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I sometimes get annoyed that GW mainly promotes space marines and not chaos or imperial guard ect because unlike space marine there is more of a choice of models and they are a bit more fun to paint

Money and history, pure and simple.

I think space marine alone make up 75% of GW's total income (something crazy like that) so they get the most attention.

AND

this game was actually called SM at one point and everything else just kind of branched off that theme, so SM are kind of 40ks backbone.

oh ok i never knew that thnx,you learn something new everyday

I thought i smelt new people...

im newish

Because they're space marines.

Maybe it was someone else i smelled...

Because they are tough and doesn't afraid of anything.

well they are tough but they sometimes get a bit boring

Yeah, and it's kind of sad, because space marines can actually be a tough army to win with (what with having nearly no specialized units), ESPECIALLY at low points, levels, which is where all new players start.

Add to that the fact that everybody has at least part of their list tailored to beat them, and it's got to be rough going as a new 40k player with a marine army.

Laughing God wrote:this game was actually called SM at one point and everything else just kind of branched off that theme, so SM are kind of 40ks backbone.

This is incorrect.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader was the first version of W40K, released in 1987, and pre-dates any other products that feature Space Marines. There was a game called Space Marine, rleleased in 1989, but even that was a follow-on from Adeptus Titanicus in 1988.

However, Space Marines were indeed the focus, even in Rogue Trader. Not quite to the extent they are now, but an important feature. Within 18 months to two years, they had assumed the dominant position that they now hold with regards to GW's marketing of 40k, and have never looked likely to relinquish it.

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only space mainres!

But Marines are also fairly forgiving. If one was to play them the 3+ save is also forgiving. Not only that, but Blood Angels and Space Wolves are also very good. With Space Marines one can use an army that is focused on anything they want. They're like the jack of all trades, master of none. I think that they are a great army to learn 40k with.

Space Marines aren't really forgiving in a meta-game where everything is dedicated to killing them.

I's because they are a general army, and not as specialized as other forces. So this way 'Little Timmy' wont think his army sucks, because it's excellent at shooting, but the moment he gets in close combat, he's dead.

No, he'll just think it sucks because the metagame is all about countering MEQ.

Right.

I've got to say that I myself have been responsible for breaking the hearts of a couple of teenagers before. They spend the entire pre-game talking about how awesome space marines are, and how they books they read are awesome, and how just a single space marine should be able to kill all of my guardsmen with his bare hands.

... and then a single basilisk shot wipes out his captain and a whole squad of tac marines turn 1...

Ailaros wrote:Right.

I've got to say that I myself have been responsible for breaking the hearts of a couple of teenagers before. They spend the entire pre-game talking about how awesome space marines are, and how they books they read are awesome, and how just a single space marine should be able to kill all of my guardsmen with his bare hands.

... and then a single basilisk shot wipes out his captain and a whole squad of tac marines turn 1...

I like this a lot . People who get boastful about their army with no proof to back up such claims being wiped off the table.

Lexx wrote:

Ailaros wrote:Right.

I've got to say that I myself have been responsible for breaking the hearts of a couple of teenagers before. They spend the entire pre-game talking about how awesome space marines are, and how they books they read are awesome, and how just a single space marine should be able to kill all of my guardsmen with his bare hands.

... and then a single basilisk shot wipes out his captain and a whole squad of tac marines turn 1...

I like this a lot . People who get boastful about their army with no proof to back up such claims being wiped off the table.

What I do, is to encourage the noobs is to choose a weak(er) list, or just go easy, ect., in the end win but make it a good, close game.
Unless there's a particularly cocky little 'un who insist his army is the best. I then wipe him.
there are 3 noob regulars at our FLGS:
A 'nid player, whom I refuse to play, as he makes him own incredibly OP units, and I find him incredibly annoying.
Then there is a well respected regulars's little brother, who went from vanilla, to BA because "they is da bestest" then to SW. He moans and whines about everything that happens- he tried to make up rules to save his dread, longfangs and SC, insisting they all get feel no pain , proclaimed his termie squad cannot mishap, that they move back by the mininmum amount to stop mishapping, and that they would have killed my tac squad and dev squad holding an objective with 10 SB shots (there were 10)
Finally, there is a 'cron player, who despite the fact his army has lost every game it's played, continues to proclaim his nightbringer and monolith are the best things ever. (I wiped his army by turn 3 with a TH/SS termie squad)
>incoming comms- *translated to gothic* necron force delta- inbound hostiles<
"oh look, your puny scout bikers have outflanked right near my 20 destroyers- ha! and my nightbringer and monolith are there too. They shall die!"
"locator beacon"
"wassat do?"
"POW. 5 termies, lysander, 10 vanguard veterans. a 1,100 point unit just appeared in front of your best units."
(vanguards assault only target in range, scarabs)
"ha! those termies are gonna die!"
(destroyers, monolith, 20 warriors shoot at the termies)
"ping.ping.ping. lysander takes a wound."
"oh shi-"
>comms end<

andyroo9000 wrote:I sometimes get annoyed that GW mainly promotes space marines and not chaos or imperial guard ect because unlike space marine there is more of a choice of models and they are a bit more fun to paint

Cheap to start. Forgiving to play. OTOH, I have no problem that you steer them to CSM as the same basics apply. IG is $$ intensive and not the best starting army IMO.

Power armour sells plain and simple

It's an army of superheroes, but they're still human enough that everyone can relate to them.

There are currently some 14+ Codexes for beginners to choose from. 6 of those use Space Marines in their forces, with 3 of them being much more popular than anything else. Space Marines also possess the most amount of cross-compatable pieces (by which I mean pieces that were actually designed to go together, not possible conversion pieces). The only others who have that perk right now are the Dark Eldar and normal Eldar, and that isnt alot (with most of the DE stuff being exclusive to their own race). Space Marine is also the iconic face of Warhammer, with Orks and Nids in the far second (Nids mostly because Starcraft players QQ at who's the knockoff of who, and Orks because of the memetic mutation status).

If toughness is the main criteria then GW should centre the game on The Milky Bar Kid.

I find the Space Marines are a little more forgiving than some of the other armies I've played with. And theyre "iconic" or what not. Personally, I don't mind because I like them just fine, but I can see how other people could be irked.

In my experience GW staff don't really push space marines they instead try to push both armies in Assault on Black Reach. I often overhear the local GW staff talking just as enthusiastically about Orks as they do the SM. Not that it seems to have any effect I guess that power armoured genetically engineered space monks/vampires/werewolves/zealots (delete as applicable) appeal more than aliens.

Then again I was unfortunate enough to be in my local on beginners day and there were a lot of nids on display. So I guess some non-SM armies are attractive to the kids.

I do despair though when I hear new player dismiss all armies other than SM and their variants, still at least most adult players in my area have a bit more imagination even if BA vs BA or SW vs SW battles are disturbingly common.

Whichever ones are in the starter set is inevitably gonna be the ones being pushed the most. Marines just seems more so since they've been in every single starter box I can remember. In 4th ed there was a sudden surge of Nid players in my area, all in part due to the Battle For Macragg having nids. Orks started poping up after AoBR made them cheap.

Maurin wrote:It's an army of superheroes, but they're still human enough that everyone can relate to them.

got it in one.
and they look cool.

shrike wrote:

Lexx wrote:

Ailaros wrote:Right.

I've got to say that I myself have been responsible for breaking the hearts of a couple of teenagers before. They spend the entire pre-game talking about how awesome space marines are, and how they books they read are awesome, and how just a single space marine should be able to kill all of my guardsmen with his bare hands.

... and then a single basilisk shot wipes out his captain and a whole squad of tac marines turn 1...

I like this a lot . People who get boastful about their army with no proof to back up such claims being wiped off the table.

What I do, is to encourage the noobs is to choose a weak(er) list, or just go easy, ect., in the end win but make it a good, close game.
Unless there's a particularly cocky little 'un who insist his army is the best. I then wipe him.
there are 3 noob regulars at our FLGS:
A 'nid player, whom I refuse to play, as he makes him own incredibly OP units, and I find him incredibly annoying.
Then there is a well respected regulars's little brother, who went from vanilla, to BA because "they is da bestest" then to SW. He moans and whines about everything that happens- he tried to make up rules to save his dread, longfangs and SC, insisting they all get feel no pain , proclaimed his termie squad cannot mishap, that they move back by the mininmum amount to stop mishapping, and that they would have killed my tac squad and dev squad holding an objective with 10 SB shots (there were 10)
Finally, there is a 'cron player, who despite the fact his army has lost every game it's played, continues to proclaim his nightbringer and monolith are the best things ever. (I wiped his army by turn 3 with a TH/SS termie squad)
>incoming comms- *translated to gothic* necron force delta- inbound hostiles<
"oh look, your puny scout bikers have outflanked right near my 20 destroyers- ha! and my nightbringer and monolith are there too. They shall die!"
"locator beacon"
"wassat do?"
"POW. 5 termies, lysander, 10 vanguard veterans. a 1,100 point unit just appeared in front of your best units."
(vanguards assault only target in range, scarabs)
"ha! those termies are gonna die!"
(destroyers, monolith, 20 warriors shoot at the termies)
"ping.ping.ping. lysander takes a wound."
"oh shi-"
>comms end<

I have met people very similar to the two you mention. The types who try and make rules up on the fly to justify a reason to take a save etc. Or they whine at you for actually killing their models .

What 12-year-old boy wouldn't want to have an army of 10 feet tall supermen?