Lately we have been theorizing stupid lists for Ard Boyz and I have come to the conclusion that I just don’t care. I'm not bringing something insanely tough. I know some friends locally have been having some crap luck as of late, so they have built crazy tough, very expensive Forgeworld-enhanced IG builds that I personally find awful. These are the types of builds that can crush a normal player and make them not want to play again. It isn’t an artful army, full of interesting strategies or methods to win. No it just sits, and shoots, shoots, and shoots some more, before leaving you wondering why you wasted your 25 minutes to set up on the table.
Now where this is all going, is that with discussing this list and how it might work, it really brings up the question: is it really all the fun to win in all cases? Lately, I have found the games where both players are losing models can be a hell of a lot of fun. When just one player is pulling off models its often a miserable time for BOTH.
I know I am the “hard” player here, but trust me, winning the game on turn 2 or 3 is just not worth my Saturday. Thus my change of armies on Saturday to something that has more strategic elements to it, as well as some goofy bits that makes for an interesting game. So lets talk about how to create fun games and armies for yourself AND your opponent.
First thing you can try, is agree upon a build with your opponent. Nothing is worse then bringing something to the table that is goofy and having your opponent have a “no mercy” army facing you. So make sure what kind of army you are playing against. If they want to test a hard list, bring a hard army in response. I know I have played some hard lists against people in training for tourneys as well as goofy lists when they just wanted to goof off.
This leads to my number two thing, don’t be a jerk. If you know your army seems to be too tough, do something stupid. Give them something to kill. Nothing is worse then just not doing anything in a game, and as an opponent you should watch for ways to make things fun. Yeah it might not be the smartest thing to do, but this is a game of plastic guys, so winning here really isn’t that important as making sure you both have a fun time in the grand scheme of things.
The third thing I sometimes do, is let opponents take stuff back. Or I tell them when they miss something that would crush me. Nothing is worse then forgetting to do something that is important to the game, and you as an opponent, noticing it and not telling your opponent, is a pretty crappy thing to do. There are two people in this game, and if both get some kind of win in there, both will leave the game happy.
Finally, and I know that sometimes its hard: don’t complain. I know losing or rolling bad can suck, but the less you complain about it, the better the game will be. I know I have fallen into this rut at times with my newest addiction: Fantasy, and luckily I have some friends that will give me crap for being a whiney tittie baby. It is a hard thing to stay on top of, as sometimes luck can just continue to shove you further into the realm of crap. If your dice are failing you, then what you need to do is just go with it. Just see how bad they can get and see if you can top your last game with worse armor saves. I know a lot of Indy GT’s will give out awards for the worst rolling and I feel this is a good way to make light and have fun when dealing with the bad.
I know this isn’t your usual rant on how to create a better army. Lots of this stuff doesn't work well in a tournament space, but knowing how to play "up" or "down" based on your opponents is one of the true marks of a confident mature player. I know we all cherish our freetime and this game asks a lot more of us than videogames or other projects, so lets make that time enjoyable.
Again, as usual shoot me a question if you want at Goatboybols@gmail.com. I will always answer any questions you might have as well as give out any advice. I was on 40k radio last week, so check it out to here me talk about one of my favorite armies, Chaos Space Marines.
The pics below are some of the stuff I finished this week. I was pretty productive and got a lot of stuff done. I did another spawn as well as 3 more converted Oblits for a client. I also finished up two VC characters for another. Look for a Valk this week and more ork stuff. Woot.
