We talked about Wallshammer's Marines a lot last night. I totally get where Wallshammer is coming from. I'm there myself, about most of my projects right now. I'm going to use this post to lay out everything we talked about last night, and everything I've been thinking since.
More after the break:
Wallhammer's Marines: One of the the big things I was trying to convey to Walls wasn't so much that win/losses determine your satisfaction, so much as HOW the army plays. For example, back in 7th ed Fantasy, I got bored with my Orcs and Goblins, and went out and on a whim bought a Wood Elf army. I played three games with that army then sold it. Here's the thing: I CRUSHED all three of those games. It was crazy. However, even though the army was clearly working for me, I wasn't enjoying playing the games. I didn't like the way the army played on the table. And that was a real deal-breaker for me.
It's not enough, if you are actively playing the game, to like painting the models. You have to love every aspect of the army. The painting, the playing, the winning AND the losing. Otherwise you're just going to end up grinding your gears.
I'll admit, I was strongly advocating that Walls drop the Marines. I've never seen him struggle with an army like that before. He's a seasoned general, and can make a lot of things work that just plain shouldn't. But he was struggling to find a groove with the Marines, and that says something. Like maybe they just aren't the army for him.
Here's another example: I've played almost every 40k army at one point or another. And with the exception of a rare few armies, all of them had a 'deal-breaker' for me. In this example, I'll talk about Necrons. I had a Necron army... once. But I couldn't get into the way the way they played. And that was back in 3rd when they were killers. But it wasn't a good fit. Eldar on the other hand, I keep coming back to. they make sense to me, they work the way I think they should when I put them on the table. I love the models, the fiction, none of it seems like work.
Speaking of which, my current problems: I've put too much on my plate. Plain and Simple. I'm rushing to get so much done that I'm losing the joy in doing it. High Elves? Burned out. I'm struggling with this army, almost in the same way Walls is struggling with Marines. I'm thinking I need to take a dose of my own medicine. Terrain? I did SO much last month I've got nothing left in the tank. It just seems very chore-like right now. Eldar? I've already painted more than I'll likely ever field, and this next batch seems to be a lot of work for not a lot of gain. I likely won't field Guardians in my Biel-Tan lists because it goes against their background. Not to mention I'll be double the size of my army in model count but only adding 2600 points?? DOES NOT WANT. And Warmachine? Boy oh boy am I burned out on Warmachine. I've got 2 over-size armies in Warmachine already. I look at my unpainted models and think "What's the point? I'm not even going to field them." And finally the Lizards. Oh those poor, poor lizards. I figured out what my problem is. I HATE PAINTING YELLOW. The primer was a good idea in theory, but in practice I might as well have primed them white and hand-painted everything. The models themselves aren't really doing it for me either. I played Tyranids for a very long time. I'm kind of over that 'style' of mini (reptile/dinosaur-based). Plus Lizards have always felt a little show-horned into the setting. They make perfect sense in the background, but why is there a Slaan running around Middenheim? That doesn't make any sense.
So, I've decided not to let my internet pride get the better of me. I'm quitting all 4 of the Tales. I've been hesitant to do it, but I'm more and more sure it's the right thing to do. I'm going to walk away from Fantasy all together for a while, since my main opponent is looking to sell his only army, and has no desire to play. Don't get me wrong, I'm mostly in it for the painting, but there's no point if I'm not putting them on the table occasionally. My RPG group isn't impressed with my armies so much as they are with the single-models I've painted for D&D. I'm going to finish up my Warmachine, albeit slowly, and try to get my groove back.
I'll still be posting here, I'll still be painting, but it will be back to being on my terms, instead of slaving to deadlines.
I'm also still very interested in the idea of starting something new. The question is what to do?
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