When an Army is Popular..

[BrotherEndcat]

Ladies and gentle-marines, 

 

So back in the day, from the beginning of 4th edition all the way to the start of 7th edition I built up a collection of Dark Angels that was in the realm of 10,000 points in the end. I had a full company of Deathwing, full Ravenwing, full 3rd Battle Company and an amalgamation of other projects to eventually work towards a full chapter. I was a young man who saved his money by working holidays and after school to go and spend it all into my favourite army. Sadly however, times were not kind and I had to sell my entire collection due to family circumstances and moving around a lot. It was rough.

 

Its been a long time since I've touched the Dark Angels, I have since collected mainly chaos marines at various times when I could but I would love to get back to the glory and pride I had with boys in green.

 

The problem however, where I am...perhaps due to the Dark Angels being in Dark Vengeance back in 7th... the unforgiven are an incredibly popular faction in my state in Australia. Most people in stores have Dark Angels armies and it just seems to be everywhere. It sounds strange but it puts me off collecting them again which is sad... does anyone get that feeling with any army that's popular where you are?

 

Call me a hobby hipster snob if you wish but how do you get over that feeling? Do you just pull the trigger anyway? Do you focus on another army? Looking purely for advice to see if I am not alone in this feeling.

 

(I posted this previously in the wrong thread apologies so admin delete the other one in Forge not this one please)

[sarabando]

when i started into 30k i picked white scars as i enjoy self harm and inflicting madness of painting white over a black undercoat. There were very few scars painters about probably imo due to the difficulty of painting white. I am seeing more and more of them every day and while they are phenomenally painted i am starting to feel a little less special so i know where you are coming from.

[Brother Tyler]

If you like the Dark Angels rules, but are looking to have a more distinctive looking army, you might consider playing an Unforgiven Successor.

[Slasher956]

I'm a bit wary of the same thing this year... for a long time I've been the only sisters player in the club (which ever club I've been to!) for the last 10+ years... but with the sisters being released in plastic later this year there will be a number of people who jump on the band wagon!

 

So although I have over 2K of sisters I just know there'll be people going 'oh you should play this way.. you need to add x'.... just like they do with my Craftworlders :(

[Panzer]

 

Ladies and gentle-marines, 

 

So back in the day, from the beginning of 4th edition all the way to the start of 7th edition I built up a collection of Dark Angels that was in the realm of 10,000 points in the end. I had a full company of Deathwing, full Ravenwing, full 3rd Battle Company and an amalgamation of other projects to eventually work towards a full chapter. I was a young man who saved his money by working holidays and after school to go and spend it all into my favourite army. Sadly however, times were not kind and I had to sell my entire collection due to family circumstances and moving around a lot. It was rough.

 

Its been a long time since I've touched the Dark Angels, I have since collected mainly chaos marines at various times when I could but I would love to get back to the glory and pride I had with boys in green.

 

The problem however, where I am...perhaps due to the Dark Angels being in Dark Vengeance back in 7th... the unforgiven are an incredibly popular faction in my state in Australia. Most people in stores have Dark Angels armies and it just seems to be everywhere. It sounds strange but it puts me off collecting them again which is sad... does anyone get that feeling with any army that's popular where you are?

 

Call me a hobby hipster snob if you wish but how do you get over that feeling? Do you just pull the trigger anyway? Do you focus on another army? Looking purely for advice to see if I am not alone in this feeling.

 

(I posted this previously in the wrong thread apologies so admin delete the other one in Forge not this one please)

 

 

Well we tend to identify ourselves with the armies we play so it's always a bit annoying when there are others in your group picking up the same army or if there are lots of people playing the same army in your local meta.

However what helps is to take a breath and step back from looking at others for a bit and start thinking ... why exactly do you want to play that specific army and why would those reasons mean less just because others decided to play the same army? Was your only reason to be a special snowflake (no offense, everybody likes to be that)? If it really was then it probably isn't a good idea to start it in the first place anyway.

What else helps is to think about how you can make them really yours. Some quirk you can add to them. Some additional bitz people usually don't use. Some details differently painted. A focus on units others don't use. That kind of stuff. My Blood Angels for example are Knights of Baal and are all painted with mainly silver armour, GK Paladin helmets and use the little tilting shields on every model for their squad heraldry.

Also you might find it's not so bad an idea to have a bunch of people likeing the same army as you. It creates some form of brotherhood. ;)

[shanewatts]

I totally understand where you are coming from. I never enjoy playing what the "popular" armies are either (I guess I am a hipster at heart regarding this.) Personally I look for something else and make it mine.

 

What else interests you army wise?

[HandsWithLegs]

I kinda like it when other people play the same army as me. It's fun to bounce ideas for strategy and painting off each other, and with dark angels its helpful to have backup when people start going on about how they're all traitors

[Lord Abaia]

For a while I was the only Night Lords player at my store, but then a new guy started collecting them and I felt a flash of the same feeling. Even though it was only one other guy it was like it was "my thing." I got over it immediately when I started talking to the guy though. It was actually kind of fun to have another guy into the same faction. 

 

It also didn't hurt that I thought my models were painted and converted better than his too. Everyone has a different vision of their army and maybe having your collection be truest to your vision will be enough to make it unique again.

[Dumah]

I can understand your feelings, OP. But part of the beauty of Dark Angels (as I understand it) is that they have a fairly diverse range of play styles. You've got your Greenwing Gunline/Hellblaster Castle; you can play Deathwing heavy with lots of deepstriking dakka and good CC; then there's always the fast and shifty Ravenwing. Or, any combination of the three. So as you look around your local scene, maybe you can get a sense for what other people are doing and you could perhaps go a different way?

[Greenz]

If you like the Dark Angels rules, but are looking to have a more distinctive looking army, you might consider playing an Unforgiven Successor.

I’m very much in agreement with Brother Tyler here.

 

Brother Endcat, I was largely in the same boat as you. Dark Angels were my first army when I got into this hobby back in 2nd edition, and I had amassed a pretty large army. Around 5th my gaming group got big on fantasy, so 40k took a back seat for me. Then I got back in when 7th hit, and like you said, Dark Vengeance made DA very popular. So I stripped all my old models, and now play Angels of Absolution. The Unforgiven are such a tight knit Legi... I mean gathering of like minded marines. Read up on the successor chapters, no doubt you’ll find one that peeks your interest

 

Edit: grammar

[Claws and Effect]

I never really cared too much what other people were playing and why. Mostly because I recognize that the shallower players will play whatever army has good rules at the moment and will drop it as soon as something better came along.

 

Prime example of my above point was the beginning of 8th edition when people realized how insanely good using Strike From The Shadows with Aggressors was. I couldn't throw a rock without it ricocheting off 3 Raven Guard players. Then SFTS got nerfed and those players all moved on to the next strong thing.

 

Meanwhile, *I* play Raven Guard because I really like the lore behind them and I think their Primarch is awesome.

 

My take on your quandary? If you really dig Dark Angels (and it sounds like you do), then play Dark Angels and who cares what everyone else is doing.

[Marshal Rohr]

It can be really cool when several players have armies of the same faction. This is most common in marines, because everyone who plays dark angels will more than likely have matching schemes. Guard, Tau, Nids, etc it can be harder to find someone with the same paint scheme. When those players have similar painting abilities they can play really thematic apocalypse battles. Some of the coolest Heresy events you seen on IG have massive armies of multiple players with similarly painted armies slogging it out. Its awesome. 

 

 

[Aqui]

If in doubt, DIY it ^_^ plenty of canon successors as Brother Tyler said, or make you own :)

[DuskRaider]

Just imagine how I feel as a Death Guard player of almost 20 years.

[Guest]

So going to make myself look like a fool. When I started playing I went to my local community it was full of Eldar, Tau, Necrons, with some SM (mostly UM). I thought that SW were not popular, and that they were mostly Norse based. My only real knowledge about 40k was reading Horus Heresy lore, and SW really fit what I wanted.

 

Most of you are chuckling as these things were not true. SW are extremely popular and the 40k SW are far from their 30k ancestors. This was extremely depressing for me to realize, and I took much hate online from a particular group of the SW community, from my choice to use grey, not use psykers, etc etc.

 

So after talking to Simon Grant, and him confirming that what I wanted were indeed still concepts of the 40k SW's. He explained how many people misinterpret many things. However the rise of the Primaris and the wolf spear gave me a chance, a chance to make my own chapter and allowing me to build my SW how I saw fit without angering the hardliner SW fans.

 

So my suggestion is play what you like, if there is something you don't like about DA or something you would change (even simple things like color scheme), then maybe making your own chapter is ideal.

 

Never allow others to dictate what to do with your army, I have been there it isn't fun and it almost drove me out. Find others that share your views, even if they aren't the same chapter, and build your own sagas.

[AgentOrange]

Focus on the modelling and painting of your army. Even if there are a bunch of Dark Angel armies, even if you lose all your games, yours will be the Dark Angels army people will remember if it looks better than the others. And that aspect of the hobby gives a lot more room to make it yours despite the popularity of the army.

[BrotherEndcat]

when i started into 30k i picked white scars as i enjoy self harm and inflicting madness of painting white over a black undercoat. There were very few scars painters about probably imo due to the difficulty of painting white. I am seeing more and more of them every day and while they are phenomenally painted i am starting to feel a little less special so i know where you are coming from.

 

Jesus doing white over black I am concerned for your mental well-being... are you okay?  white scars dont seem to be as popular as a lot of others thankfully but i get you man, once people figure out how cool something is they flock to it haha.

 

If you like the Dark Angels rules, but are looking to have a more distinctive looking army, you might consider playing an Unforgiven Successor.

 

I had thought about it, would give me freedom to develop my own lore in company structure and heroes etc..

 

I'm a bit wary of the same thing this year... for a long time I've been the only sisters player in the club (which ever club I've been to!) for the last 10+ years... but with the sisters being released in plastic later this year there will be a number of people who jump on the band wagon!

 

So although I have over 2K of sisters I just know there'll be people going 'oh you should play this way.. you need to add x'.... just like they do with my Craftworlders

 

Oh man the sisters release will be nuts... I feel for you man. I guess because you've been doing it for so long you have a real insight into how sisters should be portrayed on the table. Which is probably how I should be approaching this with DA.

 

 

 

Ladies and gentle-marines, 

 

So back in the day, from the beginning of 4th edition all the way to the start of 7th edition I built up a collection of Dark Angels that was in the realm of 10,000 points in the end. I had a full company of Deathwing, full Ravenwing, full 3rd Battle Company and an amalgamation of other projects to eventually work towards a full chapter. I was a young man who saved his money by working holidays and after school to go and spend it all into my favourite army. Sadly however, times were not kind and I had to sell my entire collection due to family circumstances and moving around a lot. It was rough.

 

Its been a long time since I've touched the Dark Angels, I have since collected mainly chaos marines at various times when I could but I would love to get back to the glory and pride I had with boys in green.

 

The problem however, where I am...perhaps due to the Dark Angels being in Dark Vengeance back in 7th... the unforgiven are an incredibly popular faction in my state in Australia. Most people in stores have Dark Angels armies and it just seems to be everywhere. It sounds strange but it puts me off collecting them again which is sad... does anyone get that feeling with any army that's popular where you are?

 

Call me a hobby hipster snob if you wish but how do you get over that feeling? Do you just pull the trigger anyway? Do you focus on another army? Looking purely for advice to see if I am not alone in this feeling.

 

(I posted this previously in the wrong thread apologies so admin delete the other one in Forge not this one please)

 

 

Well we tend to identify ourselves with the armies we play so it's always a bit annoying when there are others in your group picking up the same army or if there are lots of people playing the same army in your local meta.

However what helps is to take a breath and step back from looking at others for a bit and start thinking ... why exactly do you want to play that specific army and why would those reasons mean less just because others decided to play the same army? Was your only reason to be a special snowflake (no offense, everybody likes to be that)? If it really was then it probably isn't a good idea to start it in the first place anyway.

What else helps is to think about how you can make them really yours. Some quirk you can add to them. Some additional bitz people usually don't use. Some details differently painted. A focus on units others don't use. That kind of stuff. My Blood Angels for example are Knights of Baal and are all painted with mainly silver armour, GK Paladin helmets and use the little tilting shields on every model for their squad heraldry.

Also you might find it's not so bad an idea to have a bunch of people likeing the same army as you. It creates some form of brotherhood. 

 

 

Yeah I had thought about it last night and the reason I love DA is they really embody grimdark to me with the medieval warrior monk theme, its never been about being a hobby hipster I don't think which makes me feel a bit silly for being this way. I think if I do pull the trigger on DA I would really endeavor to convert and make them a lot like the super dark artwork out there.

 

Side note I've seen a bunch of your posts you have some gorgeous models man. 

[BrotherEndcat]

I totally understand where you are coming from. I never enjoy playing what the "popular" armies are either (I guess I am a hipster at heart regarding this.) Personally I look for something else and make it mine.

 

What else interests you army wise?

I feel like my glasses and long beard don't help my case of being a hipster let alone a hobby hipster but oh well. I would love to do so many armies but I'm struggling to find something I'm really passionate about at the moment unfortunately.

I kinda like it when other people play the same army as me. It's fun to bounce ideas for strategy and painting off each other, and with dark angels its helpful to have backup when people start going on about how they're all traitors

That is definitely a plus about a few players of the same army, its a great sounding board for ideas. Oh and those people who rag on DA about being traitors lmao.

For a while I was the only Night Lords player at my store, but then a new guy started collecting them and I felt a flash of the same feeling. Even though it was only one other guy it was like it was "my thing." I got over it immediately when I started talking to the guy though. It was actually kind of fun to have another guy into the same faction.

 

It also didn't hurt that I thought my models were painted and converted better than his too. Everyone has a different vision of their army and maybe having your collection be truest to your vision will be enough to make it unique again.

You always gotta make sure yours look better

I can understand your feelings, OP. But part of the beauty of Dark Angels (as I understand it) is that they have a fairly diverse range of play styles. You've got your Greenwing Gunline/Hellblaster Castle; you can play Deathwing heavy with lots of deepstriking dakka and good CC; then there's always the fast and shifty Ravenwing. Or, any combination of the three. So as you look around your local scene, maybe you can get a sense for what other people are doing and you could perhaps go a different way?

The way I am I enjoy playing with a very lore focused army, so using correct company structure or deploying a force that would actually see action, not just a competitively built list. Which is hard with the changes to the codex and new primaris units but oh well. Thats not a bad idea seeing whats out there I guess cheers broski

 

If you like the Dark Angels rules, but are looking to have a more distinctive looking army, you might consider playing an Unforgiven Successor.

I’m very much in agreement with Brother Tyler here.

 

Brother Endcat, I was largely in the same boat as you. Dark Angels were my first army when I got into this hobby back in 2nd edition, and I had amassed a pretty large army. Around 5th my gaming group got big on fantasy, so 40k took a back seat for me. Then I got back in when 7th hit, and like you said, Dark Vengeance made DA very popular. So I stripped all my old models, and now play Angels of Absolution. The Unforgiven are such a tight knit Legi... I mean gathering of like minded marines. Read up on the successor chapters, no doubt you’ll find one that peeks your interest

 

Edit: grammar

There definitely are some awesome successors out there, angels of absolution are sick! Not a bad way to go really... cheers for the words mate.

I never really cared too much what other people were playing and why. Mostly because I recognize that the shallower players will play whatever army has good rules at the moment and will drop it as soon as something better came along.

 

Prime example of my above point was the beginning of 8th edition when people realized how insanely good using Strike From The Shadows with Aggressors was. I couldn't throw a rock without it ricocheting off 3 Raven Guard players. Then SFTS got nerfed and those players all moved on to the next strong thing.

 

Meanwhile, *I* play Raven Guard because I really like the lore behind them and I think their Primarch is awesome.

 

My take on your quandary? If you really dig Dark Angels (and it sounds like you do), then play Dark Angels and who cares what everyone else is doing.

I saw that in my local stores as well with raven guard, people running homebrew chapters with RG tactics just for those stratagems despite their army being more imperial fist style or whatever lol.

 

Cheers bro I think you are definitely right.

[BrotherEndcat]

 

It can be really cool when several players have armies of the same faction. This is most common in marines, because everyone who plays dark angels will more than likely have matching schemes. Guard, Tau, Nids, etc it can be harder to find someone with the same paint scheme. When those players have similar painting abilities they can play really thematic apocalypse battles. Some of the coolest Heresy events you seen on IG have massive armies of multiple players with similarly painted armies slogging it out. Its awesome.

 

 

 

 

This is very true, have seen some epic battles with similar guard forces in apocalypse. Guess its not too different for marines either haha.

If in doubt, DIY it plenty of canon successors as Brother Tyler said, or make you own

This is true, DIY is the way to individuality!

Just imagine how I feel as a Death Guard player of almost 20 years.

Well ... yeah I feel you brother DG are in an interesting spot, doesnt help they are really good meta wise too lol let alone the starter set. Your stuff looks awesome btw brother.

So going to make myself look like a fool. When I started playing I went to my local community it was full of Eldar, Tau, Necrons, with some SM (mostly UM). I thought that SW were not popular, and that they were mostly Norse based. My only real knowledge about 40k was reading Horus Heresy lore, and SW really fit what I wanted.

 

Most of you are chuckling as these things were not true. SW are extremely popular and the 40k SW are far from their 30k ancestors. This was extremely depressing for me to realize, and I took much hate online from a particular group of the SW community, from my choice to use grey, not use psykers, etc etc.

 

So after talking to Simon Grant, and him confirming that what I wanted were indeed still concepts of the 40k SW's. He explained how many people misinterpret many things. However the rise of the Primaris and the wolf spear gave me a chance, a chance to make my own chapter and allowing me to build my SW how I saw fit without angering the hardliner SW fans.

 

So my suggestion is play what you like, if there is something you don't like about DA or something you would change (even simple things like color scheme), then maybe making your own chapter is ideal.

 

Never allow others to dictate what to do with your army, I have been there it isn't fun and it almost drove me out. Find others that share your views, even if they aren't the same chapter, and build your own sagas.

It has almost driven me out in the past which is so silly because its such a good hobby. Cheers for the words man what you've said makes a ton of sense.

Focus on the modelling and painting of your army. Even if there are a bunch of Dark Angel armies, even if you lose all your games, yours will be the Dark Angels army people will remember if it looks better than the others. And that aspect of the hobby gives a lot more room to make it yours despite the popularity of the army.

That would definitely be the aim if I pull the trigger for sure. I am a pretty avid converter so I love making armies look my own without going crazy.

[Disruptor_fe404]

 

Call me a hobby hipster snob if you wish but how do you get over that feeling? Do you just pull the trigger anyway? Do you focus on another army? Looking purely for advice to see if I am not alone in this feeling.

 

 

You're not a hobby hipster snob. Hobby hipster snobs would never play an official subfaction.

 

OR they would play Dark Angels purely because of 'emo-marines' memes from the late 90s.

[DuskRaider]

Thanks man! Yeah, it kinda sucks because when I get the rare occasion to play out at my FLGS, I automatically get eye rolls when people see me pulling Death Guard out. Funny thing is my list has barely changed since 3.5 (with a few new toys sprinkled here and there) lol.

[FlamingDeth]

I've been playing my orks primarily since DV dropped because of similar reasons, and mine are even DA successors with a wildly different scheme. It comes from being a primarily narrative player and coming across so many mirror matches that I couldn't head cannon around it any more. It's one of the joys of orks, even if I'm up against another deathskull army I don't really even need to come up with a reason for the battle. The other army has stuff.

[derLumpi]

I know the feeling. Started playing and collecting Imperial Knights. Developed background, names and how they should look like. I collected all FW knights although most of them haven't seen any action.

 

2 months ago a player in our group decided to also start a knights army. He has the loyal 32, a Castellan etc.

The thing what vexes me the most is that he asked me what the rules and points of the Acheron before I knew that he was starting knights. Well, he has an Acheron now too.

This is a guy that played Tau with 3 Riptides, Eldar with those transports that could shoot you from the table, Tau & Eldar, Blood Angels. My hope is that he will change when the Sister Codex drops.

 

I will differenciate myself by not using 32 loyal guardsmen or a Castellan and I'm converting my knights (at least those I haven't build). I'm in it for the story and the beautiful models. :)

[Trevak Dal]

 

If you like the Dark Angels rules, but are looking to have a more distinctive looking army, you might consider playing an Unforgiven Successor.

I’m very much in agreement with Brother Tyler here.

 

Brother Endcat, I was largely in the same boat as you. Dark Angels were my first army when I got into this hobby back in 2nd edition, and I had amassed a pretty large army. Around 5th my gaming group got big on fantasy, so 40k took a back seat for me. Then I got back in when 7th hit, and like you said, Dark Vengeance made DA very popular. So I stripped all my old models, and now play Angels of Absolution. The Unforgiven are such a tight knit Legi... I mean gathering of like minded marines. Read up on the successor chapters, no doubt you’ll find one that peeks your interest

 

Edit: grammar

I love the guardians of the covenant myself, they are scholarly warriors. And the 30k scheme for Dark Angels is cool.

[Grand Master Laertes]

I feel quite the opposite, actually. More people playing my same army means more people with which exchange tactics and conversion idea, possibly develop a joint background, and organize campaigns playing as a single faction.The only thing I don't like is when too many players have the same army, it doesn't matter which one it is: the more the general diversity, the better, in my opinion.