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How do?

I’ve had a few beers (nothing major. Am on number 4), and have just been buggering about with the 40k app to attempt a plan of attack for getting Necrons painted.

In mind was wanting to include Szarekh and The Void Dragon, as my Lass got them for me for Christmas, and my Lass must be honoured. Other than that, I really had zero idea what I was doing or wanting to include. So it ended up being the last few units I assembled from my Indomitus sets.*

And, you know, it was actually the first time in a super long time I didn’t have a particular master plan. I found it rather liberating to go seat of the pants (as such as things go).

It got me thinking. Here on Dakka, we often see comments, tips and opinions through a competitive lens. That in itself is welcome and useful, as to someone long lapsed from active gaming, I get actual, reliable insight into the literal State Of Play. Yet it of course but one of many lenses through which we can explore the game and the hobby.

Given I’ve just made a list with no master plan, I got to wondering if anyone else indulges their hobby itch in that way. And if you actually got it on the board (list writing being an entirely valid part of the hobby unto itself), how’d you enjoy the experience?

No point being made here, no hidden agenda. Just another attempt at turning a brain fart into a hopefully interesting topic of conversation. And there can be no right or wrong answers as a result

*bagged two, swapped the two lots of Marines, sold one set of Necrons to an online friend who has having cash flow issues for a super reasonable price. Because I’m nice like that.

Yes.

Good post. Have an entire internet.

9th has been odd, as I’ve only been playing crusade games, so lists tend to be similar as they are pulling from a limited roster.

Classically, when building a list one of the first steps is “what new paint needs to see battle” From there I figure out what I need to add to make a TAC.

Other times I’ll get weird idea and run with them. Nobody touches the ground is a classic theme for my Eldar (getting mud on your boots is for lesser races) but I’ve done it with marines as well.

Before The Boy got enough of his army together, we sometimes had fun splitting my collection in half to make lists from. "You can use any unit younger than you are, I’ll choose from the rest". He was 12 or 13 at the time; I forget.

I’ve made all metal lists.
I’ve made all RT era lists.

And I’ve done more mundane theme lists, like mechanized armor columns, Orbital drops, 1st and 10th. Demi-company lists (not formation cheese, 50 marines and a little extra chapter support to fill out points. Full squads, no cheating) Blue tide.

There are so many fun ways to put a list together.

I'm fortunate enough to have enough eldar and dark eldar models to be able to field a lot of fun gimmicks. At my FLGS's casual league night, I'd frequently field lists with an emphasis on neat gimmicks or attempting to match certain bits of fluff rather than agonizing over making them especially potent. For instance, I'll theme lists around one or two phoenix lords and their aspects, trying to make all-wych-cult lists work, spamming guardians and psykers (including a warlock conclave on foot) in an Ulthwe list, spamming rangers in an Alaitoc list, etc.

I usually find one or two relatively efficient units so that I can ensure such lists aren't totally toothless, and I'll generally try to give myself some sort of win condition when thinking up the list, but the lists are quite tame overall.

I own several armies just for a silly theme.

I have "one of every aspect warrior then go from there" eldar, 3000+ points of grot-theme lists (not all grot units, but all grot conversions) and my Deathwatch army is just vets, terminators, and vanvets +HQs.

Pretty much all of my lists these days are "just for fun" or "without a plan." Back in the day competitive 40k killed the game for me, and I sold everything off.

When I got back into it during 8th, I purposely just built and painted what I liked without thought of anything other than army theme.

Now I just make sure I have some melee ability, some speed, and some firepower units and try my best. I win maybe 1 out of 3 games, but I enjoy every one of them.

Yes. Twice this week using my own Necrons in fact.

Game #1: 50pl Crusade game. The campaign is rapidly fizzling out & I've essentially stopped caring.
So I've taken to generating my lists randomly. (I have a #d list of every unit entry in my collection, not just my crusade roster..)
I rolled up a random Outrider detachment. All units start at min size & without WL traits/relics etc. Increasing a units size requires rolling its # again & having no empty slots for it. If I run out of something (ex; I only own 1 min squad of Ophydian desroyers) but roll its #? Then that = my choice (can be from any category)
1 = HQ
2 = Troops
3 = Elites
4 = Fast
5 = Heavy
6 = Flyers
7 = LoW
8 = Fortifications

I got the following rolls/units:
HQ (required roll x1) - Technomancer (pl.4)
Fast #1 (required roll) - Wraiths x3 (pl.5)
Fast #2 (required roll) - Wraiths x3 (pl.5)
Fast #3 (required roll) - Ophydian Destroyers x3 (pl.5)
3! - Elites - Reanimator (pl.6)
2! - Troops - Immortals x5 (pl.4)
6! - Flyers - Doom Scythe (pl.10)
7! - LoW (why couldn't I have rolled this earlier....) - not possible at this stage, so re-roll
3! - Elites - Skorpek Destroyers x3 (pl.5)
8! - Fortifications (:() - The Convergence of Dominion (pl.6)
Dynasty = Mehpret - couldn't roll that randomly as it was chosen weeks ago.
Has too much Melee in it for my general playstyle


Against one less experienced opponent with a 1/2 baked list I did alright. Victory.
Against a better opponent with a much tighter list? Not so much. A solid entry in the loss column.
But hey, the Convergence of Dominion saw actual play....

Game #2, a PL.25 game in a different Crusade League. 1st game! Had to be a Patrol detachment.
Dynasty = Nephrekh. Rolled before anything else.
HQ (required roll x1) - Skorpek Destroyer Lord (+WL trait & Relic) (pl.7)
Troops #1 (required roll) - Immortals x5 (pl.4)
2! - Troops - Immortals x5 (pl.4)
3! - Elites - Deathmarks x5 (pl.4)
3! - Elites - Deathmarks x5 (pl.4)
4! - Fast - Scarabs x3 (pl.2) - the only fast option pts would allow, so it had to be scarabs.
Victory!
This though is far more my playstyle. Thank you dice!
Being Nephrekh helped the Skorpek Lord & to a degree the scarabs, but otherwise didn't do much for me.

I mean..... the last time I played an actual game. With was about a yearish ago? I was on the downswing before the rona with 40k, so I wasn't playing it that often. Then the rona happened and I haven't played since. Never got inspired to TTS 40k. I got a bit inspired for AoS from animosity campaign and played a few games on TTS.

I dearly want to play a cool crusade, but also I kinda don't until the army I play (custodes) gets a book with its own crusade rules. And also, I mean, my country is so fethed I probably won't get a rona vaccine for another year, and hey, a new rona strain might have invalidated the vaccines anyways.

July 2020. Of course that was the last time I played too. My games are either for funsies or a teaching game.

I even remember my last game. I had my space marines with me because I thought someone at my FLGS would be there, and they were thinking on expanding to Primaris marines. So I wanted to allow them a sort of try before you buy with my collection in a game. Instead, I got asked for a game of 40k from a new player. I agreed as it didn't look like that other player was showing up (or any other player), and I didn't want the new player to have shown up at the store and go away without getting in a game. I then discovered I didn't have my codex.

Undeterred as this new player really wanted to get in a game, I built an army of units I knew the rules very well (basically all Intercessors, Hellbasters and Reivers) making sure I was well under 2000pts. I think later when I double-checked the list it was something like 1600pts. And was with an even more last minute change when one of Lts came off the base (apparently I didn't glue it very well) and had to substitute it for my Captain with Gravis armor which as the only other HQ other than the Phobos Capt already in the list. I did want to make sure I had a legal battalion.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Good post. Have an entire internet.

Dunno if sarcasm. But I'm serious about not being serious--40k has always been my secondary game to WHFB/AoS. I only play it just for funsies, I don't even pay attention to points anymore because all my games end up being PL anyways!

I only ever make lists for fun. It's a game. That's the point.

Also, I play orks, so...

October the 20th 1BC (the last year pre covid)

Maybe summer of 2019? Played a 3K list where I went Lascannon themed complete with two Land Raiders. Worked remarkably well vs. The Custodes I was up against.

Whenever iI play 2nd ed the lists are more fun and less competetive, but that hasn't happened since covid.

I only ever build and play for fun in 40k.

I've never been a good 40k player so I don't bother trying to be competitive, and now that I'm older I have nothing to prove. Any time with my hobby and friends is spent with the best of intentions.

My usual method for list making is to pick a theme, goal, or certain units I want to field then figuring out how to make that work on the tabletop. For me its not about having the most competitive army but making an army that looks/plays a certain way then executing that to the best of my abilities. For example, one of my best performing list for Orks in 7th (and one of my favorites) came about because I wanted to field a blitz brigade (5 Battlewagons), 3 Dakkajets, and a full size Flash Git squad plus whatever else was needed to round out a 2k point list.

But to more accurately answer the question it would probably be whenever I played 8th last (past few years feel like forever ago) with basically a mechanized Tau list of all infantry (Fire Warriors and Special Weapon Pathfinder squads) being in Devilfish plus whatever else was needed to make the list function. The closest I came to having fun with 8th but the garbage core rules drags the enjoyment into the gutter.

Wait, people on Dakka actually play the game?

Seabass wrote:
Wait, people on Dakka actually play the game?

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
How do?

I’ve had a few beers (nothing major. Am on number 4), and have just been buggering about with the 40k app to attempt a plan of attack for getting Necrons painted.

In mind was wanting to include Szarekh and The Void Dragon, as my Lass got them for me for Christmas, and my Lass must be honoured. Other than that, I really had zero idea what I was doing or wanting to include. So it ended up being the last few units I assembled from my Indomitus sets.*

And, you know, it was actually the first time in a super long time I didn’t have a particular master plan. I found it rather liberating to go seat of the pants (as such as things go).

It got me thinking. Here on Dakka, we often see comments, tips and opinions through a competitive lens. That in itself is welcome and useful, as to someone long lapsed from active gaming, I get actual, reliable insight into the literal State Of Play. Yet it of course but one of many lenses through which we can explore the game and the hobby.

Given I’ve just made a list with no master plan, I got to wondering if anyone else indulges their hobby itch in that way. And if you actually got it on the board (list writing being an entirely valid part of the hobby unto itself), how’d you enjoy the experience?

No point being made here, no hidden agenda. Just another attempt at turning a brain fart into a hopefully interesting topic of conversation. And there can be no right or wrong answers as a result

*bagged two, swapped the two lots of Marines, sold one set of Necrons to an online friend who has having cash flow issues for a super reasonable price. Because I’m nice like that.

I played a game one time where we all agreed that the only models that weren't VEHICLES or MONSTERS we were allowed to bring were the minimum HQ Requirements for our lists; and if we had an option to take vehicle HQ's we needed to take those before we took any non-vehicle HQ's.

It was honestly the most fun I've had with a s*** list. Seriously, the game needs more tanks in it.

The last two games with orks I played. One was essentially the same as your scenario where I just tried to get as much freshly painted and underplayed stuff into one list as possible - Badrukk, Zagzap, trukk boyz, some buggies and a dread with four saws.

The other was when the planned game was against one of our most competitive players, and I just ended up with a list I already had played dozens of times. So I said feth it, and traded out the three best buggies (scrapjets) for the three worst ones (squiggbuggies) because I wanted to blow up eldar with squig mines and shot squigs at them to eat their pretty faces. I also brought my wartrike instead of a more competitive option because I just love the model.

On the topic of Catherine above me, we did something similar, played a 1000 point mission, but all units had to be WYSIWYG characters and no slot limits. Essentially plays like killteam on steroids, and probably would work much better with killteam rules

Either never at all, or through out all 8th ed till PA book came out, but I played two games before the stores closed for 8th ed, So I would say in 8th ed.

I played a couple of fun games when the lockdown was eased last year with my Ork mecha list - Stompa, Deff Dreads & Kanz.

Well I haven't played in awhile, I feel so lacking without my battles but I will say all the lists I make are for fun. I make lists I want to feel good about, have fun with and I play to win.

Meaning, I take what units I like, good or bad, and use them to my very best. Often worst as my rolls are so poor but I try to get the most mileage out of even the worst rules.


Edit: I used to have whole books full of lists at various point values but then whenever I could play I always just made new lists on the spot, so the whole list building thing was fun but ultimately futile.

 Vankraken wrote:
My usual method for list making is to pick a theme, goal, or certain units I want to field then figuring out how to make that work on the tabletop. For me its not about having the most competitive army but making an army that looks/plays a certain way then executing that to the best of my abilities. For example, one of my best performing list for Orks in 7th (and one of my favorites) came about because I wanted to field a blitz brigade (5 Battlewagons), 3 Dakkajets, and a full size Flash Git squad plus whatever else was needed to round out a 2k point list.

Yeah, this. I'd say my lists are always " for funsies ", but I follow a theme most of the time. Sometimes it's also dependant on what was painted last time or what the scenario needs (that means what fits the narrative, not how can I break the mission ).

Since I'm a kasual, I guess always? Depends on your definition "for fun" I guess..

Lets put it like this, if I want to play competitively, I'll grab the chessboard, or a deck of cards... anything but GW boardgames FFS

IMHO GW boardgames aint a good outlet for competitive social interaction

 NinthMusketeer wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Good post. Have an entire internet.

Dunno if sarcasm. But I'm serious about not being serious--40k has always been my secondary game to WHFB/AoS. I only play it just for funsies, I don't even pay attention to points anymore because all my games end up being PL anyways!

Pretty much this, I don't think I've ever created a list or played a game that wasn't for "funsies".

That's how I usually play 40k. I only build competitive lists when my opponent asks for that. Primary goal is not to win,but for both players to have fun. I usually exchange lists prior to meeting for a game, and we tweak the lists if they're too far apart in power (if we catch it).

I'd say it was towards the end of 2019 where I last had a casual game for fun. I played in a narrative campaign run by my old club and had a blast. I basically took as many aspects as possible to get the classic rainbow of Eldar on the table.

The army looked cool but it was not fun at all to play as the majority of Aspect Warriors are crap and bad rules don't make for fun games. "Hey, let me charge a 10 man squad of Banshees into your Intercessors. What? I only did three wounds?" That game kind of highlighted that while a unit looks cool, they can be so bad that they are beyond saving, even for fun, fluffy games.

I would classify myself as a competitive player, but I prefer a casual competitive environment rather than all out competitive, as you tend to learn more if some guy you're playing against is in a similar mindset. My list for fun went up against the brand new Ravenguard codex and was pretty close to being trampled because even if you make things clear that games are meant to be fluffy, some people will always ignore it.

I have never built a list "for fun".

I have also never built a list to play competitively.

I take the background very seriously, and every list I bring is heavily vetted to make sure it fits my idea (and hopefully others' ideas) of how such an army would look in the lore.

This is why I am convinced there's a distinction between narrative and casual players.

I only play 40K for fun. If I am looking for stress I can find that elsewhere!

Having said that, to answer what I think is the OP's question I usually build a list to be "competitive" on the tabletop. I am not talking about "chasing the meta", but if I am going to a tourney I will be looking to be able to compete in my games. Having said that, I like having a theme and I will make sacrifices to effectiveness if it builds up a fun theme.

I do, from time to time, just throw something together for laughs. Around November 2019 I acquired a bunch of used, unpainted Cataphractii Terminators on a whim. I had an old Cypher lying around et voila, I had a 30K themed/Fallen/Dark Angels list for a tourney. They did terrible (Dark Angels and Terminators were pretty low-tier at the time), but it sure was fun. So its good to go off-script sometimes and just throw something together to see where it takes you!

I built the Necron half of the Indomitus since I was on leave from work and had nowhere to go. I took what I had to a 1000 point tourney (with a couple of extra models) and had a great time. No list planning - I took whatever I had!