"Hey Kirbs,
dunno if you know me (probably not; been lurking/contributing occasionally as 0range on YTTH, your and Chumb's blog), but here's my story:
I've been into 40k for years now (fluff and models and all), but only very recently started to play. Well I've started reading tactica (first on dakka, oh the shame) then on YTTH and around the blogosphere, and while I consider myself "okay" in theory, I've got a whopping 2 games under my belt (both with 500 pts AoBR Orks, doh).
After that I've tried to start Eldar but halfway through buying all the stuff lost interest; next up was Tau, which I still plan to do (Stelek's list) but man is it expensive. Plus I kinda gave up when I've had two bazillion different ideas on color schemes and couldn't decide on one.
"Okay", I thought, "how about I do BA or SW, at least I know how I'd have to paint THEM!" (or so I thought - besides a billion recipes on how to paint red, there's successor chapters et al).
Anyhoo, I've settled on your (or maybe Stelek's for some more flamer lovin') Blood Rodeo. Thing is, at least in my head I'm not entirely sure it can hold up against other really good armies (lack of ranged fire support, for one thing, but maybe I'm underestimating bikes).
So here's what I'm asking: (when is your How To going to get done? (Sidetracked again)) How about you (or any/all of the crew (+ chumb and TKE and whoever wants to join in on the Super Friends Fun)) teach me the game? I'd do that locally, but: a) I'd like to get a feel for the army before I spent serious $$ on it only to discover I can't play it for crap, and b) compared to my local scene (as can be scene for example in Stelek's Austrian ETC thread), BoLS is like a shining haven of knowledge and wisdom, so there's no way I'm going to let them teach me the game (I know I can't avoid them forever, but at least for now).
How would this be possible? Well, for one, Vassal I would imagine. Watching you guys play games, demonstrations, playing myself (if I can wrap my head around this thing...), and I'll probably send you Battlereports once I get some actual games in.
I'm sure there was more I wanted to say, but writing all this promptly made me forget. Ah well.
Last but not least, shameless self-plug: at www.jbc-0range.blogspot.com (my wonderful blog about nothing in particular, with no content!) I'll publish my experience with painting and the learning process as well as experience with the game (by noobs for noobs, y'know).
That's about it I suppose.
Cheers,
0range"
After Lords of Terra for the How To on Blood Rodeo people! I know, I know it's been a long time in coming but I want to do it justice and I've been busy busy busy lately. You know, whole paint a 1750 army in 2 weeks thing. So give me about a week to two weeks and it'll be up. I'll make sure to post it mid-week and during US wakey time so you can all goggle over it.
In regards to your requests to teach you the game, Vassal is a great tool for this. A lot of people who frequent this blog or others and actually get 40k chill on there so you can generally get a game in or simply watch (though avoid the noobs o.O). Once I have more time on my hands I'd be happy to get a few games in with your or others and you watch but all depends on time really. I haven't played 40k for over a month I think with all this painting & thesis work...not good for tourney! Also what area do you live in? You might be surprised and find someone else there with a like-minded setting who is more than willing to get together for games.
Otherwise read blogs like this & YTTH (avoid the dramaz). Look specifically at Battle Reports where analysis is provided on the good, bad and should haves. If I get around to post 'classroom' like posts as requests in the discussion post, take a peek at those and put down your ideas and compare them to others and mine, etc. The best way is really to whip out the models and play but if you don't have them and don't want to spend the money until you know you'll enjoy the army/do well with it, you can use Vassal or store/friend's models until then.
Also, stick to an army concept. I know switching armies is great and all but give an army at least 20+ games before you go "I don't like this." When you get into 40k it'll be hard enough not to go I WANT THIS ONE! (case in point) but having an army which you can always fall back upon which you know and have completely modeled is a great assest and gives you some stability in your approach to 40k.
Anyone else have advice for 0range? (oh and visit his blog ^^) or would like to set up games with him? Be nice now peoples.
9 pinkments:
Awwww but drama is fun =[ Only reason I visit forums.
Thou is nice to have places like this one with no drama.
Sticking to one army can be so hard, I changed my mind like 100 times when I first started and ended up with small bits and pieces of several different armies but never ending up with a decent sized force for a long time.
When I started I got about 2000 points of SM and then 1500 or so of Eldar. I stuck with both of those armies for a long time and they are to date the only fully painted armies I have ever used :P (until this Tyranid army is finished!). Then I started noticing codex releases, etc. and got a hogdepodge collection of Tyranid & Tau models before I moved back to Australia (which is where the majority of those two forces still hail...).
Having those two main forces though really helped me get to grips with 40k and still gave me some variety, so whilst it might be hard to ignore the shiny goodies of other armies, getting one force done and out is better in the long run I feel.
Proxies is your other friend. If you have any mates or a local club, tee up a game where your opponent knows they'll be facing proxies. You can quickly get in a few games to see if you like the army or not. The other thing is to use the models you already have to play some small games, and get your head solidly around the system. This will make learning your new army easier.
I used vassal a lot to help me learn the games ground work, it's a fairly simple way to get a game in when you have a few spare hours. And while there is no substitution for playing actual games with actual people. Vassal is a great way to experiment and learn the foundation and principles of the game. Keep in mind though, its not the most efficient way of playing a game(plan on at least 30min-1hr longer), if your like me, you may not have any other time slot besides 7:00 on a Wednesday.
I highly suggest Skype, or some other tool to ease communication over vassal. Learning rules, or playing in a timely fashion is difficult without it, as pausing to type every few seconds makes for some slower play. It also helps when it comes time to ask for endgame-input, people tend to be a little more forward with their opinion when they don't need to submit a typed essay.
In addition, if you really like the idea behind a certain army or build, don't jump right into it and buy $200 of footdar only to realize its sorta "Meh" and not your style. Test it out first and foremost, as (I can say from personal experience) the grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side...
I'd say just play some games. There is only so much you can learn from reading blogs. You are not going to learn anything without getting an army and playing games.
Argh, this thing ate my comment, nuuuh D:
Here's the short version:
I know just reading blogs and tactica only gets me so far, but since people in my area still think Lash and JotWW and nob bikers are the most broken thing EVAR (plus they're playing by ETC restrictions, i.e. no HQ twice, no Elite 3x, no SCs, etc), I'm loathe to let them show me how to play.
Expect to hit you guys up on Vassal soon tho, plus more mails coming your way ;D
Also, my area would be Vienna, Austria.
In case anyone's from around there and not an idiot, contact me :P
(Huh, why's it now call me 0range instead of jbc-0range and using my icon?)
KIRBY:
Here is a link; http://whiskey40k.blogspot.com/
He is talking about 3 levels of gaming.
If you haven't seen it, I think it is very good. It is in the same manner of thinking that you and StelStel espouse, getting more done with the same amount of points than the baddies.
For learning to play 40K, I would say you ought to pick an army and stick with it until you get a good 6 months of using it. Spending a couple hundred bucks on an army can be a good way to commit you too.
Start with playing 1000 point games. The good players are used to playing bigger games and lower points will catch them off guard and not allow them to just auto-win like they would with their dialed in list at their favorite point level.
Reading the rule book regularly also helps a lot. Rules knowledge is really key to knowing what options you have on the battlefield. I would almost recommend reading 1 to 4 pages of the rule book a day and when you get done, read it over again. I learned to play by simply reading the rule book. : )
When ever you play a game, talk to the other person after the game is over about what worked, what didn't, and what can change for the next game.
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