Here is my generic intro to article where I say I’m back and sorry for the long break between articles! I didn’t realise quite how long it had been until I sat down to finish this one off and get it ready to publish. Wow, it’s been 4 months and another battlescroll in the meantime since that article. I’m so out of practice I couldn’t even decide on a title so you get two.
2026 was going pretty good from an AoS perspective and I feel like I was legitimately getting better. Then the NH book came out. Only kidding 😛 (at least a bit). Life just got busy, I moved house last year which was great for lifestyle and everything else but not great for getting in enough AoS games to stay at the same level or get better.
Enough about that though… I’m here today to kick the year off here for Fittsy’s Foughts and take a look back at those goals I set in May last year and the methods I planned to use to get there.
Goals? Aims? Targets? Whatever they are did I meet them?
I set them back in this article over here but I’m not going to make you click a link just to check it out. 😛
’ll go through them one by one here anyway. I decided back then to have one main goal for myself and I’m not there yet…
“+ become a consistent 4:1 player with a shot at 5:0”
I’ve still got some way to go before I can call myself that… like getting another 4:1. I think I’m just up to 3 GTs and a teams tournament so far so it’d be good if I could find a way to get more in each year. In the teams tournament, I did go 3-1-1 with the “all rounder” list so that was darn close!
I did have these minor goals to get me towards that.
“+ make less mistakes”
+ be more consistent
+ be the best Australian AoS Player in Germany
+ get another 3-0 or two”
I legitimately think that I’m starting to or have hit most of these. I’ll see how my next proper GT is but I’m definitely starting to see and catch my own mistakes. I’m even catching them sometimes before I make them on the table which is the ideal case!
I’m not as sure if I am being more consistent… some more games would help there. I do feel like I have reached a more consistent level of AoS. In hindsight that goal could have been better written. Placing 2nd, 1st, 7th, 5th, 4th in my last 4 outings feels like I might be headed in the right direction. But most of these are 3-2s or 2-1s.
I’m still the best Aussie in Germany! At least until another Aussie turns up in the scene (and no, the New Zealander doesn’t count).
And hey, I did get one more 3-0 so far… It’d just be nice to play a few more tournaments and get a second one to feel good about that.
So feel like I’ve stepped forwards, coaching has helped but then playing less often has definitely come with a negative impact. I think I’ve played a single game in person since October 😮
Luckily the internet exists! TTS is making a difference and not just in being able to get some games and even a tournament in without travelling. It’s also making a big I’m better prepared than ever before. I’ll definitely put an intro to TTS article up soon because it’s an important tool which I had largely overlooked until now!
“All the roads that lead you there were winding”
So if I got a bit better but not better enough yet, what helped from that stuff in the old article and do I need to change anything from my old approach?
Getting in more games?
That didn’t work… I just ended up playing less, I need to play more and get to more tournaments if I want to get to the next level.
Getting reps with my army / list?
This was my strength before and switching back and forth between Nighthaunt and Kharadron was fun but I need to sit and focus on one army competitively for a while again! I feel like I’m not where I was yet with KO as I was with NH before the new battletome.
Getting in games with other armies?
I’ve managed that a bit with games with Nighthaunt, KO, Gargants, and even one with Helsmiths. I want to keep throwing in a game with my “non-main” army from time to time. I think my aim was 1 in 4 with a different army but I definitely feel I need to focus a bit more with KO still.
Start looking at other armies?
AS much as I want to paint my Helsmiths and finish up my Gargants… I’ve got units I want to have to give my KO lists more options (I’ve already got a file for what I paint next to fill out the army). Yuck, that was a hard sentence. First things first, paint more KO for the next half year, then look at painting one of the other armies (and my Necromunda Ogryns 😉)
Heading into tournaments to win?
Oof. First thought was “hell yeah”. But then those second thoughts came in and I know I’m planning to get a 3:2 at the GT on the weekend with a shot at a 4:1. I recognise that I need to work on this a little more. I know I go into each game going for the win.
Changing my mindset about scoring?
This is done and dusted. I’m quite sure it’s one of the aspects that is really helping me to change my results.
Coaching?
This has definitely helped. From changing my mindset, to working on cutting down on my mistakes, to specific deployment and battleplan strategies. I’ve been really happy I’ve given this a shot. I’m at the end of my “review” of Onwards AoS and I’ll do some coverage of my experience with coaching over a couple of articles.
And then…
There’s two more things I’m trying to do at the moment.
- More games against top opponents! TTS is one of the things making the difference here and trying to see about getting to more GTs is the other. Then it occurs to me I should play against Luca who I think has now taken the crown from me for best player in Bremen… but only because I moved! Sucker! You have to beat me to take the crown!
- More prep and more discussion. See how calm and calculated I can be :P. I mentioned Luca in the one above but along with increasing how much I chat with him about games, I’ve also done so with some others and I’m trying to ask questions and get involved in relevant chats.
You’ve done a good job to read this far in this word salad of an article with hardly a picture of video link. As a consolation prize, enjoy this campfire classic 😊
Looking Ahead
This was super helpful for me reflecting back on how things have gone with a bit more than half a year since deciding to try and be more competitive. I hope it’s at least given you all a thought or two about why you play or how you play.
I didn’t get those gargants finished… then I picked up Helsmiths… started to paint then life really got in the way and now I’m painting KO again. Gah! Positive side is that with the new battletome I’m enjoying KO so much more than before (and I think my opponents are too now that the points dropped).
On the playing front, I actually have good news… I just finished a tts tournament and I’m heading to a GT this weekend. Next up is participating in RTB with the Woehammer based team as well to see what all the fuss is about over there. Tune in next week for the next exciting episode of Fittsy’s Foughts!
