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Step one: Does it look cool?

Step two: Does it support a way I'd like to play?

Step three: Done.

I tend to spend a lot of time researching what is decent, play around in Battlescribe, post the list a few places.

After I have gotten some feedback I will usually purchase about 1500 points in one shot and start playing to see how I like it and decide to sell/keep.

So far this year I've sold Death Guard, Eldar, and Dark Eldar and kept Tyranids.

I should stop selling though because I miss them all.

Two things I take into account:

1) Fluff

2) Aesthetics of the army

Not concerned about performance on the tabletop so much but it helps when one of the armies you like lands a good codex e.g. Drukhari

First the models and I guess any artwork grab my attention, then I look at the rules and a couple of battle reports to see their playstyle. Look through what they have and plan out a list to build.

Got back into the hobby few months ago, loved the primaris models and Deathwatch stuff so decided to do Scythes of the emperor counts as death watch as I love the colours and lore of the Scythes. Went out and bought the marines from the dark Imperium set and a start collecting Deathwatch set an additional venerable dread and a space marine commander, final purchase was a corvus blackstar.

Basically made an army for about 130 quid to start me off. It's small and manageable and I only play with painted models so that's what I need.

I have started a side army of Orks but I've not finished painting my 1750 Deathwatch list yet so won't start then until I'm done.

See somethinlg that I like. Buy it. Get in over my head. Spend 20yrs trying to finish the army.

Decide if I like the aesthetics of an army and look at what I really would want to put on the table.

Go online and see if that is an effective list that I will actually have a chance with

Look at what is considered effective lists and decide if that's something I would have fun playing.

If it is then I buy the list and anything else I think looks cool

 IronBrand wrote:

 darkcloak wrote:
Well...

It's probably an outdated practice but I always start with an HQ and two troops. Or rather I used to!

Now it's basically just grab a Start Collecting! box and away you go. In fact most armies can probably start with an SC! Box and then just grab a second one later on. I don't think anyone can argue that 2 SC! Boxes are a bad start...

Yeah most of the start collecting boxes seem like a pretty good place to start. I don't like the craftworlds or drukhari ones though. I don't like that the craftworlds one has no troop choice or that the drukhari one has wyches instead of kabalites.

It's interesting seeing all the different approaches everyone takes.

Well I can't speak for the Dark Eldar box, I did get Craftworld Eldar and I really liked it. Keep in mind that with the new detachment system it's pretty easy to still have a battleforged army. Though you still need either 1 troop slot or another heavy slot to make the Eldar battleforged. Lol, and i guess you get diminishing returns from a second Eldar SC box since the Farseer is monopose.

Not sure why I liked it so much now!!

Still though, I got one of those and scored some Guardians and Avengers a trade, got a Wave Serpent, some Jetbikes. Oh and an extra War Walker and Wraithlord each! It's about 1200 points of Biel Tan. So it's a pretty good start I suppose! I like that a lot of the Eldar line has $30-40 kits because it's easy to save up nerd allowance for them. I think a Jetbike Farseer and a Support Battery unit will be a great next step.

Basically I've been playing long enough that I don't get pulled in by "looks cool" anymore. My intent is to own every army, and I will do so eventually.


My process is thus: pick army, look through books to see if any paint schemes or thematic factions to the races "click" with me, base the army around using about half my points in Troops. Figure out the best support from there.

Honestly (and this is shameful)...

1) Holy crap, that army looks awesome, has an awesome backstory, or is jut what I need to add allies to <insert_army_name_here>.
2) I go and buy the models
3) I get home and begin to instantly clip them from the sprues
4) Get them divided up into some tackle box-like storage containers I have
5) Possibly glue a few together and maybe paint a few
6) Go back to Step 1

As you can see, this is the absolute wrong way to go about starting new armies. On occasion I will finish painting an army before moving to another one. But, that is RARE.

I have 2000+ points of Tau painted and 2000+ points Tyranids painted. But, I haven't played either. Right now, I'm working on other armies (with more Skirmish-style games in mind but some long term goals as well).

SG

My approach:

You have to run before you can walk. Start at the top.

Though my number one rule is to pick one faction I like and play only that. Conviction to one faction is power: you'll learn all the tricks of the trade and eventually you can tailor your lists to suit any challenges.

Also? Never do spam lists or forum lists. Those are a sign of weakness and poor tactical eye.

 IronBrand wrote:
I don't like that the craftworlds one has no troop choice or that the drukhari one has wyches instead of kabalites.

That only changed around the time the new codex came out. Used to be Archon, Kabalites, Raider, Reavers.

I'm expanding two armies right now, Tyranids and Dark Eldar. I generally do the same process each time:

1: Pick an army I like aesthetically. If I don't like the models, I'm probably not going to enjoy painting or playing them.
2: Make a lot of lists at the 2k point level. I like making lists so I'll easily make 15+. At this stage I'm testing out different chapter tactics, detachment types, and play-styles. I'll try to narrow it down to 2 or 3 lists, bonus points for play-style variety. That's my end point, that's what I'm working towards EVENTUALLY.
3: After that I work backwards. I cut those 2k lists down to 1.5k lists, using those same models. Then I cut the 1.5k lists down to 1k lists.
4: Buy the 1k point list/lists. Once those are fully painted or close to it, I'll add on the next 500 points, then the next 500 points. This gets me started relatively quickly without overwhelming me and helps ensure that stuff actually gets assembled and painted.

I don't play nearly as often as I used to. I don't mind playing the same two or three lists if I'm only playing once every month or two. If you play more often, you'll probably want more model variety. Really depends on your playgroup as well. I know some groups only play 2k point games so slow-growing might not be too viable. I prefer smaller games nowadays though. Easier to collect and paint. Not a fan of games that last hours and hours either.

Since returning to GW games my thought process was as follows: which army would be the simplest to collect, which has a purchase vector that yields greatest value, would be easiest to paint, and is limited in scope so as to satisfy my need to complete things?

My answer was buying three boxes of the Start Collecting: Daemons of Tzeentch, and going from there. It helps that Tzeentch has always been my preferred Chaos god, and the playstyle is acceptable. I also reasoned that I could use the same army in two game systems.

Of course....the Kairic Acolytes and Tzaangor look pretty cool. So does that Thaumaturge and Gaunt Summoner. Oh, I can use most of these models with Thousand Sons? Magnus is my favorite primarch!

One box each of Sorcerers, Rubricae, Scarabs and Ahriman later... sigh.

I think I have a problem guys. I have a fever, and the only cure is MOAR DEAD LOYALISTS!

I bought a FW grey knights dreadnought ages ago, saying to myself one day I want to start a GK army. And today I had some money, I went to the GW and I bought voldus, a box of terminators, a strike squad, the codex, some extra paints, a can of leadbelcher spray, some bases and boom, new army begun.

1996 - Dark Angels; I was thirteen/fourteen and essentially bought what the redshirts said I should. Painted about half of the army, badly, based none.

2009 - Tyranids; bought about 6k worth off that there Ebay that they have now. Painted a few units, based none.

2010 - Blood Angels; bought a job-lot of marines off that there Ebay that they have now. Liked the DC and SG boxes, so made them Blood Angels which were the new shiney at that point. This was my first and only attempt at building a powerful army. By the time it was (mostly) built and (partly) painted, it wasn't a powerful army any more. Or maybe I just suck. Also the first time I tried to come up with any kind of backstory to my army, even if it was just "this is the Fourth Company".

2010 - 2013 - I spent a fortune on various second-hand Dark Angels, Grey Knights, CSM and Imperial Guard bits and bobs, all of which had elaborate backstories but none of which ever saw a table or even a paintbrush and which were sold off at a great loss.

Present - I realized I hated tournaments - even the low-key local ones - and I had developed a keen interest in Russian/Soviet history and whips. I was living with a Russian lady who used the name Violet in certain scenarios and my favourite colour is purple, so naturally I started a Slaanesh Daemon/CSM/R&H army based (loosely) on the Kronstadt Rebellion, led by a Greater Daemon commonly known as The Violet Heart and who looks suspiciously like Zarakynel.

At the time I conceived of this I was spending nearly six hours a day on a train so I had lots of time with spreadsheets and consequently this ended up being the only army that was planned from the ground-up before a single miniature was purchased and also the only one that (at least so far) has been built from entirely new miniatures and that has been built solely to a story/RoC without any consideration of tabletop effectiveness. Since conception, the backstory has shifted away from Kronstadt 'cause I felt bad implying (even casually) that the sailors there were traitors and to a more general Russian/Soviet/Red Army theme; my Renegades (who don't know they're Vlasovtsy and are named after, inter alia, current and former Toronto Maple Leafs) are the 6th Battalion of the Kronstaat Worker's Defence Force's 42nd Regiment (they are the ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything), are located in the Rzhev Sector and are defending Battery 30 and Battery 35 (which were in Sevastopol). Oh, also, there's going to be a terrain piece called Pavel's House (which was in Stalingrad) and a single female kukushka/sniper manning it, in reference to Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko (Odessa/Sevastopol) and the band Kino. Coincidentally, I'm sure, 'Violet' was born in Sevastopol and got me into Kino. Regardless of personal trauma, it's hard to overstate how satisfying I find shoehorning these incredibly obvious 'winks' to history and pop culture in is. Nerds gonna nerd.

Anyway, I have three minis to go to complete (painted and based) the Daemon Faction and have fifteen Cadians to begin the R&H portion. Previously I bought tons of stuff in one go, then got totally overwhelmed by it all and did next to nothing with it; this time the most I bought at any one time was a Slaanesh Daemons SC! box so I never at any point had more than 20 unpainted minis kicking around. It worked out pretty well and I think I'll continue to work like this.

Obviously I can't rein in all of my silly and impulsive actions, though, so while originally this started off as a 2k list based on the old Summoning mechanic, I'm currently working toward a 6,000pt list comprising a 2k stand-alone list of each Faction and telling myself that trying to make it 6,666pts in an environment with ever shifting points values is an exercise in madness. That said, I also have a 30,000pts version which includes 30,000pts of Khorne CSM/Daemon enemies and plans for a 50x4' display board, for when I inevitably win the Lottomax.

All of which is a longwinded and self-indulgent way to say that it would appear that my approach has evolved somewhat over the years, with the only common thread being varying degrees of impulsive silliness, really.

 Excommunicatus wrote:
Present - I realized I hated tournaments - even the low-key local ones - and I had developed a keen interest in both Russian/Soviet history and whips. I was living with a Russian lady who used the name Violet in certain scenarios and my favourite colour is purple, so naturally I started a Slaanesh Daemon/CSM/R&H army based (loosely) on the Kronstadt Rebellion, led by a Greater Daemon commonly known as The Violet Heart and who looks suspiciously like Zarakynel.

At the time I conceived of this I was spending nearly six hours a day on a train so I had lots of time with spreadsheets and consequently this ended up being the only army that was planned from the ground-up before a single miniature was purchased and also the only one that (at least so far) has been built from entirely new miniatures and that has been built solely to a story without any consideration of tabletop effectiveness.

Obviously I can't rein in all of my silly and impulsive actions, though, so while originally this started off as a 2k list based on the old Summoning mechanic, I'm currently working toward a 6,000pt list and telling myself that trying to make it 6,666pts in an environment with ever shifting points values is an exercise in madness.

Why stop there? A true follower of slaanesh would go for the full 666,666pt list.

A true follower of Slaanesh would be banged up at Her Majesty's pleasure.

It generally goes something like this:
1. Spot artwork or models for a particular army, proclaim "that looks cool"
2. Research said army, spend time delving into lore, read novels if they're available and even look into the memes (because you can't take yourself seriously ALL the time)
3. Spend too much money jumping into an army feet first, live off of cheap food like I'm in college
4. Get around to painting, either fall in love with painting the models, or grow to hate it with the fury of a thousand Exterminatus (Exterminati? What is the plural here?)
5. If 4 results in a fondness for painting proceed to collect models you don't need just for the sake of having a cool collection and an excuse to run crazy things in Apoc games. If 4 results in loathing, start over again, with the attempt of sticking with the same basic core of an army, just a different paint scheme

This of course doesn't count in the "ooh, shiny" factor that steamrolls me from time to time of course. This was basically the process that got me into my Primaris Imperial Fists though and now I'm sitting on:
Painted/WIP:
Primaris Captain (painted)
Gravis Captain (need to finish painting bling that hangs from his belt and finish his basing)
Primaris Ancient (started painting)
Primaris LT (converted from the Anniversary SGT (gave the model an Assault Bolt Rifle)

Unpainted:
2 Primaris LT (starter set models)
Primaris Librarian
Redemptor Dreadnought (primed)
Repulsor (started painting, changed how I'm doing yellow so needs to be stripped and repainted, in subassemblies)
4 Squads of 5 Intercessors
1 Squad of 3 Boltstorm Aggressors
1 Squad of 3 Bolter Inceptors
2 Squads of 5 Hellblasters (I got my FLGS last 5 man box of them to give me a second squad on top of the start box set)

I still need to get a box of Reivers (going to do a 5 man squad of each) and I fully intend to build a full sized squad of every option eventually. That and track down the Power Fist Primaris Captain.

I honestly love painting these guys mainly because I've made the yellow simple as possible (Corax White primer, Yriel Yellow Base, Drybrush Dorn Yellow, all over wash Casandora Yellow, then weather with thinned Rhinox Hide followed by Boltgun, selectively highlight larger boltgun chips with Dorn Yellow to give more texture, everything below the knees gets a Light Earth Weathering Powder treatment as well). Even the details don't take too long and honestly the longest portions of a model are decals (using the HH Legion ones which has lead to me giving my Primaris the Legion paint/marking scheme (it looks pretty good in my book honestly) and weathering. The latter I enjoy a little too much and am toning down on my none HQ models (the Gravis Captain definitely looks like he's been in the thick of it, but it fits the model to be a fortress that has weathered enemy attacks) so they look less like they're currently in the Iron Cage.

I honestly use the weathering to hide any mistakes I use in the painting too so that helps (smudged black onto the yellow near a shoulder pad or the chest eagle? Guess what's getting some weathering!).

So yeah, enjoying painting the models is super important to me. I tend to gravitate to lighter colors because so many armies tend to be black (it was super common to see all black armies in my old FLGS due to black primer being the second most popular color after grey (it became a running joke that the FLGS' army should be subtly highlighted greys so that they basically look unpainted at a distance) so I've gained a fondness for brighter colors that people can spot from across the room. I don't always go that route, but I do enjoy it a lot more than I did having dark colored models (my 5th ed Plague Marines were fans of Chestnut Ink for example, it wasn't as interesting visually honestly and I've gained a major fondness for yellow now that it can be done well without airbrushes or rattle cans).

Start collecting list for me when I came back....

1. Are they space marines? Yes
2. Collect them

Marines are the best

Different for each army.

My sisters for instance started as a fast attack for a DH list, decided they needed more faith points, and ultimately ended up putting in really low bids on every sisters ebay auction and accumulating them for pennies (plus the cost of paint stripper)

More recently armies have been more for projects than gameplay, last one was custodes - GW had double packed the models in my prospero box and I had an LR and dread in need of refurbishment. Two boxes of bikes, two of terminators, and one of wardens was enough for a 3 man squad of everything in unique poses (plus three troops choices, banners, and HQs) so that was that.

 darkcloak wrote:
Well...

It's probably an outdated practice but I always start with an HQ and two troops. Or rather I used to!

Now it's basically just grab a Start Collecting! box and away you go. In fact most armies can probably start with an SC! Box and then just grab a second one later on. I don't think anyone can argue that 2 SC! Boxes are a bad start...

If you are running pure or heavy Tempestus Scions, this is the most efficient way to get most of your troops.

Just keep collecting till there's enough to field whatever configuration works for whatever edition''s meta is.