Playing 40k My Way

For a long time, I have been a fairly big blog reader.  I enjoyed immersing myself in all things 40k.  I like reading the tactical musings of players who are far better at playing this game than me.  I like reading battle reports and seeing how certain armies are played and played against. 

However, a few months ago, I kind of hit a wall.  I began to realize that many bloggers out there were basically perpetuating a hair washing mentality of 40k, ie. lather, rinse, repeat.  Tactics and army building posts became a case of, "You're doing it wrong. You should do it my way," or "Your list looks interesting, just get rid of units A, B, C, D, and E and insert my A, my B, my C, my D, and my E."  It got to the point where I really began to get exhausted. Between this and a fairly stringent commission painting schedule, I kind of fell out of playing 40k.

So, a few months back, due to the increased demands or real life, work, and family I got rid all of the tactical blogs that I followed.  I just don't read them anymore and you know what?  I feel better about the hobby. I have gotten back my desire to convert, paint, and play.

This has led me to wonder if the direction the blogosphere has taken us is indeed good for the hobby.  If we really want to encourage the hobby, shouldn't we encourage people to try out crazy ideas? To take risks? To try to apply their ideas and tactical knowledge to situations and learn from them. 

So, I am tooting my own horn.  In my many years of WFB and 40k, I have prided myself in the fact that I find out what is fun and what works for me and then over the experience of multiple games, refine it to the finished product that works best for me.  That is what I did in WFB with my Dark Elves.  That is what I have done with my dread heavy army.  Of course, now it has taken on a Vulkan theme, but it did so because I wanted it to.  It made the list work when it hadn't before. 

I would encourage those of you reading to try out your ideas.  Take less popular units and models.  Try out weird ideas.  Take fluffier lists if you want.  Use them, learn them, and get better, not because you read up on some sight, but because you earned the knowledge you possess about your army through many games won and lost. 

To wrap up I want to ask, is anyone else out there tired of the same-old, same-old going on in the 40k community?  Can there be a wave of free thinking, fluff accepting individuals who are still competitive and willing to put in the time and effort to develop lists that reflect their personalities, tastes, and styles while still knowing and playing tight, well played games? 

I play 40k my way.