WHY I PLAY ELITE ARMIES
“This is serious. We're Rangers, not some sorry-ass JROTC. We're elite. Let's act like it out there.” – Sgt. Eversmann (Black Hawk Down)
Like most new 40K players, I had no particular battle plan in mind when I built my first army. Needless to say, I also had no idea on army composition, what works best with what… etc. However, after a full year of getting pulverized on the table top (I got my first ever win only after 7 months of playing), I learned a thing or two. One marked improvement was in my army lists.
“At age 7, as is customary in Sparta the boy was taken from his mother and plunged into a world of violence. Manufactured by 300 years of Spartan warrior society to create the finest soldiers the world has ever known. The agoge as it's called, forces the boy to fight, starves him, forces him to steal... and if necessary, to kill.” – Dilios (300)
Of course, Neutral Grounds is no Sparta and I am not/was not 7 when I started, but seven months (and then some) of early “learning” from the veterans made me the player I am now. At that time, I saw how they can get many from so few (ie min max) so I naturally went through that path. My mindset was how many “X’s” can I fit into “Y” points. Long story short, I had an army that was alternatively called “The Light Show” by the sheer amount of lascannon/plasma/missile/assault cannon/bolter shots it can throw at the opponent. However, the focus on guns and guns alone left me with just less than a hundred points for my HQ. Although it is rare that an opponent’s army reaches my lines, but when they do, my army folds like a poker player does with a bad hand.
After years of using token HQs and armies with limited close combat ability, I decided to go the other way. This turn came around at first during the Eye of Terror campaign, when a souped up Space Wolf list was made available (13th Company). From then, I saw the value of what a strong HQ can do and what elite forces provide. Coupled with my affinity for the cinematic or the flair in everything, I slowly went through the elite path. The decision was cemented with the recent codices/codexes providing options to field entire armies made up of elite units.
So, why do I like to play an elite army? Let me talk you through some bits of my warhammer psyche and show you the reasons why.
“You know, you shouldn't jump around when this nice woman is holding a sharp pair of scissors. If you move she could slip and slice your jugular vein, on accident. There is no way to stitch the jugular. All of your blood will be on the floor in four minutes. I have seen this. I have done this. You don't want this.” - Zohan
“Knowing” my army is two-fold. Since elite armies specialize in only certain aspects of the game, I would know what my army can or can’t do like the back of my hand. Second, hobby wise, I would have fewer figs to assemble and paint, so I would have more time to make the army look better (all things being equal).
“I once fought two days with an arrow through my testicle.” – Godfrey of Ibelin (Kingdom of Heaven)
”Why you do this? You know I feel no pain.” – Zohan
“Then we will fight in the shade.” – Stelios (300)
I am not bold in real life. I’m not a coward, but neither am I brave. I am just a regular schmoe. So, given the chance to play make believe super humans in the far future, I would take it and go to the extreme. There are few better options in warhammer than having the confidence of being able to take almost everything the opponent’s army can throw at you and still come out of the smoke alive. Of course, in 40K nothing is certain, and there are times when the best protection doesn’t work and your supermen still drop like flies, but more often than not, they shrug off most stuff. This is good for me, and demoralizing for my opponents.
“You see, old friend? I brought more soldiers than you did.” – Leonidas (300)
Can your squad take-out an enemy army in close combat? Mine can. Mine did.
“They will ask for terms. We must ask for terms.” – Almaric (Kingdom of Heaven)
I have nothing against it, but I want my gaming life to be better than me just me lining up all my guns and shooting. I have been there, I enjoyed it, but I want something else. Using an elite army, I have to be careful of every deployment, every movement, every target. One mistake, I die. It’s that simple. This is good for me since one reason why I got into miniature gaming is to use that parts of my brain I don’t use in my everyday life. Most games, my options would be limited from the start because of the size of my army. There would be missions where my only option would be to not get killed. Every game is an uphill battle. This is fun for me. It’s make believe anyway. I’d like to think of it as brain calisthenics.
“The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle is over, that even a god-king can bleed.” – Leonidas (300)
Something special happens in almost every game I play. It’s either a glorious defeat or a glorious victory. We talk about all the saves I made when I shouldn’t have. We talk about all the saves I failed when I should have. We talk about how you thought you can take on my squad with yours and you finding out otherwise. We talk about that little bit that made a whole difference to the game. When all else fails, I can pack my army and put it in my small bag in less than five minutes.
| Players | Games Played | Total Tournament Points | Total Gladiator Points | Gladiator Point Differential |
| Kuneho | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emcee | 1 | 15 | 14 | 5 |
| Zeb | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick | 1 | 9 | 12 | 0 |
| Joel Tiongson | 1 | 9 | 12 | 0 |
| VicVic | 1 | 14 | 12 | 7 |
| Kerwin | 1 | 7 | 10 | 5 |
| Joshua Soon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Martie Wong | 1 | 6 | 10 | 8 |
| Matthew Wong | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan T. | 1 | 2 | 9 | -5 |
| Ryan C. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Melo | 1 | 2 | 2 | -8 |
| Nigel | 1 | 2 | 5 | -7 |
| JB | 1 | 2 | 5 | -5 |
Written by Freddie Yu
2010 Warhammer 40K GT Overall Champion
(photos courtesy of Neutral Grounds)
Let’s face it, it is a fact that everyone who joins any GT has always the secret hope and ambition that he/she (we can always hope we get a SHE to compete in a GT don’t we?) can be lucky enough to win a prize after the event (However, bringing an unpainted army and aspiring to win Best Painted is of course overly ambitious). The Best Overall trophy is THE top prize in the tourney, and to get this involves elements of the other 3 major awards (Generalship, Painting, and Sportsmanship). This I believe is good since my opinion is that Games Workshop never intended its games to be exclusively tournament oriented, as I consider both 40K and WHFB more “Beer and Pretzel” games and a hobby more than anything, and as such the elements mentioned above are equal parts in what makes 40k a great hobby.
The Painting aspect is something I would like to start with. I have always advised new players to pick an army based on how much they like the models, rather than its rules. With the way GW changes editions and rulesets, there is a cyclic nature among the different codices and relative power levels. Painting and modeling your miniatures properly however is “forever”, and reflects a player’s dedication and love of his army. Besides, everyone knows competing with a well painted and modeled army is additional “pogi points”, and is as much a source of pride as is winning with them. .I am happy NG realizes this and rewards it accordingly.
The Sportsmanship element has been criticized sometimes as being too subjective and a way for losers to get back at winners (or at least some winners have claimed this before). However, as 40k IS a “Beer and Pretzels” type of game, one should not be too serious about this, and it is more important for both parties to have FUN in the games, losing or not. Nothing beats friendly competition, and having a good sportsmanship score despite beating other gamers reflects the respect one gives to his opponents.
On Generalship. There are many discussions online on what army build is the “best” for each codex, or what units are the most efficient, and you can see many “cut and paste” armies on the net which spam these so-called efficient elements. I, however, am a believer in fluffy yet balanced armies, and as much as possible I try to include different unit types from the codex. Whatever your build is, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, and frequent gameplay is a necessity in order to master what your list can do, and the synergies which may arise from them. In the end it is the player and how he uses his units that matter, as a good player can always make a supposedly weak list win. In 40K, there is no such thing as an “Autowin” button or list.
Finally, I did change 1 thing for this versus last year’s list. I deliberately reduced the unit and model count, in order to be able to play quicker and finish the games faster. Despite what others may say, model and unit count DOES matter in how fast you play, and I’m happy that I finished 4 out of the 5 games on time (hey I still had 90 models in my list…it’s an IG army after all!!!).
Thanks to all my opponents in this year’s GT (Lucas, Martie, Pat, Jonathan, and Sunny). It was great fun, and again the 7th Galen Rockhounds manage to bring home the bacon!!!
Written by Lucas Jacinto
