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Was never a fan of the back banners, I always clipped them off in 2nd ed.

I never used to like them, as i felt they werent realistic, now I have a couple on my world eaters kill team, as they offer good canvases for freehands or decals, thats the plastic moulded ones, not the folding sticker ones you used to get back in the 90s..they were awful.

Really not fond of them in 40k. I clip them off.

I very much liked the unit and command standards. In the last year or so i redid my guard's banners in plasticard.
I will need to get a pic of my new Guard army banner.
My profile pic has the old army banner.

DA Ravenwing commander unit has the best Banner IMO

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/catalog/product/threeSixty/99120101097_RavenwingCommandBanner360/01.jpg

 Amishprn86 wrote:
DA Ravenwing commander unit has the best Banner IMO

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/catalog/product/threeSixty/99120101097_RavenwingCommandBanner360/01.jpg

And I just now realised that the Ravenwing are Winged Hussars.

Banners are cool. Good thing CSM and Daemons still use them Though admittedly, their rules currently are nothing special.

Looking at Doc's post - it looks like I've been around even longer than him. I was pretty young when I got into this hobby and really liked the idea of banners at the time. I especially liked the smaller "samurai" style flags on the backs of those old 2nd Ed Striking Scorpions. As I 've gotten older though, I really dislike them. It's not just that I think the idea of a banner in a sci-fi game is a little odd, it's the fact that you have things like a space marine model with a back-banner that's actually taller than him. Imagine being 8' tall and going into battle with a 9' banner on your back ... This is a "big" and somewhat extreme/silly setting, but that's one of the areas where I draw the line.

I also feel like it reinforces the idea that the GW rules writers are trying to make a Napoleonic style rule set with a sci-fi setting. It's like I said in the Marine FAQ thread - They look at it like "Fire the canons, advance, fire the muskets, CHAAAAAARRRRRRGE!!!!", and that's not necessarily how I think a sci-fi wargame should go, so the banners kind of conflict with my personal taste.

I do LOVE a well done banner in an Armies on Parade . "Formation Style" display board though. The in-game concept just falls short for me I guess.

 Grimtuff wrote:
I love me some banners, I'm from roughly the same generation as MDG so I know exactly what he's getting at. For me, Chaos is the king of doing banners. Just the imagery of it, which is captured perfectly in the EoT codex cover of the unending horde wit their banners silhouetted in the distance.

Here's all of my custom Chaos ones (with some AoS ones thrown in too, because why not?) for my various Nurgle forces.

Spoiler:

Okay, those last two are musicians, but they're still on their backs!

The last two disgust me due to an obvious lack of faith exemplified in the lack of banners.

Banners sound fun, until you get into it, and you realize they require a ton of extra effort. Still, I've been doing them on my retro Ultramarines.

Tycho wrote:
I especially liked the smaller "samurai" style flags on the backs of those old 2nd Ed Striking Scorpions.

Sashimono.

They do look cool. I think doing a Guard army like that, in a Sengoku style, could look great. A lot of work though.

Since I started I have always taken banners off models, or left them off when building. Except in the case of like Ravenwing Banner dude, or in Command Squads where they were holding one. Back banners were never my thing and seemed like they'd just snap off. I never liked the trophy racks on CSM Terminators either.

I can see why other people would like them and have seen many done up nicely.

I think they're really cool then I paint one and I return to hating the things.

 Inquisitor Lord Katherine wrote:

 Lord Damocles wrote:

 Mr Morden wrote:

Sisters got your banners covered

Sisters literally lost access to their banner(s), bacuse Celestians can't have nice things, apparently.

Huh?

We have lots of battle standards. Now like every squad can have a stick?

The similacrum isn't a banner.

This is a real banner:

For those who don't like paper, and don't have access to plastic from GeeDubya, I make mine from cloth, bamboo sticks and superglue. I cut the cloth (different things work but I like the feel of a tight canvas) with tabs, wrap the tabs around the stick and glue. I wait for these to set, then soak the edges of the banner with glue and shape, adding glue to the banner as it dries into the shape that i want. Then I paint it, thick, and paint my design over it or decals would be appropriate at this time, sometimes burn a bit for a burnt effect (intuitive enough) and seal.

 Lord Damocles wrote:

 Inquisitor Lord Katherine wrote:

 Lord Damocles wrote:

 Mr Morden wrote:

Sisters got your banners covered

Sisters literally lost access to their banner(s), bacuse Celestians can't have nice things, apparently.

Huh?

We have lots of battle standards. Now like every squad can have a stick?

The similacrum isn't a banner.

This is a real banner:

Your picture doesn't show up.

That said, I don't see how it's "not having nice things". +1 to Combat Resolution is questionably useful on a unit that was going to lose close combat by a mile anyway. The Sacred Standard of the Order Militant is more useful, giving fearless, but leadership isn't really a problem in that way anymore anyway. [There's also the banners on Immolators, of which I built absolutely 0 of mine with because I dislike back banners and especially tank back banners]

Also, I kind of like the box of skulls as a battle standard, because it's kind of funny. I don't like how every unit in the army has a stick now. From an aesthetic perspective, I think a battle standard should be one-per-army and on a hand-held-pole. Back banners are one of those things that I built guys without and am happy to keep them that way, and having every squad have a banner is just ridiculous. Regiments have colors, but squads don't.

I don't think anything will top a "covert" banner:


I do wish they'd bring back the back banner as part of kits, but with LoS being so TLoS I guess they decided no one was using them so they took them out of the regular kits.

Love me some back banners I do!

The *Plan* is to have all my characters with back banners with personal iconography. Squad sergeants will also have banners where applicable, but I need to source some of them first.



The old John Blanche art where it's just a sea of banners are some of my favourites.

 ClockworkZion wrote:

I do wish they'd bring back the back banner as part of kits, but with LoS being so TLoS I guess they decided no one was using them so they took them out of the regular kits.

TLoS means "Oh no, you shot my banner!"

I cannot see how this is a problem, at all, for anyone.
Well, for anyone who I would game with.

Same as, "Sure, you can target that antenna" or 'Sure, you can target the tip of that demon's wing" ...
Even if hit, and "wounded" such efforts are futile - nothing changes.

Frankly, what the game is missing are terrain interaction rules, commands like "take cover" should allow units to benefit (more) from terrain effects while making clear that in this case, LoS is not in effect because the unit(s) are considered to have crouched or lain down against terrain for additional protection.

I loved having sergeant banners until Codex Armageddon took away the templar's sergeants.
In 4th ed, left with so many extra plastic banners, I made objective markers by planting the banners in a pile of skulls.
Now there are unit leaders again, I look forward to modelling unit banners (eventually)

Banners are great, this is a world inhabited by walking wardrobes and godlike super warriors where battles are more often than reason would dictate decided by mashing technobarbaric knights decorated with tapestries together until one side gives in. Sign me up!

I can't say I have ever really been a fan of banners. Even with my Chaos Space Marines, I just gave them weapons and mounted Banners/Icons on separate bases in case I wanted to make use of a Chaos Mark or something. Never actually did use them. Now those icons/banners just get used as scatter terrain. It is only recently with the new Chaos Space Marines that I included an icon with each squad as they are far more subdued that a marine holding a full standard.

It is the same with my Primaris army. I keep being told I should probably pick up an ancient, but don't really think it meshes well with the super tacticool aesthetic I have on my marines. I generally want a WWII or post WWII look with my 40k armies so I don't see banners being as much as a thing on a battlefield.

The only 40k army I have bothered with a bunch of standards is my Genestealer Cult. That was more of a mechanical thing that an appearance thing.

My Age of Sigmar army (Slaves to Darkness) has a bunch of banners in it. I make use of two with each group of my 15 Chaos Warriors as I like the look of a line of infantry bookended with standards. Funny enough, for all intents and purposes the banners serve no purpose mechanically as I go Chaos Undivided making my units immune to battle shock while near a Hero unit which they usually are. Fortunately, they don't cost additional points so they are just there for appearance.

I love army banners - as in, one big flag/standard for that force to rally under. Each of my armies has at least one standard bearer to represent the force colours. I might hate freehanding it, but I insist on it being done - after all, who wants to turn up to the crusade muster without their own banner over their heads?

As for Sergeants, Captains and such, I'm hit or miss. A big standard usually gets in the way of easy transport, and sometimes I simply prefer a smaller profile. If I'm building a Sergeant who looks a little too much like a normal dude next to them, I'll give them a big banner to help them stick out, but most of the time, an icon or symbol sticking from the top of their backpack is enough for me.

I miss banners. I’ve always loved the old 80s/early 90s art, with the huge armies rallying under equally huge battle standards. I have been lucky enough to get my hands on several Knight banners, and often fix them up with command squads, and on a couple of larger dreads. I’ve used the Primaris Ancient’s banner on the standard Casterferrum dreads.

It depends for me.
I never really liked how they implemented the rules for banners aside maybe from some relic banners, but I really like the way they look.
They really drive home the whole knights in space thing. It's not a pure sci-fi setting and I don't want it to be.

I never made my own banners until now, and yes it's not easy and takes a huge amount of effort, but I think it totally pays off. (also +1 for terminator banners)
That said, I only really see them on imperial or chaos armies. Especially for CSM that are still more crusade era-ish i mentality, ie they still put a lot of emphasis on glory, personal or otherwise.
Forgeworld gets that kind of aesthetic way more than GW, but that is true in general for FW. They have a much more true to the setting and mature view than GW and is the primary reason I like FW units.

I would like to a return of banners in a meaningful way, but I'd settle for kit option. Especially given hat chaos still uses them in the rules, despite being mostly iffy.

^That big Terminator held banner is a sweet build.

I love banners, but they are a bit of a disadvantage now in modern 40k since a unit can take a massive hit "right in the heraldry". I modeled a bunch of my Tactical Marines' sergeants with back banners when I was building up a Battle Company of Dark Angels, but then the edition changed and I never got around to painting them.

I think banners on characters are cool and thematic and really bring home the "medieval fantasy but in SPACE" theme of 40k. If I can get my freehand skills up to par I hope to eventually paint some elaborate banners on stuff.

 ZergSmasher wrote:
I love banners, but they are a bit of a disadvantage now in modern 40k since a unit can take a massive hit "right in the heraldry". I modeled a bunch of my Tactical Marines' sergeants with back banners when I was building up a Battle Company of Dark Angels, but then the edition changed and I never got around to painting them.

I think banners on characters are cool and thematic and really bring home the "medieval fantasy but in SPACE" theme of 40k. If I can get my freehand skills up to par I hope to eventually paint some elaborate banners on stuff.

The people I play with use main bodies for LOS, not banners and poky bits. I like the way kill team arena requires you to draw line of sight to the base.

Yeah, the only time I'd even think of using a banner to draw LOS would be for models were the banner has rules. since most of them are characters.. I'd say it should be harder to hide.

I miss banners.
But players now ruin it by being scum...
I miss decent players.