2011 NOVA Open Warhammer 40,000 GT

SiteAdmin · Site Admin Joined: 27 Nov 2010 Posts: 956

Good Day,
This newsletter is intended to help you prepare for the 2011 NOVA Open Warhammer 40,000 GT. Please take a brief minute to read it, and respond at any point with questions to mvbrandt@gmail.com and/or novaopen@gmail.com.

Bring Your Buddies!

Several spots (though less than 50 of our 256) still remain for our main event - the Warhammer 40,000 GT. While last minute drops always make room on the day of, when we sell out – we sell out. We cannot make room or time for more than 256. Get your friends on the fence to sign up now!

A couple of players withdrew and inquired about refunds. Since this is relevant to any friends signing up – we do NOT provide refunds prior to the NOVA Open; please send your request for refund AFTER the Open, and we will handle them on a case by case basis; where the extremely tight budget of a large-scale GT allows, withdrawal due to emergent/unforeseeable circumstances will be refunded.

Eight Full Rounds and Seeding System
Prepare for the tournament and make your travel plans knowing *everyone* plays in the full 8 rounds at the NOVA Open. To clarify for those who aren’t aware, this year we will spend the first day’s 4 rounds randomly pairing opponents within their Win/Loss brackets (not high/low seeding), and will only establish a seed at the end of day 1. Players will be split off into a series of 16 player brackets on Day 2, and seeded within them based upon their net Day 1 performance. As a result, and for example, one player who performs 0-4 on Day 1 is guaranteed to perform 4-0 on Day 2 in a bracket of his peers, and will receive a prize for doing so (albeit smaller than prizes for higher brackets). The longer the event goes continues, the more evenly matched you’ll find your opponents. The event is designed for everyone, not just the weekend winner.
It’s important to head to an event like the NOVA well aware of the long odds involved with going undefeated and winning straight out against a massive field; focus on good sportsmanship, preparation, and enjoying increasingly tight games against players who are increasingly your competitive peers. Remember that your win / loss ratio is less important to our Best Overall than any other tournament in the country, and keep in mind that out of 256 players, only one of you at most will succeed at winning every single game!

Hotel Rooms and Raffle
Staying at the Hyatt Regency can win you up to $1,000 or one of four $250 prizes. Reserve via direct link here. The sooner you reserve your rooms (reservations do not carry a financial obligation), the more raffle tickets will be entered for you. If you or friends are struggling with the cost of hotel rooms, PLEASE e-mail us and let us know. We will accumulate a listing of all those looking for roommates, and will put you in contact to ease the process.

The Hyatt Regency provided us with an excellent rate for the weekend, and hotel GT’s are made or broken on room-stays. In addition to 24-hour open gaming, and events that go well into the evening, the convention will be graced by some special guests throughout. We will also be hosting and leading post-tourney events in the evenings ranging from bar crawls to some of the best bars in DC (according to gamers, chosen by gamers!) to narrative and competitive evening and midnight gaming. All of this will occur in or staged from the Hyatt; it behooves you to stay if you can, even if you are a local!

Please let me know if you’ve already reserved a room, so that we can ensure you are in our block and receive the best rate possible.

Trios Team Tournament
There’s much to do at the NOVA, starting with its kick-off on Thursday evening. A large number of players are already reserved for Thursday night at the Hyatt, and will be at the event starting on Friday morning. The Trios Team Tournament is custom built for groups and singles attending the NOVA and interested in casually competitive and fun warm-up 40k gaming on Friday before the main GT. The Trios tournament is ideal for this, with singles and paired games during the event for all players. We’ve released our draft packet for this, linked HERE.

For the Trios Tournament, we have individuals able to and already signed up for being assigned to a team by us. It’s an excellent opportunity to meet players from literally around the world, and the format inherently lends itself well to this – you do NOT need to be teamed ahead of time to have a strong chance for good individual and/or team performance!

Malifaux
If an alternating pairing team tournament is not your cup of tea, maybe Malifaux is. Malifaux is an awesome skirmish-level game with an affordable cost of entry, competitive balance and fun, and a very unique mechanic in how events are resolved (no dice!).

Very terrain and mood heavy, it’s a great game to try. Malifaux’s main tournament of 32 players will be held on Friday as well – give it a thought, and let us know if you have any questions.

Whiskey Challenge Match Sign-Up and Organized Open Gaming Sign-Up
Thursday before the NOVA Open will see the new and improved version of last year’s [in]famous Whiskey Challenge “Celebrity” Deathmatches. In the Warhammer 40,000 world, anyone who speaks loudly enough on the Internet can in a sense be a “40k Celebrity,” and if you don’t notice the tongue in my cheek you aren’t paying enough attention! That said, few things are more fun than watching some of the internet’s best known names and/or rivals go at each other face to face, in an actual game, and on live video! If you think you have the chops and notoriety (or ability to talk loudly enough on the web to earn notoriety) to tackle one of the internet’s finest, this is just the place to do it! We strongly encourage attending bloggers (even if you have only one follower in yourself!), forum-spammers (and trolls), and well-traveled GT goers to sign up for this. It’s a very “for fun” event, with a lot of time spent making sure our match-ups and advanced “promotion” are oriented around good tongue-in-cheek fun, and showing the world wide web that not every “competitive tournament gamer” is a raging internet jerk Wink

If you don’t quite style yourself a king of the internet, or you’d rather avoid the spotlight and just get in some great fun warm-up gaming, let us know to sign you up for our Organized Open Gaming list. We'll even make sure you don't accidentally face your first round opponent for the GT. While open gaming will be going on 24-7 during the NOVA Open (when tournaments aren’t taking up all the tables), we will dedicate our time and energy to helping organize such matches for you on Thursday night before the big events start. Just let us know over e-mail and we’ll add you to the list! Let us know also if you have any geographical preferences to play against (or avoid) … the NOVA has attendees from as divergent a set of locations as California and Ireland, New Mexico and Russia!

Battlefoam, and Special Guests
Battlefoam is the official sponsor of the NOVA Open this year, and they’ll be in attendance with all manner of goodies for all attendees. We also may have a wordsmithing special guest of renown from across a certain pond … and if so, he may even join for a wide variety of evening activities. There’s more info on that and a couple of other special guests coming in the very near future. What’s important here is if you have a few friends who love to come to big gaming events, love Warhammer 40,000, but are a little leery of tournament competition – let them know! Vendors, special guests, casual events and team tournaments, open gaming around the clock, and social events … all await attendees of the NOVA 2011, so bring along every type of hobbyist!

Arriving Early / Significant[ly bored] Others
The Hyatt Regency is located a short complimentary shuttle away from the Washington, DC Metro (which readily and painlessly reaches through all of DC), and an equally short and complimentary shuttle away from Washington DC Reagan National Airport (DCA). There are an enormous number of events and opportunities not directly related to gaming in the area for gamers and non-gamers alike, including significant others that might enjoy a weekend in DC, but not a weekend full of non-stop gaming. We are able to put together trips ranging from wine tasting to monument tours, and can do them on days leading up to the NOVA, or on the Thursday it begins, or even over the weekend. Several attendees will be bringing their significant others, and many more may have it in mind … if you’d be interested in side events not related to gaming but celebrating the fun and interesting nuances of the greater Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, let us know! We’ll have more detail if we have strong response, and will take it upon ourselves to organize some fun outings if there are enough folks interested.

Thanks for taking the time to read this e-mail; we hope you’re getting as excited about the 2011 NOVA as we are, and again – if you have any questions, just let us know!

Best Regards,
Mike Brandt and the Staff and Organizers of the NOVA Open 2011
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ExecutionerofKhaine. · Shade Joined: 30 Nov 2010 Posts: 2420

Guess Fantasy is really taking a backseat this year.
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Joey

9th Age Armies
Vermin Swarms 8-5-1
Mixed Daemons 2-6-0

Skipschnit · Herr Pyramid Dictator! Joined: 29 Nov 2010 Posts: 2274

Nobody likes the 8th edition rules. Wink

I guess if you're going to play 40K, then you might as well play true 40k. Embarassed

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Ben J.

Orationem pulchram non habens, scribo ista linea in lingua Latina

Rushputin · Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 7:54 pm Post subject:

I've been told that the Inner Circle people are supposed to be organizing the Fantasy tournament... and are not nearly as organized as MVB has been.

I hope they pull their stuff together soon, 'cause I'm eager to move my ticket over from 40K to Fantasy.

Considering seeing if folks want to do a team for 40K, though. Not sure if the schedule will allow.
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Rush - Warpstone Pile

"My experience with Warhammer is that pretty much everything in the setting actually existed in real life, only in real life it was bigger, stupider, sillier, ruder, exploded more often and killed more people." - SteveD

Rushputin · Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 9:28 am Post subject:

Looks like my e-mail this morning might have nudged something loose: Smile

KellyG · Joined: 01 Dec 2010 Posts: 100

I am planning on doing the fantasy tournament though it isnt clear which days it is being held on. I might be up for the team 40K tournament if it doesnt conflict with the fantasy game.

kelly

Rushputin · Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:10 pm Post subject:

It's five games across the two days.

I would love to see a schedule so I could also consider squeezing in the 40K team tournament as well. I'm pretty sure it Can't Work, but it's a nice idea.
_________________
Rush - Warpstone Pile

"My experience with Warhammer is that pretty much everything in the setting actually existed in real life, only in real life it was bigger, stupider, sillier, ruder, exploded more often and killed more people." - SteveD

Rushputin · Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:14 pm Post subject:

Just talked to Mike and the 40K Team Tournament is on Friday, Fantasy is on Saturday and Sunday.

I'd like to do both. Want to run a team, Kelly? We'd need a third.
_________________
Rush - Warpstone Pile

"My experience with Warhammer is that pretty much everything in the setting actually existed in real life, only in real life it was bigger, stupider, sillier, ruder, exploded more often and killed more people." - SteveD

KellyG · Joined: 01 Dec 2010 Posts: 100

Rush, sure I would be up for the team tournament. I can do eldar, grey knights or salamanders. It didnt look like there was a painting component to the team tournament was there?

Is anyone else going to Nova open?
I got my fantasy tickets.

Kelly

Skipschnit · Herr Pyramid Dictator! Joined: 29 Nov 2010 Posts: 2274

$100 is a little steep for me right now so after thinking about it, I'm taking a pass.
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Thanks,
Ben J.

Orationem pulchram non habens, scribo ista linea in lingua Latina

ExecutionerofKhaine. · Shade Joined: 30 Nov 2010 Posts: 2420

Darkblood Skullpulper · Earthshaker Joined: 29 Nov 2010 Posts: 195

ExecutionerofKhaine. · Shade Joined: 30 Nov 2010 Posts: 2420

I still may venture, but don't feel very competative with no restrictions. I have no cheesy characters and lack the skill to make up for it Laughing

Eric, are you taking your leadership Daemons? Tweaking it a bit after the Colonial?

If I go I probably would go with my Dark Elves and have my new Manticore Lord leading the way Twisted Evil

Not very powerful, but a cool model none-the-less.
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Joey

9th Age Armies
Vermin Swarms 8-5-1
Mixed Daemons 2-6-0

SiteAdmin · Site Admin Joined: 27 Nov 2010 Posts: 956

No restrictions, well we should be seeing Kairos Fateweaver , Teclis and Thorek Ironbrow lists galore...hmm..ill have to think on that
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Check out my blog

"Go to heaven for the climate and hell for the company." — Mark Twain

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Darkblood Skullpulper · Earthshaker Joined: 29 Nov 2010 Posts: 195

KellyG · Joined: 01 Dec 2010 Posts: 100

At the NovaOpen there will be some restrictions, Special/Named Characters are allowed with the exception of Teclis, Thorek Ironbrow, Kairos Fateweaver, and The Masque of Slaanesh. Powscroll type items must meet the casting value in order to trigger.

Kelly

SiteAdmin · Site Admin Joined: 27 Nov 2010 Posts: 956

Darkblood Skullpulper · Earthshaker Joined: 29 Nov 2010 Posts: 195

ah, crap.
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There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.

ExecutionerofKhaine. · Shade Joined: 30 Nov 2010 Posts: 2420

Darkblood Skullpulper · Earthshaker Joined: 29 Nov 2010 Posts: 195