I have the three most important things right at the top: Name, Army, and Points. The last two are mainly for the judges, but are still handy for opponents. I no longer get the "What was your name again?" because they can see it right on the sheet I gave them, first thing they read. It's always a struggle to find people's names on their army lists, so make sure it's on there and easy to find. Too often it gets lost in the mess of poorly formatted lists.
I break it up into sections just like the books are laid out, because other everyone is accustomed to that set up. That makes it supremely easy to see who's in what slot, percentages, total points, and all that. It always annoys the heck out of me when I'm handed an army list where the Rares are first, then Heroes, then Special, then Lords, then finally Core. I know people like to choose their power-house units first and Core only because they have to, but I always think they did it wrong because I can't find their Core choices until the 4th sheet, which is yet another point of bother.
I don't like being handed a booklet. An army list does not need every single piece of information listed (I also believe that's plagiarism, no?). That's what the army book/codex is for. The very best lists are those that are completely contained in a single sheet of paper, such as the above. Every rule and item is listed, and if my opponent has a question I happily answer or show them the relevant spot in the book. In my experience, even though you give them three pages of special rules on your list, they'll still ask every question because being handed a booklet does not make for a good use of time, and they don't read it anyway. This is a tournament, and minutes count. Know your audience.
Moving along, we see that I have listed standard equipment and upgrades for each unit. This is a clear delineation for list-checkers and opponents so that they can swiftly make sure I've done it right as far as who can take what and who holds what. Another point of bother is when I see a list and it says "#30 spearmen, #1 musician, #1 standard bearer, and #1 champion." So, I naturally think there are 33 models in the unit because according to the rules of the English language that's what it's saying, when it's still only actually 30. When writing something that is included in a value, write it as such; "30 models, inc. musician, standard bearer, champion" gives the correct numbers. The former example does not.
The points for the models and their upgrades are somewhat broken down on the far right, just under their total value. These aren't points for each special model, such as champions, because again it suffers the same problem as model count I addressed above. I see (mainly this is from a list-checker standpoint): Total 245, Unit champ 25, so I think the unit is actually 270, when it's only 245. This is bad writing. One total, bolded is all you need. Any other numbers (such as how you got to that number) should be smaller, not bolded, and obvious that it's not part of the total. This expedites list-checking and doesn't produce confusion as to what numbers mean what.
Speaking of bolding and font-sizing, the same goes for units. Having upgrades, special rules, and everything else that's unnecessary all the same size and such makes it difficult to spot the important parts. This is why I've only made bold the unit type, number of models, and total points value. The breakdown is below each and smaller, so as to not draw the eye immediately into it. This format is especially important for count-as armies, where the models aren't necessarily what they seem to be. When dealing with that, the two most important pieces of information are: how many models, and what the heck unit is it. Everything else is ancillary and can be discovered on your own time. This means that, at a glance, you'll know what you're dealing with.
In the end, that's what I want to provide for my opponents. They can take a quick look at my list, see what it is, and when they feel the need to they can look at the other stuff later. This generally allows for better, quicker tactical decisions, because I relish the challenge. One might say that a person who gives a bewildering amount of info in a 7 page, poorly formatted, Army Builder army list is actively seeking to misdirect, distract, and otherwise gain an advantage over their opponent. Now, that's thinking really darkly, but such people do exist in our hobby.
That is why I wanted to provide an alternative. As we mentioned on the show, continuously writing everything out yourself helps you know your army better and better as you repeat the information in your own mind. Laziness with the point and click attitude doesn't set in. I feel it definitely makes you a better gamer and a more fun opponent.
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