What units have been surprise favorites for you?

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

Any faction,  do you have any units that at first you were lukewarm on or didn’t like at all, but then took a closer/second look at them, and were like damn this kinda hot…

 

for me, I was a bit meh on killa kanz, then I really looked at them and realized they’re kinda hot for killing heavy/elite infantry and  they’re not that much more expensive than the models/units you’d be targeting with them. (Though having only 1 of each gun option is a bit of a let down.)

Edited July 22 by Inquisitor_Lensoven

[Karhedron]

Vanguard Veterans were a bit of a unit I steered clear of despite playing Blood Angels. I felt they trod on the toes of both Death Company and Sanguinary Guard who are supposed to be our better assault marines. But I finally caved in for 10th edition and splashed out on a 10-man squad to accompany my existing Jump Sanguinary Priest and Jump Captain. It was very satisfying to see them tear apart an Armiger on the charge on their first outing.

 

Edited July 22 by Karhedron

[Bouargh]

I used to be very reluctant to consider the Sydonians as good looking miniatures. I know that game wise they are supposed to be quite OK, seen the meta, but the outlook of these chicken has been a strong repellant to me... Until I recently had the opportunity to look at some quite well painted and based in a fair.

 

It made me change my mind and I just recruited 2 Dragoons. I just hope I will be able to give them justice when I will start working on them.

 

PS: The assembly with Radium jezzail is however still one I cannot stand... I am ready to even consider a Skratos instead. 

Edited July 22 by Bouargh

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

1 hour ago, Karhedron said:

Vanguard Veterans were a bit of a unit I steered clear of despite playing Blood Angels. I felt they trod on the toes of both Death Company and Sanguinary Guard who are supposed to be our better assault marines. But I finally caved in for 10th edition and splashed out on a 10-man squad to accompany my existing Jump Sanguinary Priest and Jump Captain. It was very satisfying to see them tear apart an Armiger on the charge on their first outing.

 

I thought VGV came out before SG

[Karhedron]

39 minutes ago, Inquisitor_Lensoven said:

I thought VGV came out before SG

 

4th/5th editions are a bit hazy for me. I had very small children and mostly played my Eldar so I can't remember for sure. Certainly once I got back in seriously in 6th edition, both units existed.

[sitnam]

Canopyek Wraiths. I would have never got them myself, but my son picked them out as a birthday present. Pretty cool models, I didn’t realize how large and imposing they were That 5th edition refresh for Necrons really holds up well

[SvenIronhand]

Terminators, particularly of the WG variety. I know people are down on them, but WG get a large variety of tools to deal with various threats at close range and they're just a fun lil' canvas for all your hobbying. 

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

When I came back in 8th I hated the primaris, and chose to only play my guard, but the aggressors were the unit that warmed me up to primaris. I love the gravis look.

 

as for the kanz, I don’t really get why their melee weapons are so weak compared to a power klaw. You’d think a large(ish) walker would have a klaw at least as strong as those a boss nob carries.

[sitnam]

Aggressors grew on me. I liked them better then Terminators, but didn't think much of it. Then I played Battle Sector, and I fell in love with their Dakka against gaunt swarms. If I was to go all in on a marine army, Aggressors would definitely be at the front of my choices

[sairence]

When the Dorn came out I thought another main battle tank was kind of redundant in the Guard roster. But after building and playing it, I've become a fan. It's a really well put together kit, very easy to build but with loads of little bits and pieces to play around with nd make it yours.

 

And it's just so much gun on the table, it's great.

[DemonGSides]

Yeah Sairence I wish the cannon that paired with the auto cannon was just 1 strength higher; let it roll for 4's on damage against the big nasties at t13.

 

Otherwise it's great. So much incidental damage from vehicle on vehicle violence with our lethal hits. Getting lethals with a melta feels SO GOOD. 

[CL_Mission]

For me it's been Lychguard.

I've recently been building up a Necron army working off the models from the Indomitus box set and had intended to keep it fairly destroyer focused but amongst my boxes of bits and bobs I found some Lychguard I'd bought and half built many many years ago. I probably wouldn't have bought Lychguard new but I had them so why not use them, especially since I needed every model I could muster to even reach 1000 points, and they been really useful and fun of the table top. They survived no end of attacks (well some don't survive but they get right back up again) and have held up or held off all sorts of enemies, they've got some good kills in but it's mostly their resilience I've come to appreciate. 

[Bouargh]

Forgot to mention the Stalker. It is a kit that I found not being my cup of tea, up to the moment I realized it was a perfect anti MEQ. Shame it went to Legends...

 

I made a small kit bash changing the autocanons for Kheres pattern assault guns and I DO FIRMLY believe this alteration of the STC is the reason of the successes I had with it on the table top years ago.

[DemonGSides]

On 7/27/2024 at 5:38 PM, CL_Mission said:

For me it's been Lychguard.

I've recently been building up a Necron army working off the models from the Indomitus box set and had intended to keep it fairly destroyer focused but amongst my boxes of bits and bobs I found some Lychguard I'd bought and half built many many years ago. I probably wouldn't have bought Lychguard new but I had them so why not use them, especially since I needed every model I could muster to even reach 1000 points, and they been really useful and fun of the table top. They survived no end of attacks (well some don't survive but they get right back up again) and have held up or held off all sorts of enemies, they've got some good kills in but it's mostly their resilience I've come to appreciate. 

 

They were legit insane pre-codex.  My buddy had a unit that was the bane of my existence in those first few months of 10th.

[Dr. Clock]

Leagues Hearthguard are the last thing that I bought with concern, which turned out to be completely unwarranted. As soon as I started building them I knew they were gonna rule pretty hard. Pioneers were also a bit iffy from the photos tbh, but turned out really nice once built.

 

Cheers,

 

The Good Doctor.

[Indy Techwisp]

Surprisingly, Tzaangors.

 

Still absolutely hate the models, but I'm definitely finding they're pulling their weight better than I anticipated

[Helbrechts_Sword_Servitor]

Bolter Inceptors.

 

I assembled three of them and since the first game they came out I've been fielding them.

 

Even at 260 pts. for 6 of them I still take a full squad, and the list of things they deleted is long and varied.

 

I am running them in a Crusade and it's my most feared unit. I am running Black Templars with Vanguard Detachment ("Nobody Expects the Power Armored Inquisition!") and with "Strike from the Shadows" I usually hit all shots, roll 3 or 4 "Sustained 2" and absolutely munch MEQs.

[TheArtilleryman]

Contemptor dreadnoughts. I really didn’t like their look much in pictures but having got some now in real life I think they look awesome. Not sure what it is but their proportions just seem to look much better and less delicate at the waist.

 

Also Phobos marines. I didn’t like them at all when they first came out and still don’t like them with their intended heads - but they look absolutely boss with beaky heads. Completely transforms the model.

Edited July 31 by TheArtilleryman

[Tawnis]

Mine were the Kroot. When I got into Tau back in my early years, I loved the sleek clean looks of their suits and tanks and their infantry had an appealingly different yet familiar vibe to them that really jived with me, but I wasn't a fan of these weird spindly savage looking cannibal chicken creatures that came with them in their box set. 

 

Fast forward literally decades later when I was getting back into the game in 8th and having explored much more of the lore and developed a lot more refined tastes, the Kroot are now hands down my favourite faction in 40k. Love their lore, love their models, love how they play on the table. It takes a lot of creative skill to take a concept that we would consider culturally abhorrent and reframe that into another society/culture/biology where it is a noble and venerated pursuit and have it feel believable and relatable. I'm a fan of pretty much all of 40k, but many of the inspirations are very obvious. The Kroot feel like something truly unique to the setting, a culture that, while having some passing similarities to some in other stories, doesn't really have an approximation in any other medium. I really just want some more Kroot lore. 

 

They're misjudged for their apparent savagery, but in actuality are noble beings with clear senses of honour and duty as well as a deep desire for betterment both for themselves and for their species as a whole. I really like the irony of one of the very few lawful good faction in 40k in one of the last places people would expect.  

[Kharn13]

On 7/22/2024 at 1:35 AM, Inquisitor_Lensoven said:

Any faction,  do you have any units that at first you were lukewarm on or didn’t like at all, but then took a closer/second look at them, and were like damn this kinda hot…

 

for me, I was a bit meh on killa kanz, then I really looked at them and realized they’re kinda hot for killing heavy/elite infantry and  they’re not that much more expensive than the models/units you’d be targeting with them. (Though having only 1 of each gun option is a bit of a let down.)

World Eaters DP on foot - stick an enhancement on for half incoming damage. Definitely over performed on his first outing!

[Magos Takatus]

I was really struggling with this question as I was reading through the thread, I knew there were models that I'd not been terribly fond of on launch and gradually warmed up to over time (not Centurions though, I still think they are horrible. ). Then it hit me. The entire Ork race is my answer. When I started 40k in 2nd edition Orks were not in a wonderful place. The incredibly flexible Rogue Trader plastic Orks had been retired and replaced by a dull two-part plastic Goff and the plastic gretchin with the tiny little faces, and I just couldn't take them seriously. My Blood Angels had so many cool toys and all the Ork models I saw were just lame guys with bolt pistols. Sure, they had a few cool support weapons in their Codex  but they still seemed pretty goofy to me. The 3rd edition hit and the tone changed. Suddenly all the interesting wargear was replaced by sluggas, shootas and rokkits. To me, Orks had gone from goofy to dull.

 

Somewhere in 4-5th edition something clicked. The Orks weird science seems to be slowly getting reintroduced back into their range, or I became more aware of it at least. I grudgingly admitted that the old 2nd edition Goff Ork boys had been kinda charming all along and I liked the direction that GW was heading with the Orks finally. I purchased a small Ork box set to run some small Kill-Team style games in the local Games Workshop. Damn, that Deff Dread kit is amazing, so is the Killa Kan kit. Oh no, this isn't going to stay as a small patrol force, is it? While my model count is probably quite low compared to most all-in Ork collectors I feel I've got a pretty good Waaagh built up, with models still in the pipeline. I love the current aesthetic and my mostly Dread Mob Blood Axes are filling out into other areas.

[LSM]

On 7/22/2024 at 7:41 AM, Inquisitor_Lensoven said:

I thought VGV came out before SG

 

A late answer to this, but:

• Blood Angels Honour Guard (a jump pack'd Command Squad) came out in 1999, in 3rd (arguably a precursor...).
• Vanguard Veterans were released (in metal) in 2008, with the 5th edition Codex: Space Marines.
• Sanguinary Guard (and plastic Death Company) came out in 2010, with the 5th edition Blood Angels.
• Vanguard Veterans received the current plastic kit in 2013, with the 6th edition Space Marines.

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

Not recent editions but... My 3rd Ed74th Ed Wolf Guard Bodyguard on Bikes. I made four, two with power fists anb bolt pistol & two with a lightning claw. Expensive and 1W so i expected very little but the models were so cool I had to use them. And they did surprisingly good - having a character along them of course helped. And Runic Charms helped too.. Sometimes used Wolf Tooth Necklaces too.

 

My expectations were that they would be too few and too expensive but they often did decently, hitting like a brick. Was often a hard choice between them and a Wolf Guard Terminator Pack.. (ass cannon, a chain fist, single lightning claws and combi-melta or combi- flamers or combi-plasmas. pretty tooled up too..)