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You've saved your money until you had just enough to cover the cost of your next unit, spent hours building and painting, it made sure that it has the best wargear from the lists and decided on a strategy to make the most of it's ability.

Then about 30 seconds into the the first turn your brand new unit is decimated by your enemy no matter how many saves you make or cover saves available.

Why?

Is it just bad luck or are all new models doomed for death?

Could it be just that people like to see that look of complete failure when they see your hard work wiped out without even doing anything?

Now I'm hoping it's not just me but it seems most new units seem to be cursed until they have been involved in at least a couple of battles, which can be a real pain when you are using a whole new army.

Relax its not just you.

It could however be something to do with the fact they are an unknown quantity.

For example
"ok hes got 2 squads, a tank and....whats that thing then...."
then we have three alternative thought processes here:
a) oh that's a X, that thing's lethal, kill it!
b) oh that's a Y, that thing's rubbish, but if so why did he field it...he must be up to something, kill it!
c) I have no idea what that is, better kill it to be on the safe side.

Certainly my experience when the converted models hit the table anyway.

The coolest models always die first. Guaranteed.

but - easy solution, make all your models equally cool and their tactics will not work and as a result it would cause an implosion in the brain.

You may also think "Ha! This is my new unit! Lets go kick bottom!" and put them into more harms way than you might have otherwise as they are new and shiny and exciting, therefore want them to have lots of glory.

I just have bad luck when it comes to new shiny units.
My new Escher gang suffered three 'dead' results on the serious injury table after their FIRST scenario in our local campaign. This was after having spent the best part of two weeks painting them.

No kidding, I was watching a game between a friend of mine, and first turn in, his Valk was blown up by a squad of Lootas. Sad day for him...

1. You don't know how to use them properly, because you've never played with them before. Maybe you put them in more danger than they can actually stand...

2. You're opponent doesn't know how deadly they are, as he hasn't played them before either. So he overcompensates and fires everything at it just to be sure...

And thus you can do a tactical outflank with your leman russ, and...


CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDD!!!!!

Anyways, they will want to eliminate it ASAP, so just kill the units not shooting at the new unit.

It's not inexperience as I've had new units of stuff that I already had in the list die really quickly. New stuff or stuff that is seeing it's first game ever after painting always just seems to have bad luck.

Happened the other day with my new Wraithlord, yet using it the same way in another game it actually managed to help me win by holding some Death Company (6-10) still long enough for Yriel to rush in and suicide against the unit (Sanguanor (sp?)) saving me from having to deal with it on another objective. That thing had to last through two rounds of combat with roughly 8 pf/th attacks and with 1 wound and still managed to shoot the San Guard apart in the couple of turns before so they never got to see cc.

After finally amassing enough credits to add a second heavy stubber to my Escher gang, the stupid girl got herself killed after a single game. Thankfully another ganger became a specialist after the same game, so it all balanced out in the end.

Some of it may be 'Observer Bias.'

The human mind seeks patterns, and can be very selective about doing so at times. As such, people subconsciously disregard the incidents that don't fit what they already believe.

Justicar Alaric wrote:Now I'm hoping it's not just me but it seems most new units seem to be cursed until they have been involved in at least a couple of battles, which can be a real pain when you are using a whole new army.

It's not just you. We call it 'New Model Syndrome'. Last example for me was my brand new fully painted Monolith. First time I've ever used it. First turn zzzzap to a Lascannon. *sigh* I still had the other one left over, but it was annoying.

H.B.M.C. wrote:It's not just you. We call it 'New Model Syndrome'.

Wow, so regular it even has a name. Impressive. So does this mean my Hive Tyrant will be shot to pieces in his first game?

It's just the way of the dice. The dice hate new models.

Also I think there is a moral victory if you oppoent kills your new thing before you've had a chance to use it.

Also, I always kill the unknown first. I played Eldar for the first time ever at a FLGS tournament a few years back, he was using all OOP stuff, I wanted to kill anything that looked specifically old and fruity first, as I assumed it must be some kind of crazy trick. It wasn't, he sucked.

Well are these unpainted new models? Because my superstition is the lack of paint makes them suck.

I remember wiping out my cousin's new Devastator squad with my Ravager's destructors back in 3rd edition. I laughed so hard; it was very unsportsmanlike but funny nonetheless.

1. You notice them more.
2. You overstretch them for cinematic effect.

I've both seen this played arrow straight and avoided altogether.

My Dakka fex, first game went down round 2.

My Trygon, however, lasted through it's first seven games... then died to a single firewarriors squad.

I finished painting a Hive Tyrant, which promptly got obliterated by Exorcists in its first game. One of the first battles my brother used Saint Celestine in, she (with a squad of Seraphim) mishap'd and rolled a 1-2. Next game, she mishaps again, but gets deployed by me, so I stuck her in front of a Defiler.

Funnily enough, my Scythed Hierodule hasn't survived a game yet either. It tends to do one huge, scary attack (entire 10-man Tactical squad wiped in one Acid spray!) and then get annihilated by Las-preds or TH/SS Terminators.

yes xD in a big battle made by the local GW store they make a battle between brand new necrons (especially, the monolith) and CSM, with the rest of the people participating, using the store models.... they took me a iron warriors squad and las-gunned predator....

first turn of shooting they asked me... "where do you want to shoot with the tank" "to the monolith" "its a tough one..." ZAAAAPPP!!! KABOOOM!!!!! the face of the store staff was a fething poem

ArbitorIan wrote:1. You don't know how to use them properly, because you've never played with them before. Maybe you put them in more danger than they can actually stand...

2. You're opponent doesn't know how deadly they are, as he hasn't played them before either. So he overcompensates and fires everything at it just to be sure...

This.

I'm extremely worried about my all-new Imperial Guard. Almost every unit includes something shiny, unorthodox and labor-intensive.

My brand-new LR Crusader i spent all week assembling and painting lasted long enough to kill all of 5 marines before it took a glancing melta shot... which wrecked it

New stuff needs to pay it's dues.

That's why whenever I finish up some new stuff I throw it in a game that doesn't matter just to get those awkward 30 seconds of table time out of the way.

Elector wrote:My brand-new LR Crusader i spent all week assembling and painting lasted long enough to kill all of 5 marines before it took a glancing melta shot... which wrecked it

This happened to me last week with a Land Raider Crusader I got in October 2008. That's what I get for taking so long to finish painting it

Of course it was also it's first game.

LunaHound wrote:The coolest models always die first. Guaranteed.

If you play Dark Eldar this is never a problem

Clthomps wrote:

LunaHound wrote:The coolest models always die first. Guaranteed.

If you play Dark Eldar this is never a problem

I find most of the Dark Eldar characters to be cool looking xD

LunaHound wrote:
I find most of the Dark Eldar characters to be cool looking xD

Kruellagh the Vile fanclub! Population: Lunahound

Brother SRM wrote:

LunaHound wrote:
I find most of the Dark Eldar characters to be cool looking xD

Kruellagh the Vile fanclub! Population: Lunahound

I like Lilith's mask
Drazhar
And Asdubel especially how he looks lazy on his throne.