ETC- The World Championships of Warhammer!

The ETC is quite interesting but the rules for ETC are a relatively new development that has evolved over the last several years. Previously, many US & European tournaments made use of the Warhammer Players' Society (WPS) system to address the issue of comp. The main aim of any comp "system" was to level the playing field between different armies. In theory, WPS was fairly simple since any tournie organiser could select a WPS points threshold (e.g. 3000+) and players would build an army to meet that requirement. Essentially, sub-optimal units awarded points while uber units (hellpit, sallies, ironblaster, etc.) would subtract points. Thus, a tourney could vary anywhere from "soft" to "hard boyz" or a larger tournament could simply tier all the players into an appropriate group (some big tournies in Europe/US had 100+ players!!!). Unfortunately, the WPS was fairly complicated as the attached example illustrates by its 21 pages of rules! Attachment Deleted

With WPS becoming unwieldy, the ETC rules were created and it is easy to see the evolution between the two systems. The ETC rules are a comparatively simple method of bringing greater parity to army lists and forcing players to employ tactics and cunning rather than brute force to win games. In many senses, the ETC rules are a backlash against power gaming. Perhaps most importantly however, ETC is a player driven initiative that is created, maintained and changed by players based on a strong, community consensus. There is an entire website dedicated to the ETC with team captains from each country contributing to the ETC rules.

Having played at numerous tournies both with and without comp, I must confess that I do prefer the former since I find comp restrictions do tend to force one to plan and think more rather than using such a refined tactic as "heh diddle, diddle, straight up the middle!". As an example, when Kbear and I went to Rochester last year for Da Boyz GT, the organizer wanted to create an environment for fun and enjoyable gaming that reduced key criticisms of veteran players with 8th edition - namely, excessive use of uber units, terrain having no impact and magic being too powerful. To achieve this, special/rare choices were reduced to 2/1 maximum, terrain that blocked LOS was provided and magic restrictions were in place (max 12 dice in a phase & spells like dwellers were limited to doing a single wound, maximum of 5 dice on any casting attempt). Also, since woodelves had not been seen on the tourney circuit in the US in a couple years, he provided some WE specific rules to make it more attractive to bring them. The end result was a fantastic tourney that was a lot of fun IMHO.

At the end of the day, the decision on whether or not to use some type of comp needs to be reflective of what the local gaming community wants and the ETC does exactly that for the ETC community. While I too find the ETC rules a little stifling, I think the intent is correct and wouldn't mind trying an "ETC-lite" variant of the rules myself - a variant, of course, that reflected the desires of our own gaming community.

I agree, simple changes can go along way ie some line of sight blocking terrain, any of the big six can do a max 1 wound with no save. I would be happy right there but would consider limits on some combos, chuck Norris, or units sallies as an example.

By the sounds of it, I think the following (or something similar) would probably work for our next tournament:

1) Magic - max 5 dice at any spell and maximum use of 12 power dice in a phase (gobbo magic mushrooms don't count but everything else does). Spells like dwellers, dreaded 13th, etc. allow a "look out, sir" roll. I am not as keen on the only one wound inflicted approach since it inherently favours any army with monstrous troops over those without.

2) Maximum Unit size of 500 with upgrades and magic. Who cares if someone fields 100 slaves/gobbos/gnoblars

3) Terrain & LOS - LOS consists of the forward arc of 90 degrees. Hills & buildings block LOS.

We could give it a try this Thursday and see how it works. LMK what you think.

I like it as well. I would also like to suggest that any comp not include exceptions like:
If your DE army doesn't take lore of shadow then you can run two hydras or
If you present a list that does not fit the comp rules but you present a good argument as to why it should be accepted and its deemed 'fair' then you can use it.
I don't want to tread on anyone playing preference or style but it does make for a frustrating time for those who follow the comp rules set out if you knew ahead of time that 'exceptions' to the rules would be acceptable in preparing your list.
Just my rant for the moment. And don't worry I'm not part a BZL member ..........................yet!

Usay speakinay myay languageay.

Not hard at all when fielding a horde of elite troops. 40 WL are already over without any upgrades. Not that I would consider fielding that (or have the models to) but seeing as how that is the cookie cutter HE cheese unit with the banner of skill, I think it helps moderate a few other seemingly overpowered combinations without adding any unnecessary extra restrictions.