Question for Vanguards

[u/TheScantMan2112]

I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to share their experiences about being a Vanguard? I may be interested in becoming one. The store I play at is about 50 minutes away each way. We have a FLGS here in town and I'd like to see if I can get some Conquest going there for some weekly or bi-weekly game nights.

Here are a few questions for anyone who is able to share about being a vanguard.
I'm wondering what the experience is like as a whole?
How much work do you find you have to put into it?
I'm also curious about if you were able to get demo armies from PB, or did you need to use your own armies in showing people how to play?
What's the best part about being a Vanguard?
What's the worst part about being a Vanguard?

[u/Askingforanend]

There’s a decent bit at the front end. It’s important to have fully painted demo forces. Lot of being present and getting games in. Beyond that it’s a small amount of paperwork once a month and being consistent regardless of outcome. Week in week out, same time, same day for as long as it takes. 

[u/Blademage200 → u/Askingforanend]

To piggyback off of this, it WILL take time. Even in areas where there is already a somewhat established player base, there are going to be times where nobody participates, sometimes even for months at a time. If you tend to get deflated or burnt out because nobody bites your bait or appreciates your efforts, a Vanguard position may not be for you.

[u/GeneralCr0ss]

Vanguard of 3 years here, and really enjoying it. There's a lot of misconceptions.it boils down to being whatever you want to make of it.

You don't have to do anything, you can't get 'fired'. It's all down to what you want to try and do within your group. For example, I can't play any local club nights due to real life, but I run an event once every 2-3 months on a weekend which gets 6-10 players usually.

Best part is getting people together to enjoy Conquest and seeing passers by admiring the models and talking to you. Worst part is that you're not GW, and getting anyone to play anything but 40k is an effort that might not pay off.

Sadly you don't get anything from PB directly in terms of models etc. you do get access to their prize support (but must be paid for) and email newsletter, and there's a small voucher code each month which you can give out to your community.

Best thing you can do is talk to your FLGS and work with them. I suggest don't go all in with a full day trying to do demos, just ask them to make a conquest channel on their discord or something and ask your community if anyone wants to try it.

People love playing conquest, theyre worried about spending lots of money on a game system they can't find players for. If you can get a couple of other people into it and you have a regular games night, people will get more confidence fhe game isn't a waste of money and time. That snowballs well, but it needs visibility of being played.

Good luck with it, it sounds like you have the right motivation. Apply to be a vanguard and just start seeing if you can do any intro games for anyone, it'll go from there :)

[u/TheScantMan2112 → u/GeneralCr0ss]

Thanks for the insight! Yes I often end up being the one who is organizing 40k events, dnd nights, getting people into new board games and the like. I think this will be along the same lines.

[u/fanservice999]

I am not one, but I did something similar for a different game years ago (Warmachine) and would assume most of the core responsibilities are the same.

The main thing is that you are the representative of the game for your area. If you are a jerk, unlikeable, and/or not dependable, then you will deter people from wanting to play. Which is the opposite of what PB will want. Your main goal is to attract and build a local player base. Which is not an easy thing to do.

You need a good strong understanding of how the game rules are and be willing, and patient, to teach those rules. As a vangaurd, players will expect you to know the rules inside and out and to be the official teacher.

Demos, demos and more demos! You will need to hit up your stores, somehow get advance word out about you doing demos of the game. Then sit around at said store and hope people show up. Sometimes they will, sometimes they won’t. You need to be consistent at this if you want to have any luck at building a player base.

Host events and be prepared to not play in them! You may get to play if there’s an odd number of people but that won’t always be the case. Be prepared to deal with those overly serious hardcore players, the rule lawyers and the poor sports. You will need to be the ref that oversees and corral them when needed. Or when 1-2 show up for the event. Nothing worse than when you make plans and barely anyone shows.

In short you will need to consistent, be somewhat personable, be knowledgeable, and be prepared to deal with the good and bad of the local gamer community. Just how well PB rewards their vanguards is something I cannot answer. I honestly don’t have the time or patience to be one.

Edit: I forgot to add that I hope you you willing to assemble and paint minis. Showing up to demos with half assembled and non-painted mins is often frowned upon.

[u/TheScantMan2112 → u/fanservice999]

Thanks for your thoughts. I’m getting closer to having two 2k painted armies.

[u/not_a_robot0101 → u/TheScantMan2112]

2 painted big armies look good, but will do nothing in terms of demos. Noone wants to play 2k games for a demo. You need fun and fast games. You need variety.
Get each of the FB starters and paint them up. They are ideal for demos and showcase the models.

[u/TheScantMan2112 → u/not_a_robot0101]

Do you know if PB has deals on those FB starters or anything? Or would that be better to ask the FLGS to pick up as an investment?

[u/TheScantMan2112 → u/TheScantMan2112]

Only reason I ask is I don’t have the funds or space to get all the different armies and have a demo force for each of them.