Goatboy’s Warhammer 40K: Grey Knights Lessons Learned
Goatboy here with the Grey Knights lessons I learned at the GW NOLA GT. It was a fun one!
I just got back from the NOLA GW event a few days ago. I had a blast and it was a lot of fun going back to a GW event. The last one I did was a few years ago in Dallas and then I did got to a few GW GT’s back in the day where I made a lot of friends, had a blast, and did alright in the grimdark battlefields. I tip my hat to GW, Mike Brandt, Nate Goodfellow, Mr. Salty John, and all the other judges/event organizers for putting on a hell of a time. I am excited to go to the Austin event as it is in my backyard – but I can say I will try my darndest to go to all of these this next year.
How’d I Do?
But enough waxing poetic about the event – let’s talk about the competitive side of things. I did alright – ended up 13th place after day one and was seeded to the top bracket. That is pretty good for an army I hadn’t played yet so while it does show its power it does give you an idea of what I want to talk about in this article. The most important thing, in any event, is if you want to do well you should practice.
There were so many things I forgot to do in the game – like movement tricks and there were options that might have let me win the 2 games I lost before I bowed out so I could head home at a decent time. Movement is probably the most important aspect of 40k right now (Besides having an army list that can kill stuff) as it is one of the few things you can control without too much random nature. In this event I seriously forgot how fast my Jump infantry could move and how they could have got me into the game a bit more with pushing that jump ability and shoot/normal move power. Lord – I think I would have had some more primary points in the last game as well as not get so greedy in the second game.
Slow & Steady Wins the Race
That leads me to my other thought – stop being so greedy. Slow and steady wins the race a lot in 40k as you build up to winning the game in the end. Scoring in all aspects is very important – even if it is only 5 points for one round in the primary. I zeroed out two times in a primary mission and I easily lost that game. I told my opponent – Hunter with some nicely painted Space Wolves – that I knew I lost when I got zero even though I had killed most of his army by turn 5. In the old 40k that could have been a loss as I “tabled” him if I pushed it but in today’s game it is a race to hit that consistent primary to ensure you have enough gas to take you to the end.
The greedy aspects are on another loss when I got my Grind them Down but decided to try and kill my opponent’s ability to do more damage to me by completing a charge into Aggressors. I forgot how much pain his army can dish out when charged or he charges so I lost that unit and the Grind points I had locked in. I lost that game by a point. Cameron was a great opponent too and if I wasn’t so dang greedy I could have saved myself and won that game that I was controlling the movement phase.
Practice Makes Perfect
These losses are how you learn and how you figure out your army. Practice is important as well as keeping the scoring ability of your army in sight as you push your plastic dudes around the tabletop. Thus I plan on playing Grey Knights for the next two events I have lined in instead of the crazy Army jumping I am known to do during a season. I just need to get my practice in, figure out my movement better, and hopefully lock in my target priority to ensure I can kick some butt and take some names.
With that in mind – my next list will not be 6 Dreadknights as I feel a more “MSU” style list will work the best. Utilizing more bodies to ensure I can move around as well as just making sure I build enough CP to ensure I can do some of these tricks without worrying a psychic power will fail and thus I end up exposed to my opponent’s wrath. I will talk about the list update next week on my Friday to show where I want to go. I don’t know what I will do with the other 2 Dreadknights – but we’ll see if someone wants them for an army at some point.
I Had a Blast!
Thanks again to all my opponents – I had great games all around, met a lot of cool people, and hung out with some dear friends I missed seeing multiple times in the year. This game is not about just crushing it with dice – it is about the friendships you create, the people you meet, and just having a good time. We spent our year not seeing people and it is hard for those who leave and breathe to interact.
Hope to see more of you all soon tableside!
