The American Team Championships

Last weekend the gang headed down to Camp Jordan Arena near Chattanooga to judge the Warhammer 40,000 American Team Championships.  If you don’t know what the event is, you can visit the website at www.whatc.org.

The weekend passed in a blur, but overall there were far fewer rules questions than in 2014. I think this was in large part due to the brand-new ruleset when we kicked off last year. Now that people have had time to digest the rules and explore what they have to offer, everyone seemed much more confident of game expectations. The rules disputes I was engaged in ended amicably, and nearly all of the players were good sports regardless of the call.

If you’ve never put a team together and come out for this event, you should consider it in the future. The format lends itself to team play very well, because one player simply cannot pull his team through to the end by gameplay alone. It takes a good effort from everyone involved, including a willingness to eat the bad matchup so the rest of your team can score the points needed. Much like the sacrificial bunt in baseball, a player has to be willing to forego his own stats in order to move the team forward.

List building is also vital, as everyone on the team has to be prepared to cover the tactical nuances that will come up across six games. Some teams choose to approach the event with all-comers lists, while others specialize each team member into a Swiss army knife that can deal out each tool to the appropriate opponent. Both approaches had several interesting combinations over the course of the weekend, and it was interesting to see some “silver bullet” lists work well, when they might not work against the everyday opponent.

If you can pull the team together, consider giving the ATC a chance next year. I love judging the event, and plan to continue going back each year to see what new combinations the community has to offer. I hope to see you there!