State of the Hobby - Where Has Sportsmanship Gone?

When an individual goes to a physician to have a sickness addressed, they do not go solely to have their symptoms corrected. Sure, it isn’t pleasant to deal with a runny nose, aches, and trouble breathing, but we’d much rather the doctor focus on the fact the we have the flu. Eventually, if the flu is corrected then the symptoms will go as well.

I’m sure many of you have seen the Feast of Blades army list restrictions, generally becoming known as the “List of Nerfs.” This rules set plans to limit powerful units, Psyker Mastery Levels, and even ban certain items, such as the Grimoire of True Names for Chaos Daemons. There are arguments crossing the Internet about how this will affect the game and whether it will go down as a good decision.

I suppose this article is my two cents regarding the proposed bans/limitations. Before I set into the thought process behind my opinion, I unequivocally believe that limiting and changing the rules set presented by Games Workshop will be a terrible mistake.

I do agree that certain elements of the game are drastically overpowered right now, to the point that facing these list constructions can almost end your desire to play the game. Amongst these lists are the Chaos Space Marines/Black Legion armies with four Heldrakes, and Chaos Daemons with the “Screamer Star.” Tau with four Riptides, or three Riptides with Wave Serpent and Wraithknight support from the Eldar. All of these armies induce cringes of empathetic pain from those who have been on the receiving end of the seal club.

These terribly overpowered lists have always existed in Warhammer 40,000. For those of us who played in 3rd edition, there will always be memories of that guy who showed up with an Alaitoc Craftworld army, with maximum Ranger squads for Disruption rolls, and then three Wraithlords and an Avatar to back it up. The powerful lists of old were just as frustrating to play against as the powerful lists of today, although there do seem to be more of them now than then. My point is that there has always been an opening for players to exploit unbalanced rules.

With all that said, I believe that banning units to make these lists go away is like fighting a runny nose when the patient has the flu. The true underlying problem is a lack of sportsmanship within the community. For the first five years that I played this game, I rarely faced any of these abusive armies, and I was an AVID tournament player in those days. As time went on, though, I became less and less interested in competitive play, because the emphasis suddenly shifted from having a good time to winning, no matter what.

For those ultra-competitive individuals, please do not take this as a personal slight, because that is not the intention. I do believe that the game is meant to be played to win, but I am also a firm believer in the Most Important Rule. I’ve never felt that winning a game, even within a tournament setting, outweighed attempts to make the game enjoyable for my opponent.

Perhaps it’s just a matter of perspective, but when I look at Warhammer 40,000 I see nothing more than a game, surrounded by a rich and vibrant universe of created material that makes it incredibly immersive. Perhaps this is an odd segue to my next point, but to me it makes the point nicely. Different people play this game for different reasons. If my opponent needs to win, no matter the cost, then ultimately it is his decision to put victory above my personal enjoyment of the game. Ultimately, there can be no conflict unless both players rise to the occasion.

I’ve rambled long enough, so I’ll reach my conclusion with this summary. I do not believe units should be banned to make Warhammer 40,000 have more perceived balance. I appeal to those ultra-competitive types; please, have enough heart to realize that your opponent would like to enjoy the experience as well. I also appeal to the fluff-heads out there; don’t overreact to your opponent’s army. How can you claim to be playing “just for fun” and then gripe because your opponent wins? Again, I throw this at everyone, and no one in particular.

This could read as a commentary to many aspects of culture, but we are all too sensitive when people disagree with our opinions. Too often we allow a comment contrary to our own opinion to be perceived as a personal insult. Whichever side of the aisle you fall on, your opponent did not come to the game store today to make you have a bad day. He came to play a game that he enjoys very much, just like you.

Allow sportsmanship and empathy to rule your army construction, your gaming habits, and your attitude at the table. Only then can both sides of this argument come back towards a pleasurable gaming experience for everyone.