Demoralized WFB Player

[Lord Manton]

Ugh, your LGS sounds like hell. No scenarios? WTF?? If you have access to the 3rd ed 40k book, I highly recommend it. It's got something like 15 missions in it, they each have different Force Org Charts and weird objectives and deployment restrictions.
I think you are just another in a long line of people who are suffering from the culture of GW gaming. It all seems to be about trying to table your opponent. The problem is, it doesn't matter how many different objectives you have, if they table you, it's game over. (well, one of the problems...) The only solution would be to find a couple of cool peeps who like to play the way you do and just stick to them. If it gets boring, you can always change it up with different missions, campaign supplements and all that jazz.

[Erik Setzer]

It's not an "LGS," it's the local GW store. And that way of playing the game seems to be spreading.

I tried to explain why I don't want to play a game like that to one guy, and he thought I just couldn't write a nasty list. I *can,* in theory, though, as he discovered when he went ahead and tried to do one for me, I'd have to buy some stuff to make a proper beatstick list. My bigger problem is actually that I will seriously not enjoy playing it, and in order to win such a game, I have to go into "competitive mode," where I stop joking around with my opponent and having fun, and instead just concentrate on winning the game and crushing his army, and that results in a bad experience for my opponent (me as well, but I'm more concerned about making a gaming experience bad for someone else). I guess if they're okay with that, I could do that... but I have to work on getting more of the right models.

He also was trying to make a list for me to use in our End Times bash, which wasn't a good idea both because he's going to be on the other side (likely leading them), and I'm also going to confer with my co-generals before I finalize a list, as I want to try to have some synergy with them. I'm thinking direct every bit of shooting into the Chaos Warrior blocks (Mark of Nurgle does NOTHING to shooting), and then throw Skeletons into them to hold what's left in place once they're not much threat. Scream at Chariots with Terrorgheists and stuff (those buggers can be nasty), direct artillery at monsters, hit Skaven, Marauders, and Beastmen with our other basic and elite units. Alter plan as necessary for what's available, who deploys where, and what happens in the game. (Like me summoning more with Nagash.)

I don't have a print copy of the 3rd edition book at the moment (sadly, all the print books my dad had, that I'd have gotten, were either destroyed or ruined in my family's house fire), but I do have an electronic copy, and that was actually something I was considering pull out for some fun. I remember playing some of those scenarios and they were awesome, even if they could be brutal at times. I think older WFB books also have such scenarios, and I *do* have print copies of the BRB for 6th and 7th edition (someone wanted to get rid of their books and was just giving them away). I'll look into them.

[Cap'nSmurfs]

It does sound like a lot of the problem is a mismatch in aims with your local regulars. Have you spoken to people to see if there's other more like-minded folks around, in a game club or a wider casual circuit? You probably have, but it really feels to me like this is the nub of the problem.

[Erik Setzer]

Part of it is really a location issue. In Jacksonville, we still have some FLGS's that carry various miniatures games including GW games and even have active communities for GW games as well. The problem is, Jacksonville is a VERY large city landmass-wise (one of the largest in the world, IIRC), so getting to stores that aren't close is a bit of a hassle, especially for someone like me who doesn't drive (medical reasons) and given that the public transit isn't nearly as good as you'd expect for a city its size. The local club tends to stay mostly at a store on the opposite side of town from me, which is a bummer, as I really like a lot of those guys. I actually like some of the people who play beatstick-style when I'm not having to play against them.

It feels weird trying to talk someone into playing a different kind of game than they want to play. I'm not sure it's really possible. I'm hoping to see more of the WFB players more often, a lot of them don't seem to want to do nasty lists, and in some cases they have crazy ideas just for S&G's. One guy is building a Vampire Counts army called the "Bloodmobile army" with a lot of Coven Thrones (which he's even converting for various vampire bloodlines). He's also wanting to do a "Khemri Diplomat army" with most of its points in Tomb Princes (and a Tomb King, I think), which will then hit people with curses all over the place when Princes are killed. They might be effective in game, might not, but they're designed to be fun and have a theme, not just to win games. If I get smacked around by an army like that, I think I can have more fun.

Archaon's list might drag me to the "Dark Side," though. I may get tempted to just deploy an army with Chaos Warriors as Core Units, and then throw in stuff like Stormfiends, maybe a Hell Pit Abomination, and maybe even some Daemon or Warrior monstrous cavalry (though, like the Warriors, I'd have to buy those... not too expensive, thankfully). But I'd be so tempted to make it fit the fluff still, so I'd want to throw in a Grey Seer to represent the Grey Seers helping Chaos just to get their position of power back. As the kind of guy who finds it deplorable to mix Tzeentch & Nurgle or Khorne & Slaanesh, I kind of handicap myself a bit at times.

(Holy smokes, I write a lot, too. I don't know how people get through all this without wanting to stab my typing fingers.)

[Patrick Ryan O'Leary]

As a side note on this thread that seems pretty quiet, if you get the opportunity to pick up the General's Compendium, I find it to be almost invaliable in the amount of variety it can bring to the game. I found a copy on eBay for $20-25. Just food for thought.