Double Trouble - Doubles with a Difference - Sat June 11th 2016

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Doubles with a Difference

Saturday, June 11th 2016

Kindly sponsored by:

Visit Element Games

PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THIS RULES PACK BEFORE THE EVENT!

What is Double Trouble?
Double Trouble is a Warhammer 40,000 doubles tournament with a difference. Instead of writing an army list together with a partner, each player will write their own 750pt army list from a single faction of their choice which becomes their "Force". Before the first round you will be randomly assigned a doubles partner combining your "Force" with theirs to form an "Army". You'll then play against another random pairing and their "Army". The allies chart will not be used, therefore all combinations will be treated as Battle Brothers. 

At the start of the next two rounds you will be assigned a new random partner. This means you'll get to play three games with 9 different people and hopefully a good variety of armies.

Tickets - TICKET SALES NOW CLOSED
Tickets are on sale now and cost £17.50 per person with 40 spaces available. Your ticket entitles you to 3 games of 40K, lunch, free entry into the raffle and, a chance to win spot prizes throughout the day. Please note: no refunds will be issued for players who drop out after the list submission deadline (see below). This is because prizes will have been purchased and food ordered. Of course, if I have to cancel the event (hasn't happened to me yet), everyone will receive a full refund regardless.

To purchase tickets, please send £17.50 per ticket to alexjbrown58@hotmail.com via PayPal (using the Friends and Family option). Please include your preferred contact email address along with email addresses for anyone else you're buying a ticket for. Please also include the dietary requirements of everyone you're buying a ticket for (even if it's just to say there aren't any).

Event Location
North West Gaming Centre in Stockport. For those not sure where the venue is the address is:

North West Gaming Centre
Hallam Mill,
Hallam Street,
Stockport,
SK2 6PT.

The venue is pretty close to Stockport railway station, so it's worth considering the train as an option. There's also a Premier Inn across the road for those who want to stay over the night before/after. Room rates increase in price closer to the date so, if you intend to go for this option, I recommend getting it booked early.

Event Schedule
There will be three 1500pt games of 2.5 hours each. The schedule for the day is as follows:

09:00-09:15 - Registration 
09:30-12.00 - First Game
12.00-12.15 - Painting Competition Setup*
12:15-13.00 - Lunch
13.00-15:30 - Second Game
15:30-15:45 - Break
15:45-18:15 - Third Game
18:15-18:30 - Results & Awards

*During this time, players can set their armies up for judging in the painting competition. Voting will take place over lunch but will not commence until everyone has had chance to display their miniatures. See below for more details of the painting competition categories.

Please try to arrive well before 9.30 to allow registration to be completed and the first game to start on time. Every effort will be made to run to time but unexpected delays can occur.

Prizes (kindly sponsored by Element Games)
These will take the form of store credit with Element Games (the in-house hobby shop) who offer discounted GW products. The awards will not be given out in the same way as they would at a singles event (or even a normal doubles event) instead they'll be as follows: 

• Master Tactician (single player scoring the most objective points overall): Certificate & £20 voucher
• Genocidal Maniac (single player scoring the most blood points overall): Certificate & £20 voucher
• Nobody Loves Me Award (player scoring the least total points overall): Certificate and £10 voucher

Note that there's no prize for highest combined points total. Bear in mind that both players in a team will receive the same points for a game so you still need to work together even if ultimately there can be only one winner (well, two but you get my meaning).

There'll also be a painting competition with prizes for the following:

• Best Painted Army: Certificate & £15 voucher
• Best Painted Vehicle or Monster: Certificate & £10 voucher
• Best Painted Character: Certificate & £10 voucher
• Best Conversion(s): Certificate & £15 voucher

Each player will only be able to enter one category of the painting competition so they'll need to choose the one they feel they'll have the best shot at winning. With such a low point total for your Force, it's a great opportunity to really go to town on an existing army or even start a new one especially for the event!

There will also be a series of spot prizes throughout the day and a generous raffle at the end. The specifics of these prizes will be announced nearer the time when numbers have been confirmed. 

There's an equal weighting to the tournament prizes and painting prizes but the top raffle prize will be worth the same as the prizes in either category combined. This is completely intentional and hopefully encourages people to write their lists with the spirit of the event in mind. Basically, you could bring a horrible list that isn't fun for you, your partner or your opponents and win £25 and a crappy certificate or you could bring something a bit different that's more fun, enjoy your day more, piss off your opponents and partners less and win in the raffle anyway! 

Refereeing 
I'll be hoping to play in the event but I'll be available to making rulings or answer any queries. 

That being said, I hope this won't be necessary most of the time as it's intended to be a friendly tournament. Please try and use the relevant source material to solve any issues. I'll be happy to provide a final adjudication but this may simply be to ask you to roll off where the rules are unclear.

As ever, please try to contact me in advance with rules queries so that rulings can be made before the event thereby saving time on the day.

Army Selection 
Each "Force" can cost up to and including 750pts and must come from a single faction. The only restrictions on the units you can take are as follows:

• One detachment OR formation per 750pt army (detachments which are made up of formations, e.g. the SM Gladius Strike Force, are not permitted).
• No super heavy vehicles, gargantuan creatures or fortifications are allowed. 
• No unit may be taken more than twice (excluding Dedicated Transports).* 

*Note that Astra Militarum have a small exception in that you may take two Infantry Platoons but each Platoon can only include three infantry squads (allowing six per Force). The other components of the Platoon are excluded from the no more than two of a unit rule. 

Just remember, you have no idea who you'll be paired with or against. That means either a balanced list or hope that you get something complementary.

Imperial Armour/Horus Heresy armies and Forge World 40K legal units ARE permitted. That being said, armies must still comply with the above restrictions. Please don't make me regret allowing FW!

Secondary Sources

Dataslates are permitted and form part of the army as detailed in their particular rules. Supplements for any Faction are permitted provided they are still valid with the current version of their parent codex. If in doubt, contact me to make sure.

Electronic versions of codices/supplements are acceptable, however, please ensure your tablet is fully charged before the event so that the books can be accessed throughout the day if necessary.

List Submission
Lists must be submitted at least two weeks before the event (May 28th 2016) to allow for checking and resolution of any queries. A reminder email will be sent out a few days prior to the deadline. 

I'd be grateful if lists could be submitted as Battlescribe .rosz files to make checking easier but if not please at least indicate the type of detachment/formation you are using.

Modelling & Painting
"Counts as" and proxy armies are welcome as long as it is clear to your partner and opponent and that there is no gaming advantage to be gained from using it. If in doubt please check with me BEFORE the event by email and include pictures if necessary.

Ideally armies should be fully painted but a minimum of three colours and appropriate basing is required. Unpainted models are not acceptable.

Scenery
Scenery will be provided by the venue and will be set up prior to the event. Please note that the scenery will be deliberately set up so that some tables provide more dense cover than others. If you and your opponent are unhappy with the scenery provided, come and find me and it can be re-arranged. Please try to avoid doing this though in order to prevent delays. 

Matchups
As mentioned above, doubles pairings will be random in every round as will opponents. 

Scenarios & Scoring
Each game will use Random Game Length (5-7 turns) and the same two concurrent missions:

• Annihilation - Destroy your opponents' army for a number of blood points equal to the value of enemy units destroyed.
• Tactical Superiority - Score VPs by achieving the tactical objectives detailed on the Double Trouble objective cards (deck provided). These are used as described below.

The scores for each doubles pair will be recorded with each player in the pair getting the same score. There will be no secondary objectives in play e.g. Linebreaker, Slay the Warlord etc.

Tactical Objectives

Used as per the rulebook mission "Cleanse and Control" except:

1. No objective may be scored more than once.
2. Impossible objectives may be discarded at the start of the game i.e. Scorched Skies may be discarded if your opponent has no flyers.
3. Objectives that become impossible during the game may only be discarded using the usual standard single discard per round.

Click to enlarge

Deployment Types

Deployment in each round will be as shown in the following diagrams: 

Game 1 - A nice simple "Dawn of War" to start things off.

Game 2 - resurrecting the classic "Cleanse and Control" deployment but with a bigger centre circle.

Game 3 - Something a little different to finish off with. Should hopefully result in a big ol' battle royale in the middle of the board! Teams alternate deploying each player's army (so team 1A, 2A, 1B then 2B). Units fall back to the nearest long board edge.

Scoring
Victory Points and Blood Points will be recorded for each team in each round. Remember that each unit is worth it's points value in Blood Points when destroyed and half points (rounding up) if it's lost half or more of it's models/wounds/hull points. Units of vehicles only give up half points if half or more of the vehicles are destroyed. 

The scores from each round have no bearing on your placing in subsequent rounds and are simply used to determine the winners (and loser) at the end of the day.

Each player will be issued a score sheet at the start of the day. Losing it will result in ritual humiliation and general grumbling from myself.

RULE CLARIFICATIONS AND AMENDMENTS

Warp Charge and Daemonology
The maximum number of warp charge points that may be generated is capped at 12 (plus the additional D6 each turn) for the combined army. Any excess warp charge is lost. Whilst Malefic Daemonology is allowed, only armies with the Chaos Space Marines or Chaos Daemons faction may make use of it. Please consider the spirit of the event before submitting a list that relies on summoning hordes of Daemons.

Saves & Re-rolls
A re-rolled invulnerable OR cover save may not be passed on anything better than 4+. That means your unit is still pretty damn durable but your opponent should at least feel like they have a chance! This does not apply to armour saves as they can be taken away by low AP weaponry. 

When deciding which is the "best save" for a unit you do not take re-rolls into account. For example, a Ravenwing biker's best save is his 3+ armour and not his 4+ re-rollable cover save. Note that a unit which has a 3+ armour AND a 3+ cover save could choose either.

Invisibility
The Invisibility psychic power from the Telepathy discipline will not be in use. If you roll this power during the pre-game generation of powers you may re-roll the dice until you get a different power.

What do I need to bring? 
You will need: 

• Your painted army (at least three colours)
• A tray for moving your army between games (not provided)
• At least two copies of your army list (preferably typed) with your name and player number. One for your partner and one for your opponent.
• A copy of the Double Trouble Event Pack
• A copy of the 40K 7th edition rulebook (and FAQ)
• Your army's codex/codices/supplements etc. (and relevant FAQs)
• Dice, templates and gaming aids
• Super glue/plastic glue for emergency repairs
• Six objective markers numbered 1-6 (don't need to be anything fancy)

What do we get to eat/drink? 
The venue is providing lunch for us (included in your ticket) and has a bar selling drinks, chocolate, crisps, etc. We will have table service from the bar throughout the day so there's no need to move during games if you're feeling lazy! Buying your partner and/or opponents a drink is encouraged!

Contingency for Drop-outs
There's nothing worse than being told you've received a bye when you were hoping to play three games of 40K for your money. Here's what I propose:

• If we end up with a total number of players which is one less than a multiple of 4 (e.g. 27), I'll field a full 1,500pt army myself. It'll still consist of two randomly determined halves though from my collection and my opponents will roll for it each round! 
• If we end up with a total number of players which is two less than a multiple of 4 (e.g. 18) then both Matt and I will field 1,500pt armies again being formed of two randomly determined 750pt forces. 
• If we end up with a total number of players which is three less than a multiple of 4 (e.g. 21), I'll simply drop out bringing the number back to a multiple of 4.

I think it's important to have this contingency plan in place so that people feel reassured that the system will work and everyone will get their three games.

Current Entrants List
Names of those who have purchased tickets will appear here after tickets have gone on sale. There are a maximum of 40 places. Should the event sell out I'll start a list of reserves.

1. Luke Fogg
2. Michael Corr
3. Ian Plumpton
4. Tess Ytoxall
6. Chris Buckle
7. Matt Calow
8. John Purves
9. Steve Horne
10. Peter Barrett
11. Matt Greenwood
12. Martin Waine
13. Tobias Schulz
14. Hendrik Müller-Joswig
15. Kai-Uwe Müller-Joswig
16. Nathaniel Gibbs
17. Dan Evans 
19. Luke Capper
20. Owen Brignall
21. Will Pomfrey 
23. Matthew Spencer
24. Dan Wellington 
25. Matthew Grimes 
26. Danny Evison
27. Dave Weston
28. Rob Hill
29. Daniel Johnson
30. Rob Nathan
31. James Maynard
32. David Irving
33. Luke Doak
34. Ian King
36. Alex Brown