We've been here before, and we’re here again now (or why I decided to stop streaming)

The eternal question. 

What shall I play?

In many ways I've written this blog post before here's last years version and it's that time of year again.  It's time to discuss options.  Here they are drying in the desert sun. 

I have had, over my last couple of tournament outings, a fairly disastrous run.  The tournaments themselves have been successful, attendees have had a good time.  Prizes have been won, championships held aloft generally a good time had by all and I am pleased with how the tournaments are both going and being received especially now that we have a permanent home for them.

Buuuuut the results haven't been there for me.  I generally consider myself a 2&1 kind of mid table player I'm not pushing for the top spots but equally I'm representing myself well.  The joke amongst those that have known me for a while is that I will generally come 4th and I am happy there.  No silverware to speak of but a good innings. 

In my last 6 in person tournament games however, I have won just the once.  And I am not happy about this or at least think I should be doing better. 

Now on previous blogs I've highlighted the various self inflicted pressures that I put on myself but in short:

1. Simple to play so that I can run the day, answer rules queries etc
2. Snowflake to present a wide variety of aesthetics to others in store to attract new players.
3. The secret previously hidden from the world condition, present a wide variety of masters on my youtube channel to provide a wide array of options for people to watch.
4. I want to do cool paint jobs.

Now as a good friend continually points out "No keyword will forever fill the amount of conditions you place on it from these requirements all of the time."  or words to that effect. 

And he's right.

So I have decided to stop streaming games of Malifaux.  I always hate presenting the same keywords/masters each week as in my head it is somehow boring. So, in an effort to improve, i am just not going to do it anymore.   Which is a shame, but also it removes pressure from me and is probably the easiest to let go. 

What happened with Outcasts? well two things: 

1. I got a good offer for my painted crews so I sold them.  Simple as that. Too good to turn down really. Not all of them, but enough. 
2. They are fantastic keywords and they are all widely different from one another in terms of mechanics and this was perhaps a problem?  Switching gears from one round to the next, on top of everything else I was doing was maybe too much?  Going from Plague, to Obliteration to Amalgam in 10-15 was perhaps too much for my feeble brain.  Which is fine if you recognise these sorts of thing.  Which hopefully that’s what this is.  Hooray self awareness.

So in my last run out I took and Neverborn and pretty much just ran Zoraida after having a bunch of reps and attaining a positive run of results with her.  Things went terribly and the wheels fell off pretty fast losing handily to my old nemesis Dreamer2 in consecutive rounds and drawing against Kirai1.  I didn’t score more than 4vp in any game all day.  So abandoning my rules over simplicity and snowflakes saw me post the worst result I’ve ever posted in any tournament over the last ten years.  I should probably pay attention to that then.

So then. To options.

Guild.  Probably the most likely of options and the one I am currently trialing in the “States of Origin” online team tournament that I am currently running here in Australia. I have solid familiarity with the Elite/Mimic keyword (although predominately in the previous incarnation) as I do too with Witch Hunter a thanks to Witch Hunter month last year and a bunch of games post Sonnia buff.  I own a large portion of the faction having bought them from Panzer when he jumped to Arcanist which give them sentimental value (aren’t friends great).  They are also probably the most “push button, get banana” of all factions which serves my objectives well.  However we do have Guild players locally and they’re frequently a topic of excitement for new players when I talk to them about the game.  Australians love cowboys too it turns out.  Also, that’s a lot of red and leather dudes to paint, from a painting perspective Thayer are probably the most homogeneous around.

Ten thunders.  

 

We don’t really have a Ten Thunders player locally.  I know! Lucky us! I am ridiculously proud of the paint job I did on my Red Library/Story keyword so maybe I should put it on the table?  There’s lots of other cool things to paint as well from the Oni of …..Oni and intricacies of Qi & Gong (although I’m afraid those models maybe too small for my eyes).  Going Orange would up the complexity however.   But very pretty and (at least here) snowflakey?

Lastly as dark horse: Arcanist.  Or perhaps more specifically: Witness.

I adore the lore behind Damien and The Puzzle Box is for my money the best story in the setting (to the extent where I am considering recording my own version of it).  So maybe I give them a run try?

Next irl tournament is in May so don’t have a lot of time to make up my mind.  Which is probably a good thing.