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Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





Choosing an army is something that I've struggled with since day 1, and I'm sure there are many of us that are in the same rut. So, the goal of this thread is to make the choice *slightly* easier for whoever can't decide.

What'd I like you all to do is choose an army you personally like, explain why you like it, and try to persuade us into liking it too. Have some fun with it, and I'm not asking for mathhammer game-winning army suggestions. This should be about why an army is special to you, not about how many games the army wins you.
   
Made in ca
Frenzied Berserker Terminator





Canada

Eldar.

Why?

Butts.



Gets along better with animals... Go figure. 
   
Made in gb
Dakka Veteran





I was drawn to Blood Angels when I saw my first one in a GW intro pamphlet sometime during 2nd edition. When I picked up the 2nd edition starter, it had BA on the cover, and the Angels Of Death Codex simply hammered this home.

I love the look of the Blood Angels army. Even before coming back to the hobby last year, they had a variety that a lot of the Space Marine armies didn't. You get some variety in painting, with the Death Company in all black, a welcome break from all that red, and there's the different coloured helmets for Assault and Devastator squads too, to keep things fresh. Throw in the new (to me) Sanguinary Guard and the various characters and there's a lot of options for painting.

In gameplay terms they're a nice, fast attack themed army. Elites isn't a category many armies struggle to fill with units, but the Blood Angels have some wonderful options. The aforementioned Death Company are pretty fun, with a stupid amount of options and a nice little rule set. Then there are some of the options available to other Marines but given a bit more flavour. Our Apothecary units give +1 Str in close combat as well as the usual scooping up guts mechanic. The chapter tactic gives bonuses to any unit charging or being charged.


Oh, and we have psychic dreads that can make themselves fly.

Take a look at what I've been painting and modelling: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/725222.page 
   
Made in us
Legendary Master of the Chapter






Imperial fists

because im a masochist when it comes to painting.

that and i think marines look good in yellow.




 Unit1126PLL wrote:
 Scott-S6 wrote:
And yet another thread is hijacked for Unit to ask for the same advice, receive the same answers and make the same excuses.

Oh my god I'm becoming martel.
Send help!

 
   
Made in au
Repentia Mistress





Originally i was drawn to SoB through dawn of war. I played dawn of war and enjoyed it but wouldnt commit to playing that nerdy tabletop junk with my friends (I was quite merciless in my mockery of their 'dolls').
Soulstorm came along and I instantly fell in love with the Sisters. The art on the front cover was gorgeous, I thought the sister was a hottie, played the game and loved everything about them.
This is what got me into tabletop.

It is my firm belief that the Sororitas/Minostorum is the best representation of the imperium anf what 40k is.
The space marines are just super soldiers, everyone is familiar with the concept, nothing new there and remove them from the setting and youve still got a setting.
Astra Miliwhatnow-youre in the guard son; are the everyman soldier, we see them in about every scifi movie and again familiar.

Ministorum/Sororitas ARE the imperium. The imperium is stuck in a futuristic dark age. Witches and heretics are hhunted and burned in city squares- even whole streets are just lines with pyres. Superatition is rife, a simple medicine on the wrong world could be hailed as a miracle or seen as evil sorcery.
Heretics not put to the pyre are tortued in body and mind, reduced to bately conscious killing machines for the churches defence and prosecution of holy wars. Their arms ripped from their bodies, crudely replaced with simple weapons as their minds are ravaged with the visions of their crimes and heresies, every moment of every day is agony in body and mind as theyre chem stimmed into insane murder rages.

Holy women who inspire awe and fear defend the church of the god emperor who not only they serve, but every living human owes their existence to. Every man woman and child in the imperium is taught from day 1 to worship the emperor that he is a god. He is the light in the darkness. The entire imperium is geared around the worship of this singular being (something not done often enough in the fiction).
Take away the Ministorum/Sororitas, and you no longer have an imperium. Just another scifi future with dudes shooting other dudes for reasons.

Thats why i play SoB/Ministorum.

On the table they have a very unique and distinctive look. Pipe organ tanks launching salvos of missiles. Power armoured holy women surging forward with bolter and hymnal, chainsword and sermon alike.
Repentant women running forward seeking redemtion in death. Hulking death machines with crazed sinners plugged into it fed psychotic drugs.
Angelic sisters (jump packs reminiscent of angel wings), the seraphim, paragons of faith leaping through the air on firey trails of jump pack thrust, inspiring others with their presence as they blast at the foe.
Berzerk arco flaggelants sent forth in a killing frenzy.

Whats not to love.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/02/22 06:47:31


 
   
Made in us
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





I just got back into the game a few months ago. Was so-so on most armies until I saw Adeptus Mechanicus.

I'm a fan of cyberpunk, and that blended with the over their top cold-hearted zealotry found in the 40k lore made AdMech a must-buy for me.

That said, their tactical options are limited at the moment, which makes their play style a bit repetitive. Hopefully that will change as more models get released.
   
Made in it
Waaagh! Ork Warboss




Italy

Choosing an army as a newbie is actually very simple. Just start collecting the factions with your favorite models.

For me it was super easy since I started in 3rd edition when the new orks were released and at the time they looked amazing comparing to the majority of the other factions, stuff like boyz, ghaz and the warboss are still the same models

15 years later dark eldar and SW got a new look and decided to collect also those factions because I loved how they look and both of them offers several possiblities in terms of customizing the army, which is the first parameter I consider when I want to collect a new faction.

Aesthetics of the models and general style of playing of the army are usually the most important factors to consider.

 
   
Made in us
Loyal Necron Lychguard





For me, the three most important factors are aesthetics, play style, and competitive viability, in that order.

The armies I like aesthetically are pretty limited: I like the look of Genestealer Cults, Thousand Sons, Adeptus Mechanicus, and Necrons. Every other army can be tossed out here.

For playstyle, in any system I love a grindy, bullying strategy that revolves around just being tougher and out lasting the opponent. This cuts GSC, which is a fast, explosive, and very squishy list. I also prefer elite infantry based armies, which rules out AdMech. Originally I thought Thousand Sons filled these requirements nicely, but with the way the codex has come out to leave rubrics wholly unsupported they now focus on the much more glass cannony tzaangor units.

This leaves Necrons as the army for me. I love the look of basically every model in the list (tomb blades and destroyers are kinda eh to me but I definitely don't hate them to the point I wouldn't want to run them), and I love the focus on hyper durable infantry. Unfortunately necrons fail to be competitive at the moment, but with a codex coming in a month or so I have faith that won't last forever.
   
Made in gb
Bounding Assault Marine




United Kingdom

From day 1 back in 1987 I played space marines because I loved the lore surrounding them but as the years went on and on I became really fed up with them. Mainly because I felt that the army didn't live up to the fluff and partly because everyone would load up on AP3 or better weapons, and I never felt that I had a good game because of it. Then about five years ago I decided to ditch space marines and go for something that grabbed my attention otherwise and thus began my association with Nurgle.

I love the necrotic, cancerous look to the Death Guard so I decided to play them. Immediately I found that win or lose I had an army now that i enjoyed painting and playing with. The other element that grabbed me was how I envisage they wage war. It's not bombing the cities from orbit with huge great cannons but deploying huge amounts of biological and bacterial weapons into the atmosphere. Sit back and let it do it's job for a few days before you deploy your troops. The surviving military will put up a fight but they are nothing before the assault. Where I see other traitor legions and warbands just slaughtering their way through I see the Death Guard differently. I see the dying, pestilence-ridden survivours begging for release. I see a plague marine snatch up such an Imperial citizen, corruption spreading from his very touch - flesh turning necrotic as veins of ashen putrification spreads through veins and muscles - and in that few seconds you have the choice to die in wracking pain or give yourself to the plague god, knowing that it's a path you can never come back from.

That's why I play Death Guard.

40k: Space Marines (Rift Wardens) - 8050pts.
T9A: Vampire Covenants 2060pts. 
   
Made in gb
Potent Possessed Daemonvessel





Why Aye Ya Canny Dakkanaughts!

Chaos all the way!

Chaos supports any aesthetic, any playstyle, any background and any level of competitiveness. Aesthetics? Clean, dirty, spikey, uniform, slapdash, simple, extravagant, etc. Playstyle? CC, firing line, psychic, fast, slow, mixed, etc. Background? Tragic, twisted, renegade, corrupted, loyal (see AL), bloodthirsty, seeking knowledge, greater plans, etc. Competitive? See BL morale ignoring, Slaanesh shooting gallery, Tzeentch DS madness, World Eater meatgrinder, etc.

Throughout my years playing chaos, I have dabbled in: CC only armies, monster mash, mechanised armies, horde armies, speed freak armies, SH parties, psychic shenanigans as well as a many different hobby projects (converting filthy loyalist models into glorious chaos models).

Ghorros wrote:
The moral of the story: Don't park your Imperial Knight in a field of Gretchin carrying power tools.
 Marmatag wrote:
All the while, my opponent is furious, throwing his codex on the floor, trying to slash his wrists with safety scissors.
 
   
Made in us
Fresh-Faced New User




I mostly chose Eldar because when I first was introduced to 40k in 2007-2008, I related them to the sleek designs of the Protoss that I had experience with. After started looking at them, it was their overall design and the Aspect Warriors that really sold me on them along with the Harlequins that were a part of the faction at the time.

Really I like most of the Xenos armies outside of Genestealer Cults and will probably play them some time or the other.
   
Made in us
Slashing Veteran Sword Bretheren






Orks are so great in so many ways

They have a fun playstyle that usually means that whoever is winning or losing, you are still having fun. The models look great and are very forgiving when it comes to adding extras or not including all the bits. All of the kits are easy to swap pieces for so it makes kitbashing fun and easy.

Orks are supposed to die, and love nothing more than charging headlong into battle and dying there. So it really makes losing models that much more bearable. If you want to get into the game, play a fun army, krump some heads and just enjoy yourself as you wage miniature warfare, Orks should be your army

DR:80+S++G++MB--IPw40k12#+D++++A++/fWD013R++T(T)DM+

"War is the greatest act of worship, and I perform it gladly for my Lord.... Praise Be"
-Invictus Potens, Black Templar Dreadnought 
   
Made in au
Pestilent Plague Marine with Blight Grenade





 BlackLobster wrote:
From day 1 back in 1987 I played space marines because I loved the lore surrounding them but as the years went on and on I became really fed up with them. Mainly because I felt that the army didn't live up to the fluff and partly because everyone would load up on AP3 or better weapons, and I never felt that I had a good game because of it. Then about five years ago I decided to ditch space marines and go for something that grabbed my attention otherwise and thus began my association with Nurgle.

I love the necrotic, cancerous look to the Death Guard so I decided to play them. Immediately I found that win or lose I had an army now that i enjoyed painting and playing with. The other element that grabbed me was how I envisage they wage war. It's not bombing the cities from orbit with huge great cannons but deploying huge amounts of biological and bacterial weapons into the atmosphere. Sit back and let it do it's job for a few days before you deploy your troops. The surviving military will put up a fight but they are nothing before the assault. Where I see other traitor legions and warbands just slaughtering their way through I see the Death Guard differently. I see the dying, pestilence-ridden survivours begging for release. I see a plague marine snatch up such an Imperial citizen, corruption spreading from his very touch - flesh turning necrotic as veins of ashen putrification spreads through veins and muscles - and in that few seconds you have the choice to die in wracking pain or give yourself to the plague god, knowing that it's a path you can never come back from.

That's why I play Death Guard.


This man gets it. Clearly marked for greatness and a champion of Nurgle. I'd like to echo these sentiments as to why I chose Death Guard as my main army back in 3rd Ed. The inexorable advance of the Death Guard, the immunity to and unwavering to the enemy before them.

With their new codex (which we waited 20 years for) it really helps you build a list to play like they would in their fluff. The slow advance forward on the table shrugging off wounds in an unrelenting march.


"Courage and Honour. I hear you murmur these words in the mist, in their wake I hear your hearts beat harder with false conviction seeking to convince yourselves that a brave death has meaning.
There is no courage to be found here my nephews, no honour to be had. Your souls will join the trillion others in the mist shrieking uselessly to eternity, weeping for the empire you could not save.

To the unfaithful, I bring holy plagues ripe with enlightenment. To the devout, I bring the blessing of immortality through the kiss of sacred rot.
And to you, new-born sons of Gulliman, to you flesh crafted puppets of a failing Imperium I bring the holiest gift of all.... Silence."
- Mortarion, The Death Lord, The Reaper of Men, Daemon Primarch of Nurgle


5300 | 2800 | 3600 | 1600 |  
   
Made in au
Human Auxiliary to the Empire




For me it's always about what you love the lore and what you ca see yourself painting. The Stormsurge got me back into 40k all on its own. I found out after I placed the order online for it that 8th was just around the corner so now I'm all in . . just waiting on that code.
   
Made in nl
Crazed Spirit of the Defiler




Ahh yes, the eternal struggle of picking an army... still haven't figured it out. I play both SW and DG but both don't feel like *the* match for me.

DG: absolutely in love with their models (their general detail and also the fine balance between looking intimidating and disgusting while still having some room for little jokes which they've done spot-on IMO) and I like Nurgle's lore as well because he's not all edgelord evil and his personality allows for a sense of humour in his stories. Problem is, I don't really like their gameplay. Just too immobile (especially the terminators which are my favorite unit of them all) for my taste, I'm the kind of player that values mobility and aggression above all else. And whenever I'm comtemplating solutions to that problem the fluffmonger in me comes up and says in a booming voice: "THOU SHALT NOT TAKE WARPTIME IN A DG ARMY FILTHY HERETIC".

SW: love the lore of their chapter (I'm a real sucker for Norse folklore and vikings) but I cannot help but think: "Why the hell would I want to defend the theocratic dictatorship gakhole that is the Imperium? 99% of humankind would literally be better off dead than alive in that dystopia". That and so many people play some form of Space Marine already.

I've been interested in both T'au and Drukhari lately. Tau because I just love the models (because I'm a sucker for oversized anime-robots as well, the Riptide is probably my most favorite model of them all) and because they seem to be the only one of the "good guys" that are not living in a completely dystopian society fluffwise. If I were a human living in the 40k universe and had any say in the matter I'd probably be supporting them. Would probably go Farsight Enclaves with their focus on mobility. Drukhari because they seem to fit my playstyle like a glove and took a liking to them after playing Total War: Warhammer II as Dark Elves and loving it. Not entirely sure if I will continue to like their fluff all the time though, I could also imagine myself getting tired of their edgelordyness. Main problem I'm facing though is that my DG and SW collections seem like such a waste of time and money if I were to switch now. I've only been playing for a year so I haven't used them that much yet. On the other hand, I've probably bought too many models on impulse ("Oooh! That's a cool strategy! I wanna try it!" *spends €100+ on required models*) so maybe I should just suck that up and use the lessons learned in my next project.

Well, that's it for my little rant. Feel free to comment on it, I'd like other peoples' view on my little problem

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/02/23 18:46:24


 
   
Made in us
Archmagos Veneratus Extremis




On the Internet

Inquisition. Partly for quoting Monty Python, partly for the excuse to extensively kitbash/convert every single model in your army, partly because you can put them into any Imperial army and still feel like it belongs, and partly because you need a way to play Greyfax or that new Eisenhorn model.
   
Made in nl
Crazed Spirit of the Defiler




 ClockworkZion wrote:
Inquisition. Partly for quoting Monty Python, partly for the excuse to extensively kitbash/convert every single model in your army, partly because you can put them into any Imperial army and still feel like it belongs, and partly because you need a way to play Greyfax or that new Eisenhorn model.


I wouldn't try mixing Space Wolves and Inquisition though
   
Made in us
Archmagos Veneratus Extremis




On the Internet

Pandabeer wrote:
 ClockworkZion wrote:
Inquisition. Partly for quoting Monty Python, partly for the excuse to extensively kitbash/convert every single model in your army, partly because you can put them into any Imperial army and still feel like it belongs, and partly because you need a way to play Greyfax or that new Eisenhorn model.


I wouldn't try mixing Space Wolves and Inquisition though

That's only because the Wolves hate getting flea dipped.
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




In 95 the 2nd edition space marine dex has just dropped and I I bought it and read it, and people were saying why would you not play space wolves that are objectively better.

So based of that, I have had Ultramarines for the last 20+ years.

I got rid of most of my stuff in the dark days of 5-6-7, but I’m rebuilding with Primaris in the 8th edition. Cause people don’t think that an all primaris force can be competitive…
   
Made in us
One Canoptek Scarab in a Swarm





I'm really enjoying my Slaanesh demon/CSM soup army. I started playing Slaanesh a month or two before the codex came out, and although I was disappointed by the codex, I was already enjoying the style of play so I stuck with it. I like having a lot of cheap Demonettes, I like having the fast Seekers rush across the board at 14" + advance + charge (with a herald), I like always fighting first, I like summoning the KoS with my DP while it's in combat then casting Hysterical Frenzy. People generally say Slaanesh demons are bad, but I play with a casual group so my girls do just fine. I use CSM heavies and DP to fill out the list, if I didn't do that then I might have some problems.

Ultimately, I like the looks of the models and the general Slaanesh theme, which makes playing the army more fun for me.

 
   
Made in fr
Trazyn's Museum Curator





on the forum. Obviously

Necrons. Because I was 14 at the time and terminator was cool.
Nowadays I have a greater appreciation of the fluff and the theme of the 3rd ed book. It was a good foray into subtle, psychological horror that just needed a bit more focus, instead of trashing the whole thing and making them the Second Intermediate Period in space.
The did retain some horror aspects, but they changed a lot of things for the worst, I felt, and the new vehicle designs don't make a lot of sense if you take them in context of the lore.

Anyway, some aspects of it :

+ Easy Army to paint. You don't have to worry about skin tones or details all that much

- However, if you are already an experienced painter, then this might be a bad thing. Ymmv

+ Unique rules. No other army has something that works like ressurection protocol and quantum shielding or the old gauss rule

- Get ready for the complaints from other players about how complicated or "OP" the rules are, when in reality they aren't that devastating. Compared to the FNP-like in 7th ed, RP is actually balanced.

+ A different play style from other armies. No other army fights like a DPS race from a boss fight, thanks to how the RP mechanic works. The necrons are supposed to be durable like death guard, but there is a key difference - Death Guard are short term, Necrons are long term. With Death Guard you get an immediate reduction in damage, but if the model dies it stays dead. With necrons, you get a delayed reduction, but if the model dies it won't stays dead. Meaning that late game, in theory, necrons should absolutely dominate as they will outgun the opponent with sheer numbers. You just have to play and prepare your army in such a way that ensures you can reach that point, which does require a certain play style.

- Outgoing DPS, however, isn't that high at the moment, so your opponent will win the DPS race in larger games. Not to mention for an army that's supposed to be built around RP, there's nothing in the army that really helps RP, and the options you do have are absurdly limited. Cryptek's +1 buff only works in a 3" bubble when most characters have a 6" bubble, res orbs are 35 point one use items that just gives a reroll, ghost arks only grant rerolls to a single unit of warriors within a 3" bubble. There just isn't that much synergy in the army for what's supposed to be a core mechanic.
In smaller games RP works pretty well though.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/02/24 15:53:03


What I have
~4100
~1660

Westwood lives in death!
Peace through power!

A longbeard when it comes to Necrons and WHFB. Grumble Grumble

 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut




When I was first looking to get into 40K I found myself drawn to both the Blood Angels and the Necrons.

Blood Angels
- Adeptus Astartes so they are definitely bit more forgiving of mistakes from beginners but still have a unique play style.
- They have the best Primarch of all the legions
- They have the best current Chapter Master
- Mephiston enough said
- The fluff gives them a regal and honorable history

Necrons
- The grunts and most of the army are basically terminators
   
Made in nl
Crazed Spirit of the Defiler




Well, I went and got the T'au Battleforce, so I'm officially a Blue Space Commie now

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/02/25 18:57:37


 
   
Made in us
Ancient Venerable Dreadnought




San Jose, CA

My first army was Squats in 1990.

I picked them since I had always played dwarves in DnD, they had badass bikes/trikes, hearthguard looked rad, and I wanted a biker gang.

then I started My Salamanders.

They were the only ones that really spoke to me ('cept rainbow warriors, just to be diff). I loved their color scheme (vibrant rather than dark) and the fact that flamers, hammers and melta were their focus.

GW killed my squats, I said piss off and quit for the next 25yrs. 8th dropped and what army was I going to build?
   
 
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