After constant drama, it seems winning at all costs may be the only option for Warhammer 40k coaches and services to stay in business.
With all the controversy of cheating at a recent tournament, it has brought up some serious issues. Since that has already been so talked about, we won’t go into much detail on the issue. But obviously, it was pretty blatant and bad. We wanted to look more into what creates the culture, and why 40k coaches feel such insane pressure to win
Content creation, the community, the idea of tournament coaching for profit, wanting to live the Warhammer dream, and fewer tournaments than ever have all combined to form the perfect 40k storm that seems to create the need to constantly win.
Winning At All Costs: The Only Option For 40k Coaches
To me, the culture of constantly having to win is just insane and not something you see in any other competition. Just look at any other sport out there. Winning all the time basically never happens. How many undefeated seasons are there? How many no-hitters are pitched? When you expect a single player in this hobby to win everything they do, it’s basically unrealistic.
But it’s not just the pressure to win, it’s the fact that for some reason it seems like to be a 40k tournament coach, people expect you to constantly put up W’s. That kind of pressure is just terrible to put on anyone’s shoulders and those results are essentially unattainable for anyone willing to pay for such “advice”.
I personally think that just because you don’t win every tournament you go to, does not mean you don’t have a deep understanding of the game. Obviously, most coaches in sports obviously don’t play- so why is it that seeming only in this hobby community are they expected to not only play but win all the time?
The Coaching Issue
Perhaps this has contributed to creating such a crazy WAAC atmosphere, that it’s hard to keep up for both players and content creators.
It goes without saying that you should never cheat and we never condone such things. But, we also understand the pressure to build your brand and keep up with a deluge of content amid your community’s wants/needs.
We love the fact that people are making a living off their dreams, and don’t want to knock their hustle. However, I feel like the events of the last few weeks around 40k coaching brands have taken their toll on the hobby’s sanity.
I think the competitive community also needs to understand that this is a game with tons of variance in it- you just can’t win all the time or even several events over the course of the year. By only supporting brands that strive to do just that, aka who win all the time, it has perhaps created a somewhat toxic environment for all hobbyists.
Taking a Step Back
Maybe the best answer is, for coaches to take a step back and not compete as heavily. That way they can focus on better content, and pay more attention to the people they are coaching for all aspects of the hobby from playing, to hobbying to even being a better opponent.
How many sports have coaches that still play? Not many! There are one-on-one sports that do, like MMA, but often, once the best coaches start really coaching, they fall off some in terms of fighting. A great example is Duane Ludwig. While he never reached the pinnacle of a championship, he has coached a champion fighter to the belt.
Just because someone doesn’t win every tournament they go to, doesn’t mean they can’t greatly improve someone else’s game.
I think that if these coaching brands took a step back and re-assess the parameters of their hobby goals, they could add more value to the people who support them.
One of the reasons I don’t play in tournaments anymore is in part so I have more time to bring content and value to the community. You may recall I actually won the first major Age of Sigmar 2.0 tournament but ended up disqualifying myself because there was a point discrepancy which made my list 10 points over. I gave my trophy to the actual winner and stepped away from the competitive scene.
When when you tie your entire brand to the outcome of a single outcome (like a tournament), even an honest mistake or app issue could cause serious issues to that brand. Plus without putting so much effort into your own results, you can really focus on helping others in this hobby.
Are Warhammer 40k Coaching Services Worth it?
So are Warhammer 40k coaching services worth it? Maybe? You should always support the content creators that you like. If you get a ton of value from someone, then should it really matter if they won the last GT? If the content brings value to you, then it’s worth it to support regardless of “wins”!
Instead of putting pressure on creators to win everything, perhaps we as a community should support those who bring us the most value and entertainment for all aspects of the hobby?
That being said if you’re a content producer and want to get your work in front of over 50,000 people a day across all social media platforms, drop us an email and perhaps we can help you. Diversifying your revenue stream funnel with written content that leads back to your platform is something we have been helping creators with for years.
What do you think about the win at all costs mentality? Do you think 40k coaches should take a step back and provide more value for all aspects of the hobby? Are Warhammer 40k coaching services worth it?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at the Las Vegas Open, each of which attracts thousands of players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the 2011 Adepticon 40k Team Tournament. He was even featured for his painting in issue #304 of Games Workshop’s White Dwarf Magazine.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
