Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you are prepared for the greatest collection of Star Wars Miniatures events ever! Gencon is swiftly approaching, and we have a great list of events to satisfy everyone from the casual gamer to the competitive player.

The Jedi Challenge returns again. This collection of three tournaments, 100, 150, and 200 point constructed , is always great, and you can see some very interesting squads in the field. Each tournament is a stand alone competition, but they are also all part of the Jedi Challenge. There will be prizes for top finishers, and the person with the best overall record of these three events will be declared the winner of the entire Jedi Challenge. One major change this year is that all of these events are going to be held on Thursday, so if you plan to have that as your main focus, then all you need to do is commit one day to being in the SWM area and you can compete in this multi-event contest.

As always, Saturday will be the Main Event, the Star Wars Miniatures World Championship. This six or seven round event is always full of the best competition our game has to offer, and it appears that each of the last three champions will all be on hand this year attempting to retain or regain his title. The top eight finishers after these Swiss Rounds will have their playoff games on Sunday morning.

For those who enjoy the "lighter" side of the game, meaning those who love playing, but don't always gravitate towards the competitive events, we have many different options, as always. There are two Dynamic Duo events this year. These tournaments are very light hearted and full of quick, intense games where you and your opponent each have a squad of two characters equaling exactly 100 points. Sometimes, it is the oddest duos which make it to the end, and I should know. I am one of the 2010 Gencon Dynamic Duo Champions, where my fan boy love of Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader, Sith Apprentice, in this case) and Cad Bane took me to victory!

Do you like a fast paced, hard hitting, kill-all-your-opponents-in-a-very-short-amount-of-time type of game? Well, if you do, Tile Wars is the place to get your fix! You and your opponent each have a 200 point squad, and a 5x7 SWM Tile. You place the tiles end to end, and you attempt to destroy each other. These games go very fast, and you never know what you might encounter.

There are all new and returning favorites in the Star Wars Miniatures Mass Battles events this year. The Old Republic era "Showdown in the Desert" returns again, where Old Republic and Sith forces battle it out, with help from the split-faction Mandalorians who are waging their own internal battles to prove who is the real Mandalore. We also have a new Clone Wars Mass Battle, with two different wars being waged: the original Battle of Geonosis, the beginning of the Clone Wars, and Darth Vader's Assault on the Jedi Temple, the ending of the Clone Wars. And, for anyone who is truly a fan of the Original Trilogy, then you can get your fix with a multi-map event depicting at least four different major battles from the Original Trilogy, where you and your friends can battle as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Darth Vader, and even Boba Fett!

Perhaps the biggest announcements to be made all revolve around new virtual cards which will be released at Gencon. Our second full set of cards, Renegades and Rogues, will be released this year. The easiest way to get a set of these cards is to participate in one of the seven "sealed" events this year. Now, the way these will work is as follows. Starting in June, the entire set list will be made known, as well as the list of minis we recommend to take the place of the new pieces. Everyone who sits down to play a "sealed" event will be given a full set of the cards, and then will be given two "random boosters" which we will have typed up and handed out. Then you build your 125 point squad from those pieces, and then the tournament will begin. You will not be required to have any specific minis to play with, but we just ask that the pieces you use can easily be identified and differentiated from the rest of your squad. These games will surely be fun, and I know from years past that experiencing new pieces for the first time in at Gencon setting is an amazing time.

We also have a new event known as Epic Duos. This event is quite similar to Dynamic Duos, in that you will only have two pieces in your squad. However, the biggest catch is that these two pieces combined may equal up to 200 points! Now, you might be wondering how this is possible, due to not many pieces being that high of cost. Well, the simple way to fix that was for the SWM Design Team to create an all new set of characters, known as the "Epic Set." This set of twelve minis are all extremely powerful versions of many of your favorite characters from the Star Wars universe. Each faction has one character, with a few extras. The character you play with will be randomly chosen, making it more of a "sealed" feel to the event, but regardless, it will be an amazing time. Anyone playing in one of these two tournaments will receive the entire set of cards, and these cards are just as special as the pieces, having a different look and feel to them. Now, these cards are not going to be as mass produced as the rest of the sets, so they will be something rare for Star Wars Miniatures, and will prove to be the most fun pieces you can imagine. We like to think of many of them as "Fan boy Pieces," in fact.

Another event returning from its debut last year is the Mystery Map tournament. In this event, you need only bring your 200 point squad, and the map will be provided for you. This is a brand new map created just for this event by two of our community members, Josh Derkson and Matt Francella. It is a wild experience to play on a brand new map never before used, and it is a great time.

Star Wars Miniatures Starship Battles Championship is back again this year. Bring your fleet and battle it out using the 2.0 rules designed by Eric Larson, one of our great players.

Another major event that always brings out the fun squads is the Team Tourney. Instead of each player for themselves, teams of three will each work together to defeat opposing teams. Each player will have a squad from a different faction and pair off against the players from the other team. I have heard that Team Canada will be reuniting to defend their title from last year.

And for a big announcement, there will be a new title for someone to attain. The Jedi Challenge will not be our only mulit-tourney event this year. On Friday, the Mystery Map, Tile Wars, and the Epic Duo events are all part of the Sith Trials. However, whereas the Jedi Challenge will have prizes for multiple top finishers, there can be only one victor for the Sith Trials, with a special prize for the single top finisher!

For anyone who has ever wanted to learn more about making custom miniatures, we will also be having a workshop on that. We will have some of the best available customizers to sit around and show people how to paint minis, reposition parts, and change one piece into something totally different and very cool.

Now, people may wonder how prize support will be working at Gencon this year, since WotC has dropped the game. I assure you, prizes are not a problem. We have SWM Boosters, Map Packs, and gift cards, all courtesy of Miniature Market. We will also have maps from Chris West, custom made miniatures of virtual set pieces, special trophies, and some other surprises. This years prizes will be very diverse, versus years past.

I am sure by the time Gencon comes around, there will be many more things thought up by the team to bring even more excitement to an already fully packed weekend of gaming and fellowship. I hope you plan to join in all the great fun!

Ray Becker
Gencon 2011 Organizer

indianapolis, indiana

Yeah, you can go to the GenCon events without having to reserve a ticket but you do risk the possibility of the event selling out ahead of time. Most events don't sell out but some of the events of a smaller size (such a Mass Battles with only 10-12 players) sell out ahead of time. Obviously you'll need a badge to actually get into GenCon.