School's League 2016/17

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So rules have been posted, and the next season of the School's League will be getting under way. This is my first time on it, and I'm really excited to get the students involved!
The format for 40k is going to be:
  • 450 points
  • Battleforged/Unbound
  • One Lord of War maximum
  • Mission: Eternal War
  • House rule: Slay the Lord of War - If a Lord of War has been removed as a casualty, you score 8 victory points.
This is going to be in addition to the regular bonus points students get for turning up with equipment, painted models, etc. All the rules designed to get them involved in the hobby, as opposed to just buying a load of stuff and forgetting about it.

450 points is great! You neuter a lot of the power builds out there, and severely limit deathstars. Although it is possible to squeeze in an unbound Wraithknight or simply a solo knight, the majority of these armies will be hit or miss. Building one pricey unit leaves you with basically nothing for objective grabbing, and you are entirely at the mercy of the dice to go in your favour. Furthermore, you'll be handing points to your opponent if you field a lord of war.

As such, a lot of the cheese builds will be on the low side. You certainly can't fit a double demi-company into 450 points, and the lack of gargantuans means that grav and d-weapons aren't going to be needed... at least as much.

So good... it feels like old 40k again, with more of a skirmish set-up. With new players these games will last around about an hour. I haven't tried the set up with experienced players yet, but I think one could be done and dusted in about 30 minutes.

In terms of the students, it also means that raw beginners have a chance to start an army from scratch, and still be ready for the heats in November/February. I started a Deathwatch army of 450 points, and they're nearly ready to go.

I'm looking forward to the tournament, and I hope I can get enough armies up and running by November.

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