Why did you pick the Legion(s) you currently play?

[Caustic63]

I see this as a companion thread to the community assistance one that helps new players pick their legion. This one is approaching the discussion from the opposite perspective - you've decided on a legion to play, and in some cases you even play multiple 30K legions. Why did you pick that legion? Which legion is your favourite and why? What about second favourite? I'll start with myself.

 

It took me a long time to choose to start Horus Heresy after I got the books. In the beginning, it was simply due to a lack of understanding of the Crusade Legion army, and a lack of inspiration because the points costs seemed really high compared to 40K (a game I knew better). Forgeworld's choice to feature Sons of Horus, World Eaters, Death Guard and Emperor's Children in the first book was a wise one in retrospect because it offered an opportunity to flesh out 4 legions that would eventually turn to Chaos and hence were deeply flawed. Their fluff reads like a tragedy, and hence is very compelling.

 

Reading stories is one thing, but playing an army on the tabletop is another. Going through the legion rules of the red books I searched for a legion I thought had excellent strategic synergy without turning into a gunline as Space Marine armies have a tendency to do. I enjoy armies with a "bag of tricks" so to speak... hidden advantages that I can unleash upon my opponent as the game evolves and that are difficult to predict and counter.

 

Nothing annoys me more to setup for a game of Warhammer only to find that my opponent knows my army better then I do. If I'm in a competitive match and the player opposite me is having to ask questions about my army... its all the better.

 

All these factors, plus my passion for pre-battle planning and as close as possible to perfect execution makes my favourite legion the Emperor's Children.

 

The Maru Skara RoW is one of the most interesting Rites of War I've seen in 30K. Pick 3 of your fastest and most elite units and have them outflank and show up on the Turn you choose? There are some pretty deadly ambushes you can create with this.

 

Fulgrim is a very capable CC Primarch with the good bonuses of rerolling reserves and picking his own warlord trait. The latter is really useful in pre-battle planning.

 

The whole EC trick of getting +1 Initiative so they attack first and cut your head off before you get to do anything is really effective, even against beasts like World Eaters and Night Lords. Eidolon's non-unwieldy Thunderhammer (on the charge) makes him one of the most lethal non-primarchs in the game behind Sigismond.

 

And of course the more recent bonuses to Kakophoni and the new RoW gifting the legion with superior firepower in the Troops slot.

[MrFlutterPie]

I chose the Death Guard because Garro is my favourite character from the Hersey era. Everything from staying loyal, warning the Imperium of the treachery to becoming one of the early believers in the Emperor's divinity. I like the divide among the legion as the Terran marines are ostracized more and more as the Barbarus born are given more favour and privilege. It allows the Legion to have two different parts to it. One part is the soon to be fallen legion of Nurgle and the other the heroic and loyal sons of the Emperor betrayed and damned to the slaughter fields of Isstvann III.

I like the juxtaposition of playing loyal DG throughout the entirety of the Hersey by playing them as the 7th Great company.

Oh and rad,chem and biological weapons for daaaaays. I have a thing for NBC warfare so this is just the icing on the cake. When I build I list my first though is "how much cancer can I put into this list?"

[IronDrake28]

I chose the Ultramarines to re-live the nostalgia of my first army. And their new fluff is awesome in evey sense of the word. Know No Fear is by far my favourite 30/40k novel.

 

And I play Alpha Legion because [REDACTED]

[Slips]

I only chose the Imperial Fists because they're the Legion/Chapter that *clicked* for me. Simple as that, really.

[jimbo13]

Imperial Fists!!! Much like Slips. It clicked and I love bolters and gunlines. It's kinda my jam

[Big Bad Squig]

This single model made by The Hydra:

 

 

Nothing more needed!

[Balthamal]

Night Lords because I'd been ummming and ahhhhing for several years, read the Soul Hunter series, got hooked then discovered that the Chaos Codex was worthless in representing them how I wanted and I put my faith in Alan Bligh. It has been richly rewarded. As for my current Loyalist project, well Alpha Legion/Iron Warriors/Ultramarines/Dark Angels/Emperor's Chidren/Thousand Sons/Blood Angels well I had a cool idea and decided to run with it. Retribution dropping when it did certainly helped that along

[Brother Captain Kezef]

Raven Guard.

 

I love the whole special forces aspect of them and the tragedy associated with the fluff.

[Sulemain]

Salamanders. SO MUCH FIRE.

[Blade_and_Honour]

I played Iron Warriors for 40k so accidentaly got into 30K by just adding models I liked from the range to my 40K. 
The iron warriors first appealed to me because of the "storm of Iron" book and the feel of the legion. Since then i have gotten more and more into the legion as more background has come about (the HH books that they get some love in). 

Then I decided to add another legion to my collection and needed to make a choice... had Deathguard or Thousand Sons in mind then at  this years Warhammer fest decided that i needed Garro... Naturally he needed some loyal brothers to keep him company :) 

[Corswain]

Night Lords because I remember reading fluff about them opening peoples ribcages and splaying them over their vehicles when I was 13 or so and thinking it was he coolest thing ever. Not sure what that says about my state of mind but I still find the Legion of murderers awesome.

 

Also, I'm waiting for the Lion and special characters/units before I start Dark Angels.

[Joe]

I've had a bit of a soft spot for the Word Bearers since the Dawn of War games; that and The First Heretic was a brilliant read. There was also that chappie that told Kor Phaeron to "have faith" when he was blowing allied and enemy ships out of the sky with artillery.

[norngahl]

Always had a weak spot for the dramatically bad guys, so traitor is way cooler for me. 30k offers to play the bad guys without ridiciously overloaded and transmutated armor.. they look clean but with a vicious touch.

 

For me, the entry was basically background and colour.

 

Have big love for World Eaters, they look and feel like berserks, great, but blue and white are totally nope. Would have wished for bronze and red like Angron, but hey, thats life and we play "historically correct". At least me ;)

 

Iron Warriors.. metal tones and hazard stripes look damn cool and retro alike! Would have gone for them purely based on optics and siege warfare if I hadn't gone for my legion.

 

Sons of Horus.. my choice.. cool design, first models.. mostly black and green, like the reavers and the contemptor, got me. Evil design with some spikes, not totally boring due to beeing fully black and metal. The green adds so much to the black.. serious, vicious and still kinda noble..

 

Night Lords.. awesome space marine vampires in 80s heavy metal style! Really cool, style and story, but couldn't arange with the boots and jump pack theme gamewise..

 

Guess thats it.. i choose based on colours and background. And a bit of what I wanted to see on the board, compared to the fluff of the legion.. Of course I swepped through the rules, but back then, none legion had a major bonus.. it was more a.. stylish gimmick but nothing more. Basic Legion units were the same, legion rules and units only slightly different.. so go for the colours ans story you like most in combination.

 

If you like two legions.. buy and/or build yourself a praetor.. then decide which colours would be cooler on him.. and then you have your legion.

[Soldier of Dorn]

I chose Imperial Fists in large part because of this post by Darrell, and inspired by In Memoriam, of course, too. Originally, I did (and still sorta do) Night Lords, as their color scheme and background appeal to me, but I kinda wanted a loyalist army too. Because of In Memoriam, I wanted to theme it around the Siege of Terra, so that narrowed it down to three Legions: White Scars, Blood Angels, and Imperial Fists. Visually, the Blood Angels appealed to me, so I started buying some BA stuff and painting it up. While I enjoyed painting them, they never really quite clicked for me narrative wise and I could never quite get a lock on their character. So I left that behind. White Scars have never really appealed to me to do as an army (though I did enjoy painting one a couple months back) so they were out. That left the Fists. Out of all the loyalist Chapters in 40k, the Fists and their successors have always appealed to me the most: their loyalty, their stoic dedication, their unwillingness to give in even when there is no hope, willing to do whatever is demanded to fulfill their beliefs. These are, on the whole, all ideals I aspire to on a personal level. The fact that the Fists, fluffwise, are one of the most flexible Legions in theme only added to their appeal.

 

In the end, it wasn't a hard choice. I've never really been able to stick to an army project, since I usually get bored with them and move on, but I've been enjoying every moment of crafting background and making models for my 284^th Storm Battalion. I've been faced every day with new inspiration that I can apply to my Fists, much of it coming from this forum, and I've never loved building an army more. This is the first time I've had more than 1500 points of an army assembled myself, and I'm loving every moment of it. I fully expect to have at least 3000 points painted by the end of the year if everything goes according to plan. I've never done that. It'll be a very exciting day when I can, unashamedly, display that large of an army in my case.

[Dantay VI]

I do not play as there are no gamers near me. But I love army building so it is the 6th Legion, the Wolves for me.

I have always loved Norse mythology, so he Wolves have always drawn me in.

[Dagoth Ur]

Night Lords because ADB, let's be honest! :D

Iron Warriors because I love the scheme and can sympathize with Perturabo.

Blood Angels because they were my first army and Sanguinius is one of the most terrific primarchs ever.

Alpha Legion because, well, uhm...how to put this....I am Alpharius...?

[1000 Sons]

Picked the Death Guard because their special units are both killer looking terminators....and also Thousand Sons were getting pushed back like crazy.

 

Depending on how cool looking the Thousand Sons special units are I might have to go for a Mort and Mag odd couple type army.

[Nightmare84]

Iron warriors for their attrition type tactics, plus they got a easy paint sheme.

 

my first choice was to do imperial fists but i couldnt get yellow to work for me.

 

if im to be honest though im a wolf through and through i just didnt feel the need for a 30k wolf army since i got a 40k one

[BlueBelly1863]

Once Betrayal at Calth was essentially confirmed, I had to figure out what legion I wanted to play. I thought about loyalist Sons of Horus Luna Wolves, but in the end, I had to decide on Salamanders. Why? I loved their background. Yeah they're fine on the tabletop, but what really drew me into playing 30k was the drama behind it. The Salamanders are tough, fire forged, determined. I loved their colors, their attracting to fire, and their bravery. I thought the themes of fire and determination would transition well into a post-Istvaan V force set on revenge.

 

I also love where they come from, Nocturne. Vulkan as a Primarch is also awesome. I was drawn to the legions search and belief that their Primarch yet lived.

 

Since I've started painting them and begun writing a bit of fluff, I've only fallen more and more in love with the Salamanders. I'm trying to read as much as I can on them, and haven't even fully dived into Massacre from Forge World or into any of the Sallie-specific novels from the Black Library. COuldn't be happier with my choice, and can't wait to keep developing my Sallies, the Ashen Brigade! 

[KBA]

Sons of Horus purely for colour scheme. You can tailor any of the Legions' traits to your liking -- and probably come off as a little more interesting than sticking with legion tropes and stereotypes -- so it really came down to color.

[Trydragon]

In 30K I use IH I chose them because in 40K I bat for the other side i never really had a SM army in 40K i always been a Chaos player I got a small Demon army but my main is a EC war band of sound using pink bad-asses, so when 30K became a thing I thought instead of doing the stereotypical thing I try there Loyal counterparts, I now sit at 6K points of cyber enhanced Bad-asses.

[Noserenda]

Hehe, possible Essay you say?

 

 

Alpha Legion: My original Project, kicked off with a pile of random unopened boxes bought while staff exchanged into shiny plastic and resin :) With the Horus Heresy a twinkle in GWs eye my decision was based on the old IA articles and the chance to do something original. I liked the sound of being a sneaky sod getting the knife in to be honest and the Alpha Legion had very little fluff compared to some Legions, leaving the ground ripe for interesting things. The army evolved through various Chaos and Marine codexes, the birth of the HH bookline, the Tempus Fugitive narrative events and eventually the Forgeworld heresy range and books. My long term plan is still to field an entire Battalion of them (Which im 2-3 companies in with already :D ) but theres a looooot of shiny toys out there...

 

 

White Scars: Second up and the first of the big group projects my gaming group did. A child of compromise we decided we had to do one of the Defenders of Terra legions together (For the Tempus Fugitives Terra event) and after much discussion 6 of us agreed on White Scars. They drew me in for a few reasons, again they were not as fleshed out as their peers in this period and to my mind they certainly had a more interesting campaign at Terra than spending a whole weekend defending walls (Ofc Ulf ran a better event than that anyway). They were the first army i started conceptualizing fully from the off and so my part of the combined force was the Brotherhood of the Wyld Stallyns, a largely Terran force consisting of heavy mechanised infantry to support the massed bikes of my buddies. Sooooo many kitbashes to get a good mix of Mk 4-6 armours, authentic gear and shiny toys. Painting White sucks though, so bad. I had to sell the army recently for much less than i wanted to buy food, which sucked :(

 

 

Iron Warriors: With the Release of the "Badab" Mk 2/3 armour sets my group set about another group project, Iron Warriors! I was keen, despite the horrors of the 3.5 chaos codex and the godawful armies it created the Iron Warriors always kinda fascinated me, i couldnt play them at the time because i wasnt a terrible person (Joke-ish) :P But the Stubborn bitterness and feeling under appreciated for what you do (Irl) really resonated with me and grand plans were hatched! Unfortunately grand budgets were not available and i had to drop out initially. The group project rocked on and fielded a ridiculous number of forgeworld infantry and land raiders at a couple of events. The time came though when i could afford a pile of resin and at this point there were Forgeworld rules too! (Still no legion rules at the time though, the cost of being a bit of a hipster lol). The Army started as a Dreadnought platoon, then a humble garrison force, then elite light infantry, then all of the above :D Then i added Mechanicum of Imperial Army support and a Knight group project... Yeah this baby keeps growing...

 

 

Finally (For now...) Blood Angels! We have been talking about another group project for a while now, Cycling through Iron Hands Tanks (Somehow meh), Salamanders at Istvaan (Sallies hate drop pods) and a White Scars Redux (Too Expensive!) but eventually settlign on Blood Angels just before they got FW rules. Calth really kicked the project into gear for me certainly and some time off sick let me blitz most of a Drop company (The others are understandably a bit behind lol). Personally ive had a hankering to do a red army for a while and while the Parody that is 40k today leaves me cold, the older Blood Angel bits always kinda interested me, going back to that Apothecary with a huge banner from Rogue trader :) Ive flirted with Flesh Tearers and Archangels before but the 55th Drop has really seized my imagination :) Plus, ive done 3 shooty legions (Plus Tau, plus Eldar) in a row, time to get my blades wet :D

[grand_master85]

My Legion has always been Thousand Sons; until early this year when the upgrades were released, I wasn't able to realise that in a gaming form (my freehand/sculpting skills aren't exactly astounding). I've always loved wizards, magic and the Unknown, so that pushed me towards them. I always wanted to be an Egyptologist ever since I was a kid. Bonus point to their look.

 

Plus, I got into the Heresy novels just before A Thousand Sons was released, thanks to a certain Mr Goulding. I read the original trilogy, and saw that was being released. I had had a TS chaos army so was intrigued and picked it up. Absolutely blown away by the details of their legion, their way of war and I feel for Ahriman.

 

They'll always be my number one. Though Dark Angels are a very close number two. My first Space Marine chapter

[noigrim]

I picked emperor's children because their scheme is really well chosen, purple naturally contrasting with gold. You didn't see any purple on 40k and that was good for a change. Then onto iron hands after reading Fulgrim and of course all the legions needed for the Siege.

 

Next year'll see custodes and perhaps iron warriors so plenty of metallic!

[RandomMarine]

I choose IH due my 40k army being a successor chapter.