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hyperviper6 wrote:I build a 1500 point list, think it over, plot stratigies, make adjustments, sleep on it, dream about it then they arrive in the mail. Once I have all the models in the list the buying is done. No subistutions, no extra models, no flexibility. Just the list that I plan on playing.

I take a LEGO approach, buying pieces on a mix-and-match basis. Typically, I'll buy 2 of every unit that interests me, allowing me to field a given army from a large, diverse pool of units & models. I don't mind having extras, because it's just future-proofing my army against Codex and edition changes. I'm in it for the long haul.

A combination of 2,3 and 5. Coolness factor really.

Models, painting and how cool they should be are all factors. Hence purple Warp Spiders.

The group of guys I play with belives in the "bring your hardest list & duke it out" philosophy. So, I put units in my ARMY based on how well they work individually, in support of other units I have, and the overall theme of the army.

Which models I buy and paint for my collection, however, is influenced by (a) what I *need* for my army (regardless of what I think about how it looks, though I'll convert something else, if possible) and (b) cool stuff.

It might be that I'll never use Mandrakes in my Dark Eldar army. Those sculpts are cool as all get out, though, and you can guarantee that I'll be buying a unit to paint up for my collection! They'll just have a lower priority than the stuff I "need" for my armies.


Eric

I tend to plan out my armies before purchasing and get the models I need to meet my list's plans. That said, I'm still a huge sucker for awesome sculpts, and will pick up units I have no need for just to paint them. Hell, I'm strongly considering getting an entire skaven army right now for solely for the models, despite the fact that none of my friends play WHFB.

Maenus_Rajhana wrote: I'm strongly considering getting an entire skaven army right now for solely for the models, despite the fact that none of my friends play WHFB.

Be sure to get the starter box, and teach them...

I have all of my units numbered on a d66 type list so I just 'roll up' a few lists and play the less crappy one if I'm playing for fun. competetively, I just throw Lootas at the problems and follow up with boys.

A big part of the hobby for me is aesthetic. But there is a line that cannot be crossed (for me, the line is steath suits).

I usually buy them under a mixture of criteria:
Price
Effectiveness
Appearance

S_P

I write a lot of army lists like so many it is unhealthy and I proxy, whichever works THE best for me is what I buy.

The rule of cool takes into factor too. Like my lodgic with getting Thunderwolves.

I make an ultimate tournament winning list then buy the stuff i need to make it happen.
If I have to play in some other club I'll modify my current list (maybe buy some new things) to match the majority of players.
ATM my lsit is very anti-eldar. So many filthy xenos...

If they fit the the theme and/or fluff of the rest of my army. Competitiveness comes second. So I guess the sculpt, fluff, image, and how it adds to the army's look.

Combination of cost, fluff, sculpt, and playability, for me.

I don't really play much but I hope to in the future, so playability/list building is a concern, but not the central one. I don't need a cheesy power list, but I'd like my games to be more than handing my opponent the other end of the noose I so graciously placed around my own neck.

Aesthetics is a really big one, for me. I like good looking models that fit into a visually coherent and fluff-plausible force, even if I'm not writing a novel detailing the backstory. I'm going to be painting and displaying these things, so I don't want ugly models (hence my lack of 2nd ed. garbage - sorry, old timers).

Cost is probably the biggest factor that has shaped my forces, thus far. Expanding off of my initial purchase of AoBR, I got whatever Ork and SM models I could find cheaply. Am I ever going to field that old school Whirlwind? Possibly, but I didn't buy it for the sake of my army list, that's for sure. Is it still getting painted then placed back on the shelf with the rest of my marines? Certainly. My next purchases are going to work towards rounding off playable, if not super competitive, lists. Now, money doesn't so much shape the contents of my armies as the size. I have what I have, for now. I know that I want some assault termies to shove in that LR. I know I want some land speeders. Which will I get first? Well, I like the models and I'll eventually want both, so it depends which I can find cheaper when I eventually have some spare cash, again.

Sculpts and fun to paint are pretty much the same thing no? 2 sides of the same coin at the very least anyways lol

Sculpts.
Actual in-game effectiveness comes a very far second.

[Would explain why I rarely win games, though. Apart from not ACTIVELY trying to that is. I'm in it for the modelling.]

Fluff and impulse mostly lol. I do try to think what my army needs tactically but very seldom does that actually happen.