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I keep brewing new lists. Every time something new. I also buy new models on occasion. I think it comes from my mtg background where such things are more common. But there is less time investment there.

This summer I have been focusing on my space wolves. I have so much space wolves. Stil assembling and painting. Some models only used once. Before that I did GSC. Tyranids are in storage. I also have my old 5th edition dark eldar in the addict.

My question is how do I stop this? I need to create a well balanced list I can have fun with. If I go to competetive I will just end up annoying my friends and make an unhealthy gaming environment. If I make it to bad I just end up loosing a lot. (There is a contradiction for you.)

But I want to settle on something. So I can finish painting and then move on to the next army and juggle two or three armies with the same lists instead of some new list every time.

Suggestions for dessissionmaking are welcome.

 Niiai wrote:
I keep brewing new lists. Every time something new. I also buy new models on occasion. I think it comes from my mtg background where such things are more common. But there is less time investment there.

This summer I have been focusing on my space wolves. I have so much space wolves. Stil assembling and painting. Some models only used once. Before that I did GSC. Tyranids are in storage. I also have my old 5th edition dark eldar in the addict.

My question is how do I stop this? I need to create a well balanced list I can have fun with. If I go to competetive I will just end up annoying my friends and make an unhealthy gaming environment. If I make it to bad I just end up loosing a lot. (There is a contradiction for you.)

But I want to settle on something. So I can finish painting and then move on to the next army and juggle two or three armies with the same lists instead of some new list every time.

Suggestions for dessissionmaking are welcome.

Honestly, I think it’s a fool’s errand to even try. Shiny model syndrome is a heck of a thing. At the end of the day willpower is the only thing that can save you.

You can try building to a list and just sticking with it, but that’s rough. Unless you are downloading some tried and tested netlist, you are going to want to tweak it as you play it. And the way the rules/meta shift, what was good 6 months ago might not be good today. So you end up with your core list, and then some sideboard units to swap in and out as you add things your list needs as the game evolves. A few years go by, and you are working on your second battle company.

Personal vows can help, but only work as long as you have the will to keep them. “Paint a unit before I buy a new one” “Don’t add to the army until I’ve play tested it 3 times” “sell an old unit before I buy a new one” A lot depends on exactly your situation and goals.

Best of luck.

So you need to create a balanced list that you can have fun with, but isn't too overwhelmingly competitive? If you want to play well, you have play a lot of games with the same units. Jumping around a lot is antithetical to getting better, despite how volatile the top competitive metagame appears to be.

How do you know if you've got a decent list before you commit a lot of time to it? Look at top level competitors' lists and find a middle ground with what you want to play. Take a unit you like and find out how the best players are using them. That gives you some certainty that you can grow your skill if you stick with playing this same list. Once you have an army that's strong and you learn to play it well, then you can start scaling it back when you're beating your friends too easily.

How do you prevent yourself from getting new models? Magnetizing helps a lot. That'll help you try out different loadouts for your centerpiece vehicles and characters. 90% of your list should be the same, and you should be fine tuning some upgrades or swapping around a couple specialist units until you find the one you need.

What has worked for me is this:

Choose your "main faction." Get a decent number and variety of units for that faction. Something like 3,000 points so that you have enough stuff for a tournament list plus 1,000 points worth of stuff that you can swap out. This should allow you to adjust your list to be anywhere from casual to "competitive, but probably not tournament-winning competitive."

From there, you can either branch out into other factions as the mood strikes you, safe in the knowledge that you have a reasonably good backup faction for when you're feeling competitive, OR add onto your 3,000 points with whatever units happen to be the flavor of the month.

Basically, get a big enough collection of one faction that you're comfortable fielding it in friendly or competitive games, and then just follow your whims.

EDIT: For a more structured version of the above advice, follow these rules:
1. Build up your main faction to 3,000 points.
2. Either add 1 unit to your main faction OR add 500 points to one of your other factions.
3. Repeat steps 2 and 3 forever.

SECOND EDIT:
Also, there's not really such a thing as a list that is both balanced for competitive play and casual play unless you're a flexible enough pilot to know how to make a top-notch list play less effectively. When you load up your stuff and get ready to go play a game, ask yourself whether it's a casual or competitive game, and build a list accordingly. If you don't know which you'll be playing, bring the models for both and field the list that seems like the most balanced match for your opponent.

I thought you were having trouble trying to brew Bugman´s Finest.

Only play with painted models. That slows me down!

Would not look at it as a problem.

When I get an idea, I typically play about 20 games before settling on a list. Sometimes it doesn't work out, I get frustrated and start from scratch.

Just because you don't play the same units in every game doesn't mean you are doing something wrong. It means you are trying things out.

Stick with it and the optimal list will reveal itself.

Collect what you like, build the collection as you like wysiwyg, write the list down, make it fit mission or general force org constraints, play.

Your wallet will eventually stop you. It stops us all. Unless you have a significant other who also plays. Then your only option in life is poverty.

For building lists, you can avoid competitive issues by just not spamming anything. Really that's the key. Bring 2k on the table and don't double or triple up. Not sure there's an army out there outside knights that will dominate the store if every unit is unique.