So, I am a person who got into Imperial Assault last year while sailing the East Coast of America with a travelling Circus. The game provided many fun nights for me and the fellow board gamers in the crew. Skirmish came out of us wanting to play quicker two person games when others where on shifts or between shows.

Then I moved to Eastern Canada.

Where there was no players I could find, no tournament support, but luckily a ready supply of figures at a number of game stores here (Surprisingly). I was able to get my partner to play with me, as well as two other friends throughout the Winter, gaining skill. As well, I play regularly on Vassal.

However, this September, I am going to my first ever live Tournament for Imperial Assault.

Thing is, it's Nationals for Canada.

So, I have a initial question:

What to bring to an Imperial Assault Tournament, and how do you bring it? What little things are often forgotten but crucial? Do I bring all my tiles?

Second Question:

With no access to having played against the 3 new packs or much of Bespin yet, what is the Meta like these days? What lists were majorly present in your last tournament?

I used to be a Bantha Rider type of player, but I have been really enjoying the Force User Heroic Effort list and all it's challenges, as well as I enjoy the IDEA of a spy team but have yet to try.

Any information on these things would help greatly.

Make sure you bring the following (some of this is obvious but it's a good idea to double check before you leave):

• Figures for your list
• Deployment cards including skirmish upgrades
• Command Cards
• All dice you will need for your list, and maybe some extra since it isn't uncommon for people to grab their opponent's dice on accident
• Damage, condition, terminal, objective tokens
• Replacement sleeves for command cards (if you sleeve them)
• All map tiles needed to build the 3 skirmish maps (every player is required to have the tiles on hand, but they are usually pretty lenient on that)
• Some way to track your score. The tournament rules were updated to include no note taking, but the TO shouldn't disallow a pen and paper for score keeping.
• A positive attitude, most of the Imperial Assault players I've met at several tournaments are really nice and it would do the community well to maintain that.

You must sleeve command cards for tournament play.

Also, if you want to do well, I recommend getting some practice online if you have no one to play against.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any players on Vassal recently, probably because it isn't updated with the latest release yet. I'm still usually on around 7PM PST (so I guess around 10PM your time).

I think the Vader's Finest guys made an "Off to the tournaments 101" episode a while back, you might want to check that.

crab pretty much covered everything

but

show up on time

bring some drinks and snacks. food is also very expensive at the venue.

There is no real meta, u will see a super diverse set of list from the players here. With the exception of an ugnaught army which im still waiting to see someone play.

See you there^^

You do not have to, but you should bring:

- Food (a lot of sugar for your brain muscle to work well, but it should be easily digestible, so you don't need a nap afterwards)

- Drink (high coffein is recommended especially for later games)

- Acetylsalicylic acid (otherwise, after the fifth or sixt game in a row, your brain becomes jelly)

Have a good breakfast, before you start.

The night before the event: Go to bed early. No drugs, no alcohol, no whatever hurts your sleep. There is plenty of time for all that, when you are champion.

Actually they changed that ruling on sleeves DTDanix.

The tournament rules now state:

"Cards must remain unaltered, though they may be sleeved for
protection. Sleeves for Command cards must be identical and
unaltered."

Other than that there is a lot of good advice in the previous posts.

Oh, interesting.

I'd recommend sleeving your command cards anyway for shuffling ease and not messing up your cards.

Remember to have fun

Where in Easter Canada are you at?

I went to my first regional event and my only goal was to have fun, play the game that I enjoy, and meet other people. This attitude was the most important factor in my tirp.

What to bring to an Imperial Assault Tournament, and how do you bring it? What little things are often forgotten but crucial? Do I bring all my tiles?

You will be expected to bring all the necessary materials to not only field your list, but assemble the maps from your collection of tiles, and have the appropriate mission cards. Here's a checklist from a gaming perspective;

All relevant map tiles for the 3 maps being used currently

The 6 mission cards that go with the maps currently on rotation

The 3 insert sheets that show how the maps are assembled (comes with a handy list of all needed tiles)

Your list

All models required for your list

All deployment group and skirmish upgrade cards

Your 15 card command deck

Door tokens

A set of dice

Objective tokens as required by the missions

Terminals

Initiative marker

I think that about covers it in terms of gaming materials. Now, on to the second part of that question; what to bring it in...

I just line a large-ish plastic container with some cloth, and put all my stuff in that. For the models, I just cover them again in another layer of cloth, so that when I close the lid, nothing is really moving around in there.

Unlike X-Wing, the models aren't as fragile, so you don't need elaborate foam storage options to transport this stuff around. Something compact and easy to move around with will serve you well, as you'll have to scoop up all your stuff between matches and hustle to the next table.

In terms of map tiles, I've always brought them in a separate container but have yet to use them, as we've always been good out in the Toronto area with just running printed maps instead. I'll be bringing both to Nationals and hope that my opponent will be equally sensible and we can cut that fiddly part of setup out of the equation and get to playing.

If the "official" maps are sourced out and available for me to buy before then, I'll bring those so there would be no argument.

Another big thing is food and water. I'd recommend NOT bringing a lot of sugary things like candy bars and soda. Stick to water, trail mix, bananas, things like that. You never know under what conditions you will or will not get a meal break until you get there, so you're better off having something that's relatively good for you to eat, that you can easily pick away at between (or even during) matches.

A sugar crash isn't what you want to be dealing with when you're trying to focus on a game, and a long day of playing will just make your brain turn to mush if you don't have water and something adequate to eat.

With no access to having played against the 3 new packs or much of Bespin yet, what is the Meta like these days? What lists were majorly present in your last tournament?

The community isn't as big as X-Wing out here, and from what I've been reading, the tournaments have had a lot of diversity. I wouldn't focus too much on worrying about a top-meta list and just think about broad archetype counters; expect Trooper lists to have Reinforcements/Grenadier, Leia lists will rely on out-of-turn activation, that kind of thing.

The more important thing in my mind is to look at those 3 maps and associated missions and really have a plan to deal with each of them. The game isn't about tabling your opponent, it's a race to score 40 points which can be done by eliminating enemy deployment groups and/or completing objectives. If your list would struggle to score a lot of objective points on the maps, you might have a problem when your opponents get ahead by 10-20pts while you both trade fire.

I used to be a Bantha Rider type of player, but I have been really enjoying the Force User Heroic Effort list and all it's challenges, as well as I enjoy the IDEA of a spy team but have yet to try.

You're better off running something you know. The Nationals environment could give you a little bit of the jitters if it's your first event as you mentioned. You don't want to be so nervous you forget your triggers. It would be amplified if you were trying something really new, as you wouldn't have the natural muscle memory in the game to make sure your abilities go off as intended.

If you run that spy team you said you never tried, will you remember to swap the white die for Cross Training in at the right time? Would you even know what the right time is?

I'm not saying don't try something new, but getting blown out in the opening rounds because you switched lists is just going to bring you down. Unless you don't care at all about standings and just want the chance to play 4-5 games of IA with some new people. If that's the case, slap something together that you enjoy and go have at it.

Wow, well said, ClearDave! His post has everything that you need to bring.

I would also suggest that if you're going to end up building the maps with tiles, then you might benefit by downloading the map-building guides that I developed. Print the ones for the Legal Maps list and bring them with you; they'll make it easier for you to build your map at the start of the match. https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/187822-skirmish-map-puzzle-guides/

And I want to second the point about water and HEALTHY snacks. Actually, Paul Heaver (who is the guy who won the GenCon Championship last year) said in an interview that he brings a water bottle which he drinks and refills after every match. It means he has to use the bathroom a lot, but it's worth it because it helps his mind stay fresh. Healthy nuts and seeds and an apple are great choices for snacks to bring along.

The other big thing is sleep. People say that "There are two times to sleep when it comes to GenCon: before GenCon and after GenCon." lol Try to not follow that pattern. However, the reality is that many people really are low on sleep during GenCon because there's so much going on and you're sharing a hotel room, etc. So if you're into energy drinks (Monster for me!) then I would suggest that you save it for the last round or two, because you don't want a sugar crash to hit you in the final round.