Morality of the Net List

[Learn2Eel]

A lot of people that start a new army often aren't sure what models they like and what would make a good army. In that sense, I don't mind net-lists, but I feel I have more....."respect", perhaps - for people that write their own competitive army lists.

[Deadlift]

It's hardly questionable morality to take the most powerful list you can to an event where you go to WIN! It's not a casual gaming event, it's a tournament.

Which is why I don't go to them, to me it's how to turn a fun game of 40k into something far to serious. I would question those types though that enjoy crushing an opponent for fun.

[ElectricPaladin]

It's a complicated situation.

On the one hand, I do think it's kind of unsporting to throw personality, style, uniqueness, fluff, and everything out the window to play the best list possible that you got off the Internet. Isn't part of the point of this game that list-building is part of the tactical acumen that you are meant to be displaying when you play?

More importantly, I feel that netlists hurt the community of the game. Netlists contribute to the feeling that my - say - Blood Angels were beaten by your - say - Imperial Guard, because the Imperial Guard have this awesome list you can make, which you found on a wesbite. The Blood Angels do not have this awesome list. Thus, I lost.

I would much prefer feel like I, Mark, was beaten by you, Robert, because you are a better player. That's an enjoyable feeling of losting, because I can still feel like if I become a better player, which is sure to happen any day now, next time I'll beat Robert. If I feel like my army lost to his army because of this awesome list... well, there's not much I can do about that except quit Blood Angels and take up Imperial Guard, is there?

Now, this problem is endemic in 40k because it isn't a very well balanced game. This isn't the be-all end-all quality of games, and I'm not trying to start a "which game is better" fight. I'm coming to this from the position of someone who likes a lot of games. That said, there are games like Infinity where I always feel like I was beaten by the guy across the table from me, and there are games like 40k where I frequently feel like I've been beaten by my opponent's list and never had a chance. This may be changing with the new round of codex releases - we'll see.

On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with using a netlist. I can't stop you. Furthermore, the Internet has put us in a position where the information is hard to avoid, and once you know about the netlist, how can you resist wanting to use it? Everyone likes to win, after all.

I suppose it's really a personal choice. I can't even say I wouldn't do it. If I came across a netlist for my Tau, say, that seemed fun and interesting, I'd at least give it a try. That said, it's true that netlists tend to rely on power and spamming the "best" thing in the codex, which means I'm unlikely to encounter a netlist that would appeal to me.

[Maelstorm]

For a tournament, I'll bring a competitive beat-stick list. It can be extremely un-fun to pay to get mauled while sticking with a "fluffy" list.

For all other games I take whatever I've most recently painted - to experiment and find out if synergy can be created. I don't care if my list gets tabled if I've had fun with friends and learned something new along the way. I love learning the tricks/plots/ploys from other codex armies!

[Mr Mystery]

There's also a very real downside to net listing....

The next net list from the next codex will have trumping your net list as a high consideration. And if that wasn't enough, it's highly likely your net list will suffer with each new game edition, and even more with a new codex version. Whether design studio intention, or just new toy itis is hard to say, but be prepared to have to spend more overall keeping your army up to speed than a less engineered list...

[OrksOrksOrks]

There's also a very real downside to net listing....

The next net list from the next codex will have trumping your net list as a high consideration. And if that wasn't enough, it's highly likely your net list will suffer with each new game edition, and even more with a new codex version. Whether design studio intention, or just new toy itis is hard to say, but be prepared to have to spend more overall keeping your army up to speed than a less engineered list...

Which is the advantage of making a list you like the look of, its always going to be what you want

[Learn2Eel]

There's also a very real downside to net listing....

The next net list from the next codex will have trumping your net list as a high consideration. And if that wasn't enough, it's highly likely your net list will suffer with each new game edition, and even more with a new codex version. Whether design studio intention, or just new toy itis is hard to say, but be prepared to have to spend more overall keeping your army up to speed than a less engineered list...

Which is the advantage of making a list you like the look of, its always going to be what you want

Agreed. I know a tournament player who often buys his stuff from my LGS (but rarely plays there) and it is astonishing how much stuff he will buy to stay competitive. One day, he walked in and bought something like six boxes of power-armoured Grey Knights out of the blue. At least I can say that that particular purchase has likely proven to be worthwhile!

[Chris Copeland]

Honest to God, I don't even know where to find "net lists." I am a Tyranid player who recently made the transition over to playing Dark Angels. I'd LOVE to find a spot that says, "Here. Try this. THIS is a competitive 1850 Dark Angels Deathwing build." I think my Google-fu is not that strong...

In any case, I'm not too worried about net lists... I play against whatever my buddies bring... I'll keep fiddling with my Deathwing until I get it right... Cope

[Mr Mystery]

Pretty much my take on things. For instance, I started Daemons the other month because I really liked the new models, and GD's aside, the whole range is pretty dashed spangly and new! Yet to build them all, but once I do I'll find out whether tinkering is required.

[DrLove42]

A lot of what can be said has already been said

I was there as well...I took Chaos.

A single dragon, cos i didn't want to be That Guy
I also used Spawn and Maulerfiends cos I love them

Not a netty competitve list, no DP, only one unit of Havocs....and I can midway with 2 conclusive wins, 2 very close draws and 2 very close losses.