Your Priorities when evaluating units for purchasing?

[Nin Win]

What are your priorities when it comes to picking units?  I personally put them in this order:

1. What the units are in the background fiction.  Do I like what they are or represent in either the stories and descriptions in the battletomes or in novels or short stories that they appear in?
2. The modelling and painting experience.  Do I like the way it looks?  Does building it look fun?  Am I excited about painting it?
3. The connection between the background fiction and the rules.  Do the rules evoke what the unit does in the stories or in its description in the battletome?  If I play a game with it, will it feel like it should or will this be one of those areas where the background says one thing but the rules don't support that?  (thankfully this is rare in AoS)
4. The strength of the unit on the top top.  I'm not looking for a tournament army but will the unit stick around on the table top and live long enough to do its cool thing every game or two?  When it finally does the cool thing about it will it be awesome or will a sad trombone play?  Womp-womp?

A take on the last one that I don't use but many people do:

• It's place in a tournament list.  Given what other people play, the nature of the terrain, scenarios and the current plan of my army, will this have a home in my army when I go to the next big event?  Do I have some sort of combination of abilities planned that this contributes to?  Does it protect my combination?  Does it take objectives?  What is it actually going to do to help me win games at an event?

Or do you go by instinct?  Just buy what's new and in stock when you drop by a shop?   Maybe getting a good deal is important?  Have you ever thought about why you pick the units you do?

[blueshirtman]

1. Can I afford it

2. Can my army use it

3. Is it good.

Rest of the stuff I don't find very important.

[Ravinsild]

1) Does it look cool? 

2) Does it look cool on my shelf? 

3) Does it look cool on the table?

4) Does it actually do anything useful in the game? As long as it looks cool on my shelf its ok because maybe it'll get buffed next edition  

That's the only reason I want to start a Dark Elf army and get some normal chaos mortals for my Khorne Bloodbound. Chaos Knights and Chaos Warriors look super cool and seem decent enough, and Dark Elves look super cool too. 

[Skabnoze]

As long as I like the model and it belongs to an army that I play or that I want to play then I usually pick it up.  If I like the unit but absolutely detest the official models then I will often either look for a 3rd party alternative that I prefer or else I will convert up something.

But in most cases I have a tendency to collect everything in a faction to some degree.  I will collect at least one of most things and more of things that I really like or that have formations or themes that I want to include in army lists. 

[Memnoch]

1) Is it a Stormcast unit?
2) Do I already have it?
3) Do I need more of it?
4) Will my wife kill me?

This is pretty much my thought process. 4) is usually the deciding factor

[JackStreicher]

2. Looks

1. Background

4. is the unit any good?

[amysrevenge]

1. Do I already have it?

2. Can I get it second hand?

3. Do I reeeeealy need it?

4. Wait until after it gets nerfed, then buy buy buy (reference: me adding Arrowboys to my Bonesplitters now, rather than 2 years ago)

[Melcavuk]

Does it look good?
Can I build something cool?
 

Those two are the only things I go through. Rules change, background evolves but a cool looking model will always be a cool looking model.

[Nos]

Does it look good

Does it/can it fit my army aesthetic or theme 

Am I realistically going to invest in building it if it's a full on kit or rather than the usual 5 or 6 part soldier construction because I hate putting stuff together

Don't really care about anything else. I would never buy an effective tabletop unit that I didn't like the look of, or spam multiple units just because they're powerful unless it fit a pre-determined idea of what I want the army to be.

It  I always have a story behind any hobby project I put together, and that will be the sole origin that explains what models it contains and why. If it happens to be effective on the tabletop that's a bonus but nothing more.

[Ravinsild]

28 minutes ago, Nos said:

Does it look good

Does it/can it fit my army aesthetic or theme 

Am I realistically going to invest in building it if it's a full on kit or rather than the usual 5 or 6 part soldier construction because I hate putting stuff together

Don't really care about anything else. I would never buy an effective tabletop unit that I didn't like the look of, or spam multiple units just because they're powerful unless it fit a pre-determined idea of what I want the army to be.

It  I always have a story behind any hobby project I put together, and that will be the sole origin that explains what models it contains and why. If it happens to be effective on the tabletop that's a bonus but nothing more.

OMG this. It's why I literally cannot play 40k competitively and have mostly lost interest in it. The top tier tournament lists are literally spamming the lamest units over and over and I seriously just can't do that. I cannot take 60 Cultists in a Chaos SPACE MARINE ARMY. Tyranids have like 40 models, but nah let's just use 3 of them. Guilliman gun-lines, yawn. At least AOS competitive lists use a little of everything! Plus I love melee and it's way harder to pull off in 40k than in AOS. In 40k shooting is the norm, and melee is rare, but it's the reverse for AOS I've found, in my own experience. 

 

[grungolah]

0) Army selection: I buy for armies I once played in 1999.  I have a ton of those, but have only resurrected two that have recently released books (Maggotkin and Nagash). 

1) Cool factor.  The first models of any army are the centerpieces.  I pick the models I like the look of the most.

2) Inventory.  The inventory stage is fixing what I own and finding warscrolls to match.  Some of it is playable, some is not.  Cool factor from decades past.

3) Battleline.  The battleline stage is figuring out how to turn the cool models into a legal army list.  

4) Salvage.  This is a variant of the "inventory" stage.  This is where I buy cheap used product and fix it up.

5) Strategy.  This is the last step of my selection process.  Once I have most of an army, I fill it with models that make it work better.

[TheOtherJosh]

1. Can I use it in Warhammer Quest?

1a.  Is it one of the units that there are current Adversary cards for WHQ?

1b. Do I have enough in my collection to make a full WHQ Adversary Group for this unit?

1c. Is it a hero that has rules for WHQ that I don’t have and want to add to the collection?

2. Can I use it in my army to get a better force on the table?

3. Do I currently have one of these units?

3a. Do I need one of these units to fulfill a battalion requirement that I’m building towards?

4. Would I want to paint the model?

5. Is it a cool looking model I could put on the shelf and admire.

[angrycontra]

1) Does it look good (rules matter little when model is just pure awesomeness)?

2) Does it have fun rules (note, being good/op does not mean equivalent of being fun)?

3) Does it fit in my initial planned 2000 point list (I usually collect 2k points, then switch armies to buy something new)?

4) Is it part of some battalion as a tax unit (tecnically same as 3 but usually the last thing I buy for my army)?

5) Is it simply just too good to pass (I generally avoid op stuff though)?

[Mephisto]

I live a dual life as someone competitive that likes tournaments but I'm also obsessed with the fluff and aesthetic of Warhammer. 

Mine is more like a flow chart narrated by a 1950s Radio Show Host than a linear progression:

So you want to buy a new model, do ya, Mephisto? Well first thing's first, is it Death? If yes, proceed. If no, get one of your friends to play AOS. Indoctrinate them based on how sweet the model is and enjoy seeing it on the table while secretly resenting them for getting to play with it and use that rage to fuel your competitive streak to crush them. Compliment their sweet model afterwards.

It seems you found a new Death model. Does it look cool? If yes, proceed. If no, can you make it look cool? If no? Into the trash it goes.

Is it good? If yes, proceed. If no, convince someone you hate at the LGS that it is good. You're now stronger in the mirror match. If you don't know, proxy one of your 100 skeletons to count as it and playtest to see if it's good.

Way to go, Mephisto, my friend. It looks like you've found a Death Model that Looks Cool and Plays Good. It's almost time to add it to your army. Wait, not just yet, little fella. Does it fit your aesthetics, your theme? If yes, enjoy winning at looking cool and playing good. If no, can you make it fit your aesthetic? Still no? Into the trash it goes. If yes, did you just put a cool hat on it? You did? Siiiigh, not again, Mephito. How many damn skeletons with rice hats do you need? Answer: all of them.

Editor's Note: It's also worth noting I try to buy second hand as much as possible. I've an interest in some Nighthaunt stuff that I think can round out my Death list or let me modulate into a different playstyle for kicks when I feel the need but I'll wait until the craze dies down and people are getting rid of them to buy whatever the next army is.


 

[Twisted Firaun]

1. Is it cool?

2. fit my army'

3.in price range?

4.convertable?

5.spare bits?

[MacDuff]

1) Is it new and cool?

2) Do I wants it, my Precious?

3) How many boxes of it can the wife stand?

4) Do I wants it anyway?

5) How soon can I gets it?

[Sleboda]

Mostly, is it cool looking and will I enjoy painting it.

A dash of background.

A pinch of playability.

 

[AaronWilson]

I'll be totally honest, I just buy things that I want to put on the table because I think they're competitive and will help me build a strong list. Fortunately, all of the Tzeentch range looks amazing so I can't complain at all. 

[RuneBrush]

Very similar to most.  Starting point is that it has to look cool & have the right aesthetics to fit into my vision of the army.  Next up is how much fun it looks to paint (possibly even doing a test model).  Then I'll look at the rules to see how many of them I want to field, you want your newest unit to at least survive contact with the enemy - if they prove to be too effective against my usual gaming group I can always choose to field less of them.

Unit background does come into play, but alongside having the right aesthetics.

[darkspear]

Can I use it in my games (is it part of my army? I rarely buy stuff just to paint/display)

Do I own the models already?  If so, can its role on the table top be replaced by something that I do not owned.

Do I like the models?

Is it useful on the tabletop

[Jamopower]

My combination is looks, cost (in money) and does it do something interesting on the table. If two of these are very preferable, then the third might be surpassed. 

[Brad Gamma]

Apologies in advance for the length of this reply. But I feel quite strongly about some of this. My priorities in order are:

1) Am I going to finish it?

As soon as I started tracking what I bought and what I actually finished, I realised I was only finishing around 25%. From what I have seen from other hobbyists this is not an uncommon scenario. I started thinking about it like this: If you are buying faster than you are completing, then you either need to reach a point where you stop buying for a while and complete your backlog, or accept that you will never finish things that you have bought. Are you happy spending £30 for a 1 in 4 chance (or whatever your ratio) to actually own the models in the state that you had in mind when you bought them?

So I ask myself, whats my workstack like? Am I completing stuff as fast as I'm buying stuff. If I'm not then I don't let myself buy them. Don't let yourself get distracted by box sets or deals that you think are too good to pass up because of the savings. I've saved far more money limiting myself to what I can complete, than by impulse buying because of bargains. Most models are still gonna be there when you are ready to start them, and you may have found that you've changed your mind by then anyway, or moved onto your next great idea.

2) Does it add to one of my current projects?

I currently have two armies on the go that I want to get into a playable state (dwarfs and 40k Orks). That might only mean reaching 1000 pts so I can at least have some reasonable games, but that is still a significant time investment. After spending ages working on these, it would be really fun to play with them, so I have to remember if I pick anything up outside of those things, it is going to delay me actually getting to play with new toys. Things like Skirmish and Kill team do help with this, reducing the amount you need to complete to be able to play with it. However its still good to know your intentions when you set out.

2 or 3 projects at once is good so that you can flip between them to avoid burnout.

3) Do the models look cool / Can I add my own personal touches?

The easier a model is to convert the better. The better suited an army is to custom colour scheme variation. Once you've put in so much time into the models its nice to feel proud of them, and something unique you can add to them helps. I also like to at least scribble down some background for everything I make.

4) Am I intrigued by its playstyle?

It doesnt need to be super competitive, but am I excited to play with it? After my dwarfs I am most likely to pick a fast army or a heavily magical army just to mix things up. If it currently sucks in the game, it might only be one points adjustment or new synergy away from being good, so I don't let that trump any other decision. If it really sucks? I'll proxy it for something else. A lot of my guys are heavily converted anyway and my group is pretty friendly to that sort of thing.

5) Can I afford it?

This is at the bottom because it has been solved almost completely by "1) Am I going to finish it?". Once you work out you can only complete £30-50 worth of models a month, and thats at GW non-box set prices, why would you spend any more? I realise that might still be a lot to some people, but I know a few too many people who just build up hoards of uncompleted stuff, many of it that they got a great deal on, and outspend me by quite a lot, and the end result is less stuff that hits a table finished.

 

[Ithlinne]

1) Can i afford it?

2) Do i have something that do the same role?

3) Is it a real BAD gaming choice?

3') How cool is it?

[Nick in York]

All of these weighed up together:

Does it look cool?

Will I enjoy painting it?

Does it fit with the theme or lists of my army(ies)?

[Skreech Verminking]

1. Can I afford it?

2. Is it a skaven unit?

3.does it look cool?

4.does it fit with the skaven fluff?

5.will it look cool at the table/ on the shelf?

6. Is their a good way to kit bash them?

7.how many models do I need or better said want?