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In short iv been inspired by another thread to make an army beyond the usual 1k-2k point limit.

The problem is I have no idea how to organise it.

Do I:
A) Follow the force organisation chart.
B) Try and find some sort of reference to what a typical CSM chapter consists of.
C) Copy/ Modify the Ultramarines Battle Company on page 133 of the rulebook.
D) Make my own up(This option could go badly).

If going with A then I already have a few ideas of what units to include.

Finding the reference may be difficult though.

Any help given would be great!

Poll open for 30 days since once I get some cash my idea will be put into action.

Any other input guys??

It basically comes down to what models appeals to you, not us, therefore its kinda hard to give pointers

Personally i'd go with following fluff reference for the army i wanna build, but i could also see myself creating my own. There's plenty of army grade references both for 40k and from real life you could base your organisation on.

That also depends on what kinda army you're looking at.

If you create your own you get no restrictions on how to build it, and can freely create a history for your very own army, which can add character and flavour to your army.

If you're aiming to play large-scale battles though, it would probably be better following the FOC, since then you could use every single model in your army, and still create your own backstory etc

So it basically comes down to you.

What army are you primarily looking at? A Marine army? IG? or some other?

Tjolle79 wrote:It basically comes down to what models appeals to you, not us, therefore its kinda hard to give pointers

Personally i'd go with following fluff reference for the army i wanna build, but i could also see myself creating my own. There's plenty of army grade references both for 40k and from real life you could base your organisation on.

That also depends on what kinda army you're looking at.

If you create your own you get no restrictions on how to build it, and can freely create a history for your very own army, which can add character and flavour to your army.

If you're aiming to play large-scale battles though, it would probably be better following the FOC, since then you could use every single model in your army, and still create your own backstory etc

So it basically comes down to you.

What army are you primarily looking at? A Marine army? IG? or some other?

The army im lookin at is the Chaos Space Marine and tbh im not deadset on creating a back story currently, but its something to consider.

If I was basing the army around models that I liked, which tbh I may actually do then its more than likely going to be a bike-fest. The models themselves are awesome imo, but perform poorly(according to other CSM players).

If I was to make my own army outside of the FOC then it would most likely be a Khorne and Tzneetch army with the odd squad of Nurgle. Not a fan of Slaanesh for w/e reason.

Still some good ideas to think upon though.

It really depends on what you want to do with it. Painters, gamers, and fluff-nuts all have different priorities when expanding their collections, but each aspect doesn't necessarily need to be self-inclusive.

Personally, I'd advise a moderate method, taking into account all of the aspects to guide your next purchases. Fluff isn't really all that restrictive. For codex marines, for example, chapter, company, etc. organization aligns relatively well with the FoC. Beyond that, build style is a very general affair - a siege force means more tanks and heavy weapons, a mobile force means pods or bikes and speeders, etc. but there's still leeway within that framework to pick specific units/variants that appeal to you and to follow the FoC.

If you want a fully playable force, let model preference and fluff guide your specific choices, but simply limit your purchases to what fits into the FoC. If you really like bikes, see what slots they can fill (FA, troops, etc.), then see where preference guides you in fleshing out the other areas (HS, elites, HQ). Once the FoC is full, you can expand further based on those other considerations, which will also allow you greater flexibility in redesigning your lists.

Cost:benefit analysis and list "viability" are really separate considerations from the ones you've listed. If those are a big concern, you should be looking in the tactics and army list sections for the "power list" that is most compatible with your other desires.

This is all to say, really, that I have absolutely no concrete guidance to give.

Ok I may have made a mistake, in the OP, saying I wanted to take it beyond the 1k-2k limit.

Pretty much all I want to do is build a force bigger than 2k points, but not to play it all at one time. I will still use the FOC for gaming thats a given lol.

All I want to do really is build a big ass army but im not 100% sure on what to base it on.

If using the FOC as a guide then ill have at max 2 HQs, 3 Elites, 6 Troops, 3 Fast Attack and 3 Heavy Support squads. Some of the squads will most likely not be "game legal" such as 15 man squad into a Rhino.

The Fluff based one is pretty much a copy of w/e I can find online.

The copy/modify pretty much says it all.

The make my own would pretty much allow me to say have 6 HQs, 1 Elite, 2 Troops, 1 Fast Attack and say 5 Heavy Support squads.

Currently though, the option of making my own Organisation Chart is looking tempting.

EDIT: Remember this is not for gaming purposes as a whole. This is just to build what looks to be a huge army.

Then i would suggest just buying whatever models you like the most, and appeals to you and are asthetically cool if you had plans to put it up on display as a gigantic mass of troops

You could make different contignents based around a specific character, ie a Khorne Warband, a Tzeentch warband and a nurgle, per your preferences Would give you plenty of options game-wise, and also look great

Here's my take.

If you've got the size of army you're happy with, and you don't want to make a larger playable force like you say (sticking with 2000 points, not going up to 2500/3000), then don't bother with the FoC. Just buy whichever models you like the look of/enjoyed building/liked painting etc.

Got a few ideas on what I want to do if making my own army.

Pretty much it includes:

HQs: Abaddon/Huron, Chaos Lord, Chaos Sorcorer
Elites: 2 Terminator Units, Dreadnought
Troops: 2 CSM squads and one each of: Zerkers, Sons, Noise and Plagues
Fast Attack: 3 squads of 5 bikers, 4 Chaos Spawn
Heavy 2x Defiler, 2x Predator
Daemons: 1 Greater and 2 squads of 20 Lesser Daemons

Could be an idea to work on I guess.