All good things must come to an end. Check out the Top 5 40k tournaments that have disappeared from the community over the last 20 years.
We ran this article over 3 years ago, and we thought it would be fun to revisit these grand events of old one more time, before any more dissapear under the sands of time.
Warhammer 40k grand tournaments started back in the mid-1990’s with their Grand Tournament circuit. That recipe was watered down by Games Workshop’ trade sales team into the smaller store based “Rogue Trader” Tournaments that were run once a month starting in the early 2000’s.
From there, larger events were born (both sponsored by GW and done independently as well) as the hobby expanded in the early 2000’s. Some of those tournaments have stood the test of time like Adepticon. Some of them, including GW’s, have even fallen from grace.
Gone But Not Forgotten: Top 5 GW Tournaments We Miss
Here are our picks for the best ones that we may never see again:
5.) ‘Ard Boyz Tournaments –
The case could be made that the ‘Ard Boyz tournament series was designed primarily as a sales gimmick by GW’s U.S. Trade Sales team.
Stores held a qualifier round and the top 3 players that won, would move on to a regional event. If they won that, they would move onto a finals tournament hosted by GW.
It featured a higher points limit than was played at the time (3000 for Fantasy and 2500 for 40k). It also lacked a painting requirement to encourage players to buy additional models for their armies (that they wouldn’t have to paint for these events).
There was also no sportsmanship component to ‘Ard Boyz that was common at the time. Which led to more than one heated moment at qualifiers.
While extremely popular at the time, the “battle-points-only scoring” and “lack of hobby effort ethos” may have led to the slow decline of hobbying in general from 2010-2015.
This tournament series was never officially canceled by GW, it just never returned in 2012 after the person responsible for it left the company due to medical issues.
4. The Necro GT
The Necro GT was one of the tournaments that started in the early 2000’s as the hobby really started kicking off. At first, it was a Fantasy tournament but the organizers quickly expanded to 40k as well.
They had tons of special guests from Games Workshop over the years and generally sold out their events.
Located in Orlando, FL, it was a great excuse to take a mini vacation as well as to play with some toy soldiers.
The Necro did not return in 2008 I believe.
3. Feast of Blades GT
Feast of Blades or FoB started around 2009. They featured a very novel idea of state qualifying 40k tournaments here in the United States. The winners of which could play at the FoB invitational in the fall/winter of the year in Denver Colorado.
The missions were pretty fun and generally well thought out through the years.
The tournament expanded to include a normal 40k tournament in addition to the invitational. They also held smaller skirmish games like Infinity and even Magic the Gathering.
Feast of Blades did not return in 2015 after a massive cheating scandal amongst the top finishers the previous year.
2. The 11th Company GT
While I’m not sure when Neil & Pat started their tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, I do know that this event was one of the most groundbreaking that I ever went too.
They really embraced the idea of brackets so that most players would have a great experience. They had some other cool ideas too, like “community dice” and table mats that showed the outline of where terrain belonged.
The guys really cared about the event and worked hard to make sure that FAQ’s and questions were all locked down. This was definitely no cookie cutter event, and it will surely be missed.
The 11th Company GT did not return for 2015.
1. The Games Workshop Grand Tournament Series
The Games Workshop GT Series was the golden era of gaming for a lot of 40k veterans out there. The series started in the mid-1990’s as a hotel event. It quickly grew to encompass the Baltimore Convention Center.
These were great events where hobbyists both competitive and casual flocked to show off their latest army and win an award.
Over the years there were events held in different locations in the US such as Chicago, Atlanta, and even Los Angeles. 2006/07 Saw the organization of a national GT “circuit” that even included a Los Vegas event as well.
Overall the series was dominated by one player, the venerable Marc Parker, who won a GT with a different army EIGHT times.
Well, there you have it. As they say, nothing lasts forever, and the great lord Tzeentch would be quick to agree. We really miss these tournaments. Even the ‘Ard Boyz series which some say did more harm than good for the hobby.
Some of you folks out there may remember some of the tournaments we talked about. Share your stories about these great events in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
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.
