"Its a steep learning curve" they sagely opined.
"You'll loose a lot of game first" many a club member informed me.
"Play one list and stick with it" was a mantra I heard many times.
Pah! I've played for Wales at the 6 Nations! I've painted more Skaven than Matt Ward's had bad ideas I thought.
How foolish I was, as it seems that all of the above was entirely true! I could feel the urge to sell coming on fast, thinking of all the new Warriors or Orcs I could buy with me coin. 9th edition was fast approaching and with rumours of being allowed allies I was happier than a Welshman at 'Twickers' last week. Then Age of Sigmar arrived. I won't dwell on the genuine upset I felt over this, rather the opportunity GW unwittingly game me to give WM\H a chance.
So I bought a ticket to a one day event, borrowed me some Ravagores and decided that no matter what happened I was going to get stuck in. For me, organised play is always the best and I suppose the thrust of this post is recanting my first event experience and offering my tips for the other 'noobs' out there.
So - Round 1 against Trolls. After my oppo did all the setting up (I hadn't.....haven't got a clue) it struck me that I had no idea as to what his toys could do. "Look at his cards" you say? Well, on the clock and conscious of not spoiling the event for him its easier said than done, as he had a LOT of cards. This would be my message from this round. You are not going to know what he can do - so make sure you know what yours does! Pick any two units from WFB and i'll tell you how each can deal with each other. Here I was lost, playing blind. So, deal with it on a case by case basis. Activate - target and then ask. It keeps the game flowing.
Round 2 taught me about 'feating'. I was using Epic Lylyth, and looking forward to Decimation. The game rolled on and it occurred to me that if I didn't feat soon it wouldn't happened. You can see where this is going. I needed to get my head out of the 6 turn, slow burn approach to gaming and play the situation. The fact was that my list was all about the feat and I squandered the opportunity. Be brave I say and feat when the opportunity arises - not save it for a later that may never come!
Round 3 was a little different as the chap I played made it more of a training game. This match up tight me about, how to put it, gaming detritus? I was spewing out lasting fireballs and had nothing to mark them with. Fortunately my oppo did and all was well, but look at your list and think about what you need to play the game effectivly. A good measure, enough tokens and effect rings.
Round 4 was against a PressGanger who let me win it but had the good graces to make a show of disguising it! This gives me the opportunity to discuss my final point. Its quite clear that WM/H is designed to be played in a competitive spirit but that doesn't mean it can't be fun, civil and sporting. I must have played near 100 event games of WFB and can count the number of bad games on one hand. I hope for the same with this system and would encourage any other new players to adopt this attitude. Its toy soldiers after all, and you can't get angry with dice.
As I get more games under my belt i'll be back with more musings. Having just secured a ticket for the Welsh Masters I have some work to do!
See you there! 😊
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