Woot!! Voted for top list of 2011 by interwebs celeb..

Shameless self promotion, but is there any other kind?

Post on Blood of Kittens by TastyTaste, I was nominated one of the top five army lists of 2011, then reposted by my friends at White Scars I finally found out yesterday when my friend Andrew dropped me a PM..

Shameless Self promotion over, back to drinking eggnog.. Happy Holidays everyone

The Warstore; Why buying online can be the right choice…

For all the posts complaining about Games Workshop’s price increases, rules we hate, tourneys that go wrong we infrequently take the time to say thank you when something goes right…

This is a long overdue thank you to Joe Latham, and The Warstore.

First let me start with a few important points;

1)Almost every post (including my Finecast rant) focuses on the negative, I figured a positive review would be a nice change of pace.

2) I am no way getting sponsorship from the retailer, The Warstore.

3) Supporting your local FLGS is key, without them we would all be playing in our basements.

Recently I won a good amount of “Warstore Credit” at The Colonial, a GT Qualifier Tournament in NJ. Awesome right? Small problem, I missed the announcement it needed to be used the booth they had in the WHFB / Dealers room while my friend Marc added color commentary to the awards ceremony! Two months later I emailed Joe oblivious to the expiration, asking how to place an order. Rather than tell me I was S**t out of luck, which would not have surprised me, I instead got a nice personalized reply detailing how to still use the credit, and within days I had all of the nice pretty toys I was dreaming of in my hands!

Now if this was the first time I had a good experience with a retailer, regardless of how great, I would be a lot less likely to take the time to say thanks in such a public fashion. This was the THIRD time in less than that many years. The first time with a misspack on a bits order, I got to keep the mistaken shipment and they mailed me out a replacement. The second time last Christmas I ordered some of their Fuzz Box Econo Trays as a gift for a friend. I received the wrong item, and they worked with me going above and beyond to make it perfect and then finally The Colonial gift certificates.

Now again I say it’s important to buy at your local game store, but sometimes they don’t carry everything a large online gaming Mecca like the The Warstore has. Before going to eBay consider looking here.

Winning without being a Douche

From the Whitescars Blog

Winning a game should be simple; Outplay, out think, out roll and win the game right?

Finishing a game cleanly without making an enemy can be tricky especially when you’re on the top tables in the final couple games. Balancing the need to take all the objectives, kill that last model and not crushing the soul of your opponent can be tricky.

With this in mind some of people at the higher end of the circuit will claim the mood of the other player means little, if not nothing. They directly/indirectly encourages bulling and more and more often tournament games seen to be more about a cult of personality and less about clean games .

Having personally learned the hard way, I have to disagree. Winning at all costs can and does have long term consequences. You have to choose for yourself if it’s worth it.

Some thoughts.

-Club level games are just that, keep in mind you’re playing with people you’re going to see again, play often. Payback sucks.

-Even if it’s a potentially a game deciding dice roll, avoid chanting for a bad outcome, especially if your destroying him…

-A rule that can decide the game, especially if you’re aiming for an obscure interpretation, it best to check with a TO beforehand. Fighting over rules burns bridges.

-If your opponent is clearly crushed, has gone quiet and sullen consider offering to “call the game” here. Few people will ask to end it early, but many will take the Olive Branch if it’s extended.

-Share the wealth..... Buy a beer for the guy you just crushed (lunch works too, but is a lot less fun). Consider using some of the store credit to get something for the kid your destroyed.

Feedback as always welcome!



Loosing the Game, how to make friends (or not..) and influence people.

Loosing gracefully, Harder than you think..

A great game with allot of excellent back and forth high paced action is always a pleasure, and few will begrudge a loss when faced with excellent opponent who truly challenges them, but the one sided blowout is a bitter pill to swallow.

This has come up personally a couple times, and to be honest is something allot of us struggle with, especially when competing on the tournament circuit.

Now I am not suggesting you concede a game, especially if it’s game 5 on table 1, but there is a difference between finishing with grace and turning it into a grudge match!

Yet another Rant about Citadel Finecast... (Part 2)

Not to beat a "Dead Horse" but it appears there was some reason to be concerned with Games Workshop's Finecast..

http://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/2011/06/24/47913/

I have yet to purchase a single finecast model, due to obvious flaws visable in all the blisters I saw both at my local store (Dreamwizards) and the bunker... And there is not a chance in hell I am going to buy a box set (read techmarine) unless I get to open and inspect it on the spot...



Yet another Rant about Citadel Finecast...

I hate to jump on the bandwagon, and post “my” opinion about Citadel Finecast, Games Workshops “new” product line, but I can’t resist.

This is not about money, danger of working with the material, it’s about QUALITY.

More then a couple times recently I have purchased or won resin Forge World products. The purchased product was either legitimately from ForgeWorld or as a bitz order through one of the couple reputable websites out there filling the need for bits. Either way at least fifty percent of the time I have gotten either a sloppy, fuzzy, warped miscast, or something so covered in flash it takes 10+ minutes just to carefully clean up the ridiculously expensive resin I foolishly purchased hoping for a top shelf product.

Now before you ask, I have emailed Forgeworld, more then once, about the issues I have had. I requesting JUST the miscast bits be replaced, and so far in every instance I have been effectively told to go pound sand.

Taking into account the poor customer service of Forgeworld, the numerous complaints online about the quality, I really have to question the wisdom of converting to a material that has such a history of sloppily produced product.

I think I will let my friends take the plunge, and carefully look at how cleanly the casts are, how much warping there is and finally how much flash has to be removed before I drink the Koolaid.