How to Prepare for an Oak & Iron Tournament: Top 10 Tips

Oak & Iron is a 1/600 scale strategy tabletop miniatures game set in the Age of Piracy. Oak & Iron has been played both casually and competitively since its release. It has only begun to gain traction as a tournament game in the last 2-4 years. This article is a collection of tips to help you prepare for an Oak & Iron wargaming tournament. We’ll cover general tips as well as a few strategic insights on fleet composition, tactical maneuvers, and rules comprehension. Whether you’re a seasoned commander or a new player, these tips will help you optimize your readiness for the challenges of tournament play.

Table of Contents

• 1. SIgn-up Early
• 2. Download and Review the Tournament Packet
• 3. Pick A Nation & Maximize It
• 4. Consider Your Admiral Wisely
• Tip #5. Practice with Your Force
• Tip #6. Know Where You Need to Be at Game Time
• Tip #7. Make/Print a Cheat Sheet
• Tip #8. Prep Your Ships, Forces & Gear
  • Oak & Iron Tournmant Packing Checklist
    • Optional Items
• Tip #9. (Re)Read the Rulebook
• Tip #10. Don’t Stress and Have Fun!
• Conclusion
• Additional Content Suggestions

Tip #1. Sign-Up for the Event and Secure Your Slot Early

Oak & Iron tournaments typically have plenty of space and rarely sell out, but pre-registering has multiple benefits:

• Secure your slot by preregistering, ensures that you won’t miss out on the action due to limited spots.
• Joining the event early helps you connect with other participants in online communities fostering camaraderie and potentially sharing strategies.
• It commits you to the event and subconsciously gets you to start prepping earlier rather than later.

Tip #2. Download and Read the Tournament Packet

A tournament packet is the rules and guidelines for the event. Typically provided by the Tournament Organizer (T.O.) at the time of the event’s posting, it sets the terms for the game including the following info:

• Points Value & Max # of Ships. How big your forces are in terms of points and # of ships can greatly affect your squadron composition and gameplay.
• Scenarios and Objectives. Not all tournament events follow the standard Oak & Game game setup using the card deck. They often present scenarios or are a series of straight-up fights between players. Make sure you build your force accordingly. Do you need to consider landing parties or speedy ships to chase objective markers?
• Check for Painting Requirements. Most don’t, but some events require minis to be painted.
• Time Slot s& Round Requirements. How many game rounds are there? How long are the rounds? If the time is short, you may need to focus more on the speed of the ships to board sooner or heavier guns to inflict damage faster.

Tip #3. Pick a Nation and Know Your National Special Abilities

Oak & Iron has 5 nations available for play. Each has its strengths and you should remember to keep those in mind when building your tournament list. In competitive play, you want to take advantage of every tool and opportunity you have available. As a reminder here is a compiled list fo the national abilities and a few suggestions on how to tap into those.

	Dutch	SKILLED SAILORS: Roll 1 more dice during all Skill Tests. EXPERT BOARDERS: Roll 1 more dice during all Close Combat Attacks. SHALLOW DRAFT: Roll 1 fewer dice (to a minimum of 1) when testing to Run Aground.
	English	SKILLED SAILORS: Roll 1 more dice during all Skill Tests. EXPERT GUN CREW: When making a Broadside Attack at Musket Slot or Cannon Shot, you may re-roll 1 Sword result.
	French	FAST SHIPS: Reduce the cost of this Swift and Weatherly upgrade by 1 (to a minimum of o). HEAVILY ARMED: Reduce the cost of Additional Guns upgrade by 1 (to a minimum of 1). EXPERT BOARDERS: Roll 1 more dice during Close Combat Attacks.
	Pirates	ROGUES: This Squadron cannot include Ships of the Line. MULTINATIONAL: This Squadron may choose initiative cards from the Pirates faction and 1 other faction. SHALLOW DRAFT: Roll 1 fewer dice (to a minimum of 1) when testing to Run Aground. MANPOWER: Reduce the cost of the Additional Crew upgrade by half (round down).
	Spanish	RUTHLESS: Ships in the Squadron treats their Skill values as 1 higher (to a maximum of 3) when making Attacks against ships with more Fatigue. STOUT SHIPS:  Reduce the cost of the Stout upgrade by half (round down).

Tip #4. Consider Your Admiral Wisely

Admirals can have a large effect on the order of play and the outcome of a game.

• Straight out of the gate, the highest Admiral value gets the option to be the Attacker vs Defender in a scenario. If there are objectives or benefits to being one or this other a higher Admiral may be worth the added points (pg 28).
• Admirals are used to break ties when they occur during the Initiative phase (pg 12).
• Admirals give additional Special Abilities and bonuses that can create unique combos.
• In a 50pt or 75pt game, an Admiral can easily be 10% of your force or more. Taking a level 2 or 3 Admiral in a low-point game can be risky, as it can be the cost of a full ship like a Corvette or Sloop. In a 100pt+ game, you should definitely consider a higher-level Admiral.
• The Expansion Deck 1 includes 21 new “generic” Admirals. They have a single Special Ability and allow you to save some points compared to the named, legendary national Admirals. For a more info, you can read our Expansion Deck 1 article or view the Admirals on our Complete List of Oak & Iron Ship Upgrade Cards.

Tip #5. Practice with Your Force

Play your force at least once or twice BEFORE you get to the tournament (even if its a solo game).   This will get you familiar with how your ships, Initiative Cards and upgrades all play on the table. It will help you find your weaknesses and learn if there are things you want to tweak.  Once the tournament starts, you can’t change your force, even between rounds.

Expect the unexpected.  Tournament bring out the oddities in the game. Players who fall into the competitive lot will try wild and crazy strategies or forces that are not the most historical in nature and are “weird” to play.   Just do your best and don’t stress over it.  And to be honest, many times these forces can be so over-optimized or specialized, they have a high chance of failure just because they are abnormal and “things didn’t go according to plan.”

Tip #6. Know Where You Need to Be at Game Time

If you’re playing in an Oak & Iron Tournament at a gaming convention like GenCon, Adepticon, or Historicion, they can often be large sprawling affairs spanning multiple ballrooms and sometimes buildings.   

• Find the tournament location on the convention map and if possible swing by before the event. 
• Give yourself enough travel time between events. 
• If the event starts at a specific time, get there 15 minutes early in case things fo sideways or something unplanned happens.
• While it’s not at every, the banner shown on the right will hopefully be setup in the gaming hall near the Oak & Iron section to give you that visual queue that you’re in the right place.

Tip #7. Make/Print a Cheat Sheet

This one may sound a little extreme, but some folks swear by it.  If you have a specific strategy or abilities you forget regularly, putting together a list of items to remember during the round may be helpful. Reference your checklist or cheat sheet often.

• If you have nuanced rules that your force is reliant on, note the page numbers on the sheet to be able to look them up quickly.
• Before the game, understand what your own Win Conditions are and your opponent’s goal (since many times those are different). Add the scenario objectives to your sheet.
• Make it a habit at the start of each turn to quickly review the winning conditions and see if you have the potential to reach them that turn.

For the “generic rules”, if your game has a Quick Reference Guide or Sheet, print it and have it with your force for easy reference.   Paul Kingtiger has created the best Oak & Iron Quick Reference sheet we’ve seen yet.  He also has a much longer glossary tool that is worth printing or saving the link on your phone.

Tip #8. Prep Your Ships, Forces & Gear

Tip #9. (Re)Read the Rulebook

The Oak & Iron book is only 36 pages and over half of that is sample images or pictures. It’s maybe 15 pages of actual reading. You can knock that out quickly. Then benefits for the time spent will pay dividends in multiple ways. You’ll be more confident in your play, you’ll avoid delays looking things up and speed up your turns so you can ensure you finish the games on time.

Tip #10. Don’t Stress and Have Fun!

Let’s be honest, the majority of people in a tournament don’t play Oak & Iron super often,. Which means the vast majority of players aren’t super competitive. They are there to have fun and play a game they love. Winning would be great, but it’s not the end of the world if you lose.

When the tournament’s over, you’ll hopefully have new friends and be able to put a face to the names you may have seen online.   It’s a great chance to foster community and bridge those long-distance gaps that exist online.

Conclusion

There you have it – out top 10 tips to get you all set for your next Oak & Iron tournament! Whether you’re a first-timer jumping into an Oak & Iron tournament or a seasoned pro on your 12th competition, these events are not only exciting but also super fulfilling. The biggest key to success lies in good preparation. Take the time to get to know the rules, understand your force special rules, plan your strategies, connect with the awesome community, and most importantly, soak in the up fantastic mix of history and tactical gameplay that the Oak & Iron offers.

No matter how well you do in the tournament, it’s likely to ignite your passion for the game and be a memorable experience. Hopefully, the entire journey will a story worth telling. We look forward to crossing paths with you at a future tournament, and best of luck in all your upcoming wargaming adventures!

Additional Content Suggestions

• Need suggestions for a Tournament Force? Check out our 13 75pt Oak & Iron Tournament Lists – 7 Using a Starter Box!
• Review the Complete List of Oak & Iron Ship Upgrade Cards
• Complete List of Oak & Iron Initiative Cards
• Review our Oak & Iron Strategy & Tactics Guides collection