How to run a 40k escalation league

An escalation league is a Warhammer 40,000 league where every army starts small and grows as the season goes on. The classic ladder starts at 500 points and climbs to 1,000, then 1,500, then 2,000. Players build and paint as they go, so by the last round they have a full army they finished alongside everyone else.

It suits new players and anyone starting a new army, because nobody needs a finished 2,000 points on day one. The general mechanics of running a league (pairings, scoring, finals) are in How to run a Warhammer 40k league. This page covers what escalation adds.

Decide these before round one

The steps. Where it starts, where it ends, and how big each jump is. 500 / 1,000 / 1,500 / 2,000 is the usual ladder. A shorter season can stop at 1,000 or 1,500, which is a full game in its own right.
Rounds per step. One round per step keeps the season short but gives players very little time to build and paint the next jump. Two rounds per step is more forgiving: the first round of a step is the deadline for the new models, and the second is a chance to play them again.
Keep and add, or rebuild. The traditional rule is that each step keeps every unit from the last one and adds to it, so the army at 2,000 points still contains the 500 points it started with. It stops anyone from starting over at every step, and it makes the season a story about one army. Some leagues allow swaps; if yours does, say how many points can change per step.
One army all season. Escalation only works if a player keeps the same faction from first step to last. Say so in the rules.
Painting. Most escalation leagues ask for each step's new models to be painted, or at least based and primed, by the time they hit the table. Decide how strict to be, and what happens if someone falls behind: usually they still play, but miss the painting reward.
Lists. Ask for each step's list before its first round, so opponents know what's coming and the organizer can check it follows the keep-and-add rule.

A season, at a glance

If you want a plan to copy, this one runs about four months:

Rounds 1 and 2: 500 points.
Rounds 3 and 4: 1,000 points.
Rounds 5 and 6: 1,500 points.
Rounds 7 and 8: 2,000 points.
Two weeks per round, keep-and-add lists, new models painted when they're first played.
A Best Painted vote at the end, when every army is at its biggest.

Keeping it going

The risk in an escalation league is the player who falls one step behind on building and quietly stops showing up. A few things help:

Reward the hobby, not just the wins. A small prize or badge for each painted step keeps people building between games, and the players at the bottom of the table have something to aim for.
Share progress. Photos of each step, posted where the league talks. It's the most fun part of the format and it keeps everyone honest about the painting rule.
Be kind about lateness. Let someone play a step with unpainted models rather than not play at all. A game missed is worse for the league than a grey unit.

Running it on Pairings Up

Everything in the 40k league guide applies. What escalation adds maps on like this:

Name each round for its step. On Competition, press Set on a round and give it a name such as "1,000 points". The name shows beside the round number everywhere: the fixture list, each player's match card, the standings timeline, and the schedule when you post it to Discord. Use the round's note for the step's rules: the points limit, what must be painted, the list deadline. See the organizer area.
Turn off per-game faction picks. Under Settings, leave Let players pick their faction per game off so each player plays one army all season.
Lists and photos on the loadout. Each player keeps their current list as text, plus up to twelve captioned photos, on their loadout. Ask them to update the list at each step. Only the league can see it.
Painting as quests. Set up a quest per step ("Paint your 1,000 points") and players claim it with a photo as evidence, which you approve. The badges are the painting reward, and they sit on the quest board for the whole league to see.
Best Painted at the end. Players can enter their best photos, and the league votes once finals start. See awards.

The app doesn't know a round's points limit and doesn't check lists. The round name and note tell players what the step is; keeping to it is between the players and the organizer, the same as it would be at a table in a shop.