I've just got back last night from taking part in Never Mind The Blog Wars, Alex Brown's (From The Fang) latest event and it has left me feeling torn. Last night I knew I had had three fun games, won one of them and generally had a great day of gaming. I predicted being in the lower end of the table but I knew I was neither last or second last (those people had had their 'rewards'). I was happy yesterday, and that was that. This morning I saw the rankings. 28/30. I really didn't think I had done that badly. It really left me feeling a bit flat and torn because I had basically enjoyed being terrible at 40K.
I think this is a general indicator of how I feel about 8th so far. I love the rule set. It plays well. It's simple to pick up and yet complicated enough still with unit rules, and the new mechanics and way things work are great. I just seem to hate actually playing. I think it's because I still want to be able to mix it up and take any units I like (as opposed to the "best units") and this doesn't seem to be the case, at least for the armies I play. I am still on mostly Index armies (Blood Angels, T'au, Harlequins, Imperial Knights) and maybe this is why I am struggling. The released codices seem to allow more flexibility for their armies. Case in point is Astra Militarum who seem to be able to take just about anything and still be brutally effective (I may do a post soon about why I think the new system has turned them into a murder machine).
So I have two things I am going to do at this moment. First, I am going to carry on anxiously waiting to see how the Blood Angels codex treats us when it is released in the next weeks, while continuing to paint them up, just in case they are decent this time. Second, I am going to start trying lists that include everything that other people classify as the good units/loadouts to take.
Just to clarify, Never Mind The Blog Wars was a great event, as all of Alex' events have been. It was my own shocking performance that has disappointed me!
