Oldhammer 40,000 Mini-Tournament
What is this tournament?
This is a Warhammer 40,000 (“40K”)
tournament, using the Warhammer 40,000 Second
Edition rules (“2E”). This tournament uses the rules
of the 40K Tournament from the 1996 Gencon, the
first year of official 40K tournaments in America.
The only changes we have made are to make the
tournament “oldhammer” and we discuss those
changes below.
Why a 2E tournament?
We want to offer people an opportunity to
experience our hobby’s past and its characterful
games of 40K. 2E is the most characterful edition of
40K for which GW established tournament rules.
One could argue that 40K’s original rules (“Rogue
Trader”) are more characterful than 2E, but Rogue
Trader never had official tournament rules. GW held
the first official 40K tournament ever in 1995 in
England, the Grand Tournament using 2E rules. In
1998, GW abandoned characterful 40K for the profit-
driven mass armies of 40K 3rd and subsequent
editions.
How is 2E different from later editions of 40K?
Like Rogue Trader, 2E is more characterful.
This means that individual models matter more than
in later editions. For example, units can go into
overwatch. Models can throw individual grenades,
each with their own blast markers.
Character models’ statistics and gear raise
them higher above rank-and-file models. Special
weapons, other wargear and psychic powers have
more characterful and extensive rules modeling their
effects. Detailed faction-specific rules like Tyranid
total warfare and Sisters of Battle prayers also give
each faction greater individuality and character.
2E accordingly has a lower model count and
is more complex. For most factions a tournament
army is less than 50 models and can be less than 40.
Even model-heavy factions like Imperial Guard and
Tyranids top out below 75 models.
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Why might I enjoy playing 2E?
First, it’s our hobby’s history. Playing 2E
takes you back in time to earlier 40K canon and its
rich fluff. It’s a time when Orks weren’t fungi and
dwarves (squats) had a playable army list.
Second, the focus on individual models
gives a different emphasis to games. 2E games focus
on maneuvering individual models like later editions
focus on maneuvering entire units. It’s not combat
patrol or skirmish level, but something in between
that was fun. It’s a different tactical challenge.
I’ve never played 2E, could I enter this
tournament?
Yes! The entry barrier in figures is low. If
you have any kind of existing 40K army, then you
have more than enough models to form a playable
force. And we are trying to keep this friendly, so just
come, bring an army and have some fun. If you lack
2E special dice or templates, don’t worry the event
staff have a set and hopefully some of your fellow
players do too.
So what makes this tournament “oldhammer”?
Isn’t “oldhammer tournament” an oxymoron?
From an “orthodox” oldhammer perspective,
an oldhammer tournament is an oxymoron.
Oldhammer games are supposed to be story-driven,
not competitive. But we feel that a mini-tournament
with the proper structure and emphasis can also be a
great way to meet fellow 2E enthusiasts. And the
simple fact is that 2E uses point-based lists and
structured play. If you want to experience 2E, then
you have to engage with that play structure.
To make this tournament “oldhammer”, we:
• changed the tournament from a 1,500 point 1v1
tournament (which it was in 1996) to a 1,000 point +
1,000 point 2v2 team tournament. This will allow
each player to play with most of the other 2E fans in
the limited time available.
• dropped the requirements for only official models • cameleoline • frenzon
and only painted models, which requirements are • jump pack • medi-pack
anathema to oldhammer • scanner • seeking ammo
• targeter • haywire grenade
• changed tournament scoring • refractor field • auto launchers
• combi-weapon • photon beam searchlight
• servo arm • bright lance
Tournament rules • seer runes • spirit stone
• firepike • lasblaster
1. Army composition rules
• web of skulls • doc’s tools
• build your army up to a maximum 1,000 points, • kustom blasta • kustom shoota
using the point values in the relevant codex or other • mekboy’s tools • steel skull
army list • weirdboy staff

• you may not use the optional Chaos cult army or
daemon world army lists in Codex Chaos
• no special (named) characters. But, you may use a
special character model to represent a “regular” army
commander or other non-special character
D) Tyranid biomorphs are not wargear and are
restricted only as set forth in Codex Tyranids, p.
66.
• a model can only have one fixed saving throw
(comes from White Dwarf #196)

• you may ignore your codex’s or other army list’s
requirement for an army commander, e.g. an Eldar
army doesn’t have to be led by an Avatar or Farseer,
a Chaos army doesn’t have to be led by a Chaos
Lord, etc.
• no allies, except that Space Marine and Imperial
Guard armies may have Imperial agents. For
Imperial agents with their own codex (e.g. Imperial
assassins, Sisters of Battle, etc.), use that codex for
that portion of your army.

• wargear cards are limited per White Dwarf #195,
pp. 46-47. The ruling in White Dwarf #195 resolved
the issue of multiple printings of some wargear cards
(e.g. Dark Millennium duplicating codexes) that
arguably increased the number of a given wargear
card available to an army. To summarize:
A) You may not use a wargear card normally
carried by a special character, e.g. no Rune Staff
Stormcaller (carried by Njal Stormcaller),
Maugatar (carried by Maugan Ra), etc.
B) If a wargear card is not normally carried by a
special character and does not appear on the list
below, then you may have one of that card in
your army.
C) If a wargear card appears on the list below, then
you may take as many of it as you like within the
other restrictions of your codex or other army list
and the wargear card itself. For example some
wargear cards are restricted to certain factions,
e.g. only Eldar can take the firepike.
• ammo feed • armour piercing ammo
• aux. grenade launcher • bionic arm
• bionic eye • bionic leg
• you may only take one of each vehicle, with
“vehicle” meaning anything that uses a datafax
(vehicle card). You may not upgrade, exchange or
replace the vehicle’s weapons, i.e. you must take the
vehicle with its basic weapons.
• you may not purchase bunkers or fortifications
2. Psykers
There is no limit on taking psykers, but you
cannot take a psychic power that requires three force
cards to cast. Remove all such cards from force
decks before the game. Pychic powers that have
variable strength up to three force cards are fine, but
no variable psychic power may be cast with three
force cards. To prevent one side from obtaining all
of the cards from a particular power deck, each
player will draw powers from a separate deck.
3. WYSIWYG
Each model must be of the troop type that it
represents. You should be able to see on the model
the weapons, wargear and other equipment that it is
carrying, except knives and grenades.

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4. Acceptable models
Models should be painted, but if you don’t
have painted models then OK just come and play
with unpainted models. Convert and paint your
models however you like, they are your models and it
is your army. Your models should be Citadel or
Games Workshop models, but if you don’t have them
then OK just come and play with the models you do
have. [This is the oldhammer version of the original
rules, which even back in 1996 required you to use
only painted, official Citadel and GW models.]
5. Acceptable rules and army lists
This tournament will use the following
sources of 2E rules and army lists.
• 2E Rulebook
• Dark Millennium
• the Wargear book
• 2E codexes
• Warhammer 40,000 Battles
• vehicle datafaxes (vehicle cards), including
ForgeWorld’s datafaxes for Forge World models
• White Dwarf issues, for army lists or units not
appearing in a 2E codex (e.g., Necrons, Legion of the
Damned, etc.)
• Warhammer 40,000 Second Edition Battle Bible,
version 1.5.1 (“Battle Bible”). Where an official GW
publication disagrees with the Battle Bible, we will
go with the GW publication since that is the original
source.
You must bring a copy of the rules
materials governing your army, e.g. the codex or
other army list; datafaxes (vehicle cards); wargear
rules or cards; etc. Let the opposing team see your
rules materials whenever they want.
6. Missions
Each team will be assigned a random
mission as normal, to succeed or fail at as a team.
Due to time limits and the lack of bunkers and
fortifications, teams will receive a mission from the
following selections:
your team includes at least one Tyranid army
engage & destroy; dawn raid; terrorize; trap
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the opposing team includes at least one Tyranid
army and your team does not
engage & destroy; the assassins; witch hunt;
take & hold
no Tyranid army on either team
engage & destroy; dawn raid; take & hold;
the assassins; witch hunt; guerilla war
7. In-game events
This tournament uses strategy cards, as well
as the Tyranid event tables from Codex Tyranids.
Remove the virus outbreak, malfunction and traitor
strategy cards from the deck when playing against
Tyranids.
8. Time limit
Due to limited playing time, each game has
a limit of four turns or one hour and 45 minutes,
whichever comes first.
9. Target selection
This tournament uses the “choosing a target”
clarifications from Codex Chaos and Codex
Tyranids, which classify models into vehicle,
monstrous-sized, man-sized and smaller. This
tournament also uses the “choosing a target” rule for
sustained fire and flamers.
What should I bring to the tournament?
• your models; a pile of D6; measuring sticks or tape
measure; the usual
• scatter, artillery and sustained fire dice, if your army
includes weapons that use them; 2E templates, if your
army includes weapons that use them
• three copies of your army list
• 2E rulebook, or the Battle Bible
• as stated above, a hard copy of the rules materials
governing your army. Generally this will just be 1)
the applicable codex; and 2) a few datafaxes, if you
are fielding vehicles. However if you have a 2E
Forge World model (e.g., a Tyranid vehicle, etc.),
then you will need the Forge World datafax for that
model. If you are using something whose rules
appear in White Dwarf (e.g. Necrons, Legion of the
Damned, etc.), then you will need any White Dwarf
articles containing those rules. And so on. Legible
photocopies or screen-shot printouts of the above
sources are acceptable
• deck of strategy cards
• if your army contains any pyskers, a deck of
psychic power cards and a force card deck
What is the tournament structure?
We have eight players, all of whom will play two
team games of 2v2. Tournament staff will assign
teams for the first game. For the second game, you
will team up with one of your opponents against two
players from the other first round game. So in the
course of two games, you will play with or against
five of the seven other tournament participants.
So how do you win this tournament?
This is an oldhammer event and we see it
primarily as a way for 2E fans to meet each other.
Accordingly, this tournament de-emphasizes game
victory conditions as a way to select the tournament
“winner”. At the end of the tournament you will vote
to elect the Oldhammer Emperor, the living
embodiment of All Things Oldhammer. Criteria for
your voting will be:
• good sport (33%), however you define that --
gracious, fair, good-natured, generous with rulings,
patient, etc.
• fun to play with (33%), for whatever reason –
relaxed, funny, friendly, good trash talk, 2E
knowledge
• army composition factors, from the 1996
tournament (33%). Overall these factors ask
whether an army is “realistic”, balanced or
characterful, instead of min-maxed for a tournament
win.
A) Army theme: Is there an idea behind the army?
Does it have character?
B) Army balance: Are points distributed evenly
between characters and troops, or are you just
scraping by on units so that you can max out on
characters and vehicles?
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C) Troop selection: Does the army spam one troop
type, or does it have a broad selection of troop
types? Are there “basic” units in the army, (e.g.,
tactical Marines, Eldar Guardians, gretchin) or
are they all “elite” units (e.g., Death Company,
Wraithguard, nobz in mega-armour)?
D) Character equipment: Are army characters
packed to the gills with energy fields, vortex
grenades and other expensive unlikely
equipment? Or are they “realistically”
equipped?
At the end of the tournament you will also
vote for Best Looking Army. The two criteria for
this award are:
• the oldhammer factor (50%)
A) percentage of your models that date from the 2E
and Rogue Trader era
B) presence of 2E and Rogue Trader era model
accessories, e.g., decals, paper banners, etc.
• appearance factors, from the 1996 tournament
(50%)
A) Painting quality, e.g. smooth coats, strong colors,
shading and highlighting, “staying in the lines”,
etc.
B) Base “finish”, e.g., flock, texture, sand, paint,
etc.
C) Does the army look like an army from the 40K
universe? Paint schemes from 2E-era GW
publications are unnecessary and you get no
extra points for using them. The question is
whether your Space Marines look like Space
Marines, or did you paint them all to look like
Ronald McDonald?
D) Awesomeness of any conversions. Ignore this
factor if the army does not contain conversions.