02-02-2012, 09:13 AM
My take on improving at 40k:
Know the rules, I mean really know the rules, I still take things for granted, but if anything pops up in a game, read about it at the time, then read again later, just so you know for future reference that when a situation could or has developed in a game, you know what to expect and how to deal with it. (An example was in the game against Nick, I could of sworn if a transport was destroyed when it moved flat out, the unit inside was killed? But going back to the rules, that was total bull... I have no idea where I got that idea from, so now in the future, I know that I have to destroy the unit in side and that my fast tanks can do the same!).
Analyse – pre game take a look at your opponents list, figure out your plan of action, I do this by looking at the table and work out (taking into account objectives) where you’d like to go, where your opponent would most like to go and run through the various alternatives, I look at terrain and how my army will interact with it, before deciding where to place my objectives, my scoring units are in tanks, so hate objectives in cover for example, but infantry based armies are much better having objectives in area terrain.
Now the table sides have been decided, I then like to run through how I think the battle will go in head before the game begins, so that’s thinking ahead to turn 5-6 and figuring out how my opponent is going to get to objectives and what they’re likely to doing with their army.
Once the game is in motions, it’s a good idea to take a step back and analyse how things are going, what your objectives are and how to go about achieving them and also how your opponent’s army is fairing.
If the game is a fun or practice game, talk through with your opponent in regards to why they’re doing certain moves and then talk about why you’re moving the way you are, this way you get feedback on what you’re doing right and wrong and what you’re forcing your opponent to react to, all this information is valuable, so pay a lot of attention to this. The number 1 ranked player in the UK (and has been for coming up 3 years) said that he likes to play a game with his opponents army (while his opponent plays with his) and they play a game, then they go back play the same game again, but go back to their own armies, this way you learn what your opponents are thinking when facing YOUR list. I believe this to be an awesome titbit of info and would really like to adapt this in to the gaming club, people willing of course, because a truly believe this will make us all better gamers!
I also believe improving as a 40k player is not all about having the best list, it’s about all of the above, from knowing the rules, to predicting what your opponents moves will be and playing accordingly, capitalising on any mistakes your opponents make. But above all, it’s all about PLAYTESTING just getting out there and playing! It’s the only way to learn and be a better player.
And finally Just a quick note on army lists, as I said it’s not all about having the newest codex, the latest net list or most cookie cutter list, I believe the best lists come from those that you create yourself as they should be suited to YOUR play style, my list for example is totally my creation and any list that is similar is by total coincidence (I don’t claim to have the best list btw lol), it suits me down the ground, I like mech, I like walkers, I like rolling LOADS of dice.
Obviously a list does need to take into consideration missions, what missions are currently played, so Kill Points and Objectives, you need scoring units to win 2/3s of the games, so these are vital, also what sort of lists are popular (note never tailor your list to fight single type of list IE Mech or Infantry, try to be good against both), mech is popular so you need anti-tank and a good amount of it, you need units that can clear objectives if needed, so things like mass shots, an awesome combat unit or template weapons, all things that can clear an objective in a single turn if needed. Having a list that can do as suggested will be good (and every list has units that can fulfil those roles), but at the end of the day you need to be good at the game to make it win!
Those are my thoughts on how to improve and what I take into consideration when playing 40k and list building.
Thanks for reading!
Know the rules, I mean really know the rules, I still take things for granted, but if anything pops up in a game, read about it at the time, then read again later, just so you know for future reference that when a situation could or has developed in a game, you know what to expect and how to deal with it. (An example was in the game against Nick, I could of sworn if a transport was destroyed when it moved flat out, the unit inside was killed? But going back to the rules, that was total bull... I have no idea where I got that idea from, so now in the future, I know that I have to destroy the unit in side and that my fast tanks can do the same!).
Analyse – pre game take a look at your opponents list, figure out your plan of action, I do this by looking at the table and work out (taking into account objectives) where you’d like to go, where your opponent would most like to go and run through the various alternatives, I look at terrain and how my army will interact with it, before deciding where to place my objectives, my scoring units are in tanks, so hate objectives in cover for example, but infantry based armies are much better having objectives in area terrain.
Now the table sides have been decided, I then like to run through how I think the battle will go in head before the game begins, so that’s thinking ahead to turn 5-6 and figuring out how my opponent is going to get to objectives and what they’re likely to doing with their army.
Once the game is in motions, it’s a good idea to take a step back and analyse how things are going, what your objectives are and how to go about achieving them and also how your opponent’s army is fairing.
If the game is a fun or practice game, talk through with your opponent in regards to why they’re doing certain moves and then talk about why you’re moving the way you are, this way you get feedback on what you’re doing right and wrong and what you’re forcing your opponent to react to, all this information is valuable, so pay a lot of attention to this. The number 1 ranked player in the UK (and has been for coming up 3 years) said that he likes to play a game with his opponents army (while his opponent plays with his) and they play a game, then they go back play the same game again, but go back to their own armies, this way you learn what your opponents are thinking when facing YOUR list. I believe this to be an awesome titbit of info and would really like to adapt this in to the gaming club, people willing of course, because a truly believe this will make us all better gamers!
I also believe improving as a 40k player is not all about having the best list, it’s about all of the above, from knowing the rules, to predicting what your opponents moves will be and playing accordingly, capitalising on any mistakes your opponents make. But above all, it’s all about PLAYTESTING just getting out there and playing! It’s the only way to learn and be a better player.
And finally Just a quick note on army lists, as I said it’s not all about having the newest codex, the latest net list or most cookie cutter list, I believe the best lists come from those that you create yourself as they should be suited to YOUR play style, my list for example is totally my creation and any list that is similar is by total coincidence (I don’t claim to have the best list btw lol), it suits me down the ground, I like mech, I like walkers, I like rolling LOADS of dice.
Obviously a list does need to take into consideration missions, what missions are currently played, so Kill Points and Objectives, you need scoring units to win 2/3s of the games, so these are vital, also what sort of lists are popular (note never tailor your list to fight single type of list IE Mech or Infantry, try to be good against both), mech is popular so you need anti-tank and a good amount of it, you need units that can clear objectives if needed, so things like mass shots, an awesome combat unit or template weapons, all things that can clear an objective in a single turn if needed. Having a list that can do as suggested will be good (and every list has units that can fulfil those roles), but at the end of the day you need to be good at the game to make it win!
Those are my thoughts on how to improve and what I take into consideration when playing 40k and list building.
Thanks for reading!