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So i was reading some posts here there and everywhere about peoples attitudes (win or lose) and thought i would share a couple of my "i love this hobby and the guys i get to play" every now and then storys.

Im not an old hat at this game, but im no spring chicken either, i would like to consider myself on of the best in my neck of the woods so i generally tone down all my lists before fighting buddys so we can all have a good time. However in this event here, i let my buddy know it was on "like donkey kong" as they say, becuase a 2500 point tournament was rolling up. I played my Dark eldar, he played his Blood angels.

by the end of turn two, he had 5 terminaters walking over 40 inchs to me, 8+ Death compony. i had lost a ravager. by the end of turn 3 i had taken his last model off the table before my incubi could actually swin in Close combat (i had 25 wyches + archon + Klavix going before his 3-5 deatch co after shooting and his 3 termies) i still only lost 1 ravager.

I felt pretty terrible, game ended fast, he was only able to take down 125 points of my 2500 army. while his forces are pretty gone, then he said something that blew me away. He looks up, laughs and goes "well, man, i understand that." i was confused about it and still felt kinda bad for the strong dice i had going and the amount of just death so he explains "i never understood how dark eldar were supposed to be big and bad, but now i see it, and i understand it, it actually makes perfect sense to me, and i had a hellava good time." And thats when we started talking about the choices in each others armies and how to tweak for the upcoming tournie, and it his really good attitude toward the whole thing made my night. Really great sport.


So how about you dakka? you seen people that just make you wanna play more of this game? that make you think "holy crap, i hope he isnt ganna be ticked" but they turn around and show you nothing but awesome?

My best opponent is also my best team mate.

Those are the kinda gamers I have at my house every weekend and up at our local store on tuesdays. Makes playing worth it. I will say something only if someone starts to whine a bit much and that usually brings them back into perspective.

My best friend took a beating from me when were learning. It didn't matter what armies we played I always absolutely destroyed him whether I tried to or not. As soon as we stepped outside his house and played other people, he became one of the most brilliant tacticians I've ever seen. I quickly realized he held back every time when he played against me and got used to losing and learned at a very young age really not to care whether or not he lost or not. When he took on this attitude at 13 and applied the strategies I used to beat him along with his own, he played simply for the carnage of it all, and really, while we still knew each other, he eventually began to really try an compete against me without fear of losing and reversed the tables by the time we graduated high school together.. most of the time.
He's always been the most fun for me to play, too bad we went our separate ways. Someday I hope to find a player that is as brilliant and yet laid back as he was. (other friends have their qualities that overlap these as well.. but for some reason "Kiev" was just the embodiment of a good competitive game while somehow remaining noncompetitive throughout.

kinratha wrote:My best opponent is also my best team mate.

Same here. Always a good match.

My best opponent was my buddy when i was in germany. Being that both of us were army, after each game we had a game "AAR" (after action review, which, if you're in long enough you will come to hate) where we'd discuss where thing went wrong for each other and where they went right and where we 'should' have gone/shot, etc. I really think it helped me out greatly in every aspect except for list building, as we had slightly different thought processes.

Ensis Ferrae wrote:My best opponent was my buddy when i was in germany. Being that both of us were army, after each game we had a game "AAR" (after action review, which, if you're in long enough you will come to hate) where we'd discuss where thing went wrong for each other and where they went right and where we 'should' have gone/shot, etc. I really think it helped me out greatly in every aspect except for list building, as we had slightly different thought processes.

My favorite opponants and I always conduct AARs afterwards, often at Perkins or some other all night restaurant afterwards over a pot of coffee. How I should have moved, how he should have moved, how to recover, lamenting bad dice rolls, etc. Some opponants are too frustrated, and not a few think I'm being condescending, but I only want to improve the gaming experience for everyone. I never follow a game without thinking how I can improve, and analyzing if my game (success or defeat) was due to list, luck, manuver, or opponant. I also try to determine what I can change and what I'd WANT to change. Some things you just keep trying to make work because you like them, rather than because they're any good.

My favorite opponants almost universally get into the character of their armies to have a good time. Ork players who make it very clear when they are declaring the "WAAAAGH!", Chaos players who cackle and gloat as they close in, Tau players who offer a chance to surrender before the match even begins, and one last chance to serve the Greater Good in late game, Dark Eldar players who talk about which models they want to enslave the most, or offer threats to units that fail their Archon (and even cackles of glee when the Archon fails. "Haha! My plan has worked! Now _I_ shall rule the Kabal!") I had a regular Tyranid opponant who could make the Zerg noises in his throat, and often would when charging me. My old Necron friend who would just land his VoD Lord and 20 strong warrior unit right next to my command squad and justs stare and me and point, looking ever so much like "the Evil Monkey that lives in my closet."

Any time we can crush each other in character I can have a great time, because now we're not just competing, we're grown-ups playing with toys, going "Vwaaaaah!" "Vroom!" and "DAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKA!" It's why I play 40k.

My best opponent is Kasrkin52

My best friend who got me into the game. He's always tweaking and twinging his list to cut me down, and I do the same, but to really see us at our best, we play together in 2v2.

I have opponents who give me advice on how to beat their army before i fight.

My friend really makes my day sometimes when I play him in both 40k and WFB. I normally am the one who owns him but we laugh it off and have a good time doing it.