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This topic is something that truley holds me at bay, when I want to really stretch my wings and try new things, but I cant get over my human favoritism. Even though there are armies out there that are just as cool as the Space Marines, but I just cant get away from them, I love humans (even genetically altered ones). Even along those lines, why do you play a certain SM chapter, or a certain Eldar craft world army? Is it the paint scheme, the models? Or is it just the fluff that brings you closer and closer to that army? This is a look into reasons on why people play the army(s) they do...

I play Space Marines, because I feel they're the most rounded force, in terms of different unit types, and all the other forces have too few units types or too many. Like Necrons, they have something like 7 different units
and Eldar they have like a million

I play Space Marines for a few (I feel) simple reasons..
First, I love how the Space Marines look and how all of their armor and tanks and weapons are easily recognizable, nothing to where you have to squint your eyes and tilt your head to tell if its a bolter or a flamer kinda thing, its all there. Second, is I love the fluff behind them, and each Codex chapter, even chapters that are semi important, add their own flavor to the game. But for the space marines, I view them to be guns blazing, only get into CC if forced to, kind of like todays military, cause I feel CC in a war with guns can get you killed faster for obvious reasons...but I dont know how people view armies like Templar (even thought their models are cool and their fluff is great) I just dont see a 7 foot tall uber-human running at an enemy shooting at them with a sword, and expected to win...

I play orks with a lot of mechaniacs because I'm a mechanical engineer by training and love to build stuff with bailing wire and duct tape.

I play Grey Knights because Ben Counters book got me into the game.
I play Luna Wolves (Space marines) be cause I love the Horus Heresy series
I play Black Legion because Chaos is my favorite army in 40K and they are so integral to the story.
I play Tyranids because they are a very solid tourney army.
I play Eldar because they are amazing models and they are the best army in 40K right now.

Darrian

I started back with the metal Cadians because they just looked the most like modern soldiers, and seemed removed from most of the Imperial craziness (servo-skulls and the like).

This reminds me of a time when I was at a friend's place and I tried out WoW. Another guy walked in and said, "Why would you want to be a human? You can be an Orc, or a Troll, or Undead, or an Elf!" I didn't really know how to respond to this, as I viewed it as a game and not a role-playing experience. Finally I just said, "Maybe because I have common ground with them."
That's pretty much how I view the Guard, just everyday guys who have to fight inhuman monsters and crazy aliens.

Yeah, I tried WoW once, never got into it, but I was a human, even when I played Star Wars Galaxies, I was a human, StarCraft, DoW, and pretty much every other game where you could choose a race other than human, I still stuck with humans...why...I have no idea..

My main army is the Thousand Sons and I play them for a lot of reasons.

#1. They have the best fluff in 40k.
#2. They have good models.
#3. I like that you do not see many of them, and I like playing armies that are rare.
#4. I like small elite armies over horde armies.

I only have one army, and its Night Lords. I love the old fiction where they favor no gods and hate any other army that is religious. They were loners among loners and that always struck a chord with me. Now with the rule changes I'm at a stand still with the whole thing....

I have a bunch of different armies so this'll take me abit:

Tyranids - I liked the whole aliens feel of the army, tons of good CC critters running towards you. Of course now the army is all about monstrous creatues.

Marines - 8 foot tall super soldiers, what's not to like. The ultramarines blue appealed to me for some reason.

Eldar - I liked the wraithguard models so I started an iyanden army.

Steel Legion - I loved the models and the tanks. I would have done an infantry horde if the models were cheaper.

Thousand Sons - The egyptian theme, the absolutely amazing models. They also had pretty cool rules in early 3rd edition.

World Eaters - I'd planned to do an all demon bomb with the bikes being demonic mounts. I'd finally found a decent mount when the 4th edition dex came out. So much for that idea.

Tau - I really liked the anime feel of the army (being an anime nut myself) so I converted up a zaku head for my fire warrriors. I just need to finish them.

Demon hunters - When the models first came out I thought they were perfect. I picked up a squad for a painting contest and won another squad so I started an army. When the IG got re-released with the kasrkin models I knew I had the perfect storm troopers.

Necrons - When the plastic models came out I figured they'd make a great army if they were all lighted. I finished about 4 warriors and a lord before I realized it was ALOT of work and stopped.

Lost and the Damned - I'd always loved the genestealer cult ideas. So when the plague monk plastics came out I knew I'd found a cultist. I've got 60 of the little buggers converted and painted up. Luckily I never finished the rest of the army so I'm not out to much. :(

There you have it 10 years of GW.

I have three armies Necron, blood angel and orks. I always gravitate to the orks for two reasons firstly I am not a regiment painter and with the ork models you get plenty of variety and secondly there just fun to kill with. There’s nothing like the feeling and bragging rites you get when a horde of Gretchen kills even a single marine. There is the added bonus as I have flicked through a copy of the new codex there’s lots of background fluff.
I started my blood angels army simply because I liked the Baal predator and the whole vampire thing they have going on. The necrons was because my son liked the fact they get up after they get killed.

I love the look of Genstealers. I also like Insects so Tyranids were pretty much the way to go when I found out about Warhammer 40k. I started in the 2nd Ed. and thir fluff is great and I realy liked the idea of the genstealer cults. Have I mentioned that I love Genstealers?
So Necrons were released and I was like "Wow!" the total opposite I must have them. But it never got more then one box warriors and a destructor.
Then I went to Fantasy Chaos and Collected a 2000 Points Nurgle Slaanesh Demon force which I sold. Worst mistake I ever did.
I started Orks a few month before Armageddon to have a second army. I really liked their simple brutal way and the possibillity to scratchbuild nearly everything. A friend of mine pointed out that I like everything that is many and not human. He was right until I started Chaos Marines which was my first painted army. A little Chaos was in my blood everytime and this army is fool of creepy conversion ideas.

Well looking back I can say I my armies are enraged unhman things. Humans are boring .

I play SW cos they lokk badass, drink bear and fight all day. Plus they have a rugged sence of honour and they have wolves in thier army

They drink bears?!? I don't know whether to be impressed or disgusted.

Beef, please don't ever leave us.

Darrian

lol Dang, drinkin bear is impressive to me..Id stay away if I saw them in combat! But what Im tryin to get is a no-sh!t, DKK army, itll be expensive and delicate, but I love the models for one, and I think WWI was the only war that I could consider to be utterly horrible, due to the trenches, "No Mans Land", giant rumbling tanks seen every so often but when encountered, you wish you were dead, the dark night charges over the trenches to the enemy lines only to be cut down from machine gun fire as your running or stuck in barbed wire. I imagine the DKK as fighting in the night or a cloud, fog filled day, where rain is frequent and the death just never stops.
There are alot of IG armies to go with, either just using the GW or FW models, or using them, but converting them heavily, but the straight up gothic (to me) feel of the army and its gear (how its set up) just makes me want to spend the extra money and have an army thats beautiful to the eyes and heart.

I've got a Dark Angel army on the go at the moment ( BEEF don't say a word! ) I currently have two and a half full companies! and just over half a Deathwing company. I chose Dark Angels as my main army becuase I like the gothic, dark, and secretive aspect of the army....I'm not sure if you'd class them as heroic or borderline chaotic ( In reading the fluff, it occurs to me that in their "hunt for the fallen", they have in turn become as sinister and corrupt as those thy hunt! ) after all, the implied killing of "innocent" people who have seen them on the hunt for the fallen and the destruction of a Black Templars battle barge is pretty chaotic to me.

I'm also in the process of building a rather large Grey Knight army, hey, its the inquisition...what more can I say? And strangely enough, I have a battle force of Nurgle Chaos Marines.....itchy and scratchy show!

currently i have ultramarines and tyranids..... working ona word bearers army and am wanting an ork army.... my first army was a night lords army loved the fact that they stood ALONE and the fluff they had, but alas ebay got em to fund my imperial guard, which i didnt really like and they gave way to my 'smurf' marines, which are ok... love the fluff of an all devouring alien race so had to get the bugs..... always liked the fluff of the word bearers but the novel 'dark apostle' did it for me....... and as for orks always wanted them just was always busy with other armies but now might be the time....... WAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! lol

Marines: I just like powered armour and big, powerful guns.

Guard: Huge numbers and big tanks. And I just like the spirit of regular average guys taking on the worst the universe can throw at them.

@ Delophont I wont say a word (for now)

@ Darrian13 Yes they drink Bears (as in the animals) It provides them with protien and keeps them warm at night

They drink the bears’ protein?

This just gets scarier.

-------------------------

As for the original question, I started with Eldar both because I’m an elf fan (stemming from my dad reading me The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings as bedtime stories at a very young age), and because the original Harlequin fluff was ridiculously awesome. I still have a copy of WD105- the first half of the RT army list, and the Dance Without End fluff. I’ve been longing for playable rules for Harlies since I got into 40k in ’99.

I made a Slaanesh CSM army because of the new models when the last codex came out, and because I like having both the Eldar and Slaanesh. Both halves of the equation. I also have Wood Elves and Slaaneshi Chaos in Warhammer, and elves and Slaaneshi Possessed in Mordheim. I’m going to in Blood Bown as well; I just haven’t gotten around to putting the Chaos team together.

I made my Dark Angels/Fallen army because of the fluff and the models. I bought 60-odd metal Deathwing shoulder pads (with the wings and broken sword) by weight back at the 01 Baltimore GT just because they look awesome, and I eventually built the army because I had gradually accumulated some SM stuff over the years, and a friend did a 1k tournament with the theme “paint something new or something you’ve had sitting around for a long time”. Since it was the last army I did, naturally it’s the best-painted, so it’s the one I now wind up bringing to tournaments.

Damn right! Just imagine if the bear is an unwilling participant in the drinking. Someone could really get hurt.

BTW, Mannahnin, your dad is awesome. I wish my dad had read me Lotr and the Hobbit as bedtime stories. Very cool.

Darrian

"They drink bears protein".....confirms everything I ever thought about Space Wolves.....camp camp camp.....

I watched 40K played @ conventions and was always intrigued to try it but there was no gaming going on in my area that I knew of Then a guy started it rolling at a local hobby shop and I was hooked. I was drawn to the space marines because I liked the models, particularly the predators, razorbacks, and the new heavy bolter trooper I stayed away from the IG because it would be cheaper and easier to build/paint marines. I played crimson fists because the color scheme with the dark blue and blood red appealed to me aesthetically. Also, the space marines most closely resemble the US military IMO. I didn't know anything about the dynamics of the game or the strengths/weaknesses of any armies. I picked my army solely on aesthetic appeal. The Crimson Fists Space Marines spoke to me and I have played them faithfully to this day.

dornsfist wrote: Also, the space marines most closely resemble the US military IMO.

Really? In what respect? I wouldn't proffess to be a specialist in the US Military, but based on the fluff of the Marines in terms of attitude, physique, etc....I can find very little parallel to any modern force worldwide? I can't imagine any sensible US Soldier of any department willingly giving his life for "INSERT NAME OF PRESIDENT HERE"......or assaulting a gun emplacement with a combat knife screaming..."for the "INSERT NAME" administration"....can you?

I would suggest Cadians or Elysian Drop troopers to be more akin to US / Modern military forces. Space Marines are like a mix between "ye olde English knights", Terminator and Superman.....with a massive emphasis on the "ye olde English knight"......with respect, not many American soldiers purposfully mimick these traits....and lets face it, who'd want to?

Delephont wrote: I can't imagine any sensible US Soldier of any department willingly giving his life for "INSERT NAME OF PRESIDENT HERE"

I guess I wouldn't be sensible then...

Politics aside, the man is still our Commander in Chief. We took an oath to obey his orders, and to protect his office. While I'm sure there are some serving in the US Military who hate the man, I'd feel safe betting my next pay check that the majority of those of us serving would unquestionly give their lives for the President of the United States (whomever they may be).




Now, for the original question of this thread...

I've got 2 full armies and 1 in the works, that all have a story behind them that tie them together.

My Space Marine army (being my largest force), is a Chapter that seceded from the Imperium a millenia ago. Given the Chapters near annihilation combating an Ork Waagh, and then facing a Chaos invasion on their home world, the Imperium "cut them off" seeing it as being more costly to rescue them then not. The Chapter, and homeworld, where nearly destroyed when Eldar Craftworld Eth-Kariel came to save the day.

The Farseers of the Craftworld saw that saving the humans would lead to a period of much needed peace for the Craftworld. The Space Marines seeing that the "dreaded xeno's" where willing to help them when their own ruling state left them to the slaughter decided to grant the Craftworld uncontested use of their space, and a relatively stable alliance grew between the two.

With the SM's turning their back on the Imperium, they knew that they'd eventually face retribution (cause the Imperium are cocks like that) so they cast off the teachings of the Codex Astartes, and opened their gene-seed banks for full production. Over the next several centuries, they managed to rebuild their power, and expand into a military juggernaught (with the aid of an Eldar Craftworld) capable of defending itself from most threats the galaxy could throw it's way.

Now the IG army that i'm building right now could be considered the PDF/Chapter Serfs. They don't have much of a fleshed out story, but I only have a few tanks, and a squad of guardsmen right now.

I play my dark angels because they have their incredibly rich history and mysterious ways...Also their affinity with the plasma cannon lol. (afforded me many a time of amusement)

I collect IG because I love the mentality of having just men defending the empire against a wave of xenos creatures....I mean gah who'd go mad getting gribbled by nid's or eldar.

I collect necrons because they are so kickass.

I made a couple of quick edits to remove a specific president's name. Please try to avoid negative comments about any particular president or candidate on this forum. If I can do it, so can you.

As for the Space Marines/US military parallel, I personally see the SM as more akin to a cross between generic sci-fi supersoldiers and medieval religious knights. While certain elements of our military (particularly special forces and elite units) have a similar esprit de corps (and at times extreme devotion to duty), the 40k SM are an exaggerated cartoon of this in my eyes, combined with religious fanaticism. IG are the closest thing to any real military IMO. It's neat how the IG list can be used to represent everything from hordes of conscripts to regular joes to elite MFers (Stormtroopers, veterans).

Darrian13 wrote:BTW, Mannahnin, your dad is awesome. I wish my dad had read me Lotr and the Hobbit as bedtime stories. Very cool.

He was pretty cool. I might have been the world's biggest Legolas fan before the movies came out and all the girls jumped on the bandwagon. One of the best moments I ever had at the movies was during Fellowship when they're walking over Caradhras and the camera swoops in and you can see Legolas walking on top of the snow while everyone else is slogging through it. I remembered that incredibly clearly from the books going back to when I was about eight years old. Just awesome.

Space Wolves: Viking Werewolves in space? Excellent
Deathworld Veterans: Sly Marbo amuses me
Eldar: I like the tanks/wraithlord models

I play Grey Knights because they remind me of the Spartans. I have always loved the history of spartan warriors, being rasied from birth to fight just sounds awesome. I have been working to convert all my models to have scarlet cloaks and replaced all my justicars swords with the halleberds (i think thats spelled wrong). Having few stand against many always makes for a fun game. Even if i get my a** handed to me half the time. Ill get better soon....

I personally like to take armies that most say can't win and make them work. I enjoy the challenged. This is probably due to the fact I have been playing for a very long time and have played all the armies except Lost and Damned. I have enjoyed qualifying for Ardboys with my GK's and currently have reconfigured my BA with thier new codex. (Because eveyone knows you can't win with combat squads ect.) I am currently working with a 2 defiler chaos list.(Straight up insanity I know)