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Guys,

if you could choose to play a new army purely on aesthetics, nothing to do with play styles or fluff. What would you choose? and what are the stand out models from that army?

Tyranids because a sea of scything talons with a few big beasties scattered throughout looks awesome

CSM still.

If forced to play a new one, Eldar.

Oh wait.

I'd stick to my Imperial Guard, Catachans all the way!

Eldar are up there. I'm a sucker for grav-armor, and the elder tanks are sexy. I like the look of most of the army, but the tanks are what drew me to them.

After seeing all that I have seen, purely from aesthetics...I would probably go with Cadians done up in a urban camo scheme. I love practicality if weapons so that I can relate to what is going on, and love urban camo.

Still the SoB. No other army has flaming helmets or pipe organ tanks. I chose them the first time around party because of their aesthetics anyway, so easy choice.

If I had to pick a different one, I guess I'd go with Chaos. Their aesthetic is nicely brutal and disturbing.

Is all of the above an answer?
If not then Eldar just for the harlequins.

If I had to pick another army based on aesthetics, it would be Dark Eldar for me.

Farsight Enclaves with nothing but suits and drones.

DKOK or dreadmob.

Dark Eldar for me. So sleek, sexy, and deadly.

I'd probably go with Nids, properly painted, it would be a chaotic mess of chittering claws, chitin, and big beasties.

Then again, a seemingly endless Necron phalanx (the kind not many run) would also be an intimidating sight.

I love the look of Space Marines, so very imposing and slightly over-the-top, standouts being Veterans of all stripes and Terminators.

DKOK come a close second thanks to the awesome look and being properly proportioned, unlike the gorilla-Cadians/Catachans.

I've always liked the Thousand Sons from afar.

Nids or DKOK.

I'm gonna get purged by the Ordos for this, but... Tau.

Look, I already have 2 IG armies (3 if you count my Chaos Traitor Guard), a SM army, and 2 Chaos Marine armies. I've extracted all the joy I can out of Imperial aesthetics and spiky, angry, mutated formerly Imperial aesthetics. I want something miles away from the Imperial or spiky former Imperial look. The Eldar don't appeal to me (too many bad memories from 2nd Ed) the Dark Eldar are just spiky Eldar, Necrons are metal TKs and I already have a Vampire Counts army, no need to double-up there... 'Nids are too complicated to paint. I painted one single, solitary genestealer for a Dark Heresy game and nearly chewed my hands off in protest. I could never do an army of them.

But Tau... OK, OK, they don't look like they belong in 40K. I admit that their style is too clean, too high-tech, too mecha anime for 40K. They belong in Infinty, not the GRIMDARK 41st millenium.

But I genuinely like the way they look. I happen to be a fan of mecha anime. Painting a Tau army would be fun for me (I already painted one for a friend of mine, but I would like the chance to use colors of my own choosing) despite the fact that I don't feel like an army that looks that way fits into 40K. The OP said to divorce the aesthetics from play style, power level, or fluff, and I have. Tau would be the army I would most like to build and paint... just as soon as I finish the massive re-painting project that is ALL of my other armies.

I'll be honest, aesthetically I have to agree with Squidhills, Tau don't belong ion 40K, the idea of them does!

I'd have to join you there mate, I wouldn't mind a bash at Tau, but I also wouldn't mind a go at Nids

I chose the imperial guard and eldar as my armies purely for the asthetic anyways. I will never play an army i dont like the look of.

I always really liked the look of Biel-Tan Eldar.

 Swastakowey wrote:
I chose the imperial guard and eldar as my armies purely for the asthetic anyways. I will never play an army i dont like the look of.

Obviously you wouldn't play something you don't like the look of, but if you were to choose an army you don't already play, what would you go for?

Beard wrote:

 Swastakowey wrote:
I chose the imperial guard and eldar as my armies purely for the asthetic anyways. I will never play an army i dont like the look of.

Obviously you wouldn't play something you don't like the look of, but if you were to choose an army you don't already play, what would you go for?

Oh i didnt read the original post properly...

Space marine Shadow Warriors. Simply because they are based on the Natives of my country which i thought was cool.

Every army I own was bought because of looks and not fluff or playstyle. So yeah, tau, de, and orks. I got into chaos because of the daemons and not the marine parts.

DKoK aaaall the way. Those WW1 Trenchcoats and gas masks are just glorious. Nicest models in the whole range, GW and FW.

A purely Khorne-Themed demon army rank 2.

Valhallans, Vostoyans, Catachans and Steel legion brawling for rank 3.

Beard wrote:
Guys,

if you could choose to play a new army purely on aesthetics, nothing to do with play styles or fluff. What would you choose? and what are the stand out models from that army?

1. Death Korps of Kreig. Awesome models.

2. Horus Heresy (using MKII armors) Imperial Fists. Yellow is a pain to paint.

3. Orks, because they are the coolest.

Tau or guard in digicam.

sweet.

Sisters. Hardly my first pick, but I already have armies/detachments of Space Marines, Grey Knights, Dark Eldar, Blood Angels, Imperial Guard, and Tau.

Probably Sisters. I like that baroque-Gothic sort of thing they have going on.

However, if GW makes blastmasters look like guitars again, I am so going to pounce on CSM and make a slaaneshi army. There shall be rock. \m/

Renegade Armoured Battlegroup. I wrry if I ever actually collected an Armoured Battlegroup nobody would play against it, but tanks > infantry any day of the week!

Tau, Necrons and Orks.