u/TacticalOperatorswan

Worst Tabletop Experience I've Had Playing Warhammer 40K — Krieg vs. Necrons

Krieg (me) vs. Necrons (Gerber)

I wanted to come on here and talk about my most recent public Warhammer gaming experience, because honestly, it was the worst tabletop experience I've had with Warhammer so far.

For some background, I'm 19 and first got into Warhammer in late 2021. I started with Space Marines and eventually created my own homebrew chapter. I took a break in 2023 because of how expensive the hobby can get, but earlier this year I got back into it with a couple of friends. I decided to start an Astra Militarum army, specifically Krieg, because I love their lore, their aesthetic, and honestly, I just think they're badass.

Unfortunately, the friends I originally got into Warhammer with weren't able to make it to the store that day. At the time, I only had around 770 points of Krieg. I understood that this could put me at a disadvantage against larger armies, and I was completely fine with that.

I was also relatively new to 11th edition. I had played 10th quite a bit and understood those rules fairly well, but I was still learning the changes in 11th. So I was slower than usual when checking rules and figuring out some of the new mechanics.

I went into the tabletop area at my local game store and started setting up my models. There were already a few games going on, and nobody was available to play against me at first.

About ten minutes later, another player—I'll call him Gerber—came in with his Necron army and a Domino's pizza. He asked if I wanted to play, and I agreed.

The first thing I explained to him was that I was relatively new to 11th edition and only had around 770 points. I told him I was perfectly fine playing around 800 points or even playing up to 1,000 if necessary. I understood that I might be outnumbered and outgunned.

He said that was fine, and we ended up putting together a game of roughly 810 points.

My Krieg Army

- 3× Death Korps of Krieg — 10 models each

- Krieg Command Squad — 6 models, including Lord Commissar

- Lord Marshal Dreir

- Artillery Team

- Krieg Heavy Weapons Squad

- Death Riders — 5 models

- Leman Russ Commander — Vanquisher

His necron Army consisted of other models I didn't necessarily know the name of but the ones I didn't know was that he had one ghost arc three immortal squads and a couple other larger necron models

Before we started, I made it clear again that I was new to playing Guard and still learning things like Orders, Stratagems, and some of the army's mechanics. My goal was simply to learn, have a good game, and enjoy playing.

The first thing Gerber asked me was:

«"Have you ever played Guard before?"»

I told him no, that this was my first time playing Guard, and that I was pretty excited about it.

He responded:

«"Oh, well, they usually suck. They're just cannon fodder. Most armies wipe them out."»

I just laughed it off and said:

«"Well, I like my odds. The Emperor protects!"»

I was trying to keep things light and play into the spirit of the game.

Then, while I was pulling out the rest of my army, he started criticizing my paint jobs. He described them as "flat and splat," asked if I was new to painting, and said they didn't look like the army.

That honestly caught me off guard because I'm proud of my models. I'm not new to painting, and I've spent a lot of time practicing and improving. I explained that the style was intentional. I prefer a grimdark, dirty, battlefield-worn appearance rather than clean parade-ground models.

He basically scoffed at that.

Then he opened his Domino's box, ate two slices of pizza, and continued playing without cleaning his hands.

This becomes relevant later.

We agreed not to play objectives and instead just have a friendly Army vs. Army game. Personally, I prefer doing this when I'm learning a new army because it lets me focus on the rules and mechanics without worrying about objectives.

We rolled off to determine who went first. I rolled a six and he rolled a two, so I went first.

I deployed my artillery team. I also had my Death Riders and Commander in Reserves. He deployed his Ghost Ark, and we continued deploying our armies.

Almost immediately, Gerber began questioning nearly everything I did.

He questioned my movement, my Advance rolls, and repeatedly hovered over my shoulder while I was looking up rules and datasheets. He particularly questioned the Indirect Fire rules for my artillery, claiming that the way I was reading the rules couldn't possibly be correct because it was "overpowered."

At first, I genuinely thought I might have been misunderstanding something because I was new to 11th.

But then the same scrutiny started going both ways.

At one point, my first 10-man Krieg squad shot at his Immortals. I scored five hits, and after resolving the attacks, he failed all of his saves. The entire five-model unit was destroyed.

He then attempted to use Reanimation Protocols after the unit had already been completely destroyed.

I questioned this—not aggressively, but simply because I didn't understand how the ability worked if the entire unit was already gone.

That seemed to set him off.

By the end of the second turn, the interaction had become increasingly hostile. He was still eating his pizza throughout the game, which by itself isn't an issue. I bring my own food to long games too, and Warhammer games can obviously take a while.

The problem was that he was eating with his hands, not cleaning them, and continuing to handle things around the table.

Eventually, we reached the Charge phase.

I charged one of my Krieg units into another unit of his Immortals. I was already within 6", so I knew I could make the charge. I rolled a 4 and a 3 and successfully made it.

Gerber then attempted to use Fire Overwatch during the Charge phase.

I knew that wasn't legal, so I told him that he couldn't use it at that point in the turn. He immediately accused me of cheating and said I was lying about the rules.

I had to pull the rule up on the Warhammer app/wiki to show him.

At this point, he was visibly getting angry.

I then moved my models into position and made sure to pile in without actually touching his models unnecessarily.

Then, out of nowhere, I saw him physically push my models into his.

One of my Krieg models had its flamer broken as a result.

I was understandably upset and told him that I didn't appreciate him handling my models without asking. I explained that he wouldn't appreciate it if I grabbed and moved his models without permission either.

His response was essentially that my models were "shit," that his models were superior, and that he shouldn't have wasted his time.

He also accused me of cheating again and claimed the weapon on my model had already been broken before I moved it.

The entire arm had actually snapped off at the wrist connection.

Thankfully, another player nearby had seen the model break and confirmed what happened.

That's when things completely fell apart.

Gerber continued accusing me of cheating and saying I didn't understand the rules. He then flicked one of my models.

At that point, an employee was called over.

After hearing what was happening, the employee told Gerber to pack up and leave.

He left, but by that point several of my models had been handled with pizza-covered hands, one of my models was broken, and the entire experience had become extremely uncomfortable.

I'm not posting this because I want anyone to go after this person or because I think everyone at the store is like this. I've had good experiences with Warhammer players before, and I still love the hobby.

I'm posting because this genuinely made me hesitant to play public games again.

I understand that I was new to 11th edition. I understand that I made mistakes. I understand that I had questions about rules. I'm completely willing to admit when I don't know something, look it up, and learn.

But I don't think being new gives someone the right to belittle another player's models, constantly accuse them of cheating, handle their miniatures without permission, or become aggressive when a rules disagreement comes up.

Maybe there were things I could have handled better, and I'm open to hearing that. If I misunderstood a rule or could have approached something differently, I'm willing to learn.

I'm probably going to stick to playing with my friends for now, even though we don't get to play very often.

Thanks for reading. I just wanted to share the experience and hear what other players think.

For me, this was easily the worst tabletop experience I've had playing Warhammer 40K.