Playing to Your Strengths

Almost everyone has a play style that they favor. You may not consciously be aware of it, but I bet you probably gravitate towards certain armies over others. Is this okay or is it something you should try and break out of to broaden your horizons?

It became pretty obvious to me what my play style was fairly quickly. I played Space Marines in 40k, followed by Death Guard and Nurgle Demons. Then in Age of Sigmar my main armies have been Tomb Kings, Stormcast, Nighthaunt, Nurgle, and now a budding Troggoth army. Can you guess what I favor?

I definitely enjoy something that can take a punch and keep on going. My Tomb Kings have a ton of healing built into them, while Nighthaunt and Nurgle have that plus durability before they even take damage. Stormcast and Space Marines aren't as extreme as that, but they're both definitely robust armies that can soak up some damage without it hurting their effectiveness a ton.

This is something I'm acutely aware of now. When I look at starting a new army I often think about its play style and sometimes I try and break outside of that box. Give myself a new challenge. For the most part though I keep on gravitating back towards the army traits that I have played time and time again. This isn't a bad thing though, since at the end of the day this is a game, a game you want to have fun playing. I have fun being able to regrow my army after it's lost a few models. For whatever reason, that gives me a positive play experience, and that's definitely what you want to get out of the game.

Recently I have broken out of this a bit with my Daughters of Khaine. Sure they have some durability with they Fanatical Faith 6+ save, but if you've watched me play my Death armies before than you would know I'm not great at rolling those 6s when I need them. To me the Daughters of Khaine are a glass scalpel and something I'm not very used to playing with. I've played a few games with them now, and I think I'm getting a better handle on it, but it's definitely outside of my comfort zone. This also isn't a bad thing. I chose this army mostly because of the background lore and aesthetics and because it was such a large break from my other armies, both visually and game play wise. The problem would arise if you felt the need to switch armies because you find yourself gravitating towards a certain play style. While I'm sure I'll do more armies like the DoK that break out of the durable, self-healing mold I'm comfortable with, I'll always have more armies that fit neatly into that slot.

It's what I enjoy playing. Even my Warhammer Underworlds deck I like most at the moment is a durable, defensive Steelheart's Champions build (though my Darkoath are nearing completion and they're very fragile). There would be nothing more frustrating than trying to play a different army in the style you're comfortable with if that's not how they play. If I play my DoK as if they could take a hit I'll have a lot of short games. The most important thing is being able to recognize what your favored play style is and embrace it. If you want to try something new be ready to embrace their play style or you'll end up getting frustrated pretty quickly.

Have you found yourself gravitating towards a certain type of army? What's your favored style and have you tried to break out of that box every now and then?

Until next time,

Tyler M.