Saturday, March 14, 2009

Picking an Army

Hey there all. This post I am going to talk about choosing an army in 40k. This is intended as something for those new to the game as well as those who maybe there army is not working for them or simply still do not have there own army.

There is not much that is more important then picking an army that you will really enjoy playing. Even for those people who want to branch out into multiple armies it is still important. If your not going to enjoy the army as a whole then why bother investing in it and building it up? So how do you choose?

Well firstly the army will probably catch your eye and chances are more then 1 army will catch your eye which is good. Then you can learn more about them Which will let you know there fluff and what not and if you like that you can move on. Now I am all for liking an armies history and fluff and what not. I do that with my armies. But there comes a time in choosing when you have to make your choice based on the armies rules. What do I mean?

Well its broken up into 3 categories: A assaulting heavy force, A shooting heavy force or a mixed force. Generally the mixed force isn't really a category as those forces tend to lean towards either shooting or melee. Now some people have no problem playing either style. But for those that do have preference this is a big factor. Now luckily practically all races can be fielded as either assault or shooting heavy. Even Tau with there Xenos auxilia can beef up there assault ability (though I wouldn't with Tau). Now with that being said most armies have a preference. Blood Angels for example are geared for assault while Necrons are geared for shooting. Both can do the opposite but there lists are set up for what they prefer.

Ok so you may love the fluff but not like there play style what do you do? Well there is a good chance that you will like multiple armies. So in that aspect you can look at the others. I suppose it is possible to like the play style but not the fluff but in this case it is less severe because you can make your own color scheme and have your own chapter or regiment or splinter fleet etc. and not worry really.

Now of course monetary issues may make it difficult to play a certain army. Inquisition is heavy in pewter and expensive or orks are too numerous for your wallet. Those circumstances happen and it is up to the person on what they should do. But for any army building I feel that aside from how the army looks and what not whats really important is if how they play will fit your style.

Tactica Outnumbered to come soon.. as well as other stuff. Until then..

2 comments:

Space Hulk Enthusiast said...

I pick mine based on challenge. I love an army that is a challenge to do well with.

Some armies are very forgiving of player mistakes, some are not. I like those where there is very little room for player error and it takes forever to master them.

James said...

That can be fun if it fits your play style. Challenging armies are fun. I find Space Marines have actually grown in challenge due to the increase in cover saves that turns even guardsmen into long lasting units. But I know what you mean. Those armies can be fun and unique.