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Description
Join us as friends (strategic, stoic “Erik” and observant, energetic “Steve”) discuss topics and experiences that surround their world of Warhammer gaming.
Our goal is to explore the intersection of casual and competitive 40K thru a balance sharing stories about our funniest, most frustrating, or straight up craziest Warhammer experiences (Steve’s goal) with deep, analytical thinking about the game and how to improve at it (Erik’s goal). Beyond that, it’s an excuse for two friends to talk and share how the lessons learned playing with our toy soldiers have enriched our lives and deepened our friendship.”
27 Episodes
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Send a text In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve discuss the community’s negative reaction to a recent Warhammer 40K Balance Dataslate. The conversation frames players’ reactions as a progression thru the steps of: “Slate Hammer” - establishing pre-slate expectations that a Dataslate needs to meet to be "good""List Hammer" - having fun through list building and optimizing your list through mental reps"Math Hammer ” - using various resources to cal...
Send a text In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve discuss being intentional about monitoring the pace of a game of Warhamer 40K. They share a framework for breaking pacing into two approaches—“tempo and trade” versus “stage and push. They then explore how codex rules and lore can nudge armies toward one style while sometimes creating traps or opportunities for the player to slip into autopilot play. They connect tempo awareness to list ...
Send a text In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve recap their recent Tabletop Simulator game of Warhammer 40K, where Steve took on Cousin Josh. They talk about how the matchup was setup as a "Steve faces the Boogeyman" where he would play against the current meta menace - Necrons C'Tan spam in Pantheon of Woe. The guys summarize the game, talk about how Steve stayed composed during the game, and end with an "after action" of the game that names the...
Send a text In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve delve into what constitutes a 'good game' in their Warhammer 40K sessions. They emphasize the importance of immersion, challenge, and long-term strategic value. Erik discusses his writers block with choosing "good" practice matchups for his various army lists, including Blood Angels, Emperor's Children, Harlequins, and Necrons. Steve then helps him work through it as the guys brainstorm potential ma...
Send a text Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they dive into an entertaining and detailed discussion about Warhammer models with wings. The episode features a "wing tier list", where Steve passionately evaluates models from various factions based on their aesthetic appeal and painting potential. From angelic figures to terrifying demons, this episode has it all. Whether you're a painting enthusiast or just love Warhammer, this episode offers a fun look into...
Send a text Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they dive into the ongoing debate within the Warhammer 40K community about "competitive" versus "casual" play. They discuss the two stereotypes and why they don't think they adequately describe the beauty and complexity that is Warhammer 40K. They highlight their own experiences blending competitive and narrative elements in games, emphasize the value of different play styles, and encourage transparency as ...
Send a text Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they discuss how to deal with the potentially overwhelming influx of new detachments and model releases in Warhammer 40K recently. Erik shares his mixed feelings about the recent surge in game updates, expressing both excitement and a sense of being overwhelmed. The guys then discuss how they prioritize new model purchases and new detachment choices, how they balance staying competitive without burning out, and ...
Send a text Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they talk about their Warhammer 40K goals for 2026. The guys will define a structure for how they are thinking of improving their Warhammer 40K gameplay. The episode explores six categories of: Macro StrategyMicro StrategyFlexibilityTenacityPositivityTransparencyThey discuss how each category contributes to overall gameplay improvement and how to balance between them. Lastly, they share personal goal...
Send a text Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they discuss their recent Barn Hammer session, featuring a variety of Warhammer 40K armies and a pseudo crusade event that they put Cousin Josh through. The guys reflects on key takeaways and the significance of understanding win conditions for your army and the mission being played. They share details from multiple recent games where playing to the "win condition" influenced the outcome of the game and provide ...
Send a text Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they reflect on a recent practice game featuring the Leagues of Votann list crafted in prior episodes. The guys delve into a holistic after-action discussion, analyze what worked vs what didn't, and share other lessons learned from the game. They talk about the need to make in-game adjustments based on what the primary mission and/or secondary objectives are and how to do that effectively. Lastly, the episode wr...
Send a text Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they dive into how they define "overpowered" (or OP) units in Warhammer 40K. The guys will establish rough criteria for how they differentiate OP vs powerful /splashy but not OP vs "The Highway to the Danger Zone" units in the game. They will then analyze the December 2025 Balance Dataslate updates and test their definition against multiple units from the armies they play to see if they correctly predicted what ...
Send a text Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing with Toys" podcast as they dive into the importance of marrying the optimization of a list to different play styles. After receiving listener feedback, the guys discuss the importance of building lists that align with personal gameplay preferences, whether aggressive or defensive, and how that impacts list optimization. They'll once again use Steve's Leagues of Votann list as an example and, in addition, the guys will go throug...
Send a text In this episode of the Grown Men Playing With Toys podcast, hosts Erik and Steve dive into building a strong foundation for a Warhammer 40K list. They explore how to align your play style with matching detachments and units by using Steve's beloved Leagues of Votann faction as an example. Key points include the importance of starting with a familiar play style, focusing on critical stratagems and combos, and then evaluating units for their role / efficiency in gameplay. Co...
Send a text Adulting is hard and life gets busy.....especially if you are a try-hard who gets over-invested in their hobbies like Erik and Steve. In this episode, the guys will talk about balancing their 40K goals with life's challenges and how they fit it all in. They'll compare how Steve prepared for his recently completed marathon and how it oddly mirrors Erik's approach for staying current and up to date with Warhammer 40K. They'll discuss how both activities require a consis...
Send a text In this episode, Chaos reigns as the guys play a game of Cool / Not Cool with the various Chaos Primarchs or sub-faction leaders. They'll talk about about the story arc of each Chaos leader, discuss the ascetics of models (when they exist), and summarize the in game rules and competitiveness of each of the models (when they exist). Characters to be discussed include: Horus - Luna WolvesAbaddon (not Primarch but current Warmaster) - Black LegionLorgar - Word BearersP...
Send a text This is bound to be the most optimal episode as the guys are going to break down the latest subject that they have been bickering about. Listen in as Erik and Steve talk about how feeling passionate about doing your favorite parts of the hobby "right" can lead to friction and how to be transparent about your need to optimize differing aspects of your 40K experience. Topics covered include: Progress update on “I Taught My Gorilla to Paint” blog seriesDiscuss our latest...
Send a text It’s time to talk about team 40K! In this episode, the guys walkthrough what is the teams 40K format, why they think it is so interesting, and the way it has impacted how they approach the hobby. Topics covered include: What is Team 40K and how is it different from singles?8 player vs 5 player teams 40K?How do we win and what is Differential Scoring?How to build a 40K team roster?The pairings process and how it ties to Hitters and Blockers?How do terrain layouts impact the p...
Send a text Time flies when you’re having fun! This is the 10th episode and the guys are back to answer 10 questions about their podcast. Listen in to see how they answer and chime in with your wants and ideas for future content. 10 Questions for the hosts: 1. What’s been the best part of doing the podcast? 2. What’s been the worst part? 3. What would you have done differently? 4. What do you want to change going forward? 5. Finish this sente...
Send a text We just finished our fall Barn Hammer session. Join us as we relive it by talking about who did well, who rode the Struggle Bus, and who has some feelings to talk through. Share Feedback and Interact with us on our website: https://gmpwt.blog/
Send a text It’s story time again. This time the guys will relive a recent Table Top Simulator (TTS) game that Erik played against Orks and how a combination of his hubris and inattention almost resulted in the game going horribly wrong for him. Share Feedback and Interact with us on our website: https://gmpwt.blog/
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