The 40K of today is a lot different from the game I started playing a long time ago, but having said that one thing is as true today as it was then you have to build your army to try to win, what you mean that after all those years of playing you're only working that out now Frank I hear you say in a good humoured way.
I'll try to explain, within the DGG the club I would play 40K in there are players I would have a poor record against & players I'd have a good record against when playing, now in days gone by what I'd do was if playing a player I'd a poor record against I'd bring in a powerful army & against a player I'd a good record against I'd dumb the list down a bit, simple as that.
Simple as that? well not really any more, sure as in days gone by players can still spam the best stuff as could you, the difference now is if the best stuff comes in a formation (& let's be honest in the newer codices what doesn't ?) then it also comes with a lot of add on's either in free rules or free models, do you really thing the cron lifestar would have that name if it wasn't for all the free rules ?
Fight fire with fire, that as I see it is really the only way to go, I was in the club last Wednesday night playing Deathwatch & there was a 40K game on the table beside me wolf's v guard, now what got my attention was the amount of stuff the wolf player seemed to have on the table for an 1850pts game, he was using a wolf formation that gives you all vehicles up grades for free, now I've no idea what points amount all of that came to but I would think it was a lot, to the best of my knowledge the guard player army was straight out of the codex.
Gone are the days when I could have gone in with a 1850pts sisters army & play in a game where I might have a chance of winning as the odd's even against a player I would have had a good record against would be to heavy in his favour & while I don't mind losing I do like to think that the result of the game win or lose was somehow related to how I played, so how to over come these problems ? well as the only real army I have left these's days are my guard I'll start there, I was thinking of doing a Harlequins army as I do like assault, something the guard are not really know for.
The problem & the fix, as I said I was thinking of Harlequins but there are three problems there as I see it, one I don't have any & while I could borrow some I would have to buy my own, which bring's me to two what if I don't find them to my liking ? three would be painting them & while I'm not a bad painter I'm not a great one either, so back to guard or to be more precise Renegades & Heretics.
How does that fix your problem Frank you may ask, well let's take a look at the problems & see if I can fix them shall we ?
1) Unlike the Harlequins I own this army & know I enjoy playing with it, but I'll have to buy more models.
2) Painting, I know I know how to paint these as I've already painted lots of it.
3) Fluff & free stuff, any army I'd play would have to sit right with me fluff wise, to me 5 guardsmen in a drop pod packing plasma would be a no no, my army has to feel right, guardsmen fighting along side daemons for the glory of the chaos gods, now that does fit in & is where the free stuff to balance things out a bit coming in thanks to a formation.
4) Assault, that's where the daemons apart from been free stuff come in & while the number of daemons I own is few to say the least again just like the Harlequins they are something I can borrow
plus as I was a daemon player before I know I'll enjoy playing them, also I can paint daemons with washes which is the way I like to paint these days.
The 40K I knew & loved is gone & if I was a betting man is not coming back, today's 40K is 40K apocalypse & if I want to play it which I do I've just got to embrace it for what it is now, not for what it once was.
So come hell or high water or even the apocalypse for that matter I'm going back playing 40K, so all that left in this post is for me to thank you all for dropping in & if you like to leave a comment it would be welcomed.
The love/hate relationship with 40k i think many gamers go through. It was one of the first table top games i played and met some life long friends because of it. But our group hasn't touched it in years, just the codex/price escalation along with stacks and stacks of dice chucking/special rules kind of turned me off. Well maybe it was a combination as we found skirmish games to be more fun and we could get multiple games in during our limited time as a group.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong i love the models/fluff but after a certain point i just couldn't be bothered to keep up. I still have all my orks and occasionally pick up a model or two from the bargain bin from the past editions but that's as far as it goes.
Thanks for the input Cereakiller & I know how you feel as a lot of those things are things I've problems with myself, but I feel I've an army that I love & like yourself a lot of friends that I don't see these days as I don't go into the club.
ReplyDeletePlayed a game last night, I had no formations for my Dark Angels but the Imperial Guard with Adeptus Mechanicus just seemed to have all these extras and the Guard aren't exactly the guiltiest for bonuses. I got spanked 14-4 but had a really good game, which is what it's all about for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feed back Dave, I think you hit the nail on the the head Dave, it is what it is but if your enjoying doing it at the end of the day that's all that matter.
DeleteI feel your pain. 40k provides a wide range of opponents, but their compatibility is a mixed bag and the game itself is complete crap.
ReplyDeleteI'll play anything if it gets my sci-fi troops on the table (40k is living proof of that), but I limit my opponents to like-minded individuals. AND these like minded individuals are willing to play my games (Pulp Alley, my home-grown rules, etc) occasionally.
I find that balance is one I can live with.
Agreed Will, but like you said if I want people to play things I like then I need to play what they like, as I said in the post the 40K I loved is no more but I want to play with my toys, now I need to just find the balancing point, thanks for the input mate.
DeleteMany games are what we make of it Frank.
ReplyDeleteTrue that Nigel, but I'm still a tormented soul regards 40K mate, thank for the input mate.
ReplyDelete