Competitive 40K: Want to Get Better – Join a Team
One way of improving your performance at tournaments is to join a team. Let’s take a closer look.
There are a lot of people playing competitive 40K. Since the launch of 8th edition, the numbers of players, both in competitive and casual play, has steadily increased. Even with the current marine meta,with a heavy dose of Iron Hands, new players are still dipping their toes into the competitive scene. Some will enjoy it while others will stick with a more non-competitive environment. As players progress they come in contact with a lot of other players and experiences. Many times a player will hit a point where they don’t seem to progress in their attempts to improve their tournament performance. There are a number of ways for someone to improve their game play before, during, and after a tournament. One way of improving your performance at tournaments is to join a team.
Why Teams?
Why would you bother joining a team? There are several reasons to take this step. It can be forming a new team with a group of friends, or it can be on a team that has been around for a while and play in your area. The easiest way is usually to form a team with friends. For example, the team that I am on, #REKT, was formed with friends from the store when we were participating in a local team tournament. Other people try to join an already established team. Each team has different requirements to join. Some will let just about anyone join, while others have a whole process and trial in order to become part of the team. However you get on a team, they will be helpful in your quest to get better. Your teammates can help you work out a list, determine what new army to play, or how to make your gameplay better. It’s nice to be able to have people readily available to bounce ideas off of. These extra eyes can sometimes see something you may have missed.
The Pros
The recent best team in ITC, Brohammer, created a powerful list together, as a team, to play at the Las Vegas Open and this showed in hot the team did as a whole at the event. Another benefit is that you will have opponents nearby for a quick pickup game or to play practice games for an upcoming tournament. This can be really helpful if you have teammates that play different armies as this allows you to practice against different kinds of armies outside of playing against them in a tournament. These are just some of the examples of the pluses of being on a team, or club. I really didn’t go into the social aspects of the being on a team. Things like team BBQs and dinners allow for people to get closer but can also allow their significant others to get in touch with other ones and discuss how the hobby affects them. There are also the stories from going on team trips together. I have a fair number, so if you ever see me just ask me about them 😉
The Cons
As with any group there can be some issues. There can be times where some personalities clash, or maybe someone on the team is a habitual cheater. There could be times when you may not like, or enjoy, the direction that the team is taking. It could also be something as benign as just being on a team that doesn’t have a certain army. In each of these examples there are ways to handle the situations. Ideally you would have one person, or a set of people, who are in charge and have the final word for the group. This can involve having a talk with members, even to the point of expelling the more toxic members of the team. They can maybe find someone who plays certain armies or build the army people want to practice against as a team. If you voice your concern, then they can act on it and make the team better as a whole. They should be trying to do things that will help the team and address your concern in the process. As time progresses you should see the team get better, as well as you yourself getting better.
You are not forced to be on a team but I really can’t see a reason not to be on one. The benefits of being on a team greatly outweigh the possible negatives. What you gain from being on a team is really what you, and your teammates, out into it. So get out there and socialize a bit. Get on a team, or recruit more teammates if you are already on one, and make everyone better!
~That’s all for this week. I hope you enjoyed the article. Let us know what you think, and stories about being on a team, in the comments section below.
