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Hello everyone, with both my Tau and Astra Militarium collections nearing 5k points each I am tempted to potentially get a 3rd army or add on more to my two existing armies. I am however having a dilemma as to how many points and how many armies I should have and wanted to hear back from the community as to their thoughts on the subject. My biggest concern is having an army that I never play with hence why I'm somewhat leaning towards adding more points to my two existing armies. How many armies and how many points have you guys found to be the best and why?

I just love to keep collecting haha! Orks im closing in on 6000 points or so. Only about 4000 painted but still haha! Play em tons

My ultras are 2500 points 100% painted but never see game time.

Necrons are close to 4500 now and about half painted. Play em tons as well

My vampire counts im just starting I guess you could say. Most are still sealed in box, about 750 are built/painted

Really though ill just keep collecting! If you are getting tired of painting/building/playing those two armies grab a new one. Maybe only 1000 Points to start just for fun!

Not sure. Im focused on one massive IG army with about 1000 SM (maybe, its more like 750 or something. havn't counted as of late), a single KNight that will get companions at some point, a bunch of Scions (roped in with the IG), and Im getting some Ad Mech so I can have some good infantry and support for my legions of Tanks.

I also have a lot of Super Heavies (last I counted, like 13 or 14, mostly IG tanks like Baneblades, Macharius, and Malcadors) and 3 "Super Weapons" aka really big machines under my command, the "Rage of the Heavens" War Zeppelin, "The Harbinger" Atomic Cannon, and MXY-9591 Sonic Disruptor Ordinatus Majoris.

Current estimates are around 20k points wysiwyg maybe more painted and built with plenty more not counted in boxes, based and ready for paint, half-built or some in-between stage.
The current estimate mostly comes from all tanks combined and a rough guess of infantry

I just have a blast imagining, building and painting the tanks and such. The gameplay is secondary. But seeing the masses assembled on a tabletop across from another army is exciting. Especially in an Apoc!!!


Most recent pic. Has long since had more units built.


Super Weapons.


As for a limit for you? I focus on the IG as they are the ones I play. Everyone else (the SM for example) are used as allies/support for my Tanks.... They don't have enough points or a lack of some other factor to be played by themselves. The Skittarri that ar eplanned have the codex but at the moment don't have anyone (I only just got a Ironstrider, and I have some possible converts in the mail! but it will be a LONG way until they could even think of getting played).

Stick to a single army or if you want multiple, cap them at X points to prevent the others from being washed away by the others.

I have a little over 21,000 points of Eldar. I want to keep going but the wife says I have to finish painting what i have before I can have more...

I got to say I think there is a debate here where someone who is collecting and someone who games. It's a very fine line I would say for a player anything between 2-5k that should be more than enough for any type of game anything more you are considered a maniac collector like me where enough is never enough. Either way if you have the budgets and you can afford to keep buying and storing then again nothing wrong with that in my eyes

I only ever set out to buy an army from scratch to 2k worth once. Dark Eldar, 5e, Phil Kelly's glorious codex. Venoms, raiders and ravagers cost me much.

However, my 40k career started with Space Hulk and the termies & genies you get with the Deathwing and Genestealer expansions. GH Bush was in the White House.

Then 3e Dark Angels. 4e SM, more bugs. Tau as an impulse ebay buy $200 box that was a great deal in 2005.

I bought eldar cuz I wanted to know how the army worked so I could beat them. Chaos marines and daemons snuck in there somewhere? I played them a lot ... before Lash got taken away (and after). Read my comic below to see why.

Vendettas because I did not want to get behind on the whole 6e flier thing. Pask and 3 LeMan Russes somehow got in the stash. And a Wyvern.

Along the way, the tournament was a $20 purchase or $10 fee. Most times I bought a model. after many years, the count is, roughly:

SM, including Space Hulk termies, tanks, and all that is Adeptas Astartes: 10,200 points.
Tau 3k
Eldar 4k
DE 2.5k
Bugs 2.2k before I sold the lot
Chaos SM 2.5k
Daemons 2k

And there are a couple boxes of AssoBReach of orks, and an ancient box of Space orks, with german Keyser bucket helmets. I never did get around to actually trying them as an army, though.

Insidious, isn't it?

I'm a flat gamer, not a collector. So nearly none of my models are painted but I've got lists at 1250, my most common points level, in five armies, and additional units in two more armies meant to be allied in. About 500pts each for those. I'm sure I don't have more than 2500pts in any one army except perhaps Tyranids, but only because Genestealers are included in nearly every GW set.

As long as I'm happy with what I have, I move on. I got together exactly 1250pts of Blood Angels and began my Astral Claws, but since have expanded that to a nice 2k. I'll likely get more models of course, but for now, playable means completed. Anything more than that is just extra. Sure I'd like having extra, but since each of my armies has a set theme I prefer to use, I tend to be happier starting a new one than expanding an old one. For instance, my Ultramarines and Blood Angels will never get Bikes because my Astral Claws do up Bikes.

~5k CSM, ~4k IG, ~4k Space Marines, 1.5k Deathwing...I'm mainly a gamer so I focus on building out the viable army builds for each chosen faction.

Ugh, ok. I'll count them. It is fun to go through and list it all off. Another reason to love Battlescribe!!

Tyranids - 5750 points (approx 75% painted)

Dark Angels - 3300 points (~85% painted)

Orks - 2250 points (Zero painted)

Tau (Farsight) - 1500 points (100% painted)


You should have as many armies as you deem reasonable. I'll probably stop @ 4x 40K armies.

As for reasonable points limits? I tend to think what every you want to get OUT of your army....
Fluffy army?
Collection/Pokemon (gotta get em all!) army?
Fun to paint army?
Lean tournament army always using the best "builds"?

For me, it is usually themed. My Orks I limited to 1750 + options. Probably won't get much more than what I've got until it is all painted.
Tau was limited to Farsight's Eight but Tyranids are probably never going to stop... I still don't have all the models, yet.

I'll rest on Space Marines when I can field a whole battle company and an allied gunline. (5-7k)

Dark Eldar? When I can field a full Carnival of Pain and a full whatever-the-big-formation-is-called. (12-15k)

Inquisition is done for the time being at three hundred points or so until a better codex is released.

IG will be around 2k when finished.

Eldar are pretty much done around 1k.

Corsairs are on the docket, too.

Eventually, there will be at least allied forces of CSM, Orks, Necrons, Daemons, and Sisters.

I have about 7000 of DA half of them painted. Love them the most.

About 3500 of Ultramarines, 10% painted. This is the army for my wife, she paints some things herself.

2 IKs, one painted. To have some OOOMPH.

And about 700 of AdMech Skitarii unpainted. Too hang out with IKs.

I like myself some Sisters too someday.

Well, Eldar 10k, Necrons 5k, BA 10k, DA 2k, GK 3k, and DE 2k.
Got rid of Orks and CSM.

 kerikhaos wrote:
I got to say I think there is a debate here where someone who is collecting and someone who games. It's a very fine line I would say for a player anything between 2-5k that should be more than enough for any type of game anything more you are considered a maniac collector like me where enough is never enough. Either way if you have the budgets and you can afford to keep buying and storing then again nothing wrong with that in my eyes

If you take budget out of the equation, the real difference, assuming they actually *play* 40k, is a collector who plays for fun, and a competitive player who has an extensive collection.

They'll both mostly have all of the models for their chosen factions. However, the collector who plays for fun (casually, whatever) will tend to have more models that they think look cool, whereas the competitive player with a large collection will focus on the models which are useful in play.

Buying is one thing... painting is another... and as you say, STORING is a big deal, LOL. Especially if you like to display them all

I have found that once I have built my army up to 2000+ points, and after I have played a few games with them and then added a few more options, then I am usually ready to start looking at another army. I started with my Orks, and got them up to around 2000. Then I added the Black Templar. It was cheaper to get them up to that point level, so I ended up boosting them a little more. But I continues to buy more units here and there for both and cotinued to play the Orks as well as the Black Templar.

After playing both of them numerous times in 2000 point games I felt like starting something new, and that's where the wood elves came in. I only have enough points to field around 1600 or maybe even 1800 with them so far. So I probably wont start another army until I get them up to around 2000 points and until I have played them a solid number of times to determine a list I am happy with.

So I am by no means a model collector. I am really just in this for the gaming. But I do like to have my models painted when I play. Well I like to have them painted when I play, but it's not always a requirement!

My largest is my Guard army, which is about 3500pts. I find it allows me lots of variety for games.

I also have several armies in various states of progress; CSM is close to 2000pts, DE are at 1000 and heading towards 1500, DA and Orks are both at the lower end.. I like having different projects on the go, changing things up keeps things fresh for me. I'll readily admit to having purchased more than I could assemble and paint in the past. So now I am trying to catch up and turn those boxes of models into armies. In the last year I decided to approach army collecting and building in the following fashion.

500pts for Combat patrol.
1000pts for modest games.
1500pts for a full game.

It allows me to build up an army at a steady pace. And it's been good for getting models out of boxes and into display cases or onto the table. Once I hit 1500pts I can add a new unit here and there and not feel like my "to do" pile is out of control.

I tend to switch armies when I hit what I deem to be enough points to reasonably fielld a variety of 1500 lists without stretching myself.

Currently at:

2500 Tau (fully painted)
2000 Renegades IA13 (2/3rds painted)
1500 IF Biker List (just purchased, all converted, 2 models painted)

Just went away to count my points for my armies, so here we go:
Eldar - 4500 points (Might have to update my sig...) Roughly 2500 points are painted.
Tyranids - I have 3000 points roughly, I'd say I've painted 90% of them. (Shelved)
Black Templars - Last time I checked I had around 1500 points, I haven't played them since they lost their codex. Almost 100% painted.
Orks - I have about 1000 points, mostly unpainted, some are still in sealed boxes.