I'm heading to a regional in the morning. No idea if I should use my BYE or not. I can do another next week.. save it. Or use it?

I think the general consensus is that if you are a favorite, do not take the bye...

However there are many good reasons you might do so like:

1. More rested

2. Tough field

3. Use the time to study likely opponents

4. There is an even number of players without you...

On the whole though, I think all players enter the tournaments to get games and have fun with only a few really carrying/trying to win first, so I'd play every time.

For a three rounder, don't do it. You gotta squeeze every last tournament point you can, and the first round is usually the best place to do it.

Four rounders, that's entirely preference. I come to play games, so I've never taken my byes.

If I traveled any distance further than an hour, I wouldnt. I went to play Armada, not not-play.

Thanks all. Pretty much where my head was at as well.

I'm with Truthiness. Three round? Never. Four rounds? Depends on my rest level and how well I know the other players. With four rounds, you can lose the first round and make a really strong run still. For example, at Gen Con this year, @geek19 tabled the **** out of me 10-1, but I managed to get my way back to 10th place in a field of over 30 players. Top 8 is usually my goal, so I came close to making it even though I left a few points on the table here and there.

Yeah.. should have used the BYE. Lol first game took forever. Not that he was slow playing. Just had a lot.. lol 6-5 my way. And I think we went to round 3.. maybe 4?

Was fun but having 4 hours sleep and 2 hour drive probably needed the bye to rest. He had lots of y-wings. And hammerheads.

I am not a great player so I would take the bye. 8 points free is a no brainer for me. Matchups in the first round are a gamble.

I usually say no... but the last two regionals I have been to I lost the first game bad... still ended up 4th and 6th so final results not bad...

4 hours ago, Altahara said:

Yeah.. should have used the BYE. Lol first game took forever. Not that he was slow playing. Just had a lot.. lol 6-5 my way. And I think we went to round 3.. maybe 4?

Was fun but having 4 hours sleep and 2 hour drive probably needed the bye to rest. He had lots of y-wings. And hammerheads.

Assuming you were in Louisville, I played that fleets in round 3. We made it to round 5, and I got a 6-5 win. There were so many pieces of his fleet to move around!

I still think you made the right decision about not taking a bye (not that I have ever had to worry about deciding on that). I come to play games of Armada.

Louisville KY by chance?

I was at the Louisville one. Couldn't miss me thr guy with the eye patch.

6 hours ago, themightyhedgehog said:

I usually say no... but the last two regionals I have been to I lost the first game bad... still ended up 4th and 6th so final results not bad...

Top 4 and top 8 means shiny die!

I'm happy with my games and placements, really looking forward to worlds.

Yup. Louisville. Was a fun day. Long. But fun.

I'm in Lexington, not too far down the road. Have you heard of anything going on in Lex? It's been quiet around this 300k pop town the last year or two with Armada.

My usual strategy: don't take the bye, because I want to play three games. Make a stupid mistake in game 1, and lose 10-1. Take the bye in game 2 anyway because I have to. Watch the games, wise up, win in game 3.

Happened to me twice last year.

On 1/6/2019 at 8:19 PM, jbc98k said:

I'm in Lexington, not too far down the road. Have you heard of anything going on in Lex? It's been quiet around this 300k pop town the last year or two with Armada.

D20 hosted a store championship a few months ago - two of us came in from Louisville and there was one Lexington player there, and that was it.

I would willingly take a first round bye if I was concerned about my ability to play effectively during the first round, such as if I'm traveling a long distance to the game or need to start earlier in the day than normal.

For events over 3 rounds, a guaranteed 8 point win is a great investment as it usually meets or exceeds the average needed to end up in the top 4. For 3 round events, you are more likely to need an average of 8.5-9 points to reach the top table.

From my experience, usually need consistent 8-10 scores in each round (if playing only 3 rounds) if you are looking to place 1st. If you suffer a loss but keep it to a 6-5 or 7-4, sometimes you can stay in top 4 or in some cases jump over the leaders to 1st since they beat themselves to death.