40K Community: Render Thy Verdict

4 Minute Read

Nov 23 2010

Boys and girls, Unicorns and children of all ages, today I stir from my home at Strictly Average to bring you a scenario to ponder. The Mob Must Speak, and judge a fairly common mistake in a tournament game.

This is an interesting one; the whole question may well irritate you. Ah well: I guess you’ll need a bit more than that.

Before I get started, I feel there is something I should say. If you’re short of time or otherwise impatient, skip past this section to A Scenario.

A Cautionary Tale

I’ve given some thought to how I could write this article without referencing the actual game in question. I could have imagined a scene or told a story, but I decided against that. To do so won’t have the same emotional impact I hope you’ll feel, nor will I be able to use the pictures… and I’m a big believer in pictures.

A picture is worth a thousand card gamers don’t you know.

The reason I bring it up is I’ve had cause to think about how online exposure can affect people. In fact, I wrote a rather fantastic article not too long back about a game between two top players, then promptly forgot about it… until one of the dudes in question brought it up in person at Da Boyz! He was a bit hurt by the community’s response, but more than anything I think my motivation was a mystery to him. I’m glad he brought it up; something like that shouldn’t be allowed to fester. We had a very amicable chat, for which I’m grateful. I hate to think I could be the cause of any resentment.

(As an aside, I’ll admit I was a bit surprised, for while I wrote the piece objectively I actually sided more with this guy than the other. I guess I did my job well and wrote it down the middle. For all that, it’s important to remember that when dealing with people it’s very rarely black and white, perfectly clear cut. Usually both sides will have a valid perspective. ‘It depends’ is actually a pretty good answer.)

You see, while I strive to write worthwhile material, much of which is about the community for the community, I don’t want to needlessly trample on someone. That’s not my bag.

So, let me say this very clearly: my opponent conducted himself perfectly. If this interlude I discuss below bothered him at all, he didn’t show it. That’s sportsmanship.

Moving on.

The Scenario

I’m playing a game at Da Boyz against Space Wolves.

I didn’t get my preferred drop, which had all three units of Fiends, but it certainly wasn’t terrible. My firepower hit the board in one of my standard setups, with Plaguebearers screening, Daemon Princes anchoring, and Heralds behind the line.

Here’s the Top of Turn 2: my opponent has just started his movement.

At the top of 2 my opponent begins his attack. Daemons are weakest after the first wave hits the board but before they can start launching assaults, so losses are to be expected. I felt I was okay as long as I kept the Icon and both Heralds, and of course it’s why they were in the back.

After shooting, my opponent launched his assault with his Blood Claws and Grey Hunters, killing the last Plaguebearer and one of the Daemon Princes…

This is after the Space Wolves close combat at the top of Turn 2.

…but he didn’t assault with the Thunderwolves. I thought then and I think now the Daemon Prince was out of reach, given my opponent’s low fleet roll. To be honest, I didn’t give it much thought.

Anyway, I’m feeling pretty good and I’m preparing to bring on my reserves when my opponent picks up his tape measure and declares he’s going to move the Thunderwolves.

I didn’t understand, at first, but then I realized… he hadn’t thought the unit was out of reach, like I did: he simply forgot to move his unit during the Assault Move phase!

The Questions

So now I ask you: what would you do?

Keep in mind, my opponent wasn’t trying anything funny – it was a simple mistake. That said, think about this in the larger context and from both sides, because if you play in tournaments long enough it will come up. This isn’t the first time it’s happened to me – from both perspectives!

In fact, I think this is the most common type of pure error people make.

So, all the assaults have been rolled up and the Sweeping Advance is done. Maybe you know your opponent wanted to assault and maybe you don’t… does that make a difference?

Obviously there are some larger issues here, which I’ll touch on in the second part of this article. I’ll also tell you how I handled it and why.

So, thoughts? Comments? Hugs and gropings? Or NO HUGS, Brent, NO HUGS!

The horror!

(If you read Strictly Average, you’ll already know what happened. If you’re curious, stop by and have a look… and feel free to click that pesky ‘Follow’ button! If you like me, I’ll get a mild dopamine rush, but if you don’t I’ll get an electric shock. Either way, it’s all good!

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Author: Brent

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