[happyjosiah]

Forgive me if there is a similar list posted anywhere, but I couldn’t find one. I am trying to put together a list of all the various tournament structures and ways to play. I am not talking about variants on the game, jut different formats. Ideally, I would like to put together some quick reference card so before I sit down to play, I can look down the list and pick out how I want to do it. Perhaps even some kind of randomizer to help decide. But before I can do that, I need your help to make this list complete. Thanks!

• • Army Creation
    • Pre-made Armies
      • Generally the restriction is a point total, 500 is usually standard. Players do not see each other’s armies while creating their own.
      • Sideboarding
        • True Sideboard
          • Bring a higher total of points than the allowed amount and modify your army from that pool before each round. (e.g., players bring up to 700 total points and make a 500 point army out of it before each round)
        • Reinforcements
          • Some formats may allow units to be added to a prebuilt army later. GenCon has done this in the main event by allowing players who advance to day two of the tournament to add a random number of additional points on the second day.
        • Terrain-Specific
          • Some formats allow players to add specific units based on the map being played (e.g., Dzu-Teh on Tundra Maps)
        • Freebies
          • Some formats allow for a small pool of additional units that can be added in before each round based on the opponent you are facing, generally regardless of point cost.
      • Worst Army
        • You bring the worst army you can make. Before each game, you and your opponent swap armies and try to win with the bad army they have given you. Restrictions generally include:
          • No Marro Hive
          • No Rechets without Iskra
          • No Kato Katsuro (sometimes)
          • No Spartacus (sometimes)
      • Legacy Format
        • Army creation is based on different point values than the ones printed on the cards. The list can be found here: http://www.heroscapers.com/community...ad.php?t=33571
      • Melee Only
        • No unit may be put in an army if it has a range of more than one or a ranged special attack.
      • No A+ and/or A Rated Units Allowed
        • This refers to the Heroscape power rankings and disallows some of the generally accepted most powerful units.
      • Living Banned List
        • This takes place over several tournaments. Units from the winning army are banned from play, forcing players to continue to use different, and often worse, units each tournament.
      • General Wars
        • Armies must consist of units from only one general.
        • Conversely, there can be a “rainbow” restriction where your army must contain units from 3 generals or even more.
      • Heroes Only
        • Self-explanatory
      • Master Set Figures Only
        • Generally used in a draft format.
    • Balancing formats
      • Reverse the Whip
        • In the first part of the tournament, you play the army you brought. In the second part, you and your opponent trade.
        • Sometimes, you will simply roll before each match to see whether you keep your own army or trade.
      • Halved Armies
        • You bring two armies, each worth half the value of the point total (e.g., two 250 point armies for a 500 point tournament). You will select one of your opponent’s armies and he/she will select one of yours. Your army will be comprised of half units you brought, and half your opponent brought.
    • Draft
      • Full Army Draft
        • At the start of a tournament, all armies are placed on a table. Players choose an army from the table that they would like to play for the whole day. Generally, the order of selection is either random or takes place part way through the tournament with losing records choosing first.
      • Pooled Draft
        • Before each round, the two opponents pool their armies together, and draft from that. Generally, players bring a higher point total than the point limit for the actual army.
      • Pure Draft
        • Rarely used in tournaments due to the massive amount of figures it requires, players may draft from a pool of every available unit. Best used for games at home.
      • Draft Deck
        • A drafting format that allows players to draft from a pool of randomly selected army cards. This can be done by simply dealing a set number of random cards to each player, but there is a more sophisticated version here: http://www.heroscapers.com/community...ad.php?t=29542
      • Auction Draft
        • Format in which units or some sets of units are auctioned off to bidders, each of whom has some amount of "money" with which to bid.
        • Killercactus has come up with an especially complex and interesting method. Here's a link to it.
  • Game Rules
    • Starting zones
      • 24-hex limit is the usual standard, but more or less adds interesting variance. Higher limits strengthen squads, lower limits strengthen heroes.
    • Heat of Battle
      • Instead of starting in a given zone, players take turns placing units anywhere on the board. Restrictions generally include:
        • Cannot be placed on a glyph
        • Cannot be placed adjacent to opposing figures (sometimes)
        • Squads must be placed adjacent to each other (rarely)
    • Slugfest
      • Units with a range of 1 receive an additional attack die when making a normal adjacent attack.
    • Battle Above Cursed Lands
      • Non-flying units roll lava field damage at the end of each round.
    • Winds
      • Units may not fly.
    • Melee Fog
      • All range numbers are reduced by half (rounded down).
    • Alternate Win Conditions
      • It is usually assumed that a player wins the game by killing all his opponent’s units (or being closer to that goal when time runs out), but this is not always the only way to win. Here are some of the most common other ways to win:
        • Capture the Flag
          • A player can also win by getting a figure onto their opponent’s flag (usually a glyph). Usually, the figure is required to be unengaged as well.
        • Capture the Treasure
          • Kind of a mobile capture the flag. A hero is given a treasure glyph (Brandar) to represent the flag. You win by having a hero pick up your opponent’s treasure or by getting an unengaged squad figure on it.
        • Dragon’s Hoard
          • A player can also win if a dragon they control holds three treasure glyphs.
        • Round Limit
          • Usually used in scenarios like defending a castle, one side will win if they are not otherwise defeated after a set number of rounds, regardless of remaining figures.
        • Kill the General
          • Each player designates a hero to be their general. Kill your opponent’s general to win.
        • T-Glyph Tourney
          • Each round 2 T-glyphs are available. Winner keeps their T-Glyphs and goes on to play others who have a similar number of T-Glyphs. End of the day winner is whoever has the most T-Glyphs after X rounds.

Also keep in mind, it can be fun to do a randomization of these before each round. There have been tournaments, for example, where players roll before each round to see if they will play Capture The Flag, Heat of Battle, or Standard.