NOVA Open 40k Grand Tournament

I recently threw my lot in to participate in the Northern Virginia Open Warhammer 40k Grand Tournament. There was a hiccup at first when I attempted to registered, but spots did not sell out and I was able to nab one of the 256 tickets. Two hundred fifty six people playing in a 40k tournament, just that was enough to make me want to join the fray. I also stopped by the 2010 open held in Dulles to see how a friends fantasy army was doing, that also wet my whistle for NOVA GT melee.

Now that I am signed up, what is the plan of attack? One option is to decide casually on a list, maybe even write it up the day before the tournament and just walk into it. The other is approaching it like a sport even to train for that is months out. Make several lists, try these lists out in smaller tournaments, study strategies and find out what lists out there are the ones to beat, find out the literature spread on the web about my list and army (if any), plan a deployment for different situations, know my army inside and out, know the rules and oddities, and be ready to rock and roll come game day!

How will that play out? Well I want to shoot for the latter approach, but I am sure I will hit the mark somewhere in between. The biggest thing I need to decide on is to use Sisters, Sisters with IG, or Grey Knights. Problem with the Grey Knights is they do not get released until April. It is probably better to work with a codex that is not in a state of flux.

So in the coming months will be the march towards the NOVA Open 2011. This means aside from the preparation in the rest of the post, painting my chosen army to completion is a goal. So let the fun begin.