The general rules for the tournament are straightforward. You must use the same army for each game. The 8th edition set of rules must be used. Furthermore, contestants should know that this tournament is for fun, and that poor sportsmanship will not be tolerated.

1. You must bring a 2,500-point force using the standard 2,500-point force restrictions.
   
   
2. You must create your army using appropriate 8th Ed. Warhammer Armies book (only the latest army book will be allowed for an army!). For Dogs of War, see below.
   
   
3. Special Characters (AKA "Named Characters") WILL be allowed in this tournament, with the following restriction: No Lord-level Special Characters, and no Masque (Daemons of Chaos list). If you are uncertain about whether or not a character is a Special Character, contact Mark Havener and ask. We don't want anyone showing up with Teclis on their army list and having to make a last-minute change!
   
   
4. Dogs of War may use the "Dogs of War", "Regiments of Renown", Menghils Manflayers and Giants articles that originally appeared in WD. Empire armies may take any Dogs of War unit as a Rare choice (2 DOW units = 2 Rares) EXCEPT Giants! No other army but Dogs of War may take a Dogs of War Giant.
   
   
5. Ogre Kingdoms armies (and ONLY Ogre Kingdoms armies) may use Rhinox Riders. We will be using the Rhinox Riders rules as updated by Forgeworld. Click here to see the file. These rules are much cleaner than the older version, and have been written to fit 8th Edition.
   
   
6. Chaos Dwarf armies will use the army list from the "Tamurkhan, Throne of Chaos" book. We don't demand that you use the Forgeworld models, but you have to use something representative so that your opponents don't get confused during your game! Looks like a great opportunity to kitbash and convert! Keep in mind that, as this book is more expensive than the cost of a normal army book, it is even more imperative for Chaos Dwarf players to have their army book with them at the tournament, and be prepared to answer lots of questions about your army list! Note that no other armies may use any units from the Tamurkhan book.
   
   
7. You must supply the tournament organizers with a copy of your army list one month prior to the start of the tournament (preferably in electronic format, but hard copies will be accepted as long as they are legible and include the necessary information). This means that army lists are due to Mark Havener no later than April 18, 2012. Folks registering after April 18 will be allowed one week to submit their lists. Late lists WILL incur a reduction in BATTLE SCORE! The judges need to validate each list prior to the tournament, so late lists affect our schedule. Note: army lists in Armybuilder or Quartermaster format (preferably .txt, or .html, as long as they include all the necessary information, like army percentage breakdowns) will receive 2 BONUS POINTS added to the player's overall score!
   
   
8. What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG). If a model is armed with an item, it must be shown on the figure. Models for army list choices that are not available must be converted. If you are in any way in doubt about whether your conversion or scratch built piece might not be acceptable please contact us before the tournament. We don't want someone to show up with something they can't use!  This tournament will have a painting score so painted models are recommended.  You may use non-Games Workshop models in this tournament.
   
   
9. Armies from campaign supplements (i.e. Storm of Chaos) WILL NOT be allowed. They were fun while they lasted, but they are outdated now. Let it go.
   
   
10. Rules Clarifications from the Games Workshop website will be in use. See Here
    
    
11. You must conduct yourself in a manner that will not bring our  hobby into disrepute.
    
    
12. The following magic item is not allowed at the SAWS Challenge: Fozzrick's Folding Fortress.
    
    
13. The Chalice of Blood and Darkness may not be used during the casting of a spell.
    
    
14. The Power Scroll has been errataed. The new wording is as follows: "POWER SCROLL 35 points One use only. A Power Scroll can be used when the Wizard makes a casting attempt. During that casting attempt, the casting value of the spell is halved. You cannot choose to boost a spell when using the Power Scroll.
    
    
15. Only units of 30 models or fewer may enter any building. There is no limit to the size of units that can assault buildings, however.
    
    
16. You must bring all materials needed to play including dice, measuring device, templates, models, and any rules that you will be using.
    
    
17. The following publications and articles will be in use:
    
    
    • Warhammer Fantasy Battle 8th Edition Rulebook.
      
      
    • All released Army Books (latest releases of course)
      
      
    • The aforementioned Dogs of War articles for those armies that can use them (DOW, Empire, Ogre Kingdoms ONLY)
      
      
18. A player MUST have a copy of all rules he is using for his army for his opponent to check if necessary! This means that if you want to use an article from an Annual or White Dwarf from the list above, you MUST have the appropriate book with you at the tournament!!!



19. Each player MUST exchange army lists with his opponent before starting each game. This is actually written into our scenario rules as well, but many players miss it. You don't have to let them keep it, but you have to at least let them review it!



20. Anything not mentioned or presented here is not legal for this tournament.

A Few Words About Terrain

At the SAWS Challenge types of terrain are many and varied. For the most part terrain we use is covered in the Warhammer Rulebook, but there are some exceptions which are worth pointing out:

• Fields: Some tables have areas of 'fields' with growing crops. These are treated as Forests. Fields without standing crops (cleared fields or fields with very low plant cover) are treated as Marshland.
• Big Hills: Some tables have very large hills built into them or sitting on them. One these tables these huge pieces of terrain ARE treated as hills.
• Mysterious Terrain - Some tables may have an item of Mysterious Terrain on them. Such tables will be marked as such on the reverse of the table number sign.

Scenarios and other Scoring

The following are the scenarios that will be used for this year's SAWS Challenge (subject to change, but they'll be locked in for sure at least 3 days prior to the event):

1. Scenario 1 - Magic Flux
2. Scenario 2 - King of the Hill
3. Scenario 3 - Battle of Attrition
4. Scenario 4 - Wildwood
5. Scenario 5 - Battle for the Pass (Warhammer Rulebook, page 146)

Note that the following scoring is used for figuring Tournament Battle Points after each game:

1. Loss (VP total over 100 pts less than opponent's total - 5 pts
2. Draw (VP total within 100 pts of opponent's VP total) - 10 pts
3. Minor Victory (VP total between 101 and 300 more pts than the opponent's VP total) - 14 pts
4. Major Victory (VP total over 300 pts more than opponent's VP total) - 17 pts

Beyond these base Battle Points, each round, each player will choose a special Scenario Objective that will not be known to the opponent. Each player will have a sheet with a table of Objectives. Each Objective in the table may be used once per tournament. Examples of Objectives:

1. Kill all enemy spellcasters.
2. Kill the most expensive enemy character.
3. Eliminate over half of your enemy's army (based on model count).
4. Have more units in your enemy's deployment zone at the end of the game than they have in yours.
5. Capture more standards than your opponent.

Accomplishing your chosen objective will net you a bonus 3 Battle Points at the end of the game, so choose wisely!

Total points available for battle score: 100.

Composition Scoring

Composition scoring uses the Composition Scoresheet, found here: COMP SCORESHEET. The base score is 0-30, with up to 3 additional points added by the judges, up to 2 bonus points for army format (Armybuilder or Quartermaster), and up to 10 points from opponents. Total points available for composition:45.

Paint Scoring

Paint scoring also uses a checklist, which provides 0-27 points. Added to this are up to 3 points based on the number of Players Choice votes the army received, for a total of 30 points available for painting. Note: painting your own army is NOT a requirement for the SAWS Challenge. However, in recognition of how important painting is to the hobby, painting your army yourself is worth 10% of the paint score (3 points). Please be honest when you are asked if you painted your own army, as lying would be considered a form of cheating. Total Points available for painting: 30.

Sportsmanship Scoring

Proper sportsmanship and good tournament etiquette is a keystone of Warhammer, and as such a fair chunk of our Overall points are based on how you conduct yourself. This is also the reason that the winner of the Tony Mark Best Sports Award is held in such high esteem at our tournament. Points are completely from the players, though the judges reserve the right to award bonuses or penalties based on behavior they see during the event. Each player receives up to 5 points each round from his opponent, and one point at the end for every "Favorite Opponent" vote. Total Points available for sportsmanship: 30.

Players Choice

This category has a small effect on the Overall score (see Paint Scoring, above), but it's important enough to warrant it's own player-determined award category.

For more info about the SAWS Challenge, click on one of the links below:

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