I have a pregnant wife, an active two year old daughter, a house, and a full time job. If I’m lucky I paint two or three times a week for about an hour at a stretch and my models see the battle field about once every other week. In fact I’ve only been in this hobby for less than two years. So why in the world have I decided to go to a large out of state tournament?! That’s right, I’m going to Feast of Blades in October and despite everything I mentioned, I’m crazy excited about it.

I’ve chosen to make Feast of Blades my first large tournament because friends have recommended it for its friendly atmosphere, diversity of games, and the general sense of camaraderie. (The fact that it’s only an eight hour drive away doesn’t hurt either!)

I have four main goals for Feast of Blades:
1. Become a better player be experiencing life outside my gaming group
2. Find a new game system and learn the basics
3. Push my painting skills to the next level
4. Not to make a complete fool of myself

Looking to see what exists outside my local game group I grabbed a buddy and signed up for the Feast of Blades Warhammer 40,000 Doubles Tournament. I’m hoping to see more than the same five or six lists I’ve been seeing for the past several years and I’m excited to meet other gamers. This tournament will supposedly be more at a “beer and pretzels” level of competitiveness so I’m expecting the competition to be not quite so hardcore, which is important since this is all about fun for me. There’s no doubt in my mind people will be bringing strong lists, but I’m hoping to avoid the triple Heldrake guy (We all know “that” guy).

Getting to see the booths and the other games on display is another big draw. The only game I know how to really play is Warhammer 40,000, but things like Beasts of War’s Infinity week or MERCS week have opened my eyes to what other games are out there that I might enjoy. But videos can only tell you so much about a game and pictures tell you only so much about a miniature; taking in some demos I hope will help me learn more about some of the smaller skirmish level games that are out there.

We’re still several months out from the tournament but I thought it would be interesting to show all of you the planning and preparation I’m putting into this event. I’ll be covering the armies my teammate and I will be taking and why, the lists we will be bringing and show how those lists evolve over several rounds of play testing, how the armies are going to be painted, and how I hope to extend my painting skills and enter the painting competition.

So I guess the first question to answer is: What army will I be bringing for my half of our team?

The answer is simple: Tau.

Now before you accuse me of being a codex climbing cheddar monkey, let me explain! I actually have only one army and it’s the one I’ve played since the very beginning. I’ve been playing the boys in blue for nearly two years now and I love my little space-hippie-communists and have found the new codex, while certainly a boon, hasn’t overly impacted my play style. I promise you that you won’t be seeing any Riptides or crazy new units in my lists, I’m sticking to the parts of the army I’m familiar with and what I know works through numerous wins and losses. Besides, if I came home one evening with a pair of Riptides under my arm I wouldn’t hear the end of it for more than a month and would probably spend the next week sleeping on the couch! Now that’s not to say I have my army completely prepped, in the box ready to go. No, I still have several squads that need finishing and there are a few models that need some touching up. This trip should help give me the boost I need to get them finished up.

So what army pairs the best with the Tau? I’ll let you all discuss that below and see if you can guess. In my next article I’ll unveil the other half of our team and start talking the theory behind matching these two armies up. While we’re on the topic of comment discussion I really want it to be just that: Discussion.

I don’t pretend to be some guru on top of a mountain espousing wisdom down to the commoners. If you have a question about what I’ve written or there’s an aspect you think I should be covering but haven’t mentioned please let me know and I’ll do my best to accommodate. I’m even open to advice on what do while I’m at Feast of Blades or some good tips on how not to make a fool of myself. Considering this is all coming from a wide-eyed novice you veterans might find all this preparation and hand wringing entertaining. For those of you equally new to the hobby and hoping to participate in a large tournament someday I hope you find it informative. Either way I welcome everyone’s thoughts and advice.

Casey Roberts

Feast of Blades Facebook Page

thevampiredio - Tau Force

BrotherOstavia - Crusade

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