Around the shop were starting up a little escalation league of sorts, themed around what else but the NECRONS. (good timing eh?)
I thought I’d get on here and post up how we’re running it, so maybe the fever will spread, and inspire other clubs or stores to run their own flash leagues as well.
So here’s how it works….
Flash features fast and furious games taking about an hour to complete (it was originally designed to be played during lunch breaks).
Players challenge each other anytime during the week, as you can play up to 5 games a week- BUT you must play two other people before playing the same player twice.
We will start the league with 500 points of models. At the end of this month, all models must be painted to continue playing. Army limits will go up to 1000 points Dec 1, and at the end of December your 1000 point army must be fully painted to continue onward.
In January we will increase the points values to 1500, and models must be fully painted by the end of January, as we will then increase the army limit to 1750 points!
Monthly awards will be given out to the top player, best sportsman, and best painted army.
500pt FLASH RULES (Good till Dec 1)
The following rules are for building Warhammer 40K Flash
• You must have 1+ Troop choice and a minimum of 2 non-HQ unit selections.
• You may only have 0-1 HQ selection, even if allowed more than one such selection per HQ.
• You may only have 0-3 total Elite, Fast Assault and Heavy Support units combined.
• You may only have 0-1 non-HQ unit with more than 2 wounds. Minimum unit size is 1 model, maximum size is unit’s original minimum size.
• No independent characters or HQ selections with more than 2 wounds.
• No monstrous creatures.
• No units with a toughness over 6.
• No equipment or upgrades with 2+ saves or models with 2+ saves.
• Vehicles squadrons may only take their minimum number of models.
• No vehicles with a total Armor Value greater than 33. Calculate this by adding the Front, Side, and Rear armor values (counting the Side once).
• No units with Ordnance weapons
• No Special Characters
500 pt Flash Army Specific Rules (Good till Dec 1)
• Black Templars: You may take 1 Sword Brethren unit as a HQ choice with min. unit size 1.
• Blood Angels: You may take 1 Sternguard Veteran Squad as a HQ choice with min. unit size 1.
• Chaos Space Marines: You may take 1 Chosen Chaos Space Marine unit as a HQ choice with min. unit size 1.
• Dark Angels: You may take 1 Company Veterans unit as a HQ choice with min. unit size 1.
• Dark Eldar: You may include 1 Incubi unit as a HQ choice with a min. unit size 1.
• Eldar: HQ Warlocks may be selected without taking a Farseer, and count as Independent Characters. One warlock can be taken as an HQ choice.
• Grey Knights: You may take 1 Paladin from a Paladin squad as a HQ choice.
• Imperial Guard: Ignore Infantry Platoon composition; you can select infantry platoon units individually. Command Squads count as HQ, Infantry and Conscript Squads as Troops and Heavy and Special Weapon Squads as Heavy Support.
• Necrons: TBD upon codex release
• Orks: You may take 1 Nobz unit as a HQ choice with min. unit size 1.
• Space Marines: You may take 1 Sternguard Veteran Squad as a HQ choice with min. unit size 1.
• Space Wolves: You may take 1 Wolf Guard unit as a HQ choice with min. unit size 1.
• Tyranids: You may take 1 Warrior Brood as a HQ choice with min. unit size 1.
Game Setup
1. Table Setup: Terrain is set-up at the tables prior to the start of the event. Players agree how terrain is ruled and will affect the game. Tables are 4’x4′.
2. Deployment: Determine who goes first and table edges, then deploy as the mission dictates.
4. Seize the Initiative: Roll “Seize the Initiative”.
Gaining Veteran Abilities
After each battle follow the rules for gaining veteran abilities on page 263 of the 40k Rulebook. You must record these on your army lists, so I suggest writing your units out on index cards to make this easier.
500 pt Flash Scoring
Use victory point rules in WH40k p. 300 to detemine the Victory Margins below.
You get a bonus 100 Victory points for achieving the game objective (and nothing else).
• 0-99 Draw
• 100-199 Marginal
• 200-299 Solid
• 300+ Massacre
Victory Margin Scores:
- Draw (10 points each)
- Marginal (12/8 points)
- Solid (15/5)
- Massacre (20/0)
Missions w/ Deployment
- Week 1 Capture and Control, Pitched Battle
- Week 2 Annihilation, Spearhead
- Week 3 Seize Ground, Dawn of War
- Week 4 Annihilation, Pitched Battle.
What do you think, the emphasis is on fast quick play, with minimal reporting. The bulk of the work for players will come from keeping track of their Veteran Abilities!
Ever have a favorite campaign you played in? What made it so good? -MBG
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
