"Slow Play Penalties
A very insidious problem in the competitive 40K circuit is that of slow play as a game strategy. Normally, this is one of those areas where people feel like nothing can be done, but I strive to tackle even the tough problems to make my tournament as enjoyable as possible.
Right now, I have some fantastic ideas on how to handle the Slow Play issue. More on this to come once it has been nailed down!" - Neil Gilstrap 11th Company
This one is going to be a very "insidious" problem, especially trying to "fix" it in a 6th Edition context. First of all, what exactly is "Slow Play"? Well, simply put, it is deliberately trying to play a game at a slow speed to shorten the number of turns in the game, which is only relevant in the modern timed tournament context. Neil isn't the only one I've talked to about this and it seems the perspective that "if I don't get five full turns, then you are a Slow Player" has its champions, usually with an example of Joe Blow, Jane Doe and Billy Bob Smith (who are not readily available for contact) who could move 200+, 300+ or 400+ models around, roll all their shooting every turn and somehow manage to play a five turn 2000 point game in 2-3 hours. Competitively in 6th? I call BS.
A very insidious problem in the competitive 40K circuit is that of slow play as a game strategy. Normally, this is one of those areas where people feel like nothing can be done, but I strive to tackle even the tough problems to make my tournament as enjoyable as possible.
Right now, I have some fantastic ideas on how to handle the Slow Play issue. More on this to come once it has been nailed down!" - Neil Gilstrap 11th Company
This one is going to be a very "insidious" problem, especially trying to "fix" it in a 6th Edition context. First of all, what exactly is "Slow Play"? Well, simply put, it is deliberately trying to play a game at a slow speed to shorten the number of turns in the game, which is only relevant in the modern timed tournament context. Neil isn't the only one I've talked to about this and it seems the perspective that "if I don't get five full turns, then you are a Slow Player" has its champions, usually with an example of Joe Blow, Jane Doe and Billy Bob Smith (who are not readily available for contact) who could move 200+, 300+ or 400+ models around, roll all their shooting every turn and somehow manage to play a five turn 2000 point game in 2-3 hours. Competitively in 6th? I call BS.
Okay, I've seen a couple of games vs. horde type armies where I could believe that. The players in question simply formed up in blocks, moved a couple of models of each block with measuring, then plugged the rest in. Precision of movement & distances wasn't tracked real hard, but close enough for me to deal with (if one model got cheated a bit forward going around some terrain, another would get shorted another time, but it was all less than 1") in casual games. The game in 6th was no big deal, I was playing Necrons, it was a lot of fun and a close game I won by a hair, the other one was in 5th vs my Deep Strike list where the ability to throw 20 small blasts a turn was devastating, especially with my Assault Terminators and EC's CC squad to play blocking. Packed in that tightly, I did have a small chance of missing entirely, but a far more likely chance of scoring 3+ hits per blast (>60% at up to a 2" deviation, i.e. a scatter rolling a 6 or less, probably would have still gotten 5-6). I even did it myself with one of my earlier Necron lists
I even did it myself for a couple of 2000 point games with this Necron list. Blocks move fast and easy, shooting is simple to measure and check LOS, but as soon as blasts start falling, it is all over but the dying.
So, are all players of armies with large foot components going to be forced to play in an inefficient manner, totally changing 6th Edition? Or will players of large foot armies be allowed to deploy and move their units in a dispersed fashion, which by its nature, will require more measuring and more time? I do have a way to solve this, let's redesign 40K to be like Gratuitous Space Battles where you design your forces and then hit "start" and watch them fight it out without any more intervention from you (okay, lately they did add some function to change some orders, but I haven't played it since then). /sarcasm
Or will it come down to the threat I heard that "if I'm at a tournament and I don't get my five turns, then I'm getting a ref and getting my opponent DQ'd for Slow Play!", which unfortunately, might be the way things are going to go. I find it unfortunate, because I'm already 50% convinced that my current list is not the optimal one for winning, because I end up with my EC tagging along with my Terminator squad, but both of the alternate lists include large foot components, which will need to be dispersed to survive, which will slow down play, something I dislike greatly myself, which is the primary reason why I'm not going that route. The thing is, if I do go the way of the large foot unit(s), then I don't give a crap what someone whines about. I'll play it as efficiently as I'm able in fairness to my opponent and if he chooses to whine, I'll tell him to suck it up.
Amusingly, the biggest list I faced in terms of numbers of models on the board at NOVA was the only one that went five turns.
Sadly, the shortest game at three turns was caused by what was probably a true Slow Player, one that disputes all kinds of rules and FAQ rulings. Which, if I was actually going to do the Slow Play thing, is one of the ways I'd do it.
BOTTOM LINE: What we do not need is some arbitrary standard set up by some TO or group of players with their own little opinions on how quickly a person should play their list.
I even did it myself for a couple of 2000 point games with this Necron list. Blocks move fast and easy, shooting is simple to measure and check LOS, but as soon as blasts start falling, it is all over but the dying.
So, are all players of armies with large foot components going to be forced to play in an inefficient manner, totally changing 6th Edition? Or will players of large foot armies be allowed to deploy and move their units in a dispersed fashion, which by its nature, will require more measuring and more time? I do have a way to solve this, let's redesign 40K to be like Gratuitous Space Battles where you design your forces and then hit "start" and watch them fight it out without any more intervention from you (okay, lately they did add some function to change some orders, but I haven't played it since then). /sarcasm
Or will it come down to the threat I heard that "if I'm at a tournament and I don't get my five turns, then I'm getting a ref and getting my opponent DQ'd for Slow Play!", which unfortunately, might be the way things are going to go. I find it unfortunate, because I'm already 50% convinced that my current list is not the optimal one for winning, because I end up with my EC tagging along with my Terminator squad, but both of the alternate lists include large foot components, which will need to be dispersed to survive, which will slow down play, something I dislike greatly myself, which is the primary reason why I'm not going that route. The thing is, if I do go the way of the large foot unit(s), then I don't give a crap what someone whines about. I'll play it as efficiently as I'm able in fairness to my opponent and if he chooses to whine, I'll tell him to suck it up.
Amusingly, the biggest list I faced in terms of numbers of models on the board at NOVA was the only one that went five turns.
Sadly, the shortest game at three turns was caused by what was probably a true Slow Player, one that disputes all kinds of rules and FAQ rulings. Which, if I was actually going to do the Slow Play thing, is one of the ways I'd do it.
BOTTOM LINE: What we do not need is some arbitrary standard set up by some TO or group of players with their own little opinions on how quickly a person should play their list.
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