Goatboy’s Warhammer 40K: Always Remember to Win
One of the hardest things to master in 40K is how to constantly focus on winning. Here are some tips to keep your head in the game.
A few weeks ago I got to play the Alamo 40k GT and did a bonehead thing in a game where I wasn’t playing for the win in the end – I was playing for a tie due to not remembering the mission. I say this as we see more and more events I hope to get into better mental shape with all the overlapping rules, missions, and game nonsense. With that – let’s make sure we remember some things.
Study the Missions – Really Read It
First of all – always read the mission and how you score the objectives. This is important as I forgot the mission I was playing needed you to sit on two objectives to get the initial 5 points. This was huge as I walked off the objective to try and get an Engage point when I should have sat on the one objective to get 5 points versus the 2 points I got by engaging a table quarter. This was me being dumb and my opponent even asked did you mean to do that. I goofed big time and it was my fault for not paying attention to all the mission parameters to well – actually do the mission.
Lock In On the Primary Mission
Whenever you start to play a game make sure you know the Primary mission. As important as the Secondary Missions are (and will see how they change) you need to keep a solid lock on the main one. As the game continues to move and the armies start to shift around the main mission and how you score and control it will be how a lot of games end up getting won. It is the only mission where you can get a max in 3 turns. This is important to lock on especially when you face an army where your secondaries might not matter too much.
Destroying the Enemy Alone Won’t Cut It Anymore
It is also why I think my armies need to be reworked a bit to ensure I have ways to do that. Just killing your opponent means you are set up to only do one thing and there is no surprise for your enemy. They know they either need to kill you better, survive better, or just ignore what you do as you go about getting all pieces to win the game. I have seen a lot of games where leaving a lot of your opponent alone but ensuring you do all objectives gets you into the upper level of point achievement.
Make a Plan – Stick To It
With all of this in mind you as a player should remember – make a mental plan to win, right off the bat. From picking out important enemy options, where you need to be by turn 3+, and just how you can survive an onslaught of damaging firepower – all of these things you need to keep in mind when getting to a game. With Tournaments using BCP it is pretty easy to figure out who you are playing next in the pairings so always check out your opponents list, figure out what needs to be dealt with, and remember what you need to ask about your opponents army.
Ask Questions
Heck, just remember to ask good questions is an important part of this game. These are things like – how far can you charge with all your rules and abilities? Is there anything keeping me from shooting you? What does that weird model do? A lot of players are not as forthcoming unless you ask them what they can do. If they don’t answer you – well that answers a quick question on their player character more than anything else. It also lets you ignore some of the discussion battles you might have if you come into the game blind and not knowing how your enemy throws dice on the battlefield.
Next time I want to talk about painting and how to get the most out of your armies look and feel. From a few simple things to getting a cohesive list and utilizing some tools to help keep your units working together.
What are your mental tips to keep focus during the game?
