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I play a lot of 40k. Usually we have 2 gaming days in a week, and I'll go to a store on the weekends and grab a game. Anyone who reads the batreps knows that my crew and I hit pretty much every tournament within 3 hours drive of here, so that happens a lot too. Consequently, I've got a large sample size. I see many players and their forces.

This has led me to an odd conclusion. Grey Knights are more common than Space Marines, more common than IG, more common than any other Imperial faction. It's surreal. (Also, no Imperium army is as common as the more common Xenos, but that's another topic)

So, my question to dakka. If you are an active player, which do you play vs. more distinct examples of (so buddies you take on frequently only count once), Grey Knights or any other Imperium force? If you answered the other Imperium force, which is the most common in your area?

Space marines are by far the most common army (of any type) that I see. It used to be that they were just about the only army I ever saw, but that's changed a lot in the last 8ish years. Now I see a fair amount of eldar, tau, and nids to go along with the marines. IG sneek their way in every once in a while too. I can't say that I've seen much in the way of Gray Knights players. There is one that shows up fairly regularly at the LA battle bunker, but he's the only one that I see often. One of my other friends had a Gray Knight army for a little while but then he realized they were bad and sold them.

I fight Space Marines and all their various Chapters (Dark Angels, Blood Angels, whatever) more often than I play Imperial Guard, by a large margin. I've never played against a WH player, and once against a DH Grey Knight army.

@40K enthusiast, where do you play? I almost never see GK armies in So Cal. I have a GK army and I play it occasionally at RTT's just to win some one of the minor awards.

Darrian

Last RT I went to had
7 Marines
3 Eldar
2 Dark Eldar
1 Chaos
1 Guard
1 ork
1 Tau

I think it's typical to see 50% marine armies. And then the other stuff. The amazing thing at this tournament was no bugs (i think they were all playing their eldar).

I play primarily in the ATL/GA region, occasionally ranging up into Tennessee and South Carolina.

Looks like this the only Grey Knight enclave around.

Our tournament scene used to be fairly typical, alternating Trifalcon Eldar and Nidzilla victories with some Mech Tau thrown in, then Necrons swept them all away. Now Orks have muscled in on the toasters, and currently reign supreme.

Generally I see piles of Chaos an Tau around here, though one tau kid has a GK army he never dusts off, and I play WH with some GK termies occaisionally. There is one IG army and a DH/GK army as well, but I never play against them. (Not that they are not nice guys, but they always seem to be playing each other when I am around.)

I am the only person I know who fields a pure Grey Knight army. There is one person who does daemonhunters, but that is mostly stormtroopers, and one marine player who uses allied Grey Knight Terminators on occasion, but that's it. It's mostly codex astartes marines around here.

I play Demon Hunters from time to time, but I have not seen another Demonhunter/Grey Knight army in about a year or two.

@Blackmoor, I might just have to play my pure GK army at the Game Empire RTT on July 12.

See you there,

Darrian

I can't say I've seen much of the Tournament circuit, but around here I'm the only Ork player and was the only GK player until I sold all of mine. I can say that we have more xenos players than Imperial. Rounding out at Tyranids, Eldar, and Tau about even amongst them. Space Marines are not so popular and No one plays DE or Daemons.

40kEnthusiast, are you going to the Maul in the Mall July 26th in Cleveland Tennessee? I'm curious if there will be many grey knight armies there. I anticipate more horde armies as players get them done, but this tournament looks like the last hurrah for 4th edition, so I'm guessing some mech eldar and nidzilla as well.

The summer campaigns are probably the best guide to the proportions of each faction, since they allow a very large sample to be included. SMs account for at least 25% of all armies entered, though it must be said that GKs, Witch Hunters, SoBs and other non-IG Imperial sub-factions are included in the SM category.

I play my DH from time to time. We have one other member in our club who runs them - the guy who used to run the club plays WH/SoB when he can turn up.

I've seen maybe four DH/WH armies here in my local area in the last two years. There are 7 ork armies, 9 Blood Angels, 7 other SM,9 CSM armies, a couple of eldar and a lone necron player.

By far the most common at the club is SM.

I play Necrons. Regular friendly opponents are DA, Nids and CSM, although someone new to our group (and 40K) is going to be starting up a GK force.

Eldar, Marines, and Chaos Marines. I am debating a sisters army right now as they look good for 5th. I play straight GK's but have not played them in quite some time because I have been running my BA lately.

The only army that isn't really represented at our FLGS is Necrons (cause they suck).

There are DH players, but they usually come out, take the whuppin, then go back to playing a different army.

At some point I'll have Necrons again...but right now since I play just about every army, my FLGS sees armies that you normally wouldn't as I 'unretire' certain armies every few months just to remind everyone it's not Nids, Orks, Hurr, and Tau in 40k...

Now I don't play nearly as much 40k as I used to, but the last GK army I saw (and in fact, the only one) was Garrison68's from the dawn of 4th ed. back in 04. It lost. Every time.

I have not fought against GK in about 2 years. Recently its been a lot of eldar. You can tell who the band wagon jumpers are.

Chaos is/ was the most common army around here. I don't know if that is still true though, with the new book.

I play Chaos right now. And I know what your talking about the ATL/GA area. There are three people at my FLGS that play Grey Knights. Only one of them plays them all the time, the other two play them off and on. I've never lost to them though but their stats and equipment are ridiculous. I know they cost a lot of points, but it's just dumb. On top of the "Holy crap there are a lot of Grey Knights down here" discussion, do you think that Grey Knights will get toned down? The guy that only plays Grey Knights said that before he started (he started recently) he did some "research" and found out that Grey Knights are 'the best'.

rofl grey knights get toned down?

If you mean a points drop to viability, I doubt it.

GW really does believe they are awesome as is.

Yeah... Grey Knight armies aren't very good. Something about not having anything above S6.

As if they need toning down... sheesh...

BYE

My last game I played with MY Grey Knights my idiot opponent (playing guard) got upset because he couldnt target either of my two terminator units.

They were shooting him with psycannons hugging the board edge where their closest targets were at about 33" range making shrouding fairly effective.

He told me that the ability made Grey Knights BROKEN I couldnt beleive my ears. That was definatly one of the stupidest statements I've ever heard in reference to 40k.

Grey knights have always been subpar. End of discussion. I have never seen a grey knight army win any games.. ever.

The defending player never used the adversaries rule either, so that rule wasnt really needed to 'tone down' GKs.

That said, I don't see many grey knights players. Most likely due to their painfully obvious lack of competitiveness.

They may be competitive against deamons now though.

I play Grey knights as my primary army. And I've never met another person who does. I've run into many people who "oh yeah, I have an army of them somewhere" and alot of people who have taken them as allies into other armies, but I'm the only pure Grey Knight player I've ever met.

I never said they were good. And by tone down, I mean they need less crap and to cost less. As is they are loaded down with equipment and abilities at such a high price tag that they usually end up failing. They also suffer from new players looking at codices and seeing all that 'powerful' equipment and high stats. So they pick them up thinking "These guys have got to be good".

I am the only Grey Knights player in my entire country as far as I am aware.

As a rule of the thumb, for all newbies who want to play as the GK because the fluff makes them out to be awsome, armies in fluff > armies in the game.

Grey Knights are as common as Anti-perspirant in Brisbane FLGS.

There are no Grey Knight players that I know of at the Melbourne games workshop, other that the one squad of terminators I've got in my to be completed marines force