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So i was talking to my ex today, (yes you can be friends with them) and after 3 years she finally got around to asking me why i collect imperial guard, and honestly? i dont really know, i told her this, and she asked me "okay, what do you feel when you play them", now this is something i could write down and for the giggles and gak i decided to post it here to see what you gals and guys think.



I did write this on my own without any help, it might contain parts from other sources but i dont know, as far as i know i pulled it out hole about 3 hours ago (about 10:30 gmt).

So rather than just making a statement im going to ask a question, why do you collect your armies, i don't care about those of you who only do it so you can win games you, people dont interest me and i find your "win at any cost" attitudes tedious and generally deserving of a foot up your , I'm interested in those of you who play for more than winning, those of you who feel something akin to your armies fate,

To simplify it i want to know why you collect your armies and what connection do you have when you play with them? for example and quite personally i quite like the whole last man standing feel to the guardsmen and i can easily imagine my self in there shoes facing a horde of orks or traitor guardsmen.

I like the background...
I also like trying to get as much stuff killed as possible...

My ex still comes over and asks to paint my minis... lol

Grey Knights... because in the grimdark future where there is only war, they are the shiniest mother ers around.

When it comes to equipment maintenance, they are second to none.

RicBlasko wrote:My ex still comes over and asks to paint my minis... lol

Your ex is the best ex ever.

Convenience (sm through starter boxes and such), coincidence (a friend quit the hobby and gave me his csm), and background (i love the imagery of swarming defenses with the nids).

Armed with nothing more that a mag-light, a t-shirt and balls of steel, they are expected to face off against the horrors of the warp to faster than lighting Xenos, soulless metal men to even those of their own kind.
They do what they do because they have to, never asking or getting any thanks from the countless worlds that can sleep safely that night because of them. They are the hammer, shield and sword of the IoM. With out the guard the whole of the IoM would fall.

"We first and last line of of the defense of man. Let none take that honor from you."

I like the whole OOT-ness, Grimdarkness, and conflict of the 40K world. Especially the Space Marines... They're like walking hyperboles... Chaos is my favorite too. Their opposition to the Space Marines is fun. GW in general has some stupendously outrageous fun stuff that I love like Power Fist (the huge hand is comical at times and the idea of bashing someone with it is great).

The sheer diversity. I collect lots of different models simply so my army looks diverse when I am playing it. Everything from elite storm troopers, to swarms of conscripts, to cavalry, to light infantry and heavy infantry. Also allows for me to completely make up fluff for every regiment in my army group.

I collect my armies for their playstyle, fluff and because I like being an armchair general, helps that I'm damn good at it. Also dice, being random, brings a fun element to the game.

In our modern, mundane, and quite complicated world, the idea of being a hulking monstrous green skinned warmachine who's only desires are fighting and eating, drinking, and tinkering with machines of death is really alluring. My life is full to spilling over with really great things, but sometimes, I think I'd give it all away to be an Ork Nob with a PK and Warbike, tearing it up on Armageddon.
I collect Orks to escape into their thick skulled simplicity.

I collect Orks, because they have done what no other species, in this game, or in our world has done, found true happiness. they never bother asking silly questions like Why, they just grab the biggest stick they can find, and enjoy the life they have for what it is...

Its the struggle, been "just a human" in a 40k setting of horrendous adversaries and still prevailing is rather heart warming.
Also IG is the more believable army fluff wise. The underdogs I guess?

I enjoy playing the game. I'm not much of a party goer so I use it as a hobby and social activity alike. I choose my armies based on the look and back story.

I collect Orks for three resons, they are extremly fun to play, there codex is very funny and of course the simple fact that
'orkses never lose a battle'.

Is it wrong that I like the idea of loads of gribblies tearing Guardsmen to shreds simply because that's all they know

Plus I can relate to the honour of the Blood Angels over all other Marine Chapters.

I play Tau because us English love an underdog!

I play Guard because they are the only army I can relate to. Also, they seem to lose everything in the fluff, and I hope to win some victories for the underdog faction.

I like the way my World Eaters just want to kill for the sake of killing without prejudice and their only agenda is to reap sacrifices for the Blood God.

I play Grey Knights because they are the pinnacle of humanity's defenders, facing down the darkest horrors of the universe and putting them to fire and the sword.

Death Guard because nothing will stay their implacable wrath, shrugging off gunfire and NBC attacks alike.

Blood Angels because Assault Marines and Dreadnoughts are awesome.

Purifier wrote:Grey Knights... because in the grimdark future where there is only war, they are the shiniest mother ers around.

When it comes to equipment maintenance, they are second to none.

RicBlasko wrote:My ex still comes over and asks to paint my minis... lol

Your ex is the best ex ever.

Lol that isnt maintanance, thats an acid bath after each battle

Like others have said, I love a good underdog as well and because of that I find myself playing Tau. Their primary strategem of outmaneuvering and outwitting the enemy while destroying them in a hail of gunfire speaks to me. If the tau didn't exist, then I would probably go for the next closest to my playstyle which would be the IG.

I play Orks because I was a WAAC Ultramarine player for like 8 years.

Now I collected an army I want to paint. Not what I want to win with.

My list has horrible comp. But it looks awesome on the table top.

Ok, just to properly reply to the OP, here's my take on the whole patriotic thing;

Why are we? Why are we, when the inevitable stands against us and darkness has already won?
Why are we, when the enemy is countless where it can be seen and even more present where it cannot?
Why are we, when every fool we save today, is another darkness to purge in the morrow?
We are for all of these things. We are the last stand. The defiant fist. We will not go quietly.
We will not be led into darkness by the leash. We will run screaming into its belly, tearing at its innards.
We are the last ray of light. We are the Grey Knights.

Why do i play spacewolves? they are the only chapter for a real man, they train by going fishing, they meditate by drinking alot and they grow the finest damn beards anywhere.

Why would you collect monks when you can collect men!

I play Dark Eldar because i started when they were the oldest codex in the game and considered the ultimate in difficulty of execution. I wanted to be challenged.

Ironically enough I feel that the new codex is actually weaker than the old one in this edition. but w/e, wych cults will continue to be the most difficult army to play, and the most beautiful when well executed.

Purifier wrote:Ok, just to properly reply to the OP

Good point. I think I failed to do that.

I went with Orks for many reasons.

1) I like the comic relief. Big green gorilla monsters weilding axes and pistols makes for an interesting display in my apt.

2) I like the models. Orks have a huge variety of model types.
Trukks are far more detailed and fun to paint than marine boxes.
Burnas and Lootas are awesome looking units with funny little details, like the burna with a cigar
(with a hole for it in his welding mask) or the loota spent shell casings.
The Big Mek with Kustom Force Feild is one of my favorite GW models of all time.

3) Painting a Space marine army can become boring if you follow a simple pattern.
As an Ultramarines player I got sick of blue real fast.
Unless I felt like painting several chapters colors in a single force there wasn't much room for variation.
Now with my Orks I can paint vehicles red, yellow, whatever! It doesn't matter because it's all one big ork mess!
Brown leather-wearing Runtherds to make them Snakebites, Blue armoured DeffSkullz Lootaz, red Speed Freek Dakkajetz!

4) The mentality of the army matches the mentality I have towards the game.
I don't want to WAAC anymore. I'd rather spend what little game time I have at the FLGS having a good time.
The Orks allow me to play a sillier army with alot of color and humor that other armies don't really provide.
The Orks also make for a good "club villian". A player who brings an army that has a bit of everything and focuses on nothing.
The Orks aren't out to conquer the galaxy.
They're out for a good time.

DeffDred wrote:
I went with Orks for many reasons.

1) I like the comic relief. Big green gorilla monsters weilding axes and pistols makes for an interesting display in my apt.

2) I like the models. Orks have a huge variety of model types.
Trukks are far more detailed and fun to paint than marine boxes.
Burnas and Lootas are awesome looking units with funny little details, like the burna with a cigar
(with a hole for it in his welding mask) or the loota spent shell casings.
The Big Mek with Kustom Force Feild is one of my favorite GW models of all time.

3) Painting a Space marine army can become boring if you follow a simple pattern.
As an Ultramarines player I got sick of blue real fast.
Unless I felt like painting several chapters colors in a single force there wasn't much room for variation.
Now with my Orks I can paint vehicles red, yellow, whatever! It doesn't matter because it's all one big ork mess!
Brown leather-wearing Runtherds to make them Snakebites, Blue armoured DeffSkullz Lootaz, red Speed Freek Dakkajetz!

4) The mentality of the army matches the mentality I have towards the game.
I don't want to WAAC anymore. I'd rather spend what little game time I have at the FLGS having a good time.
The Orks allow me to play a sillier army with alot of color and humor that other armies don't really provide.
The Orks also make for a good "club villian". A player who brings an army that has a bit of everything and focuses on nothing.
The Orks aren't out to conquer the galaxy.
They're out for a good time.

Cheers DeffDred, you just saved me a lot of typing. This

I play Space Wolves, because they are tough, self reliant, and don't cotton to some spineless bureaucrat/theocrat telling them about how to run their planet or battlefield. They drink mead and eat red meat off the bone. And when they are not sporting for kraken and Fenrisian wolves, they are slapping down the enemy scum of mankind.

I started playing salamanders because I like the paint scheme, I've continued to pay them because I love their fluff. They seem more like honorable defenders then glory hogs. a lot of space marines seem to forget that they are tools to make humanity better, and instead view humanity as a weakness that has to be over come, I like that the salamanders seem to care about the little guys.

I play nids because everything looks delicious! nom nom nom! (and the models look pretty sweet too)

I have a few Ex's who are big time RTS player, and they know I love strategy games as well, so they easily understand why I play 40k (and WM:H, Helldorado, Infinity, etc)

Tho a few are confused as to why I chose Tau, since I tend to be in your face melee in most games

I like beautiful things, and tech interests me

Eldar was my first love, but I was a bit disappointed that many of their weapons are merely weaker versions of MEQ with seemingly not much compensation

Also the fact that a few of their rules seemed awkward - Their shooting units gain Fleet but their melee dont... wtf


Tau slightly lack in the "beauty" aspect, but compared to every other army, their not bad (except Eldar who are the most beautiful)

I play 40k because I like the fluff, the social aspects, the collecting and the modeling. It's fun so it's how I have fun.

I play Imperial Guard for much the same as reasons listed above, because the Guard are human, mear mortals who's feats and triumphs must be compared to those of demigods of battle with centuries of battle experience, who are sent in to face the same evils that those demigods were created to fight. Sometimes they win, othertimes they lose, and now and then they are truly victorious. It's this humanity that makes the guard appeal. Plus they have a ton of tanks which is always lots of fun. They can get a wee dram boring to paint though. (80 infantry in your army? Hope you enjoyed the color scheme you picked)

I like Sisters of Battle for the similar human factor even though they do have power armor going for them, and their very rich and unique visual asthetic and design. Their background comes off as the best parts of the Orders Militant of the Catholic Church, and the best parts of the Imperium really when you think about it. Faith and proud willing sacrifice for millions of people who will never know their names. Humility and honor, a warrior's pride and sense of justice, the need to light evil things on fire. That's badass.

"The noblest fate a man can endure is to place his mortal body between his loved home and the war's desolation."
-Robert H. Heinlein, Starship Troopers

On a side note I'm actually having trouble picking a nebulous future army. So far it's looking like Necrons for visual design and more their old fluff then anything, the space elves... err Eldar look pretty cool too, and there's always orkzes I suppose... hmmm.