So I was on the forums and I was talking about one thing and, true to form, I wound up falling into a rant. It was so incredibly off topic that I couldn’t, as a moderator, allow it to stand on that thread in good conscience. SO…I decided to actually use my little blog space and post it here in its entirety.
I welcome your opinions, good or bad.

This is part of the “A GW positive episode” thread.

Spirit of Grungni said:

Seriously though, I know Christopher hasn’t chimed in on this, but I think his feelings are the same as mine. In fact, I think you’d even agree with this – If you find models you like just as much or more than the GW models AND they’re cheaper, then there’s no reason not to go with them.

So why am I quoting myself? Because Captain Misquote over there took what I said out of context.

Man, for a guy who gets on a “I stand by my word” soap box…

If you read the entire thought, you’ll see that the opinion I was claiming to know was

If you find models you like just as much or more than the GW models AND they’re cheaper, then there’s no reason not to go with them.

I think I am right in saying that Christopher would agree with that statement.

As for not liking to say much to discredit the company…I’ve voiced plenty of opinions on this show both good and bad.

I just don’t feel the need to make up or complain about non-issues like so many rage quitters just to try and keep myself from sounding like the huge fan that I am as if it’s bad to be a GW fan. Bryan does have one thing right. If you are a huge fan of GW (and you aren’t Curry, Johnson, Heelan or Kemp) everyone else tends to discount your opinion as nothing more than being an apologist for GW; a fanboy. I am not an apologist.

I just think 8th is a fantastic system more and more every time I play it. There isn’t one thing I’ve found that “must” be changed for the game to work. It’s hugely different from 7th and I wish people could get past it. Sure, we’re always going to compare, but sitting around pining away for infinitely high hill, infinitely dense forests, or VC with 17 power dice per magic phase like a lovesick schoolgirl isn’t going to change a thing.

Every game I play I see less and less need for comp. You could put it in to keep it friendlier, and I would have no problem with that. I, however, see a game that is self comping and the randomness is part of that self comping gameplay. Magic is fickle, so even the best thought out plans for your magic aren’t guaranteed. Chaos is, well, chaos. I messes everything up. This game seems to, more than any other, capture the fog of war right in its game mechanics. As a general, there are times I can’t even count on my units completing the simplest of charges. War is hell, and sometimes your plans fall to s**t all around you. What can you do? Nothing. It’s a lot like life. It’s why I love this game more and more after every game.

You want guarantees? This game offers you none. You can set all the traps and line up every model and plan every move, and some element can mess it up for you. This isn’t chess. It isn’t going to allow you to make a perfect list and be unstoppable. It isn’t going to allow you to make an unbeatable plan. What you need is a little energon, and a lot of luck. You can’t always think your way out. War isn’t always a solvable puzzle. That’s chess and as much as I love chess, chess is too clear cut to be anything like war.

In 7th, people who could guess ranges better than others had an advantage. How many times did I cannon snipe people (yay!) and then turn around and declare a 6″ charge and fail because I was 6 1/16″ away (boo)? I tell you what, I find it more believable that my charge command faltered and failed 20% of the way into the charge than that my unit realized they estimated their charge one stride short and simply decided to quit.

It’s a completely different game. It’s a much more chaotic game. It’s a much more cinematic game. It’s a much more exciting game. It’s also much less precise now. Does that make it bad? Or not good for tourneys? Not in my opinion, because this is the type of game I like to play. So the best general doesn’t always win. Sorry, the best general doesn’t always win. Throughout history the better tactician has lost due to things beyond his control. It’s what makes for a more exciting game. If the best general/tactician should always win becuase they figured out their best strategy and unraveled the puzzle of their opponents strategy more efficiently, then I have to conceed every game for the rest of my life to Christopher. He’s better at that stuff than I am. I, on the other hand, am really good at coming up with crap on the fly. I improvise. Making stuff up off the top of my head as I go along is a strong suit of mine. It doesn’t always work. I often bet heavy on a half baked strategy and lose…but when it works, man do I win heavy.

I know I seem to be way off topic here, but I am going to bring this all together. I think 8th is awesome. Not only do I think 8th is awesome, but I can articulate (rather well IMO) the various reasons why I think it all works so well. Does that make me a fanboy? maybe.

Does it somehow invalidate my opinion? From the way my views are often received/responded to I would say that many people would say yes. Yes it does.

Well that’s crap. Being a huge fan of GW doesn’t automatically invalidate a person’s opinion. In fact, I often stop and question my opinion in the “fanboy light” to make certain that I’m not just rah-rahing blindly for the home team. The truth is, if you want a game where you could have almost total control over everything around you, you probably miss 7th and dislike 8th. If you thought that seeing the exact same list for certain armies every time you faced them because under those rules they were the “perfect list” was getting a bit boring, you might like 8th more. (I don’t konw if the perfect list is still coming and just not here yet. There are certainly items that are a 1+ in their armies, but I’ve yet to see a “standard” list for any army other than WoC and their lack of shooting coupled with the super power of the Tzeentch Sorcerer Lord have helped to foster “that list.” And be honest, 1 army out of 16 is not bad.)

I’m a person who has fallen in love with 8th, not as a fanboy, but as a player. I’m still pissed about $41 for 10 special plastic models or $45 for three trolls/minos. I’m WAY pissed about the 8 months of nothing new rules/army book wise wise and fit to be tied that the first book is O&G. Are there minor things that are strange or annoying in the rules? Sure there are. Have they ever ruined my time or cost me the game? No. And there’s the thing. There’s a difference between not liking a rule and the rule not working.

I don’t let the fact that I don’t like a rule fester in me. I don’t sit around complaining about a rule that has changed the game, but has never ruined a game. (I’m not saying I never complained about a rule, especially during a game where that rule was working to my opponents favor. That would be a lie.) What I’m saying is that, I think people don’t like some things that are now different. They like it the old way. And even if the old way wouldn’t work in the overall rules set of this game, that’s what they liked and they have their right to bitch about it and they are going to darn well exercise that right to the point where they get all worked up and rage quit. That’s not me. that’s not even close to me. The fact is, this rules set works as an overall package and changing a few rules, not because they don’t work but because we really just don’t like the mechanics isn’t something I’m into.
Once again, I’m certain some of you are reading this and rolling your eyes and thinking “fanboy.”

The truth is, there are just as many people out there who would complain about GW if the company gave their models away for free. GW is the evil empire and can do no right. Those people are just as bad, if not worse, than the fanboys. These are the people GW hears because they are the most vocal. These people are part of the reason that GW doesn’t seem to listen to us. I wouldn’t want to hear the constant whinging of an overly vocal minority either.

The funny thing is, I’ve heard my opinions echoed on Heelanhammer and Bad Dice. What I don’t hear is people criticizing those guys and saying they don’t know what they’re talking about or that they are “just a couple of fanboys.”

Apparently if you live in England and make the ETC and show up high on the Rankings HQ list, you can share my opinions and be taken seriously. On the other hand, if you’re just a dork in his basement with too many unpainted models but you happen to have a microphone, you’re still just an apologist fanboy who is too blinded by his love for GW to look at them critically.

I do look at them critically, but it’s constructive criticism. Both good and bad. Yep. Mostly good, but I said in the beginning that I love the game, so whadda ya want form me?

So that’s what I wrote. I know it’s off topic and all over and I should probably go back and edit myself a little more, but I like the natural free form train of thought style of it, so I’m leaving it here for you to read. Hope you enjoyed it.