Old School here with a hobby discussion. With all the Space Marine Chapters and models around, I wanted to know what your opinion was on DIY chapters. Now, I don't mean DIY chapters like Codex: Space Marine DIYs, but rather using a chapter to represent many different Space Marine Codexes.
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I would like to present the case for these kind of chapters first based on economics. Why buy, paint and own multiple specific chapters when you could have a DIY chapter with all the basics you would need to field any basic force from any of the 5 codexes. Having a base of Tacs, rhinos, tanks, speeders and dreads will give you what you need to fill a force chart for any of the Space Marine Codexes.
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This is simple enough and once together, you have a playable army - but what about those units that are unique to their codex like Thunderwolf Cavalry? Wouldn't it be easier to just make the Thunderwolves you need for your DIY Chapter, than to make an entire Space Wolves army? This is your call, but I am warming up to the idea more and more.
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Not only does this save time painting and money buying, but it also leesens the grief of those players who sit waiting for THEIR Space Marine codex to come out while other chapters get re-vamped ... and it also maintains your credibility when you field a DIY chapter as a specific chapter instead of say, running Templars as Wolves, depending on the crowd you play with.
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All of these factors seem to be very attractive to me and seem like they would add to the overall enjoyment of the gaming side of the hobby, while making a DIY army that LOOKS COOL is a challenge for the hobbyist in me - while also guaranteeing that over time, the idea would save me time.
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All in all, I am all for the idea, but I want to know what you all think of DIYs. What is your opinion of a player being able to field a Space Marine COdex army of their choosing using a unique DIY chapter? Are you a "Paint the chapter you play and stick to it!" player or are you a "5 codexes, more power to you!" player ... or do you not care and just glad you can have fun playing a game with plastic space men? Do you use a DIY Chapter like this? Tell us about them! As always, the floor is yours, folks!
I'm thinking of doing something fairly similar with an AdMech strike force that can use Blood Angels and C:SM codices (and maybe Space Wolves) as I plan on making it very dread heavy. As long as you take some effort to make sure that the "specialist" units like TWolves, Sanguinary Guard and whatnot stand out and really represent those units. So TWolves could be knights on horseback, Sang. Guard heavily modeled (though maybe not wings if you don't want), etc.
ReplyDeleteThe bitter, old codger in me says that if you want to play Dark Angels, you paint your guys green and you stick to it. If you want to play Blood Angels, you paint your guys red and you stick to it.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, people will do whatever they want with their little men, and my opinion doesn't amount to much. But if it were me, I'd stick with my chosen Chapter through thick and thin.
If a person wants to have a DIY army that goes by a certain codex, that's cool with me, really. As long as you stick with the rules outlined in ONE codex- not "These are Dark Blood Angel Wolf Templars! RAAAH!"
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to my armies - I play Templars as far as stand-alone SM codices - I couldn't imagine not having maltese crosses, chains, black armor, etc... The pre-determined look of a stand alone codex army is really what defines it.
Actually, I am kinda doing this myself. I am playing a DIY chapter. My general paint scheme is dark grey/red w/ a Raven Guard emblem. I treat them as Raven Guard Successors from C:SM. But if I want them to be space Wolves it isn't too hard. They are a mostly grey. And I can point out that the Raven is a huge symbol in Viking Mythology. Now with the Blood Angels coming out I can point to the red on my dudes and say, "See they are Blood Angels successors."
ReplyDeleteI like the idea and I say go for it. I may even do it myself.
ReplyDeletePaint them a wonderful shade of brown. Pick your codex for the week. Done.
ReplyDeleteGet really creative and use wholly different models than Space Marines.
You're playing a set of rules. What models you are using are only there as a reference for yourself and your opponent. Chess pieces can easily substitute for your marines. It's the rules that matter in the game, not the models. Why can't anyone ever understand this concept?
Great feedback guys. Be on the look out for some savage looking Marines and of course - CVinton's soon-to-be perfect BA army.
ReplyDeleteI toyed around with the idea of playing my DIY chapter out of other codexes. Even went so far as to get a count as Belial and Termi Apothecary made up but yet to actually play it. I have been looking at the new Blood Angels to see how they compare with my standard mech list if I get anything significantly better than fast vehicles.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I play wolves and have painted my marines in a roughly wolf colour scheme, I have no problem with people running their own chapter marines, and would positively encourage it, and they can use whichever codex they want for them, its no bother to me. As long as their models properly represent the units, who is to argue. There is more than enough scope in the 40K universe for pretty much any combination.
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