9.14.2009

I saw this great pic on a site I ran across today:

http://thinkingoutsidetheboxof40k.blogspot.com/

Peachykeen will be in Chicago this weekend, having taken 1st in the previous round. He has a particularly potent double-Council list that is a great example of competition builds. I agreed with and appreciated his POV on tournament play: give it a read if you have time.

Here's my view on tournaments:

There is a difference between the type of list you'd take to your FLGS and what you'd take to a serious competition. There is nothing wrong with wanting to win, so bring your best and throw down. Honor is a much derided concept these days, but it deserves mention. I won't cheat or bend rules, I won't fuck over someone with softscores or vote-block a friend in, and this is my minimum expectation for my opponent. But it is MY responsibility to protect myself; I can't assume someone I've just met holds to the same morals I do. I won't let someone walk over me, regardless of if he has a smile on his face or not. There are plenty of players on the circuit who let their ego override their good behavior.

Which is not to say mistakes don't happen. I've played since Rogue Trader, like many of you out there. When you've seen that many editions its hard not to screw up the occasional rule. Call me on it, if I'm wrong I'll apologize. I'll call you on it if I think you've made a mistake. If I think you're deliberately cheating... that's a whole new set of standards.

I don't mind if the dude on the other end of the table isn't a nice guy or a lot of laughs. Of course I prefer to play someone chill with a sense of humor, but at the end of the day that's my standard, not his - who's to say he needs to like me? Nothing, period. Not everyone gets along. So while I try to get along with everyone and pride myself on being a good sport with a sense of humor, I won't try to force camaraderie that doesn't exist, but I do expect common courtesy. If someone is deliberately goading me, that's a problem that doesn't have anything to do with a game of toy soldiers.

Basically, I try to follow the Golden Rule, but with Brent's Corollary: 'Some People Are Just Chowderheads.' You know who I'm talking about; these are the people whose parents didn't beat them enough as children.

And to be PC I mean punish, not abuse. Stupid school teaching me standards...

By following this standard, I tend to really enjoy the events I attend. I want to win but I don't mind losing a fairly played game. At the end of the day, it is just a game, and I do this stuff because I enjoy it and it's great stress relief.

I hope to meet and play a lot of great players in Chicago this weekend! I haven't finalized a list yet - as I've said here, I've been really struggling trying to update my Hybrid style. I'll post on that later this week, I'm sure.

I also have three more games from BOLSCON to cover!

Take care all - Brent

4 comments:

TheKing Elessar said...

That's exactly how I approach Tournament games. Even games against strangers in general. (pretty much)

FourTwentyOne said...

Hey this the Eldar guy from Lubbock! Good luck this weekend! I will be sure to look for you.

Brent said...

FourTwentyOne huh? Too late, I'm pretty sure I've already used your real name when I posted the battlereport of the game we had in Lubbock...

...so beware Net Stalkers!

Don't worry about me though, I'm too busy stalking Jawaballs. Although maybe I shouldn't joke about that too much: since he hasn't commented on my site since, even after the report of the game against him, I can only assume I've offended him horribly.

I hope he doesn't realize I'm the one that made those footprints in his garden - I didn't mean to squash the tulips.

Brent

Jwolf said...

Good luck in Chicago, Brent. I look forward to hearing how things go for you and the other Texans.

And to a lesser extent, players from elsewhere. :)

(A new favorite!) Anon: I haven’t even bothered playing a game of 6th yet, cause I have read the rules, and actually understand how they interact with units. I know my armies no longer function how they should, and so I need to change them.

Strictly Average: 'cause 6-inches is all you get.

Stalking Jawaballs since 2009.

Jawaballs: "My butt just tightened up."

Brent, preferred 2-to-1 over Not Brent in a recent, scientific poll.

Brent: emptied the Kool Aid and DRINKING YOUR MILKSHAKE with an extra-long straw.

Unicorns don't exist.

Home of the Stormbuster, the Dyson Pattern Storm Raven.

I'm a comment whore and this whore is getting no play.

Not Brent hurts Brent's feelings.

I think, therefore I blog.

"You should stop writing for everyone else and worry about your crappy blog." - Anon.

Not Brent has been spotted lurking around with a green marker.

He's not like a bad guy from a cartoon, all devious but never quite evil, Not Brent is bad beans, man, bad beans.

Dethtron: "Again I feel obliged to remind you that trying to sound smart only works if you are."

MVB: "I am not one to join the unwashed masses of self-titled 40k experts out there distributing advice from their blogs about exactly how your list should be built..."

Shiner Bock on tap: that's how I choose hotels.

Strictly Average: The Home of Hugs and Gropings.

Don't feed the trolls!

MoD: "Welcome to Brent's head."

Competitive is Consistent.

Dethtron: "...you could use that extra time to figure out a way to get your panties unbunched and perform a sandectomy on your vagina."

Dethtron: “When calling someone an idiot, it's generally best to avoid making grammatical mistakes.”

Warboss Stalin: "You know, if it actually WAS funny, maybe I wouldn't mind."

Mike Brandt: "It's not a successful bachelor party if you don't misplace someone".

"The Master Manipulator (every store needs one): "...now, enough stroking."

Kirby: "I don't know about gropings. Seriously, Brent, keep it in the pants, please."

Loquacious: "No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get Hugs & Gropings or Stalks Jawaballs into Brent's little tribute."

Captain Kellen: "I rate this article a Brent on the Faith Hill to Nancy Pelosi scale!"

Drathmere: "Come for the balls, stay for the Brent? Kind of disturbing, man."

Go no further, lest thee see something thine eyes would fain look past!

Isabelle: "So, thank you for supporting your local and not so local unicorns. A noble gesture like that can show some scared kids out there that they don't have to hide from everyone and it's ok to be who they really are."

There is nothing more interesting than We The People... in all our beautiful, ugly glory!

On Internet Advice: You see, I have an almost religious belief that's it's a huge, colossal waste of time.

...I think I'll call it the Gun Shy Pattern Stormbuster, because after the Internet destroyed my first humble effort, I find I'm a bit worried about the reaction to this one.

Lauby: "Is it left over from that time you thought that you could just complete step one 12 times to meet the mandates of that court order?"

Not Brent: "I guess we'll have to read on and find out. Signed, Not Brent. Especially today."

Cynthia Davis: "I think the scrolling text is from Glen Beck's new book."

Grimaldi: "Spamming certain units creates interesting possibilities but also fatal weaknesses."

Purgatus: "Math can inform decisions. It cannot make decisions."

Thoughts? Comments? Hugs and gropings?

You'd be that much quicker to figure out what I mean when I refer to a Unicorn if I covered it in a rainbow flag.

SinSynn: (To Brent) "Curse you and your insidious influence on the internets..."

Dave G (N++): "You know you're an internet celebrity when your following is more akin to tabloids."

I prefer the term Internet Personality (or IP) myself, seeing as how I coined it.

Lauby: "Your attempt to humanize him as failed. I feel nothing but scorn for his beard - it's like a warcrime or something."

BBF: "I've always thought you are a good player but I finally figured out that you are a great player. It's hard to see sometimes because your personality is engaging, sincere and quite charming - to me that is kind of a rare combination."

'Clearly cheating?' I didn't misspeak: you jumped to conclusions. If you'd like to apologize I'll be happy to send you an autographed picture of my ass.

Ass.

I thought I was doing alright before I realized I was losing.

Age and treachery beats youth and vigor every time.

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