[40K] Living Librariums

Monday was 40K night at the FLGS and I decided to head on down to hang out rather than do dishes or laundry. [I'm convinced that I'm going to Mom Hell, so I can be lazy now and then.]

I spent some time admiring folks' paint jobs, army composition and generally chit chatting. I then sat down to check out the Eldar Codex because it's one of 2 armies I am considering. It's also slightly more accessible than BT, as one of my real life friends who comments here is contemplating selling his Eldar army. His army is 1: already put together, 2: almost entirely complete, and 3: already painted.

A pre-painted army of ANY kind is a bonus for me if I'm looking at Eldar with any seriousness (and I am) simply due to all the detail work that Eldar requires [and I've established that I suck at details]. I haven't even seen the army in question, and I'm pretty interested, just based on the talent of the painter. He's one of the 3 best painters I know. I love his color choices, and he has a sense of lightness and life with a brush I'd hurt kittens to get.

While checking out the Eldar Codex, I was encouraged VERY strongly to continue considering Black Templar by T, a guy that everyone in our 40K community truly admires. He's one of those walking founts of rules knowledge, endless in understanding and application. He knows every Codex as well as all the FAQ's, and as far as I can tell, UNDERSTANDS what all the variations, combinations and esoterica means when it comes down to how an army plays. What's best about T is that he's an incredibly nice guy. He's absolutely approachable, willing to share information and knowledge, fun to talk to, pretty easy going, and he has a fantastic sense of humor.

T took the time to talk to me about why I like the BTs, and what advantages (as well as disadvantages) they offer.He's letting me check out his BT Codex next week so I can read it over a couple times.  He additionally talked to me about Eldar and gave me some insight I just really didn't grasp about them. He offered some pointers on how to address my playstyle with ANY army as well.

I'm aware that my community is pretty rich in talent. It's hidden by the fact that the guys at the store are generally there to have a good time. They enjoy a silly game just as much as a serious, in-the-trenches campaign, but don't let too much get to them. A good number of guys seem to have the "Gentleman's Ones" curse, and there's a lot of good natured bitching about dice results. But the guys playing are smart, critical thinking, and creative. They're not pushovers; they're guys that get the difference between wanting to win and being an ass.

All these guys defer to T when it comes to a rules question. It sometimes happens that a question will come up and it will get posed to the League Organizer that he simply doesn't know the answer to. He's not afraid to say, "I don't know, ask T". Even when a rule kicks you straight in the balls, guys take it in stride if T confirms that's the way it goes. I'm glad he's around our store.