I really need to finish this guy!
So I've been playing some 40k and doing lots of thinking. Soul searching, if you will. Thinking about how wonderful Warmachine is in a tournament setting. Thinking about how even the hard core is looking at "forging a narrative" in tournaments. Last year I asked whether or not 5th edition 40k was tournament ready. Maybe I've been looking at it all wrong. So what if it isn't tournament ready?

Know what? I think this could be a good thing for me. Ever since my gaming group has started playing a less serious 40k, some strange things have started occurring.

I'm not playing to "win", why not try some funky stuff, like deep striking my Grey Knights Strike Squads. Oh hey, I've always wanted to try some Forgeworld items, it doesn't really matter anymore, maybe we should order some stuff? We don't think Allies make any sense in a competitive environment and even less so in the fluff (barring one or two situations) but, since I don't have to spend money tweaking my lists to perfection, maybe I'll build a new force with some of that extra cash.

I used to listen to certain fluff based Podcasts and think, "These guys are nuts, who plays just for kicks?". Maybe that's how I should be playing this game.

Sure, some of you may read this and call me a heretic, but maybe Matt Ward is onto something with all his crazy fluff based rules and mysterious forests. Maybe I should take a step back and stop looking at lists as a means to an end (winning) and start looking at my list a means of entertaining myself on a night where I'm hanging out with the guys.

If winning isn't a big deal, why not throw down an absolutely stupid Fortress of Redemption? My win/loss isn't going to care, my ego isn't that fragile (anymore) and my minis aren't going to care one way or another. Maybe GW has had it right all along, play for fun. Let Flames of War and Warmachine handle the competitive scene and just kick back, relax and roll some dice.

For the Emperor and all that jazz!