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So your ltittle pony avatar is a ruse you realy are a

Whenever you play a new player to the hobby, follow these rules.

1. Ask to see his army list, then make a hard counter for it.
2. Be sure to tell him how poorly he's doing. Constantly.
3. Tell him that his models look like a blind, epileptic chimp on crack painted them.
4. Every time he kills one of your models, be sure to say "Beginners Luck."
5. After the game, refuse to shake his hand. Be sure to put in a barb about "I only shake the hands of winners."
6. Ask him if his mom is dating anyone. Ask if she's interested three-ways.
7. Immediately pretend to call someone on your cell phone and tell them how you totally owned some worthless noob.

Save the Clubbing. Teach or Warn the Seal. If he ignores the warning CLUB AWAY.

I will only club a baby seal if I need a pair of warm mittens.

Some mates of mine used to run a (night)club back in the 90s.

It was called "the harp seal" and the signature drink was a "canadian club, on the rocks".

Would one solution be to play two games - one with your own army, then after wiping him out, swap over and let him play your list.
This way he gets to experience a new force, and youget to show him that his own list can do some sneaky things and stand a chance. Hopefully he is not only inspired, but realises that he doesnt suck?

Or better yet, switch armies and show him a few things with what he's got. That way he can see that using simple tactics can make the difference.

 TheAuldGrump wrote:
... I am biased - I used to teach Military Science to children at a program for gifted youth. The Auld Grump

military science as in air planes, and tanks, and portable generators, and medicine, rockets, and espionage, and surveillance? Aw man, I love that stuff. I'll never forgive my parents for never encouraging me, or enlisting me into those schools or classes. Instead, I have to learn algebra, and statistics. Man, that . Kids wants to learn about cool stuff that can build empires, or destroy one. You should give me a few lessons Auld Gump

 TheAuldGrump wrote:
... I am biased - I used to teach Military Science to children at a program for gifted youth. The Auld Grump

Are you Harrison Ford?

 Pacific wrote:

 TheAuldGrump wrote:
... I am biased - I used to teach Military Science to children at a program for gifted youth. The Auld Grump

Are you Harrison Ford?

No, he's the man Harrison Ford wishes he was,

Did you know or plan ahead of time to play the new guy, or was it a random encounter during game night?

If you knew or planned ahead, then I feel you did "club a baby seal". I say this because you knew ahead of time what his experience level was, and more than likely what his list was going to be, and you still brought a hard core tournament list.

You could have coached him through list building and brought your list down to meet him. You could have used the game to experiment with different units (based on your opening comments I doubt you could/would do this).

If it was a random encounter at game night there are a myriad of ways you could have made it easier on him and harder on you. When I come across a new player, I'll throw almost everything out the window except for the basic game mechanics and turn sequence. If I kill a unit, I'll tell them not to take it off until they get to see what it does, or let them back up and try a different move and stratigy. I won't worry about victory conditions. I know this might be heresy, but it helps them and ME to learn their army. I also use random encounter games and game nights to experiment with my army. Throw things in just for the heck of it, or take units that haven't taken in a while.

The point I think many of the posters are trying to make is that your opponent was still a newbie. Yes, he's been playing for a few months, but it has only been with a close friend. It's like a group of neighborhood kids playing baseball in an empty lot suddenly playing against a major league baseball team. They are playing the same game, but their skill level are on completely different levels.