March 1, 2015:  Year 5; Edition 5
2015 NOVA Open Registration

2015 NOVA Open registration is off to a record-breaking start, and this year's brand-new, completely revamped shopping cart has been a big success!

SuperNOVA Access Passes are already sold out, and we're expecting X-Wing, Fantasy, the NOVA Open 40K Narrative,
Warmachine/Hordes, Malifaux, and Massive Voodoo (Roman Lappat and Raffaele Picca) art seminars to sell out quickly, so register now!

In This Issue:
ATLANTIS GAMES & COMICS
Supports NOCF in a Big Way!
  
Now and then, in this great community the NOVA Open Charitable Foundation has dubbed the "Compassionate Force," someone steps up and finds a way to underscore that sentiment in a Big Way.  

Bryan Haven, founder and owner of Atlantis Games & Comics in Norfolk, Virginia, joined the NOVA Open in 2014 as a vendor. Today, we ask that you find a way to reach out and support this business because he provides incredible customer service, to be sure, but also because . . .

. . . two days ago, the Foundation received a shipment (valued at over $1700) filled with dozens of models donated to the 2015 Artist Consortium for this year's 40K Battle for Craftworld (Sons of Orar Space Marine v. Altoic Eldar armies). This is the single greatest donation of models the NOCF has ever received and we cannot thank Atlantis enough.

We are pleased that he will be back in 2015 with some very big plans for his space ~ there will be more about that later on. In the meantime, please take care of those who support the hobby as they take care of you.

Where is the rest of the Eldar army coming from?  Watch here for news about Element Games, a UK contributor, in the next newsletter!
Join the NOVA Open Staff
 
The 2015 terrain build season has begun with great success:

  • New Games/Events for 2015 require new boards:  Felt cut for 76 game tables!
  • 40 Infinity Shipping containers cut out and shaped; more than half already corrugated.
  • New Malifaux terrain created, to include: 45 2" high hills cut out, 14 larger 1" hills and 20 small 1" hills; 19 "Tumbleweed" cores painted w/4 being moss coated. 
  • The Narrative received special design attention for new hills; 14 bases were cut out and will be shaped at next build.
You can follow all builds at the Road to NOVA blogspot which is managed by our Minister of Terrain, Bob Likins.

The NOVA Open and its amazing volunteer builders arguably make the highest caliber terrain of an
y convention on the planet.  The terrain build days bring together players of all types for hours of social and community fun.  Contact us if you'd like to be on the invitation list for these events: [email protected].


 

Take a minute to mark calendars for terrain build dates which take place in Vienna, VA:  
  • 3/14
  • 4/18
  • 5/23
  • 6/27
  • 7/18
NOVA Open BLOOD BOWL
  
Blood Bowl Fans - the primer is about to be updated. Two primary changes expected:

1) Adjustments to the Inducements Table: The number of Star Players for Halfling and Goblin teams has been brought into line with everyone else and the Cost of a Halfling Master Chef was changed to match the CRP; and 
2)Clarifications to wordings in the rules and Kickoff Table: Reports of ambiguity appreciated > send to [email protected].

You know all about the Saturday Tournament and why you need to be there. If you or anyone you know is unable to attend on Saturday, we have you covered: 

Darkness Fouls was created explicitly for anyone unable to make the 8:30am tournament and just wanted to kick back and play after a long day of NOVA Open activities. We've even split the four games between Friday and Saturday nights to give everyone a chance to catch some Z's between bouts of dice rolling. This Tournament is NAF Sanctioned just like the other for all you coaches determined to make your mark on the Rankings. 

Darkness Fouls uses the same rules set and Primer as Slaughterday. Play during the day . . . Play during the night . . . Play in both.  During our inaugural 2014 season, several players even brought different teams for each event!

40K GT and Other Event Army Construction
  
FOR ALL PLAYERS WHO MISSED THIS TWO WEEKS AGO:

It's becoming more and more common to hear people refer to Warhammer 40,000 7th Edition as the "DIY" Edition from a game structure point of view.

With the many different ways in the core rulebook for constructing armies, games among friends and strangers alike at the local/store/"pick-up" level require far more than simply a discussion about points level to be playable. This brings with it many pros and cons (as with anything) with regard to how a game should be structured at the tournament level. On the one hand, it's entirely within the core rules of Warhammer 40K to establish each tournament's army construction rules as almost any size and shape! On the other hand, vociferous online opinion about what exactly constitutes the "Right" way to play the game is more diverse and [occasionally] divisive than ever.

Fortunately, at a convention with the size, scope, and infrastructure of the NOVA Open, we don't entirely have to pick "just one way!"

The army construction rules are thus different in varying ways for each of our 40K events, with a goal toward providing every player type the opportunity find their own personal "Sweet spot" in terms of where they most enjoy playing the game. We'll be finalizing these in crystal clear fashion by the March 1 newsletter (nuanced detail, 40K FAQ, etc.), but wanted to provide the "need to know" information for purposes of helping you decide what to register for and why.

The big questions right now are about: Forgeworld, Lords of War, controversial units/formations, and the #/types of Detachments allowed to construct a Battle Forged army. 

Grand Tournament
  • Forgeworld is ALLOWED, but all Forgeworld units now carry a 0-1 restriction (if they don't already).
  • Super Heavy and Gargantuan Lords of War are NOT allowed. Knights (when taken as part of Codex Knights) and non-superheavy/gargantuan Lords of War (e.g., Logan Grimnar) ARE allowed.
  • We are strongly considering banning the Adamantine Lance formation, based upon analysis of extensive tournament data from Torrent of Fire, NOVA 2014, and more.
  • GT armies may be comprised of as many as 2 Detachments of any kind. There are no further restrictions or limitations on the quantity or type of detachment allowed. Battle-Forged rules, 2 Detachments.

The Narrative
  • Forgeworld is ALLOWED
  • Super Heavy and Gargantuan Lords of War are UNDER CONSIDERATION. Last year, the Narrative players overwhelmingly panned the presence of Super Heavies and Gargantuans in the Narrative event as not being reflective of the casual, fun, fair, and enjoyable spirit of the Narrative. This flies in the face of Internet Hearsay that attempts to affirm SH/Gargantuans as being desired by more relaxed players.
  • The Narrative will not likely restrict any specific units. That said, the Narrative leverages a unique set of NOVA-grown Codex Supplements that enable a wider variety of army and playstyles than the game naturally encourages, inclusive of bringing back classic themes, such as a functional all Death Company force.
  • The Narrative follows Battle Forged army construction rules, with no restrictions on quantity or type of Detachments elected. You may not be Unbound, but are otherwise unrestricted.

The Trios Team Tournament
  • The Team army construction rules are fairly restrictive, reflective of AdeptiCon's famous Team Tournament in some ways.
  • The Singles component of the Trios event (each player will play a Singles Game, and a pair of Doubles Games, during the 3-round event) is fairly unrestricted; find details here: http://www.novaopen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-40K-Trios-Draft-Primer.pdf

Highlander Quickenings
  • Highlander Quickenings are events that occur throughout the NOVA Open's four days, inclusive of times when the GT is not operational to provide variety in tournament playstyle. These events can only be registered for AT the NOVA Open, and fire independently for every 8 players who sign up (meaning there could be several simultaneous Highlander Quickenings ongoing at a given time).
  • These events will follow a NOVA-specific variant of the popular "Highlander" format, playing off the famous film/tv series' "There Can Be Only One" tagline.
  • Forgeworld will be legal.
  • A slightly more flexible stance on counts-as will be permitted in Quickenings to limit the quantity of models traveling players must bring if they wish to participate in the GT mostly, but Quickenings on the side.
  • Super Heavy and Gargantuan Lords of War will likely NOT be legal (the nature of Highlander rules makes building in the redundancy necessary for defeating these units more difficult).
  • Broadly speaking, the overriding rule for Highlander is "There Can Be Only One." So, all units become 0-1. To maintain the spirit, special characters count as their "non-special" type (i.e. you cannot take Tigurius and a Librarian). Troop units can be repeated up to three times, but Dedicated Transports may not. Furthermore, you may not duplicate a Troop type until you have taken at least One of every other available Troop type.
  • "There Can Be Only One" applies to Army Construction as well. There can be only One of any given Detachment type.

The Invitational
  • The $2,000 cash prize NOVA Invitational brings together top tier players from around the world for a competition of both skill and hobbying ($1,000 goes to the 5-0 undefeated finisher and $1,000 goes to the highest combined competitive and appearance score).
  • Army construction for the Invitational is still being worked, but it will likely be the MOST restrictive (without being a Highlander event, of course). The focus will be on streamlining army construction in a way that makes the event more about winning on the table top than figuring out the latest and greatest meta-buster ahead of time.
FAEIT 212
 

Tabletop wargamers who take time out of their busy lives to follow blogs have stumbled across natfka at least once or twice upon a time. This popular international blog is run by Gary Krieger out of Oregon, USA. Gary has been an exceptional supporter of the NOVA Open Foundation's charity army raffles and, rumor has it, has registered to attend his first NOVA Open this year. We're looking forward to thanking him in person!

store
REGISTER TODAY!
 

The NOVA Open listened to our attendees and took great pains to build a brand new, user friendly webstore for 2015. Thanks in great part to the heroic efforts of one Neil Gilstrap, we're proud of how the registration process now works.


Everything is point and click, and the store won't let you make mistakes. For example, if you accidentally purchase a Day Pass when you've already got a Convention Access Pass, it will null out the cost of the Day Pass. Simple!


 We were also able to get rid of the registration confusion oriented around "All Event Passes" for certain game systems. Historically, players would sign up for, say, a Warmachine/Hordes "All Event Pass" giving them carte blanche access to any/all WM/H tournaments. The problem became that we couldn't be sure which tournaments they'd play in ~ and this made it hard to determine how many individual tickets were actually left for each event. Enter the new NOVA Open Webstore!  Rates across all events within game systems will automatically discount by increasing amounts proportional to the number of individual events you sign up for. More detailed explanation below .


Finally, the NOVA Open does not provide cash refunds; however, the new Webstore will now let you automatically process accidental purchases or event changes into credit associated with your account. Want to change what you registered for into something different? Just go into your account, drop the event you no longer want, and you'll automatically have credit for it available to spend on different events, store products, or future NOVA Opens (yup, future years).


If you have ANY questions or problems while registering, please e-mail us: [email protected].

Schedule: Tournaments - Seminars - Foundation Lounge
 
Spend some time with this important resource so you can plan your best trip to the NOVA Open!
 
The schedule lists all game tournaments and any new Critical Mass Events (CMEs), over 45 art-paint-hobby seminars taught by some of the best talent in the industry, Foundation Lounge hours/presentations, and much, much more. 
 
New Schedule Formatting provides attention boxes with news items for each day:
 
primers
2015 NOVA Open Draft Primers
 

Thanks to the heroic efforts of the NOVA Open event leads and staff, draft primers for game systems and events at the 2015 NOVA Open are now available!
 

Non-Game Primers:
All questions for all games, events and leads may be sent to [email protected].
2015 Hotel Block Open: Book Early - No Risk!
 
The rates for NOVA Open 2015 are at $91 per night, up just $2 from the previous four years.
 
Reserve room at Hyatt now ~ last year nearly sold out. Remember that reservations can be cancelled up to 48 hours before the NOVA Open.  

 
The NOVA Open is your "End of Summer" convention, and with its proximity to Washington, D.C. (with its free museums, memorials and monuments). With the lowest hotel costs available in the D.C. area, think about taking advantage of the room rate to turn your trip into a family vacation!
 
Room rates are available from the Friday before NOVA Open through the Tuesday following the convention. If you'd like to extend those dates, please contact us:  [email protected]
pricing
2015 NOVA Open Pricing 
  
New this year. the NOVA Open is introducing a more user friendly pricing model:
 
In the past, the NOVA Open used "All Event Pass" pricing models for various game systems and activities. This presented a number of problems for users, Leads and the NOVA registrar in terms of understanding exactly how much space remained in any given a la carte event covered by an All Event Pass. This issue was in part technical, and in part process related.

Thanks to yeoman's work by NOVA Open technical staff, we've been able to build a cart that will automatically discount your events as you place more of them into the cart. This does not apply universally, but applies "primarily" to multiple events within the same game system. Consideration is being given to event discounts across systems. The long and short is your total price for participating in multiple events within, say, Infinity will remain the same, but the process of adding them to your cart is cleaner for both you and the registrar. You'll receive discounts to all Infinity events (in this example) as you add more to the cart.

We believe you will see removal of "All Event Passes" as having no material impact on previous pricing. Additionally, some systems and activities that did not previously have All Event Passes, nevertheless do have discount applications once you sign up for multiple activities (such as when you sign up for a certain # of Seminars).

cme
NOVA Open's Critical Mass Events (CMEs)
Critical Mass  

Inspired by the small-scale, pick-up-at-the-con style of Magic Booster Drafts, Critical Mass Events (CMEs) are the NOVA Open's answer to a long-running request for pick-up organized play activities at the convention.


 
Inclusive of Highlander-format "Quickening" events within the 40K hall and covering most game systems on the schedule, the NOVA Open now offers 8-man pick-up tournaments that will tend to fire at preset times on the schedule. 

 

How do they work?  Simply show up to the relevant event hall and inquire about getting in the queue / on the list for the next CME. As soon as 8 players are available (critical mass), registration occurs with a minimal cost, and the event fires at the next designated time. Not all events will fire due to lack of attendance, and sometimes multiple CMEs will fire simultaneously if there are enough interested players. 

 

This is a great opportunity to get your feet wet in a new game, or just to try a bunch of different game systems over the course of the weekend. In all cases, the money used for registering in a CME is distributed to the winner and last place. Using a 3-round event as an example, the registration fee would be returned to the player who goes 0-3 and the winner would reap the bigger cash reward. These are meant to be fun, laid-back, and relatively quick, and most of the systems running CMEs are hard at work on custom format tweaks to ensure enjoyable, rapid-fire gaming!


 

Back to Primers
 

Pre-Purchases Available for 2015
  • T-Shirts:
    • NOVA Open 2015 Convention T-Shirts
      • Custom Art Designs
      • Get them in your size
  • Beer Mugs:
    • The NOVA Open Charitable Foundation Lounge discounts draft beers $1 when you use your new 2015 Mug
      • 2014 mugs sold out in 20 minutes
      • 5th Year / 5th Style
      • Limited Editions
  • Frontline Gaming / Tablewar Mats:
    • These Gaming Mats are beautiful, durable mats, perfect for tabletop games. NOVA Open Convention Special saves nearly $20 in shipping fees. Extremely durable, printed on a water resistant surface affixed to a neoprene backing all means the mat won't slide around on the table, lays flat, resists water and looks amazing. They now come with a sturdy, nylon zip-up F.A.T. Bag for storing and transporting your F.A.T. Mat, and full color F.A.T. Tag so that you can see which mat is in the bag without having to open it, and to write your name on to show which mat is yours.
    • New Designs, More Styles (Check Them Out Here)
    • New Pricing
    • Pick Up at NOVA Open - No Shipping Costs!