While I respect your ostracism of PogWarriors, this thread comes off as your calling Warflail a ****head whether you intended it to or not.

Well, to begin with I'm not on a crusade to make everyone play "for fun". My choices only bind me to a certain course of action.

I can not prevent the other guy from being <insert derogatory term>warrior, but I will not stoop to that level. Winning LE's is not a big deal for me. If I want a certain piece I'll spend one hour's pay for almost any gamepiece I want (or an hour of ot for the likes of kenny or mason). Hell, I've thrown tournament games against young kids in order to give them the thrill of winning a piece of clickcrack.

The original intent of this thread was not to create division between the "for fun" gamers and the "have to win a prize" gamers. I was merely stating that when you play more for fun than a prize, the current rules are not as bad as many people here make them out to be.

Not only that, how many prospective players have read these forums, bought into all of the negativity and then leave for "greener pastures".

I have to add my two cents.

I live in a town that is about 2 hours away from any source of mwda or comic shop or venue. Me and 2-3 other friends have a 'mechwarrior day' every now and then. Me and one other have been playing a while while the other two are pretty new. It's a blast when we can actually get around to having one.

I think what I enjoy the most is the really devious tactics used. It's like chess. We have few vtols, and rarely use them. We have few arty units, and rarely use them also. If we use them, so be it. However, the most fun is just beating the #### out of someone with a 2 and a half story mech, DFAing it from the top of a 'skyscraper' (aka a shoebox heh). I hope that when I go to college next year I can find a group that has a good time also.

A well played game of mechwarrior is like chess, every unit has backup and every move is planned... it's fun. Oh ya, and I roll well with dice, that makes it a little more fun too heh.

I also have vowed (a few months ago) to not field cheese except for nationals. Makes the game SO much more fun if I'm also faced against a non-cheese army! :)

But here in "Approved Play" there are no more non-cheese armies. :(

In fact here in my geographic area from Los Angeles to San Diego, there are more PogWarriors than MechWarriors! :eek:

This is why I love my venue-supported events so much! :) I can tailor house rules to whatever I find balanced, and even the competitive player vs the casual player both have fun ... because both have a fighting chance to win! :)

My big question is: if there's such a fun-factor difference between house rules and "Approved Play", what does that say about the current rules? Anyway I'm sure you now see where my point is by now. :)

Er... did I fail to make it clear that I was playing devil's (dickhead's) advocate?

Lol. Apparently not...

Well that's a fine, sportsman-like attitude. Tell me, which one of you fine upstanding citizens usually gets the Fellowship prize, or do you all turn it down because what you just did wasn't sportsmanlike behavior? Somehow, I doubt it...

*shrug* Your standard issue jackass doesnt much care about fellowship anyway, the fellowship prize is generally worth less on ebay.

*ahem* I've recently turned (inadvertedly) into what you call a standard issue jackass, or a dickhead.

Lemme explain: When I started, I was small fish - couldnt get up from the 7th-4th place in 14 player tourneys. So I start to learn all I can - I learn from my mistakes, I learn from other player's mistakes, I learn from more experienced players. I figure out what strategies and pieces are most effective. I begin my climb and finally reach a 2nd place, then a 1st place.

Thing is, now I'm used to make armies consisting of 2 arties with base screens (or tranports), a tankdrop, and 2 vtols and a small mech - if it doesnt fit, something is dropped (usually the second vtol). For scenarios, I analyse wich unit types would have more adavantages, and use those unit tipes more. (Like the CA marquee and short range VTOLs).
Thing is, its very easy to abuse it, and bring cheese, when all you wanted was to bring a powerfull army to have a chance to win.

Now I'm beggining to think: if unit arnis is more powerfull, why in the name of zeus will I bring Liz Nostra? Why am I shooting myself in the foot? So I drong bring cheese? but I want to play with my beloved arnis!!!

See the problem?
Actually, I'm beginning to tone down my armies - no more triple arty (LI arrow IV, SW Arrow IV, SW Padilla) for me - a tad more balanced, please - because If I keep doing it, others will start doing it to compete, and younger players will leave, and older players will leave, and Ill be left playing with myself (no sexual acts implied). Not much fun, heh?

But look at the other side of the barricade - remeber some people LIKE to win (like me), and are Ghost-Bear like in phylosophy: When building an army there is no reason not build the very best you can...

"The essence of war is violence. Moderation in war is stupidity"

- Adolf Hitler