Warhammer 40K Championships Survey Results


Those of us involved with AdeptiCon tend to talk a lot about AdeptiCon. Don’t believe me? Just ask our significant others! They’d claim that we talk about it all the time! It’s particularly true on the Warhammer 40K side of the house. We yammer incessantly about the latest Games Workshop releases, current rumors, Forge World rules and models, event formats, point values, mission designs, and a host of other topics.

Feedback from our attendees is used to provide direction and scope for these discussions. We consider it to be the most interesting and most important item to consider for the next AdeptiCon. These surveys are used to measure the perception of players on what went well and where we need to improve. After all, we’re trying to make a better experience every time you come to AdeptiCon.

With the recent barrage of Games Workshop releases, Warhammer 40K has undergone a tremendous amount of change. The sixth edition of Warhammer 40K is only a little over a year old, and since the last AdeptiCon Games Workshop has released new army books for Tau, Eldar, Space Marines and the Inquisition, as well as supplements for Iyanden, Farsight Enclave, Adeptus Sororitas, Black Legion and Sentinels of Terra. If you include Forge World releases such as Imperial Armor Apocalypse, Imperial Armour Volume Twelve: The Fall of Orpheus, Imperial Armour Volume Three Second Edition: The Taros Campaign. Horus Heresy Two: Massacre, that’s a mountain of new content to absorb and evaluate for our tournaments. Add six months of digital releases and, and you can see the scope of our endeavor; and we have less than 150 days before the doors open on AdeptiCon 2014!

3rd Annual AdeptiCon Army Charity Raffle Drawing


The third annual AdeptiCon Army Charity Raffle will support the Wounded Warrior Project. 100% of the proceeds from the raffle will be donated to help honor and empower these brave veterans and service members.

This beautiful World Eaters army was masterfully painted by Brandon Palmer of GMM Studios. The models were generously provided by Chaosmailorder.com, with Dragon Forge Design kindly donating all the bases and AdeptiCon adding the essential Forge World coolness - including Angron, a Chaos Decimator, Khorne Berzerker and Terminator conversion kits, a Contemptor Dreadnought and more!

You can purchase raffle tickets in advance (available for pickup along with your Weekend Badge starting Wednesday, April 17th at 7:00 pm) or onsite at the AdeptiCon registration desk for $1.00 each. You will receive a number of bonus tickets based on the total number of tickets you purchase.

This year’s prize? 2000 points of World Eaters! You can find out more information about this charity raffle in the AdeptiCon 2013 Webcart.

The drawing will be held at 4:30 PM on Sunday, April 21st, 2013 in the Westin Grand Ballroom just prior to the start of the Sunday Warhammer 40K Team Tournament awards. Your ticket must be present to win (although you do not).

World Eaters
World Eaters
World Eaters
World Eaters
To see this army in its full glory, head on over to the AdeptiCon Photo Gallery.
Click to enlarge photos.

Battle (Points) for Honor


Let’s take a look at the Warhammer 40K Championships scoring system and how one might do well at AdeptiCon 2013.

Shortly after the release of Warhammer 40K 6th edition, there was plenty of discussion about how the scoring systems and mission formats of the past stacked up against what was presented in the new rulebook. The practicality of tournament play was lacking. The simple introduction of Secondary Objectives and the transition from Kill Points to Victory Points (and the subsequent death of pre-W40K6e Victory Points) called for a significant redesign of the overall mission format. Shoehorning the format originally developed for AdeptiCon 2011 and 2012 into W40K6e wasn’t something we were interested in, yet we wanted to build on the successes and lessons therein.

At its core, the AdeptiCon 2013 Warhammer 40K Championships is simultaneously a W/L/D tournament and a traditional Battle Points tournament rolled into one. Participants should be playing for the win, for it is the overall Battle Record which determines who qualifies for the finals and who will ultimately be crowned the AdeptiCon 2013 Warmaster! At the same time, players will gain Honor by achieving objectives, regardless of the outcome of any given game. Honor is a cumulative total of all objectives achieved throughout the entire tournament and will be used when seeding games, breaking Battle Record ties when determining qualification, breaking applicable Awards ties and ultimately determine the winner of the Master Tactician Award. The lesson being, objectives are important – even when the game results in a draw or a loss.

So how does one win? Simply put, victory is won by achieving Primary Objectives. If winning games and advancing to the finals is your goal, then all you need to do is focus on the Primary Objectives. Does that mean you can completely ignore the Secondary Objectives? Of course not, but they are not required to advance. Secondary Objectives can result in Minor Victories if a draw occurs on the Primary Objectives and will gain you additional Honor which will help you keep your position in the rankings if you have a draw or a loss at some point. Each Secondary Objective also has an award category all onto itself! The more Warlords you slay, the greater chance you have of being bestowed the title of The Headhunter.

It is purposely difficult to win games in this format. Crushing Victories will have to be…well, crushing! It is highly unlikely that there will be 16 undefeated players at the end of Thursday evening. Combine that with the fact that we always have dropouts before/during the event, and the chances of wildcards qualifying for the finals is all but guaranteed. This gives players the chance to recover from a bad matchup, treacherous dice or other stumble – a highly beneficial holdover from the Battle Point tournaments of old.

Multiple paths to victory, missions rooted in W40K6e, the chance to fight your way back up, a scoring system that attempts to combine the best of both worlds…these are all directives that AdeptiCon attendees have requested and we hope will ultimately make for a fun and engaging event. April approaches…

The Warhammer 40K Championships rules and sample mission can be found here.

Horus Heresy - AdeptiCon Bound!


As long as I have been interested in Warhammer 40K, the Horus Heresy has held my fascination. It always seemed bitterly ironic to me, that despite the myriad of alien threats bearing down on the human species, the greatness of the Imperium it ultimately shattered from within by our own baser instincts. Or, as my seven year old stated with child-like innocence, “Why would Horus attack his dad?!”.

So naturally, my gaming has always evolved or turned towards recreating the events of the Horus Heresy. I’m sure many of you will wryly grin when I ask how often you have searched the internet for how to create Heresy-era terminator pads out of plasticard, read a Black Library novel searching for something interesting to add to your army, scoured eBay for unique sculpts, or anything else that might help to Heresyize your force. When Forge World announced they were doing the Horus Heresy series, being the addict of their resin crack as I am, I knew I should immediately start making deposits in the marriage favor bank for the inevitable withdraws in my future!

As if that wasn't enough to cement my descent into Heresy madness, I was asked to help run the very first AdeptiCon Horus Heresy Tournament! I couldn't say yes fast enough! The chance to help run a Horus Heresy event brimming with the exceptional armies and players that Adepticon attracts every year? Sign me up!

Change Will Do You Good


It's that time again! We’re all gearing up for AdeptiCon 2013 and the Warhammer Fantasy Battles events are seeing a number of changes. In the months that followed AdeptiCon 2012, we received some very constructive feedback on how to help make the Warhammer Fantasy Battles events in 2013 even better.

The first thing most people will notice is the changes to the schedule. The Warhammer Fantasy Battles Team Tournament has moved to Friday, with the Warhammer Fantasy Battles Championship becoming a full two-day event on Saturday and Sunday. The Championships will now feature an additional round making it a 5-game tournament. In addition to the change of days, the schedule is also being expanded to create a more player-friendly environment. Expect longer games and longer breaks, allowing you more time to grab something to eat/drink, browse the vendor hall and experience all that AdeptiCon 2013 has to offer. This also means there will be an earlier finish to Friday and Saturday night events, giving you the opportunity to socialize and see friends that you may only get to see at AdeptiCon or other gaming events.

You might also see something missing this year...the Warhammer Fantasy Battles Big Brawl. In the past, the Big Brawl was run opposite of the ‘How You Use It’ tournaments, as an alternative style event. With AdeptiCon expanding the schedule well into Thursday, there was some uncertainty regarding the attendance of these events, as people were now required to take more time off from work and family...something that is just not feasible feasible for everyone. The interim solution was to run two ‘How You Use It’ tournaments on Thursday in order to give our players more schedule flexibility throughout the entire weekend. If the demand for Thursday events far exceeds what is offered, then expect the Big Brawl to return in 2014.

We’ll talk about some other changes in future blog posts, but this is a good starting point for now. As an organizer, I am personally very excited about the changes that have been implemented and I look forward to seeing everyone at AdeptiCon 2013!

-Alex Gonzalez, WFB Coordinator

AdeptiCon 2013 Preregistration is Now Open!!!



'Ere we go! AdeptiCon returns to the Chicago-land area for its eleventh year on April 18th, 2013. Once again, the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center will be hosting AdeptiCon, providing a home for the one weekend that brings together those of us who are passionate about the miniature wargaming hobby.

Last year 2000 hobbyists took part in the fellowship, excitement, and enthusiasm that has earned AdeptiCon its reputation as the “can’t miss” event of the year for the miniature wargamers across the country and the globe. Last year found our schedule bursting with traditional Games Workshop favorites, Privateer Press’s Warmachine and Hordes, Battlefront’s Flames of War, Wyrd's Malifaux and a whole host of other gaming systems. You can expect all of our core gaming systems to return, with a lineup of both traditional AdeptiCon signature events as well as new, exciting challenges.

Important AdeptiCon 2013 Registration Links

Hotel Reservations (Westin Lombard Yorktown Center)
Alternate Hotel (Hyatt Place Lombard - Corporate/Group # G-ADEP)
AdeptiCon 2013 Online Registration
AdeptiCon 2013 Event Rules
AdeptiCon 2013 Event Schedule
AdeptiCon Webcart Password Reset

AdeptiCon 2013: A New Era!


AdeptiCon 2012 marked our tenth anniversary, and as we move into the second decade of our wargaming journey, we would like to once again thank all the attendees, sponsors, vendors and volunteers for making AdeptiCon what it is – the premier celebration of the miniature wargaming hobby! Last year over 1850 attendees from across the globe descended on the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center to engage in conflicts across a myriad of worlds...yet the battle continues!

AdeptiCon 2013 is the beginning of a new era, one that promises new adventures and expanded horizons! You won’t want to miss this! Pre-registration will open in early November, so clear your schedules and start making travel plans!

What: AdeptiCon 2013!
When: April 18th – 21st, 2013
Where: Westin Lombard Yorktown Center (Lombard, Illinois)

Make Your Hotel Reservations Now!

Check back over the next several months as additional news becomes available concerning the convention, pre-registration, specific events, special guests and more!

Colossals Diorama by Privateer Press: Final Update


As we come into the final stretch leading up to AdeptiCon, what is a diorama involving a train heist without a train?


The Trollbloods certainly picked the wrong train to hijack, as this one is packed full of Winter Guard escorting a pair of Conquests. Worse yet for the Trollblooods, with the train stopped on the tracks, the Khadoran forces can easily prep and deploy their colossals directly into the fray.

Building The Tower of Orthanc - Part II


Back for its fourth year, the AdeptiCon Lord of the Rings tournaments give players the chance to test their skills against each other throughout Middle-earth. Yet not all is battle and iron...witness the power of Orthanc!

This beautiful model will be on display in the Cypress room all weekend long, come look...yet gaze not overly long...


Welcome back to another installment of, Building Orthanc. If you were wondering, why lower whacker drive has not been finished, it is because the construction crews have been working on Orthanc... This will be the final update before its premier unveiling at AdeptiCon, Friday April 20th.

I give you the completed tower before it faces the paint brush. I can proudly say, not counting Lego versions, that this will be the 4th built recreation of this movie icon according to a definitive Google search.

Enter the AdeptiConstruct!


You may have noticed something missing in all of the news leading up to the tenth anniversary of AdeptiCon...what exactly is the exclusive swag bag model? Almost two years in the making, the AdeptiConstruct was originally envisioned by artist extraordinaire Nicolás Giacondino for AdeptiCon 2011, but a lack of time and proper resources prevented it from being completed. Shortly thereafter, it was realized that the AdeptiConstruct would in fact make the perfect model to help us celebrate ten years of dice and destruction...production began in haste!

Standing roughly 5 inches tall, the AdeptiConstruct has arrived! The first 1000 preregistered attendees with an AdeptiCon 2012 Weekend Badge will receive this monstrosity in their swag bag! Chilithium Fusion Cell not included.

AdeptiConstruct
AdeptiConstruct
AdeptiConstruct
AdeptiConstruct
Sculpted by The Ravages of Time | Painted by Tom Schadle
Click to enlarge photos.