Running a Warcry Tournament
There are few things more enjoyable than spending the whole day or weekend playing Warcry non-stop, and running a Warcry tournament allows you to do just that! If the thought of organising such an event sounds daunting, do not be discouraged. A tournament can be as small as 4 friends, playing each other in turn and crowning a winner at the end. This section will take you through the steps of organising and running a Warcry tournament.
Tournament Roster
For the duration of a tournament, players are not allowed to change their warband from battle to battle, including how their fighters are organised into battle groups. For a player to win the tournament, they will need to pick a warband that can triumph against any opponent!
Before attending the tournament, each player prepares a 1000-point warband following the core rules. They also separate their warband into a Dagger, Shield and Hammer following the core rules, and note down on their tournament roster which fighters are in each of these battle groups. This is set for the duration of the tournament, so players cannot alter their warband or groupings from battle to battle.
Tournament Round
A tournament is ty pically played in a series of tournament rounds, in which each player will fight 1 Warcry battle against another player in the tournament. If you are running a 4-player tournament, 3 rounds is sufficient for each player to fight a battle against every other player. You can see an example tournament schedule below.
If the tournament has more than 4 players, it is assumed that each player will not battle against all other players. Instead, in the first round, the players are randomly sorted into pairs (an extra player may be needed in the case of odd numbers). Then, in each subsequent round, the players are ranked according to the victory points they have each earned so far (see right). The players ranked 1st and 2nd will play each other in that round, as do the players ranked 3rd and 4th, and so on. In each round, the players should all use the same battleplan. The matched battleplans are ideal for this purpose. The organiser of the tournament could choose the battleplan for each round in advance, or they could roll for them each round with all the players present to add some extra excitement!
Example 4-Player Warcry Tournament Schedule
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Player A vs Player B | Player A vs Player C | Player A vs Player D |
| Player C vs Player D | Player B vs Player D | Player B vs Player C |
Kill Point
If your tournament has 20 or more players, you run the risk of multiple players tying for 1st place. For tournaments of such a size, you can introduce kill points as a tiebreaker. After each battle, the players total the points values of all enemy fighters taken down. This score is the number of kill points they earn from that battle. At the end of the tournament, if2 or more players are tied for tournament victory points, those players are ranked according to their kill p oints. During a battle, if a player forfeits, their opponent earns kill points as if every enemy fighter had been taken down.
Tournament Victory Points
During the tournament, each player will earn tournament victory points based on how their warband fared in the battle. At the end of the tournament, the player with the most tournament victory points is crowned the winner. Players earn tournament victory points as shown below:
| Result | Points Allocated |
|---|---|
| Major Victory: Won the battle and less than half of the fighters in your warband were taken down | 20 points |
| Minor Victory: Won the battle but half or more of the fighters in your warband were taken down | 15 points |
| Draw: Drew the battle | 10 points |
| Minor Loss: Lost the battle but half or more of the fighters in your opponent's warband were taken down | 5 points |
| Major Loss: Lost the battle and Jess than half of the fighters in your opponent's warband were taken down | 0 points |
| Optional: Completed your tournament quest (see below) | 1 additional point |
Tournament Quests
Another layer you can add to a Warcry tournament is the inclusion of tournament quests. These serve two purposes. Firstly, they offer new challenges for the players to strive for by adding an extra condition to fulfil in battle. Secondly, by awarding a player an additional tournament victory point, they act as a great tiebreaker for players who would otherwise have equal points. For this reason, the larger your tournament, the more important they become!
There are 6 tournament quests. During the tournament, each player must secretly pick 1 tournament quest at the start of the initiative phase of the first battle round. Each player must record their choice by either writing it down on a piece of paper or placing a card showing its name face down on the table. When you complete the tournament quest, reveal the piece of paper or card to show that it has been completed.
A player cannot choose the same tournament quest twice during the tournament, and any that they have previously chosen must be clearly marked on their tournament roster for their opponents to see. During a battle, if a player forfeits, they do not complete their tournament quest but their opponent does, regardless of the requirements.
Quest: The Champion
At the end of the battle, you complete this tournament quest if the enemy leader has been taken down but your leader has not.
Quest: Far and Wide
At the end of the battle, you complete this tournament quest if you have 1 or more fighters within 3" of each battlefield edge.
Quest: Hold the Centre
At the end of the battle, you complete this tournament quest if 1 or more friendly fighters are within 6" horizontally of the centre of the battlefield and no enemy fighters are within 6" horizontally of the centre of the battlefield.
Quest: Overrun
At the end of the battle, you complete this tournament quest if you have 1 or more fighters wholly within each quarter of the battlefield.
Quest: The High Ground
At the end of the battle, you complete this tournament quest if 1 or more friendly fighters are vertically 3" above the battlefield floor and no enemy fighters are vertically 3" above the battlefield floor.
Quest: Blunt
At the end of the battle, you complete this tournament quest if your opponent's warband has had half or more of its fighters taken down, but your warband has had less than half of its fighters taken down.