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Hey all! So I'm curious what kinds of armies everyone plays and the reasoning on why they play them.. it can be for a lore reason, because they're strong in-game or even just they look cool to you! Let me know what really drew you into them

I picked Ynnari (Aeldari in general) just because I love elves and have always played them in any kind of game as well as always loving the magic/mage style of them, yes they're a bit arrogant but I think they've earned to right to be in a way I also just looove how enigmatic, graceful and mysterious they are. I definitely think that the Dawn of War games (especially #2) represented them perfectly ♥ Specifically I chose Ynnari because I love the story behind Yvraine and kind of having this 'last hope' for the Eldar race.

Anyways, let me know what you guys think, thanks

I've got a few armies, but my current ones are Black Legion, a custom Primaris chapter and Space Wolves.

the Black Legion is because I promised myself I'd start them if Abaddon ever got a plastic mini.
My custom Primaris chapter has been a labor of love since DI came out. I'm writing the lore etc. And Lastly my space wolves started as sort of a side project for fun when I got the burning of propserio box. I slowly started to enjoy the army more BECAUSE of some of the over the top nature of it so many people object to, it's nuts and I love them.

BrianDavion wrote:
I've got a few armies, but my current ones are Black Legion, a custom Primaris chapter and Space Wolves.

the Black Legion is because I promised myself I'd start them if Abaddon ever got a plastic mini.
My custom Primaris chapter has been a labor of love since DI came out. I'm writing the lore etc. And Lastly my space wolves started as sort of a side project for fun when I got the burning of propserio box. I slowly started to enjoy the army more BECAUSE of some of the over the top nature of it so many people object to, it's nuts and I love them.

Haha I actually like the space wolves, the whole viking theme is great ♥ I don't see myself doing SM ever, but if I did, I would do them definitely!
Just wish they had more of a shieldmaiden/valkyrie theme mixed in, but not sure how that would work aha (maybe just SoB?)

Black Legion was my first army.

I fell in love with the 40k lore back in 3rd edition because of how "grimdark" it was. The medieval warfare in space thing always appealed to me. The problem was at the time all Space Marines models were very bright, colourful and didn't have a lot of the ornate bling i wanted. The models didn't seem to reflect the artwork, so naturally I gravitated towards Chaos marines, their evil counterpart.

Black is my favourite (non)colour and I liked the idea of being the ultimate badguy and it stuck.

Eventually GW started producing Marines that looked very medieval inspired and I jumped on that bandwagon for Black Templars and Grey Knights.

 Luunar wrote:
Hey all! So I'm curious what kinds of armies everyone plays and the reasoning on why they play them.. it can be for a lore reason, because they're strong in-game or even just they look cool to you! Let me know what really drew you into them

I picked Ynnari (Aeldari in general) just because I love elves and have always played them in any kind of game as well as always loving the magic/mage style of them, yes they're a bit arrogant but I think they've earned to right to be in a way I also just looove how enigmatic, graceful and mysterious they are. I definitely think that the Dawn of War games (especially #2) represented them perfectly ♥ Specifically I chose Ynnari because I love the story behind Yvraine and kind of having this 'last hope' for the Eldar race.

Anyways, let me know what you guys think, thanks

These days, my favorite/core army is Custodes. As my preferences as a gamer have evolved over the years I developed a preference for characters that are capable of wrecking one on one almost every time (in League of Legends I play characters like Tryndamere, Yasuo, or Master Yi, Smite Kali or Mercury, Dota 2 pretty much any melee medium to hard carry like Juggernaut or Troll Warlord), and Custodes are basically an army of heroes. I love elite armies and there is no more individually elite infantry models than what the Custodes put out. I also really like herohammer and their HQs are awesome beat sticks and you can make them almost indestructible.

For similar reasons I like Chao Daemons, who while having chaffier units have these huge expensive centerpiece models in the form of greater daemons who can smash pretty much anything on the charge (or, in the LoC's case, with mind bullets).

I picked Thousand Sons both because they have for years been by far my favorite Space Marine legion due to their lore, they are a pretty elite force with powerful heroes, and I like melting entire armies with mortal wounds tbh. Ditto Grey Knights to a somewhat lesser extent.

I'm also heavily considering playing a lot more Harlequins. I love their extremely killy and mobile playstyle and they also have excellent herohammer potential.

Aha nice, I do see what you mean, having elite units does look fun, I’d do a heap of wraithknighta or heroes but I still want the other person to have fun so chances are I won’t do that xD
Also my main is Ahri, a good Yasuo I just get deleted by so I usually just run away if I see him coming for me hahaha

 Luunar wrote:
Aha nice, I do see what you mean, having elite units does look fun, I’d do a heap of wraithknighta or heroes but I still want the other person to have fun so chances are I won’t do that xD
Also my main is Ahri, a good Yasuo I just get deleted by so I usually just run away if I see him coming for me hahaha

You do have to be careful to not skew it to make the game miserable for another player. That's why, though I like knights, I'm hesitant to play them simply because against a more casual opponent they might make a significant chunk of their list completely incapable of interacting with them and just dunk them off the board. With Custodes it's not too bad conceptually, since while tough they can still have wounds plinked away by medium-quality fire and lose dudes. Custodes are extremely good right now though so I only play them into opponents ready for them.

Ahri has the disadvantage in that match-up definitely, his wind wall seriously messes with her ability to land her E>Q which is where most of her burst damage is, and he has the mobility to run her down in lane.

Originally, no-one else was playing it.

The second one was a back up when the first got.... well there is a reason they have a name for it.

 Void__Dragon wrote:

 Luunar wrote:
Aha nice, I do see what you mean, having elite units does look fun, I’d do a heap of wraithknighta or heroes but I still want the other person to have fun so chances are I won’t do that xD
Also my main is Ahri, a good Yasuo I just get deleted by so I usually just run away if I see him coming for me hahaha

You do have to be careful to not skew it to make the game miserable for another player. That's why, though I like knights, I'm hesitant to play them simply because against a more casual opponent they might make a significant chunk of their list completely incapable of interacting with them and just dunk them off the board. With Custodes it's not too bad conceptually, since while tough they can still have wounds plinked away by medium-quality fire and lose dudes. Custodes are extremely good right now though so I only play them into opponents ready for them.

Ahri has the disadvantage in that match-up definitely, his wind wall seriously messes with her ability to land her E>Q which is where most of her burst damage is, and he has the mobility to run her down in lane.

Oh yea custodies seem fine from what I’ve seen, I just meant if I ran only wraithknights haha

Hmm... so, from the top:

Ultramarines - When I got started with 40k there wasn't a lot of difference between the major chapters (Ultras, Blood Angels, Wolves and, at the time, transitioning from Salamanders being a big deal to Dark Angels being a big deal). Really, other than a few aesthetic flourishes with the Wolves, it just came down to the colour. I like blue. Ultramarines were blue. Therefore I chose Ultramarines. There really is nothing more to it than that.

Tyranids - I got Tyranids at the same time as my Ultramarines mainly because the first boxed set I bought was Tyranid Attack. For them it was Genestealers, being one of my fav models, and the whole theme of the bio-fleets and all the various organisms. I thought Tyranids were cool, and I've stuck with them ever since.

Imperial Guard - The reason I got into 40K as opposed to fantasy was because I like tanks. Of course, at the time, there were only three tanks available from GW, those being the original Rhino, Predator and Land Raider. Then one day GW previewed an upcoming plastic tank kit in White Dwarf - the upcoming Leman Russ Battle Tank (that may even be the exact pic they used to preview it). That, combined with the original Cadian Shock Troop box I was hooked. I loved the Guard so much I had their 2nd Ed Codex memorised. I could build lists in my head without even having to open the book!

Chaos Space Marines - I wasn't going to get a 4th army. The three I had - Ultras, 'Nids and Guard - were enough. Then this enormous bright yellow book came out and I was captivated by it. So I got a Chaos army. My Chaos army is now probably my biggest army, alongside my Guard.

Then there was a very long break whilst I finished high-school, and I didn't get back into things until I was partway through Uni. I got back into 40k via the release of the 3.5 Chaos Codex, and the big army box that came with that release. I just stuck with the same four armies for a time.

Inquisition - Codex: Daemonhunters and Codex: Witch Hunters are two of my fav books, but I never got the Grey Knights of Sisters from those books. I stuck to the Inquisitorial side of things, as that was far more fun. I have tons of Inquisition models, a full 60+ man airwing of Inquisitorial Storm Troopers, and so many extra hangers on. Fun army. Not really an army these days.

Chaos Daemons - I didn't start this army on purpose. It just ended up owning this army when GW decided to split Daemons off from the CSM Codex. I wish they hadn't, but yeah, I have a big mixed Daemon army because of that change.

Death Gaurd - I started Death Guard back in the 3.5 Edition Chaos Codex when there were rules for all the Legions. I got a Death Guard army to run separately from my World Eater and more standard CSM forces. It got bulked up in 8th when GW decided to make them a thing.

Tau Empire - I didn't buy this army, and likely would never own a single Tau model, except the army was given to me by a friend. So I have Tau. *shrugs*

Eldar - Same as above, except I have bought more things for my Eldar (mostly Wraithguard). I love Iyanden, especially how the interact with the Tyranids.

Dark Eldar - I don't really have a Dark Eldar army. I own a bunch of Dark Eldar stuff, the largest units being the Talos/Cronos, but none of the vehicles. I bought them to use as adversaries for the various 40k RPGs, not to use in 40K.

Genestealers Cults - Always loved GSC, and was sad when they were cut from the game. Their reemergence in the wake of Alan Merrit leaving the company was a big plus, and so I gobbled up the new releases when they arrived.

Deathwatch - I had a Deathwatch army long before GW made a Codex for them. I just wanted a Deathwatch force, so I painstakingly gathered together all the requisite bits (only metal shoulder pads existed back then) and made up a decent sized force. The eventual release of proper DW models was a nice boost to that force.

Harlequins - GW released Deathwatch in a box that came with a small force of Harlis. I bought two of those boxes, and found bits places online selling 2 boxes of Harlis for like £10. I bought a fair amount at those stupid prices, and thus I have a Harli army!

Necrons - Friend of mine had a small Necron force that he left at my house for a few years. Eventually I offered to buy it from him, and I've had Necrons ever since. They're my most painted army.

Orks - One day I decided to buy Orks. Orks are fun. I don't think they need much explanation. It's not a big force by any means, but I wanted them just for fun.

Adeptus Mechanicus - I had an Adeptus Mechanicus army long before GW made a book for them, put together from existing (and very rare) Tech-Priest models and a range of minis called the "Iron Brotherhood" from another company that made up the bulk of the Skitarii. Then GW went and made actual Skitarii models, and I got a stack of those. The Iron Brotherhood became the Venatorii or Crimson Guard, and made their way into the first edition of the Dark Heresy RPG.

Thousand Sons - I've always wanted a 1KSons army because Rubric Marines look awesome. No two ways about it (plus, blue!). GW then went and released plastic 1KSons Marines, and Terminators, and awesome modular Sorcerers... and scads of Beastmen for that army. So I got those as well.

Imperial Knights - When they released the Armigers I figured it was time to get an army of Big Stompy Robots.

Mechanicum (30k) - I've always loved the Adeptus Mechanicus, and thought of that army as the "holy grail" of GW's armies as I never thought they do it. I certainly never thought we get both AdMech and the Mechanicum. So of course I have both. The fluff and aesthetics of both are just amazing.

World Eaters (30k) - I always thought it'd be cool to have a 30k army, and the army I'd want to do would be Loyalist World Eaters, as I find the comparison between them and their 40k versions so stark and interesting. The Horus Heresy boxed games, with their plastic Mk.III and Mk.IV Marines made that possible.

I also have some Cusdodes/Talons of the Emperor that aren't really an army yet (about 3-4 squads of each, and one HQ - the FW model Ixion Hale). One day that'll be a real army.

 Luunar wrote:
Hey all! So I'm curious what kinds of armies everyone plays and the reasoning on why they play them.. it can be for a lore reason, because they're strong in-game or even just they look cool to you! Let me know what really drew you into them

I like your threads. They're fun.

Oh yeah, my original 40k army was the Necrons in early fifth edition because I loved the aesthetic, flavor, and lore of the army, but the fifth edition codex really soured my attitude on them. I only got back into 40k in the later stages of eighth edition where Necrons spent the entire edition being garbage, but with a fairly promising overhaul I'm looking to start playing them more again.

I picked eldar.
Because space wizards and the wraith constructs are by far my favourite models.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 Luunar wrote:
Hey all! So I'm curious what kinds of armies everyone plays and the reasoning on why they play them.. it can be for a lore reason, because they're strong in-game or even just they look cool to you! Let me know what really drew you into them

I like your threads. They're fun.

gonna agree there. just a fun thread getting people to talk about what they're passionate about, no number crunching, no army bashing. it's a nice thing to see

My first army was my Black Legion army. I picked them because I like how space marines play, but I wanted to be more melee focused and never have to worry about the lore reasons why I was battling my opponent's army. Plus, I think black and gold baroque armor looks the best and the Helldrake is one of the best looking 'vehicle' models Citadel has created.

My second army is a custom chapter (Avenging Eagles), an unknown successor chapter of Primaris only space marines. I started them as an army because I really liked painting up the models from Shadowspear that bought for the CSM. Followed by really enjoying painting up the First Strike and Know No Fear boxed sets as well. I think the only Primaris models I didn't have a blast painting were the flight stand ones. Because those flight stands are just the worst.

My last army is Genestealer Cults obstinately painted as Rusted Claw since they are largely drab with lots of orange. I started this army as I enjoyed painting up the original Kill Team starter and later really enjoyed play GSC in Kill Team. I also wanted my third army to be xeno and kinda wanted a Toughness 3 army as something a little different from my space marine armies.

So in general, I pick up armies based on how much I enjoyed painting models for the faction. For 40k, I have most factions in Kill Team form so I have a pretty good idea which ones I enjoyed painted and which ones I found to be a slog. Currently, I greatly enjoy painting Primaris models the most. While found any kind of Eldar models followed closely by Tyranid models to be the worst for me to paint. I can't really tell you why I don't like painting Eldar as I started a Lumineth AoS army (so elves aren't really an issue) and have a bunch of Warcry cults (so spindly models don't really bother me). For Tyranids, I don't like the extra set of arms and getting gants/gaunts split faces looking okay is a huge pain. Plus, I can't say I really like the color schemes of my Tyranids: Hivefleet Jorgmungandr for my kill team and a sort of black and white 50's B-movie monochromatic scheme of various shades of gray for my GSC genestealers.

My 1st 40k army was Space Wolves - waaay back in the very late RT days when their list was in WD.
They looked cool.
They were also the most op thing in the game....
That last part is why I chose them.

See, there was this local tournament coming up & this one guy/my friend Dan just wouldnt shut up about how his Eldar were going to dominate everyone.... the thing is is that this tourney was several months away. And no matter what we were doing we had to keep hearing Dans boasting.
Finally, with a month to go id had enough.
So I secretly went to considerable effort to lay hands on enough assault cannon & cyclone missile terminators (it was not an easy task).
And then to everyone's surprise I entered the 40k tourney. (Nobody knew I even owned any 40k)
Dan & I were paired together for the first round. (this was not an accident, i paid the shop owner $20 to set it up)
Our game was really quick. A hoard of mostly Banshees charged across the board towards a line of very shooty SW terminators.
I let them get into optimum range for both the cannon & cyclones and simply opened fire.
The few space elves not killed by cyclone blasts were mowed down by massed assault cannon fire.
The look on Dans face....
Dan got two turns of moving his vaunted Eldar & then watched them be obliterated in 1 round of shooting.

I went on to win that event.
Dan? He was a lot more humble from then on, started his own SW force, and for the rest of his life (he recently passed away to a heart attack:() maintained that no one else ever beat him so severely..

That 1st army? I've still got all the models. Though armywise I greatly expanded it when 2e & the original codex came out.
The army has been fighting in every edition, except 7th, ever since.

And from 2nd ed on ive built many other armies. But those are tales for other threads....

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Hmm... so, from the top: ...........

 Luunar wrote:
Hey all! So I'm curious what kinds of armies everyone plays and the reasoning on why they play them.. it can be for a lore reason, because they're strong in-game or even just they look cool to you! Let me know what really drew you into them

I like your threads. They're fun.

Oooh wow that's quite a LOT of armies you have there! Seems like you've been into 40k for a loooong time.. really cool to see though! I wonder how many models you would have in total hahaha. And thank you I'm glad you like them, I kinda just like to have fun chatting about this stuff ♥

Orks because I can customize the army and scratch built lots of stuff. Drukhari for the same reason, tons of kitbashing possibilities and the coven units can be converted/scratch built in a million ways.

I also picked up SW because I love the wolfy vibe and they also got tons of units that can be kitbashed in order to get unique models. No interest in the primaris models though.

I'd start Adepta Sororitas for the same reasons.

Void__Dragon wrote:Oh yeah, my original 40k army was the Necrons in early fifth edition because I loved the aesthetic, flavor, and lore of the army, but the fifth edition codex really soured my attitude on them. I only got back into 40k in the later stages of eighth edition where Necrons spent the entire edition being garbage, but with a fairly promising overhaul I'm looking to start playing them more again.

Well you're in a good time to collect some more with the new releases aha

Argive wrote:I picked eldar.
Because space wizards and the wraith constructs are by far my favourite models.

Ooh I do like wraith units, they fit well with Ynnari too

BrianDavion wrote:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 Luunar wrote:
Hey all! So I'm curious what kinds of armies everyone plays and the reasoning on why they play them.. it can be for a lore reason, because they're strong in-game or even just they look cool to you! Let me know what really drew you into them

I like your threads. They're fun.

gonna agree there. just a fun thread getting people to talk about what they're passionate about, no number crunching, no army bashing. it's a nice thing to see

Thank you ♥ Glad you like them too, it's fun to just have random fun chats like this

Saturmorn Carvilli wrote:My first army was my Black Legion army. I picked them because I like how space marines play, but I wanted to be more melee focused and never have to worry about the lore reasons why I was battling my opponent's army. Plus, I think black and gold baroque armor looks the best and the Helldrake is one of the best looking 'vehicle' models Citadel has created.

Definitely agree with you on the Helldrake, it's one of the best 40k models for sure! If I was to ever do chaos I'd get a couple definitely!

ccs wrote:My 1st 40k army was Space Wolves - waaay back in the very late RT days when their list was in WD.
They looked cool.
They were also the most op thing in the game....
That last part is why I chose them.

See, there was this local tournament coming up & this one guy/my friend Dan just wouldnt shut up about how his Eldar were going to dominate everyone.... the thing is is that this tourney was several months away. And no matter what we were doing we had to keep hearing Dans boasting.
Finally, with a month to go id had enough.
So I secretly went to considerable effort to lay hands on enough assault cannon & cyclone missile terminators (it was not an easy task).
And then to everyone's surprise I entered the 40k tourney. (Nobody knew I even owned any 40k)
Dan & I were paired together for the first round. (this was not an accident, i paid the shop owner $20 to set it up)
Our game was really quick. A hoard of mostly Banshees charged across the board towards a line of very shooty SW terminators.
I let them get into optimum range for both the cannon & cyclones and simply opened fire.
The few space elves not killed by cyclone blasts were mowed down by massed assault cannon fire.
The look on Dans face....
Dan got two turns of moving his vaunted Eldar & then watched them be obliterated in 1 round of shooting.

I went on to win that event.
Dan? He was a lot more humble from then on, started his own SW force, and for the rest of his life (he recently passed away to a heart attack:() maintained that no one else ever beat him so severely..

That 1st army? I've still got all the models. Though armywise I greatly expanded it when 2e & the original codex came out.
The army has been fighting in every edition, except 7th, ever since.

And from 2nd ed on ive built many other armies. But those are tales for other threads....

All those poor Eldar lives gone Hahaha but really that's pretty amazingly funny, can just imagine the look on his face after all that kind of boasting xD


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Blackie wrote:
Orks because I can customize the army and scratch built lots of stuff. Drukhari for the same reason, tons of kitbashing possibilities and the coven units can be converted/scratch built in a million ways.

I also picked up SW because I love the wolfy vibe and they also got tons of units that can be kitbashed in order to get unique models. No interest in the primaris models though.

I'd start Adepta Sororitas for the same reasons.

Oh yea I can't wait to get my Drukhari up soon to do some fun arm swapping and stuff

My first army was Chaos marines back in 3rd, I liked the dark nature of them and fell in love with world eaters, I built up over the years adding more and more but got seduced by Slaanesh, repainted my entire collection in a pearlescent yellow and run them as my own warband of legion era traitors, with newbies filling the ranks and have gone whole hog Slaanesh (GW if you're reading please make plastic noise marines)

Then at the back end of 7th and into 8th I found myself getting bored of them though I had played as just chaos marines for about 19ish years so went and changed it up to something I wanted to do since the eye of terror campaign....

Stormtroopers; I fell in love with Kasrkin models and always said I wanted to do them, then in a whitedwarf I saw one painted up in white with all the sigils filed off and the need grew more and then Scions came out and I quickly bought a box and started looking into building an army only for them to sit there doing nothing until I eventually sold them to an IG friend. then in 8th with my lack of love towards chaos and wanting something different I started buying start collecting boxes to make an army. Now I have about 40-50 scions a number of Taurox Primes and I treated myself on a trip to Warhammer World to a Voss pattern Lightning to provide air-support. I love the army and just wish they had a couple more options to fill out their slots

For me it was IG out of a mix of lore and modelling reasons. And within them Tallarn/Counts as Deathkorps for "general fighting style" reasons.

I was into plastic model kits (mainly airplanes and tanks) when I was a teenager and about last year I really wanted to get back into that a bit, to have some nice hobby to relax after work. I had sometimes come by a GW shop and found some of the models pretty interesting and read a bit about the lore. The overall setting seemed pretty interesting, especially the aspect that other than most scifi I read/watched so far this was not a setting with humanity on it's apex or on the way towards it but quite a way after it. And within this setting I immediatly felt a lot of sympathy for the average Joe trying to survive. As simultanously the armies looking most interesting to me from the modelling/painting aspect were IG, Orks and Admech I choose the former and started with a big start collecting box.

When I thought about the regiment I first choose Tallarn, because I liked their "hit and run" style and the ability of infantry to run and still shoot. I still have not found time to play as of yet, so I cannot say if I will like it while playing, but on a general fluffy note it appealed to me. So I converted my first Cadians with 3rd party heads, painted them up and just really enjoyed myself. I dived deeper in the lore and started writing fluff for my custom regiment and since then another, tribal african styled component has joined, which I also really enjoy as there are so many nice 3rd Party models and opportunities for conversion. From their feel the african themed soldiers are pretty CC-affin so I for now intend them as "Counts as Death Korps". But I could also see them as custom "Slum fighters + Wilderness survivors". I got a variety of Rough riders and vehicles from other sources than GW, but also enough GW stuff and by now the army is around 3500 points and still growing, as there are still so many models on my wishlist. And I still love the IGs "normalness" in a mad universe.


Besides that, even if I have not started that I will most likely also get at least a small Collection of AdMech and Ork stuff as I like some of their models a lot and think I will really enjoy building an painting them. Also Ork lore is pretty funny and I like to have a little humor in the hobby.

ccs wrote:
My 1st 40k army was Space Wolves - waaay back in the very late RT days when their list was in WD.
They looked cool.
They were also the most op thing in the game....
That last part is why I chose them.

See, there was this local tournament coming up & this one guy/my friend Dan just wouldnt shut up about how his Eldar were going to dominate everyone.... the thing is is that this tourney was several months away. And no matter what we were doing we had to keep hearing Dans boasting.
Finally, with a month to go id had enough.
So I secretly went to considerable effort to lay hands on enough assault cannon & cyclone missile terminators (it was not an easy task).
And then to everyone's surprise I entered the 40k tourney. (Nobody knew I even owned any 40k)
Dan & I were paired together for the first round. (this was not an accident, i paid the shop owner $20 to set it up)
Our game was really quick. A hoard of mostly Banshees charged across the board towards a line of very shooty SW terminators.
I let them get into optimum range for both the cannon & cyclones and simply opened fire.
The few space elves not killed by cyclone blasts were mowed down by massed assault cannon fire.
The look on Dans face....
Dan got two turns of moving his vaunted Eldar & then watched them be obliterated in 1 round of shooting.

I went on to win that event.
Dan? He was a lot more humble from then on, started his own SW force, and for the rest of his life (he recently passed away to a heart attack:() maintained that no one else ever beat him so severely..

That 1st army? I've still got all the models. Though armywise I greatly expanded it when 2e & the original codex came out.
The army has been fighting in every edition, except 7th, ever since.

And from 2nd ed on ive built many other armies. But those are tales for other threads....

good on Dan for taking the lesson with (from the sounds of it) grace and good will.

I chose daemonhunters on the basis of the metal terminator models.
Thought the power armoured ones looked a bit odd though so built the army around inquisitors and kasrkins with a single GKT & grandmaster squad.

Soon became clear the army needed a fast attack element so I inducted in seraphim, which became seraphim and a few sisters for the faith points, and then over time it morphed into a pure sisters army.

So I've always had a love of tanks. Thundering tanks rumbling along on heavy tracks and blasting all in their path with huge upper guns, side mounted machine guns, side mounted blasting guns and generally more guns. Whilst being supported by long range artillery lobbing shell after shell (or rocket) into the enemy to wither them down. A huge armoured column that thunders onward - unstoppable.



So my first 40K army was Tyranids.

Wait what? Well this was back in I think 3rd edition so the Imperial Guard was more infantry than tanks; meanwhile the Marines were also more marines than tanks as well. A stark contrast to the Titan Legions (where I made my start in wargaming). Titan Legions let me have lots of tanks, but at the same time 40K just didn't have that. You might have one or two and that didn't inspire me.

So I was tempted (likely by Starcraft influencing me) toward the most alien of the races - the Tyranids. They looked really alien and deadly and my first were a few metal hormagaunts (that never stood up right) and some plastic warriors - these were the early kind where their tail curved forward with a spike and their bodies were more upright. I got the odd set but never really delved all that deeply into them. I was still more an a tank fan than a 40K fan.

In fact the revamp of tyranids that came later with a huge slew of updated models, the actual carnifex not just the screamer killer variation. When Tyranids really came into their own - that just didn't grab me. I was never a fan of the huge redesign of Tyranids at that stage. I really liked some like Raveners (Hydralisks ;P) and the Red Terror. That said at the time I was also younger and rather short on cash so my force never developed beyond - well actually I don't think I got anything beyond the codex.


Then we roll on to the big plastic update of Tyranids and another big visual redesign. Not only that but I was a bit older and had a bit more money. BOOM that was it. My fascination with the Great Devourer had grown over the years, bolstered by reading the codex over and over. I'd gone through a long phase of denial and then lack of funds and then it all came together with a fantastic slew of plastic. Battleforces were bought; Tyrants were unleashed and the great tide of grey began its skittering march. The most alien of all the races; it wasn't orks in space; it wasn't elves in space; it wasn't those odd Necrons that only had a handful of models and looked neat but were really rather dull back then. It was a diverse force with lots of building options that would swarm over the battlefield. Vast beasts that could tear into tanks; that were superior to tanks (this was in the tank-shock era so just hitting a tank disabled it whilst a carnifex kept on going). Vast bio cannon backed up with blades and jaws and bioacid. Melt, rend, tear, slice, dice, consume, blast, infect. It's the phase where I bought a fair bit but also got to play the most as well.

When I started, 2nd edition was in full flow and Codex Tyranids was brand new. I loved the vibe of them and put together a nice little collection (including some half-price lead Carnifexes [Carnifices?]) from a small-town toy shop when I was on my holidays.

I also got together a serious Ultramarines army as they were the obvious counterpart to Tyranids at the time due to the Hive Fleet Kraken story line.

To complement both of these, I put together a decent Genestealer Cult army that was largely renegade Valhallan IG and OG Necromunda models. I had a big Leman Russ tank converted and bought some of the old metal Genestealer Cult models from GW mail order (I wish you could still do that). It was fairly unusual at the time (locally at least) and always got a good reaction when I fielded it at the local GW shop.

In 3rd edition, I added small Eldar (Iyanden) and Dark Eldar forces to my collection. They were fun to play and I really liked the Dark Eldar models at the time.

Then I hit my late teens, discovered drinking and girls and gave my collection (including books, carry cases, etc.) to my cousin who kept them for a couple of years and then dumped the lot.

Now, I started back with the Know No Fear and First Strike starter kits at the tail end of 8th. I love the Death Guard models and have always like Chaos even if I didn't play them in 40K (I had a small Khorne-worshipping army in WFB). I was going to start my own chapter with the Primaris marines but I've since fell under the spell of the Blood Angels. I'm putting together some Necrons too, largely to have three armies that if any of my friends who like gaming but don't want to commit to collecting an army can still play.

My first army was Blood Angels. Those were the transfers that came in the RTB01 box. This was back at the start, and we played it more as an RPG then a wargame. I also painted some marines in a bright green camo as the merc. force built by the PCs. At some point I wanted a 3rd color for muti-faction scenarios, and painted a squad of Ultras. Some time shortly after 3rd dropped (I didn’t play much 2nd) I decided I liked the Blue of the Ultras, and their underdog status, and made them my main army. At the time, the special chapters were marines++. Ultras also did what they were told. No running towards the foe, or joining the death company. More of the commander’s army, not running on raw power to win. I stuck with the Ultras, and now I own an unreasonable amount of them. BA are officially retired as an army, and mostly stripped, but a few remain on the shelf for history and nostalgia.

Eldar started with the Falcon Grav Tank. I’ve got a huge soft spot for grav armor, and it ticks all the boxes. This started in late 2nd, trying to flesh out the odds and ends from the RT era into a functional army. 3rd was a bit of a setback, and they never really recovered from that as the Ultras just took over my hobby. When 6th dropped, I sold the last of my M:tG cards and used that cash to reboot them. They are still simmering away as my secondary army. Mostly limited by what I can get in plastic. I’ve got a couple of finecast units, and that’s 2 too many.

I’ve got a small force of Deathwatch. Probably big enough to call an army these days (but not by a lot). It used to be you got a DW shoulder pad in the commander box, and 2 in the command squad. Years of collecting left me with about a squad’s worth. Originally built as counts-as sternguard, they have grown a little larger, and now have their own real rules. Mostly a modeling project, although I’ve used them in KT, and a squad of them in my crusade list as veteran intercessors.

The latest newcomer to the shelf is Tyranids. They play and look different from my other armies, and make a great foil to my Ultras thematically. I’ve always wanted a nid army, but the cost and thought of painting the hordes held me back. I’ve kept my job working from home during the pandemic, but also got the government check. I decided to support my FLGSs and sink it back into the economy in the form of the army I always wanted. I had the spare cash, plenty of spare time as life was cancelled, and contrast paints make painting nids SUPER easy. So they are slowly growing. I think I’m a little shy of 500 points.

I do have some odds and ends of random scraps, but those are what I’d call my armies. For 40k.

I was an easily led teenager. My main army is Blood Angels because that's what came in the 2nd ed box and some of my favourite units to this day (Termies, Mephiston, Dreadnoughts) can be traced back to seeing things in White Dwarf and the like and thinking, "cooooooooool...!"

Aside from that, I have fledgling forces of:

Iyanden Eldar - a combination of wanting some Eldar, and really liking the yellow. The whole Wraith/Seer aspect to them has grown on me as a result.
Space Wolves - again, love that viking theme (the overly-wolfy parts I tend to ignore) - there's something romantic about their nomadic nature in the icy wilderness. Go have a listen of Iron Maiden's "Stranger In A Strange Land" while gazing at this artwork, and I think you'll get it too.
Black Legion - again going back to being a teenager, the Chaos Codex got released and Abaddon was the big new shiny in both his model and his lore.
Soup Daemons - to go with the Black Legion, really.
Imperial Fists - all Primaris stemming from the Dark Imperium box, I liked the idea of a hail of bolter fire and again, it's that lovely lovely yellow. This army has bolter options on all units where available, even where they're not the meta choice.

My two favorites, I would say:

When I started 40k 5th ed had just launched and several friends of mine played it, and one of them wanted to start a new army. He convinced me to get the starter box and take the marine half, and my dad who is an old "star wars and star trek action figures kept in their original packaging" nerd (I am literally named after Scotty) had like a small, 3rd ed era space wolf army kicking around with lots of metal figs.

So he was like "That game is super expensive, here, take these, you've got your starter box, great, so you don't need any more then".

What I really wanted was the Orks because LOOK AT THEM but marines were in front of me, so I started with space wolves.

So I guess what got me started with the army I actually chose was...getting my own money and deciding to stop compromising on my own enjoyment?

And with my other favorite army, Harlequins, what got me started was GW finally deciding that they were allowed to be a real army. I always loved them but hated cone hats, so I didnt want to run mandatory guardians or dire avengers along with them. So as soon as they were their own thing, I jumped on board!

Tau - nobody else played them here, so I got the 'special snoflake' thing going on. They had lots of cool rules like Markerlights, the army was super-configurable and had really awesome looking tanks. Also I liked the contrast of Star Trek-kish scifi army to ancient starfarers like Imperium or Eldar.

My alternate choice would have been the Tyranids, I didn't really dig their aesthetics but loved how configurable they were. Good thing that I didn't pick them however, as very next Codex took away the configurability.

And of course in 6th edition Tau became a boring mecha army and unplayable for me, but at least I got few years of good mileage out of it.

The store owner convinced me that the army is going to be cheaper, updated soon and because no one plays it at the store I won't have to worry about not being able to get the models I have.

@ Karol: that was Greyknights, right? Out of curiosity, if you care to share: was it mainly the gaming part (in a sense of that is the system most likely to find other players in your vicinity) that drew you to WH40k? Or what drew you in?