I think I met a "that guy".

[Stofficus]

There was a particularly pleasent That Guy which did his utmost to sabotage my local club about, oh, just shy of a year ago now. In fact, his That Guy-ness should have clued us in to some of his more...dubious traits (extensive liar to the utmost, and in fact criminal level, hence why he's not a current fixture). 

 

At first, he sent me a message on Dakka after I posted in their "Find a Game" section about the club in my area - it's pretty suburban and conservative so gaming outlets are few and far between to say the least. Guy shows up, loud, reasonably well dressed (do note, my version of casual is leave my pocket square at home and loosen my tie, so bias and all that) but reasonably amicable. Claims he's never played before, just moved into the area, ex-US Marine (explained the loud and a few visible scars at the time), even speaks decent French, being half-Algerian. 

 

What followed was a series of maneuvers of getting exceptional deals from many in the club who have extensive hoards of models to get his own force going, and he warmed up to the rules remarkably quickly, and very quickly went into criticism of other people's armies. Seemingly, no one could do right be him - they all played inferior armies, worthless expenditures of time and energy, and that he was undefeatable. Challenges the local long-suffering Tyranid player, and the turn before he's wiped from the table by vindictive Trygons (man loves his trygons, I think he has 12 of them), he has to rush off and can't finish the game. Continues to claim he's undefeatable, and becomes increasingly selective of his opponents. 

At this point I was getting kind of sick of him, and a lot of his stories seemed too outlandish to be true, but not being of a military vocation I chose not to be overly confrontational, but didn't get caught up in the hero worship which had overtaken a few people. Those with low self-confidence seeing a guy who fits all the definitions of "Dude-bro" sleeping with multiple women, ex-military, exudes loud confidence tend to become especially meek or conciliatory around men like that I've found. 

By sheer fluke, one of my old friends from school contacts me out of the blue saying that she had met someone who claimed to be my friend, who was dating her manager. Through her I learn all sorts of interesting lies he had been peddling (claimed his wife was dead, she wasn't, most of his scars were self-inflicted not military, all sorts of sleezy things), and the very next day when I go to meet up with the club, one of the guys who works at the store mentions he's pretty sure he had seen this guy before years earlier at a now-closed GW, making his claims of being brand new rather dubious. 

 

With the jig more or less up and after being kicked out of the store following an alcohol-induced rampage which destroyed some of the store's promotional stuff, he outs and steals one guy's Grey Knight army (to be followed up by, we're pretty sure, stealing his car and its contents a month or so ago), and we find out through trawling Ebay, Craigslists and Dakka's Swap Shop that he had basically been flipping the stuff we had given him out of good faith. 

 

Aside from a few harassing phone calls to the one guy he liked victimizing the most (the theft victim) no one's seen him since, but we have since christened him Douchebrodia for all time. His antics drove a fair number of people away and really poisoned the atmosphere of our group. His legacy had almost past until the most recent theft, but I'm of a mind to press charges, or at the very least drop some anonymous tips should his influence resurface. 

 

Only a moderate That Guy in-game, but a massive That Guy in personality and behaviour within our social group. 

[WarriorFish]

That's less That Guy and more just criminal... cheating in a game of 40k and being an unsportsmanlike moron is quite different from breaking the law like that!

[Father Mehman]

We had a "That Guy" in my old gaming group. That was fun. He really echoed your guy, Pudelhund. He wasn't a Grey Knight player but, still, close enough. Anyway, a conclave was called and we discussed said member. It was a unanimous decision.

We taught him how to play. His old internet lists were shredded and we forgave him of his past mistakes. New lists were built and a new army was chosen. Is he still "That Guy"? He has some irritable qualities like bringing his 30k guys to a game but that's nothing a Knight won't fix .

The important thing was that he was ready for change, he just didn't know how to go about it. This game is about fun but it can also bring people closer together and allow good guys to help those that struggle.

[CoffeeGrunt]

That Guy sounds like the real, toxic :cuss you don't want in any kind of group. So glad we haven't had the likes of that here.

[CyderPirate]

Bloody hell.  I'm going to find my club's version of 'That guy' and give him a hug and a big sloppy kiss - he's practically a saint compared to the human garbage you guys have had to put up with! I'd rather 5 more of him than one of yours Stoff!

[Jolemai]

It's this sort of thing that stops me from venturing out to gaming clubs, etc, and getting more games in.

[WarriorFish]

Our erstwhile That Guy was unredeemable, despite my best efforts. He's gone now which is for the best but at least he never broke the law...

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

Apparently he never met an Elysian Guard player. Oh you have three squads in 1k points, that's cute. I have 3 plasma weapons teams 3 vet squads with melta  and other stuff to DS next to you, and guess what if I lose a couple, I don't care, I have more.

 

Played a cocky arrogant guy like this back in 3rd or 4th edition. He walked into the store, the other guys I normally associated with kinda grumbled, I didn't know him, but he brought his hot girlfriend along. This dude was a very I am better than you, look at my girlfriend, look at my gelled manicured hair type of guy. Would have taken him for a fighter pilot if I didn't find out from my friends he was a supply pogue in the army. He was looking for a game, I said sure. She was nice eye candy in her low cut top so having her across the field would be cool regardless of the game. Hw asked what I was playing, I said guard. He kinda laughed and said ok, and did not tell me what he was playing. My buddy walked up to me and asked what I was playing, I said my standard list, drop guard(yeah this was during the doctrine days when regular guard could get deep strike without being elysian.) She had walked away to look at something and my friend being a purposely obnoxious fellow upped the ante quite a bit and played this guy like a fiddle eventually getting him to bet if he couldn't beat me, his girl friend had to give him a ----------. I am not making that up either. I was pulling my all infantry list out of my boxes so I wasn't paying too much attention until he actually came over and whispered that I had better beat him, I didn't learn about the details of the bet until afterward.

 

So we start setting up. I set up first and start putting my heavy weapons platoon on the board(missile teams, HQ, and heavy bolter team). He kinda chuckles when I put the mortar and heavy bolter teams on the board and says I wont need them and could sub them out if I wanted. I was ok. You sure man, you really aren't going to need them. I told him I do not build my armies for particular opponents, I was good. I set the last team on the board and said go. I guess he hadn't played a drop army before, he was like that's it and started to panic a bit. I set everyone in pretty heavy cover even though in this edition you could have no one on the board if you wanted if they were in reserves.

 

So he sets up his armored company nicely spaced across his deployment zone. He even had a FW Destroyer tank, the one with the big laser cannon that looks like a ww2 Jagdpanzer. He also has a squad of sentinels with lascannon I think. I go first and I think I immobilized the destroyer tank with a missile launcher and immobilize a sentinel. He manages to kill almost all of my missile teams and ignores the heavy bolters.

 

Yeah when you have an entire army of squads deepstriking in as platoons, you get quite a few even on average rolling. So all three of my storm trooper squads drop in as well as an entire platoon with their multiple special weapon squads. It was fun as leman russes start blowing up all over the place. I severely hurt him that second round, and the heavy bolters wipe the remainder of the sentinel squad. He was trying to pick up pieces his second round and managed to get a kill or two as his scatters went wide for the most part. Third round brings in everything else and its mass confusion for him. Note that this was back when Vet squads were still elites, so all of my troops were in platoon format, minimum of hq, 2 squads and all had special weapon squads maxed out. I think I even killed a leman russ with a flamer in its rear armor at one point. Final shots of the game were the heavy bolters killing a leman russ from behind that turned to face a troop squad with a single melta gun.

 

The dude welched on his bet and Mike never let him forget it. I never played him again and he never offered, Eye candy was great, especially when she kept asking him if this or that tank was dead. I lost more guys to his stuff blowing up than I did to his firepower.

 

First good win. Second, your friend needs some counseling (wall to wall type) on proper etiquette.  Third, I'd have used the guy's poor boyfriendness (shut up that a word) to steal his girl away. Fourth, well, fighter pilots aren't as easy to spot as you might think, the TopGun Toms die young and take good people with them. Last, I hate the word pog. We all contribute to the success of a mission, so don't dismiss the guys who are stuck in the rear with the gear, so unless you're in the military or were in, don't use it, and certainly not ever derisively (poking fun is ok, but deriding someone based on the job they were given is not ok). 

 

An army travels not on it's stomach, but on it's paperwork. 

 

I'll agree, those guys are best ignored, but that doesn't always work. In fact often times they need someone to jump up their arse. I've done it, and usually do it out of sight or earshot, if that can't be avoided, my friends would usually screen new folks and customers away from the royal reaming I was giving the nasty cheeser (can't say the things I really want to). It really sucks when I'm having to bulldog someone around new people (it's a terrible first impression). Often times the cheeser get's asked to leave. 

[CoffeeGrunt]

We have a local player who builds really cheesy lists designed to mercilessly tear armies to ribbons, but he's actually a pretty cool guy to play against, and you get a good laugh and some friendly banter as you play. It's actually really nice to get a game that lets you bring the toughest list you can conjure sometimes. He's the closest we have to a That Guy, (a lot of people dislike him for the lists he brings.)

[Stofficus]

Bloody hell.  I'm going to find my club's version of 'That guy' and give him a hug and a big sloppy kiss - he's practically a saint compared to the human garbage you guys have had to put up with! I'd rather 5 more of him than one of yours Stoff!

 

Well see there's an interesting comparison to be made in my particular experience. Douchebrodia was and no doubt remains human garbage, but conversely, and at roughly the same time, our original ":cuss" to use the shorthand actually went through a learning experience and is now a valued member of the group. 

 

See, The Old Master, we shall call him (as a reformed :cuss, he has no derisive nickname unfortunately), was a devout Daemons player. He was 2nd gen, in fact, as his father had been a devout Daemons player before him. 

 

He was also an accountant. 

 

His social skill were acutely lacking, and he liked nothing more than a good curb stomp. He knew the ins and outs of his army quite well, knew who he could beat, who he couldn't and would choose accordingly. He also believed he knew every army better than those who played them - calling out rules errors (while usually he was incorrect), making all sorts of dubious claims about mechanics and otherwise trying to game the system, using every exploit and dodgy rule interpretation ever pandered by BOLS or those in the Church of Win At All Costs. At its peak, with the WD update making Flamers and Screamers the most broken unit in the game, he flat-out refused to admit his army was even remotely powerful, and all you had to do was shoot it enough to win. He also liked rolling your dice for you, moving your models, otherwise showing no interest in letting the other person actually play the game. He also had a few dubious personal traits - would only buy stuff used on eBay, never supporting the actual store. Would go to our post-game meal with stuff hidden in his pockets to avoid buying anything there (and as an accountant, he wasn't exactly poor). 

 

He also wore bad t-shirts tucked into track pants with socks and sandals. Unforgivable offense. 

 

But one day he realized, "Wait, no one wants to play me, nor talk to me." He then decided to change his game; he asked what people didn't like, and adjusted accordingly based on the commonalities between them. He no longer invades people's personal space, tries to play their armies for them, and his balancing act for Daemons was to use his Accountant Powers to create a system of dice charts which would allow him to randomly generate an army which gave a number of players a fighting chance, and went on to build a heavily converted, kitbashed and customized Deathwatch force, using the few SM players' preferred chapters as the origin chapter for most of his senior characters. Overall, he learned how to be social and reasonable. 

 

Still dresses like a stereotypical 80s Dad, but we can't all be perfect. 

[CoffeeGrunt]

I hold hope for everyone to be reformed. :P

[WarriorFish]

If this continues I'm going to have to issue charges for group therapy... In case you're wondering I still only accept payments in painted models :P

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

Hey Stoff, that douchebrodia guy sounds like a case of stolen valor to me, If ever you have doubts, you can PM me with questions. I'll be happy to give you some insight. If he was a Marine then he's a real toolbag. 

 

As for the accountant, there was a guy at my last meta, that would get uppity when he'd win, and talk trash, and then get stomped. He is getting better, but he's lacking social skills. We had a 14 yr old kid that played the most broken chaos, and wouldn't let you know if he was bound, bringing named characters, or do any thing considerate really. He'd cry when we'd call him out on rules lawyering, or not having his army list written down in some fashion (battlescribe was accepted), and changing weapons mid game. 

 

It's hard enough keeping track of my army, much less my opponent's. 

[CoffeeGrunt]

I remember playing against a kid in a 1K tournament a bit like that. First round, me and a regular attracted a fair crowd as his Daemons started tearing lumps out of my Guard as they really struggled to hold the line. (The Warp Storm Table was very kind to him that game, on top of him being a veteran of the game who knows his stuff.)

 

My next opponent had watched this, and assumed from the absolute trashing I received that I was bad at the game. He didn't play much if at all, only a couple of times before, and there was a couple of guys watching both games to see if my Guard could pull it back. (One of them joking referred to them as the three legged arthritic horse of the tournament.) This kid of 16 or so hears this and starts a 15 minute of so session of ripping into my Guard as he sets up his Ultramarines. Highlights included:

 

- Placing his Storm Talon on the board at the start of the game, so I had to tell him how Fliers work,

- Explaining how Deep Striking works for his Terminators,

- Me charging him with a Banewolf, him walking up to it, snap-firing a Missile Launcher then trying to declare a charge,

- His Terminator Librarian Warlord was on his own and thus got annihilated by a Veteran squads' Lasguns,

- I multi-lasered his Storm Talon to death the turn after it came on,

- I multi-lasered his Predator to death after flanking it with Sentinels and Chimeras,

- Neither of his Tactical Squads left his Deployment Zone, and thus got dismantled by the firepower I poured on them,

- His Terminators were Assault Terminators. They Deep Striked in and never got to Assault,

- I owned 5/6 Objectives, Slay the Warlord, Linebreaker and First Blood at the end, and hadn't lost a single Guardsman squad, only a couple of Chimeras,

- Nothing of his survived,

 

Basically he smack-talked me for 15 minutes, then steadily made it clear that he knew nothing about the game, and thus I annihilated him. I'm okay with light banter, but it was a pretty scathing, deprecating tirade that he went on.

[Canadian_F_H]

I played against a that guy...

 

I was young and didn't know the rules all that well. I played my black Templar against his tyranids. Around turn 2i assaulted his loan zoanthrope with my emperors champion... Be proceeded to convince me that because it's armor save was psychic that it was an invulnerable, save 2+ mind you .. And I never got a chance to read the rule myself till after the game where it clearly stated it was an armor save not an invulnerable save...

 

So despite my ec battering away at him until random turn 8, and not killing the thrope that legally would have been dead the turn he was assaulted. We managed to nearly table each other and called it a draw .. To this day I count it as a win, because has my ec legally slain the tgrope and participated in the remaining 6 turns it would have been grossly more in my favor...

 

He never fessed up to the chat BTW, hr had a habit of things like that, especially in wfb...

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

There were a few guys that had been playing a while, since 3rd ed, whereas I had played all of maybe 2 games of 3rd, being a hobbyist mostly at the time. I took to the rules pretty easily, but two of these guys would just trash me every time. The thing that kept them from being those guys, was the good sportsmanship and the fact that they helped me build better and better lists as my armies grew. Because of them I learned the game inside and out. I have yet to really beat either of them, I've fought them to draws, but they were just that much better. 

 

The BA player, takes forever to play, I mean I don't like rushing people, but when I can play 4 turns of 2500 points in the time it takes him to do 1 turn of 1500, that's slow. 

 

Against the kid, I meta game the heck out of him. I blasted his black legion and 3 of the lords of the Black Crusades, to ribbons with no named characters, by being slow and methodical and not playing into his rushing. I even made tactical mistakes and still beat him. Mostly because his army was 30% HQ (Abaddon, Ahriman, Kharne, and a Flying Nurgle Daemon prince with the black mace and burning brand).

 

Same kid played his deathwing army against my wolves a few months later, which I won again, because I had a min deploy drop pod list. I've learned that when I put my units up my opponent's face it puts them off guard, and then it starts to hurt, because of the sheer aggressiveness that I show. That and the banter throws them off.

[WarriorFish]

Pudel has opened a can of worms... all I can say is remember that you should play nice during a game no matter what - but nothing forces you to play a game you don't want to play. Once you have encountered a That Guy either take civil steps to explain how he could play better or politely decline a game.

 

Ultimately these people are losing out themselves, so each of these stories is one too many for all involved! 40k is a social game after all, even the crunchiest of tournaments should be well mannered. As the old saying goes in time nobody will remember if you won or lost but they'll remember if you were fun to play against.

[Inso]

I am so glad that I don't game :) (I don't have to deal with that guy)

 

I just collect, sculpt and paint and that fills up any gaming time I'd have anyway.

[Stofficus]

I am so glad that I don't game (I don't have to deal with that guy)

I just collect, sculpt and paint and that fills up any gaming time I'd have anyway.

Well let's not throw the baby out with the bath water (I do so love English phrases - French isn't half as inventive), out of my club of about 15 regulars and another 20-30 semi-regulars, there's only the one real problem figure, and he was only a thing for less than a year.

"That Guy" is a phenomena, no doubt, and not restricted to 40k (the store owner has a list of blacklisted Magic players for just that reason). The Xbox Live community is made of up That Guy, but such is life. Trick is finding a group which knows how to deal with them.

[Inso]

The trouble is that I am a delicate flower and that guy would just put me off if I met him... so I'm probably better off enjoying my hobby in the comfort of my own fortress :)

[Teetengee]

When I go to a new store these days, I play an infantry rush list (zerkers). I usually get shot to hell and lose, but nothing beats mock yelling blood for the blood god on turn 2 when I get that assault off. (enough zerkers will get through most gunlines, and most people focus the spawn and juggerlord.). Even against that guys I still tend to enjoy myself well enough, if only because my army is so far from competitive they aren't really used to dealing with it. Plus, the modeling and the gaming are in a sense two separate but related hobbies for me, so if one isn't going well I usually turn to the other for a while. Also, I have never had to deal with a really bad that guy. In fact, I am usually more bothered by some players' levels of vulgarity and/or sexism. Playing a guy who is just playing to win, either ends with the game over quickly and a new game, or someone's precious gunline being rushed by a horde of frothing madman. Both of which are fine by me.

[Pudelhund]

On the one hand, nice job sending That Guy packing. On the other hand, you've shown a bit about why girls don't play 40K openly and don't come down stores much. "Ah, I see she's your girlfriend, so rather than respecting that, I'm going to gamble sexual favours from her like she's a poker chip."

Sorry, but it makes it difficult for me not to see you as That Guy as well, given the lack of respect at play there...

How do you play 40K without playing it "openly"?

We had a "That Guy" in my old gaming group. That was fun. He really echoed your guy, Pudelhund. He wasn't a Grey Knight player but, still, close enough. Anyway, a conclave was called and we discussed said member. It was a unanimous decision.

We taught him how to play. His old internet lists were shredded and we forgave him of his past mistakes. New lists were built and a new army was chosen. Is he still "That Guy"? He has some irritable qualities like bringing his 30k guys to a game but that's nothing a Knight won't fix .

The important thing was that he was ready for change, he just didn't know how to go about it. This game is about fun but it can also bring people closer together and allow good guys to help those that struggle.

The escalation league I'm in now has a guy who is 30K Emperor's Children. He is one of two veterans in the group, the other two (myself included) being newbies. Is playing 30K in 40K unfair in some way?

It's this sort of thing that stops me from venturing out to gaming clubs, etc, and getting more games in.

Most people I have met have been really helpful and friendly. I made some new friends very quick and got in on an escalation league.

If this continues I'm going to have to issue charges for group therapy... In case you're wondering I still only accept payments in painted models

And how does it feel when you receive notice of ETL updates, WarriorFish?

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

 

On the one hand, nice job sending That Guy packing. On the other hand, you've shown a bit about why girls don't play 40K openly and don't come down stores much. "Ah, I see she's your girlfriend, so rather than respecting that, I'm going to gamble sexual favours from her like she's a poker chip."

 

Sorry, but it makes it difficult for me not to see you as That Guy as well, given the lack of respect at play there...

 

How do you play 40K without playing it "openly"?

 

 

I think he means in public. You don't have to play in public, My group meets at my apartment, because I have a table, terrain, and a bunch of armies to choose from. Also, it hard to find a store in which you can play and consume alcohol, we really like to drink beer while we play, and sometimes we even play beerhammer (the terrain limit, is your limit). That tends to get out of hand though, when your buddy has been sand bagging, and sipping on his beer, and then downs 4 in a row to block off your charge. 

 

I digress. Most of the ladies I've met who come into the stores, really only collect and paint, not really play. I do know a few girls that have given it a good try, and had fun (or at least seemed to), again though not in public. 

 

I think people are too concerned with appearances.

[WarriorFish]

That Guy is unusual, it's part of why he stands out. If you meet a gamer the chances are good they're an ordinary person just like you so don't let it deter you. After all if you worried about getting hit but a lorry you'd never leave the house to experience all the non-lorries.

 

Wait, that analogy doesn't quite work...

[ThatOneMarshal]

I wouldn't say that 30k against 40k is bad. First things first we lose and they shall know no fear meaning even that we can be sweeped in melee. Though since your guard we also can do that moral tricks when we run we keep running. Second is that your opponent is literally playing the weakest legion in 30k. Black templars gett better benefits then him and we are considered pretty weak. Both of his benefits are lost on you. Crusader means he can sweep you faster, you usually die when you get charged by marines so nothing bad there. He's forced to challenge you though in most cases he was going to challenge you anyways. His special units are all pretty weak except for palatine blades. Trust me, if he's playing emperors children then he probalby is Waac.

 

I think 30k vs 40k gets kinda bad when you play either alpha legion or iron hands. Iron hands make your lasguns wound on 6's and alpha legion are alpha legion.

 

My :cuss isn't so bad compared to yours. The big thing is he cheats and is a bandwagon. He plays orks and he's a huge fanboy. He goes on and on about how awsome orks are and how everyone will die to them. He never a brings his codex with him, it's always on his phone and he doesn't own a rulebook. Every week he literally play a diffrent army but they have a comes the apocalypse allies. One week it's dark angels with dark eldar, another is daemons with orks. And he ALWYAS gets the rules wrong on everything. For example in 7th edition fmc are apparently allowed to assualt from flying. We were playing an apocalypse game one day and then he told me he was shooting at me with 10 lascannons from one devastator squad. He has a bunch of these little annoying traits like rolling my dice and choosing terraran that benefits him like a huge buidling that gives him LOS of the entire board and when I grab a bunch Terrain to give my assualt army a chance he calls me that guy. He doesn't bring anything with him including dice and uses proxies and incorrect count as ones like Halo figures counting as models or when he tried procuring a bike squads a juggernaut squad or something. And the worst part is he's a complete hypocrite so if you ask to proxy he will tell you no. And he plays so slow since he doesn't know the rules at all. When I first met him I kept trying to play him so that I could beat him but at the end I just stopped and don't play him anymore. Cuss that guy.