Magic Lessons - Part 2 - Getting Stacked

Last time I described the colours of the Magic rainbow (no mushrooms involved). Today, in a change to the advertise topic, I wanted to go through the Stack, linking in to all the various basic types of cards.

The Stack is the imaginary spike upon which all Spells and Activated Abilities are placed in the order they are played, kind of like the orders spike in a no-where American grease pit.

Spells and Activated Abilities are placed onto the Stack placed in the order they are played, so the top one will be the most recent. But once everyone has stopped placing spells on the Stack, they resolve in the opposite order to which they were cast.

A prime example of this is the classic Blue Counterspell. An opponent has decided to play a ‘I win and you weep’ card, so you decide to turn the tables and make him weep by countering the spell.

First thing to note here is that as you have decided to add to the Stack, the ‘I win and you weep’ card is not in play yet – it is still in the process of being cast, and so is a SPELL not a PERMANENT. Doesn’t matter if it’s a creature, enchantment, artefact or what ever. The only exception is Land – they are NEVER a spell.

The ‘I win and you weep’ spell is on the bottom of the Stack, and Counterspell is on the top. As such, Counterspell resolves first. It does it thing, countering the ‘I win and you weep’ spell so that it is removed from the Stack. As its no longer on the Stack, it cannot resolve, so the opponent does indeed start to weep as he’s paid all that mana for nothing.

That is a classic example of the Stack in action.

But it can become insane with players placing several Spells and Activated Abilities on the stack. But as hectic as it may first appear, it really is as simple as resolving them in reverse order. Any countered Spells and Activated Abilities and simply removed from the Stack, whilst certain effects will be cancelled out in the long run.

Eg: Someone attacks with a Necropede, which the opponent blocks with a Llanowar Elf. It’s a 1/1 vs a 1/1, so both should die, but before it does, the Elf’s controller plays a spell to put a +1/+1 counter on the Elf. Its now a 2/2. Next on the Stack is combat damage – the Necropede takes 2 damage will die at end of the combat phase. The Elf takes 1 infect damage to gain a -1/-1 counter. This would have killed it, but because the Elf’s controller playes that spell on the stack, the -1/-1 counter instead cancels out the +1/+1 counter, so both counters are removed, and the Elf lives to fight another day.

This is the other most frequent use of the Stack – damage cancellation or boosting through stat manipulation.

So that’s the Stack in its simplest form. Now you need to know what Cards/abilities can be played onto the Stack and which can’t. It’s as simple as:

Instant Speed:

Anything that can be played at instant speed can be put on the Stack, whether empty or not, and include the following:

• Instant Spells (old cards stating ‘Can be used to Interrupt’ also count as Instant Speed Spells) – You’ll know many by now – Fireball, Giant Growth, Counterspell, Doomblade…. There are loads that do all manner of things.
•  Activated Abilities – Unless a cards with an Activated Ability (“tap for 1 mana” and  “to gain life” are but two examples of thousands) specifically state that it can only be used any time you can cast a sorcery, you can use it any time at Instant Speed. Some even let you play non-Instant speed cards out of sequence as if they were Instant Speed – that’s a powerful trick to have up your sleeve.
• Cards with the Flash ability - This was a block specific keyword that was immense fun! Imagine bringing out a surprise defender with Deathtouch when the opponent thought they were on to a winning strike. A butt saving enchantment at the last moment maybe?  Oh the mirth bred from this Keyword….

As you can see, it’s a short list, but it’s by no means a small set of cards! It’s knowing how to link together these that allow you to set up an uber combo on the stack.

Sorcery Speed:

If it’s not Instant speed, it’s Sorcery speed.

• Enchanments (Global and Auras)
• Creatures
• Artifacts (Non-Creature, Creatures and Equipment)
• Sorceries

Or for short, basically else, and you can only play these cards when both the following are true:

1. During either of your own two Main Phases and
2. Only if there is nothing else currently on the Stack

As such, it not unusual to find it s Sorcery Speed card at the bottom of the Stack.

A Stack can also be formed in reaction to any event, not just a player casting a Spell or using an Activated Ability - start or end of phases or turns, death of creatures, declaration of attackers or blockers, death of players, card drawing or discarding.

Combat is a classic one, and is a Stack of its own – Attacker declares Attackers, Defender declares blockers, and then, before damage is dealt, you can start throwing Instant speed Spells and Activated Abilities at each other.

There are any number of events that you can react to and start a Stack, but regardless, they same rules above apply to all circumstances.

Next time – Deck Building Considerations

Magic Lessons - Part 1 - Know Thy Stereotypes

My local LGS has embraced the quick and easy to play Magic the Gathering, and its taken off really well with over half the locals kicking in.

As a long time on-off lover of the card-crack, I dusted off my archived collection of dirty decks and started to show them some moves as well as getting schooled by newer mechanics.

We had out first official DCI tournament yesterday, and Im happy to say I won with an old green/white/blue allies with some proliferate added.

I thought that as one of the most schooled MTGers, I would pass on some of my knowledge for the next generation, so here goes!

Part One - Know Thy Stereotypes

Next Time - Part 2 - Deck Design Theory

Magic's core mechanics are split between the 5 colours so that each one has specialism and personality.

Knowing these can aid you in figuring what colours you'll most enjoy when ou start out, and for starting to see how mixing colours can help immensely.

So here is a quick intro to each of the colours and their most common Stereotypes for you to consider and discuss....

Green

One of my fav – its nature at her most aggressive. 

Green is renowned for big stompy monsters of huge proportions, although whether they started out huge or not matters not to a green player – there are lots of ways to pump some arcane steroids into creatures. And with many a way to regenerate their creatures, Green can through them into combat knowing the opponent is always on the wrong end of the bulls horns!

Being a fan of all things green means you have an affinity for lands, with land search and mana creating abilities galore. This can either let you play bigger stuff than you should really be able to, or play the speed game and plays lots of moderate stuff earlier than the opponent can cope with it.

And being one intune with the natural rhythms of life, you don’t like people messing with Gaia’s plans (unless it you doing it of course) so Green has many a way of dealing with both enchantments and artifacts, a powerful pair of denial abilities.

Those are the core traits of Green, but that’s not all there is to find. Living lands, a hatred of flyers, token creature generation and more tricks beside are there to be found, making Green a lot more tricksy than many people would give the apparantly simple stomper Green credit for.

Blue

Where Green is the muscle power, Blue is the mental power.

Blues is hugely known for the large array of counterspells, frequently quashing any plans you may have as your spells fail and fizzle. Even if you get a spell through, Blue may well just return it to your hand next turn.

And to make sure they always have a counter for all occasions, Blue is well known for its card draw and card seeking abilities, which can be used to build their own hand or be turn into an offensive weapon, draining and opponents hand or library.

But Blue is far from defenseless. No one has more unblockable creatures than Blue, whether it be an innate ability or spell induced benefit. Hard to win when you cant stop damage! Same works with fyers – Blue is probably equal with White for a fetish for flyers, swooping up and over defences to tear your apart. They also aren’t afraid of tapping or untapping all they can, ever the cunning Puppetmaster, misdirecting your creatures so that again, you can offer no defence.

These are Blue’s main tricks, but they are as skilled with artifact manipulation as they are library and hands. Through in the ability to clone and mutate, and things despite all your best laid plans, a Blue play can seemingly warp reality itself in the pursuit of victory.

Red

Red has no subtlety – it is a raging fire just aching for more fuel!

Burning, shocking, immolating, stoning – but a few words that sum up a lot of the Red players favourite activities. Using direct damage, they can sling damage at everyone and everything. And to maximize it, they can stoke the fires hotter and higher.

But they love a good fight. From the lowly but haste blesses Goblins, small creatures who en masse don’t wait to strike and are suicidally magnificent, to the raging elementals – the forces of nature given living form for one purpose – crushing you to sand! And as with the spell list, many of them can be stoked to greater levels of devastation.

Nothing is safe from the Wrath of a Red player. Artifact and Land destruction is a popular past time, reducing your options and forcing your hand, forcing mistakes in the face of such a fast flowing anger….

Red is what it is, and it does it well. Through a love of First Strike and Trample and the unleashing of mighty dragons, Red can catch you off guard and you will get burnt….

Black

Red is anger and passion, emotions now lost to the undead.

Death is not the end of the game where a Black player is concerned. If you fall, they shall simply raise you to fight once more, again and again until the task s complete. Doesn’t even have to be their own creatures – if it’s dead, its fair game for a Black player. Regenerating creatures are also a frequent sight, for how can something already dead truly die?

To ensure a steady stream of recently deceased, they have the most Destroy Target Creature spells, and many -x/-x inducing cards to weaken or finish of their targets. And then they feast, using Lifelink to literally nourish themselves on the damage they inflict. Just as well, for a Black players knows its a fine line walking between life and death, and that you must sometimes offer up your own life to get the greatest rewards.

Winged terrors, intimidating nightmares, all powerful Demons, Black command many weird and wounderful minions beyond just the undead, with which to wreck terror, siphoning you mana, your cards, you creatures or maybe just straight to your lifeblood….

With the ability to feed off the death of pretty much anything and to recover from seemingly fatal wounds, a Black player is as tricksy as that of Blue, only with a more grim approach and twisted methods.

White

Purity and honour in all things – only through noble act will White see victory.

White believes in the Greater Good and defending it at all costs. Preventing damage and healing life are the most obvious means to do so, but the use of Defenders, soldiers and ballistas also aid their cause. Line troops with First Strike, Vigilance and other martial skills line the walls of every White bastion.

But the attack can equally be from the air. Avians and Angels, all brethren of the wing, swoop down with righteous zeal to smite the attackers. Any that slip through frequently fall to White’s Destroy Target Attacker spells, frequently ensuring each attack costs the attacker far more than they bargained for.

Clerics work behind the scenes along with a wealth of powerful enchantments to bolster physically weak troops to the level of demi-gods in the defence of their realm. Direct colour protection can neuter an opponent, seeing all he has count for nought, the White player letting the enemy know that they are not to be trifled with.

Add in many ways to raise a small army from apparent thin air, or to pacify the enemy, rooting them to the spot, White will hold the line as you break harmless against its defences.

Colourless

Yes, not strictly a colour, but it is in vogue at the moment thanks to the Scars of Mirrodin block out currently.

Colourless usually means artifact, and these are usually used to bring in something you could not otherwise accomplish in the colour/s of your choice. Life gain, card draw, abilities not natural to your creed – all of these are now available, but it will cost you little bit more for the pleasure.

Artifacts, whether equipment, creature or non-creature, can through an opponent off balance with something they could never have predicted. This psychological perk alone can win a game.

But for the truly heroic, try an deck that is 85-100% artifacts. Lands, creatures, equipment – there is enough of them all to produce truly dominating decks that can use every trick aviable to all the other colours, and a few available to only the colourless, such as Affinity and Arcbound. Its also the greatest source of the covest Indestructibile key word. Costly, but used right, there is literally nothing that can stand in your way.

So whether you want some more hitting force, or your after a trick like a bolt of the ether, this is where you’ll find it – if you can afford it…

Multi-colour

Harnessing multicolour cards is a true skill, one worth learning. Much as with artifacts, it can provide new tricks and surprises, they often also offer two or three options from the one card. A Blue Green spell could at once counter a spell and boost a creature. Red Black may burn someone for direct damage whilst feeding you the dead creature immediately.

If you can handle to multiple mana costs, these cards can turn tides, or generate them to start with.

Gaming for 2011

Life after GW mainstream gaming has proven to be quite liberating.
I am not dissing the system, the company - this is not a bash.
Its just been so.... exciting to be expereinceing all these other games.
Heres my list for 2011 gaming that I want to start or drag out of mothballs.

Infinity - The game Combat Patrol/Kill Team wished it was, and indeed, so did we all
The ARO system makes game more action orientated, more interactive, and means you can truely set and spring traps and ambushes.
The miniatures are beautiful. Period. Even the ones I am not personally enamoured with, I will never question the detail, quality of sculpt and cast, or the dynamics of their posing.
But I have spoken of all this already, so Ill leave it be for now.


Malifaux - Flipping clever! (pun very much intended)
As stated earlier, I played a Demo and loved every moment. The models are the same high quality in all regards as those of Corvus Belli's Inifinty, but with a characture style to it.
The rules are alot more intuiaive than you would think from looking the cards and rules - the symbols become a second language very quickly, and once you have the whole neagtive/postive flip superposition thing clear in your head, play flows like any dice based game.

Firestorm - Need a fleet!
Whilst no one minds me using my Forgeworld Tau Battlefleet/Aeronautica models (they look awesome, if a little small) I would prefr a proper fleet, and I have a Sorylian Morningstar class Carrier already built and painted, waiting for a fleet to tend.
The rules are mostly simple (Wing-fu aside) and the models are nice chunky hunks of space based death dealing joy, so I want to support the system properly by buying a proper fleet.

Bloodbowl - Block, Dodge, Frenzy, Go for It - these words are like poetry to my ears.
Been FAR too many years since I last played. I used to run a Chaos and a Skaven team, but they have long since been misplaced. Currently I have a Norse team, complete with Werewolves and a Werewolf Yeti, standing by to play. With my average Joes team ready, I would like to rebuild a Skaven team as my fast agile team (I will never play elves - too much love lost), and then something big and builky, but not Chaos again- maybe Ogres... But it would be great to have a summer league for four weeks, or just a one off tournament - paid entry, 3 rounds, trophies for top places etc.

Necromunda - Goliaorks for da win!
Yes, I did-  a whole goliath gang based on ork models. Normally Goliath gangs are renowned for being rather poor, but I got really lucky and ended up with a Goliath Gang with 3 GREAT shots who coeverd their advance into combat. One guy was hitting on 3s against hard covered targets! But there was a lack of rule books which mnired things, so once a few more interested parties stump up for a book, we can start a new campaign.

Dystopia - Mechs, Walkers, Robotic Squids... You had me at Mechs!
What to say really! Even Epic didn't have any naval forces. The models are freash, the rules are clear and easy and fun, and the wealth of factions means that when combined with the use of Air, Sea and Land units, there will be near endless combinations! But I wil hold off until we have Land and Air battle groups released,as I would rather buy for all three theartres of war at once and field combined arms armies from Battle 1.

Hordes - Legion and Circle - apparebntly thats sickeningly filthy... Meh!
My love affair with Weerwolves and Monstrosities continues. Im looking forward to Rage now for my next big hit, although Hexhunters, Anyssa Ryval and Black Frost Shard are on the wish list. Plus, No Quarter Magazine is a FAR better read than White Dwarf has become. But there has been a complication....

Warmachine - Khador are stuck in my head
The imagery of a Winter Guard army refuses to leave me, so this July will see me finally take the plunge and turncoat from Fury to Focus, after 18 months moaning about it! This will coincide nicely with the relase of Warpath, meaning there is likely a Gun Carriage or Battle Mechnik Officer in my near future.

Warhammer Quest - nothing more need be said
GW - get your arse in gear and re-release it would you! I want more bad guys, board pieces, and to store my current copy for posterity (I earnt it for helping a mate fix a PC - true story)

Magic the Gathering - 5th time and counting
Its easy to dabble in, even easier to accrue loads of useless cards.
I am gonna dabble in this, which is helped by the fact I keep a collection of a dozen decks so Im not always starting from scratch, but its a sideline - something easy to play when little elseis going on.

Sadly, it appears Avatars of War are highly unlikely to be releasing V2 any time soon, so I am writing them off the list. I have enough to keep me going anyway, and I am still having a go at writing my own games:

• Deep Space, Deep Trouble - a fun loving and fiesty mongrel of Space Hulk, Resident Evil, Doom and Aliens.
• Mass Effect 2 based Dungeon Crawler - its not to followw the stpry line, but more to allow you to take Mass Effect 2 class style characters and fight against Blue Sun, Vorcha, Collectors and more, but with Warhammer Quest style character progression and armour/weapon customisation. This just wont work. However, the Mass Effect 2 classes would make for an intruiging army in Inifinity, whose ARO is perfect for such tactical decision based models, and already has biotic and tech style rules in place.
• A gladiatorial game system with eras - same rule set, but you can choose to do it with classic D&D type, mythical style, futuristic like characters. Warhammer Quest is dead, and maybe it insane t pine for it, but there I believe there is a place for such a game. The mission is to design a system that works for both an arena game and a dungeon crawler game.

Thats alot for one year, and Ive laredy lost one month.. Best get to it.

Coming soon - Morat Troops pictures

Infinity, Malifaux and Beyond

My quest for gaming satisfaction is going very well indeed.

Barely into the second month of the year, and I have 15 fully pained, varnished (first time doing that - very pleased with results) and based Morat Infinity models. They look good in a Tau-esque colour scheme. Photos will be posted shortly. I have even pre-ordered the new Yaogat Sniper, because they are good models value for points/rules wise, the model itself is great, and it means I can field 200pts of near pure Yaogat!

I recently co-wrote a Privateers vs Zombies in Space game with a freiend for Leicester Unisversity Gaming Group's SabreCon. The system will be getting some more tweaking and testing, but its should be available from the Table Top Tyrants blog soon as its rather good laugh. A blend of Space Hulk, Resident Evil, Doom and Aliens, its got some fn little twists and is real easy to set up and play.

But its got to be the Malifaux demo that I played at SabreCon that really got me going! The local Henchman (I say local - he kindly drove over an hour out from home to do the Con) put me and a mate through a Demo, that was so ingrossing we lost 90mins to it! I got to us the Cult of December who I want as my first crew, whilst my mate used Blind Justice (who he was interested in anyway)

I lost, but had fun doing it - suicide run from a frozen gremlin who killed him won mate to force him to explode in a showe of ce shards slaying all 3 models around him! AWESOME!
The system is really is more intuitive than it would at first appear. Once we had done two rounds aided, we started to run flips ourselves, aided only in spotting triggers and in the correct cheat method (a game with built in cheating is always a good laugh).
We were both sold on it, so in April, I will be picking up Rasputina and some cool arctic style bases for them.

Add in the resurgance of Magic the Gathering, and my gaming schedule is packed! Im the most veteran gamer at my LGS, who has only just started to stock cards, and has asked if Id help run the first events, which would be cool!
Not to sound egotistical, but I think that it would be better than my playing - they'll learn more from me helping out wth rules in all games than me battering them one on one with decks finely tuned over ten years of gaming. Plus, I like to support - Im passing on my Inifinty knowledge to a bloke in 2 weeks time for instance.

All this has made my ques for gaming satisfaction a rather short quest in reality, so now my Quest is to recruit others to my cause... Shouldn't take long ;-)

Morat Aggressionist Uprising

My first box of Infinity models arrived today - 4 Combined Army Morat Yaogat Elite Infantry.

The box quotes them as masters of 'Search and Maximum Damage Destruction missions'.... Yeah, I know - thats GOTTA be good.

Heres the front of the box:

They are armed as follows, from left to right:
Spitfire
Combirifle and Grenades
Combirifle and Panzerfaust
Boarding Shotgun and Panzerfaust

Here they are built:

And here is another shot with the flash on, terrible really but has a nice dramatic flair about it.

And here is a size comparrison with PP and GW models.

They've since been based in a nice easy gravel/chunk motiff, which will get a small foliage/ash emblishment once painted.

But now to the nitty gritty...

Despite their slighter, more realistic proportions, they were an absolute breeze to make. The arms have very clear shoulder joints, shaped so they sit firmly. With a very thin sliver of fresh soft green stuff in there and a light drop of super glue, it stuck fast in s couple of miniutes easy. I hope that the larger models are as easily built, as I have my eye on an Avatar.

This should be an interesting set to paint - Ive not done anything this fine since some of the GW LotR range, and even then the detail wasn't as fine.

Speaking of detail -wow! I can see no mould lines, mismoulds, all the detail is well defined - they are truely impressive both aesthetically and technically. GW should chat to these guys, seriously!

Ironically for me, the Morat look kinda like a cross between Tau and Kroot - no wonder I was drawn to them.

This does however give me some ideas for painting schemes already - bring back my blue/black night ops camo scheme from my Tau Kill Team, or use the traditional orange and brown Tau scheme, which I have never actually used, so would be even more tastily ironic!

Im not going to spray them today, as they will be getting their first combat action on Tuesday during Ants Infinity Demo Tues 11/1/2011, so saves recoating an undercoat.

But they will be done before my final 3 Circle of Orboros models (Reeves Hunter and Reeves UA) as they have truely caught my imagination - plus, as already stated, houlder mounted rocket launchers never go out of fashion!

And so the endless march to War begins...

My mass foray into non-GW gaming expereinces starts in erneast with £50 worth of Morat Agressionist Forces for Infinity.

3 Morat Vanguard, 1 Morat Vanguard HMG, 1 Morat Vanguard Hacker, 2 Daturazi Witch Soldiers, 1 Rasyat were ordered, but because shoulder mounted rocket launchers never go out of fashion, I then added 4 Yaogat Elite Infantry.

My 200pts starting list is everything but 3 Yaogat, with 6 points and 2.5 SWC left. All I need to do is get them (damn the postal service) and order some suitable awesome bases for them.

I look forward to posting pics of the naked Morat team soon.

With my 2000pts Flame Falcon Space Marine army soon to go on sale, I also forsee the Malifaux rule book and Cult of December in my near future, with a Sabertooth Cerberus if I can stretch it.

In the meant time, my gaze towards a self written (from scratch - no more Kill Team mods) miniature gaming system has stalled - bloody Mass Effect 2. Playing it (with all the DLC) has left me with it on the brain, so much so, I want to turn it into a 28mm game system. I see a combo of Warmachine, Kill Team, Infinity and Space Hulk (yeah, you read that last one right)

So I do here by declare that I am going to write a 28mm gaming systemn based on Mass Effect 2's combat system.... Im expecting the Desist order in the post naytime now....

New Years (Combat) Resolutions

Rather than post up photos of miniatures unpainte (yeah, Ive done loads of late) I wanted to run someting past you.

Usually, my New Years Resoluations are stark in their absence, but the last few years I have made, and 80% stuck to. This year sees the usual financial stability and oaths to partner ones, but I wanted a hobby one this year to cement a mind set I have been mulling over for a good while now, thanks to my LGS.

"In 2011, I am going to clear out my GW non-specialists models and focus on Specialist and Non-GW systems."

Now, this is not due to some evil and malevolent anti-GW hatred. In fact, I love the specialist range (Bloodbowl, Kill Team rules, Necormunda and Warhammer Quest will always be true soul of GW to me anyway) but because having worked there and known nothing but them for nearly 12 years, I no longer find as much joy or inspiration within the ranks of the top 3 systems. Even Forgeworld's lovelies dont sway me with the force they used to. But all bets are off it the Tau Alilance codex turns out to be any good ;-)

So where to find my fix? Well, I have been playing Privateer Press' Hordes for a year now (Circle and Legion - Im dirrrrty) and love it, so thats Number One on the list. Skirmish to army level combat, great rules, lovely models, and I can get all I need in one case - that seems to be a recurring theme as I look back over my chocies, something I look at later.

Number Two is Spartan Games' Firestorm Armarda, so I will finally add a fleet box to the one Sorylian carrier Ive painted (my FW Tau ships make a rather nice Aquan/Terran stand in in short term)

Number Three is another Spartan Games' release - the new Dystopia. This company now single handedly provides my megalomania requirements for large forces of armoured behemoths duking it out from below the seas all the way to amongst the stars!

Number Four is an easy choice, as I have seen the models, seen the system, and wanted to get into it for soooo long - Malifaux. The Cult of December models look great, have fun rules, and I can already see a Snow Leopard painted Sabertooth Cerberus being added, so thats a win. Recent Freikorps release just sweatened the deal - Im going to do the two along side each other as a sort of Nazi Winter Occult Task Force (or something).

Four seemed enough, but as already stated, I love Kill team, but wanted something tha was more involved and more 'spicy'. I did write a version for my LGS community with them all, but it still pales in comparrison to Inifinity. The ARO sstem alone means that you will always be in the action, and means that you REALLY have to consider every move more. Means Ill suck more than usual, but the dynamic sculpts and spectacularly eclectic mix of the Combined Army meant I was sold. The ninja Yu Jing army is an equal deligh - ninjas, samurai, Akira style bikers and a transformer... Number Five lock in!

Oh, and Six is Areana Deathmatch from Avatars of War - any game that lets you field ANY GOD DAMN MODEL you want for a certain hero (as long as base size is correct) and then gives the crowd a chance to get invoved in the fighting wins me over!

Now all that verbal drooling over models aside, I final came to a conclusion of what I enjoy in games.

1) I like my collection to fit in one case with room to spare for expansion. My Tau army is two cases and only going o explode if I start hitting FW and the new tau Alliance codex when it comes out.
2) Dynamic/unusual models. GW have some great models, I am not dissing th quality, but they lack dynamics due to ranking up etc. Skimirsh games dont worry about that, they do what they bloody want, and it looks all the better for it. Even with Spartan Games, the models are totally unlike anything in BFG. They are completely fresh, and sometimes models int he armies stick out as not realy fitting in - again, they arent afraid to break their own mould.
3) Small armies. I love painting, but not endless amounts of the same model. Id rather field a collection of 40 different models than paint 3 units of 40 highly similar models. Thats a preference, Im not dissing over it.
4) Some chance to mess with models, creatively speaking. Using my FW Tau for Firestorm. Arena Deathmatchs allowance to sue ANY Dark Elf hero or ANY Dwarf Berseker - I can pillage my fav models from where ever I want for it! YAY!

The playing side doesn't seem to worry me. As long as I get a good opponent who I get on well with, its all good - any system is fun with the right person. As such, use gaming as another opportunity to catch up with people. Its a means to an end really. Its just a reallt fun means!

Anyways, thats my mind-pouring done for the year.

I look forward to my X-Mas money and the new models and gaming expereinces it will bring - roll on 2011 - ITS ON!