Frequently Asked Questions

The Escalation League is a casual-competitive 40k league that grows your army size each month alongside the launch of 11th Edition. You start at 500 points, then progress through 1000, 1500, and 2000 points over the season. It's designed to be accessible for new players while still giving veterans something meaningful to compete in.

With the escalation league, players will be granted a 15% discount to purchases made towards their army of choice. This will require confirmation while in store.

Submit your player profile on the Player Submission Page. The league admins will approve your profile and you'll appear on the Players page. Contact the league admins on Discord once submitted.

No fee for the escalation league!

The season runs 12 weeks (June 28 – September 18), split into four 3-week tier windows:

• 500 pts — Patrol  Jun 28 – Jul 17
• 1000 pts — Incursion  Jul 18 – Aug 7
• 1500 pts — Strike Force  Aug 8 – Aug 28
• 2000 pts — Onslaught  Aug 29 – Sep 18

You're welcome to play at any point value at any time — the windows are just a suggested pace to help everyone escalate together. Check the Schedule page for live tier status.

No pre-set pairings. Reach out to any other league member and set up a game whenever it works for both of you. There are no pods — everyone plays in one pool.

The goal is to get games in, learn the new edition, and have fun. Coordinate in the Game Corner Discord!

Go to Submit Match. Select yourself as the submitter, pick your opponent, fill in the match details, and rate your opponent's sportsmanship (private — only the admins sees it). Hit submit and it goes into a queue for admins approval before it appears on the leaderboard.

Rankings are not as impactful in the escalation league. At the end, awards will be given for community based rewards, not win/loss rewards.

To be considered for any season-end award (Best Painted, Best Themed Army, Best Sportsmanship), you must complete at least one game per tier — one each across all four point levels:

• 500 pts — Jun 28 – Jul 17 (3-week window)
• 1,000 pts — Jul 18 – Aug 7 (3-week window)
• 1,500 pts — Aug 8 – Aug 28 (3-week window)
• 2,000 pts — Aug 29 – Sep 18 (3-week window)

Each tier window is 3 weeks long — you need at least one completed, approved game within each window to stay eligible. Games played at the June 27th launch event do not count toward tier requirements, as regular league play begins June 28th. The store credit prize draw is open to all participants regardless of eligibility status.

Yes — at 500 points, all units must be Toughness 9 (T9) or lower.

This restriction keeps games balanced at the smallest tier where high-toughness monsters and vehicles would be too dominant in small skirmish lists.

Knights players: only the Armiger and War Dog chassis are permitted at 500 points. Full Knights (T10+) are not allowed until the 1,000-point tier.

This restriction is lifted entirely once you move to 1,000 points and above.

We play using the current Warhammer 40,000 11th Edition rules and mission pack. Since 11th Edition is launching alongside our league, the admins will communicate any relevant rules updates in the Discord. When in doubt, ask!

Games Workshop's default rules scale detachment points with army size, but we're relaxing that restriction for the entire escalation season. 11th Edition is brand new — this is our chance to try out the full breadth of detachment abilities from the very first game. Have fun with it!

No! All painting levels are welcome — from bare plastic to golden demon. Painting has no impact on your standings. The escalation format is a perfect time to build and paint your army as you go!

While the escalation league prefers building a new army with official models, yes. Try to match the base size and approximate footprint of the real model. Always let your opponent know what any proxy is representing before the game starts.

Yes — you naturally grow your list as tiers increase, which is the point of escalation! Build new lists and play each aspect of your army!

Yes — that's the whole spirit of escalation. Pick your faction when you register and commit to it for the full season. The point is to start at 500 points and watch your force grow week by week into a proper army.

Swapping factions mid-season defeats the purpose of the format and isn't fair to opponents who've been building and painting around consistent matchups. Want to try a different army? That's what next season is for!

Life happens! There's no penalty for missing a tier. Games played at any tier count for the leaderboard. Reach out early and find an opponent — coordination happens in the Game Corner Discord.

After each game, you privately rate your opponent's sportsmanship (1–5 stars) and army appearance. These scores are never visible publicly — only the league admins can see them. At season's end the admins may use these to award a "Best Sport" or "Best Painted" recognition. Be honest and generous!