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What do you think, and why?

I do feel GW encourages them too much.
Ive had experiences when other-army players at my local club and store refuse to play me because they are simply sick of playing against marines.

They appear to be popular for three main reasons:

1) Availability. They come in AOBR. They are on every GW advertisement. They are the main characters in PC games and Movies alike. Basically if you've heard of 40k, you've heard of SM. Unfortunatly i fear the same can't be said for necrons or tau.
Thus beginners and young players (noobs) love to play them. Im often the local rulebook and codex because the marine noobs buy armies first and codexes later, thus have no knowledge of statlines or force organisation.
Don't get me wrong, im not being a noob-hater. I just ponder about the blatent popularity of one particular army.

2) Coolness. They are the heroes of humanity. They have libraries of positive fluff. They are superhuman warriors from space in the future. How could anyone not want to play them? (rhetorical)

3) Gameplay. They have insanely powerful codexes available. They have powerful weapons, armour, squads, tanks and commanders. Thus many seeking tournament victories might resort to vulkan, BA or SW -not because they love the chapter or marines at all, they just have enough money to buy new and powerful models and want to win. They dont even get bogged down in army projects because sometimes they just pay people to build and paint the armies for them (according to their set specifications). Secretly many of us wish we had the capital to continuosly indulge in this technique. It can offer high rewards in terms of victories. Many many players have atleast some marines, and their on-table skills may have enticed them to get them back off the shelf, and put their other army there instead.

Personally my main army is in fact marines. And honestly, i play them for all three the above reasons. I started with them, i enjoy them and the bring me wins.
Perhaps thats just their lure. They offer something for nearly everyone.

So my question to you is do you think that they are TOO popular?
Why?

Yes, almost every noob plays sm


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Look, the votes prove it, 30% said that they play marines lol

Well I am building a Space Wolves right now but that's the first SM army I've ever played and I've been playing since the end of RT.

Well you pretty much nailed it in the OP. Marines are a fantastic army to learn the basics of the game with. I play marines, but I also play necrons and Daemons (3 infinately different armies) for extra variety.

I don't mind them being popular. I do mind GW assigning excessive amounts of resources to producing Space Marine codices and kits at the expense of everyone else. As of next month, there will be five different plastic Space Marine Dreadnought kits.

Well, I played Tyranids to start, and, I have to say, it was a horrible choice.

I now have the mentality to mindlessly send my units to their deaths to throw them at the enemy. The marines are a good start, simply because of simplicity. It allows the player to get a good grasp of loss, and recovery, and how to play both defense and offence.

They make a great starter/full-blown race, and can be played for fun and competativity.

AlexHolker wrote: As of next month, there will be five different plastic Space Marine Dreadnought kits.

Which?
The normal dread, venerable dread, ironclad dread?
What else? The AOBR one?
I know plastic fursioso/libby/DC is coming...

Back to the OP, I forgot to mention that will the recent FAQs, all marine armies are viable now.
Thats 5, and a half i guess because C:SM's characters, Space Marine Codexes, all of which have been 'updated' since the release of 5th Ed. Wow.


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Footsloggin wrote: The marines are a good start, simply because of simplicity. It allows the player to get a good grasp of loss, and recovery, and how to play both defense and offence.

They make a great starter/full-blown race, and can be played for fun and competativity.

QFT

'Nids don't make a good starter army, unless you'll be playing horde armies for the rest of you're 40k time.

Though adaptation will ceratinly be required if you wish to switch to another...

SM really are the best army to start with...

I picked "Other" for the poll. To answer your question - yes and no.

I personally dislike the fetish GW has for Space Marines. There are 5 different Marine chapters, if I remember right - Ultramarines, BA, DA, SW, and BT. If you include the special characters in the Ultramarines codex, you have at least 7 (Salamanders and White Scarfs), and maybe more. While I like, in gameplay terms, what Space Marines are supposed to offer (a small, elite force relying on the strength of their infantry, primarily - at least, that's how I would play them), and found something similar in Eldar, I dislike every chapter but the Ultramarines simply because it means GW is saying Space Marines deserve more of their time, money, and effort than other races, which is simply not true. The background and differences in many other races deserve various codicies as much as Space Marines - one for each craftworld, one for each major IG Battalion - Cadians, Catachans, etc. All those races deserve their own codicies as well, but they won't ever get them.

That being said, we all have the right to play the army we want to play. I have read the Eldar codex and fell in love with everything about their codex (short of the extreme cost of some of their units). Ultimately, I want the same things - I want an army that I will love to look at (when I finally paint it), that I love to play, and that can bring me wins if I play them right. Eldar give me all this. So I play them.

I don't personally face Marines all that much - or at all, really. But I can definitely imagine how much it must suck to face Marines after Marine after IG after Marines after IG after IG after Marine. It must suck.

for the longest time i wouldnt play Space Marines because I felt like a cheesy git for doing it, now im building a Space Wolf Army, why?

Because I damn well want to. As to the near CONSTANT bitching about Space marines (Especially BA and SW) being overpowered and people not playing them soley for that purpose, get over it, the rate at which GW accelerates the power creep with new dexes means that in a few months there will be something bigger and scarier and more powerful/unbalanced than us.

Though I DO have to agree their overpromoted... but I dont think any right midned free thinking individual would contest that. But hell, Space Marines obviously bring home the bacon for GW.

I said other, I figure a couple of reasons among many for why SM are very prevalent.
1. Several chapters have army books for a mix of builds, units, and options.
2. Newer army books and model kits.
3. Ease of use/play.
4. Ease to paint.
5. Lots of plastic kits for modeling options.

As a CSM/ork/Eldar player, my biggest problem is the army books are showing their age now. We have good lines of plastic kits, but our books limit us. People like to have fun and win. SM are easy to use and are solid to excellent army books. Eventually losing all the time to you friends can get old. Their are people that have to win all the time, but everyone wants to win sometimes atleast.
Updated books for CSM and Eldar would move lots of kits. My .02, update more army books and people will start buying other armies.

Do CSMs count?

^(viney)
Good point. They're the ones I started off with. Tau was my second choice because I love mechs and stuff like that, and then I noticed myself going more towards a shooty-army with my spess muhrines. THEN I read more on Tau and realized that they would fit my playing style better. So... yeah. Towel.

On a side note: I always read the abbreviation 'CSM' as Command Sergeant Major... damn you, Army. I laugh at it every time because I'm thinking "You play an army of nothing but Command Sergeant Majors? That must suck!"

Even though I'm a GK/DH player, I wish GW would put out Xenos codices at an accelerated rate, rather than Xeno, SM, Xeno, SM, IG, SM, SM, SM, SMs!!!!! (I know I got the order wrong).

We only have 2 Codices that are not Imperium, and 3 that are not SMs. That will be 4 SM codices in 5th edition in April, out of the 7 (that will be) released. I'm just admitting to myself that GK are SMs when you get down to it... "IT CAN'T BE TRUE"

I despise the attention GW drops on the SM. For what is supposed to be the smallest (numbers wise) force in the entirety of the galaxy, they have the largest population on tabletop. Worse still is the fact that GW insists on putting out these hideous squat looking marine figs, when they could easily produce them as true scale minis...

Footsloggin wrote:Even though I'm a GK/DH player, I wish GW would put out Xenos codices at an accelerated rate, rather than Xeno, SM, Xeno, SM, IG, SM, SM, SM, SMs!!!!! (I know I got the order wrong).

Yeah, it's more like:

SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM, SM... I think I'm forgetting one...

Oh Yeah!

SM...

Footsloggin wrote:
We only have 2 Codices that are not Imperium, and 3 that are not SMs.

I count 6: Necron, Orks, Eldar, Dark Eldar, Nids, Tau


Space Marines are what got me into 40k; they're what attracts a lot of new players to the game, which IMHO I think is a good thing.

I pretty new to game so they're the only army I have, but I'm already planning a Ork army AND a Nid army. Just because SM's are they're first army, doesn't mean they won't branch out like I plan to.

The OP covered why people like SM's, and like it or not people will play what they wants.

viney wrote:As a CSM/ork/Eldar player, my biggest problem is the army books are showing their age now. We have good lines of plastic kits...

The Eldar don't. They've got plastic vehicle kits, but apart from that they've got only got the guardians + weapon platform, the support platform and a single Aspect. They don't have plastic Seer Councils/Warlocks, Rangers, Wraithguard, any of the other seven Aspects or Harlequins.

Grass4hopper wrote:

Footsloggin wrote:
We only have 2 Codices that are not Imperium, and 3 that are not SMs.

I count 6: Necron, Orks, Eldar, Dark Eldar, Nids, Tau

I see what you did there...

I guess you could include Orks as a 5th ed. Codex, but my statement(opinion, but, since opinions are like ***holes, everyone has one and they all stink), still stands that Imperium has a high amount of updated codices at the moment, and they are still recieving more while Xenos have only a few, and will not have another for awhile.

In the Space Marine Future Of the Space Marine Milleinum, there is only Space Marines.

Personally i was pulled into playing SW because of the fluff, and i have a tendency to play humans in nearly any game. or rather, the all-rounders. I like playing groups that aren't the best at what they do, necessarily, but rather gain their strength from being good/ok at everything.
OTOH i do believe that GW puts way too much effort into the Space marines. Its such a wide, wonderful, in depth, and varied universe. I want to see more of it than just what the space marines see. More xenos, more traitors, and if you want to put out another space marine book... give us something _completely_ different. Maybe traitor marines that haven't fallen to chaos? or a full book dedicated to a Chaos marines chapter/legion.

I laugh at the prospect that people DON'T own space marines. just for the sake of being a hater i guess.
No space marines = no 40k
If you can't accept Space Marines as the basis of your game, you're sadly mistaken as to why this game has survived so long.
Yes you guessed it, it's because of space marines. not your beloved xenos. it's always been about space marines

I don't mind those who have done a good paint job, or have picked a paint scheme other than ultramarines. What I don't like is the technicolor space marines, with half a paintjob, look like vanilla marines, but are palyed as space wolves or blood angels.

I really haven't been too fond of Space Marines since the Rogue Trader days. However, when 5th caeout, I made a stab at getting back into the game with a Space Marine army, and I sputtered out on it about 6 hours into the project. Last year I really did get into 5th, but with Eldar. And as I playedmy Eldar, I returned to the hlf finished Marines and finished up the army. And now that I am feeing like a change of pace from my Eldar, I already have a Marine army waiting for me. So I will play it a few times before I play my Witch Hunters...

I stand by my previous post, with a slight change to CSM/ORKS have lots of plastic kits and Eldar have some kits. People want to be able win from time to time, so for ease of play, learning the rules, lots of bitz for modeling/conversions and updated rules most people will have SM of some sort. (smart ones will promptly see the light and worship khorne via skulltaking )
Again the thing holding back non imperium armies are old books/old models/terrible models/lack of models. I will admit that the SW/BA kits are great stuff, now just think what plastic CSM dread kit or plastic firedragons would be like. Once this whole masters degree thingy I started is over, I might just get some SW/BA to make and paint(with Khorne symbols...)

Peace out Amigos

They are numerous contributing factors to why SM are so popular. They are easy to play, easy to paint (well depends on the chapter I guess, but for the most part yes), easy to build, easy to learn with, and easy to win with too. Other armies for the most part need to be built in a certain way to be any good but a Marine force can be good in a multitude of ways.

Also Space Marines are the only army that has multiple expansion codices like Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Dark Angels, Black Templar, and coming soon (again) Grey Knights =P. So there are a total of SIX space Marine codices and hell if you add CSM into that mix it's SEVEN! So there's almost as much Space Marine Codices as there are Xeno armies! So GW really pushes the Space Marine stuff =P.

The other thing to is, and you touched on this a bit, is that they are practically the face of 40K. As you said, if you know 40K you know SM and the Black Library is 99% SM stories. Fantasy doesn't even have a quintessential army that represents the game, and I think that's why there's more of a variety of people playing different armies in that game.

I have a Space Marine army as well so it's not like I'm helping the cause for variety these days but damn I really do get tired of facing other marine armies. It doesn't add much interest for fluff for me. I haven't played many games in fact lately because I'm tired of facing Marines (that and Dark Eldar scare me lol). So that's why once I finish up this army (hopefully in a few months or so), I'll be starting Nids so at least the fluff makes sense when I play against Marine players =P.


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viney wrote: Once this whole masters degree thingy I started is over, I might just get some SW/BA to make and paint(with Khorne symbols...)

Screw the degree! Do it now! lol jk

Can i just point out: the poll has revealed that only 20 % believe that the amount of people that play space marines is not too high.
That sort of says it all...

adielubbe wrote:Can i just point out: the poll has revealed that only 20 % believe that the amount of people that play space marines is not too high.
That sort of says it all...

That's because the other 80% all play Space Marines...jk

I am starting a CSM army because I don't see it as a Space Marine army. I would never play any of the others, from vanilla to BT to IG, because you are playing as "human" and then where is the fun in "fantasy"?

That said, I don't believe that there are too many that play Space Marines. Each battle is a challenge, and even if they basic core of the different chapters is the same, they play differently and you have to react differently.

I dislike having to play them so much not because I think they are overpowered but because 90% of marine players are just plain bad at the game.

Soon as someone tells me they are into 40k I always ask what army they play and if they name an xenos army I instantly know they are most likely experienced and can offer a good fight if they play SMs well yeah....

I am sure that not all marine players are bad but the ones in my area fail at the game

The real problem is that Games Workshop just doesn't advertise alot of the other races and factions. I mean. Look at every video game. Space Marines, Orks, IG or Chaos are always the main races. They never shake up the formula (barring the addition of Tyranids or lack of). With the video games being such powerful advertising tools, this presents a problem.

If they want other races to be popular, they need to do more big releases, less Space Marine codexes and begin fusing some codexes.

Daemonhunters, Witch Hunters, Grey Knights and Sisters of Battle (and the eventual Ordos Xenos codex) could be fused into one codex. All of the smaller space marine codexes could be fused into one. Fuse Chaos Space Marines and Daemons back (along with lost and the damned).

Next, mix up things in the video games. For dawn of war 3 for example, have Grey Knights, Lost and The Damned, Feral Orks/Freebooter Orks (ork expert can suggest a better ork army that feels different) and Dark Eldar. This gets a similar feel as the original 4 they always use; but we get to see NEW armies to be advertised. Have it a massive chaos uprising on a planet; where normal marines just won't suffice. Orks and DE will be loving it. Expansion can add Steel Legion IG for an Battle for Armageddon based game.

Doing this will speed up releases and people will actually want to play other races.