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I started my marine army because I loved power armor, and in particular the Terminator and Dreadnought models featured in White Dwarf 183 or 4 or something.

I started my Tyranid army because I hated Primaris. I really dislike the inflating marine era that we are in, so I picked an army that had larger, meaner infantry than Primaris. I bought a whole bunch of old Tyranid Warrior models off of ebay (because they're bigger than the current ones) and found so many that I built an entire army out of them. They were so much fun that I've since expanded my Nid collction considerably.

Necrons...for entirely transparent reasons.





I started back when this was new, and I bought from a comics store it thinking it was a roleplaying game of some sort.

^That was the exact reason I picked up Necrons in 3rd ed. Terminator 3 had just come out.

 Insectum7 wrote:
^That was the exact reason I picked up Necrons in 3rd ed. Terminator 3 had just come out.

Yarp. I'm an Elder Nerd, so I was just waiting for that army from the moment the old models showed up in White Dwarf.

 Insectum7 wrote:
^That was the exact reason I picked up Necrons in 3rd ed. Terminator 3 had just come out.

Oof, Terminator 3 would have been enough to put me off anything

Luckily I had Space Crusade so the androids there were already cemented in classic Terminator bad-assedness by the stage they became Necrons. But really, what isn’t there to love about Egyptian death cult robot skeletons? Even typing that sentence gave me goosebumps!

Horla wrote:
But really, what isn’t there to love about Egyptian death cult robot skeletons?

Honestly? The Egyptian part. We already had Thousand Sons, and I never really did like them much either...

 Super Ready wrote:

Horla wrote:
But really, what isn’t there to love about Egyptian death cult robot skeletons?

Honestly? The Egyptian part. We already had Thousand Sons, and I never really did like them much either...

I love the Egyptian angle to the Necrons and I think it works much better than the Thousand Sons aesthetic. When I played WFB I got big into the Undead army when they went full Ray Harryhousen with the Skeleton Warriors and bone chariots. I think Necrons are ticking those boxes for me now. My plan is a teal and bone scheme for the Indomitus models.

I was more of a Fantasy player back in the day but first 40k armies would have been about 1000 points of both Ultramarines and Orks, built on the 2nd ed. starter set. I thought it'd be awesome to have a sci fi equivalent to my first love (High Elves) so managed around 2000 point of Eldar before chucking it all in for young adulthood. Came back in 8th and did the same thing with Death Guard and a lesser extent Primaris marines.

I am now awaiting plastics to rebuild that Eldar army.

well...





they were my dudes...

Drukhari . not only are they The True Kin, they also have a cool 'folklore elves' vibe with their raiding and kidnapping.

The models.....incredible looking planes, iconic transports, and their troops are lovely sculpts that are a great balance between detail and customisability. If you get bored of painting sleek deadliness, then you have great variation in the form of the various Court of the Archon models, Coven monstrosities, or wacky beasts.

In terms of play style, 'glass cannon' is great, as it means that you'll have an exciting couple of turns where either you or your enemy will get wiped out, leaving plenty of time to go to the pub.


When all the other self-important factions have destroyed each other, the Drukhari will still be there, cockroach-like, clinging onto the debris and playing last man standing.

Tyranids -They were the most alien race in the game. That appealed to me

Necrons - I was just discovering and really into Lovecraft and at the time necrons were still ruled by their crazy star gods as unthinking, soul harvesting automtons.

Sisters Of Battle/Imperial Guard/Grey Knights/AdMech -started as a combined Ordo Hereticus Inquisition army made mainly of metal Sisters (and still does) and grew as more plastic kits came out. Grey Knights are my least favourite aspect of the army and only included because of the original theme of hunting witches.

Custodes - Just 3 bikes but I head swapped some Bretonnian knight heads onto them and head-fluff and play them as grail knights who got transported through the warp during the End Times and spat out in the Imperium. They acquired some jetbikes and now roam the galaxy killing the biggest things they can find on the battlefield and trying to find their way home. I occasionally consider expanding them into a full army of roaming Bretonnian nobles but never got around to it.

 harlokin wrote:
Drukhari . not only are they The True Kin, they also have a cool 'folklore elves' vibe with their raiding and kidnapping.

The models.....incredible looking planes, iconic transports, and their troops are lovely sculpts that are a great balance between detail and customisability. If you get bored of painting sleek deadliness, then you have great variation in the form of the various Court of the Archon models, Coven monstrosities, or wacky beasts.

In terms of play style, 'glass cannon' is great, as it means that you'll have an exciting couple of turns where either you or your enemy will get wiped out, leaving plenty of time to go to the pub.


When all the other self-important factions have destroyed each other, the Drukhari will still be there, cockroach-like, clinging onto the debris and playing last man standing.

Terry Pratchett said it best in Lords And Ladies:

“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror.
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.
No one ever said elves are nice.
Elves are BAD.”

Love the Pratchett quote, thanks

Crispy78 wrote:

 harlokin wrote:
Drukhari . not only are they The True Kin, they also have a cool 'folklore elves' vibe with their raiding and kidnapping.

The models.....incredible looking planes, iconic transports, and their troops are lovely sculpts that are a great balance between detail and customisability. If you get bored of painting sleek deadliness, then you have great variation in the form of the various Court of the Archon models, Coven monstrosities, or wacky beasts.

In terms of play style, 'glass cannon' is great, as it means that you'll have an exciting couple of turns where either you or your enemy will get wiped out, leaving plenty of time to go to the pub.


When all the other self-important factions have destroyed each other, the Drukhari will still be there, cockroach-like, clinging onto the debris and playing last man standing.

Terry Pratchett said it best in Lords And Ladies:

“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror.
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.
No one ever said elves are nice.
Elves are BAD.”

Exalts to both these quotes! Drukari (and Dark Elves) are probably my 2nd fave factions!

I have 4 armies im making 2 of which are complete 1 of which i gave up on as 9th Ed dropped and points increase and no rule book makes me not want to point them out.
1. Ad Mech - i like the Aesthetic and no one plays them
2. Imperial Fists - they're my flavor of SPEZ MARINEZ
3. Adeptus Custodes - My first army , painting gold/a main color/red/blue and black + small unit count was REALLY appealing less money spent all around and they look cool.
4. Death Guard i gave up on as the points increase fethed them raw and their 9th edition book hasnt dropped so i don't trust GW to fix anything but make them worse sooo.

Crispy78 792737 10953417 wrote:

Terry Pratchett said it best in Lords And Ladies:

“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.

How strange, the only thing elf do here is steal children and replace them with their own flesh changed spawns. No one in the lore thought about them as wonderous, only foreign and an enemy. Unlike the gnomes or devils, who may not have been human or good, but at least they were our.

 Super Ready wrote:

Horla wrote:
But really, what isn’t there to love about Egyptian death cult robot skeletons?

Honestly? The Egyptian part. We already had Thousand Sons, and I never really did like them much either...

To be honest, I don't mind the Egyptian aspect, but then, Tomb Kings was one of the armies I was looking to start Warhammer Fantasy with, too.

From the 40K perspective, though, it is the Egyptians and Thousand Sons who stole the Necrontyr style.

 Super Ready wrote:

Horla wrote:
But really, what isn’t there to love about Egyptian death cult robot skeletons?

Honestly? The Egyptian part. We already had Thousand Sons, and I never really did like them much either...

Yeah, I wasn't too keen on the Egyptian stuff either. Death robots though? That's all great.

Karol wrote:

Crispy78 792737 10953417 wrote:

Terry Pratchett said it best in Lords And Ladies:

“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.

How strange, the only thing elf do here is steal children and replace them with their own flesh changed spawns. No one in the lore thought about them as wonderous, only foreign and an enemy. Unlike the gnomes or devils, who may not have been human or good, but at least they were our.

elves in anglo culture come from one of two sources, the first are the Fey of ireland, whom may be good or may be evil but both are tricksters and tend to be strange and odd (and even the good ones could screw you over, the second one is the norse concept of elves, which informed JRR Tolken and thus high fantasy's take on them, wise, powerful beautiful near divine creatures. etc

BrianDavion wrote:

Karol wrote:

Crispy78 792737 10953417 wrote:

Terry Pratchett said it best in Lords And Ladies:

“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.

How strange, the only thing elf do here is steal children and replace them with their own flesh changed spawns. No one in the lore thought about them as wonderous, only foreign and an enemy. Unlike the gnomes or devils, who may not have been human or good, but at least they were our.

elves in anglo culture come from one of two sources, the first are the Fey of ireland, whom may be good or may be evil but both are tricksters and tend to be strange and odd (and even the good ones could screw you over, the second one is the norse concept of elves, which informed JRR Tolken and thus high fantasy's take on them, wise, powerful beautiful near divine creatures. etc

I think you need to revisit the 'Norse concept of elves.' They were often interchangeable with dwarves, and often just crude, crooked and nasty. (Mythological dwarves, not people, obviously)
Most of the surviving material suggests the 'Svartalfar' and the dwarves are the same underground dwellers, and the list of Dwarves includes 'Gandalf' which is to say, 'Wand elf.' 'Elves' beyond these are barely hinted at in a few references.
Tolkien's elves are mostly made up without much mythological basis. The little that exists is mostly the Irish take (amoral and happily nasty when offended)

Voss wrote:

BrianDavion wrote:

Karol wrote:

Crispy78 792737 10953417 wrote:

Terry Pratchett said it best in Lords And Ladies:

“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.

How strange, the only thing elf do here is steal children and replace them with their own flesh changed spawns. No one in the lore thought about them as wonderous, only foreign and an enemy. Unlike the gnomes or devils, who may not have been human or good, but at least they were our.

elves in anglo culture come from one of two sources, the first are the Fey of ireland, whom may be good or may be evil but both are tricksters and tend to be strange and odd (and even the good ones could screw you over, the second one is the norse concept of elves, which informed JRR Tolken and thus high fantasy's take on them, wise, powerful beautiful near divine creatures. etc

I think you need to revisit the 'Norse concept of elves.' They were often interchangeable with dwarves, and often just crude, crooked and nasty. (Mythological dwarves, not people, obviously)
Most of the surviving material suggests the 'Svartalfar' and the dwarves are the same underground dwellers, and the list of Dwarves includes 'Gandalf' which is to say, 'Wand elf.' 'Elves' beyond these are barely hinted at in a few references.
Tolkien's elves are mostly made up without much mythological basis. The little that exists is mostly the Irish take (amoral and happily nasty when offended)

yeah I heard that but have read elsewhere, it gets a bit confusing,

BrianDavion wrote:

Voss wrote:

BrianDavion wrote:

Karol wrote:

Crispy78 792737 10953417 wrote:

Terry Pratchett said it best in Lords And Ladies:

“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.

How strange, the only thing elf do here is steal children and replace them with their own flesh changed spawns. No one in the lore thought about them as wonderous, only foreign and an enemy. Unlike the gnomes or devils, who may not have been human or good, but at least they were our.

elves in anglo culture come from one of two sources, the first are the Fey of ireland, whom may be good or may be evil but both are tricksters and tend to be strange and odd (and even the good ones could screw you over, the second one is the norse concept of elves, which informed JRR Tolken and thus high fantasy's take on them, wise, powerful beautiful near divine creatures. etc

I think you need to revisit the 'Norse concept of elves.' They were often interchangeable with dwarves, and often just crude, crooked and nasty. (Mythological dwarves, not people, obviously)
Most of the surviving material suggests the 'Svartalfar' and the dwarves are the same underground dwellers, and the list of Dwarves includes 'Gandalf' which is to say, 'Wand elf.' 'Elves' beyond these are barely hinted at in a few references.
Tolkien's elves are mostly made up without much mythological basis. The little that exists is mostly the Irish take (amoral and happily nasty when offended)

yeah I heard that but have read elsewhere, it gets a bit confusing,

Basically Tolkien's elves are the pop-culture D&D elves that became the warhammer elves.
Tolkien's depiction of elves is partially traditional in the Hobbit (they don't care about the dwarves at all until they become an annoyance, then they imprison them and are willing to throw away the key), but by LotR and Silmarillion they're basically completely divorced from folklore.

Tolkien's Elves aren't "pop culture" they defined it

That said don't forget that between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings you deal with predominantly different Elves. Elrond appears in both, but many of the other elves are unique to each story. So part of the difference is that they are different groups with different ideals and approaches. Plus by the Lord of the Rings the elves are leaving Middle Earth with a mass migration which might well change their attitude. They will no longer compete with Dwarves or Humans they are leaving.

 Overread wrote:
Tolkien's Elves aren't "pop culture" they defined it

Being the definition of pop culture isn't an escape from the category, its the foundation.
You might as well claim the Beatles or Elvis aren't pop culture.

Voss wrote:

 Overread wrote:
Tolkien's Elves aren't "pop culture" they defined it

Being the definition of pop culture isn't an escape from the category, its the foundation.
You might as well claim the Beatles or Elvis aren't pop culture.

I don't think that is what the correction was about. It was more correcting that D&D got their concept of Elves from Tolkein rather than Tolkein getting it from D&D.

It would be like saying that Buddy Holly and the Crickets were inspired by the Beetles. A big mismatch in time reference.

2nd edition 40k is when I started. Chaos Marines, because I liked the general look of them, then totally got sucked in with the lore for Night Lords and the (at the time, tiny bit) for Thousand Sons. I quit playing around mid-3rd.

Fast forward to 8th release, after getting sucked back in by AoS, and of course now Thousand Sons are much more fleshed out than they were, so it was time to rebuild with the new Rubrics and Scarabs.

For me, I like the aesthetics of Thousand Sons and Tzeentch stuff in general, and I completely dig the Tzeentch lore as well as the Thousand Sons' background. Magnus did nothing wrong.

Well when I started, it was because I liked the fluff of the army. Noted this was back in 2nd edition, because I just had to be late to the party and miss 1st completely.

I played around with the Orks and then a little IF when I started picking up loyalist. This continued on for a full edition, until I sold my Ork army and moved on to chaos, along with a little IG army to keep my loyalist buffed. Even had a few inquisitors for the mix.

I mostly picked my armies up due to what I was reading at the time and a little due to the meta of the situation. Though I was never a "That Guy" in any instance, it did feel good to have an army that possessed consistent power.

BrianDavion 792737 10953879 wrote:

elves in anglo culture come from one of two sources, the first are the Fey of ireland, whom may be good or may be evil but both are tricksters and tend to be strange and odd (and even the good ones could screw you over, the second one is the norse concept of elves, which informed JRR Tolken and thus high fantasy's take on them, wise, powerful beautiful near divine creatures. etc

That is interesting. In our folklore they would lach on to ridders specialy durning famin or war, suck their blood. So the best way to deal with them was to throw them to the ground, jab them in the heart a few times and then smash their heads with a stone. Normaly they wouldn't change if they died that way, but if you caught one in the village or town you would wick it up with straw, chain it up and light it on fire and when it was dead it would show how twisted and unnatural the skeleton was. they were also the reason why less devoted people corpses would rise up from the grave sometimes. So if you weren't a member of clergy, you would plant spiky stuff aroud the grave, so when the elf comes and starts digging he gets impaled and to be fully safe you would also attack a sickle to the bottom of the coffin in a such a way that if the dead were to rise he would cut of his own head. And without the head, which was viewed as the source of all evil, the magic would have no hold on the corpse.

Tolkien's Elves aren't "pop culture" they defined it

Isn't tolkien stuff just based on germanic and nordic folklore. The orks and the trolls are straight up taken from folklore that had its roots in germans fighting the hungarians, which exploits in europe gave birth the the legends about men eating ogers and the headhog faced orks.
Hobbits are just brits living in rural areas, while elfs are like a romanticised version of british nobility.