What is a Tournament?
A Dreamblade tournament is a competition between people who love to play the Dreamblade game. They gather together to test their skills, share their stories, discuss strategy, trade minis, and spread their love of the game. You can take part in all of this and win prizes (including cash) when you play in official tournaments. Between our Edge, 1K, and 10K events, there are a large number of prize opportunities for you to take advantage of. Edge events are the best way to get started, and playing in them frequently will put you on the path to greater achievements when the 1K and 10K events come to town. In this article I will share with you my tips for getting the most out of the official Dreamblade tournaments we offer.

Who Can Compete?
You can! Everyone can compete in Dreamblade tournaments. Edge, 1K, and 10K events are open to all comers. There are prizes at all levels. We want to ensure you have a great time participating, so we’ve made it easier than ever to win.

Prizes you say? What can I win?
You can win a lot of great stuff playing the Dreamblade game. The prize system is set up to give every player many opportunities to win prizes and payouts. This means you! Check it out:

April’s Edge Tournament Prize Mini Canis Horribilis

Edge Tournaments: In a local Edge tournament, the top two players will receive a special alternate-paint miniature. (A random non-winning participant will get one too!) These premium paint jobs are only available at Edge events, and the mini given away changes every month. You’ll also win bragging rights over your friends for a week. Edge events are a great place to start collecting player rewards points so that you can participate in the rewards system at the 1K and 10K events.

1K Tournaments: At a 1K event, the winner receives $500 and 1000 points. Those 1000 points will ensure you get great prizes for showing up to future 1K and 10K events, plus it qualifies you for the Dream Series Championship that year. Prizes are given out all the way to 32nd place, and everyone who attends gets a minimum of 50 points. There are a lot of 1K events across the country, meaning you and your friends have a good shot at winning sweet prizes.

10K Tournaments: At 10K events, the winner is awarded $2000 in cash, a cool trophy they can take home, and 2000 reward points. At a 10K, there is money to be won all the way down to 32nd place, and product prizes down to 64th. The minimum you will receive for participating is 100 rewards points, enough to guarantee you a player rewards prize at your next 1K or 10K.

Dream Series Championship: Our season starts in August and ends in July, so the first Championship will be in 2007. Start playing now so you can qualify for the biggest event of the year with the most spectacular prizes. Everyone with 1000 points will be invited and there will be a last-chance qualifier too.

Don’t miss out!
The Dreamblade game is still so new that there are a lot of strategies no one has discovered yet, and many players still need a lot more practice. This is a huge opportunity for you to win money and prizes and to rack up a pile of rewards points.

What do I need to bring?
That’s a very smart question to be asking. Here are my lists of essentials and recommended things to bring to a tournament.

Tournament Essentials

• Your warband of 16 minis.
• At least eight Dreamblade attack dice
• At least one initiative die
• One dreamscape map.
• Conveniently, all of the above are included in a Dreamblade Starter Set.
• Tokens or a pen and paper to keep track of turns.
• The entry fee. You’ll have to ask the tournament organizer what it will be.
• Your DCI number, if you already have one. If not, one will be provided for you when you register.

For Maximum Tournament Enjoyment

• Friends. Everything is more fun when shared with your friends. If they’ve never played before, a tournament, especially a more casual Edge event, is a great place to introduce them to the game. They’ll learn a lot by seeing the Dreamblade game in action.
• Extra Warbands. There’s no better place to try new strategies than in unofficial side games at tournaments. Plus you can lend extra warbands to your friends so they can play too.
• Lunch and/or snacks and drinks. Sometimes playing is so exciting that you can forget to eat. If you bring food, you’ll remember to eat it and it’ll be cheaper than buying lunch (freeing up more money to buy more minis with, of course).
• Cash for food, drinks, side-events, and possibly minis—especially if the tournament is at a store, where you might be able to buy the miniatures that you need to perfect your warband.
• Extra minis to trade. In a collectable miniatures game, trading is part of the fun. Tournaments attract players who have lots of minis. If your own collection is small, tournaments can be good places to trade those few rares that you’re not using for a lot of uncommons and commons that you really want.
• An extra layer of clothing. Some venues might be too hot or too cold for you, and you’ll be more comfortable if you have extra layers to add or remove.
• A backpack or bag with a shoulder strap. This makes it easy to carry your things with you, and you can loop a strap around your ankle while you play so that you don’t forget to take it with you when each match is over.

What’s a Tournament Like?
Local Edge events will be very friendly affairs where you can meet the other players in your area. If you come often, you’re sure to make new friends and get in a lot of play, especially in pick-up games with other regulars.

The bigger 1K and 10K events attract a lot of skilled players. You may face tough competition, but you will also gain valuable experience. If you don’t win your first game, never give up. There are many stories of players who lost the first round or two of a tournament and came back to place very highly or even win the whole thing.

There will be space to hang out, trade, and play casual games alongside the tournament tables. Most places have nearby food and other facilities.

Be friendly! Walking up to a player you’ve never met and asking to trade or play with them is perfectly normal, in fact I would say it’s expected. You’ll meet a huge variety of people at tournaments, which is one of the things that make them fun.

I almost forgot to ask! How can I find out when and where a tournament will happen?
The first tournaments you’ll want to check out are your local Edge tournaments. Edge tournaments are likely to be held in the evening, often Friday. Saturday afternoon is also possible. These tournaments only take a few hours, so they’re the perfect place to get in shape for the bigger venues.

If your favorite gaming store doesn’t yet run any Edge tournaments, ask them to e-mail us at dci@wizards.com with the subject line “Dreamblade Edge Events.”

The list of 1K events can be found here.

The 10Ks are coming to town too: 10K Tournament List.

1Ks and 10Ks start in the morning, usually at around 9am. You can expect a 1K event to last most of the day, until 4 or 6 pm. The 10K tournaments are run over two days. In those cases, only players who won a certain number of matches will advance to play on the second day.

Earlier this month there was a 10K event. You can find out how it went in our online coverage of Atlanta by John Siadak. He has also written a great article about the Gencon 20K from a player’s perspective.

You can also click on this article by Lance Hawvermale for more information on what it feels like to play in our events.

If you want to read all the rules and details, check out the latest Dreamblade Floor Rules and the Premier Event Invitation Policy at the DCI Document Center .

For a primer on sealed deck building, try Ron Vitale’s article, or this one by Warren Tusk.

Glossary of Common Tournament Terms