The Gamer’s Guide to the 40K Wrecking Crew
Sometimes I think the Blogosphere is separated into dueling gangs of dancing thugs, one side shouting, “Fluffy!” whilst the other yells, “Competitive!” Or is that West Side Story? It’s all so confusing. Today’s interview touches on a polarizing topic: gaming clubs.
Specifically, the 40K Wrecking Crew.
Hello again everyone, here I am again, the answer to Tuesday’s question, “Aw, man – is it Brent again?” We’ve got a busy day; and yes, this article will be long. Let’s get right to it.
It’s Wargames Con, 2010. It’s Saturday morning, the start of the two-day, seven-round tournament… and I’ve got a confession: I’m always a wreck in the first game of a tournament. I don’t know what it is, but I get a case of nerves brought on by all the excitement and I start chatting on at a feverish pace. It’s a great feeling, but frankly I’m not really myself for an hour. Consequently, I’m always a bit nervous about the type of person I’ll draw. I was lucky.
I meet again this big, tattooed dude, Kenny, whom I’d met the previous day during the team tournament. His girlfriend is with him, and inwardly I groan a bit – ’cause it’s my experience girlfriends are never that interested. I got a chance to relax almost immediately, since Kenny was a chill dude, very relaxed and easy-going. His girlfriend was honestly interested but self-possessed… meaning content enough to watch without it being awkward. We began a great game.
It wasn’t easy by any stretch – we went after each other pretty hard, both of us intent on winning. Still, he was the perfect opponent: he wanted to win but played the game in the right spirit. Consequently, the game was a blast.
It was toward the end of the game when Steve walked up. He’s better known online as the Black (or Green) Blowfly, a well-known tournament player and a member of the 40K Wrecking Crew. He said hello to me and started telling Kenny about his first game… and a dawning suspicion grew. I had to ask: “Steve, is he one of yours?”
Yup. Sure enough, Kenny was WC; one of the founding members, even. That presented some problems.
Because I don’t like the Wrecking Crew! Do I?
Now what? I supposed we’d have to hop on the table and begin a well-choreographed dance routine, which would involve the entire room by the end, when one of us was sure to knife the other…
…or am I back on West Side Story?
Since then, I’ve met a fair number of dudes who are members of the 40K Wrecking Crew; for example, did you know Bell’s own TPM Blood Angel is a member? Man, they’re everywhere!
And they’re good dudes. So did I have a good reason for my initial dislike or was it simple prejudice? I’ll chat about that at the end.
I contacted and received responses from three members of the 40K Wrecking Crew: Kenny, who I’ve mentioned; Marc, who’s probably one of the better known tournament players in the country and the club’s president; and Steve, the Black Blowfly, a well-known blogger.
Each of them was kind enough to fill out a general questionnaire… in detail! It’s this last bit which has caused me no end of consternation: if I was to use all the material they’ve so kindly sent me, this article would be huge! Too huge – easily eight pages, single spaced, on Word.
Therefore, I’ve spent the time editing the material into something more appropriate for a Bell article, using the questionnaires more as source material than as straight interviews. Still, I want to be very clear: I’ve done nothing to edit out the meaning or slant anything they’ve said.
My goal is clarity. This is an article on the Wrecking Crew with direct quotes from its members. Still, the interviews themselves are interesting and certainly worth reading, and I’ll work with Kenny, Marc, and Steve to make sure they’re available for anyone interested.
Kenny: I started playing when I was 16-17 in Miami, 10-11 years. Being an artist, I was in love with the artwork and minis, then my true nerd took hold and I had to play the game. I immediately started playing in tournaments locally. I lost every game I played for almost an entire year. Some of my worst beatings were at the hands of Marc, who then soon after became my mentor. My painting has really improved over the years, and under the teachings of Brandon Palmer (GMM Studios – Brent) I have incorporated airbrushing into my style. I am now a full service painting studio.
Kenny recently started a blog, highlighting his painting. It’s called Next Level Painting, and I urge you to check it out.
 |
| All of the pictures in this article are from Kenny’s collection. |
Marc: I have been playing the game since 1991, when a friend gave me some squats to use and then preceded to wipe me out with an Eldar force. (Little did I know that was the start of a lifetime of hate for the Eldar.) I really enjoy converting minis and playing the game. I don’t have the brush skill that some of my peers do so it’s all about the smack down on the table. I really enjoy finding an idea for an army and going through the process (that is) …battle testing, tweaking the points, and getting the games in, and to see if it is comfortable to play with. Tournaments are where my focus has been for years, it’s the challenge of building a new army and seeing if I can take it all the way.
I think I mentioned this, but Marc is a familiar name on the tournament scene; if I’m not mistaken, I think he has more major event wins under his belt than anyone in the States. I asked for a list, of course!
Marc: I have 6 overall GW GT wins, 1 Best General and Best Sport. All 6 of my wins are with different armies over three different editions. Best General at Necro 08, Overall at Bolter Beach 1. Adepticon has been a tough spot for me so no joy there yet. I was 2nd on the last GW Circuit. The different armies I have won a GW GT with are Tyranids, Dark Eldar, Feral Orks, Speed Freaks, Witch Cult, and Foot Orks. I used Sisters for my Best general at Necro and won Bolter with a Battle Wagon Ork list. I like to keep moving to the next challenge and enjoying a new army and play style.
Last but not least, Steve (Black Blow Fly) participates on a number of forums and maintains a blog, Terminus Est.
Steve: I have been playing since the beginning of 3rd edition. I had just been through an epic divorce in a small town out west and wanted an avenue to make new friends. I am solely dedicated to 40k. There are lots and lots of rule to memorize and new codices are always creeping up. I’m a very competitive player and like to focus all my attention on one gaming system so I can know it inside and out.
Do these sound familiar? This could be you, or a buddy at your local store. These bios sound like any number of dudes I know! It’s one of the reasons I think our community is so strong, here on the internet: our hobby gives us a wide base of shared experience.
Do you ever see yourself quitting the hobby?
Kenny: HAHA …no
Marc: If people stop going to events with me I would fade away.
How important is the social aspect of wargaming to you?
Kenny: I love wargaming, as long as you’re talking about 40k!
Marc: If I didn’t have a group of friends and drinking buddies doing events with me, I would have faded away a long time ago.
Steve: This is important to me, as most of my closest friends also play 40k. It’s great to have a close circle of friends you can enjoy discussing the hobby and playing. I’d say over the past 10 years most of the new friends I made were via the hobby.
How important is the Wrecking Crew to your enjoyment of the hobby, and why?
Kenny: Its real important. It lets me stay in touch with my best friends from Miami, and no matter were I go there is a 40k WC pimp who will let me crash at his crib.
Marc: It’s about the social aspect of it. When Kenny approached me with the idea of forming a loose affiliation of tournament players I really took to the idea. The whole thing is about a group of us forming up at events to hang out and have a good time. The club is the catalyst that lets us get together and encourages us to go to events. (I had to highlight that line – Brent.)
Steve: Some of my best friends are in the Wrecking Crew. Both Kenny and Brandon have painted armies for me on commission. They are the best group of guys to bounce ideas off of when designing new armies. I just wish some of them did not spam units quite so much. We have stuck together through the bad times and we are a pretty tight group.
How did the club get started, and where is it at now… meaning: What year was it founded and by who(m)? How many members does it currently boast?
Kenny: I’m pretty sure we founded the club in 2006. Marc called me up and told me about Adepticon and the Team Tournament. Which I think sparked the idea to start a gaming club. Which was awesome, since our core group was spread out so far now. We basically missed our friends. So Marc and I pulled the trigger and got a website and forum started. A few years later a virus destroyed the website and forum, which was demoralizing. We rebuilt though and things are doing well now.
How would one become a member?
Marc: First off you have to know someone that’s in it, then you have to go to events and get to know the members (hang out, drink beer, talk trash, show an understanding of the game). Also, we are trying to avoid drama as much as possible. We don’t need any polarizing internet tough guy drama, so we actually talk about potential members and have to agree to letting people in.
What is the club’s focus? That is, what is important to the members of the Wrecking Crew?
Kenny: The Wrecking Crew is a group of individuals who like to travel and play 40k, but we don’t take it as seriously as many others might. We like to have a good time and know first and foremost that we are grown men playing with toy soldiers. Our actions should reflect this.
What role does the Wrecking Crew have in the community at large? Is that something you think about?
Marc: I feel that as a group we encourage the community to get better by showing you can do well and still be a lot of fun to play against. I am glad to help anyone out with my thoughts on anything to do with the hobby. But I know that we all have different play styles and what works for me may not work for you.
Steve: I am very active in my local gaming community, running the Bi-Annual Bolter Beach Indy GT with my good partner Yuri Devilbiss. We want to encourage competitive play that is as fair as possible. There has been a large influx of new players from MtG and WM – they are solely focused on winning so they need some help appreciating the other aspects of the hobby, such as painting. It is still a hobby after all.
All of the questions and answers above reflect these guys and their love of the game, especially in the social aspect of hanging out with friends and having a good time.
As I read back over the material (and believe me, I’ve read it over and over again these last few weeks!), I’m struck the most by how unexceptional all this is. I don’t mean that in a bad way, believe me! What I mean, simply, is this:
These guys are you, if you and your buddies called yourself a club and started attending national tournaments.
Maybe you’re not in a position to do that right now – no shame in that – or maybe it’s just not your bag -and that’s cool, too.
Still, I expect there will be no shortage of interest in this article… and let’s be honest as to why. The Wrecking Crew have been subject to more than their share of criticism and the reputation of the club suffered as a result. That’s what you’re interested in, right?
We tackled that head on.
Is the reputation of the club important to its members? How does the club monitor the behavior of its members… or is this even a function?
Kenny: The reputation is important, we have made some changes over the years to improve this. We do monitor members, on a very personal level.
Marc: The reputation of the club is something we have really tried to work on the last couple of years. There is a lot of internet hate out there so you have to be pretty proactive to avoid the internet drama. We had a lot of success the last two years before GW stopped doing events and there were some sour grapes out there that I really didn’t see coming.
Steve: What a lot of people don’t know is that many of us have won quite a few best sportsmanship awards such as the 2001 GW GT in Dallas. Most of our members are private and don’t spend much time on the internet. We have a lot of great members that are great sports and a lot of fun to play. Hopefully one day every member will realize that losing a game now and then is not the end of the world and no one will think any less of them. This is very important to me.
What is the largest misconception you think the readers have about the Wrecking Crew?
Kenny: Honestly that we all jerks or cheaters, some people call themselves members when they know that they are in direct violation of our guidelines, and are not actually members, these peeps make us look real bad. I played 2 games at the WargamesCon and one at Adepticon in which my opponent confessed to me after the game that they were worried because I was 40kWC and that the game might be terrible! As you know Brent…that’s not the case. (We’re getting there! – Brent.)
Marc: That we are all a bunch of dice cheating, WAAC, no fun to play jerks. Anyone who has ever met me and hung out knows this is total crap but I have a real small internet foot print and rarely get on to defend me and my club from it. I invite anyone to come hang with us and see how we are before they believe so of the out crap that is on line.
Steve: That we constantly cheat a lot and want to win at any cost (WAAC).
All three dudes, in three separate questionnaires, acknowledge an understood paradigm: people think the worst of them. How did that happen for a bunch of dudes that want to hang out with their friends?
When I’d originally planned this article, my idea was to talk about the misconceptions surrounding national gaming clubs in general and the 40K Wrecking Crew in particular right… up… front..! My idea was, let’s address it then get past it.
I had problems actually executing that, though. Hours and hours worth, Lord knows! The issue is this… how many people would read all that, right in the beginning, then skip down to the comment’s section and start typing away?
Too many, methinks. I love this community, I really do, but too often the best of online intentions create nothing but more online problems. Online!
There’s a stigma surrounding gaming clubs; I was just as guilty as anyone else. I had a genuine bias which, when I had cause to actually examine it, wasn’t based in personal experience. My personal interactions with these dudes have been nothing but positive.
Yes, this article is biased. I want you to read this and reexamine your own thoughts on the subject.
I’ll close with this: I talked to someone this week whose problem with the WC stemmed from their name. Really? They formed this club as an Adepticon Team Tournament moniker… so F’ing what? Are we really that hung up on a name?
If that’s the case, you people with all your clever nicknames are in big trouble!
So, thoughts? Comments? Hugs and gropings?
EDIT: I’ve never edited an article that’s already posted – not on Bell, anyway – but I guess there’s a first time for everything.
Point is, it’s 7 hours after I submitted this article to Big Red and gone to sleep; now I’m awake and enjoying my first cup of coffee before the workday… so naturally I came to check out the first comments! Frankly, what I’ve seen compels me to address it, now rather than later.
1) Not everyone who reads this site will have heard about the 40K Wrecking Crew; if you haven’t, that’s great! Now you have. It’s part introduction – so take it as an ‘everyman’ club. Which is what it is, after all. It’s one of the larger points I’ve woven in here.
2) Nobody expects the Blogosphere at large to know these guys by name; not them, and least of all me. That’s an understood, and most of you won’t make those assumptions.
3) They answered the questions I asked. They wrote about their reputation because I’ve lead them there, not out of some persecution complex. Don’t be that schmuck who thinks so.
I wrote this article because this club is an example of a new phenomenon: if you meet them in person, you like them; you read about them online, you hate them. That’s not universal, of course, but it’s happened often enough that it’s worth addressing. Ask yourself… why?
That kind of scrutiny hasn’t stopped them from doing their thing – which I respect – but it has caused them to be mindful of their internet presence and the actions of some members.
That’s worth mentioning! Okay, back to our regularly scheduled broadcast.
