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Is it just because the book is so damn strong? Is winning and beating the crap out of other armies so important that one chooses them?

I just do not see the appeal to knowing with ALMOST certainty that I will win the next game regardless of what army or style is fielded against me.


Why did you choose the GK's?

There's something called "bandwagoning" and it happens whenever a new codex comes out. People see the new hotness and jump on it. Also, GK is a very cheap army to build, since it's smaller and more elite than SM. On top of all this, GK are very powerful and have a lot of lists that do very well in tournaments, so there's this perceived power level with them that attracts a lot of people too. On top of all that, they generally have very cool models.

Some people chose them because they played deamonhunters. Some chose them to be the other side of the coin for chaos deamons. Some chose it for fluff. Some for playstyle. Some because they always lose to deamons. Some chose it for power. So many different reasons.

Main reason is it's a very powerful codex that lets you dominate opponents of equal skill and it's cheap to amass an army of them.

Because they took the WItch Hunter out of the Sisters of Battle Codex.

Great White wrote:Some people chose them because they played deamonhunters. Some chose them to be the other side of the coin for chaos deamons. Some chose it for fluff. Some for playstyle. Some because they always lose to deamons. Some chose it for power. So many different reasons.

Pffffffff, that's a funny joke

Milisim wrote:Is it just because the book is so damn strong? Is winning and beating the crap out of other armies so important that one chooses them?

Lets see.
First you ask a question. One would assume that you are interested in the various answers this might produce, but as we read your next question we realize that this isn't the case.
Then comes the second question. This question assumes that the answer to the first question was a "yes"....and then implies that the only reason for playing Grey Knights is because of its perceived power level.

With such an intro one can safely disregard the rest of the post as whining.

I just do not see the appeal to knowing with ALMOST certainty that I will win the next game regardless of what army or style is fielded against me.

Which of course isn't the case in the real world, but don't let that get in the way of a good cry.

Why did you choose the GK's?

I chose to make a Grey Knights army because I have always liked (since their first introduction anyway) the look of Grey Knights with halberds. I just think it looks really cool.
I get a certain kung fu vibe when thinking about a halberd armed Grey Knight swinging away while firing his wrist-mounted storm bolter.
Also I'm a hopelessly addicted completist. I just like to own all the armies for 40K.

Oh, I'm sorry....that wasn't the answer you expected, was it?

Erhm...."Naturally I play (unpainted) Grey Knights because then I can kick everybody's behind real easy like...This validates my existence and shines a light into the dark chasm that is my soul ."

Steelmage99 wrote:

Milisim wrote:Is it just because the book is so damn strong? Is winning and beating the crap out of other armies so important that one chooses them?

Lets see.
First you ask a question. One would assume that you are interested in the various answers this might produce, but as we read your next question we realize that this isn't the case.
Then comes the second question. This question assumes that the answer to the first question was a "yes"....and then implies that the only reason for playing Grey Knights is because of its perceived power level.

With such an intro one can safely disregard the rest of the post as whining.

I just do not see the appeal to knowing with ALMOST certainty that I will win the next game regardless of what army or style is fielded against me.

Which of course isn't the case in the real world, but don't let that get in the way of a good cry.

Why did you choose the GK's?

I chose to make a Grey Knights army because I have always liked (since their first introduction anyway) the look of Grey Knights with halberds. I just think it looks really cool.
I get a certain kung fu vibe when thinking about a halberd armed Grey Knight swinging away while firing his wrist-mounted storm bolter.
Also I'm a hopelessly addicted completist. I just like to own all the armies for 40K.

Oh, I'm sorry....that wasn't the answer you expected, was it?

Erhm...."Naturally I play (unpainted) Grey Knights because then I can kick everybody's behind real easy like...This validates my existence and shines a light into the dark chasm that is my soul ."

XD you sir, get a gold star for the day

On topic, I chose to pick up grey knights because I love the idea of small elite forces, which is why just about every list I play is made up of a big death star unit. I havnt lost a game in about 5 months (playing an average of 2-3 games a month) and I play many different armies. I switch it up between eldar and dark eldar, tau, and chaos space marines aswell. SO I am hardly a "band wagoner"

Also, for the first time GK actually have a strong codex, and being all plastic removes the barrier that kept a lot of people from collecting them before when they were all metal.

In terms of looks, I agree that Grey Knights are one of the best model lines in the game, just behind Chaos Space Marines IMO. The fluff is also interesting and enjoyable.

I don't enjoy playing against them. Generally, they don't present much of a tactical experience, especially Draigowing and other uber-elite lists. Players with little to no skill can perform very well with them, while players with even just a moderate amount of skill can really clean up. It's a little too forgiving and is such a difficult matchup for most other armies.

Draigowing doesn't scare me much at all. Drive circles around badguys and shoot them; not much to it. It's a slow list unless it's mounted, in which case it's a tinier list than it already was. I've thought of starting the $150 army of 10 paladins, Draigo and a codex, just because it's easy to build, paint, and play.

I think Grey Knights are one of the worst armies in the game. Their place in the story leaves no room for deviation and creativity. They are also such a small force with so little impact to the universe at large, getting an entire book to themselves is criminal. The Kroot have a bigger presence in the galaxy than the Grey Knights. The old book was closer to a good representation, though I'd join the Sisters and GK as auxiliaries to the Imperium's forces at large, because that's how they actually function.

I bought GK's because my decision between armies when i started 40k was daemonhunters, necrons, and tyranids... and i already had tyranids and necrons and my local area runs some marine only tournys.

I have quite a few GK's but i honeslty play them the least. It's not that I don't enjoy playing them... I just prefer my crons.

Brother SRM wrote:Draigowing doesn't scare me much at all. Drive circles around badguys and shoot them; not much to it. It's a slow list unless it's mounted, in which case it's a tinier list than it already was.

That's exactly my point. It's not very fun to play against. With my Ork list, all I can do is run away from the deathstar, as there are very few things I could send at it that have a chance to cause wounds. There are very few ranged AP2 weapons in the codex that are reliable enough to hurt them (SAG, zzap gun, KMB), none of which are generally taken in a competitive list. Ghazkull could put some hurt on them, but I've never run him before and generally don't list tailor.

I played all-GK daemonhunters, and loved them, but holy snickerdoodles were they expensive to collect. I'm all in favour of them being plastic'd.

The new fluff doesnt really do it for me, but i still have, and paint, the models.

I can see myself trying them out again sometime, though


Why do people play GK?

Some love the models. I have to say that the models are mostly very nice (DK is one of the few i dislike).

Some like the fluff. I find it a tad OTT, but if you like that kind of thing then cool.

Some like the power-level. They are obscenely powerful. They are also very low model count, which makes each death a major loss. Some of the rules/powers/gear are a bit OP in my opinion, but most are counterable. 'm happy to live and let live on that, as most codeci have SOMETHING that's a tad broken.

GK are beatable. If everyone is running GK you'll be able to learn to beat them all the quicker, and if your opponents only play against marine variants you can throw them some VERY nasty curves if you play an army they don't run against..

Orks are an awful codex. Has nothing to to with GK being good.

wormark wrote:

Brother SRM wrote:Draigowing doesn't scare me much at all. Drive circles around badguys and shoot them; not much to it. It's a slow list unless it's mounted, in which case it's a tinier list than it already was.

That's exactly my point. It's not very fun to play against. With my Ork list, all I can do is run away from the deathstar, as there are very few things I could send at it that have a chance to cause wounds. There are very few ranged AP2 weapons in the codex that are reliable enough to hurt them (SAG, zzap gun, KMB), none of which are generally taken in a competitive list. Ghazkull could put some hurt on them, but I've never run him before and generally don't list tailor.

So instead of trying to find AP 2 solutions, pummel them with massed fire to make them fail saves.

Lootas work well vs 2+ saves, due to sheer weight of fire. Drive-by burnaboyz aren't too bad either.

Shoota mobs can just PILE fire onto a unit, and each 6 wounds will result in a death, on average.

If the guy isn't running Purifyerspam you can bury him in bodies.


'They're tough, but they aren't indestructable'

1. It's the bandwagon army right now
2. They sound super-strong, appealing to noobs fluff-wise
3. They actually are a strong book

Actually im not whining about GK as I have NEVER played against them.

I have seen so many people complaining about how OP they are that I wondered why so many people play what is considered an OP army.

People sayng they haven't lost in 5 months etc.. just make me wonder what the point is if its so easy to win.

Milisim wrote:Actually im not whining about GK as I have NEVER played against them.

I have seen so many people complaining about how OP they are that I wondered why so many people play what is considered an OP army.

People sayng they haven't lost in 5 months etc.. just make me wonder what the point is if its so easy to win.

This

I like to play underpowered or fragile armies to give myself a bit of a challenge.

I used to run oldcrons and Nids.

I still run BT, DE (not weak, but fragile as hell), Orks and Daemons.

I play Tau and Dark Eldar. So Im used to creative games for sure =]

Lootas aren't as good for killing paladins as I was hoping. Running the Mathhammer.

A boy only has a 1/48 chance of causing a wound for every attack. If I charge with a squad of 30, I'll be lucky to have 20 to attack back. This can expect to cause 1.58 unsaved wounds, plus 1.11 deaths from my PK. So I now take 7-8 fearless wounds and won't even get to attack back in the next round, but hopefully locked him so he can't charge something else.

I've got 5/216 or 2.3% chance of causing a wound for every Loota shot. If I get 3 shots each for a full squad of 15, I get an expected 1.04 unsaved wounds (double that if they don't have FNP).

Shoota boys can expect to cause 1 wound for every 72 shots fired, so less than 1 per round.

Burna boys seem to be a bit better, since the Ork BS2 won't come into play. Each hit under the template has a 5.5% chance of causing a wound. With a full burna wagon, and if I'm lucky enough to get 5 under the template, then I can expect to cause 4 wounds, which is much better, but I still haven't removed a model yet. They'll likely wreck me the next turn and I won't be able to replicate that. Maybe burna them, charge with a full squad, hope they lock them until the end of their turn, then try to burn them again.

My strategy is to blow everything else up and run away from the deathstar.

Purifiers I can handle just as you said, backup and let loose with my shootas and lootas.

Power levles and bandwagoning has something to do with it, for sure. But I think the biggest factor, in the current economic climate, is cost. Small elite army that just got released and is fairly strong (except vs. Mech IG or Dark Lance spam), makes for a economical choice of an army, especially for a newer player.

I've never played against GK so I can't comment....

Running Dark Eldar against paladins is always funny. "And I move 12" away again, still firing the dark lance."

That's basically all you have to do with DE to beat draigowing. Stay more than 24" away, and backtrack them around.

I wanted them since I saw them in the back of the BRB. I only started buying them when the new plastics came out.

My friend plays GK because he always played them. Now they're just more dangerous than they used to be.

Milisim wrote:Is it just because the book is so damn strong? Is winning and beating the crap out of other armies so important that one chooses them?

I just do not see the appeal to knowing with ALMOST certainty that I will win the next game regardless of what army or style is fielded against me.

At most tournaments there is money riding on the line.
Sure, in a small tournament at your FLGS with only 16 people playing, best general may only be $50, but that's $50 you can win. By playing an army with a better chance of winning, you increase the odds you getting more real world cash.

When you add in the cheapness of the models to build, it's really a no-brainer for people.

I don't play gk , I play guard, but the models look so appealing and I can get an awesome paint score because I have like 20 models at the max to paint and it;s easy to win against most opponets, the only reason I haven;t gone to gk;s is I don;t have the money and because they;re the powerhouse atm I can;t get them second hand at all from local sellers.

Great White wrote:Some people chose them because they played deamonhunters.

I played Daemonhunters. I didn't use GK's. How d'ya think I feel about the GK Codex?