Warhammer 40k and the general staff

Warhammer 40k by Games Workshop is where it all started for The General Staff (TGS) back in 2015. At the time, the competitive scene was in its infancy. Annual tournaments were few and far between and rarely pushed close to 100 people. Games Workshop was barely involved in the competitive scene. Terrain was whatever a gaming club could throw together. The scene was rough and the people who became TGS wanted to change that. So TGS presented the idea of running a 1st class 40k tournament to an investor and took off from there.

The idea was to run a tournament that TGS would want to go to and enjoy which would require at least three things:

• Convenience and Accessibility

• A clear and understood series of rules and missions

• Visually Amazing

Convenience and Accessibility: Traveling and food costs can be one of the biggest annoyances of attending a multi-day tournament. So why not reduce that for the players? Hosting WZA at a hotel removes any travel from where you stay to where you play and allows you to go and rest in your room after some hard gaming. Food costs and the time it takes to get food when you usually only have a hour for lunch can be stressful and expensive. So the TGS bakes that into the ticket costs and players can enjoy a buffet-style lunch at the hotel. No extra money required and you don’t have to leave the grounds.

Rules and Missions- Since 2015, TGS has striven to provide missions that worked when the missions provided by Games Workshop did not, and clarification or errata to rules when the rules were not clear. Having gone through at least four editions now there have been plenty of calls made that were always made with confidence for a better experience for the players.

Appearance- TGS has always put a focus on the hobby aspect of the game as well as sportsmanship and tactical ability. There is a belief that they are equally important. To reinforce that TGS has always required players to have painted armies through an Appearance Rubric that has evolved from year to year. On the organizing side, TGS has worked with the community to build an extensive series of visually amazing terrain. When the desires of the players changed to want a more standardized set of terrain, TGS invested in the current set that allows players to have an interactive game without sacrificing the “cool” factor.

Year to year investments have been made, problems solved and the desires of the community met. The General Staff will always ensure that they have done what they can to provide a first class experience to our community and our players.

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