I WANNA QUIT!!!

I am sure a lot of us have been there.  You are on that really bad losing streak.  You can't seem to win, let alone the fact you are getting butt punted every time you put a shiny man on the table.  Yes, this happened to me.  Yes... oh yes.  The source of my frustration?  The above.  The fact that I put a TON of work into an in progress army that got beat so horribly I wanted to hide my head in shame.  Thankfully I had a REALLY good, friendly opponent.  Against almost anyone else I would have quit.  

So the question of this very short discussion piece is:  What do you do to/How do you come back from your negative times (on the table) in the hobby?

Think of the Children (or the N00bs)

A problem is popping up in Fantasy, now that we are 2 months in to the new edition.  That being the enthusiasm that was drawing new players to the hobby is driving those new players away.  Let me explain:  New players, for those of you who might not know, usually don't know how to play the game.  If they did, they wouldn't be new players.  The vets of this game, on the other hand, are getting a little carried away with the new 'relaxing' of army composition.  And creating some decidedly terrible lists, just because they can.  I don't mean terrible in the 'why would you show up with that?' sense, I mean terrible in the 'Mwa ha ha ha!  I can take 3 grudge throwers, 3 cannons, 6 bolt throwers, 2 organ guns and have great weapons on all my units!'.

Now, before you neck feathers get all poofy, let me clarify something.  There is nothing wrong with playing something like the above... as long as the other guy knows what's going on.  But springing something like that against a guy playing his first or second game?  Seriously?  What's wrong with you?

What this game is really about.

People tend to lose track of what this game is actually about.  They worry about number crunching, W/L, min/max, which unit is under/overcosted.   We just aren't seeing the real game anymore.  Perhaps it's about time we did.

I will keep it quick, but check out these two particular subjects.  The first, a blog from a former playtester for GW and then a video from Jervis Johnson.  Especially listen to him.  It's basically his game after all.  Odds are he has a better idea of what the game is then we do.

http://bloodofkittens.com/2010/07/21/meat-for-meta-the-truth-behind-gw-playtesting/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce4_rSyTpck&feature=player_embedded

Am I Evil? YES I AM!

Maybe not the most appropriate title for this article, but I was just listening to Metallica, so it was stuck in my head.

How do you choose your army?  Let's assume for a moment that all models in the game are built equal and the game is perfectly balanced.  I'll give you twenty minutes or so to stop laughing, then we can continue.

With 8th edition dropping next weekend, I have been having a lot of conversations about army choice.  People looking to get back into the game.  Guys in the game looking to start a second army, or not liking that their uber-build from 7th ed won't auto-win them games anymore (and it not dawning on them that this is precisely why the edition is changing).  So it got me to thinking: from a purely background perspective, where do I stand for army selection?  Where do I start making the choices that help me select an army?  For me, I know the first decision is good versus evil.

It's... go time!

It's that time of the year.  The annual escalation league is over.  Armies are assembled and painted.  Players are well trained, on point... and exhausted.  So much playing over these past few months and it all comes to a head on Sunday with the League Ending Apocalypse game!

This game is going to be a doozy.  Seven players have signed up with a possible ten by game time.  Ten players all playing, as it stands, 4000pts and higher.  The crazy part?  It's all painted.  Every single model that will be in the table.  All 40000 points (or more) ALL PAINTED.  And, really, it's a national affair.  Not only do we have local people playing but non leaguers are coming from out of town.  Some driving two hours.  Others taking the day long trek (literally) from another province!  The event of the year!

Are you Prepared?

So as I'm packing up for my big trip out East, and gathering all my Eldar for what I'm sure will be the battle to end all battles at Wallshammer's place this weekend, I got to thinking: Do I have everything?