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So I have an interesting question. Have any of you out there in Dakkaland experienced a bout of rapid army acquisition before? What I mean to say is, have you ever gone through a period where you rapidly buy, play, and then sell or trade off armies in the process having trouble finding something you really like to stick to?

Lately I've been having this issue, having gone through 5 armies in the past 14 months. I'm just wondering if this is normal for wargaming.

I have had throughout my 40k life jumped back and forth from CSM.
I started with space marines but converted them to CSM.
Then I had a bout of Ork in my younger years, I try to forget this period.
Then I went back to CSM and built up a sizable collection.
Then I grabbed some SM and played that for a bit before turning back to CSM.
Then I got some IG, I looked at their rules, then promptly converted them to renegades to play along side my CSM.
This is when I started playing full daemons and shelved my CSM for a while.
I had fleeting glances at GK when I had ideas to convert a GK army to chaos.
However now I have gone back to CSM thanks to WoM and TL.

Really I kept coming back to CSM because I love their fluff and the models are great to build and paint, and now, I can actually play a comp CSM army.

If you are having problems with finding an army it helps to read a lot of fluff and then choose the army that you most sympathise with or you think sounds the most awesome in combat. Hope this helps.

I started with Tau back in early 5th. Quickly grew to love the IG, and then bought a feth tonne of tanks and all metal Mordians. I had a bout within the Guard of switching up my general look, where I bought a bunch of Cadians to head swap with some metal heads.

Eventually sold the Tau and sold my Guard to rebuild. Now I'm finally getting back and assembling a kill team. Might have to buy some Deathwatch, and maybe a Knight cause they're cool too...

Bought a whole Necron army when the new dex dropped at the tail end of 5th, and a whole Chaos army for my son to boot. Did something similar with building a Vampire Counts army for WHFB - ironically about 6 mos. before AoS came out...

Most of the other armies I have I had collected over time, but I would get into spurts where'd I buy a whole lot at once.

Haven't got rid of anything yet, save an old High Elf army back from 3E WHFB (really bad Herohammer experience). I like to switch between forces, it keeps things from getting into a rut.

Not really, but I tend to proxy an awful lot, and I'll generally buy a couple of boxes for any army I proxy games with. I tend to keep whatever minis I buy too, which is wretchedly inconvenient given my itinerant leanings. Can't help it, though. they're all my babies. Even the godawful Land Raider.

back in the early 2000s I had more money than sense, and I went through quite a few armies in that time; Tau, GK(Daemonhunters), Nids, Eldar, Space Marines, CSM, Necrons, etc. Tau were my first army, now I am on my third (Tau Army). I have some knights, but I have outgrown the acquisition phase when it comes to 40k. I have been bouncing (to use the OP's terminology for warmahordes. I started in Cygnar, acquired Legion to show a gaming buddy how to properly use them, dissolved the Legion and acquired Convergence, then swapped the Convergence for a Nid lot, dropped the Cygnar for Menoth, reacquired Cygnar and Convergence, and yesterday swapped my Menoth for a Circle wold lot. How long will I hold onto any of it? The Tau, Convergence, and Cygnar stuff I'll probably hold onto. If anyone meets my price for my Knights, I'll happily toss them, and more or less the same for my Circle stuff. . .

Yup. many different armies leading to others. Not to bore you with a long list of what went into what, but here is the list in order:
Tyranid, Dark Eldar, Tau, Skaven, Sisters of Battle, Grey Knights, Chaos Space Marines, Orks, Wood Elves, Ravenwing, Deathwing, Imperial Fists, Imperial Knight, Sons of Horus 30k, Black Templars, Deathwatch, Stormcast Eternals. now Blood Bowl teams.

I have not. My brother has and few of the guys at my FLGS.

my brother went through Dark Angels, normal SM, Space Wolves, Chaos (Nurgle), Chaos (Tzeentch), Chaos (Slaanesh), Grey Knights, Tyranids, Eldar, and Dark Eldar. I can't remember the Order in which he did it.

I've stuck with IG all the way, but slowly gathered SM, Skitarii, Mechanicus, and Knights to make a single massive army with lots of tanks and firepower

I wouldn't say I bounce a lot myself, but I've known lots of people who have. I always try to warn those people that it's a good way to burn through your enjoyment of the hobby, depending on the reason that you're bouncing. If you're bouncing just because you heard another list was stronger, then you'll burn out quickly. There's always something else "more powerful".

Others, though, bounce because they're not finding what they're actually looking for. Sometimes these people find it after awhile and settle into something. Other times, they realize that what they're looking for is the bouncing itself. Those folks go on to try and professionally buy and sell.

This is a good reason to not buy into something unless you really like it. Not the rules, not the power, not the meta...do you actually really, genuinely like the army? Unless you're a decent painter you'll be losing money by constantly cycling out armies.

I bounced around until I found an army I enjoyed playing. That was Sisters of Battle, Ravenwing, Black Templars, Deathwatch. Each one offering a different style of play. Took a long time to get there, lot of "wasted" money, but I still enjoyed it all, so not a waste to me.

 mrhappyface wrote:
then choose the army that you most sympathise with

How do you do this? All the armies are horrible fascists

 Elbows wrote:
This is a good reason to not buy into something unless you really like it. Not the rules, not the power, not the meta...do you actually really, genuinely like the army? Unless you're a decent painter you'll be losing money by constantly cycling out armies.

Well, that's not exactly what happens to me. It's more, I get something, play it for a while, then get bored and want to switch up. So I get something new. I think that because I enjoy the modeling almost as much as playing, that this makes my issue much more difficult. It doesn't help that at the current time I have more money than I actually need thanks to find a great job smack out of college. Paying the bills, paying my savings, groceries and gas/general important stuff. No matter what I still end up with a hefty sum left over and I'd much rather throw it at 40K than video games. But I do understand what you mean.

That said, I do regret trading my SM away. I miss them, and have contemplated restarting that army.

 TheLumberJack wrote:

 mrhappyface wrote:
then choose the army that you most sympathise with

How do you do this? All the armies are horrible fascists

I'll have you know my chaos armies are all about equality! As long as you kill or die in the name of the dark gods we shall accept you and treat you as a brother.

We may treat our brethrin like dirt and enslave them but still...

I've always came back to CSM. I tend to start projects and quickly lose interest but I'm such a slow painter I never end up dropping much money in failed projects

I have been playing on and off since 2nd ed. I got several starter armies but my first real army was tyranids. I have bought and played many iterations oder space marines and chaos as well as orks. Eldar and dark eldar. Necrons and tau. All the wile I kept coming back k to my bugs. Now I am solid tyranids (30000+pts) GSC, guard with a touch of inquisition.

I have done this but not with army to army but gaming system to gaming system as well as army to army. For me it was either Dark Angels or Tyranids in 4th edition. I would little here little there, then I would go to Lord of the Rings then back to 40K, back to LotR. So nothing ever got done.

Then I quit came back to 40K, quit again then dabbled in Warmahordes, gave up on that since I had trouble putting their minis together back to 40K, to Necrons for my son, then did my Nids, back to Dark Angels, back to Necrons, back to LotR and after 20 years, hard have nothing to show for. :(

I have a lot of armies, in various states of painting. I like collecting though, so I don't sell or trade them. I am going to have a massive focus next year though on trying to get more finished and less started.

I wouldn't say rapid.
A friend tried to get me into 40k when I was 17. Gave me the beginnings of a Space Marine army - I'd just finished my HSC and had no job so I couldn't afford it at all, I painted the marines in his colours, based them and gifted them back - he was a bit torn, irritated because I didn't take up the hobby, irritated that I'd re-gifted him, but also delighted because they were the best painted models in his army.
Eleven years later he took another dig at it with some gorgeous Space Wolves in the Stormclaw box and since I had a job and no girlfriend he succeeded.
Painted the Orcs and traded them for a few packs of Jump Marines, when he saw the Orks my friend built an anti Orc list and challenged me to a Learn to Play match, was kind of surprised when Krom Dragongaze led out Termies, Bloodclaws, Sky Claws and Jump Guard, I started collecting Space Wolves.
Picked up a Dark Vengeance box set dirt cheap, nabbed the bikes and rule-book, painted and traded the rest to a couple of guys for a Land Raider and some Razorbacks.
Won a start collecting Tyranids box, started collecting Nids.
Purchased Curse of the Wulfen, found a safety net for Summoning Daemons with Space Wolves and started collecting Daemons for 40k and AOS.

I started in January of this year with Blood Angels, started getting some Eldar after a few games, started collecting some demons, then some vanilla marines, then a bunch of tau, then deathwatch. So in short, yes, I have gone through some "rapid acquisition" in the <1 year I have been playing 40k. I also learned something about myself and disposable income.

I've sold off all but the demons, and a small contingent of Deathwatch I'm still trying to get rid of. I'm sticking to demons, and in a few months, I may, *may*, start a traitor legion.

 Togusa wrote:


Well, that's not exactly what happens to me. It's more, I get something, play it for a while, then get bored and want to switch up. So I get something new. I think that because I enjoy the modeling almost as much as playing, that this makes my issue much more difficult. It doesn't help that at the current time I have more money than I actually need thanks to find a great job smack out of college. Paying the bills, paying my savings, groceries and gas/general important stuff. No matter what I still end up with a hefty sum left over and I'd much rather throw it at 40K than video games. But I do understand what you mean.

That said, I do regret trading my SM away. I miss them, and have contemplated restarting that army.

Feel free to throw some of that "hefty sum" my way

I have pretty much stuck to chaos over the years. I have an Ordo Malleus force (mostly to face off against all my chaos when a friend without an army comes over), and I have a space marine army because one tends to end up with some space marines over the years even without trying. I'm currently working on 2/3 chaos armies. They will always be my love. Death to the false emperor!

 Togusa wrote:
So I have an interesting question. Have any of you out there in Dakkaland experienced a bout of rapid army acquisition before? What I mean to say is, have you ever gone through a period where you rapidly buy, play, and then sell or trade off armies in the process having trouble finding something you really like to stick to?

Lately I've been having this issue, having gone through 5 armies in the past 14 months. I'm just wondering if this is normal for wargaming.

Yes and no

Yes I keep buying new stuff
No I don't sell it

a 3 bedroom flat is looking very full

I thought that was the point of the hobby.

I've been through so many armies that I can't remember them all or in what order.

Speaking of which...

I'm currently trying to get rid of my Slaanesh Daemons, Khorne Daemons, Genestealers and Blood Angels.

Possibly my Eldar and Nurgle CSM. And my Mordheim warbands... and the impulse buy known as Silver Tower... and the Deathwatch...

Why do I even stick to this hobby?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Mr Morden wrote:
a 3 bedroom flat is looking very full

I'm trying to keep all mine in a tiny studio the size of most people's kitchens.

Yep, I did.
Chaos > DA > SM > Tau. I'm a living example for new players in my group of what to NOT DO regarding buying models.

So it seems like this is rather common. Hmmm, I'll just chalk it up to me having more access to disposable income than I did before I graduated and accept it.

I have been through most factions in a very short space of time... Killed the game for me and prompted a year off!

Pretty much just plucked up the courage to look for an army to stick with after that time!

Ha! It took you 14 months to go through 5 armies? I did it in 12!

Oh...wait...sadness...

Started building a year ago, started Orks, played 2 or 3 games, started BA, played 2 or 3 games, started Eldar, played about a dozen games, daemons came next (and will likely continue to be my primary now, I freakin' love 'em!), but now building up a csm force (almost done).

 Togusa wrote:
So I have an interesting question. Have any of you out there in Dakkaland experienced a bout of rapid army acquisition before? What I mean to say is, have you ever gone through a period where you rapidly buy, play, and then sell or trade off armies in the process having trouble finding something you really like to stick to?

Lately I've been having this issue, having gone through 5 armies in the past 14 months. I'm just wondering if this is normal for wargaming.

Not exactly in the way you describe. I have around 50k points between Chaos (Thousand Sons, Khrone, and Daemons), Tyranids, Space Wolves, Eldar, Orks, Grey Knights, and Imperial Knights. So i will bounce around as to which army I currently focus on as far a building, converting, painting, and actively playing.

I used to be really bad about this. I still am a little but I've got a decent hold on it now. I think I ran through a few armies with only playing one game or not even one. I think it went: Guard>Space Wolves>Necrons>Chaos>Space Marines>Tyranids>Orks>Tau>Dark Angels>Dark Eldar. When I got to Dark Eldar that's when it just clicked and I haven't really switched off of them ever since. I used the swap shops for about 80% of each of the armies. So luckily I didn't spend a whooooole lot. Kind of. Now I'm kind of doubling down on the Eldar race and sticking to just them. And keeping a few Dark Angels/Space marines since they're always a safe bet to keep around.