Last time I talked about the tools of playing a game which for this purpose translates to the army list used. This tool however can be influenced by the subject of this article, which is you…
Starter
This gamer doesn’t always have to be someone who is new to the hobby. I’d say that really there is a level before this when people are simply playing to learn. At this starter level they have discovered maybe a few units that they like and know what they can do well compared to other units in the same codex. However they don’t venture in to looking what may help the unit further through auras, transport or strategems, relying simply on the stats and options of the unit themselves. Depending on the unit and the opponent they can still find that they perform well. When an army list is made by this style of player there will often be units that have been included because they had to be for force organisation or they were the ones available and as the player either doesn’t have interest in or hasn’t had the chance to learn much about the unit, they will tend to not get much out of them. A good example is a unit that seems to move without much purpose and may or may not shoot or use abilities most turns as they are not being positioned to get use from. One thing worth mentioning is that this is not a bad player. They may be happy with their level of knowledge of the game or do not have the time to dedicate to more, I know several players who have been involved to some level for over a decade and don’t move from this level and they are happy there.
What characterises it most I would say is that the player will only ever really use part of their army each turn and will rarely use much rules wise that isn’t on a units datasheet.
Also the big part for a player here is that they actually want to just roll dice and socialise so will often have repeat opponents they want to play.
Casual
The step in to this group from starter I feel is probably best summed up by, have a codex and read it. Thinking back to a friend who started in the hobby about 6 years ago they had been able to play reasonably competitively in other online games or similar and the step that made the difference for them was buying the Tau codex and reading it..a lot. For them it meant that they learned the rules for all their units, enough that they understood what would do which bits better than another unit and how, through wargear options, units could be further changed and set for purpose. This isn’t purely about the rules sections either. Looking through the background and other fluff areas has for some people I know been the hook that encouraged them to look further at what in the book would allow them to get their army to recreate the armies abilities on the tabletop.
Having this more rounded knowledge of the army as a whole then also lends itself to several other tools that are used, how to improve units through strategems or bonuses, why to pick certain units to achieve a scenario goal and how to set up an army with a mental image of where it will be in turn three.
What they might then be limited by is working out how to get in that position or what possible actions could happen that would stop this especially in the form of reserves or abilities that they can’t readily see when they are planning.
What characterises it most for me is that this player can talk about what does well in their army and what it is good for achieving in the game, killing lots, not dying or dashing around the table and creating threats.
Knowledgeable
Having this plan based on knowledge of their own forces is something that I’ve picked up from players as an advantage that isn’t always given enough credit. If you’ve chatted with people in game or after talking about why they chose certain units or made certain moves, often if they can put forward their ideas even if they didn’t work it shows that they have an understanding of how the game would have gone, meaning they had an end goal in place rather than reacting to what happened or taking each turn individually.
This also then extends to recognising the capabilities of other armies too. Seeing a unit for the first time you may be told stats and figures for what they can do but often at this level it is not until you have experienced playing against them or with them that a knowledgeable player will understand a unit. A second time and knowing what its capable of there will be a plan in place for it (successful or not) shows that understanding of more units abilities and how to increase them.
It also highlights another element of this type of player which is experience. They will have played a variety of different opponents and armies (sometimes having different forces themselves) and often across more than one edition of the rules. This exposure to multiple armies and rules sets will give them the knowledge to draw on in order to react to different armies and different situations and some elements of the rules will probably be hardwired to them now such as roll to hit, followed by roll to wound, followed by save. Like previously mentioned, this is an often unspoken advantage as some of the game is done on autopilot and allows for more thinking energy to solve the problems of how to react in the game to get the most out of their army. It also represents one of the biggest hurdles that a knowledgeable player has.
Much of what has been learned is to do with their gaming experience either playing or watching others they know play. As such the performance of units or armies can be coloured by their performance from game to game or by the player using them and create an unbalanced opinion when used in a different way by another player. A good example I can remember from playing in 6th edition where I was able to play at a competitive level with my Dark Eldar and was playing a Black templar player who was much younger than me. Before the game they proudly stated that Dark Eldar weren’t very good and I would struggle in the game. I made the assumption that a lot of this was based on the fact that this players interactions were probably with other younger players who had some Dark Eldar knocking around from the last editions starter set and hadn’t added much to it and this was born out when the Black Templars were defeated quite thoroughly over the game. Their knowledge of Dark Eldar had been shaped by their experience of the players not by that of the army and the distinction showed in that game. It isn’t that the knowledge is wrong at all. When something doesn’t perform as expected either because it occurs in a new context or the edition has changed and therefore the environment is different it is more of a big deal for a knowledgeable player as it challenges what they perceived they know and can take time to relearn or understand in its new context.
9th edition is built on top of 8th edition which was a fairly big diversion from the five editions before. As such, players who have played little 8th and/or are returning with 9th will often be in this group of players as the way an army is created using force organisation charts, having aura abilities on characters and command points for stratagems instantly takes some of the core concepts of the game and makes them feel uncertain.
What characterises this player most for me is that they have a clear idea of what they want to do in a game and what will allow them to do it but are more prone to ‘got ya’ moments that are outside their experience and work more on how they ‘feel’ a game should go than a casual player.
competitive
Competitive is written with a small c above in part because there is the potential for a fair amount of bad vibes towards competitive players from your average casual gamer. The fear of a competitive player honing their army list that just won a local tournament and looks similar to one they read on the internet and now is going to kill them in 2 turns, this is what the Competitive player (big C) can cause to run through the minds of casual players. To an extent they are right.
This is probably the broadest category of the four players for me. A player who can win a big national tournament and has a YouTube channel where they talk tactics and lists would fall in to this category. But so also would a friend of mine with Space Wolves older than some in our hobby group who strikes fear in to no one and is a pleasure to play against. So how do I define this group.
If the casual player knows what does well in their army and the knowledgeable player knows what they want to do in the game then the competitive player is the one who understands why those elements work the way they do. That understanding also may not have come from lots of games played but enough exposure to different armies, rules sets and style of play that they can put together the cause and effect of choices in theory crafting and how that would then apply on the table in 9th. If I look at Chaos Obliterators as an example, all but the starter player would be aware that they are a strong shooting unit for Chaos Space Marines. A competitive player would also look to see what mark of Chaos they have as the Mark of Slaanesh would mean for two command points they can shoot twice and the Chapter trait will further influence other boosts available. So the same unit could vary its level of abilities without extra points being spent on it, even before looking for characters that would further increase them.
Having this level of knowledge before a game is started also allows them to tailor their own approach. Not by playing under their ability or letting their opponent win but by identifying opportunities that are passed up and either asking why or playing at a level that keeps the game involving for both players. Then again they might take full advantage and crush them mercilessly!
This player is characterised by almost always being aware of how the game is developing and having a level of control over where it goes next, even if they know that a victory is getting less and less likely.
So between part 2 and part 3 theres eight ‘levels’ that can feed in to a gaming experience before a dice is even rolled. Give a level 4 list to a level 1 player and its probably not going to be as likely to win as a level 3 player with a level 2 list. Hopefully these bits have been interesting to read and I will look more at some of pieces that allow more options next time.