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In my group of friends (those that play wh) we all play for fun, we write fluffy lists, and play fluffy games. One guy brings nids and i break out my smurfs 1st co (CA Invictus using belials Termi's as troops rule instead of the tooled up bodyguard), i get blitzed (like i said fluffy), we all have a laugh, against orks one of the others plays tycho in his BA (despite his total lack of worth ) you get the idea, we all enjoy the setting and have a laugh.
However on guy seems to have completely missed the point and seems to only be interested in beating us all as often as possible. We tend to play our own objectives rather than rulebook ones so he takes this as an excuse to use 2 5 man scout squads and 3 10 man ML Dev squads Calgar and Vulkan and 3 hammernator squads, while the rest of us bring what we think is cool, hell in my new wolves army i take swiftclaws and TWC tooled up, our nid guy takes hordes of gaunts and stealers cause he has an alien themed army (one queen/tyrant and the rest just little nasties).
Sorry for the rant I realise I probably sound like someone just whining about a powergamer, but we're fed up with his attitude and I for one would rather try and bring him to the fun side of 40k instead of just not playing with him, out of 8 of us only me and one other still bother playing him. I thought about trying to give him a taste of his own medicine with my wolves but i think he'll probably just go "hey they're powerful i collect them now" and the whole problem gets worse.
Anyone have any ideas on how to enlighten him?

Right essay over, where's my whaaambulance

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...
I would tool up a good list for playing him, if he doesn't want to play a very fluffy game. It doesn't seem he's being a bad guy, just being a shark. Unless he is being a jerk, in which case talk to him before going all "taste your own medicine" on him.

There are guys not getting the fun side of WH, their point being that the game is expensive enough to take seriously. Me and a friend also play for fun, I would bring an IG list that has inquisitor and assasins on it,plenty of Russes and we play with boom sounds! Hehehe
But also remember that playing for fun requires non-squareheaded boring people,maybe that is essentially the issue here,it's not the game it's the person. Talking to him about the 'fun' of it might help,but there might also be some deeper reason why he acts so competitive.

personally when I encounter friends like this, (I think every group has one) you should bring a spare army list along that is competitive in order to crush them. 95% of the time my friends and I agree beforehand how we are going to play. I.E. fluffy, testing out builds, competitive, apoc or whatever but we've all learned to always have a spare list on hand in case that one friend shows up that 5% of the time only with super competitive armies.

My other suggestion is to explain to him that you are all not playing competitively and he should to becasue its not fun for the rest of you.

I have a space marine group in total we have entire chapter. But all groups have them just like Dumplingman said
The only way to get rid of one is to beat the guys army and pwn him/slaughter him in the game. I personnelaly think this would work. Thats how i took care of Collector (he had every race and an entire chapter of space marines.)
i faced his entire chapter. With me, my bro, 2 of my space marine buddies, and 2 guard players. We completely pwned him. That is how i get rid of people once i beat them, they stop talking.
(hence why i hate ultramarines. There are too many)

Just hold something sharp and pointy near his face and spit menacingly 'Have fun.....or so help me god you'll have future victories...WITH ONE GAKKING EYE'

Or words to that effect

It wasn't always this bad but recently he's taken to constant gloating because we all have equal w/l/d against each other and yet he's got a higher ratio cause we try to show him some of the fun armies (personal fave at the mo being blood claws and ragnar going AARRGGHH!! and running as fast as poss at the enemy) and when we try to explain this we're just being sore losers i'm not sure if he's being intentionally dense

PS if the claws make it to his lines I generally at least get a draw but the amount of ML's more often than not means I don't have sufficient no's to deal with his hammernators.

EDIT: thats missile launchers not multilasers, damn that goto

This player clearly enjoys the competitive aspect of the game. There’s no need to change him and no need to change the way you enjoy the hobby either.

I personally consider myself a competitive player and enjoy the tournament setting whenever I get the opportunity. That doesn’t mean I always run a “break your face” army list, but I NEVER bring a list I don’t think can be competitive against most armies. If my friends ever asked me to modify my list to be less competitive or more “fluffy” I wouldn’t see the point and I would reject the request.

Ask yourself WHY, if you enjoy the narrative or “fluffy” side of the game does it bother you or your friends losing to this guy. I think, deep down, no one “plays to lose” and you want this guy to “play by your rules” in order to have a more competitive game. That’s not a good way to address the situation.

I don't thinks about what army list you play or what troops you bring, its the enviroment you play in that makes the game. If the guy opposite looks like you had been charged with beating up his mum, or there is little or no banter because all the opponent is interested in is winning then to me thats not what the game is about.

In tournaments,fine,grind strangers into the dust. But in a group of mates in friendly games,what is there to gain if you keep gloating about meaningless victories?

You may have something there incarna, but although it started to bother some of us before others, his attitude has gone from "wow this army list is alright in a simple scenario" to "ha your army's must suck look how many times i've beaten each of you".
The idea of having a competitive list just for him rankled with me to start with but on reflection that gives me an excuse to try out logan, ragnar and a Grey Knights Grand Master with 9 GKT's ().
I think mindfield has a point about an underlying reason, he can't and wont take any advice from us on the matter. So maybe he feels the winning is his only refuge from that. If that is the case then I think its probably our fault for not trying to do something sooner, either being competitive or offering painting advice. Dont get me wrong we've never ridiculed his painting, but we've never complemented it either.

And now I feel guilty, even if he is being a jerk, Ah well time to right past wrongs and cleanse him with fire.

EDIT thats Logan, Ragnar and the GK's all in one sick and twisted potentially 78 attack unit if i'm not mistaken

Some people like to play to win, thats fun for them.
I´m a competitive player myself but I also very much enjoy the fluffy weird game with my friends where we laugh and make cannon sounds when our units are shooting at stuff

The guy you describe doesnt seem to get it that he is winning simply because he brings a competitive build to friendly games.
Either refuse to play him unless he accepts your rules or crush him repeatedly to show him how "fun" it is to constantly loose due to inferior armies.

If I was in your shoes I´d definately copy the link to this very thread and email it to him and make him ashamed.

If he’s beating you but being a good sport about it, that’s one thing. If he’s rubbing it in your face and generally being an immature jerk, that’s another. Next time he belittles you or anyone else after a friendly game, simply remind him that it’s a hobby – a game. No one’s self-worth is riding on the outcome of a game of 40k and anyone who behaves as if it does has self esteem issues that need to be addressed in order to lead a healthy life.

Take one of those butt-condoms that you get in public bathrooms for the toilet seat, and fold it into a neat Tricorn shape.

Now, take that swank piece of attire and crown him (with attendent ceremony and fanfare) King of Plastic Soldiers.

See if that makes him happy.

If not, crush his face on the table. If that doesn't work, just don't play him.

Well, see, this is where I diverge from most people. I find the fun of the game writing great lists and playing challenging games of strategy and luck. I'm a big fan of chess and to me WH40k is a lot like that with an extra element of story line and luck thrown in.

Why is it a crime try to find the most effective / efficient list, and why does strategy and friendly competitiveness automatically =/= fun?

The way someone builds there list shouldn't be a deal breaker in playing or not playing them, and playing a joke list for a laugh seems like it would be a frustrating way to play (if the synergy isn't there, it is tough to have fun).

That's not to say that sportsmanship isn't important. While I enjoy competitive play, I make sure that politeness and fun is paramount in my gameplay style.

Pyriel- wrote:If I was in your shoes I´d definately copy the link to this very thread and email it to him and make him ashamed.

that is a good idea if he carries on being a jerk I mey have to do this

GeneralRetreat wrote:Take one of those butt-condoms that you get in public bathrooms for the toilet seat, and fold it into a neat Tricorn shape.

Now, take that swank piece of attire and crown him (with attendent ceremony and fanfare) King of Plastic Soldiers.

See if that makes him happy.

If not, crush his face on the table. If that doesn't work, just don't play him.

Aw man you guys think of everything

But maybe thats been his aim all along

EDIT The problem apwill is that its not friendly competitiveness anymore, gloating ego swelling competitiveness =/= fun which is what he's progressed to sadly

Did you ever consider that perhaps he's trying to give you subtle hints that he wants you to up your game? You guys like running 'fluffy' (read: Sub-par) lists, while he likes playing games where everyone is playing to win. There is nothing wrong with the way he is doing it, and to suggest that he dumb his list down is you trying to make it easier for you to beat him is a show of poor sportsmanship. Perhaps try playing up to his level and see what happens?

To everyone who's giving "LOLOLOANALRAPEHIMLOLOOL" style answers, you'd say the same thing if the other guy came in and told his side of the story.

Pika_power wrote:Did you ever consider that perhaps he's trying to give you subtle hints that he wants you to up your game? You guys like running 'fluffy' (read: Sub-par) lists, while he likes playing games where everyone is playing to win. There is nothing wrong with the way he is doing it, and to suggest that he dumb his list down is you trying to make it easier for you to beat him is a show of poor sportsmanship. Perhaps try playing up to his level and see what happens?

To everyone who's giving "LOLOLOANALRAPEHIMLOLOOL" style answers, you'd say the same thing if the other guy came in and told his side of the story.

So do i take it from this that you go on about victories over sub-par lists for months after the gameas a way of showing them they need to get better? I doubt it. you seem to be able to put together a coherant answer. The issue is not so much his unfluffy army list but more that he is acting like some insecure 13 year old despite having nothing to gloat over.

I know a lot of the lists i play are sub par but i just take what i think is cool, as do the others in my group, and i didnt have any problem with him myself until he started being a jerk about it. But hey I asked for advice with an open mind, so out of respect to you i shall now try to make a more competitive fluffy list...... so long as i can fit in the things i think are cool

Great! Tell me how it goes. I'm just trying to see both sides of the story here. It's quite possible that he's just a WAAC jerk, but before asking him to change to your playstyle, it would be polite to attempt to accommodate his.

Like a few others have said. Just have another list set aside just for him. Have it bee cheesy as possible.

Ussually doing that gets the point across pretty well.

"the only thing you defeat when you play WH just to win is the purpose of playing WH in the first place.

Eos Rahh wrote:"the only thing you defeat when you play WH just to win is the purpose of playing WH in the first place.

QFT i'll post a battle rep when it happens, likely will be 3 way 2000 points, me wolves, one tau (the other guy who still tries playing), and him with either SM or CSM.

Any more advice is still welcome btw, been a nice balance of suggestions so far.

Eos Rahh wrote:Like a few others have said. Just have another list set aside just for him. Have it bee cheesy as possible.

Or, if you don't enjoy his way of playing the game, stop playing with him.

I will be disappointed if it comes to that, I want to try everything else first.

If this guy is a good friend, you need to talk to him. I'm guessing you have, but you all need to be there and explain your thoughts on why you play the lists you do and give him recommendations on making a "fluffy" list to play just for fun. As a compromise, perhaps once a month, you all play balls out with tooled out lists so that he gets what he wants out of the deal as well. It can be worked out.

I'm like you, fluff and fun first and foremost in a friendly game. In a tourney, hey, go skullcrusher on everyone, that's what they're for. But friendly games are just that, friendly. I use them to try out seldom used units, new combos and lists, and having a couple hours of fun, win or lose. But that's just me and my friends. Others have different definitions of fun, so that's why you need to talk with your pal and work out a compromise that you both enjoy.

All this advice about laying a smackdown won't work. It'll just make him tweak his list MORE and make you play how you probably don't want to. Just work it out. It's a game, he's a friend, he'll understand.

Why is it a crime try to find the most effective / efficient list, and why does strategy and friendly competitiveness automatically =/= fun?

Why is it a crime do I hear you ask? Because if competitive gamers were allowed to spread their creed, it would be the end of civilisation as we know it! What do you think went wrong in Italy with Mussolini? Why do you think Nazi Germany came into being? Competitive gamers have commonly shown themselves to inevitably be members of far right oppressive factions! As such, their illegality is the only sensible course of action.

Brought to you by the Dakka Casual Gaming Mafia
~We persecute because we care~

Well I think if he wants to play competitive games while the rest of you enjoy a more casual setting it probably is not going to work such that everyone can enjoy gaming with him. Bringing a list to crush his is just playing to his style and accomplishes nothing if you are serious about playing casual games. I do think someone needs to have a talk with him about his bragging... That just gets old really fast and it sounds like he wore out the welcome mat a long time ago. There is nothing wrong with competitive gaming but being rude is just not cool. Maybe he needs to find another group to game with that enjoys competitive gaming.

G

Maybe he just want to gear his army with the best gear combination possible so when re sell it in the future , they wont be like "wth? his whole army is composed of multi meltas , do not want "

Hey, some people enjoy winning. Nothing wrong with that.

EDIT: I find the attitude of most warhammer players puzzling. I play lots of video games, RTS's and the like. Nobody who plays those goes "Oh yeah, I use underpowered units because they're fun hurp a durp". Why? Because winning IS the fun. Don't you want to win? Why wouldn't you want to have an army that works?

LunaHound wrote:Maybe he just want to gear his army with the best gear combination possible so when re sell it in the future , they wont be like "wth? his whole army is composed of multi meltas , do not want "

Vulkan

i guess what I saiw was a bit unfair.

I wasnt trying to say that playing to win or use the most effect units is bad or anything no not at all.

But like the poster and most of his buddies as well as me and most of my buddies. We like to keep the list to rather fluffy armies. PLay campaigns ext ext. Which to me makes the game far more fun. So playing soloy to win in a setting like that just isnt very sportman like nor does it make it very fun for the rest of the crowd.

What I ment by bring a cheese list is that if he wants to use and play with the best possible lists then fine so be it thats how some people like to play so inturn you bring the best list that you can bring when your up agianst him.

Eos Rahh wrote:"the only thing you defeat when you play WH just to win is the purpose of playing WH in the first place.

QFT and sigged, so long as Eos Rahh doesn't object.