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So comes to a close my 40k experience.
It is a bittersweet moment to me seeing my main army boxed up and shipped out to fight someone elses battles in the name of the emperor.
These were Men & Women (yes i invested in female guard) who staunchly defended imperial bastions from hordes of orks,
Who spilled their blood to deny tyranid swarms access to imperial facilities of the utmost secrecy, who beat back chaos into the pits where they came from. They were my Regiment of the Imperial Guard. And I am proud of their combat history.

But ive never been one to jump out of the boat as its sinking. Ive played many games during my short 25 years.
Pokemon cards, yugioh, magic the gathering, d&d, you name it i always had amazing cards, amazing models, things i could have made decent money on, that i stuck to, for emotional reasons, and then ended up with drawers full of crap i couldnt play with anymore and took up space.
But heres the difference, i actually played with my IG army. In fact i constantly went back to retouch paint and modify my models.
In fact i had over 8000+ points of stuff. Apocalypse was what i lived for.

But something about it all dissuades me from continuing, from the way space marines get a new codex every 2 years, to the fact GW cant actually finish the imperial knights line BEFORE releasing a codex for them so Knights players arent toting 3 books to use them (i have 4 knights). To the player community itself. It seems the game is sometimes more hassle than its worth.
Dont get me wrong, ive only been playing since 5th ed, im sure more veteran players will flaunt their vast heritage in a game in which i am but a mere greenhorn, but thats the thing between old slats trying to relive their glory days to super competitive dweebs (no offense, but this is a miniature game... With no official competitive scene so no point in metagaming that hard.) it gets old.
Thankfully ive found myself a small group who plays casually and with little regard for the latest online list. (At least with 40k, not gonna lie we are highly competitive when it comes to xwing)

Im not going to completely quit 40k not just yet. Ill casually watch from the sidelines, i now run a small army of space marines, and we will see how that goes, they arent my troops, but i guess in the emperors name any killing of xenos and heretics is a good thing. I very much loved the fluff of 40k ive read many of the books, and played many of the spinoff games ( nothing comes close to the excitement of being a rogue trader in charge of his own cruiser, except maybe being an inquisitor.) but i feel like alot of the lore is now stale... Are we actually going to wait a millenium before new source material appears? Instead of never ending war its become never ending Lore

All in all like i said its a weight off my shoulders. I will always love the universe of 40k but im not sure about the game.
And as i packed a dozen Leman Russ tanks and rows of artillery, i pondered not "will they place at a local tournament." But rather "how many of the Emperor's vile enemies will these brave troops fell?" And i giggled to myself.
Its not a goodbye i think. Its letting go.
And while im still not out im sure these marines cant match the heart of those brave Guardsmen and women.

See you later, Space Cowboys.
-Vail, your trusty Rogue Trader.

tl;dr Someone's quitting.

^I don't know, man, you could have been a bit less respectful.

As a fellow infantryman, I'm sad to see you go, but I get why. The game has changed a lot with the advent of 7th edition, I personally rarely have time to play long games like 40K anymore, but I hang on to my armies of the Imperium.

Take a break. You're about to get shiny new HH-era armour and weaponry. Play games at smaller point levels. Enjoy your free time!

I'm taking a year out of 40k, (moving abroad I can't really take my army anywhere) and I think it will be good to come back with excitement. I quit 40k before about age 12 but kept my models knowing I may return, I did at the end of 5th and was happy I never sold off my men. I've invested a stupid amount in my guard and tau. I don't like what the games become, but hibernating from the scene for a year while I focus on my course and studies maybe helpful for getting back in. Wait a year mate, I'm sure you will then crave a game when you can get it!

Great post OP.

It was well written and sentimental. I think you made this post on behalf of your army and not so much for us, the community, although I do respect it.

I also feel your pain about the nature of the game. And not enjoying the "tournament practice" mentality of pick-up games at my FLGS i created a story-driven campaign for us to play. I posted all the guidelines to the people who play there and had them come up with some fluff for their armies and names for the overall warlord.

I have really enjoyed those games and I think it gets people in a different mindset where the purpose of the game is not just to max out units and overpower everything, but to get behind your armies form a story perspective. Like you said, you didn't care if your army placed in a tournament, you just hoped they continued to vanquish the enemies of mankind. And that's the mindset that I think fits 40k the best.

My suggestion - try to fall in love with small games again. Sure lots dies at 8000 point games. At that size you get a feel of two armies crashing into each other. But small games let you see the dynamic of having to outmanoeuvre and out-plan your opponent in different ways. Try Combat Patrol or Kill Team, and you'll discover a WHOLE NEW GAME from what you've been playing.

Kill Team is especially kind to horde armies. Your brave Guardsmen & Guardwomen may have been ill prepared to fight the forces of the Tyranids in 40k, but they are pretty amazing in Kill Team.

You'll be back... We all are eventually.

I have just returned to 40k after a year or so of playing bolt action. I sold most of my 40k stuff, armies I had spent countless hours painting and hundreds of pounds buying. I hung onto my small guard army though. It was only 800 points but it is the best painting I have ever done and the only army I had invented a background for so I couldn't part with them.

In the last couple of months I got the 40k itch again and ended up selling all my bolt action stuff. It's not a bad game, quite the opposite, but it just wasn't as exciting as 40k can be. Plus the bolt action community in my area is minuscule at best.

I have since expended my guard army to 1,000 points and I'm planning more additions in the future.

I completely understand why you left 40k but I think you'll be back