By: 25104
Well, League Wars is over. Some are elated with celebration. Others crushed with defeat. Sometimes, it can be a daunting task looking at other players and teams and seeing the mountain that lays between you and victory. Maybe they spend more money. Maybe they spend more time playing. Maybe any number of things. And one might ask themselves, what is the point? I can't beat this daunting opponent before me. But that's not true. While it is true I spend more than many, the truth is, at the level I play at, among the likes of Avengers, Villains Inc., OG WMD, and Chaos Theory, I'm the budget toon. But I still find success through a combination of smaller quantities of money, time spent playing, and time spent studying and contemplating all aspects of the game. Players like Javee/Stinkfist have proven one can be successful and a champion with no money at all. I recently built a toon in under 3 months for less than $1k (much of which was spent on HQs and teammates) that holds its own against 4 year old toons with $5k+ invested in them. A lot of folks will tell you these mountains can't be climbed. I'm telling you they can. The difference between them and guys like Javee or myself is they say it can't be done, while we say watch us make it happen. That, an openess to study and learn, and an attention for detail are really all it takes.
Back in my 20s, I used to play table top miniatures war games. I was well known in Texas because I traveled all over it looking for an opponent that could beat me. I was a world champion later, so it was a tough search. I went into a venue to compete and most knew who I was, except this one older guy in a wheelchair missing a foot. Everyone told him before our match I was unbeatable. Before our match, he watched me wipe out every opponent within minutes of starting each hour long round. It would have been easy for him to give up faced against a giant that was on his way to becoming a world champ. But that's not what happened. Instead, he used equipment in his army no one had ever used effectively in my presence before. I smirked at his army, confident in my assured victory. He quietly, and humbly played his army against mine. We went the whole hour. When the points were counted up, even though I had killed more troops, he killed more points. He won. It was the best battle of my entire career in the game, and I lost to some guy no one knew who couldn't afford to travel to compete in state, national, or world championships. Just some regular poor Joe, missing a foot and in a wheelchair, against all odds, took out someone who was soon to be crowned the best in the world.
There's a now famous painting called "Checkmate". It shows a man playing chess against the devil. He is clearly distraught because he is about to lose. During a showing of this painting, a chess world champion took interest in the painting and stated either the painting needs to be redone, or else the name changed, because, as far as the world champion chess player was concerned, the man had 1 more move that would instead give him victory.
Sometimes,....... OFTEN, the devil is in the details. Victory is found in looking closely and seeing what others don't. A lot of my victories in games or life didn't come because I was better. They came because I was dedicated. Because I was willing to study harder and learn, really explore possibilities. And when it came time to compete, perhaps my tools weren't as expensive as my competition's, but I had more of them. So when you look at that mountain, and you can't see victory, keep looking. Keep looking for what everyone else isn't seeing.
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