Grown Men Playing with Toys – Details, episodes & analysis

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Grown Men Playing with Toys

Steve and Erik

Leisure

Frequency: 1 episode/8d. Total Eps: 53

Grown Men Playing With Toys is a Warhammer 40,000 podcast about getting better at the game without it feeling like a job or chore.

Join longtime friends Erik and Steve for practical discussions of strategy, list building, painting, and the lessons learned from games that went brilliantly.....or spectacularly wrong. Drawing on their systems engineering backgrounds and different approaches to 40K, they explore where casual and competitive play meet, with plenty of stories and friendly disagreements along the way.

This is a podcast for players who enjoy thinking seriously about their toy soldiers and laughing with the friends across the table.

They said we were too old. We said, “Hold our dice!”

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Data updated on 26/10/2026

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https://gmpwt.blog/
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https://gmpwt.blog/category/whats-erik-playing/
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https://gmpwt.blog/2025/12/05/ep-15-i-taught-my-peacock-to-write-a-list/
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53 - Remember Your Nerd Belt: Pacing and Turn-by-Turn Decisions in Warhammer 40K

Saturday, October 24, 2026 • Duration 01:07:27

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Steve can name his win condition and his lose condition, but he admits that from turn to turn he mostly shoots from the hip. Fresh off his first 11th Edition World Eaters game, Erik walks through it one turn at a time while Steve translates each decision into pacing strategy based on his experience as a runner. Along the way, the guys find a structure for assessing the game state every turn and how to determine when to increase or decrease the pace.

Along the way they cover:

Turn-by-turn condition — Steve’s question about what happens between the long-term plan and the decision in front of you, and Erik discovering he has a hidden process after all
Set your pace — why knowing whether your army wants to speed the game up or slow it down gives you a mile marker to check against every turn
Stay in their pocket — Erik’s Berserker Warband vs. the Salamanders Forgefather's Seekers, from the staging turn to the probe to the go turn, with Steve mapping each one to a race tactic
Know the course — reading the secondaries you haven’t drawn, the primary points still on the table, and the CP left in the bank before you decide when to kick
Remember your nerd belt — your codex, stratagems, and army rules are the gels and electrolytes, and confidence matters more than comfort when the panic sets in
Burning too bright — Erik’s downhill-first-mile race disaster and why reps are the only way to find the pace you can actually sustain

Whether you’re here for the turn-by-turn decision-making or just want to hear Erik admit there’s a personality for every army living in his head, this one’s for you.

📖 Read Erik’s battle reports at gmpwt.blog
📺 Watch on YouTube at @GrownMenPlayingWithToys

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52 - It’s a Trap!: Stress-Testing Lists and Knowing Your Lose Condition

Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 01:02:32

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The last balance update dropped Necrons Canoptek Court to 2 Detachment Points and Cousin Josh was ready to celebrate. Erik saw it and called it fool’s gold before the ink was dry on the update. The guys use that disagreement as a case study in how to stress-test a list before you fall in love with it and why knowing your lose condition matters just as much as knowing your win condition.

Along the way they cover:

Two DP, two opinions — why Josh and Steve saw new detachment pairings and a Necron revival, while Erik saw a trap
The lose condition — Erik walks through the Space Marine play pattern that hard counters Canoptek Court: use Hidden to shut down your long range shooting and then call Assault Doctrine, Charge, and tag everything
ER or PR — why boom-or-bust detachments make for great highlight reels but risky games
Commit to the bit or pivot — Erik’s two fixes: go all in with a Canoptek Court and The Phaeron’s Armoury pairing or swap to Starshatter Arsenal with The Silent King
Swinging from the heels — Erik rebuilds the new Canoptek list live on air and talks himself into actually wanting to play it

Whether you’re here for the list-building lessons or just want to hear Cousin Josh relitigate The Little Scarab That Could, this one’s for you.

📖 Read Erik’s battle reports at gmpwt.blog
📺 Watch on YouTube at @GrownMenPlayingWithToys

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51 - Show Me the Doctrines!: Breaking Down the New Space Marine Codex

Monday, October 5, 2026 • Duration 01:12:50

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The Space Marine codex is here and Erik is more excited than he's been about anything not named Emperor's Children. With Cousin Josh along for the ride, the guys dig into how swapping Oath of Moment for combat doctrines changes the way Erik builds and plays his Space Marines' lists, as well as what he is worried that his opponent will do to counter those lists.

Along the way they cover:

Tops down list building — Erik walks through how he starts list building with a play style and win condition in mind and then how he chooses detachments, Force Dispositions, and units to align to that macro strategy
Goodbye Oath, hello Doctrines — why trading a point-and-click mechanic for turn-by-turn doctrine increases army flexibility but risks decision overload, and how Erik builds his lists to avoid it
Elite and expensive — why Space Marine lists keep drifting toward a handful of Death Stars and why your favorite models might not make the cut anymore
Sample list 1: Ironstorm — Erik walks through his Assault Brethren, Ironstorm Spearhead, and Gauntlet Task Force list and the guys debate two ways to beat it: a recon scoring machine that dances around it or a stat check that meets it head-on
Sample list 2: Stormlance — Erik's all-gas, no-brakes melee build, and why without Oath of Moment, a well-placed screen or minus one to hit can bounce his big Assault Doctrine turn
Ideas on how to beat them — Erik shares the matchups that worry him most and Steve closes with his key to facing Space Marines: pick your tactic and commit with confidence

Whether you're here for the list-building or just want to hear Steve get tricked into admitting he enjoyed a Space Marines episode, this one's for you.

📖 Read Erik's battle reports at gmpwt.blog
📺 Watch on YouTube at @GrownMenPlayingWithToys

50 - Hold On to Your Butts: Riding the 11th Edition Codex Rollercoaster

Sunday, September 27, 2026 • Duration 59:20

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Erik opens with a feeling of the day that turns Steve's stomach. With the Orks codex out, Space Marines days away, Custodes about to be on preorder, and balance updates coming fast, 11th Edition feels like the top of a rollercoaster's first hill. The guys dig into why 15-detachment codexes and rapid balancing can cause analysis paralysis and how to get your footing back, both as the player and as the opponent across the table.

Along the way they cover:

The Ork paralysis problem — Erik explains why he hasn't put the new Orks codex on the table despite it dominating the meta and why he expects whatever list he builds to get nerfed this week
The identity crisis — Steve argues that Orks have too many viable identities, which sparks a light-bulb moment for Erik: his favorite ways to play Orks are the weakest options in the new book
Calling your shot on hobby — why Erik stopped letting list-building drive his hobby backlog and how he's picking a play style (melee, Terminators, Rhinos) to paint toward before the Space Marine codex lands
The shape-shifting list — Steve lays out his 11th Edition mission: a take-all-comers list that can change its strategy mid-game, which earns high praise from Erik
Snowflaking for advantage — the guys discuss why 11th may reward lists your opponents have never seen before and how to use the complexity of 11th responsibly

Whether you're here for the list-building theory or just want to hear Steve get dragged onto a rollercoaster he hates, this one's for you.

📖 Read Erik's battle reports at gmpwt.blog
📺 Watch on YouTube at @GrownMenPlayingWithToys

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49 - Michelangelo vs. the Assembly Line: Three Perspectives on Painting in Warhammer 40K

Monday, September 21, 2026 • Duration 01:22:30

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Cousin Josh joins Erik and Steve for a full hobby episode on the painting side of 40K. Erik sits at the assembly-line extreme, Steve at the masterpiece extreme, and Josh in the middle, where the guys hypothesize that most of the community lives. Walking through their process step by step, they find that how you paint depends less on skill than on what you think the point of the hobby is.

Along the way they cover:

Michelangelo vs. the assembly line: Erik frames the three approaches, with Steve painting his Sistine Chapel, Erik cranking out the Model T, and Josh somewhere in between
Five stages of painting: Steve's framework of prep, base coating, layering and detail, washes and effects, and finishing touches, with each host explaining what they do and what they skip entirely
Painting to play: Erik never buys a model until it's in a list, gets his kids to assemble for a couple of bucks, and leans on contrast paints and shades to get a battle-worn look that gets his models to the table quickly
Chore or passion?: Josh calls painting a chore, Erik throws the challenge flag, and Josh explains how leaving models off their bases keeps him from rushing to play with them
Precision and prep: Steve makes the case for sanding mold lines, airbrushed base coats, zenithal priming from one direction for coherency, and dry brushing with his wife's old makeup brush
Tools, tips and no wrong way: The hosts debate super glue vs. plastic glue and how to varnish. Steve makes his pitch for a couple of good brushes and all three land on "find what you enjoy."

Whether you're here for the painting tips or just want to hear Steve wince at Erik's paintbrushes, this one's for you.

Blog: https://gmpwt.blog
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@grownmenplayingwithtoys

48 - Burning Bright: Playing as the Underdog in Warhammer 40K

Monday, September 14, 2026 • Duration 01:03:47

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Cousin Josh joins Erik and Steve again as they break down a game between Erik and his oldest son that turns into a masterclass on underdog strategy. Erik's son, fully back into 11th Edition, decides he can't beat his dad's Custodes in a straight fight, so he doesn't try. Instead, he turns the game into a race to 100 points, trades units for board position instead of value, and nearly pulls off the upset. The guys turn it into a full discussion of playing as the underdog versus the overdog and how knowing which one you are should change your win condition.

Along the way they cover:

The boat race strategy — Erik's son writes off killing Custodes entirely and instead sprints for 100 victory points, forcing Erik to play a perfect final three turns just to survive
Trading for board space, not points — why sacrificing Fuegan and five Fire Dragons on a bad points trade made total sense once you realize he was trading for tempo and secondary pressure instead
Cousin Josh's quadruple C'tan callback — the guys connect the dots between Erik's son's plan and Josh's own C'Tan spam overdog strategy from a prior Necrons game
Overdog vs. underdog theory — Erik and Steve build out a framework for identifying which one you are before the game starts
Strategy vs. plan — Cousin Josh admits he never plans while the guys work through the difference between a rigid tactical plan and a flexible overarching strategy
Next Barnhammer teaser — Erik pitches deliberately assigning underdog and overdog roles at the next event, while Steve makes his pitch for a hobby-focused episode

Whether you're here for the underdog theory or just want to hear a kid race his dad to a nail-biter finish, this one's for you.

📖 Read Erik's battle reports at gmpwt.blog
📺 Watch on YouTube at @GrownMenPlayingWithToys

47 - Shake the Snow Globe: A Check In On Some Of Our Favorite Factions

Saturday, September 5, 2026 • Duration 01:16:07

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Cousin Josh joins the chat (literally) for the first time, heckling Erik and Steve from the sidelines while they take a step back from the week-to-week to talk macro direction of where their favorite factions are headed. The guys trade perspectives, Erik on rules and direction, Steve on models and aesthetics, and work through their factions to figure out who's cooking, who's stalled, and who just needs someone to "shake the snow globe".

Along the way they cover:

League of Votann's identity crisis — Steve likes where the rules are going but isn't sold on the trench coat aesthetic, and the guys agree "Rock and Stone" should just be the whole pitch
Space Marines get elite — why adding toughness granularity across armor types and pointing marines to be more elite could speed up games and make Phobos, Tacticus, and Terminators feel different from each other
Guard's too-many-cooks problem — Steve is not feeling Guard right now and Erik argues it is because Guard has an identity problem where it is split across several aesthetically different regiments all competing for the same design space
CSM needs a shakeup — Erik loves the new models and lore flexibility but is bored of Defilers being the correct way to play. The guys really just want the balance team to shake things up a bit
Death Guard's redemption arc — Steve declares Death Guard back on the menu and commits to bringing them to the next Barnhammer game weekend
Necrons and Tyranids, the calm ones — Erik hopes the Necron Warriors get left as chaff instead of also getting buffed up with Space Marines and both guys are cautiously optimistic waiting on a Tyranids codex

Whether you're here for the faction deep dive or just want to hear Erik lose a bet to Cousin Josh when Steve is able to make it an hour without mentioning wings, this one's for you.

📖 Read Erik's battle reports at gmpwt.blog
📺 Watch on YouTube at @GrownMenPlayingWithToys

46 - The Nerfing Eye of Sauron: Erik's Favorite Factions Take One on the Chin

Sunday, August 30, 2026 • Duration 01:13:07

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A balance update dropped this past week and several of Erik's favorite factions got hit with nerfs. Steve declares it a "feelings podcast" and the guys work through Erik's frustration before landing on the real point: how to pivot a list instead of just complaining about it.

Along the way they cover:

The nerfing Eye of Sauron comes for Slaanesh — why Erik's strongest lists in Emperor's Children and Chaos Daemons ate the biggest points hikes in the update and how he is pivoting as a result
Custodes lose their combo — Lions of the Emperor jumps from 2DP to 3DP and can no longer pair with Might of the Moritoi, why the change was well-designed, and how it introduces additional detachment options even though it stings
The Balance Update upset — Steve catches a rules change before Erik does for what he swears is the first time ever and Erik has to admit it on air
Force disposition shuffling — small, targeted swaps like Huron's Marauders and Aspect Host switching to new Force Dispositions quietly open up entirely new ways to play old favorites and why Erik's oldest son is thrilled about one of them
Crusher Stampede vs War Dog spam - Erik's youngest son challenges him to a game of bug vs robot and proceeds to blow up all of his Norns on the way to a ton of fun

Whether you're here for the balance update postmortem or just want to hear Steve's victory lap for catching a change before Erik, this one's for you.

📖 Read Erik's battle reports at gmpwt.blog
📺 Watch on YouTube at @GrownMenPlayingWithToys

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45 - Finding Your Nemo: Faction vs Force Disposition Specialization

Saturday, August 22, 2026 • Duration 01:15:41

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Team USA won WTC and Steve blindsides Erik by admitting that he has fanboyed over it a bit. The guys break down how a Guard player ground out key tournament-clinching wins and why "keep it simple and execute flawlessly" beat out other teams that tried to cook up secret-sauce lists. Somewhere in there it turns into a full discussion of force disposition specialization vs faction specialization.

Along the way they cover:

WTC's grind — how a Guard player known for playing a grind it out, death-by-a-thousand-cuts list sealed the WTC title for Team USA and why the tactic was more genius than luck
Team USA's "keep it simple" strategy — why the winning approach wasn't secret tech or off-the-wall lists, but trusting elite pilots to execute simple, proven lists better than anyone else in the room
Faction specialist vs. force disposition specialist — the theory Erik and Steve build out live, that your favorite army might not be the reason you win or lose, it might be whether that army's best force disposition actually fits how your brain plays
The kid outplays the dad — Erik's son builds a 30-point lead against him, hangs on to win despite getting outscored in the later rounds, and then calmly explains why Erik was playing the wrong force disposition the entire game
The Blood Angels pop quiz — Erik reads Steve a Take and Hold list cold and Steve's "board control, board control, board control" read is close enough to the list's design philosophy to be awkward

Whether you're here for the WTC postmortem or just want to hear Erik's son casually call his Dad out for self nerfing via a Force Disposition mismatch, this one's for you.

📖 Read Erik's battle reports at gmpwt.blog
📺 Watch on YouTube at @GrownMenPlayingWithToys

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44 - My Other Army Is a Flowchart: The Deliverability Problem

Saturday, August 15, 2026 • Duration 01:13:16

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Erik is back on Orks and built a "just for fun" Da Big Hunt list that somehow tabled a CSM Defiler heavy army despite calling the Waaagh! in Round 1. This has Steve's attention and the guys dive into why this strategy might have been the correct move, not just dumb luck, and what they can learn from it to help with future games.

Along the way they cover:

The defensive Waaagh! — Erik calls the Waaagh! turn one, but instead of using it for damage, he uses it to tag and pin two Defilers against terrain.
Deliverability, durability, damage — the three-part framework from top tier competitive players that Erik leans on to explain why his Ork list worked and why his CSM list did not.
The engineer's flowchart — Erik distills 11th Edition mission design into four questions every list has to answer every turn and can confirm that it is kid-approved by his son
Archetype vs. identity — why "my faction's lore says it shouldn't play this way" isn't a real excuse and why playing the mission matters more than playing the vibe
Cousin Josh's callout — the "Orks are an army with no plan" jab that kicked off the whole experiment and Erik's very smug rebuttal
Knights Thunderdome, coming soon — Erik and Steve pencil in a cross-faction deployment breakdown using Chaos Knights and Imperial Knights, protractor optional but strongly implied

Whether you're here for the tactical deep dive or just want to hear Erik's horror that Steve wants to bring a protractor to a tabletop game, this one's for you.

📖 Orks vs CSm game discussed: https://gmpwt.blog/2026/08/14/orks-da-big-hunt-vs-chaos-space-marines-pactbound-zealots/

📖 Read Erik's battle reports at gmpwt.blog
📺 Watch on YouTube at @GrownMenPlayingWithToys

Grown Men Playing with Toys – Details, episodes & analysis

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Grown Men Playing with Toys – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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