Goatboy’s 40K Thoughts – Who is the REALLY the Best Wargamer?
Best General VS Best Overall – who is the REAL WINNER in wargaming?
Goatboy here again and last week I participated in a Texas Regional GT called the Railhead Rumble. I ended up winning the Best Overall award for the weekend and had a great time doing it. I lost my final game to a rather spectacular case of bad dice mixed with a good opponent. The guy who beat me won best general and it got me thinking – which “award” is actually better.
Lately my time for games has been severely limited. You should know I have a lovely new spawn that takes up a good amount of my free time as I need to ensure my poor wife doesn’t go to crazy dealing with his ogre like appetite. This lack of time also gets hammered by needing to complete commissions, study for some certs, and try to get some sleep when I can. So when I get a chance to game I have to look at all the aspects of the game to get satisfied. This means that – while winning is fun – smashing someone with a grossly effective list is not that exciting of an option.
This game isn’t just about winning the battle of math on the table top. I know that both sides of the board need to have a good time – especially when I only get a chance every month to get a game in. This leads me to making sure that whatever brand of plastic dudesmen nonsense is a worthwhile endeavor into the realms of grim dark dice battles.
The Contenders
Which leads me to the feeling that – while Best General is what some of the 40k Elite prefer – I think Best Overall is the real measure of success at an event. When I played some of the other events and won all my games in a rather brutal fashion I always felt a little bit bad for my opponents. I didn’t get crushed on sportsmanship but that is more due to my nature then the list I decided to throw down with. I knew that if my games were too easy I most likely didn’t bring the right list to have a good time with. This gets less of an issue as the tournaments keep moving forward as most armies have a good chance to compete but still you know when the list you bring plays itself instead of forcing you to make tough decisions.
Best Overall represents all aspects of the game I like. You can’t compete for it if your army is not decently painted. I know my style isn’t always liked – but at least you will always play against fully painted/converted models. I think that is one of the biggest frustrations you have as a tournament player when you consistently play against a “grey” set of miniatures. I have a buddy that always gets paired up with an unpainted army during an event. I know we all don’t have time/skill/desire to get models at least with 3 colors on them so I understand but it is still frustrating as a player. Painting is one of the things I feel separates a lot of players from fly by night junk punchers to actual people who actual enjoy the game.
The other major factor of Best Overall is being decent to play with or against. I know I have had my issues from time to time. Frustrations from bad dice to terrible match up luck can ruin an event for you. I have made a serous effort of only getting mad at my buddy Nick Rose because we both need to ensure our heads don’t get to big from decent showings. The Railhead Rumble had an interesting set of sport requirements so I feel I got lucky that I did well. I had some amazing opponents, good games, and had fun. I think the biggest help for anyone lacking in sportsmanship is to actually bring some empathy to the game. We have all had bad luck games so an opponent that fails 9 2+ saves is someone you should feel a bit bad for. It is the only way to make the game not a one side affair of terrible nonsense.
The other major sportsmanship thing is to try and mitigate any “arguments” you could have. I know this game can be very up and down with measuring. Pre measuring helped things a lot as you can quickly come to a shared opinion on ranges, charges, etc. I know I would tell my opponent, who was carefully measuring a large squad for 2 inches distance between each model, that hey guess what your models are 2 inches apart and if I throw a blast on them I would only hit x amount. It alleviates any tension and it makes the game more about having fun instead of just trying to gain an “upsetting” advantage. That is the key word in all of this – would this upset you if it was pulled on you? If so then you shouldn’t try it.
I like that most players who play against me are happy to do it again. I think that is the biggest compliment you can have in the game. I know a lot of people that have “hated” players and while I don’t think it is always a fair response it does make you question what that player did. It also makes you wonder who they play if they consistently make people mad.
I have another local Texas event in a few months and hope to get a chance to go out to the ATC later on this year. I had a rough time at LVO and I needed to have a nice refresh of why I play the game (not LVO’s fault I brought the wrong list to have fun with). This win at Railhead has done a lot to make me feel like the time I have invested was worthwhile. Plus I got my revenge on Bad Touch Ben Mohile by defeating his Necrons in round 1. Talk about a rough start to the weekend.
Sorry this is a bit rambling post that feels like a watered down Brent article (miss you!). I have been trying to figure out a Harlie list I would enjoy but every time I break out the math it keeps me thinking this isn’t a river dance of fun and instead is just a sad panda pee pee dance. Look for more list ideas in the coming weeks. I have a new one that seems decent thanks to my buddy Nick. It’s reading like a strong list with a so called “bad army”. Plus it just feels like a Goatboy smash face list. Until next time – roll 6’s and try to have fun.
What type of winner do you want to be?
