Yer a Meta

Hey, folks. SinSynn here.

I will say this about Games Workshop, and the impact they have on the hobby- it sure can be funny, sometimes...when it's not tragic, of course. Despite that, there is much to appreciate, and be thankful for.

Not fer nuthin,' but Games Workshop has some of the most ravenous, frothing at the mouth fanbois outside of a handful of television and movie franchises with the word 'Star' in the title. Not just that, but the insanity kinda goes both ways, since Games Workshop games can also inspire almost divine creativity.

When it comes to creative modeling possibilities, it's hard to beat 40k. Despite my overall ambivalence to Games Workshop (yes, I still dinna like dem right now...this month...so far...shaddup you...look, dots!), I cannot deny that in the hands of the right person (not me...definitely not me), a perfectly average 40k model (which in all likelyhood is itself a lovely thing) can be elevated to a breathtaking object of superawesomecoolness.
That's totally a word, by the way.

Oh! Speaking of superawesomecoolness inspired by our hobby...well, it's Starcraft and cosplay, but whatevs, close enough. Here's why:

*As usual, I will be using a buncha pics like this, instead of boring ol' 40k models. Cuz really, now. We all know what 40k models look like, amirite?*

My...she's tentacle-y.
Hey, baby...How you doin'?
I'm SinSynn.
*Broad, overly toothy Xenos grin*

As a hobbyist, I will always appreciate the effort a fellow hobbyist puts into his or her work. Be it a scratch-built model or some fan fiction a friend sends me, our hobby is a beautiful thing in this regard. Look- it's even got a knucklehead like myself waxing all philosophical-ish and whatnot, using words like 'waxing.'
:P
The cool thing about GW models is that you can play games with 'em, of course, and popular ones at that. You can pack up yer Fantasy or 40k army (although you better have a pretty big case nowadays fer either of 'em), and take it across the country, across the world, to wherever there's a FLGS or a store bearing the GW logo above the door, and you can find a game.

Sigh.
Sure, it's hard for me to bite my tongues and not blurt out sumpthin' like  'Ohmahgerd, but Y U wanna do that? 8th Edition Fantasy and 6th Edition 40k are like, blah'...Even though I've never played Warhammer Fantasy 8th Edition...Or any Edition, for that matter...
Hey, listen...I'm a Blogger, and it's our privilege to make pronouncements like that. And besides, I have it on good authority that 8th Edition Warhammer Fantasy is indeed blah...cuz da Internets told me so. So nyah.

Anyway, for a great miniature to be a fully functional gamepiece, and to stand on a table filled with similar models, with terrain of a similar caliber...well, Flames of War and Infinity (and a bunch of other games) probably do that better now, due to 40k and Fantasy being played on game boards with far less terrain, comparatively.
While 40k certainly doesn't look 'epic' on the average tournament table, which generally features five pieces of terrain chosen for functionality rather than aesthetics, evenly placed for balance rather than for looks, both it and Fantasy are still quite capable of producing 'ooh's and ah's' when there's well-painted models on the table.

*Speaking of well-painted models producing 'ooh's and ah's' :) Heh, heh....Zing!*

The great thing about Games Workshop is not just that, if nuthin' else, they do continue to produce some cool lookin' models, and the folks who play the game get amazingly creative with them. For a while GW models kinda set the bar in terms of superawesomecoolness, and nowadays I'd hafta say they're still the gold standard. If you're lookin' to design and produce miniatures, you will be measured against Games Workshop in virtually every way, right down to how efficiently you use the space on the sprue.

Yep, GW casts a large shadow on the industry. But not just the industry alone. Nope, the entire mini-gaming community itself has certainly felt it's influence, from the time they arrived and started leeching people away from the historicals (I've heard old-timers complain about this, actually. Iz funnie to me), right up until now, when a veritable flood of GW 'refugees' are invading other games systems...and their forums, pestering the veterans and generally coming off like lost waifs (James S. actually discussed this here).
I've, uhhh...actually been there myself. Heh.

And while I'm pleasantly surprised when I surf the blogrolls here at the House to see that there's a surprising number of non-GW blogs out there now, the GW community is still very much alive and kicking...and they're just as funny as ever.
:)
You know why I find myself increasingly surfing the blogroll here? I mean, other than the fact that El Jeffe promised me an extra fish head every time I plug the House, of course...It's that...well, I'll just be honest here and say it flat-out...since they reformatted it, Bell of Lost Souls is kinda wacked. I used to just hit the Bell and browse a few posts there to sorta get my hobby fix. But now, even with all kindsa flash and ad blockers on my browser, that site still chokes my computer. Half the width of the screen is like, advertisements.
-_-
Iz lame.
I'm sorry- I sorta like the crew over there; Goatboy, the Soda Guy (Big Red) and the rest, but it is what it is.
I prefer to surf here now.
...
I believe that's worth at least two fish heads....but it's also true.
;)

Anyway, the flip side of the whole GW 'experience' is, naturally, the insanity that surrounds it. Not only does Games Workshop, the company, do sumpthin' stoopid virtually every month or so, but their fans...oh, boy...

Here's a great quote from a post I read a while back:
"40k is a changin! It appears that the meta has finally been deflowered at long last and will be more so as each new codex is released going by what we have seen so far in sixth edition."

*chortle*

I have no idea what any of that means, but I think it's pretty gosh-darn funny.
:D

What the heck is a meta, anyway?
And why do we want to deflower them?
0_o

*Unless they look like this...Umm...Was that wrong? Was that wrong to say?  I'm sorry...but C'MON...*

Games Workshop games attract an eclectic mix of gamer types, but due to the expansive backgrounds of their games there's room for everybody, more or less...and you think that would be cool, right?

But no...fluffy players love to show up on competitive posts and riff about how spam is killing the game and whatnot. Competitive gamers will show up and call yer cute lil' 'check out my list' post on Dakka 'fail,' and bless their silly hearts both groups will riff on each other till their fingers are worn to stumps from peckin' away at their keyboards. It's Lolz-Worthy, fer sure. It's no wonder that after taking those first tentative steps in a new direction and maybe picking up a starter set for a new game, many of us are suffering from some sorta hobby PTSD or sumpthin,' and it's hard to accept that the game, the company that makes it and the community that plays it might be...'nice.'
Games Workshop is a tough company to love, as is the twisted community that plays their games, honestly. This much I know, having once loved the company, and being stuck loving the community.
:P
I kid, of course...please don't deflower my meta.

Still, ya gotta love terms like 'meta,' right? And WAAC, FAAC, RAW and RAI. I'll always, always have a soft spot in my heart for 'Waaagh!'
...And yes, I totally realize I'm blabbing on and on about GW, but whatever, man. Maybe I'm a lil' blue right now cuz the Tau released (Get it? 'Blue right now'? Cuz the Tau are...nevermind -_-). And true to form Games Workshop screwed the whole thing up, and there were like, shortages in the stores. True to form competitive types are riffin' 'bout perceived nerfs (Ermahgerd, Railguns are Strength 8 now! Ack!). True to form fluffy types are saying the Codex is 'balanced, and not OP, and the WAAC jerks won't like it cuz there's no obvious power combos and you actually have to THINK,' cuz they always say that same tired thing.
And of course there's a big giant robot, and a flyer, and they're like, dumb expensive. That seems to be a requirement for a new 40k release nowadays, doesn't it?
*shrug*
Blah...Waddayagonnado? I waited like, forever and ever for a new Tau Codex, and after I give up on the whole 40k thing, it actually materializes.
-_-
Son of a...

Sure, it's one of these new-fangled 6th Edition fifty dollar thin-ass hardcover jammies, which have all been 'toned down' from the 5th Edition 'Ward-style' OP books, and I know I woulda most likely have been disappointed. Dunno why GW doesn't make 'em nice and thick and juicy like the 5th Edition Codexes anymore, but I prolly woulda been disappointed...But then again, maybe not.
Maybe I woulda choked to death on my own vomit after seeing Shadowsun standing next to a Space Marine across the table from me, in some kinda sick, twisted, bastardized 'Battle Brother' allied force.
...
*choke*
Kill me now, before I see that, please...

*Just gimme 5 minutes with Cosplay Kerrigan first. Okay 3 minutes. DON'T YOU JUDGE ME!*

But, hey, at least I can count on the 40k community to keep me amused with Tau stuffs; there'll be fancy conversions and paint jobs to admire, ridiculous online arguments to enjoy, Vespid forever sucking, and the vague assurance that the next Imperial book will totally crush the poor fishmens.

Ultimately, that's why I'm content to shake my head and gets ta steppin,' cuz I woulda been burnt when that inevitably happened. I know yer tricks, G-Dubs, and I ain't fallin' for it this time, even if you wave a fancy new Shadowsun model in front of my stalked, multi-lensed occular appendages.
I've got Sheskiin, Speculo killer and Ko Dali now. I'll always have love for Shadowsun, but I've moved on.

In fact, it's time to start boring you guys with some talk of my new loves.
:)
Next week, a new 'Sexy Models' post, featuring the beautiful and deadly ladies of Infinity! That'll help me shake off this case of the Tau blues...
Get it? Tau 'blues'? No?...Nevermind.
-_-


Until next time, folks- Exit with catchphrase!

- SinSynn