Are you heading to an AoS Tournament for the first time? Well, you’ve come to the right place, good old Fittsy is here to help. I’m here with some tips from myself and others gathered from the darkest depths of the internet (the Woehammer and PATAP discords) to help you on your way to feeling ready and good on the day. Maybe you’ve been to a few tournaments and you’re just looking to up your prep, you might well find something here you haven’t thought of or seen before! Before I get into things, all I can say is get out there and give it a go! Personally, I’m so happy I got into the tournament scene, the chance to meet new people, play against different armies, and get in 3 games in a day is something I appreciate every time I get out to another tournament. That first one was the hardest just to take the leap and give it a shot! If you’ve got some friends who you can head to one with, that’s a great way to get into it but heading off by yourself can also be a rewarding and satisfying experience!

Preparation

Getting enough sleep

Do what I say, not what I do… first tournament, I slept maybe 3 hours before and hopped on the train still tipsy from the night before. A good night’s sleep the night before a tournament makes a world of difference for me and I really feel the difference in my concentration and results when I make sure I tick this box.

Cheat sheet / reference cards

We all know GW produce some pretty expensive pieces of paper with references for all the units (I tend to buy them for my tournament armies just for peace of mind) and these sort of things can be useful as well as printing out your faction rules. This is also good so that your opponent can look at your rules if they need to. One step further is a good old cheat sheet. These come in all shapes and sizes (there are even some webpages that will make them for you… RIP AoS Reminders) but one of the best ways to do this is to do it yourself. Work through your army and look at what each unit does in each phase and jot these down on a piece of paper… by hand, on a computer, just going through this will help you to recognise which phases you need to focus on and having it there will let you check at the end of a phase to make sure you’ve done what you need to do!

Learn the scenarios

Regardless of which ones they are, take a quick read through each one so that you know what sort of deployment zones, twists, and objectives you’ll have to deal with. Even the best players mix up elements of the scenarios from time to time.

If you haven’t played all the scenarios in the player pack then next step is to find a couple of friends and play through those scenarios! This is a good chance to practice both he scenarios being played and your own list. You may even pick up on some other points in this article that you wan’t to practice too.

Learn your own list

Here, there’s two helpful aspects. One, you will have to think less about what you do with your army and can focus on board state and strategy. Two, you can clarify what your army does better to your opponent.

Next step is to play it 3 to 10 times in a row… but not everyone is as crazy about that as I am 🙂 combine this with learning the scenarios though and you’ll have a better idea what your army will want to do going into each game.

Practice with a clock

Why not combine those practice games with this step… you can do this easily enough with a stopwatch but if your tournaments allow chess clocks and you have access to one, I suggest to even bring this into your casual friendly games just to get used to switching it back and forth. This has a couple of benefits, games that run too the end are just plain satisfying, it helps you to see where you burn time (5 minutes every battle tactic is almost a third of your 1.5 hours), gives you confidence that you are playing to time, and if you have to use a chess clock, then you already know how it works!

Read the lists

Honestly, this one is a bit of an optional one. Unless you’re playing tons, you’re unlikely to know every army’s rules. What does help is to have a bit of an idea how an army operates and maybe down to what some of the key units do. Now, theoretically, your opponent should tell you at the start of the game and that can be enough for a lot of people. I’m not very good at learning by listening and reading them through and looking at the rules works way better for me. Don’t sweat this one though, especially for big tournaments where it’s not even worth looking at all of them!

Packing

I mean, it shouldn’t go without saying but don’t forget your army… all of it! Especially any models you’ve finished up the night before… don’t leave them on your painting table!

Models Repair Kit

This is more important for some armies than others… for a lot of purposes a bit of super glue is probably enough. Hopefully you don’t need it but for the times you do, then you’ll be glad you’ve got it.

Snacks

Tobi (our illustrious teams captain from my last article) is a master of the snack packing! I personally always try to have a pack of musli bars and 2 bananas to take the edge off.

Water/fluids

Almost all events I’ve been to in the recent past have had enough water for the participants. I still often pack myself a little special drink (go Club Mate) to give myself a treat when I need a pick me up.

An extra t-shirt

This is one I don’t do but there have been some days where I wish I had! If you tend to sweat when things get intense, then an extra t-shirt can help you and the other players nearby to get through round 3 without any deathstench issues.

Shower in a can

See above, a can of deo or one of those deo sticks in your bag can just help to take the edge off that sweat smell! Even you, Nurgle players!

Human repair kit

I almost forgot this one because I always personally have the following with me at all times:

Painkillers – a lifesaver for round 3 or the day 2 hangover, Throat lozenges, Band-aids, Optionals: Allergy medicine, Face mask – to avoid bringing home more than you planned

Measuring aids

I recommend the following at a minimum: measuring tape, bendy 12” rulers, 9” sticks, 3” measuring gauges with the 1” and ½” bits too. 6” may also be important. Depends a bit on your army which ones will be most useful but over time you’ll collect those you need most often.

Gaming aids

You’ll need something to measure wounds. I highly highly recommend using a tracker or counters with numbers on them… I like the Warcry ones because you can point them towards the unit with wounds missing. Dice are ok but are prone to being knocked over or being cleaned up by one of the players.

Stepping up a level, get some of those little coin cases and print out your armies possible buffs and debuffs. I even have my artefacts etc printed in them so my opponent can see which heroes have what and I can pick them up and put them in my hand the turn I need to use them!

Dice trays are a matter of personal preference in the end. I actually like them and mention them here because I use them to sort my tokens and dice… and they can handily help you to transport annoying things like endless spells between tables.

Last but not least, if you’ve got units which teleport, have large bases, or commonly try to squeeze in where they shouldn’t, a couple of spare bases will save you and your opponent a lot of headaches. This is also helped by talking it though with your opponent, getting their agreement then making the move whenever it’s a bit iffy.

Printout of your list

It’s good to have a couple of copies printed out so that your opponent can have a look through at their leisure on their turn. This feels like it is falling out of fashion as we go more digital but remember some of your opponents may just be old fashioned and its good manners to bring a copy with you.

Dice

Well, this one seems obvious… but there’s two aspects here which will help you (and your opponent). Having enough dice is important… although you may not want to bring 80 dice for those massive attacks. Making sure you have a good number to get through your turns is important. Secondly, I find it better to use clear dice (as vehemently confirmed by the Woehammer Discord)… and I don’t mean see-through dice.

On the day

Here’s a few tips which are probably valid for all competitive-ish play but it fits here too as especially at tournaments you want to be clean and efficient in your play.

Remember to have fun

I’m not here to tell you how to play (although this article is trying to guide you politely :P), but please remember you and your opponents are primarily there to have fun (and if not, I do think you’re doing it wrong). This is honestly easy to forget sometimes especially if you really want that win or sometimes even if you’re just having a bum day. Stick at it, celebrate your little wins (respecting the opponent still of course), maybe make funny noises when you charge (my Nighthaunt used to say Awoooo every time I rolled a 10+), and congratulate your opponent on a good play.

Shoes of Gork

Wear your comfiest stomping shoes for the day. Getting leg cramps or foot pain because you’re not wearing a comfy enough pair of shoes is a real pain in the arse… sometimes literally!

Sort your dice

This could just be knowing how many dice you have in a package so that you can calculate a little quicker. There are some devices to sort your dice too into batches of 5. I personally like to bring 25 of my “normal” dice which I sort into piles of 5s on the table next to my dice tray ready to pick up as many as I need. This helps you to speed up play a little but also lets you keep your mind on the game.

Communicate with your opponent

Sometimes this is easier said than done (pun intended), especially if you feel a bit shy or nervous but give it your best shot as this one can really help your and your opponent’s enjoyment of the game. Start with how you will play the terrain and cocked dice (if not defined in the player’s pack), especially useful is how you will deal with take-backs just to make sure you don’t have a nasty surprise later in the game. Let your opponent know what you are doing i.e. here I am attacking with these 20 Grimghasts, I’ll use All out Attack, they have 2 attacks, plus 1 for the Cairn Wraith, plus 1 for the artefact I used this turn. Now they have 81 attacks including the champ with a 3+ to hit where 5+ is an auto wound because your unit has more than 5 models, 3+ to wound, with -2 rend since your unit is infantry. I use this example because even though it is complicated, it’s best to start out with the overview then reiterate as you roll. You may already do this but keep this up and your opponent won’t have the awkward situation of asking you to clarify over and over again.

Call a judge

It doesn’t matter how well you communicate with your opponent, there will be times where you just don’t agree! Don’t be afraid to call a judge or ask a neutral party to help clarify a key interaction. Don’t worry, almost no one except Madigan knows how Endless Spells really work (not even you GW ;))

Take a break

I wanted to finish with this one because a lot of players don’t even realise that this option exists. If you feel overwhelmed, take a couple of minutes to yourself, maybe step outside or walk back and forth for a bit just to clear your head. Maybe even have a Kit Kat 😉 Then get back to it and have fun!

Wrapping it all up

Well, I hope there’s been a helpful nugget of wisdom in here for you. Maybe you’ve read through it and you’re already doing all that. Good on ya! Now you have confirmation that you’re ready to get out there, move some models, throw some dice, and have fun! If you’ve got questions or further recommendations. Drop us a comment down below or jump on the Woehammer Discord and come and chat!