Hi all - looking for a little help here. The evening before I loaded up the car and headed to Battle for Salvation I was doing a fast pass through the 40k blogosphere and ran across one of those rare gems of an article that makes poring over endless blogs and forums worthwhile - true inspiration. Something that hit me to the core and really helped reset my compass firmly in a direction I am absolutely intent on pursuing, a sentiment that attending BfS helped to cement. Unfortunately - I didn't bookmark or save it, being in a hurry to finish packing and get some sort of list together for BfS. Googling for "hobby, waac, 40k, blog, tournament" really isn't working... so I'm hoping someone else who reads this may have read it and can point me in the right direction. Here's the gist of the post:
It opened describing a friend who avoided tournaments because he was afraid of the WAACs and pressure, of showing up without a well-painted army or display board, and in general not knowing either his list or the game rules. The author was going to a tournament (MichiganGT I think?) and the friend decided he'd just rather just hang out and watch instead of playing. Game day changed the friend's mindset though - once he saw what the atmosphere was actually like, realizing he should have played. This in turn led to a series of goals for the aspiring tournament player to be able to hobby up and play with swagger at that tournament next year. To dedicate the next year to one army - paint it to a high standard, complete with a good display board; to come up with a solid list and play that list as often as possible with only minor tweaks made from experience, not experimentation. To be in all ways ready, prepared, and confident. Hobby boxes checked, rules knowledge boxes checked, army list playtesting and tuning boxes checked. A most worthy roadmap.
So if you may have read that article or one you think might be it - I'd very much appreciate a link or pointer to the blog/author. I owe him at least a kind comment for kickstarting my hobby and 40k drive again. Motivation is where you find it.
That article wasn't the only thing though - there's also the matter of a little tournament called Battle for Salvation. At the last minute, after rains had basically wrecked family plans for soccer and other things, I secured the kitchen pass and was the last person to sign up online. In a frenzy that Thursday evening I scrabbled my things together, shoved models I could make at least a respectable list out of into carrying cases, printed out 6 power/spawn tracker sheets. Friday ticked by like slowly pulling a scab. Workday dues finally paid, I sped home, packed, loaded the car and left for the promised land of West Nyack. Huge thanks to the gents who at the last minute graciously allowed me to share their room and bring an air mattress to crash on.
A little background: Ed and the Battle for Salvation crew have been there for the NOVA Open since the beginning. I think 2013 was the first year they didn't need to bring terrain and tables down to help make NOVA a reality. To quote Ron White: "We've met". A better bunch of folks are hard to find. I've wanted to attend BfS for a long time - and had managed to build up some guilt for not doing so. Being able to attend and support BfS was immensely satisfying - karmic payback perhaps, especially knowing what goes into setting up and running a tournament, and knowing the secret to happiness as a TO/volunteer is the satisfaction of knowing other people had a good time - knowing your efforts weren't wasted. I had a great time, and it was awesome to see folks having a really good time - that BfS was truly the success Ed and the crew deserved for their efforts.
I went 2-4 on the weekend - not as good as I'd hoped, but better than I expected given the almost total lack of preparation. Definitely building up my list and rule familiarity and knowledge - and actually finishing 3 of 6 games due to time (shock). There were some absolutely stunning armies there - more motivation. I'll post up my list and batreps soon - ideally before the new codex drops! I'm building up a pretty big stack of battle reports from NOVA and BfS to put together. Life has as ever been crazy busy, but doing my best to refocus on the hobby I love. Thanks for reading!
For the TL;DR crowd - I read a great article I would very much like to find again but need help doing so (details above) and had a great time at Battle for Salvation. Put it on your list to attend next year - you wont' be sorry.
