what are some good ways to get to/be competitive at nationals? also, anyone who has been there, please share your experiences.

Well, its been 12 hours since you posted this and they're not responding. I've never been to Nat's, but I plan on winning it this year. Once I do, I can post to a thread like this.

Perhaps we'll meet up there!;)

nattys oh nattys.

ive been to 2 of them. 2003 and 2004.
2003 was the best.
2004 was not.
the army that won is now illegal.

they never once even showed the top 20 or even the person who won. it needed to be more together.
i hope this year is better than last, and i also hope they let ratings get you in again.
as for armies, just check for the cheesiest combos and try and find a way to beat them. its a tough tourney, very good players. so be prepared to lose more than you win.

see yah in 2005 mk nattys

I'm going to try to get to Nats this year... I had an invite for MW last year, but I grew disheartened with the game and didn't bother going. And IF I get an invite, and IF I get to the constructed portion... I'm gonna run Tazia and prove her worth to everyone. I just don't have the power peices to be competetive anyway, so I'll do what I can with my favorite peice.

Of course, I'd be happy just making it to Nats. I love the game, and I've always wanted to go to a big tournament.

Good luck to everyone, and I hope to see you all there ^_^

i went to Nats 2003 and here is what i found out...

Know the Meta-Game
Most of the common armies DID NOT make it into the finals during 2003. The Meta-Game was the Amazon Drac at 200 point army build.

Go Early
If you did not Qualify and recieve and invite, Wizkids always has Qualifier events during the days before Nationals.(Thursdays usually)

Bring Food
Nationals are mentally and physically tiring. You will be playing at least 10 hours a day...well, maybe not playing but you need to remain in the tournament area as they post the standings on a tiny board which everyone flocks to find out their pairings (and standing)...SO, bring snacks and eat when you can.

Bring a copy of the lastest FAQ
When i went, there was 2 copies floating (i only saw one being used) around the tournament area which all the Envoys shared...thus, delaying some judgements...time does not stop when they try to make a ruling...thus, you can help yourself and other players by having the FAQ handy.

I'm sure there are more i can tell you but, this will be enough to wet your palette...

Well, from my end, I can say that I do plan on learning from MY mistakes from last time, and hopefully the environment will be somewhat better, for both the players and the rest of the community.

If possible, I plan on trying to keep things more "up to date" on the standings, top 20, etc. I also am looking for a way to make each rounds pairings easier to get. (And many of the bugs that plagued the software have been fixed, thank goodness!)

However, if there is anything that you may want to see at least in the way it is run, feel free to PM me... I can't promise I'll use every suggestion, but I am not opposed to seeing how to make it as good and fun as it can be :)

One other thing to do is to frequent the MK official rules forum just to keep up with the latest rulings and clarifications that may not have made it to the FAQ yet. But not all clarifications will make it to the FAQ as they are not changing or modifying any existing rules. The last thing you'd want at Nationals is to make it to the constructed part and find out that your strategy is illegal.

I have been at nationals once. THe guys were nice there and there were some rules argument but overall good. One thing that allowed me to get to 19th that I think helped was losing the first game. That allowed me to face the worse armies. The 3rd guy I faced had no chance to win. The 2nd and 4th matches I had to play well. Well the 4th one was decided in the first few turns. But still it takes off the pressure. My army could have possibly taken down storm maul but my loss gave me no storm maul matchups.

also, another experience i would like to share is at Nats 2003, they gave away a GREAT FIRE DRAGON with "Outstanding Achievement Award" stamped on the base to all players that stayed for the afternoon games (alot went home early due to their standings)...

Do you guys know where the next world championship will be held?

The Worlds Championship will most likely be held at Gencon again, in Indianapolis.

Marc

Nationals are usually held in June at Origins in Ohio...

I think this to a degree sums it up in a way. In 2003 many peopel believed that the AD was goign to be all over Nationals. I think out of 100 or so armies there was less than 10 and most of them fielded by kids. One thing you will find is what people believe to be the big armies and what truly are the big armies are two different things. A majority of the top builds that year many would have dismissed to a degree. the same holds true for 2002.

One of the big difference is you are not playing the local any more. Now some areas have a very strong local group but it is often very few and far between. The Meta game for 2003 was move attack SA combinations in the form of bounders and chargers. The AD was not the best choice.

Best advice is learn strong army building skills. An army must be able to deal with matchups with either figure choice, terrian or tactics.

So for those of us who do not come from one of the "strong local groups", how about people listing the 'current' meta games? I know many 'current' meta games will be obsolete by nats time, but this might help get the creative 'army building' juices flowing...

Honestly if one is able the rest thing is to travel to play. The next is to use build templates and group playtest against them with a friend or three. Making lists and talking on places like the realms help but they do help as much as pushing the peices around. Its by pushing them around in a controlled enviroment you start to truly see things.