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Im not to worried about the big prize. I would love to win it, lets be honest, who here wouldnt? I have my mind though on making top 3. Im usually in a position that I can find a way to get what army I want if I really desire to do so. I am not in a position to think I can place in the top 3 yet though. I havent had the practice, nor the time to get familiar with my new army.

I think you'll do fine, Mike. I'm sure you've played against IG dozens of times, it's not hard to figure out their MO. The true challenge is knowing your target priority, which would be similar regardless of which units you bring to bear. The difference i guess is knowing which weapons (or in your case, HUGE GUNS, lol) are the best tools for the job.

Lascannons - transports/MCs
Meltaguns - Tanks/MCs
Plasmaguns - Transports(meh)/MCs
lasguns - lighting cigarettes
Autocannons - transports/fast vehicles/infantry
Heavy bolters - infantry
heavy flamers - infantry
big-ass low-ap templates - anything on the board!

I think you'll do just fine. Just remember to tetris-block formation w/ chimeras around your artillery, they're open-topped, and you'll need the cover saves.

mike_houghton98 wrote:LOL So the people that are nervous are so because we are trying to boost our egos? Thats a rash generalization.

Nervousness is about fear. There is no rational reason to be nervous about playing 40k. The worst possible scenario is that you lose all your games. If that happens, I seriously doubt your wife is going to leave you, you lose your job and your dog will die. And if all that does happen, it has nothing to do with you losing at a game of toy soldiers.

I'm pretty passionate about the hobby and I get excited about playing because i'm naturally competitive. I want to win just as much as anyone else but I don't get nervous because I'm not losing anything if I don't win. The only people that do are the ones so emotionally invested in the hobby that it becomes a way to supplement their ego. Honestly, if you are getting anxiety over games of 40k then it is a little too much a part of your life.

dereksatkinson wrote:

mike_houghton98 wrote:LOL So the people that are nervous are so because we are trying to boost our egos? Thats a rash generalization.

Nervousness is about fear. There is no rational reason to be nervous about playing 40k. The worst possible scenario is that you lose all your games. If that happens, I seriously doubt your wife is going to leave you, you lose your job and your dog will die. And if all that does happen, it has nothing to do with you losing at a game of toy soldiers.

I'm pretty passionate about the hobby and I get excited about playing because i'm naturally competitive. I want to win just as much as anyone else but I don't get nervous because I'm not losing anything if I don't win. The only people that do are the ones so emotionally invested in the hobby that it becomes a way to supplement their ego. Honestly, if you are getting anxiety over games of 40k then it is a little too much a part of your life.

I appreciate that is not a life and death situation. I never treat it like that. There are different levels of fear and nervousness though. While I may not be scared like I was the first time I killed a man, I still have a little nervousness issue. If I lose, I will be completely fine afterwards, trust me it happens enough that I have adjusted to that feeling. I do treat it as a competition though and currently my idea of what I want from a tournament are to do as best as I can, make sure my opponents have a good FUN game, and win as much as possible, in that order.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

tetrisphreak wrote:I think you'll do fine, Mike. I'm sure you've played against IG dozens of times, it's not hard to figure out their MO. The true challenge is knowing your target priority, which would be similar regardless of which units you bring to bear. The difference i guess is knowing which weapons (or in your case, HUGE GUNS, lol) are the best tools for the job.

Lascannons - transports/MCs
Meltaguns - Tanks/MCs
Plasmaguns - Transports(meh)/MCs
lasguns - lighting cigarettes[b]Autocannons - transports/fast vehicles/infantry
Heavy bolters - infantry
heavy flamers - infantry
big-ass low-ap templates - anything on the board!

I think you'll do just fine. Just remember to tetris-block formation w/ chimeras around your artillery, they're open-topped, and you'll need the cover saves.

hahaha I have seen Lasguns take down tervigons... just a little FYI.... are we still getting in D**K mode, are we going to have to get you hammered before the tournament to make sure your calm and relaxed?

mike_houghton98 wrote:I appreciate that is not a life and death situation. I never treat it like that. There are different levels of fear and nervousness though. While I may not be scared like I was the first time I killed a man, I still have a little nervousness issue. If I lose, I will be completely fine afterwards, trust me it happens enough that I have adjusted to that feeling. I do treat it as a competition though and currently my idea of what I want from a tournament are to do as best as I can, make sure my opponents have a good FUN game, and win as much as possible, in that order.

Hehe.. 1st time you killed a man.

All i'm saying is that it's not rational to be nervous. I think we'd have way fewer meltdowns and cheating if people were less ego driven in this hobby.

dereksatkinson wrote:All i'm saying is that it's not rational to be nervous. I think we'd have way fewer meltdowns and cheating if people were less ego driven in this hobby.

It's worth noting that people are definitely talking in this thread about being nervous about two different kinds of thing, probably without realizing it (I just thought about it):

- Nervous because you might lose---which is kind of silly, who cares?

- Nervous because you might wind up playing against some jackass and not have a fun day---although not a huge problem in the big scheme of things, it would definitely be unfortunate to drive a couple hours and have to deal with some huge loser creating an incident, cheating, or such.

I fully admit to being nervous about the latter happening and wasting a perfectly good day, but am not at all concerned about the former. I definitely expect to get stomped, but am just looking forward to a good time.

dereksatkinson wrote:I'm not nervous at all because i'll be playing a table top miniature game at 'Ard boyz instead of using 40k as a way to boost my ego.

Believe it or not, some people are a bit nervous in large groups of people that they've never met before. Or about traveling long distances to places they've never been to deal with people that may or may not be raging dicks.

The ego thing has little to do with it, for most.

I'd be happier if I could use one of my fully painted, familiar armies. But using lots of non GW models is coming back to bite me in a big way. And I'd be happier if it was a smaller game - I don't like the time pressure. But I do like the competition and seeing how well I could do. I was really focused on trying to win the army until I reminded myself that I have plenty of unpainted stuff already, lots of neat project unfinished, and I don't get to play several of my armies as it is!

@Mike

I'm gonna try my darndest to just chill and have a good game. Certain opponents bring out the richard in me more than others, however -- last night i played a trial game vs Bryan and he happens to be someone i just can't seem to have a relaxed game against.

My pre tourney prep:

The night before:
I - Get wife to spend some quality time with me.
II - Review the rules and any recent FAQ's
III - Review dex's that I do not have much experience against.
IV - Go to bed early
V- Drink 3 glasses of whisky before bed to ensure slumber and see item I

The morning of:
I - Eat a big breakfast
II - leave early enough to have some onsite time to setup and relax (I hate being late and or rushed)
III - recognize that I am in for fun first and to win second.

We will have a good time. I think that some folks may be coming in from out of state because of the thought that there may be some easy pickings. Boy are they in for a surprise; in my short time down here I have played against some excellent players and I expect the competition to be fast, fierce and friendly.

acsmedic wrote:My pre tourney prep:

The night before:
I - Get wife to spend some quality time with me.
II - Review the rules and any recent FAQ's
III - Review dex's that I do not have much experience against.
IV - Go to bed early
V- Drink 3 glasses of whisky before bed to ensure slumber and see item I

The morning of:
I - Eat a big breakfast
II - leave early enough to have some onsite time to setup and relax (I hate being late and or rushed)
III - recognize that I am in for fun first and to win second.

We will have a good time. I think that some folks may be coming in from out of state because of the thought that there may be some easy pickings. Boy are they in for a surprise; in my short time down here I have played against some excellent players and I expect the competition to be fast, fierce and friendly.

Heh...if you moved that step V from the night before to the morning of, we'd see eye to eye. *hiccup*

Dashofpepper wrote:

Heh...if you moved that step V from the night before to the morning of, we'd see eye to eye. *hiccup*

I was a medic for too many years. Saw too many folks die from drinking and driving. Now if I had my wife drive me both ways ....... that could work

Confidence and the need to win are what defines a winning player. TFGs have both of those characteristics in spades. Because of that, expect a higher proportion of them at the semis.

If unpleasantly competitive players make up about a 1 in 10 players in a normal tourney, then expect it to be around a quarter or a third in a semi-final. That's pretty much what I found when I went to semis last year.

Douchiness often rises to the top.

Droofus wrote:Confidence and the need to win are what defines a winning player. TFGs have both of those characteristics in spades. Because of that, expect a higher proportion of them at the semis.

If unpleasantly competitive players make up about a 1 in 10 players in a normal tourney, then expect it to be around a quarter or a third in a semi-final. That's pretty much what I found when I went to semis last year.

Douchiness often rises to the top.

Douchiness is often in the eye of the beholder too. I have heard this repeatedly about tourney players in general and I have only played a couple of douches at tourneys. Now if someone calls you out for fast rolling, or the now (at least to me) infamous "your FNP does not work cause my missile is AP3" comment and I correct the lapse, some would say that is me being a douche. I say it is me wanting to have a fair game. I pay points for my FNP and me not using it appropriately is unbalanced giving my opponent the advantage. Now I do not do this in a snide or patronizing way. I point out the rule in question politely and hope that my opponent agrees.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I think some folks call douchebaggery when it may be their own misunderstanding of the rules or intentions of their opponents that causes issue. Please think before you call someone a douche. I always do. I want to make sure that I am not creating a douche friendly environment thus helping folks be a douche.

WOW I have not said douche that many times since grade school. I feel young again !!!!

acsmedic wrote:

Droofus wrote:Confidence and the need to win are what defines a winning player. TFGs have both of those characteristics in spades. Because of that, expect a higher proportion of them at the semis.

If unpleasantly competitive players make up about a 1 in 10 players in a normal tourney, then expect it to be around a quarter or a third in a semi-final. That's pretty much what I found when I went to semis last year.

Douchiness often rises to the top.

Douchiness is often in the eye of the beholder too. I have heard this repeatedly about tourney players in general and I have only played a couple of douches at tourneys. Now if someone calls you out for fast rolling, or the now (at least to me) infamous "your FNP does not work cause my missile is AP3" comment and I correct the lapse, some would say that is me being a douche. I say it is me wanting to have a fair game. I pay points for my FNP and me not using it appropriately is unbalanced giving my opponent the advantage. Now I do not do this in a snide or patronizing way. I point out the rule in question politely and hope that my opponent agrees.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I think some folks call douchebaggery when it may be their own misunderstanding of the rules or intentions of their opponents that causes issue. Please think before you call someone a douche. I always do. I want to make sure that I am not creating a douche friendly environment thus helping folks be a douche.

WOW I have not said douche that many times since grade school. I feel young again !!!!

Ah... now all we have to do to complete the circle is to call someone an ass-hat.

In all seriousness, your opponent in that example sounds like the type I'm referring to, not you. At best they are simply ignorant of the rules, at worst they are an example of TFG trying to gain advantage.

acsmedic wrote:

Droofus wrote:Confidence and the need to win are what defines a winning player. TFGs have both of those characteristics in spades. Because of that, expect a higher proportion of them at the semis.

If unpleasantly competitive players make up about a 1 in 10 players in a normal tourney, then expect it to be around a quarter or a third in a semi-final. That's pretty much what I found when I went to semis last year.

Douchiness often rises to the top.

Douchiness is often in the eye of the beholder too. I have heard this repeatedly about tourney players in general and I have only played a couple of douches at tourneys. Now if someone calls you out for fast rolling, or the now (at least to me) infamous "your FNP does not work cause my missile is AP3" comment and I correct the lapse, some would say that is me being a douche. I say it is me wanting to have a fair game. I pay points for my FNP and me not using it appropriately is unbalanced giving my opponent the advantage. Now I do not do this in a snide or patronizing way. I point out the rule in question politely and hope that my opponent agrees.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I think some folks call douchebaggery when it may be their own misunderstanding of the rules or intentions of their opponents that causes issue. Please think before you call someone a douche. I always do. I want to make sure that I am not creating a douche friendly environment thus helping folks be a douche.

WOW I have not said douche that many times since grade school. I feel young again !!!!

Someone getting uppity about being forced to play the game correctly is also a douche though.

I'd like to think that since the wheat will have been separated from the chaff a bit, more people will know the rules.

Droofus wrote:

Ah... now all we have to do to complete the circle is to call someone an ass-hat.

In all seriousness, your opponent in that example sounds like the type I'm referring to, not you. At best they are simply ignorant of the rules, at worst they are an example of TFG trying to gain advantage.

We are lucky to have a great set of stores to play in down here. The stores owner seems to not be shy about disqualifying folks or even banning them if they are TFG Although that is based on the one tourney that I have participated in since my move down here.

I know what you are saying. I just have not experienced too many TFG's in tourneys. Perhaps that will change on the 12th with a few hundred dollars on the line. I hope not.

Since I had to miss prelims due to the wife's birthday party, I've just been giving my friends some practice games to help fine-tune their lists. They have a healthy appreciation for speed freeks now, lol.

I will say this ahead of time. I have a horrible horrible memory. I can study and study and study, but I will continue to forget stuff. I just hope my opponents are forgiving. LOL

I am sincerely hoping for a continuation of my good fortune at the 'Ard Boyz semi finals. Not because I won the past two I played in (though that was certainly nice!), but because in both cases I had some of the best, most hard fought, intense games that took all my tactical acumen to win.

THAT is what I expect out of the semis and that is what I am looking forward to!

The only thing I am afraid of is getting dice humped like I did in Chicago (damned uncaring cubes of evil!)

gardeth wrote:I am sincerely hoping for a continuation of my good fortune at the 'Ard Boyz semi finals. Not because I won the past two I played in (though that was certainly nice!), but because in both cases I had some of the best, most hard fought, intense games that took all my tactical acumen to win.

THAT is what I expect out of the semis and that is what I am looking forward to!

The only thing I am afraid of is getting dice humped like I did in Chicago (damned uncaring cubes of evil!)

I want a BatRep like last (or two) year (s ago)!

I truly hope everyone that comes to our store has a good time, but I hope the eventual winner is one of our guys. We have really worked hard to build up 40K in the state over the last few years. Making sure their are good tournaments, and players. May the Dice Gods shine down upon one of our nine

Inquisitor_Syphonious wrote:

gardeth wrote:I am sincerely hoping for a continuation of my good fortune at the 'Ard Boyz semi finals. Not because I won the past two I played in (though that was certainly nice!), but because in both cases I had some of the best, most hard fought, intense games that took all my tactical acumen to win.

THAT is what I expect out of the semis and that is what I am looking forward to!

The only thing I am afraid of is getting dice humped like I did in Chicago (damned uncaring cubes of evil!)

I want a BatRep like last (or two) year (s ago)!

Dig far enough in the Batreps section and you'll find em. Last year 1 for 40k and 1 for WHFB semis. AND a tale of my ruin in chicago at the hands of Darth Diggler can be found there as well.....

here is his DE one from last year
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/251907.page

So I will admit to a certain amount of trepidation regarding the ucoming semi's. I'm not nervous about losing, or even playing a TFG. I think my nerves stem from the simple fear of the unknown.
I don't know who and what I will face, I don't know if my list is good enough, or if I will play well enough. I don't want to make a fool of myself, and I don't want to let my inner WAAC out.
Is it stupid? Probably. As someone pointed out its just toy soldiers, but dammit, it means something to me!
It may not make a lot of sense, but the feeling is exactly the same feeling I'd get before a hockey, or soccer game.
Anyway, different reactions fron different folks.

Redwunz wrote:So I will admit to a certain amount of trepidation regarding the ucoming semi's. I'm not nervous about losing, or even playing a TFG. I think my nerves stem from the simple fear of the unknown.
I don't know who and what I will face, I don't know if my list is good enough, or if I will play well enough. I don't want to make a fool of myself, and I don't want to let my inner WAAC out.
Is it stupid? Probably. As someone pointed out its just toy soldiers, but dammit, it means something to me!
It may not make a lot of sense, but the feeling is exactly the same feeling I'd get before a hockey, or soccer game.
Anyway, different reactions fron different folks.

I must say sir I concur with most of your points. Good Luck in the Next Round.

Thanks! You too.

Redwunz wrote:It may not make a lot of sense, but the feeling is exactly the same feeling I'd get before a hockey, or soccer game.
Anyway, different reactions fron different folks.

If you are going to the same 'Ard boyz I am in Medford i'll be sure to punch you in the chest and give you a head butt to snap you out of it. I'll be the guy with lights in his tanks.

I've played in every ardboys tournament and went to the semis last year. I've never played against anyone that I thought was a total dick and I never heard any blow ups from across the room. All the players are competitive and all the armies are harder than the prelims but every ardboys has been a good time.

I would imagine that most of the competitors at the regionals and above have a firm grasp on the rules, common RAW/RAI issues, etc, and most will probably discuss iffy issues prior to the initiative roll. All those things together do make for much smoother games.