Now that 7th Edition is confirmed for release on the 24th of this month, I wonder which GT will be the first to utilize the new rule set? When 6th dropped in June of 2012, Brandt and the Nova Open team hit the ground running, and were the first US GT to utilize and incorporate 6th edition into a Grand Tournament. That year, Wargames Con (now dubbed, 'Texas Games Con') dodged the bullet due to that late June release date in correlation to their GT schedule. Brandt and team had to make some tough decisions with the minimal amount of play testing afforded to them due to time constraints. I didn't agree with all of the decisions that were ruled, but, under the circumstances I completely understood why certain rules and limitations were set in place for the 2012 GT. Brandt succeeded, and in the process set the standard for the US GT circuit with regard to 40K.
Flash forward to 2014, and look: The 7th edition release date of May 24th, is a little over a month before the Texas Games Con GT. Will Jwolf and the boys decide to play it safe and stick with 6th edition tournament rules for the event, or, embrace 7th Edition and potentially set the standard for the rest of the 2014 US tournament scene?
If the decision were mine to make, I would poll my customers and go with the majority. With barely a month to prepare for a new edition that will incorporate Escalation and Stronghold Assault- not to mention all of the sweeping new changes confirmed by White Dwarf and Jervis Johnson, I would definitely go with the majority opinion of my paying customers.
If Texas Games Con plays it safe for 2014, that will leave the weight of incorporating 7th edition into a tournament game to Brandt and Company's shoulders'. I think they did a very good job setting the standards for competitive 6th edition, which means the game will be in good hands. If, for some reason Brandt defaults to 6th edition for Nova Open (I highly doubt he will), then would BAO be the next US GT in line to deal with the 40K rules transition? Reese and Frankie have proven to be equal to the task, as far as I am concerned.
Side boards, summoned demons, psychic phase, consolidation after winning assault, and the big D will now be tournament standards. Who will make history and be the first to incorporate 7th edition into their Grand Tournament? I'm sure it will be interesting- welcome to the wild west!
Texas Games Con
Nova Open
Bay Area Open
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