I agree with all points but one: don't do the sniff test. People who stink and have poor hygiene on the regular will not realise that they stink. Just take a shower before going to the store. Even if you think you don't need one.

Celebrating your opponent's victories is honestly such a great way to keep sore-loser syndrome at bay. Used to be something I struggled with, but my mental health has improved so much by finding joy in the game first, rather than just joy in victory.

5:00 I agree. The first tournament I played in, my opponent forgot to deep strike his reserves. We only realized half way into the shooting phase. I told him to set them up anyway and continue shooting me. Next turn I forgot to heal my dreadnought. He let be go back. That dreadnought then proceeded to win me the game

And to anyone thinking about getting into the game at your local game store and worried about running into "that guy" don't worry, they're few and far between.

Watching this reminds me of when Mortarion had just came out and my brother was so hyped. Went to pick him up one day and there was a two guys about to play and the GW staff told us someone had him ready for a game if we wanted to see the model built and paints, This guy heard us and called us over let my bro pick up and look at it and then asked if we wanted to see him play and him and his mate had a few quick games so my bro could see Mortation in action. About 20 mins later the guy pulled out a bit of paper and wrote down some tips for playing Mortation and honestly I was blown away by it, as iv had a lot of negative experiences with stuff like this. The guy was so happy to be talking about it and was loving the face he got to help someone with it.

I love to think that its never bad luck, but dice who want to tell a story and that the enemy defies all odds and that its like an important plot point in a novel of how someone became a hero

So back when I played ultramarines a lot of people looked down on my army because “I was playing the basic cookie cutter space marines” but I really liked them but got so unnoticed to keep playing them and then I switched to dark angels and then was talking to a guy I was playing with who was an eldar player and told him I used to be an ultramarines player and why I changed chapters and what hit me hard is when he said “well why’d you stop?” And that dude had a much better influence on me than any victory I’ve had

I’m still a box art Andy when it comes to my painting. I don’t judge people’s paint jobs unless I really like them. If I think a paint job is lazy or inadequate, I keep that to myself. I don’t know what else is going on in this person’s life. They could be doing their best for all I know.

Living in the rural Midwest it's so hard to even dip your toes into WH40K. Finding someone else to invest hundreds of dollars into a game as complicated as 40k is a tough ask 😅😭

A good tip for those who aren’t very strategic in thinking: don’t forfeit. Instead, try and make comical decisions or ones that sound cool and would be fun for the both of you to talk about after. I charged a Kahl with a Neurothrope and I almost killed it; don’t let those dreams be dreams. I’ve made lots of friends due to decisions like those. That and be a good sport about losing. Taking advice from your opponent is always nice if it’s critical and not slander. For those who want extra context, the Neurothrope was the last one alive, so I wasn’t doing it unaware of the inevitable whooping that would come my way. I did it because it would sound funny and create a nice story.

Before I moved across the country the last game I played at my old FLGS I bought the owner and his wife breakfast. It wasn’t much, considering I was moving cross country and being a Warhammer player, but I wanted to thank them for being probably the only decent (dedicated) game store that hosted Warhammer regularly, even if the all day pass for playing was pennies for them in the long run.

Love how this is all very useful outside the gamestore lmao. There is a danish expression that does not translate super well: "Tab og vind med samme sind" Basically loose and win with the same attitude. That always stuck with me as a key moral lesson.

Awesome video! I'm getting into the 40k hobby and it's been tough finding tournaments in my local area. Your content has really helped demystify the hobby for me and I'm excited to put the advice to good use. Cheers.

I will say recently I was "that guy" at my local club and honestly I feel so bad.. I've joined my clubs league with my black templars, I was kitbashing and constantly building my models to get a 1000pts force to play with, I was happy with my models and my first opponent was admech, I've played with and against this guy before and he's great I didn't get much sleep before the league and when I got there I was trying to be positive, but with most of my models being either one shot or two shot off the board I was slowly losing faith, I played to the end but when it finished I had to step outside and breathe.. I was more annoyed at myself than at him but still, it just didn't feel nice.. Next time the club happens I'm gonna apologise to him for how I acted, it wasn't right and I should've acted better

why are you singling me out and making me feel like crap? I love cheating and trashing mediocre paint jobs. Talking trash and cheating is my hobby. Don't take my hobby away from me. Totally killing my cheating whilst trash talkin' chub, man. LOL. thanks for the vid. HOWEVER, there are some stinky nerds tho and I will always talk crap to stinkers.

I think losing is fine. I like a match where I try as hard as I can an still lose to the other player. I don’t like one sides stomps but you need to have an ork mentality. If I win I win, if I lose it was a good scrap so I still win. Ork grindset.

Hey man really cool how you can pump out so many videos so quick. Really good quality too. Hope to see some diarama paints in the futures or even battle reports

I honestly ran into multiple that guys as i started playing 40k. I told them i'm new, i don't have the most optimal models yet and i'm playing a weak faction. Then they brought their tournament list (i only knew until i talked about it to veteran players) and just crushed me. Then they told me how weak their faction is and how i should have won. As i got better i didn't really ran into them anymore for some reason. I don't want to scare you guys or anything but those people exist and you can refuse to play someone if he's doing the same stuff over and over again.

Thank you for spreading the positivity. I tend to give my non tournament opponents my list well before game time and allow them to specifically tailor their lists (if the want) to my army. I'm all for playing the challenge. Keep rolling!

3:04 at the start of my first ever game, it was me (admech) vs a guy who offers lessons for beginners at the store i go to (playing tau) and I was doing really well against him. He got some good shots in and I did as well, and then when it was only his ethereal left, it made a full charge towards my ruststalkers, obliterated nearly all of them until my last one hit him the final time.

The bit about approaching people during a game, I needed to hear about that because there was a guy playing imperial guard (I play it as well) and he had a unique paint scheme but I didn't want to interrupt anything so I just finished up with my purchase and left, which sucks because I am shortsighted and forgot my glasses so all I saw was that his tanks were white and never approached to see anything further Had I approached him maybe I'd have gotten inspiration for my cadians, I'll never know

We used to see a *lot* of "math errors" in people's army lists. Strangely enough, almost always underpriced. Also incoherent/illegible "Schrödinger's Army List" that contains whatever they need it to at any particular time. Less of a problem these days with most people using a program for that kind of thing.

Totally agree. My LFGS never charges for game space. I always buy/order from them. Paint, accessories, models, snacks, etc. They provide a good safe space for everyone who comes through the door.

Fabulous video. Very informative. new subscriber

Spot on with supporting the local game stores.

I've been told I bring "dad energy" to my gaming club. I sure hope that's true.

Great video! I'm just now getting into the hobby and these are all great tips! A lot of them apply for most tabletop games or games in general as well! Also I second what someone else said in "Don't do the sniff test" Take a shower before going to the shop and bring deodorant if it tends to wear off of you quickly. No one will personally thank you for doing it but they will certainly be upset at you if you don't!

When it comes to loosing or loosing a key unit, I like to talk with the other person and come up with a ridiculous scenario as to why they died . I also always try to play another game with the same person to see if I can change my luck!

I'm lucky to have a super wholesome warhammer community here in the Faroes

Agree with all but the going back to fix mistakes. I don’t request redos and don’t offer them either. That isn’t a dig on anyone but I feel I don’t learn if I don’t suffer from my mistake. If they really ask I’ll allow it but I won’t offer as dealing with mistakes and coming back from them , to me , is fun. Getting better means being able to come back from mistakes and is just a new challenge.

Hey man! Just stumbled across your channel! Love your content! Gotta ask, what do you use for your paint racks in the background? Love your set up~

Subscribed purely because I saw the Coheed hat (and enjoyed the content)

Something I learned while playing battletech is that each side has some cool moments, and you can make your opponents moments so much cooler if you're rooting for them to win, or at least have the best possible outcome. When its their turn to shoot? Tell them to blast your guys away. When something cool happens with their units? Narrate it with enthusiasm. When you're attacking them? Tell them you got this when they roll to save. Find something nice about their models, even if you think they look crap. Being a positive player uplifts you both.

Never thought of going to the game shop to play, i just started not long ago but i think (and hope) it'll be a refreshing experience, they do offer their tables for free but i'm just waiting to save enough for my next game before coming down to play there so i can come back home with a game as well and support them

I recently had a small 1250pt 40K tournie. I lost the first 2 games, but on the 3rd game, I yelled Waaaagh so loudly. The entire store joined me in the roar. I won the 3rd with my Orks. I'll never forget that moment.

New to this channel, really like your content. New sub!

What do you think the reaction would be if I showed up to a game store with cardboard circles at the unit base sizes, sticks extending from them at the height of the model, with a printed picture of a jpeg of the unit it corresponds to lol. I don’t plan on going to a public game anytime soon, but that’s pretty much what I play with until I 3D print some tokens to take their place. Well, other than the virtual simulators which is where I usually get to play. Just didn’t feel the need to spend hundreds of dollars on some models for a single game, then need to both assemble and paint them myself when I could just get to playing with cardboard circles and a pack of colored pencil lol

I love the Coheed hat!

I have subscribed yo this channel!

Came for the tips, subbed for the Coheed hat

My input on what we can do, suggest to store owners to have a stock of snacks and drinks, not every gamer has the budget to buy stuff to support you every week, but gladly will buy up snacks, my go to store even does cooked food now and it's really popular and helps them alot.

I think it’s also part of social behavior to show a little bit of tolerance when it comes to lore accuracy or rule accuracy on miniatures. Like: You want red Orks? Ok Go with it. Oh your space marines are on smaller bases, because you got them a decade ago? Ok Fine, use them.

My LGS does an all day session once a month, we're sort of in two groups in there. The super competitive guys play each other and us casuals play one another, sometimes we overlap but often not. The atmosphere is awesome though, people turn up and get exactly what they want out of the games. We tend to agree a theme ahead of time, last month it was bloodbowl, month before rumbleslam. Not everyone plays it and everyone just does what they want. We make sure someone can run an intro game if there's someone interested in the hobby and it's a great time. We had a 'that guy' once, he managed to eject himself from the group after a meltdown and no one wanting to play with him. They happen but the vast majority of people in the hobby are just happy to be there.

Thank you for opening my eyes.

Nice hat my dude. Love me some coheed!

I do my best to be super positive and cool to people when I game. I want people to have great wargaming experiences.

I subscribed for the Mercy hoodie.

Nice Coheed Hat my dude!

Good sportsmanship and a bit of respect, boom! You Ain't that guy.

The best experience I had was a Squig eating the last wound off of my Stormraven Gunship. That was hilarious.

One thing I'd like to add when it comes to "Lose with grace", if you recognize that you're losing, and there's little or no chance of bouncing back, there's no shame in throwing in the towel. But at the same time, don't just rage quit. Talk out how the remaining turns would go so you can get the points you'd be afforded. Who knows, your next tournament round may go much better, and you come out with enough points to keep you in the running.

I totally agree about winning or losing gracefully. But it really does suck when you're a beginner and some people think it's fun to absolutely wreck you with much better armies lol

When it comes to giving my opinion about someones paint job, if they don't ask for my opinion, I'm not giving it. Especially when it's someone playing because if you compliment one player but not the other... then you've still given your opinion on their minis as well.

Okay man. So i saw another video of yours and thought "lemme check him out" Then i saw the Coheed Hat. Automatically subscribing to any brother among the fence ❤

Thanks for mentioning supporting stores that offer their tables for free!

So well said. I have had to deal with "that guy" as a hobbyist/gamer as well as a hobby store staff member. All great points, choose positivity!

That's a Coheed hat! SUBSCRIBED

as you said...loose and win with humility. To many people get wrapped up in having to win every single game. One of the reason i stopped going as i got older.

I live in the Rep of Ireland, and the nearest game store to me is an entire city away, so when I went there, I was hoping to show my minis and meet new friends who were as enthusiastic about the hobby as I am (I've been in the hobby for just over 50 years now, and still going strong :-D). While I was there, the staff were unbelievably rude to everyone, completely ignoring some customers (Myself included), actually physically violent toward a group of young girls who were playing Pokemon, charged €10 per hour to play a game at their tables, and were arrogant and conceited toward everyone. And that was just the STAFF in the shop. I ended up having to walk out after one staff member tried shoulder barging me out of his way while I was talking to young boy about D&D, and showing him my minis (He was truly impressed by my re-painted Disney Skylanders Tree-Rex figures, as he loves Wood Elves, and I painted them as an ally force for my own Wood Elf army). I tried complaining to the manager of the shop, who just told me to "F*** off if you don't like my shop." This is a shop that has a Nationwide name for being a wonderful place to go, have a game, show your minis, and who supports a yearly competition in the city. My experience was negative to say the least, so now I go to a game store in another county, where the staff/customers and atmosphere are welcoming, happy to indulge and "Old Sweat" like me with painting demo's for them and their customers, and welcomes gamers who are as young as just 6 years of age with so much enthusiasm, it's more like being at a family gathering than a game shop. I hate the attitude that seems to have become the norm today at game shops and events, with arrogant people being given "status" and allowed to continue their behaviour without anyone allowed to nay-say them. I now run painting lessons at home, met my new, wonderful girlfriend (Who's 30 years YOUNGER than me!!!! :->) through her daughter, who takes lessons from me, and have so much fun, surrounded by wonderful, creative people again, who just love painting and playing with toy soldiers and who want to learn everything it took me almost 50 years to learn for themselves. I show them how to make their own washes/glazes/contrast paints using artists materials, saving them more money to build their armies, and we make our own terrain from recycled trash, which their parents love, as it also cuts down their trash/recycling charges here :-) Thankfully, I've found new friends and "family" again with the store I now visit, and love the hobby even more, and am inspired constantly with new ideas they all bring for me to try with them.

I wish I had known about a local game store I had literally 5 minutes away from me... now they got a bit more successful and moved 15-20 minutes away by foot. Not super far, but I really needed stuff like paints and airbrush stuff a while ago and thought my only option was Amazon.

The contribution thing is huge. I always buy booster packs of yugioh or mtg whenever i go.

I would not ask for any quartet if I made a mistake. Once you end turn your turn is over. You allow it once to get a do-over it gets abused.

Sort of related to the "Be mindful" part, but towards the players: If you're playing against strangers, actually play the game instead of just talking with your buddies the whole time. I remember my first game of 40k where I played against someone I didn't know and that guy was always talking to his friend, which made the turns last an eternity. That became so increadibly boring that it discouraged me from playing for a long time, because I thought it would always be this boring. When I played another time, I had a really great time. My opponent and I would talk with each other, which also made the turns longer than they needed to be, but since all participants were invested in the conversation, it was nice. But if you're just ignoring your opponent and doing *nothing* game related most of the time, it gets boring for your opponent, and, in my case, they might not want to play again in the future

I work at an flgs and we have bottles of deoderant to spray post customer leaving the store. Quite frankly theres a much higher proportion who have terrible BO and halitosis than most would think there are. How hard is it to have a shower brush your teeth and use deoderant.

I have never played warhammer, but in every card game and board game I've ever played I refuse to take back a bad move. But unless I'm playing with someone I know is also "super serious" I always let people take back an action if it is an actual mistake. It works out almost always that the other player/s also start keeping the bad play and we all end up better players

As a player who lives in a tropical country, I reaffirm the importance of using and updating deodorant. Congratulations on the great video.

Dude… The 😂 emoji is an understatement of how much I cried laughing when you mentioned “sweaty gamers” and “bring deodorant”. Just because of the image you put in my mind. Thank you for the tips otherwise. My husband is super excited to play his newly painted army but I myself am interested in Age of Sigmar so I thought this was good watch. Thanks for the laugh though.

I think people need to be stricter on the forgetting thing. It’s nice to do but overall I think that’s part of the game and rewarding forgetting creates that bad habit to begin with. It’s just a game but forgetting a rule throws wrenches in the mix and that makes it more interesting. Imo of course.

I tend to see my games as more of an observer. It is way more fun this way. My buddy and I have been playing Kill Team and two of our characters where locked in a cycle of shooting and hiding behind cover the entire time through, without any one of them losing wounds. But when I tried to introduce my melee guy to change the tide, he got almost instakilled. In our hands it went light this: The Sororitas and the Chaos Space Marine are shooting back and forth behind cover. CSM: "You can't hit shit! Your corpse god has forsaken you!" Soroitas: "God Emperor! Guide my hand!" *The Sororitas closes her eyes and shoots* Just in the very same time the bulkhead off to the side gets kicked down, by a CSM armed with Flayer knifes and dripping with blood of the sisters of battle. CSM2: "Are there more girlies to ki..." *the sororitas shoot lands squarely on him* CSM1: "I did not expect that...." Sororitas, under her breath: "Me neither" Sororitas, then clearer: "The Emperor works in mysterious ways! Sisters unite! We will exterminate those Heretics!" The downed Chaos Space Marine, while bleeding out shoots at the Sororitas in a last ditch attempt, but misses miraculously. Sororitas2: "Your God has forsaken you. But our emperor protects us." *puts him down like a rabbit dog* Meanwhile off in another hallway my Balefire Acolyte is off doing his best Megumin impression. Running out, "EXXXXXXPLOOOOOOSION!" and then jumping back behind hard cover.

When I play my Death Guard, I like to roleplay by not taking a shower for 3 weeks. I like to imagine the rot and stench gives me good luck. People who complain about my disgusting state are just breaking my immersion.

I love strategy games like 40k and I loved setting comeback victories way more epic. Unfortunately a player did not like how I would somehow beat them with what looked like a easy victory on their part and that player began to label me as that guy.

Love that hat brother

My favorite loss was when a Genestealer Cultist killed my Knight Paladin by butt whipping him with a shotgun. It was such an unexpected death that we took a picture of the dice showing my failed save because it was so great.

to be honest, i have been going to games workshop stores since 1989 and i have only met one guy that was a posterchild for WAAC. i was in buying another infantry squad for my cadian infantry only battalion. he scoffed at how his 3rd ed khorne bezerkers would destroy me. i told him that is to be expected. but imagine the embarrassment if i won? he never took the chance...

I understand losing with grace. However I can also understand why some people would get upset when they lose. I'm still new to the game but in every game I have played so far I have been shot off the table. It's not very fun to constantly lose. Now I haven't been bitter mostly chalking my losses up to not being very good at strategy. But I can understand why it would make some people bitter.

I like the chess etiquette, don’t GG someone if you won and make sure to shake hands and GG if you lost.

I try to be as forgiving and letting on my cousin when he makes mistakes let him take stuff back for example if he moved a u it to far from another to give buffs since we are both new but the moment I forgot a psychic phase because I only have 1 Psyker I wasn’t allowed and it ruined the experience I haven’t played with him since because even tho he ruined my game I still won then decides to complain about my army being “op”

Practise your social awerness and mind your manners, pretty much a good rule for life whether your at the Warhammer shop, gym, work or just out in public.

I had someone grabbing my minis to have a look at my paint job. It’s okay everyone can look. Please ask if it’s okay to pick them up.

I've gone up against armies that blew me off the board. They were apologizing the entire time and laughing. This is someone I've played with for a while. Bringing down a monolith just to have it gone that turn and exploding. It was a fantastic day.

I got tabled by Votan last night and I still had a blast.

My only 2 real issues are people who agree to have a pick up then say something like "I'm practicing for a tournaments and people who place terrain for theor advantage. Usually not enough terrain. Because I want to have a fun game with random models. If someone wants to practice for a tournament then lmk so I can write a good list with synergy. Nothing like doing a fun theme list vs the guy who has a meta list on a table without any cover

I'm very into the story of Warhammer and roll Necrons hence Im deathly silent and when I do speak it's in binary. Sorry babe, the necrodermis stays on.

Buying things in the store isn't the only way to contribute. Help the new guy who just walked in with his first ever box. Setup a game with them and get them over the anxiety of where the hell do I start. That's going to elevate the space and bring people back and I'm yet to meet a store owner who didn't appreciate players willing to step up and show someone the ropes.

Only caveat to the smell thing is do not grief someone about this who you don't know. Have a couple people with physical problems they absolutely cannot control in my local game scene, they are aware and trying their best, but having to answer to some pushy stranger about it is like a kick in the teeth for them when it's hard for them to get out and socialize at all. If someone's wearing a tshirt looks like it could stand up on its own, I understand sayin' nah or asking them for a wash, but be mindful of how you're treating folks from appearances (wafts). I suggest the asking out loud and checking if you stepped in something, then leave it at that. Indirect, non-confrontational, and gets the point across perfectly clear.

Don't give people painting advice unless they ask, you personally might think they painted terribly but they might be really happy with their painted army

Fellow Mercy enjoyer agreeing to all these things. Especially the washing. What is with gaming nerds and not wearing deodorant and having terrible hygene. It's been that way for as long as I could remember. It's a BIT better now than it was at conventions and tournies back in the 90's but how is this still a problem when we all agree it's a problem?

One thing too I'm just getting the hobby but have been a huge magic player for years. Be nice to the noobies and if you can encourage questions. If it's not a serious game I love to try and help noobies learn the hobby.

It kind of sucks that we need this sort of lesson...but damn man, we really do.

I agree with pretty much everything you said. I slightly disagree on the paint job point. While it's certainly not cool to sh*t all over someone's paint job, I also don't think it's helpful to lie to them and tell them how amazing their 3 color minimum job is. I try to say something positive (find something I like about the mini and complement the painter) and then offer some friendly, constructive criticism. I'll frame it in a way thats helpful. Like, " Dark Angels are so cool, they were my first army too. I like the paint scheme you went for and your basing looks great. One thing I learned as I was painting my Dark Angels is that light edge highlights go a long way on Dark Green power armor. It's really quick and easy and will make your minis pop even more!" I'm not a very good liar and I think someone will notice if I'm blowing smoke. I chose positivity!

My store has a 10 dollar "buy here play here" even when ive dropped 3,000 in purchases (Sisters, Templars, Imperial Guard, Imp Fist, Knights), kinda sucks that I dont get a comp. BUT it helps the store keep the doors open,

Funny thing; I don’t play tabletop but am I big lore fan and also make my own figures at 8” scale for myself. I am pretty muscular, dress well, drive fancy cars and all that surface-level stuff. But I am always intimidated going into the local warhammer store. I don’t really know as much as everyone there and always feel a bit out of place. They are all very nice yet I’m always insecure.

The sniff test: you smell...you will suffer a -1 to hit rolls.

'Ask before handling a figure' - it's just shown common courtesy. I cup figures in both hands, it's someone's hard work after all.

Sidenote on Helping the store: If your game store doesn't have a lot of people actually coming in playing games, you're helping bring life to the store when you come in and game. Nothing's sadder than seeing half the store being dedicated to Empty tables.

Nice cohead hat

On your point about not rage quitting. Normalize taking a step away, tell your opponents you need a moment step away for a moment take a breath calm down and then get back to it.

I literally don’t understand why I smell bad sometimes when going to game stores. I take like, 2 showers a day and sometimes still think I smell bad. Maybe I’m just paranoid or something.

1🇺🇸🌈🎄💪🥷🏽🏈 I BE WALKING DOWN THEM NIGHT BLUE LANES AND BLACK ELMS JAMMIN ON THE MEMORY OF THE 1980S LIKE GODDAMN THESE KIDS...

"Let people go back and redo turns". Had a guy in my first game ever not let me take moves back because, "its better to learn that way"....that guy was a tool.