Warhammer Masters Series Warhammer 40,000 Northern Conference Winter/Spring 2012 Season Welcome!

Welcome to the Warhammer 40k Masters Series! This league is designed to pit the 40k players of Southern California against their counterparts and determine the best of the best. Players will vie for glory and cash prizes by defeating their opponents during the regular season, making it through singleelimination playoffs to win their respective conference, and then play a best of three Masters Showdown between conference champions to determine this seasons Grand Master. Prizes will also be offered for the Best Painted Army in the series, as judged by the coordinators, and the Best Sportsman, as voted by the league players. So, build your army, register for your conference and have some fun battling with some of the best Warhammer 40k players around! League Overview The Warhammer Masters Series is intended to provide players in the Southern California Area a venue to show their stuff against the best of the best in Warhammer Fantasy and 40k. The series will be divided into a Northern Conference coordinated from Game Empire Pasadena, and a Southern Conference coordinated from Game Empire San Diego. The series is organized after the fashion of a professional sports league. Players will be split into divisions and will have a schedule of games laid out at the beginning of the season. Over the course of the season, players will compete with opponents both in and out of their division, record their glorious victories (and occasional defeats, perhaps!), and have a lot of fun! Northern Conference Series Fees Entry Fee is $25, paid to Game Empire Pasadena $15 will be refunded to each member who completes all 8 regular season games Members who do not play all of their games will lose their entire refund Members who forfeit games during the season may be replaced Members that forfeit games in this league will have to pay $35 to join the next league. Army Construction and Painting Armies entered into WMS must be completely built and primed. Armies must be comprised both of a majority of Games Workshop models, and a majority of models from the relevant Army Book. Armies must be WYSIWYG, though significant conversion work on individual models is allowed provided it is tastefully and competently done; extensive conversion work or scratch-building throughout an army must be approved by a series organizer before the army can be used for games. Armies must be constructed using the current Codex. Each player must have at least 15 models completely painted and based to a tabletop standard by the end of their first five games. These can be

any 15 models in the army, including unit commanders, characters, monstrous creatures, vehicles, etc. If you are concerned that your models may not qualify, ask a judge for clarification. If a player has not fielded at least 15 fully painted models by the end of their first five games they forfeit their $15 series refund. Gameplay Games for WMS will be played at the 2000 point level. Players will have their entire regular season scheduled prior to the beginning of the season, and must play all of their scheduled games before the end of the regular season. Players may play their games in any order and on whatever timeframe suits their schedule best. It is the responsibility of the players to coordinate and schedule their own games. Contact information for players will be available to all league participants. Games may be played at any location players agree upon. It is the responsibility of the players to inform the league coordinator of opponents who miss scheduled games or who have not made any effort to schedule their games. Players must bring two copies of their army list to each game. Army lists should be printed if possible; homemade formats or database printouts must be explained in advance. Hand-written lists must be legible and must have each item and/or upgrade noted. Players who do not have a legible list ready to present to their opponent when they meet for the game suffer a -1 penalty to the roll for first turn. Players are required to show their list to their opponent prior to the game and must provide their list after the game for review. Divisions Players will be split into divisions dependent upon the total number of players in the Northern Conference. Each player will play every other player in their division at least once. Playoffs The top player from each division will advance to the playoffs, along with Wild Card players comprised of the remaining players with the best Series records regardless of division. The first tie breaker will be strength of schedule, the second tie breaker will be head to head results if applicable, and the final tie breaker will be in-division record. Playoffs will be single elimination seeded by record, with the top seed playing the bottom seed in the first round and so on, with bracketed pairings being used to determine subsequent pairings. The Longest Road The player with the lowest record will receive free entry into next seasons Masters Series. Tiebreakers will be determined by strength of schedule.

The Masters Showdown After the end of the playoffs, the Northern Conference Champion will be invited to a one-day showdown against the winner of the Southern Conference league. The event is a best-of-three series played at Game Empire in Pasadena on June 24th. Showdown games are played at the 2000 point level. Terrain will be pre-set for the games, and terrain will be changed between each game. Each scenario will detail the victory conditions and tiebreakers. No scoring for comp or sportsmanship is factored; the showdown represents the best of the best with hard lists and hard play expected. The Prize for winner of the Masters Showdown is $500 CASH! A Note on Dice All necessary dice will be provided for the Masters Showdown. No other dice will be allowed in the final games. Prizes The best painted army wins the painting prize and takes home $100 cash. The best sportsman, as judged by league opponents during regular season games, takes home the sportsmanship award and $50 cash. A Note on the Looming Spectre of 6th Edition It is unknown at this time when the ballistic missile that is 6th edition will impact. While it is unlikely that 6th will happen anytime that will affect the Series, I would be remiss to not address the issue now. The fifth edition rules will be used throughout the WMS, including playoffs and final showdown, regardless of the release of the sixth edition at some point during the league. Paint Judging Players are not required to compete for the painting prize. All armies to be considered for the painting prize must be scored in-person once during the league, whenever they are ready to be seen by the judges. Each entry will be judged separately by three different judges, including the series coordinators and any additional judges they appoint. An entries three scores will be averaged to determine its overall score. 1. Is the army fully painted? (0-1) Fully painted gets the point. Note that basing is not included in this consideration. 2. Was there an honest effort put into the paintjob? (0-2) Neatness, cohesion, and clarity are at issue here. One point for dipped base colors that are clean and neat, two points for armies that have gone above and beyond. The army being complete is not at issue here; players can earn these points for the first finished unit in a list. 3. Is the army based well? (0-3) Finished bases is what to look for. One point for a simple coat of sand or flock, two for the standard painted sand and a sprig of static grass, three for custom bases with extra detail elements.

4. Are there insignia, camouflage, or eye-catching details? (0-3) Elements that arent necessarily tied to painting skill here. One point for cohesive decals or very simple unit markings, two for more intricate unit badges or hand painted unit markings and details, three points for really amazing detail work like murals on Land Raiders, hand-painted Sons of Medusa shoulderpads, Phoenix Guard shield motifs, and the like. 5. Extra time evident in the details? (0-3) Again, detail work that isnt all about painting skill here. One point for simple painted eyes, clean lines, etc., two points for cool conversion work (big or small) army-wide, three points for custom army and unit commanders, special characters, etc. 6. Is the army painted to an above-average standard? (0-5) Average is debatable, but in general, one point is for clean basecoats and little else, two for basecoats and a dip or wash with maybe a detail picked out here and there, three points for good three-color layering of shade-midtone-higlight and clean details, four or five points for really great blending or layering work, awesome color schemes, etc. 7. Is there a centerpiece? (0-1) Yes or no, simple. A beautiful Necron Ctan or an amazing Ogre Stonehorn with Hunter are good examples. If everything in the army blends together and nothing stands out, its probably a no. 8. Does this look like an army? (0-1) Again, simple. It does or it doesnt , and you should be able to tell. Scoring Scoring for all regular season Games is as follows: Major Victory - 10 Minor Victory - 7 Draw - 4 Minor Loss - 3 Major Loss - 0 Each scenario details a Primary and Secondary Objective. If a player wins the game by achieving both objectives, they win a Major Victory and their opponent takes a Major Loss. If a player wins the game by achieving only one objective, they win a Minor Victory and their opponent takes a Minor Loss. If no player achieves more objectives than their opponent, the game is a draw. Players will roll to determine which scenario bonus points they will be attempting to earn during the game. Playoff Scoring

Playoff games do not use the regular season margins. In playoff games, each scenario will detail the victory conditions and tiebreakers. Sportsmanship In addition to league points earned from gameplay, at the end of each game, players will score their opponent on sportsmanship. This score is used only for purposes of determining the winner of the sportsmanship award and is not used to determine playoff standings. The sportsmanship score is a simple 1-3 scale. 1 point - A score of 1 for sportsmanship indicates that your opponent was, in your view, excessively disagreeable, argumentative, or rude, or otherwise made the game experience poor, including such issues as inaccurate measurements, playing fast and loose for advantage, etc. Multiple scores of 1 will result in disciplinary action if deemed legitimate. 2 points - A score of 2 for sportsmanship indicates that the game was an overall good experience with the occasional rules quibble or disagreement. 3 points - A score of 3 for sportsmanship indicates that the game was a great experience, that went smoothly with no arguments or issues. Army Composition Army composition is not scored by points in this league. Players will make a simple thumbs up/thumbs down notation. Thumbs up indicates that all was well; your opponents list provided a good fight but was not specifically tailored or built with abuse in mind. A thumbs down indicates that you felt your opponents list was abusive in some way or specifically tailored to defeat your army in an unsportsmanlike manner. League organizers will collect and verify both lists involved in a game that included a thumbs down notation. Multiple thumbs down notations on a player will result in disciplinary action. Disciplinary Action Disciplinary action against league players is enacted at the sole discretion of the league organizers and any claims will be investigated before action is taken. In addition to multiple low scores for sportsmanship or thumbs down notations for comp, claims of cheating, misrepresentation of armies or lists, and other unsportsmanlike behaviors are grounds for disciplinary action, at the discretion of the league organizers. Disciplinary action takes the form of a simple yellow card/red card format. If, in the opinion of the organizers, disciplinary action is needed, the player in question will have a yellow card notated against them, and warned of the offending behavior. If grounds for subsequent action for the same behavior are found, the player will have a red card notated against them and be dismissed from the league. The dismissed players entry fee and deposit will be refunded. A player who accumulates three yellow cards for different behaviors will be refunded and dismissed in the same manner as if they had received a red card.

2012 Schedule February 16th - League signups open. March 7th - League signups close Divisions and schedule of regular season games finalized. March 11th- Regular season begins and initial League meeting at Game Empire Pasadena. April 15th- Must have at least 15 models fully painted and based or forfeit deposit. June 3rd-Regular season ends. Games not reported by this time are considered a major loss for both players unless otherwise arranged. June 17th July 1st Conference playoffs and Signups for Summer /Fall Season. July 15th Masters Showdown, Northern Conference winner vs. Southern Conference winner. Signups closed for Summer/Fall 2012 league, divisions and schedule of regular season games finalized. August 1 - Summer/Fall Season Begins Terrain Players will place terrain as detailed below before the beginning of a game. Terrain Density Roll a D3 to determine the density of the terrain the battle will be fought over. Players are free to use whatever method they find agreeable to fill the table to the appropriate density; the easiest method is usually to cover one section of an empty table with terrain until the correct amount is reached, then spread the terrain out across the entire table. All coverage percentages are approximate, since the availability of terrain is too broad a variable. 1 - Sparse: Fill 25% of the table with terrain, then randomly remove d3 pieces of terrain before the terrain is set up. 2 - Standard: Fill 25% of the table with terrain. 3 - Dense: Fill 25% of the table with terrain, then add d6 pieces of terrain before the terrain is set up. Terrain Type If the players have access to a wide variety of terrain, the following chart is to be used to generate the type of terrain present for the game. As terrain collections vary widely and not all games will be played at a gaming club or store (or the home of a terrain-making hobby fanatic), players are free to agree upon one of the following terrain sets for their game to suit the available terrain (so you dont roll Desert World when theres only a box full of forests and green hills around!) 1 - Desert / Badlands World 2 - Imperial World 3 - Jungle/Forest World 4 - Chaos-held World / Daemon World 5 - Ruined Settlement 6 - Isolated Outpost

Players then alternate rolling 2d6 on the relevant terrain table and generating terrain until the established density is reached. Terrain Placement Measuring 12" from each table edge, mark off a zone 2' x 4' in the center of the table. Players then alternate placing terrain on the table. At least half of the available terrain must be placed in the center zone. Remaining terrain may be placed in the outer zone. Terrain may not be placed within 6 of the table edge or 4 of another piece of terrain. Linear Obstacles After terrain has been placed, players alternate placing an additional d6+3 linear obstacles. Small hedges, walls, sections of barbed wire, or sections of strewn rubble and debris are ideal. Obstacles should be around 1" high, 1" wide, and 6"-8" long. Linear obstacles may not be placed on or flush with any other terrain piece or within 6" of the table edge. Cover Saves Some terrain below includes a cover save rating. This rating is the value to be used whenever a unit of Infantry, Jump Infantry, Bikes, Beasts & Cavalry, and Artillery claims a cover save from being obscured by the terrain. Vehicles and Monstrous creatures claim cover from all terrain by being at least 50% obscured from the firing unit as normal, but if they are taking a cover save from a terrain that has an established cover save rating they will use that value. 1. Desert / Badlands World One of the many desolate worlds in the galaxy largely devoid of life. Small clumps of low scrub and the occasional tiny hovel dot the empty landscape. 2- Oasis - Difficult terrain, 5+ cover. Units within 6" have +1 Ld, to a maximum of 10. 3- Large intact structure. Impassible. 4+ cover. 4- Crater. Difficult terrain, 5+ cover. 5- Small intact structure or hut. Impassible, 4+ cover. 6- Small copse of trees. Difficult terrain, 5+ cover. 7- Low hill. Open. 8- Large hill. Open. 9- A ruined building. Difficult terrain, 4+ cover. 10- Large copse of trees. Difficult terrain, 5+ cover. 11- Shifting Sands / Sinkhole. Difficult and Dangerous. 12- Desert Edifice (sphinx / columns / pyramid). Impassible, 4+ cover. 2. Imperial World Dense with the edifice of the Imperium, natural things do not grow here, and stagnant ribbons of wastewater snake through the endless sea of grey buildings and shuddering masses.

2- Imperial Shrine. Impassible or Difficult, 4+ cover. Imperial units within 12" are Fearless. 3- Canal. Difficult and Dangerous, 5+ cover. 4- Small intact building. Impassible, 4+ cover. 5- Large intact building. Impassible, 4+ cover. 6- Small ruined building. Difficult terrain, 4+ cover. 7- Large ruined building. Difficult terrain, 4+ cover. 8- Road. Open. 9- Small fortified building or bunker. Difficult terrain, 3+ cover. 10- Large fortified building or bunker. Difficult terrain, 3+ cover. 11- Canal. Difficult and Dangerous. 5+ cover. 12- Imperial Logistics Building. Impassible, 4+ cover, one unit within 6" each turn may re-roll their to-hit rolls in either shooting or assault during that turn. 3. Jungle or Forest World Thick forests cover the landscape, occluding the occasional knot of civilization, home to both settlers and brigands alike. 2- Weapons cache. Difficult, 5+ cover. One unit within 6" may re-roll their to-hit rolls for Shooting for one turn. 3- Small hill. Open. 4- River. Difficult terrain. 5- Small ruined structure. Difficult terrain, 4+ cover. 6- Small forest. Difficult terrain, 4+ cover. 7- Large forest. Difficult terrain, 4+ cover. 8- Small forest. Difficult terrain, 4+ cover. 9- Large ruined structure. Difficult terrain, 4+ cover. 10- Small hill. Open. 11- Large hill. Open. 12- Bandit Outpost. Impassible, 4+ cover. Units within 6" have -1 Ld.

4. Chaos-held or Daemon World The suppurating touch of the warp is here, and whatever type of world it was, it is now given over wholly to Chaos. Once benign structures and ruins, and inert landscape features have been dedicated to the gods. 2- Shrine of Blood. Impassible, 4+ cover. Units that start their turn within 6" get Furious Charge for one turn. 3- Shrine of Pestilence. Difficult terrain, 3+ cover. Units within 6" have -1 Toughness. 4- Small hill. Open. 5- Large hill. Open. 6- Large forest. Difficult and Dangerous, 4+ cover. 7- Small forest. Difficult and dangerous, 4+ cover. 8- Small ruined structure. Difficult terrain, 5+ cover.

9- Large ruined structure. Difficult terrain, 5+ cover. 10- Crater. Difficult terrain. 5+ cover. 11- Shrine of the Warp. Difficult and Dangerous. 6+ cover. Once per turn at the start of the Movement Phase, one unit within 6" may be removed from the table and immediately Deep Strike anywhere within 24". 12- Shrine of Ecstacy. Impassible, 5+ cover. Units within 6" are Fearless. 5. Ruined Settlement Settlers long gone, these attempts at civilization now lie in ruins, whether by the ravages of nature or malign intent. 2- Supply store. Difficult terrain, 5+ cover. Units starting their Movement phase within 6" gain +1" of movement during any movement they make (moving, running, assaulting, etc.) during that turn. 3-Small hill. Open. 4-Small forest. Open. 5- Small ruined building. Difficult terrain, 4+ cover. 6- Large ruined building. Difficult terrain, 4+ cover 7- Crater. Difficult terrain, 5+ cover. 8- Large hill. Open. 9- Large fortified building. Difficult and Dangerous, 3+ cover. 10- Crater. Difficult terrain, 5+ cover. 11- Small shack or hut, impassible, 5+ cover. 12- Imperial Proclaimator. Impassible, 4+ cover save. Imperial units within 6" have +1 Ld., to a maximum of 10. 6. Isolated Outpost A listening post, research station, or garrison, the inhabitants recently vacated, a layout of solid cover makes battles here close and intense. 2- Landing pad. Impassible to all units except skimmers, 4+ cover. Skimmers on a landing pad may embark or disembark passengers within 2" of the landing pad regardless of the speed at which the vehicle traveled. 3- Small intact structure. Impassible. 4+ cover. 4- Large light forest. Difficult terrain, 5+ cover. 5- Large hill. Open. 6- Small bunker. Difficult terrain, 3+ cover. 7- Barracks. Impassible, 4+ cover. 8- Small fortified building. Difficult terrain, 3+ cover. 9- Small light forest. Difficult terrain, 5+ cover. 10- Small hill. Open. 11- Large forest. Difficult terrain, 4+ cover. 12- Watchtower. Impassible. Units within 6" may shoot at any enemy unit that arrives on the battlefield through Deep Strike within 12".

Scenarios When generating scenarios, first roll on the deployment chart. Then roll on the scenario chart. Deployment Zones Roll a d3 to determine deployment zones. Full rules for each deployment can be found on pp 92-93 of the main 40k rulebook. 1- Dawn of War 2- Pitched Battle 3- Spearhead Scenarios Roll a d6 to determine the scenario. 1- Tactical Advantage 2- Liability 3- Total Carnage 4- Priorities 5- Vital Objective 6- Sweep and Clear 1. Tactical Advantage Primary Objective: After terrain has been set up but before the roll for first turn, players alternate setting up d3+2 objective markers (25mm bases). Objectives are controlled as detailed in the Seize Ground mission on pg. 91 of the 40k main rulebook. The player who controls the most objectives at the end of the game achieves this objective. Secondary Objective: Table Quarters. At the end of th game, a player controls a table quarter if he has a unit completely within it and no enemy units are in the same quarter. The player who controls the most table quarters at the end of the game achieves this objective. 2. Liability Primary Objective: Kill Points. Kill Points are earned as detailed in the Annihilation mission on pg. 91 of the 40k main rulebook. The player with the most Kill Points achieves this objective. Secondary Objective: Assassination. Randomly select one Independent Character or unit of one multiwound model in the enemy army after terrain has been set but before any model is deployed. If a player destroys this model during th game, he achieves this objective. 3. Total Carnage Primary Objective: Kill Points. Kill Points are earned as detailed in the Annihilation mission on pg. 91 of the 40k main rulebook. The player with the most Kill Points achieves this objective. Secondary Objective: Attrition. A player achieves this objective if he reduces all enemy units to half strength or below. Enemy Independent Characters and units of one muti-wound model must have been

wounded at least once, and enemy vehicles must have suffered at least a Weapon Destroyed or Immobilized damage result. 4. Priorities Primary Objective: After terrain has been placed but before the roll for first turn, players alternate setting up d3+3 objective markers (25mm bases), anywhere further than 12" from a table edge or another objective. After deployment zones have been established but before any models are deployed, each player places a single objective (40mm base) in their deployment zone anywhere further than 12" from any other objective and 6" from a table edge. At the end of the second turn, roll a d6. 1-3 - Controlling 25mm objectives is the Primary Objective. 4-6 - Controlling 40mm objectives is the Primary Objective. Secondary Objective: Kill Points. Kill Points are earned as detailed in the Annihilation mission on pg. 91 of the 40k main rulebook. The player with the most Kill Points achieves this objective. 5. Vital Objective Primary Objective: After terrain has been set up but before the roll for first turn, players alternate setting up five objective markers (25mm bases). Objectives are controlled as detailed in the Seize Ground mission on pg. 91 of the 40k main rulebook. The player who controls the most objectives at the end of the game achieves this objective. After both armies have deployed, randomly choose one objective. Controlling the chosen objective is the Secondary Objective. 6. Shock and Awe Primary Objective: Battle Points. Players earn battle points for the following: +1 - Each enemy unit fully destroyed at the end of the game. +1 additional - Each enemy HQ destroyed at the end of the game. +1 - Each enemy unit forced to take a Morale test from shooting casualties. +1 - Each enemy unit forced to take a Morale test from losing an assault. +1 - Each unit within the enemys established deployment zone at the end of the game. The player with the most Battle Points at the end of the game achieves this objective. Secondary Objective: After deployment zones have been established but before any model is deployed, each player sets up one objective marker (40mm base) anywhere in their deployment zone further than 8" from any table edge. Objectives are controlled as detailed in the Seize Ground mission on pg. 91 of

the 40k main rulebook. The player who controls the most objectives at the end of the game achieves this objective. Scenario Bonus Points: At the beginning of each game, after the scenario and deployment have been determined, but before deployment, each player rolls to determine which Scenario Bonus Points will apply to their game: 1. Kill the Head +1 - Destroy all enemy HQ choices +1 - One of your HQ choices kills an enemy Independent Character or unit of one multi-wound model by any means. +1 - Destroy all enemy Elites choices +1 - Destroy the enemys highest point-cost unit 2. Gaining Ground +1 - Have a unit in each quarter of the table at the end of the game +1 - Have a in the enemy deployment zone +1 - No enemy unit is in your deployment zone at the end of the game +1 - Your Battle Standard crossed the centerline of the table during the game 3. Attrition +1 - No enemy unit is over half strength at the end of the game +1 - The enemy army has fewer HQ choices alive at the end of the game than yours +1 - Destroy all enemy Troops choices (not including dedicated transports) +1 - Destroy at least two units with a Sweeping Advance 4. Solidarity +1 - None of your units are further than 12" from any other friendly unit +1 - Have a unit in your deployment zone at the end of the game +1 - None of your units failed a Morale check during the game +1 - All of your Troops units are at half strength or above 5. Precision Strike +1 - Destroy all enemy Elite Choices +1 - Destroy all enemy Heavy Support Choices +1 - Destroy all enemy Fast Attack +1 - Destroy an enemy Independent Character or unit of one multi-wound model with Shooting 6. Players Choice The player may choose any of the above Bonus Point packages to use in their game. The Organizers

Travis Simpson- Masters Series Overlord and Northern Conference 40k Coordinator Cliff Robbins- Southern Conference Masters Series Overlord Davis Bailey- Northern Conference Fantasy Coordinator