It’s easy for a tabletop war game to make a good first impression these days.

Advancements in sculpting and molding technology give even the smallest of companies the ability to create high detail miniatures for their tabletop games. The modern age of technology allows for hardcore numbers crunching to create a balanced gaming system with as little as an Excel spreadsheet. The internet allows for marketing and word of mouth traction on a global scale. It allows even the smallest of tabletop communities to thrive and grow and organize. So from the viewpoint of someone who was not in on the ground floor of the game launch, it can all look very spectacular on first glance.

It’s after a game or two that you really begin to see the flaws. Much like waking up next to a wookie the morning after a night of heavy drinking and debauchery, that ‘New-Game’ thrill just isn’t there anymore. The point is that as easy as it is to make a good first impression, it’s ten times harder to make a good second impression for many of the same reasons I stated above.

So what am I trying to qualify here by saying all this?
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Let me start by saying that I listen to PodHammer for the same reasons that John Stewart watches Glen Beck. That may sound harsh, and I am in no way saying that they are pig-faced media whores like Mr Beck, however I have to admit that I don’t tend to agree with the things they say. In truth I have them to thank for the ‘lil unprofessional podcast we do here because for the longest time I had not been able to finish an episode of PodHammer. It made me wonder if I could do any better… and here we are. Anyways, this is not what this post is about. This post was simply brought about because of ideas and comments made on said podcasts that, as I stated before, I tend to disagree with.

He can't help that he loves 'Merica...

Specifically the idea of armies in WarHammer being considered ‘Over Powered’ or ‘Nerfed’ is something that I hate to hear being spewed like troll vomit during a conversation about the game. For those of you who are unaware of these terms they started in the MMORPG community, most typically with WOW gamers. They found that if they went on the MMO forums and screamed about specific classes being too weak or too strong that they would get a response from the GameDevs in the form of updates/patches that would ‘balance’ the classes. This always resulted in the players who were bitching about being too weak having players bitch that those classes are now OP and that their character class was Nerfed. So what do the GameDevs do? Read the forums and do it all again. Nerf the OP classes or make the nerfed classes OP. It’s a sick circle of life for MMO gaming to know that no matter what class you choose to play in any game, at some point in your virtual life you will find yourself standing in front of a Dragon with a Squishy foam sword and a fully loaded pair of pants.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am a Gamer and a Jaded one at that. I have screamed “OP!” at my computer screen when I am killed during a game of League of Legends many a night and gone on with friends about WHY IT’S SO OP!! I do that sometimes. So isn’t it understandable for me to assume that the same is true for a game like WarHammer? The answer is a resounding NO. To declare that any army in this game is anything more than outdated or current is somewhat ridiculous. Easier to play? Sure. More options? Sure. Overpowered? Never.  When 8th edition came out hordes of gamers had almost instantly begun to ask around the forums what the new ‘Tiers’ where while one post down players were complaining about how GW had screwed them and how their armies were now nerfed until a new book could glide out from the sky and save them from the ungodly terror of the top tiers.

Pictured: OP TERROR!

I’ve said before that I like the idea of being a better General than I am a List Builder. This is not to say that I feel one aspect is more important than the other, but instead a reflection on what I feel makes a successful player. I have seen Nathan table armies in 3 turns with his Wood Elves, a supposedly Nerfed book, against veteran players playing strong OP armies. Yes, I am refering to ME… But not just me, other players as well fit this mold. I played Ogres back before 8th edition and won more games than I lost. I did well in tournaments and I had fun. Was my list the horde of naked ogre spam? Was is the MSU 3 ogre unit spam? Was it the gnoblar tarpit?  Not at all, it was a mix of items from the Army box and a selection of units that I felt would be fun and effective additions to my list. This was all back when Ogres were considerd to be bottom of the pile.

My point is this: To say that this game is governed by anything other than a combination of skill and luck is just an excuse. To claim that an army is an instant WIN in the hands of a skilled player is like saying that the same skilled player would be lost if given an instant LOSS army. Tomb Kings may seem broken just like the Necrons seem broken, but we know they are just dated and that they are on the books for a re-release, but there are players out there who are dedicated to their armies and are winning games. Just like there are players out there who loose games with their supposed OP armies that ‘break the game’… So just drop the excuses and drop the pandering. Play the game and learn how to deal with every scenario. Try for one moment in your sad gaming career to be a General instead of a Mathlete.