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2026 Escalation League

The Arcade Skirmish Club is proud to be holding its first escalation league! This is an event that takes place over time. We will all get the opportunity to purchase, build, and paint up an entire army. You’ll learn to play along the way, and by the end of the league you’ll have an entire painted army ready for battle!

Important Info

How can I submit my progress?

Hobby progress form: Click here

Match report form: Click here

When is it?

January 1st - July 1st, 2026

How do I participate?

You will build and paint a full-scale army for a game of your choice over the course of 6 months. Each month you will earn points for building, painting, and playing with a new chunk of your army. Store credit will be provided for winners in several categories. See “Participating in the league” for full details.

Is there an entry fee?

There is no entry fee! We want this to be as accessible as possible.

Are 3D prints and proxies allowed?

For the escalation league, yes! We maintain a list of our recommended 3D printing vendors on this site: 3D Printing Vendors. You will have to double check with your desired gaming group to make sure proxies/prints will be allowed at regular game nights.

Are prizes awarded?

Yes, prizes will be awarded for several categories. See Awards for more details.

Can I use minis I've already built/painted?

Yes. The main audience of this league is looking to build and paint a full army they don't already have, but you can participate in whatever way you see fit. That being said, models that you build/painted before the league won't be eligible for building/painting points.

Participating in the League

Choose a Game and Army

The first step to participation is to select a game system and army to build. The amount of points you’ll paint per month and the final army size is determined by the game system you are playing. See Game Specific Rules for more info.

Gather Your Materials

Once you’ve committed, it’s time to make sure you’re stocked up for all the hobbying ahead. Be it plastic kits, hobby supplies, or anything else, you can get your supplies for the escalation league from the Xepher store. Members of the arcade enjoy a 10% discount on all purchases. A sizable discount is available for those who want to purchase 6+ kits at once for their army, contact zeronxepher in discord for more details.

Start Hobbying

With the materials prepared to amass your army, you can start hobbying! See the details for your specific game for next steps.

Game Specific Rules

Below are the escalation rules for specific games. If you don’t have a game system in mind, One Page Rules (OPR) is a great fallback. It’s miniature agnostic, has free rules and an online army builder, smaller army sizes, and has an existing playerbase at Xepher. If you decide to play another game afterwards (ex. Warhammer 40k), your OPR sized army will be a great starting point.

One Page Rules

Organized by NC OPR

Final army size of 3000 or 2000 points, Grimdark Future or Age of Fantasy. Miniature agnostic, build and paint whatever you want! 3D prints encouraged. If you want to have flexibility to play in the biggest tournaments, 3000 is recommended. Otherwise if you just want to start showing up to game nights, 2000 is more than enough. At any point you can decide to switch to 2000 if 3000 proves to be too much.

For tips on choosing an army, building a list, finding files, and more, join us in the NC OPR discord: https://discord.gg/Qae87Pbqfc

Game nights

You can bring your army to NC OPR game nights across the triangle. People will be happy to accomodate your list, no matter how many points it might be. There are two game nights a month at Xepher, happening every other Thursday night. See https://northcarolinaopr.com for more details. During the escalation league, Xepher game nights will have a special focus on the current point size of league participants.

2000pts Timeline

  • 2/1/26
    • Built: 500pts
    • Painted: N/A
  • 3/1/26
    • Built: 750pts
    • Painted: 500pts
  • 4/1/26
    • Built: 1000pts
    • Painted: 750pts
  • 5/1/26
    • Built: 1500pts
    • Painted: 1000pts
  • 6/1/26
    • Built: 2000pts
    • Painted: 1500pts
  • 7/1/26
    • Built: 2000pts
    • Painted: 2000pts

3000pts Timeline

  • 2/1/26
    • Built: 500pts
    • Painted: N/A
  • 3/1/26
    • Built: 1000pts
    • Painted: 500pts
  • 4/1/26
    • Built: 1500pts
    • Painted: 1000pts
  • 5/1/26
    • Built: 2500pts
    • Painted: 1500pts
  • 6/1/26
    • Built: 3000pts
    • Painted: 2500pts
  • 7/1/26
    • Built: 3000pts
    • Painted: 3000pts

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar

Organized by Arcade Skirmish Club

Final army size of 2000 points. Proxies and prints welcome! We will be starting with Spearhead and working our way up to a full 2k list with the General's Handbook so that we can play in the various tournaments and game nights in the area.

For help with choosing a faction and listbuilding, DM adelyn on discord for an invite to the Triangle Age of Sigmar server.

Game Nights

We will be running 2 game nights a month specifically for escalation league participants. If you can't make the game nights, ping the Age of Sigmar role in discord to see if someone can meet on your schedule. We will be playing every other wednesday, check the Xepher calendar for more details.

Timeline

  • 2/1/26
    • Built: Spearhead
    • Painted: N/A
    • Game Nights: Spearhead
  • 3/1/26
    • Built: 750pts
    • Painted: Spearhead
    • Game Nights: Spearhead
  • 4/1/26
    • Built: 1000pts, Faction Terrain, Endless Spells
    • Painted: 750pts
    • Game Nights: 1000pts Core Rules
  • 5/1/26
    • Built: 1500pts
    • Painted: 1000pts, Faction Terrain, Endless Spells
    • Game Nights: 1000pts GHB
  • 6/1/26
    • Built: 2000pts
    • Painted: 1500pts
    • Game Nights: 2000pts GHB
  • 7/1/26
    • Built: 2000pts
    • Painted: 2000pts

Scoring Rubric and Awards

Hobby progress form: Click here

Match report form: Click here

Earning points

  • 2 points for meeting building/collecting goals
  • 2 points for meeting painting goals
  • 1 point for attending a game night
  • 1 point each time you play a new opponent

Awards

The following awards will be given out at the end of the league. The final say on acceptable award miniature size is at the discretion of the organizer.

Award Categories

  • 1st place points: Choice of a 3D printed miniature of up to a large monster
  • 2nd place points: Choice of a 3D printed miniature equivalent to a small to medium mounted character or monster
  • 3rd place points: Choice of a 3D printed miniature equivalent to a foot hero
  • Favorite Paintjob: Top voted for favorite paint job by league participants. Choice of a 3D printed miniature equivalent to a small to medium mounted character or monster.
  • Favorite Opponent: Top voted for favorite person to be across the table from. Choice of a 3D printed miniature equivalent to a foot hero.