be 4 or more characters on the board with override these days. There must be a clear and concise way for BOTH players to recognize which door is overridden, and by which character. Dry erase markers are not acceptable as the only means, because what if you are using your opponent's map and it isn't laminated? All you need is a 2 cent bead, or a plastic token, etc. What I use are poker chips, one side I marked Lobot Locked, and the other side I marked Lobot Open. I did this for an R7 too in case I bring one in with Lobot. I also did a few for destroyed doors (although this you can mark with virtually anything, as it doesn't matter WHO destroyed the door, unlike override). It actually makes a big difference in games more often than you think.

2. Reinforcements, bribery, etc.
Having the reinforcement characters themselves is one thing. I am not taking about my opinions on what is the best way to use Lobot (read other threads for that), I am taking about how to distinguish them from the rest of your squad. Reinforcements are not worth points. So how do you distinguish that uggie you brought in through Lobot from the one in your base squad? It is mind boggling how many players don't consider this. It is not acceptable to simply say you will remember. Go to a craft store, and buy a little putty or clay. Put a little dot of it on them - done. It's that simple. Use a sticker, use some paint, use a promo, etc. Now you can distinguish Reinforcements and/or bribery characters from the ones in your base squad.

3. Pen and Paper
Once again - it blows my mind how many players have no means to mark down points. Every player needs a way to keep track of gambit, points, # of rounds, etc. You can also do this with different dice (I use a D-8 for gambit, so I don't mix it up with anything else), but minimum is a pen and paper.


It just takes a little extra time before hand, but being prepared for tournaments makes the games actually go quicker and smoother. Not having to stop and figure out which character overrode which door, which characters count for points, or how many rounds there have been - really speeds things up and makes it clear for everyone - including the judge if they need to know.

I even have a few extra tokens I made for my opponent, which I insist that they use if they have no other means. I kindly suggest that they get some for themselves for the next time if they are unexperienced players, and I mercilessly mock them if they are experienced players (just ask Jason K). They should know better!
Author:  dalsiandon [ Thu May 31, 2012 12:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
I hear that. I have a number of guys that have slight paint alterations to help or i have little circles underneath on the bottom of the base.
Author:  R5Don4 [ Thu May 31, 2012 3:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
For override I've always used a 4 sided die.

1 for open
2 for closed
3 for blown, often replaced with a glass bead.
4 for door gimmick

For gambit I put an oversized die in the middle of the map.

Maybe this should be added to the floor rules next time!
Author:  R5Don4 [ Thu May 31, 2012 3:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
It would be cool if on one of those Vset promo slots was taken up by override tokens like we used to get with the promos. Those were always such a joke because Wizards had a great idea that was so poorly executed, that oversized Activated with Vader's face was my fave.
Author:  urbanjedi [ Thu May 31, 2012 5:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
and don't forget a LOS tool.

And yes, TIm did mock me at the IL regional for not being prepared as I played a squad with elements that I don't normally play (lobot/override/etc)
Author:  obikenobi1 [ Thu May 31, 2012 5:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
urbanjedi wrote:
and don't forget a LOS tool.

And yes, TIm did mock me at the IL regional for not being prepared as I played a squad with elements that I don't normally play (lobot/override/etc)


A string of floss works wonders.
Author:  hinkbert [ Thu May 31, 2012 6:26 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
In addition to having properly marked override indicators, make sure your opponent knows what they mean. I know I've been guilty of this since I use the old WotC pieces with arrows on them that point either in or out (indicating closed or open) and I tend to assume that people know what they mean. I need to remind myself to let people know what is what.
Author:  LESHIPPY [ Thu May 31, 2012 6:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
R5Don4 wrote:
It would be cool if on one of those Vset promo slots was taken up by override tokens like we used to get with the promos. Those were always such a joke because Wizards had a great idea that was so poorly executed, that oversized Activated with Vader's face was my fave.


I am sure there are plenty of WOTC override token floating around.
Author:  Echo [ Thu May 31, 2012 7:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
Pen and paper really covers everything. You can very easily stick a folded up piece of paper on the base of a mini to indicate reinforcements, create simple markers for a door being overridden open/shut, or (obviously) keep track of points. You can also use it to track HP/FP and things like that. That's why the floor rules state that you must bring pen and paper OR any combination of markers/tokens/whatever; pen and paper make due for anything you could need.

So according to the floor rules, you are required to bring "Tokens or pen and paper for clearly tracking, damage, force point use, victory points, and other effects" in the same section that you're required to bring a d20. I will say that I think that tournament organizers, especially for things like Regionals, should probably have some extra markers and such with them just in case. I've regularly given out little colored stickers to indicate Reinforcements for people that don't have a way to do so. People are only human, so they'll forget things, and it's nice to have the backup.


I use a dry erase marker for practically everything since 95% or more of my games are on laminated maps, since that's the only thing we use here and even at Regionals and Gencon most people seem to have them laminated too (and even against someone who doesn't, if I win map roll it will be laminated). In my big black bag (which I bring to basically everything) I've also got a small pad of paper and even a sheet of the old WotC counters.
Author:  sthlrd2 [ Thu May 31, 2012 9:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
Override tokens, check
I have 6 clear tokens that I glued star wars pics on then outlined the pic in either red (closed) or blue (open)
The pics are 3 different pictures 2 of vader, 2 of yoda, and 2 of r2p0. If the door is blown just simply flip my token over and there will be a black X.

I have different paint jobs on uggies and mice and stuff to distinguish reinforcements. It's not the best way (I probably should get some clay or stickers). I will admit I've gotten confused before. I always have pen and paper in my bag but rarely use it as my opponent has a smaller, more easily accessible one that he pulled out already. I use my pink D20 to keep track of gambit ever since someone pointed out to me that my pink die was illegal because all the sides didn't add up to 21. I've never realized it and neither did anyone else for years until this year where I simply stopped using it in gameplay and started using it for gambit.
Author:  TimmerB123 [ Thu May 31, 2012 9:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
I still think some people are overlooking the fact that it is very important to somehow distinguish WHICH CHARACTER overrode which door. It can be game-changing, and it easily gets confusing. A die is fine if you only have one character with override, not
if you have more than one.
Author:  Echo [ Thu May 31, 2012 9:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
TimmerB123 wrote:
I still think some people are overlooking the fact that it is very important to somehow distinguish WHICH CHARACTER overrode which door. It can be game-changing, and it easily gets confusing. A die is fine if you only have one character with override, not
if you have more than one.


Well, dice actually work well if you have different colored ones and a way to mark which one is which. This is easiest if you have pairs of dice of different colors; put a red one on Lobot's card and then the other red one designates his override, put the blue one on R2's card and then the other blue one to designate his override, and so on.

Or just use a single die of each color and have it written down that red is Lobot's, blue is R2's, and so on.
Author:  The_Celestial_Warrior [ Thu May 31, 2012 10:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
I have my maps in a poster frame and my cards in sleeves.

All I ever bring is my marker and los tool, along with pad and pencil.

The problem I encounter, thusly, is when I lose map and someone doesn't want me marking on their map or it's not laminated.
Author:  Darth_Jim [ Thu May 31, 2012 7:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
obikenobi1 wrote:
A string of floss works wonders.


Hmm... this is EXACTLY what my dentist tells me when I go for my checkups.
Author:  swinefeld [ Thu May 31, 2012 8:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
Darth_Jim wrote:
obikenobi1 wrote:
A string of floss works wonders.


Hmm... this is EXACTLY what my dentist tells me when I go for my checkups.


Always prepared for a joke opportunity. ;)
Author:  thereisnotry [ Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Being prepared at a tournament
One more thing I'll add: If you've got multiples of non-uniques that don't die easily, you need to have a way of knowing the status of any of those minis at a glance.

For example, several years ago in the MI Regional I played against Lou using Yoda and 3 JWMs, and he came well-prepared. Each of his JWMs was color-coded with a dot on the mini's base (Red/Green/Blue, I think) and their own colored die for force points...it was a piece of cake to keep track of which mini was which.

Now that there are more and more squads that rely on several non-uniques as the core of their squad (Red Aces, Naboo, SCs, Quednaks/JHs, etc), I think it's imperative that we come prepared like Lou did.

[Good thread, Tim!]
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