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I find myself at a cross roads. With 40k so expensive and there being a distinct gap between effective models and cool models how do you decide what to buy?

For example Crisis suits are great but their models look naf so i'd rather not splash out on them. Eldar practically need guardians in this codex but are you seriously going to sit, build and paint 30+ of them? Chapter specific terminators look awesome but how often are you gonna use them.

Few models tick both boxes.

How do you decide what to do? Do you buy the models you like not minding how they perform or are you happy to have loads of models that may not be your favourites but do well on the table? Do you have a way of getting the best of both world?

Share your thoughts

Taffy17 wrote:

Eldar practically need guardians in this codex but are you seriously going to sit, build and paint 30+ of them?

Sure, guardians are a nice addition to any army, and are usually a staple of the formation chart. But I find Dire Avengers to be far better, even in smaller numbers and not to mention they look cooler too!

I usually mess around with model rules once or twice based off of looks and playability, usually asking to proxy them once or twice.

From there I usually decide what I want. But sometimes there are just some pretty darn cool models and I can't help myself (Like the new Autarch, even though I already have three I bought the new one anyway)

I buy for game play first but only to a certain point. I won't buy large model counts of the same thing unless I really want to paint it all. The cool but cost-ineffective units (eg, Voidraven Bomber) get purchased later for fun.

Only ever for the coolness of the model. With the groups I play with, it really doesn't matter about the effectiveness of any particular unit, as we're all operating on the same principle of'minis first, game second'. Hence why I have almost half a Company of assorted Terminators and never felt they underperformed.

If I want a model and don't like the official version for whatever reason I make my own.

I experimented with a Ministorum priest the other day and he made my guard platoon cause 40 wounds in close combat in a suicide charge against an incoming green tide, and then in the next round he Smashed a Warboss to death in a challenge. Then I saw that his official model was this weedy little dude with a book, said "screw that" and found a fantasy monk model with two huge frickin hammers to use instead.

I tend to have about 400pts of 'fun' in a 1250 list and the rest is absolutely the best units possible. This lets me run my Honor Guard in a Land Raider, or Huron and Terminators, or Chaplain Cassius and Tyrannic War Vets, or a Walking Hive Tyrant and Guard. Keeps me entertained but the list itself doesn't suffer for it.

When a list is Conversion Beamers, Poisoned Bolters on Bikes, Multimelta Outflanking Land Speeders and Las/Missile Centurions, I can afford to have some fun with a Terminator Chapter Master and Retinue.

I'm building an army I want to see on a shelf and want to play.

I'm probably not going to play a lot of games of 40k so thats why its more for fun, and painting, then it is for competitive play.

When I do get to the table I'm not going to care about the results that much, I'm going to want fluffy cool things to happen, not serious cut throat strategy.

What I want to have happen is cool iconic things to happen, that inspire me to go back, and re-build a few models into characters or other things.

I'm a nerd like that I guess.

If I want serious competitive play, maybe one day I'll do something, but my first goal is cool factor, and my army being my army for real.

As a Space Marine player I struggled with this.

Then I started a Dark Eldar army and all my problems were solved. Virtually all their models look fantastic!

All cool all the time.

I save 'effective' choices for games with better balance, where often you don't even need to make this compromise in the first place.

If everyone is using slightly meh choices then the meh choices actually perform rather well

I buy in bulk so am not sooo worried about the price.

Also built a whole 2.5 companies of marines with the knowledge that they wont be all played.

60/40 is my weighted decision when it comes to Effectiveness/Looks. Although most of the looks decision comes in before I decided what army I was going to play.

Actually there is a third factor that goes in to play, how the unit feels in regards to its type.

Like having a big tank with a giant gun. Sometimes I just want to field that, so I field my Ork looted wagon. Is it the coolest model? not really, its just an orked up manticore. is it effective? not really no. But I just like the idea of having a looted wagon, an ork driving an artillery tank firing it wherever he can, watching it wildly missing the target and occasionally mashing the gas petal on the thing.

So sometimes its just about the feel as opposed to either usefulness and attractiveness.

I love almost every model in the guard range so I dont really have any problems (except for maybe bullgryns and the taurox).

Same goes for DA.

I hate most things tau except for their infantry, and I fething love me some gunline action so hey!

Taffy17 wrote:
How do you decide what to do?

Convert!

Turn the effective models into the cool models.

I would say BA have the coolest and effective models
Death company-awesome and looks cool
Assault termies-looks awesome and slighty more effective than the bog standard ones (as they can have a standard)
Sang Guard-Awesome (more awesome with dante and five infernus pistols) and they look brilliant
BA tac squad-Awesome (that heavy flamer tho) and looks awesome (your Sarge gets to wear nipple armour)

Yeah so BA by far if you're looking for both awesome and effective models

Luckily, the coolest model ranks pretty high in effecticveness- the Riptide.

Taffy17 wrote:
I Eldar practically need guardians in this codex but are you seriously going to sit, build and paint 30+ of them?

I take it you're not a fan of Orks, Guard, Nids or Crons?

They all have cool models but you've gotta get through the hordes of Boyz, Gaunts, Guardsman and Warriors before you can start using the interesting stuff effectively, which is pretty much my point.

I've lately come to conclusion that we should be way more friendly to homebrew rule changes. We all know that GW rulewriting is mediocre and unstable. When you take a look even at the most ballanced books around, there is still severe internal and external imballance.
The only way to fix it is to do it yourself. GW will never write ballanced rules. They don't need it. Ballance is not part of their business model.