DE Tournament Rules

**Official Tournament Rules** (*Last updated 09 January 2003* )

In order to stay current with the changing rules and environs of Clan War, we thought it appropriate to update our tournament procedures. The following points are critical to a successful Clan War event and should be followed in all cases unless otherwise arranged with AEG event support personnel:

* Official Tournaments will use the Daimyo Edition rules, as printed in the Daimyo Edition hard-bound book. The lastest edition of the official FAQ will be in effect. Personality and unit profiles from other official AEG publications printed for use in Daimyo Edition will be available for use in a tournament army provided the material was published at least one month before the date of the tournament.
* Clan War events should be announced at least three weeks prior to the date of the event. If there is a limit to the number of participants, all announcements should include that information.
* The posted start time for the event should be set at least 30 minutes prior to the referee's planned start time.
* Events should be set for either 2000 koku or 2500 koku armies. All armies must be made up of published units and personalities - no custom built forces are allowed. All personalities printed in official AEG products are available for use in a tournament army, unless specifically excluded by the rules of the tournament. This includes personalities with the "Historical" trait.
* An address and/or e-mail address for either the referee or event site is to be provided on the event announcement.
* Optional: Potential players may be notified, via flier, poster, or posted announcement, that all army lists pre-registered by mail or e-mail in advance of the event (set a due date up to a week prior to the event date) may include 50 additional koku in the army's construction. The pre-reg army list should include forces, items, spells, and tactical deck, and should be accompanied by the player's name, address, and either phone or e-mail contact information. If a pre-reg army is rejected, the referee should notify the player as soon as possible.
* If there is a limit to the number of participants, it should be made clear that pre-registered armies will take priority over walk-in armies, on a first-come first-serve basis (the first pre-reg army received and approved is the #1 registered participant, the second pre-reg army received and approved is the #2 registered participant, etc). Open participant slots at the time of the event should be filled in the order that players arrived for the event.
* On the day of the event, referees should show up at least an hour prior to the announced start time and set-up the playing areas. The standard tournament table size is 4' x 6' with placement areas on the long edges, but this format may not be supported at all locations so tournament organizers should work with what's available.
* At the appointed event time, referees should be done with set-up and be free to review all walk-in army lists, in the order that players arrived. A sign-up sheet should be out so that players may sign up in the order in which they arrive.
* The approved pre-registered armies should be returned to the originating player for use during the event, signed by the referee so it can be verified that the player is using the re-registered list. If a re-registered player makes any changes to the pre-reg army at the event, the player loses their pre-registered place in the tournament and becomes a walk-in, losing the 50 additional koku for the army as well. If at all possible, play should begin within 30 minutes of the posted event time.
* All miniatures must be using AEG plastic bases, except creatures that use the 3" x 5" base. This is to provide for an even playing field, not to sell AEG bases. Bases of non-standard size can create a balance problem in close combat because frontages may vary depending on the base's manufacturer. The 3" x 5" bases are allowed a tolerance of ±1/8" along each dimension.
* Army match-ups should be determined randomly (using dice or a name-draw method). This *can* result in friends playing against each other, but them's the breaks. If the referee feels strongly about avoiding such match-ups in the first round, that's fine, but random match-ups in the second and subsequent rounds are to ignore player relationships.
* For most events, each round should last 2½ hours.
* If players are using proxy miniatures, all such proxies should be announced to their opponent at the start of play.
* Proxy tactical cards are allowed for any cards included in the Daimyo Edition rulebook. Daimyo Edition promotional cards may not be proxied unless the player owns at least one original card, so that any interpretation questions can be verified with the actual text. Promotional cards from first edition that were not reprinted in Daimyo Edition are no longer valid. Daimyo Edition promotional cards may not be used in a storyline tournament.
* Referees should provide players with a 30 minute warning before the end of the round. Players should attempt to end the game at the completion of a turn, even if the turn ends a few minutes prior to the end of round. Referees should end games early if the players reach the End phase of a turn within 10 minutes of a round's end - they should not begin another turn. If players are in the middle of turn when the round ends, the game ends immediately unless the players are in the middle of a Ranged Attack or Close Combat phase, in which case they must finish the phase quickly.
* Unless the referee has approved a different schedule, events should be either single-elimination (for events larger than 8 players) or double elimination (for events of 8 players or less).
* Prizes are awarded for First Place, Second Place, and *either* Best Painted Army or Best Painted Unit. All prizes are awarded only to armies that were involved in the event, including the painting prize. The painting prize is limited to armies or units which consist entirely of miniatures from AEG's Clan War miniatures line. It is up to the referee whether to award Painted Army or Unit, based on the number of eligible entries. If there is only a single painted Clan War army, and the judge feels that it does not represent a level of painting worthy of a prize, the judge may opt to award based on the best painted unit, assuming there are a larger number of eligible units and that they reflect higher quality painting.

**Judges' Conduct**

* Judges/referees should be courteous and friendly at all times. They should remember that they are a guest of the event site and that the players are involved for the purpose of having a good time. Playing in a Clan War event is not tantamount to joining military service or indentured servitude - players are not responsible to buy the judge's lunch or fetch his coffee.
* Judges should be appropriately dressed (torn or dirty clothing is not appropriate) and well groomed. They are representing AEG and should remember that they are making a lasting impression for the company.
* Only published rules and official FAQ's should be used in judging a Clan War event. The Honor rules will be used in all tournaments unless otherwise stated.
* If a situation arises during play which is not specifically covered by the rules, the judge may depend on his own expertise and common sense to formulate a ruling. The judge's ruling is final - there is not appellate court or court of public opinion for Clan War events. If the judge chooses to reverse a ruling, he must do so before the original ruling has decided the outcome of a battle - otherwise, in fairness to all players, the ruling must stand until the end of the event, for good or evil.