It’s been a while since I last published a General Speaking, but I think you’ll agree it was worth the wait. I was lucky enough to speak to Daughters of Khaine supremo Joshua Bennett!
We’re also doubly lucky because Josh recently agreed to join the team and feed us some comments for the Daughters of Khaine lists that pop up, as well as doing his own interviews with other big name players around the world.
Our Other General Speaking Articles:
Josh – The Stats
Events in 22-23 Pitched Battles (Season 1 and 2): 6
Game Wins: 21.5 (Draws counting as 0.5 wins and 0.5 losses)
Game Losses: 7.5
Win Rate: 74.1%
Woehammer Ranking Points: 688.4
North America Woehammer Ranking: 36th
Worldwide Woehammer Ranking: 65th
Events (Sorted by Woehammer Ranking Points):
| Event | Faction | Wins | Losses | Ranking Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Outlaw Open | DoK | 5 | 0 | 205.15 |
| Las Vegas Open 2023 | BoC | 4.5 | 0.5 | 184.86 |
| Epic Level Showdown | DoK | 4 | 1 | 164.12 |
| Nashcon GT 2022 | DoK | 3 | 2 | 134.28 |
| Mighty Meeple AoS GT | DoK | 3 | 1 | 111.9 |
| Nova Open | DoK | 2 | 3 | 96.98 |
General Speaking
Peter: Thank you for agreeing to the interview! I guess we should start by asking how long you’ve been into wargaming?
Joshua: Hi thank you for having me. I would say that i have been into wargaming for about two years now. was always a video game kinda guy and my little brother begged and begged me to come out and try AOS. I finally went out to a local gaming store in the area, I tried it out and fell in love with it. And me being the type of person that doesn’t just dip my toes into something, I dove all the way into the hobby. I started out just like everyone else, finding an army that I thought looked really cool and getting my butt kicked a lot. Then I started off with local RTT’s and just wanted more.
Peter: So has it been the Daughters of Khaine for you since you started or have you been lured by other factions as well?
Joshua: No actually, I started with Flesh eaters. I really loved the look of them when I first saw them. Turnouts when I started playing them it was the time of the big smash bat . I had so much fun with them. Then I started playing in local RTT’s and actually getting to see different armies. I started to then play Nurgle because I thought they were awesome. I was super excited because I had a really good list that was destroying the local meta. I was going to go to LVO that year with my one drop 55 blight king list…. Covid said no lol…. then the GHB came out and I couldn’t play my blight king list anymore, so I picked up the Daughters because Morathi looked amazing. Turns out I was pretty good with them..
Peter: Pretty good! You’re being modest! Will you be sticking with them for the new GHB?
Joshua: It all depends. For a team format i think DOK is still very strong. But for the GT standpoint i think it looses some of its punch. I have been playing around with Beast of Chaos and then the Dinos. I guess we shall see what we look like after the books.
Peter: Do you have any lists in mind for the new season? A better question would be, how do you approach list building? Do you focus around units you like or do you look at units that can achieve certain strategies for you? Or perhaps something else?
Joshua: Right not i am working with beast of chaos and dinos. waiting till their new books come out. As far as list building i build a list with the idea of of does best to counter most the current meta. You can build a list to beat everything but if you build a list to counter most then your just hoping for a good dodge of the list that are horrible matchups. When i build list i am not building a 5-0 list because those just don’t exist . 5-0 list are 4-1 list with really good matchups. I go into the event with the knowledge that if i get paired against this list i loose, or really have to outplay my opponent. I also try to design list that do well with most of the missions because they play a big part in the game as well.
Peter: I believe you’re lucky enough to be in the same club as some of the top players in the US? How much do you all discuss the game, tactics and events? Are there any fun rivalries?
Joshua: Yeah we are lucky to have some very top notch players in the club. If you ask my fiancé i discuss the game way to much! hahahaha. We theory craft and list craft everyday, but no so much for us but for the newer players we have in the club. We have a lot of players that are not into the tournament scene as much as other and that want to be competitive. Our club is focused on growing the scene so the more experienced players take a lot of time with coaching games and walk throughs of list. Our goal is for everyone that wants to be at a competitive level can be and we help them achieve their goal. So we put a lot of effort into that then whatever time is let we work on our list for the next event.
Peter: I’ve asked this to a few players now, but what’s your key to maintaining focus over a tournament weekend?
Joshua: Well for me it’s not hard.. I’m a combat vet so I almost hyper focus on anything I do as it is. This game is actually a way I clear my head and it calms me down. People thought I was crazy when I did a invitational,gt and a rtt all in the same weekend….
Peter: What would your best piece of advice be for someone looking to start in AoS competitively
Joshua: First and foremost, this is a game meant to entertain us. If your not having fun no matter what the outcome then we aren’t doing it right. Secondly just know competitive play is as much about knowing your army (while that’s important). It’s also knowing your opponent’s army. Having the basic idea of what’s coming at you so you can counter.
Peter: You have a high ITC ranking, how much do you take note of various player Rankings and what benefit (if any) do you believe they add to the competitive scene?
Joshua: Itc is really cool. At first i was fixated on it. I wanted to be the top for my faction and was for awhile. But once i started to get to know the top players its started not to matter anymore, and the games became less pressure and more about having fun. but it does spark some very friendly rivalries between friends.
Peter: Joshua thank you so much for you time and agreeing to speak to us. All the best for the coming season!