There is no nerd rage better than rage directed at a harbinger of rage. It also restores my faith in gamers for their ability to call out bullshit. No matter how much brainwashing you attempt shit can still stink.

There is a volcano of molten hypocrisy springing forth from YTTH at the moment. The topic in question discusses the nature of facing when it comes to infantry and how that affects Rage. The basic premise of Stelek’s argument is simple: facing for infantry is a defined arc where most people assume that infantry facing is 360°. No amount of cajoling can change Stelek’s mind on this one. I could give my overall perspective on this debacle, but that would really be a waste of keystrokes when I could just read the comment section.

So instead let me talk about the real problem with Stelek’s argument it is not the argument, but his core agenda. First though here is some links to help you through what I am about to say. Warning: it is a wall of text,please read some of the comments at least they are pretty priceless.

Rage Part 1 Do you get the feeling that Stelek is just getting off when he made this epic “discovery”?

Rage Part 2 We find Stelek playing the part of a beached whale trying to coax onlookers into saving him.

Now back to the real problem. What world does Stelek live in where the “competitive” scene would be this WAAC? I know in my area and others that this type of player would be run out of town if they tried to pull this crap. Just because it is a tournament doesn’t mean people stop playing nice and start getting douchey.

Is it Stelek’s presumption that the 40k competitive scene behaves in such a way that bleeding eyes and flipping tables are common place? The attitude assuming that every opponent is a prick so I have to be a prick to is pretty sad and petty. If you never knew why Sportsmanship scores were created this case makes it crystal clear.

So what is Stelek trying to teach his readers? More importantly, as an agenda of making the 40k universe safe for douchery, why bother? Why is Stelek even bothering, (besides craving attention) the comments section alone proves players are free thinky enough to call out shenanigans. The world that Stelek is preaching is a world where even his most ardent supporters seem to disagree with.

Stelek dreams of 40k on ESPN and him on the board of directors of GW are still never going to convince the majority of players that they are in this game for nothing more than what he calls “casual play”. Maybe he thinks that a successful and profitable competitive scene would force GW to write better rules?

No matter how many claims he makes and boasts he proclaims he is never going to get what he wants. Players crave advice, they do not crave browbeating into some tyrannical understand of the game. Admitting ones failings would also do wonders for his cause. I could go on and on about this, but I am sure you have heard this broken record of mine before. Let me here what you think? Then again I could just model all my models like this…

Questions for Comment:

  1. How do you respond to lawyery like rules interpretations?
  2. What do you think of Stelek’s view of competitive play?
  3. What is the worse rules argument you ever got in?