Goatboy’s Monday 40k: Should We Be Ashamed of Ourselves?
Goatboy here again and today I want to chit chat about some of the things I feel bothering me with 40k. I’ll start with asking the basic question right now – are we having fun?
Seriously is some of the stuff we are all getting pissed about really involve having or generating a good time?
Hate the Loopholes, not the Player
The biggest thing we should be ashamed of is giving players such a hard time for playing within the rules. Alex is a great guy who I got to interact with more this weekend than I have in the past. I knew people he knew etc and didn’t really get a chance to chat at other events. I didn’t like his list as I thought it emphasized all the asshattery in 40k (Min Ally for the max efficient rules USR usage and how Battle Bros are just not good for the game right now) but he is a good example of a decent guy who gives you a tough, fun, competitive game. You can only squeeze as much fun out of game with such efficient armies and Alex is the type of player that can make an ass whuppin not seem like the end of your so called 40k career. So congrats to Alex for he is the ultimate Las Vegas Champion of 40k and Poker it seems.
From here I also want to say something about how some of these lists you would never bring to a casual game. This is the biggest thing I feel is missing in some of the events is that these lists are kind of removing any of the “threat” factor to losing the game yourself. The sheer amount of twin linked, rerolls, and powerful psychic shenanigans are removing the fear factor from getting your junk smashed in. The reason a Death Star can be so powerful is that it takes crazy luck to effectively deal with it that the law of averages means you will most likely not lose your investment during any of your games. When you do the game folds so quickly that it loses any fun you might have had with the army – but in reality you deserve it just like I did when I failed getting Forewarning in 13 tries during a game.
But really this is all stuff we have read about, commented on, and complained about in forums all over. I think the biggest pile of BS is that I think players forget that there are two people playing this game. It isn’t a goldfish match and both sides of the table need to at least feel like all the time used for rolling dice, painting models, and getting to the tournament needs to be worth wile. It is why I have moved to bigger units so losing models is not disheartening to myself and still give my opponent the feeling like they are accomplishing something .
This act of accomplishment is huge in any game and we all need to remember a tabling does nothing for you or your opponent. Sure you are now the supreme badass that dominated the enemy’s army and will win all the accolades and lamentations of your fellow wargamers. Or – will you just look like a tool that made the game a pile of crap for someone that might not want to come back again. This lack of empathy for your opponent is going to become a huge factor as events have to work harder to fill up.
The TO’s don’t care about the normal top 25 players you see in most events. In fact I think those players are not really important to an event at all. Sure you want those same batch of guys at your tournament as they usually bring a few other people there but those guys are not making your any money. They are not buying those raffle tickets, shot glasses, dice, and other random bits of extra cash creators you want to help bring your event into the black. As more players get disheartened by the so called competitive scene they will look at these farther events as a waste of time. What happens when 25% of the armies are death stars and players who spent a ton of time on converting their “weak” armies just get crushed over and over and sit at the back tables without any hope to win the “amazing prizes”?
Of Prizes and Paint
Speaking of prizes who in their right minds think you are breaking even with these events? I do extra work while there to help mitigate the cost of an event but I will tell you right now no player who wins comes out ahead with the prize support. Yeah you could resell what you won but that is a complete pain in the rear with shipping, ebay, and finding buyers. I am not in this game to have it pay for itself and would do better to play Magic or one of the others to actually try to generate income. I do at times wish I could do this for a real living but than think about the type of lists I would play over and over and just thank my stars and garters I do ok with the side work of painting and art.
I love going to events. It is where I can see friends that I only get to talk to via texts, blog comments, and random phone calls. I worry that the game moving towards this kind of unfun experience will remove a lot of what makes the events possible by removing the none always top winning players. I can’t tell you how many times I have read blog posts with people questioning why they came out to an event when they just playing lists they have no hope of killing.
It gets more worrisome when you have good players bringing these style of lists instead of the normal challenging lists they are known for. So this questions what the hell should we do? Or what can we do? I know Comp is a hated word at times but I still think it might be an idea. It has to be basic, very easy to read, and in no way just judged. It needs to also feel positive instead of negative with ways to limit options but not completely destroy creation of good lists. We all don’t want to play grot armies right?
This leads to another thing that I feel is annoying in any event. Please, if you are spending the time and cash to fly out and play at event, at least have a painted army. It is frustrating for players who spent a lot of time to get a painted army to the table top and face a gray or primed horde. I think it is rude to your opponents and the TO who want a really good looking event with awesome armies across the table top. It is a way to sell it to people and it makes events a lot more fun even if you are getting your ass beat by a pink army of doom. I just had a buddy who played 3 games against players with no paint or just primed armies. A few models here and there not painted isn’t a big deal and locally you shouldn’t expect everything painted all the time but in any event that you had to fly and spend money on a hotel room you should expect to play against painted armies.
The Big Shakeup and the Future
I also hope we have GW looking at actually creating a good FAQ that fixes some of these things. We have heard rumblings that certain units are missing a bit of their rules in printing that would have fixed one thing and kept the game decent. I also feel that GW should look at taking an active step in paying attention and keeping up with rules issues and game issues. The rumblings might point to a new bit of info coming out so will see if all of this writing is just a bit of whining.
The next event I have on my dock is grand Adepticon in Chicago. I think it will be a big fest of those Space Elves with their special buddy the Baron. You would think a guy who has bones of a Farseer on his belt would not be accepted in a unit full of Pyshic Dbags. This is just me and if I would give any advice to GW, Event, or locally I would say: all armies that are Battle Brothers should not be allowed to be them – they should all just be Allies of Convenience. Every terrible combo/army build seems to live and breathe with that one rule to allow normally none army allowed USR’s to become a part of that army. I don’t care what you say – there is no fluff right now in the ally abilities of armies. The only time I see Allies work the way it probably should be is in CSM/Daemons because their IC’s can’t join anyone and the army still works well together.
I hope we see some changes coming soon and maybe some new armies to shake up the game. I hope the FAQ that might be coming out fixes some of these typos in the rules. I hope a big shake up is what is needed to get the game in line (I’m looking at you Imperial Knights) as the TO’s don’t want to do the change themselves. I hope people still keep going to events as it is one of the few ways I can shake up my year with trips, hang outs, and fun conversations. Sorry for this trail of random thoughts and hope people can get something out of this. I will talk about some ways to be Seer Council next week as well as some army ideas on where things might need to go.
Final thoughts – the LVO was amazing and I will be back again. I love the BAO format missions and think Reese, Frankie, and the rest of the Frontline Gaming crew put on a hell of a show. They have a lot of passion for the game and it shows in a great event with excellent terrain, awesome gaming mats, and a real desire to make sure everyone has a good time. I am planning on going to their Bay Area Open event in the coming months. Those guys are good buds and I am glad I could be a part of the event by having my art be a big part. No matter what you think of the state of the game those guys will try their damnedest to get you a good time.
Goatboy out – what would you tell GW to do if had to choose just one thing to help make the game better?
