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So yeah, as the title sugests, feel free to come and tell us why you chose the army you play, or, if the case may be, the army you model and convert (how awesome it is, it has guns etc).

To get things moving, I'll start:

When I got AoBR, I was torn between Orks and SM. While I enjoy the Blood Angels fluff, they felt too set in stone, and I didn't feel like I had much freedom with conversions and the list. The Orks, however, are wild and crazy, with so many konversion option and awesome units that I let my inner-greeny scream WAAAGH!!! and pledged my allegiance to WAAAGH! Grotbasha an' da Mekz. Orks were my calling for 3 main reasons:

1-Deyz ded killy...you cant say no to an army with a hilarious accent, while still retaining their awesomeness
2-Da konversions...I love being able to loot tanks from other armies (I've got some insane plans involving a Basilisk and a couple of Orks), and their attitude on everything not green.
3-Da Shokk Attack Gunz, I didn't go for this cuz of its ability to eliminate a squad of termies in a single shot, nor did I cringe at the mishap table. I took it because it shoots insane snotlings through the Warp and into people’s much-vaunted “impenetrable” Termie armour. After having an insane defecating Snotling ripping itself out of their bodies, Termie armour seems a lot less powerful.

even IF we need double-sixes to kill the entire squad outright

Anyone else?

My first 40K army (and my main army, still) is my Death Guard force of Plaguemarines...

I loved the old 2nd edition-era models with the spiked "Pickelhaube" helmets! I was totally captivated by the models.

I played starcraft before which was based on 40 and i loved the zerg so when i came in i just saw the nids and knew they were the thing to take, i am not exactly as rounded as some armies are but i still love they way they play it is great watching the horde just consume everything on the table.

I play Eldar because I like the idea of Finesse over strength.

also because I like armies that allow me to do dirty unexpected tactics

I have 4 armies for 40k, 3 of them are Marine related, Space Wolves, Blood Angels and Plague Marines. I just love power armor and when the beakie marines came out for Rogue Trader they looked like no other power armored figs available at the time. I skipped 2nd edition as my group wasn't playing it. Got back into 40k in 3rd and built marines again... I also liked the background. Space Wolves are my favorite army, I've always loved Vikings so Vikings in power armor was just too much for me to resist. I may have a problem as I'm still tempted to build different types of marine armies. I've spent untold hours reading background, looking at paint schemes etc.

I have both types of Eldar. My first was DE because it ment that I didn't have to justify fighting as they have no morals and as such can't perform an inmoral act.
The normal Eldar are as a result of a doubles tounament which I am going to enter with Tau.
Also I just love glass hammers

I started with Space marines but the Orks chose me.

I loved the Genestealers in Space Hulk & have always been fascinated with monsters, aliens, dinosaurs, insects, etc...

When I started playing 40k (in 2nd Edition) the Tyranids were my first & only choice, seeing those monstrous, bug-like, alien critters move accross the battlefield either as unstoppable hulks, skittering waves of gnashing creepies or striding about commanding fear and psychic power... that was magic in gaming for me.

I have always played Tyranids as my only army & through all of their versions I've never thought of wavering. 'Nids are just fun for me!

I enjoy thier moments of dominance as a 'force of nature' and cheer their times of downfall as 'cold, souless villains'... when my enemies win my thoughts are in joining them in their celebrations with 'awesome, you beat the bad-guys, humanity is saved for now!' and when I win I relish the power!

They also have been a challenge to play and that means a lot in gaming to me, having been a gamer since 1980 it takes something which challenges and inspires me to hold my attention. The bugs have it for me.

I've enjoyed everyone elses stories, can't wait to read more!

I have three main 40K armies Space Marines Guard and Orks. I chose Marines as the multipart 3rd Ed Plastic Marines had came out recently and convinced me that I wanted a 40K army they just looked fun. However I'd always been strongly attached to the IG my second army which started when the Catachans came out. I played IG for a while and then I started Warhammer however this caused a problem I couldn't take a Warhammer army and a Guard army to University at the same time! This necessitated a return to Matines. At university I joined my current group and discovered I only roll 1&2 & 5&6 I roll a far below average number of 3's and 4's I therefore decided on Orks. I also just fancied a lot of crazy vehicle conversions after having concentrated on Warhammer for several years and Orks seemed the best army for that.

I have 2 40K armies,Death Guard and Orkz and a third one in the works (an urbinized Traitor Guard/Nurgle Themed).
When it came to choosing Orkz,I just love the funny barbarity of them,as well as the loads of conversion/modeling opptions.
As for the other 2 armies,there is just somthing about the galows humour of Nurgle that appeals to me.

I ended up picking space marines because I was drawn to the Librarian in termy armor model. I thought to myself must have! Then decided to build the army around it. I do not always use it as my HQ but I still am happy with my choice.

Also because they are called librarians sold me on the space marines too, since I am in graduate school to become a librarian minus the cool psychic powers.

I play marines but I am starting to drift towards orks because of all the areas for conversions and scratch building. I also love building terrain and ork terrain is easy and fun to build.

Well, I have several 40k armies and usually enter the yearly GT with one of it.
Last year I played mech Eldar as I like the tactical flexibility of this army.
This year, I play one of my oldest armies, Noise Marines.

Well, i just picked the ones who are most like me (in spirit). The Boyz have yet to fail me.

My first army was Iron Warriors, but then I converted to Black Legion. As for the reason for choosing Chaos, well, it was more like finding a reason not too! Dark, powerful, facinating! Plus the models rock (most of em). I started to go with Black Templars (for the historical references more than anything, I'm a history nut) but I find the Imperium is not my bag. I like being the bad guy.

My first army and always will be my army is the Siege Regiment of Imperial Guard i have, I even created Field Hospitals for them.

I love the guard because of the fact they are just humans with s*** armour and s*** guns, but they still win the day no matter the casulaties. Also the fact i can build any type of army with them, this is why i chose a WW1 siege regiment type.

They are the underdogs, but always win the day, except when i play them, (i play them like a WW1 commander )

Well, my army choice was fairly simple (as a new player).

Space Marines - Everyone played them
Imperial Guard (4th) - Was dissuaded, thank god.
Inquisition - Way too expensive, not skilled enough to paint.
Eldar - Not terribly appealing, not skilled enough to paint.
Dark Eldar - No.
Orks - Maybe... that whole leadership business is bad though.
Tau - A shooty army with BS 3... no thank you.
Necrons - Not diverse enough for a second look
Tyranids - A CC powerhouse that ignores leadership. ++

So it was really process of elimination. Now that I've had a few years experience with the game, I'd probably go imperial guard with the new codex. Have to go Death Korp though, and take a freaking long time doing it.

My first actual army was DH. I originally picked up a squad on Assault Marines and planned on playing BA but once I saw the GK models and learned that the DH can also have non meq unites I decided this was the army for me.

When I was younger I collected CSM because they were BAMFs who appealed to me (I was really into metal at the time haha). I was also really into the idea of converting and made some pretty cool things for a kid.

Now when I actually started playing, I wanted to pick an army that number 1) was aesthetically pleasing and had room for cool converting. 2) I wanted a group that wasn't that common on the table.

So I ended up choosing WH. I figured any army I would eventually learn how to win games with, it was more important to start with one that I liked the look and feel of.

IM A BIG FURRY!

Nah I kid, I play Space Wolves (my one and only army) because I love the fluff and stuff. Since reading the 2nd ed codex all those moons ago, I have loved the background of 40k and that has what has kept me in the game, but I could never bear (nor afford) to stray from my beloved Wolves of Fenris!

I originally started with space wolves cause i'm a good bit swedish and into the whole badass viking deal.

Eventually I switched to chaos marines because the only thing cooler than vikings are evil punk rock space marines.

And Chaos is by far the most "punk" army out there, both in look and fluff.

My brother started to play 40k and picked up the Battle for Macragge set, and he picked Space Marines. After reading the Tyranid fluff, I decided to pick up some more and it soon grew into a full fledged army.

I confess that I got into the game in the Rogue Trader days. I played IG and Inquisitors - at the time they were nearly inseparable in the fluff. Then as 2nd edition became 3rd edition and each Codex made them suck more than the last, I decided to put them away for a bit to save my sanity.

About 8 years ago, I looked around at the local shop to see what was being played (and what wasn't), I noticed all of chaos but Plaguemarines were being played. I got into them when they had the Picklehaube helmets. I soon found out why no one else played them. Still, I played through the "OMG the Toughness 5 does nothing, aiiieeee!" days and we finally got some good codices.

So, long story short, I feel like one of those Metallica fans that liked them back in the 80's who sees the 13 year old wearing the ReLoad shirt and thinks 'What a Poser!' to himself.

[silly] That's right! I demand all of you New IG players suffer the indignity of losing the game on turn one to the Virus stratagem! and the New Plaguemarine payers have to watch the Khorne guys use FNP for a year while you can't! Rawwr! [/silly]

Easy question. The Fall of Malvolion Short Story, 1500pt 'Nids for about $60, and extreme plasticrack adiction.

I play Imperial Guard(mainly). I just love the conversion opportunity and the different color schemes you can make. The fact that they're human make them all the more realistic, and it is so much fun deviding your roster into colored squads (blue, red, green, etc). Plus they're vehicles are amazing, and who doesn't like a little punch in their force??

I started my Eldar back in '97. My brother brought home the GW catalog from a friend at school (we already played a bit of Fantasy), and once I saw Maugan Ra, I knew I was going to be an Eldar player. I still love Dark Reapers to death. We ended up dropping fantasy later, but I love the direction the Eldar models have gone.

I started playing Tyranids later because I wanted to play something slightly more evil than any of the other choices out there. Plus I love the new models, especially the Lictor.

So for me, it's mostly been the looks of the models that have influenced my choices.

I chose WH because I liked the detail on the models, and wanted to hone my painting skills and fine dexterity painting them. A daunting task! I also admired that they were composed of strong all-arounder troops units, allowing me to have good flexibility, which I can augment tactically with wise application of Acts of Faith.

Now that I'm pretty happy with my ability to field a nice-sized force of Sisters, I'm looking forward to building some allying options, with which I hope to include biker marines assisting a Lord Inquisitor and his assassins, and eventually using allying to kick-start an IG army in the future, too. Biker marines and tank IG are attractive new angles, focussing on speed/mobility and blast templates (respectively) in a way that my Sisters can't match. Using the Inquisitor as a backbone, I'm also looking forward to modelling and exploring some of the units I've had less success integrating into my Sisters army, like Penitent Engines and assassins.

I started with CSM when a friend decided he needed a partner for a tourney....So he bought some CSM and gave them to me to start my army....(i had been putting off the purchase for some time).....And i was happy with them

Sisters of Battle started as an idea to convert them to Chaos sisters, but i loved the model so much i couldn't do it....The one box i had was joined by more and more and soon i had my main army....

Space marines a friend bought AoBr and offered me the Space Marines....i painted them up and enjoyed them enough to buy my own AoBr (for the mini rulebook) and hand the orcs to him...Not happy with them but they do look cool.

And recently IG....i had a battleforce in my study i hadn't got around to building (my wife tries to get interested in 40k but has no idea) i bought the new codex and liked what i read...so it seemed it was fate for me to start a new army...

I now play orks, and I went through an odyssey to find them. I started with Blood Angels, and they suited my play style fine, fast to combat, and dead killy once they got there. After I build my list and learned how it played I cant remember losing a game with it, but this was 8 years ago so I may be lying. Then again, maybe not, the old blood angels dex meant you could write some pretty broken lists, and mine was really broken.

After I decided I needed an army that required more finesse to play, I went to guard. I started pandered around with catachans, moved to cadians when they released the new plastics, settled on a conversion heavy traitor army, but stopped because the manager of the local GW convinced me that a new Guard codex was in the mix and I ought to wait for it. (By the way, this rumor was about 5 years premature) The guard list that I was working out was heavily CC geared- I had chosen all my doctrines to make my guard CC oriented, and extremely uncompetitive- and because of this and my earlier foray with Blood angels, I decided that orks were the way to go. A CC focused army that could move fast, but required finesse to win with. Perfect.

In the beginning I figured I would just buy a stock army, no conversions, just buy build and paint up an army to tide me over till the new guard dex. Man was I wrong. Orks were awesome. The no conversion idea went out the window in the first few months, and currently I have about 5000 points of orks build, lord knows how much painted, and I dont think I will be going back to guard. It is just way much fun to convert them. They are a great army to play, and have multiple workable army concepts, and a fluff that is robust and wonderful. Ive joined the WAAAGH and there is no going back.

Well this is a pretty easy go for me to choose; i was at my FLGS after a friend had introduced me to the game watching a tournament to see a good selection of armies and which one i wanted. I was captivated by a large number of humans supported by the most ridiculously out of date tanks hold off an alien horde and was hooked on guard; I know have a fairly large mechanized army (including 5 russes; 4 chimeras; 2 bassies) and hopefully a valk or two soon.

My 2nd army the dark eldar was more of a play style thing; i was sick of the sledgehammer style in which my guardsmen would win battles; just battering my opponents to death with ordinance and an obscene amount of heavy weapons. I was looking for a fast and sleek army; first i was looking very hard at the Eldar but they seemed to "clean" for the grim dark future so i chose there evil cousins and they are now packed away after a recent tournament never to come out until a new codex.

My 3rd and hopefully last army (for my wallet atleast ) is dark angels; I bought a couple black reach boxes when they came out; sold the orks bought more marines (mainly assault Terminators) ... then realized "I own a lot of termies" and saw i could take termies as troops and started to drool thus i sold everything but the termies and other traditional deathwing units (plus a ravenwing biker squad) and now have an awesome "hobby army" as i rarely play them competitively (one campaign) but i've mainly worked to customize each and every terminator as its not possible to do this with either of my other armys as they have too many models.