6th Annual Vassal World Cup

By BiggsIRL, in Star Wars: Armada

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Here it is, the most prestigious tournament that might not have any prize support, isn't physically played, and isn't officially sanctioned! Possibly the most prestigious tournament of 2021, and some might argue 2020! It's up to you to prove that you are the best at a digital representation of a plastic spaceship pushing game! That's right, it is the 2021 Armada Vassal World Cup!

2016 Armada World Cup
2017 Armada World Cup
2018 Armada World Cup
2019 Armada World Cup
2020 Armada World Cup

Leader Roles:
Organizer: @BiggsIRL
Marshall: @BiggsIRL
Judges: Whoever is Spectating Your Game!

Format:
Structure: Custom - 2021 World Cup Format, with 3 Rounds of POD play / 3 Rounds of SWISS / 2 Rounds of Elimination, extended time to complete games.
Tier: Premier - "Premier events are the highest level of competition for Fantasy Flight Games tournaments. At this top level of tournaments, players are expected to have a moderate amount of experience. Players should be familiar with not only the game rules, but also the FAQ and tournament regulations. The focus is on a competitive and fair environment."

Rules:
Rules being used for construction of lists and questions throughout the game will be based on the most recent Armada Rules Reference and Tournament Rules, with a special FAQ to be devised for not-yet-FAQ'd or released cards. I'll be putting together an FAQ with specific rulings, so hop into discord and ask if you have a question. CAUTION: If something is FAQ'd for the official tournament, and FFG releases a DIFFERENT FAQ ruling after the tournament has started, the tournament FAQ will take precedence. Someone may have built their list with this ruling in mind.
FURTHER CAUTION: If something is not FAQ'd prior to the tournament and ruled on during the tournament, and THEN FFG releases a DIFFERENT official ruling, the FFG FAQ will take precedence . Don't build if you don't ask first!
Standard list building for 400 points applies. Link to post your list is here. Lists (minus objectives) will then be posted by the Organizer for public viewing by the start of POD play. There is a floor of 32 players for this tournament, priority first will go to the 32 players who have been pre-qualified, then any standby, and finally non-standby players chosen semi-randomly (randomly based on location needed to fill PODs). Are you non-standby? That's okay, because this is the people's game, and for this year we are going to be experimenting with expanding the roster beyond the traditional 32.
For every 4 players that sign up, we will create a new POD up to like 56 or so players because that's crazy big and I'd have to add an extra round of Swiss.

Any player pair that are unable to play during a given round window will receive a 1 point loss each. Either player has the opportunity to concede to their opponent if they are unable to schedule and believe they are more to blame for the scheduling conflict, which will result in a 8 point win (140 MOV) for the other player, and a 1 point loss for the conceding player. Players are encouraged to post their scheduled games to the thread once they agree to a game time. A no-show by either player for a scheduled game will result in a 1 point loss for that player, and an 8 point victory for their opponent, with 140 point MOV.

The Format (New for 2021):

POD Phase: All players will be assigned into a POD of 4 players. During the POD round each player will play the other 3 players in their POD, earning Tournament Points and MOV as usual. The top 2 players in each POD will go on to the Swiss Phase. Everyone is expected to be able to schedule time to play everyone else in their pod within 3 weeks (averaging 1 game / week). PODs will be built to try and give players opponents within or near their preferred time zone to make scheduling easier.

Swiss Phase: Players will be seeded for the first round based on their Tournament Points and MOV from the POD Phase, and play will continue for 3 rounds of Swiss, each round lasting 9 days. Players should post within 2 days of each swiss round start when they will be able to play their opponent. During Swiss Phase, normal Swiss pairing will apply, but no players will be matched up with their POD opponents in addition to Swiss Opponents . The top 4 players at the end of the Swiss Phase will continue to the Elimination Phase.

Elimination Phase : The remaining 4 players are reseeded based on Tournament Points and MOV from both the POD and Swiss Phases. After 2 rounds, the remaining player will be the 2021 Vassal World Cup Champion!

What is Legal for Play?
Anything that has been spoiled or released by January 11th, 2021. A thing is considered spoiled if it fills the following criteria :
Either:
- Revealed in an official FFG article / livestream / website / media dump of some sort
- Released in a non-English language and translated into English.
And:
- Has been actually programmed into Vassal.
Additional Thoughts:
There hasn't been any issues with games needing a Judge to rule on things before, don't let this tournament be the one it starts. Figure out any issues that arise in the game among yourselves - ask any folks watching along for help as makeshift judges if needed. I'll be watching the games that I can, but I work and go to school for crazy hours. Remember Rule #1 of Star Wars Miniatures Gaming - "Fly Casual".
If you do have a rule question about how a particular card interacts, bug me on Discord as I am the official Marshall for the event! Obviously I can't pop into every game for a game-by-game judgement, but I will be updating the Supplemental FAQ. I can't answer a rule question if I don't know what the question is though, so ask early!
If I'm not around there's plenty of quality people that can answer a rule question for you.
If there's something that you see that needs addressed, please bring it to my attention. I can't fix issues that I don't know about.
**Supply Your List Here**
Use this link. Do it early. I will use whatever is the most recently posted list you submit, up to the cutoff time. If you do not submit a list in time you will not be allowed to play. You have almost a month to do this, do not wait until the last minute.
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Timetable:

Fleet Submission - Ongoing until 11th Jan 2021 @ 0400 GMT
Fleet Validation / POD Assignment - 12th Jan
POD Phase - Upon Assignment - 3rd Feb @ 0400 GMT
Swiss Round 1 - 3rd Feb - 12th Feb @ 0400 GMT
Swiss Round 2 - 12th Feb - 21st Feb @ 0400 GMT
Swiss Round 3 - 21st Feb - 2nd Mar @ 0400 GMT
Elimination Rounds - Should Be Done By 24th Mar

Edited by BiggsIRL
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lets go! i will be participating this year

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I will prepare a module update with the latest releases, bug fixes, and convenience tweaks prior to start.

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Baggsy last place!

...still need to learn how Vassal works...

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Seed 13, standing by! MSU OR DEATH!

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in. love love love the new format!

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Don't know if this year i can partecipate :(

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Forgive me, I'm new to Vassal tournaments. Anyone can register for these? Those would be the "stand by and non-stand by" players?

Should I submit my list now? Is it possible to work on it in a few weeks and modify it later or I just have to wait with the registration until I feel my list is in its final form?

Thanks in advance!

Posted at
14 minutes ago, Rimsen said:

Forgive me, I'm new to Vassal tournaments. Anyone can register for these? Those would be the "stand by and non-stand by" players?

Should I submit my list now? Is it possible to work on it in a few weeks and modify it later or I just have to wait with the registration until I feel my list is in its final form?

Thanks in advance!

You may submit it 400* times before the start.

*however this may drive Biggs to hunt you down and cut off your toes. So show some degree of consideration.

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Standing by!

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1 hour ago, Rimsen said:

Forgive me, I'm new to Vassal tournaments. Anyone can register for these? Those would be the "stand by and non-stand by" players?

Should I submit my list now? Is it possible to work on it in a few weeks and modify it later or I just have to wait with the registration until I feel my list is in its final form?

Thanks in advance!

I urge you to submit as many revisions as possible.

Nothing excites the TO more than that.

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2 hours ago, Aresius said:

Don't know if this year i can partecipate :(

Someone must play the Liberty!

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5 hours ago, Rimsen said:

Forgive me, I'm new to Vassal tournaments. Anyone can register for these? Those would be the "stand by and non-stand by" players?

Should I submit my list now? Is it possible to work on it in a few weeks and modify it later or I just have to wait with the registration until I feel my list is in its final form?

Thanks in advance!

Welcome. We have:

Qualified Players, who are guarenteed a spot if they sign up.

Standby Players, who have priority spots if they sign up.

And Non-Standby / At Large players who have not gotten qualified yet. This is where you fit in. Submit a list, and you'll get added in as best I can manage. This year at least, every 4 players that sign up adds an extra POD, so there's a fairly good chance everyone gets to play... but a possibility that 1-3 people get left out.

Everyone that gets left out will be auto-qualified for next year.

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I guess I should specify that the Swiss Phase is scored on its own for finding the top 4, but the the seeding once the top 4 are picked takes into consideration both phases. Sorry if thar wasn't clear above.

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5 minutes ago, BiggsIRL said:

I guess I should specify that the Swiss Phase is scored on its own for finding the top 4, but the the seeding once the top 4 are picked takes into consideration both phases. Sorry if thar wasn't clear above.

So, unlike ordinary Swiss, winners of the POD play vs the 2nd placers?

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2 hours ago, Green Knight said:

So, unlike ordinary Swiss, winners of the POD play vs the 2nd placers?

So, the first round of Swiss is seeded based on POD round tournament score, so winners should (by and large) be playing runner ups. There may be exceptions. After that first round, it's just normal Swiss.

It's no longer A Winner plays H Runner Up. Now it is #1 seed plays last seed, #2 seed plays 2nd to last seed, etc.

Edited by BiggsIRL
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And when is the last day to sign up? Last hour? Asking for a friend...

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5 hours ago, geek19 said:

And when is the last day to sign up? Last hour? Asking for a friend...

21 hours ago, BiggsIRL said:

Timetable:

Fleet Submission - Ongoing until 11th Jan 2021 @ 0400 GMT

Let your friend know that reading comprehensions is a useful skill.

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I submitted a placeholder fleet...so at least I won't miss the deadline like last year!

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4 hours ago, BiggsIRL said:

Let your friend know that reading comprehensions is a useful skill.

It's actually overrated. As is adhering to deadlines. They're more like guidelines anyway 🤪

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Signups here will continue, but we will migrate to Discord once the games begin.

I am sad to lose this forum, but the VWC will not be denied!