Warhammer Underworlds Organised Play Rules
ALL PARTICIPANTS
Conduct
A WU tournament should be held in a spirit of friendly competition. All participants, whatever their role, are expected to show good conduct throughout the tournament.
They are expected to treat each other with respect and behave in a mature and considerate manner, including during disputes, and players are expected to avoid unsporting conduct. Abuse will not be tolerated. The organiser can expel participants from the tournament for violating these rules (see Penalties in the appendix).
Wagering and Bribery Wagering on rounds or any part of a round is forbidden for all participants. Wagering is against the spirit of the game and could call into question a match’s integrity. Similarly, bribery of any kind is forbidden for all participants. Anyone wagering or offering or accepting a bribe may be expelled from the tournament, at the organiser’s discretion.
PLAYERS
Advice, notes and devices
Players may not seek advice from any other person during a round. They may, however, seek rules clarifications from a judge.
Players may not bring notes to a match, nor may they take notes during a match, whether on paper or an electronic device. They may consult notes between rounds.
Use of electronic devices is not permitted during a round, although players may accept short personal phone calls at their opponent’s discretion.
Miniatures
Players may only use official WU Citadel Miniatures in a WU tournament, and all miniatures must be fully assembled. Players must use the appropriate miniatures for their warband (the miniatures pictured on the fighter cards). Minor conversions – modifications to the miniatures to personalise them – may be permitted (or even encouraged!) at the organiser’s discretion, but must still allow for easy identification of the fighter represented by the miniature. If a conversion is deemed to be misleading by the organiser, or if a miniature is damaged or assembled in such a way that it cannot easily be identified, the player will not be allowed to use that miniature: they must use an acceptable version of that miniature or forfeit their games until they are able to secure an acceptable version of that miniature.
A player’s fighters must also be identifiable as theirs - players may find themselves opposing another player with the same warband, and to avoid confusion each player must be able to identify their own fighters without hesitation. Each player can decide how they wish to do this – e.g. they could mark the bases in some way – but the best way is to paint their miniatures. There are a number of helpful tutorials available if you’re not sure how best to go about this: simply visit warhammerunderworlds.com to learn more.
Players may not handle their opponent’s miniatures. If they need to push their opponent’s fighters, they should describe to their opponent how they wish the miniature to be moved. A player can waive this rule for their own miniatures if they wish, and should indicate to their opponent where this is the case.
Cards
Players may only use official WU cards in a WU tournament, and all cards (with the exception of fighter cards) must be undamaged and unmarked so that they cannot be identified when included in a deck. Cards may be sleeved, but where a player does this they must use identical sleeves for all cards in a deck (they must use different sleeves to distinguish objective and power cards) and all sleeves must be undamaged and unmarked so that the sleeved cards cannot be identified when included in a deck.
Players may use cards printed in a language other than English, but each card is assumed to have the text printed on the English version of that card. Players who use cards printed in another language and then mislead their opponent as to the properties of that card may be determined to be cheating by a judge or head judge, and may be penalised (see Penalties in the appendix).
Before each game, each player must thoroughly shuffle their decks, then present them to their opponent who can then cut each deck. If either player sees the face of a card in a deck, they must state this and the deck must be shuffled and cut again. If a player believes that their opponent has not sufficiently shuffled their deck, they may ask a judge to enforce and observe a second shuffle.
Game Boards
Players may only use official WU game boards in a WU tournament. A player’s game boards must be undamaged so that the grid is clear and starting and blocked hexes are easily identified.
When placing the game boards for a match, the players should work together to ensure that, after the player who won the roll-off has decided the battlefield, both players have sufficient space for their decks, fighter cards and other components.
Dice
Players may only use official Warhammer Underworlds dice (including those sold separately to the starter set), and they must be undamaged. If a player’s dice become damaged during a tournament, they may request to use their opponent’s. When a player makes a dice roll, they must roll the appropriate dice in such a manner as to generate a completely random result. They may use a dice tower to do so, if they wish. Dice that are rolled off the table or that do not land flat (‘cocked’ dice) must be re-rolled.
Tokens
Players should bring sufficient official Warhammer Underworlds tokens to a WU tournament for both players in a game (the contents of the starter set are sufficient).
They may bring alternative Games Workshop approved tokens (e.g. those awarded as prizes in other WU tournaments) as long as it is clear to their opponent and to a judge what each token represents, and the state of each token (e.g. it should be clear whether a token is a move or a charge token, and it must be clear when a glory point is spent or unspent). If the alternative tokens are found to be unsuitable, the player must use the tokens they have brought from the starter set.
To avoid players’ tokens getting mixed up, at the beginning of each round, the players should agree whose tokens they will use. These tokens should be placed in easy reach of both players, and the other player’s tokens should not be placed in the playing area. If they cannot reach an agreement quickly, the players should roll off as described in the WU rules, and whoever wins chooses whose tokens are used.
Playing Area
Each player is responsible for ensuring that the playing area is clear of any clutter, and that the state of the game is clear to their opponent and to a judge. For example: upgrades must be clearly associated with the fighter card of the fighter that has been upgraded; glory points must be visible and clearly spent or unspent; decks should be separate and distinct from their discard piles, and so on.
Players suspected of deliberately obscuring cards or tokens in the playing area that should be visible to both players, or of deliberately obfuscating the state of the game, may be penalised by a judge or head judge (see Penalties in the appendix). Power Step (‘Pass.’ ‘Pass.’)
For ease and speed in the power step, a player can simply say ‘Pass’ to indicate that they do not wish to play a card. When both players have done so in sequence, the power step is over.
Reactions and Reasonable Time to React
Players must allow a reasonable amount of time for their opponent to make a reaction before playing a card or taking an activation. In addition, if the player who does not have priority wishes to make a reaction, they should allow a reasonable amount of time for their opponent to make a reaction first. This requires judgement on the part of both players, but as a rule of thumb, a delay of 5 seconds should be sufficient.
A player who intends to make a reaction but sees that their opponent is about to move the game on can of course make their reaction at that point. If a player feels that their opponent is deliberately trying to prevent them from making reactions by quickly moving the game on, they can inform a judge.
Remember that all players are expected to avoid unsporting conduct.
Timely Play
Players must not stall or deliberately play slowly to make a game or match take longer. If a player suspects that their opponent is deliberately slowing the game down, they can ask an available judge to observe their game.
Cheating
Players are expected to know the rules of the game, and may not cheat in any way, or through inaction allow a situation that is against the rules. If a player suspects that their opponent is cheating, they must inform a judge.
A player found to be cheating may have to forfeit the game (or match) at the discretion of the head judge, or be expelled from the tournament at the discretion of the organiser (see Penalties in the appendix).
Timeliness
Players are expected to register promptly, and to find their opponent in a timely fashion when each pairing is announced. Players who fail to do so may have to forfeit the game (or match) in question at the discretion of the head judge, or be expelled from the tournament at the discretion of the organiser.
Spectators
Spectators may not interfere in any match that is being played, including by giving any information to either of the players. They may, however, inform a judge if they suspect a player of cheating. If a spectator is deemed to be interfering in a match, they may be expelled from the tournament at the discretion of the organiser.
APPENDIX
Scoring and Tiebreakers Games
When a game ends, the players record the result – including if a game ends in a draw as described in Victory in the WU rules. If a game ends before the third end phase because of time running out, use the normal victory conditions, and record that result, including if a game ends in a draw. Ensure that both players record their glory points scored after each game – a player’s cumulative glory points difference is used as a tiebreaker after each round when players are being paired and (if necessary) for the final results (see below).
Ranking
3 points are scored for a match win, 1 for a match draw and 0 points are scored for a match loss. The higher a player’s score, the higher they are in the rankings. Where there is a tie, number of games lost is used as a tiebreaker (fewest games lost wins). If there is still a tie, total glory points difference is used as a tiebreaker (largest positive points difference wins). For the purposes of final rankings, in the unlikely event that there is still a tie, the players tied must roll off as described in the WU rules. Whichever player wins the roll-off is the victor. If there are more than two players tied, the losers of the first roll-off then roll off against each other in the same way, until all the places are decided. In an official WU Grand Clash tournament, prizes will be awarded to the players ranked in the top 64, the top 32, the top 16, the top 8, the top 4, and to the player in first place. The prize tiers are cumulative, so for example the player in first place will receive the prizes for all other tiers as well.
Pairing System
Round 1
For round 1, pairings are randomly generated using the player numbers that were assigned at registration. If there are an odd number of players, one player (determined randomly) will play against our Spare Player – the results of the game will stand as normal.
Subsequent Rounds
For subsequent rounds, pairings are allocated as follows:
Players are split into groups according to their tournament score so far. In the second round, for example, there will be a group with 3 points (1 win), a group with 0 points (1 loss), and potentially a group with 1 point (1 draw).
Within each group, players are then ranked according to the tiebreaker categories (glory points difference and games lost). Where players within a group have the same ranking after tiebreakers, rankings for those players are determined randomly (except for final rankings).
The highest-ranked player in each group is paired with the lowest-ranked player in their group, then the second highest-ranked player in each group is paired with the second lowest-ranked player in their group, and so on.
If a group contains an odd number of players, the lowest-ranked player in that group is instead paired with the highest-ranked player in the group below theirs, and the other pairings are adjusted accordingly. For the purposes of determining further pairings in this round, the player in the lower group is considered to be in the higher group.
If there are an odd number of players in the bottom group (after any adjustments for the groups above them, as described above), one of those players (determined randomly) will play against our Spare Player – the results of that game will stand as normal.
No player will play against the Spare Player more than once over the Grand Clash.
Players will not be paired with an opponent they have already faced – where that would happen they are paired with the next lowest-ranked player instead, and the other pairings are adjusted accordingly.
PENALTIES
The following penalties may be administered at a WU tournament when a participant is judged to be breaking the rules.
Warning
A judge or head judge can issue a warning to a player if they are judged to have committed a minor offence (examples might include delaying the game, not giving an opponent a chance to react or unsporting conduct, but it is up to the judge or head judge to determine the severity of the offence).
A player who commits the same offence a second time in the same game may have to forfeit the game (see below).
A player who receives three warnings in a single day of a tournament may be disqualified (see below).
Forfeit
The head judge can rule that a player must forfeit a game if they are judged to have committed a major offence (examples might include having two copies of a card in their deck, moving a fighter when they are not permitted to or in a way which isn’t permitted or disrupting the state of the game by moving tokens and/or cards, but it is up to the judge or head judge to determine the severity of the offence).
A head judge can also rule that a player must forfeit a game for persistent minor offences, or for arriving late (or not at all) for a game.
It is a judge’s responsibility to inform the head judge if they believe a player must forfeit a game, but the decision is that of the head judge.
A player who forfeits a game in this way records the game as a loss with a glory points difference of -7, unless their current glory points difference would be worse than this (e.g. -8, -9). The other player records the game as a win with a glory points difference of +7, unless their current glory points difference would be higher than this. If a head judge rules that the same player must forfeit a second game, they may consider disqualifying that player from the tournament (see below).
Disqualification
The head judge can rule that a player is disqualified from the tournament for persistent minor or major offences, for rude or threatening behaviour to any other participant, for any attempt to manipulate the tournament results through collusion, bribery or deliberately throwing a game, or for any other offence deemed severe enough by the head judge to warrant disqualification.
It is a judge’s responsibility to inform the head judge if they believe a player should be disqualified, but the decision is that of the head judge.
A player who is disqualified is removed from the rankings. Their score is not counted, and they receive no prizes or reward for participation.
Expulsion
A participant may be expelled from a WU tournament at the sole discretion of the event organiser. The participant must leave the event and if they are a player they are disqualified as described above.