What is your MOST favorite faction and why?

[Dez]

So I thought it would be fun to create the Ying to the Yang of this great discussion here . 

What is your most favorite faction, and why?

 

I think most people would say Orks/Orcs/Orruks/anything mean and Green for me...but they'd be wrong! While it's true I really appreciate the rough and tumble post apocalyptic ramshackle nature of the Green Beasts and I'm the first to say Orks iz Best...I like Dwarfs best

As a really young lad, I was introduced to The Hobbit and my life was never the same. I'd read every fantasy book you could throw at me. I'd pore over Dungeons & Dragons books, not playing as much as reading all the information and rolling up characters (most of which were Hobbits and Dwarfs). 

When I started the hobby, it seemed everyone had Greenskin or Dwarf armies in my gaming group. Now while I do like to do something 'different' from others, I also don't let that control what I want to do...until it comes to money I happened across a deal I couldn't refuse for some Warriors of Chaos models, so I was Mono Tzeentch for years (sword and board too, I picked to worst god/setup from a gameplay standpoint when I first started and continuously lost). 

Eventually I was ready to start a new army, and I went with Skaven. I love their Aesthetic and background! Now I know what you are thinking now, Dez why didn't you start Dwarfs? Well...I thought it was weird that the only way to really play them competitively was with Cannons. I thought of Dwarfs as heroic fighters and stealthy rangers (think The Hobbit again). If played that way in WFB, they'd just get outmaneuvered and destroyed because they were so slow. Skaven were the perfect army for me.

In 40K I flipped my wig when I found out about Squats...and what had happened to them. I'd made a vow that if they ever rereleased Squats, I'd sell all my other armies. I'm not so sure I'd do that now, but if they come out for 40K you can bet I'm all in.

So that brings us to Kharadron Overlords. They are everything I'd imagined in the best army and more. While it would have been cool to have some more robotic exosuits (hopefully coming in 40K for Squats) there's nothing I don't like about the KO. I can't wait to dive into the army. This is going to be my project army, my hope is that I can also play them competitively (I like all aspects of the hobby).

tldr: I like Dwarfs.

[rokapoke]

Well, my first army were the Stormcast (for the record, I never touched tabletop gaming until Age of Sigmar dropped -- a timing coincidence more than anything else). 

That said, my favorite would have to be the Seraphon. Who wouldn't like dinosaurs riding bigger dinosaurs? Plus, my five-year-old son is a big fan, so I can justify more purchases that way .

[Thanatos Ares]

Orcs for me. More specifically Savage Orcs (and no they shouldn't be allowed bows and Arrers!) I used to run an all Cavalry forest gobbo/savage Orc list back in the world that was and you're damn right I took a wyvern! Not because they were good but because my Orc warboss believed it was propa!


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[Vasshpit]

I've always been a huge fan of all things Orcs, Goblins and trolls. I'm a total monster, creature kinda guy.

Hell, my childhood hero is Godzilla!

If going strictly AoS releases, my favorite faction is going to have to be Ironjawz.

I really like the whole backstory about while everyone else hid during the age of chaos, Ironjawz were busy beating chaos azz and reaped the rewards of a tougher breed.

Here's to hoping other destruction forces get some love soon.

I recently read  The Fury of Gork and there were some great interactions between Orruk and Stormcast. not just "hulk smashiness" with the Orruk psyche . Thought that was cool. Also in the book, Gordrakk is referenced as having both eyes, unless I'm mistaken. So he got that nasty scar after?..... 

WAAAGGGHHH!!!

 

[CentralKarma]

I'd also have to say the Dwarfs.  I played Bretonians when I first start because I loved King Arthur as a kid.  However after seeing the Dwarfs in action and the power of their artillery, I was hooked.  The book of grudges is great too.  I have a notebook that I use as my own book of grudges, and its a lot of fun.

My favourite unit was always the slayers, so once Fyreslayers came out I started an army.  I will be starting on Kharadron overlords once I'm done my Fyreslayers.

52 minutes ago, Dez said:

tldr: I like Dwarfs.

I get it

[Veillotron]

I am currently building 3 armies at the same time (Stormcast, Disciples of Tzeentch and Death) – not very efficient from a gaming perspective, but I like the diversity from a painting perspective.

I haven’t decided yet whether I prefer SE or DoT… I love the lore built around each faction, but I am in the end a very shallow person and therefore very driven by aesthetics. Once I have progressed further with my conversions and painting, I will be able to give you a definite answer.

[DynamicCalories]

Eldar and Skaven - I had the codex and army books for them in the 90s:

 

and

respectively. The stories in them really captured my imagination in a way that little since has. I don't particularly like the modern Skaven so much, but I loved them back then. It was just like nothing else I'd read, before or since. The Eldar were the same, given I was 10 this was no difficult feat but still, I am very attached to them. I don't really like the Elves in fantasy though, but I never read that heavily into their lore. There's just something very evocative about The Eldar, a proud dying race with weapons that were devilishly nasty - harlequin's kiss - but also incredibly nasty.

 

In 40k I also got into 'Nids and Tau. I essentially only really liked the proper scifi/alien factions, as their background stories were the best.

Moving to fantasy it was always Skaven and Lizardmen: again, the fantastical elements hit it off with me more than the medieval stuff of Empire and Bretonnia. The Skaven especially were so fleshed out in their Army book that I never felt I needed to read any of the fiction around them. I loved all their named characters, just like all the Eldar Primarchs, they're one thing I miss from AoS so far, but I've not dug very far into the background info.

When I got into AoS I just went with Nurgle as I liked the Blightkings and I felt they were the best models to paint for a newcomer/returning guy. I nearly picked sylvaneth but they seemed to be in vogue so I left it. If i'd started later it would have been Tzeentch, but now I am finishing up my small Chaos force to work on the Kharadron. 

[Veillotron]

7 minutes ago, CentralKarma said:

I'd also have to say the Dwarfs.  I played Bretonians when I first start because I loved King Arthur as a kid.  However after seeing the Dwarfs in action and the power of their artillery, I was hooked.  The book of grudges is great too.  I have a notebook that I use as my own book of grudges, and its a lot of fun.

You reminded me of something - had the Bretonnian still been around (i.e. still available on GW's website), they would have EASILY been my favorite faction. Those are the only guys I used to paint in the 90s...

[Oppenheimer]

Soulblight. Vampires are my bag and that's chalk full of them. The coven throne and vampire lords on foot being my favourite. Is also nice to see blood knights getting the stat line they deserve after the pitiful one in 8e.

[Zeratan]

Flesh-eater courts. In my case it all boils down to the fluff and  one of the few Warhammer novels I've ever read, Robert Earl's  'Ancient blood'. I generally had a poor impression of it except for a few fragments- the ones featureing Ushoran. I wanted to know more about him  and was displeased to find out that after events depected in the novel he did nothing noteworthy. And here AoS's own ghouls come into play with a ton of fresh and interesting fluff that makes this faction very sympathetic without making them good guys.

PS. Dez, currently the role of space dwarfs in 40k belongs to Demiurg. Currently they're just a fluff race but might change some day.

[Bradifer]

I liked Tyranids in 40K, so it wasn't too difficult for me transfer to a monster/evil oriented faction (well, GA) Death.

If i had to narrow it down, Deathlords, although small, established a new aesthetic that I had eyeballing ever since I started 40K.

Morghasts and Dread Abyssals have this look, like they were reconstructed and engineered from bone/spirits/elements of death to serve a specific and deadly purpose. Makes me think Nagash is like the AoS equivalant of the Dark Eldar Haemonculus - an architect of bone rather than flesh.

I think the way the spirits are done now looks amazing as well. They really lend themselves to the natural Wash-Driven paintjob, they look menacing, their aesthetics match their rules (ethereal - no skin to rend, 2 daggers = two attacks per spirit, they are actually flying).

Bottom line for me was to find something based around monsters/elite units, and being generally evil, and I think Death captures those elements pretty well if you're not going the horde route!

[Dez]

1 minute ago, Zeratan said:

 

PS. Dez, currently the role of space dwarfs in 40k belongs to Demiurg. Currently they're just a fluff race but might change some day.

I know they've been rumored forever, I am waiting to empty the coffers for them

[DeadlySarcasm]

Love this thread, thank you for creating it!

My favourite faction is..

IRONJAWZ!

I have always loved black orcs, so cool in 8th, Grimgor was such a beast in combat, and his unit of Black Orcs was my favourite thing to push across a table.

Then the Ironjawz came. I remember, because I remember the sound of my wallet crying in pain. A faction of massive Orcs who the Black Orcs LOOK UP TO! I had to get involved.

I love everything about them, the aesthetic, the fluff, the way they play on the table, the MASSIVE grumpy dragon! Sure they have their short comings in game, but they are definitely still a fantastic army to play with!

[Dez]

Same here @DeadlySarcasm, though I was trying so hard not to buy any new armies before I finished the mountains of projects I have to work on. Then of course I found a deal I couldn't resist...

I didn't even play O&G and I bought several boxes of Black Orcs in plastic when they came out because the kit was so awesome!

[DeadlySarcasm]

Yea the Ard Boy kit, as its called now, was really sweet. Its a shame it just doesnt stand up next to the newer stuff, and looks really dated next to them. Painting them as well, you can just really see how the new stuff is just in a different league. The arms are really difficult to differentiate from the armour on the body

[Rungi]

Dwarfs are the only army I've ever collected. I love the dutiful, salty, grudge-filled nature of them all. I'm by far more hobbyist than gamer, so instead of having a focus on the war-machine aspect for competitiveness, my army is tailored to the fluffy idea that if you wrong a dwarf, the clan spends the night working up a drunken temper and shows up to take it out on the evil-doers the next morning. I've been exploring different ways to distinguish clans from eachother, tie in the isolationist hunter/ranger aesthetic, and also highlight the borderline-religious view the dwarfs hold towards their mountain homelands. Not much excites me more than the concept of a new dwarf kingdom growing in Chamon, full of small, interdependent but contrasting clans that come together in defiance of Chaos' rule.

With all that said, I love seeing what other folks are coming up with for Destruction armies! Current favorites include Moonclans driving waves of squigs, giant and ogre-sized orcs, and all the possibilities around what a full-blown bone splitter hunt could entail.

A few shoutouts to some amazing work I've found here:

Everything blue-moon fungus from @Bishmeister

@Arbaal's Iron Waaaaagh!

The Ogornid Bugclaw Raiders from @StoneMonk

@Lysandestolpe's Orc conversions

and a force that isn't destruction, but helps drive my thinking around a setting for my dwarfs, The Wolfs of Ghur by @Bueno

Huge thanks to everyone who posts pictures and fluff of their armies. Your ideas make the setting(s) come to life and definitely fuel my own thinking around the fluff and clans I want to create!

[Galas]

Greenskins, in all form and shape. I just love them. They are the comic relieve in a universe that sometimes thakes itsel to seriously, but they still have a very brutal and dark twist if you look at them the correct way.

From a game standpoint, I just love how much variety they offer. You have Orcs, Savage Orcs, Black Orcs, Forest Goblins, Goblins, Dark Goblins, Giants, 3 varietys of trols, and all the flavour of all those units. 

 

I love too the Chaos Warriors. I have no shame to recognice that Archaon its my waifu. Vikings and Mongols of 2m imbuid by dark powers, in the biggest set of armour posible, totally empowered by the Gods they serve, and in the end, they are no more that little flies, just dancing in the edge of the blade. 

Just a little mistake, and the All-Migthy Chaos Lord becomes a Chaos Spawn, because in the end, they are just mortals, and the Gods don't care about them. They are afterall playing the Great Game.

[Captain Marius]

I have chopped and changed over the years and would say that vampire counts were my fave faction in the world that was. However since the dawn of aos my soul has belonged to KHORNE. The bloodbound models are everything a Chaos warrior army devoted to the Blood God should be and ive painted 4k of the devils since they came out, easily a record for me! I like how their fluff differentiates the ways in which the various followers worship, giving them far far more depth than simply the frenzied berserkers theyve been in the past. Alongside a pretty solid daemon range I am thoroughly enjoying playing the main baddies in AoS and i cant wait to see what goodies are in store in the new book. Blood for the Blood God!

[obaobaboss]

No doubt, the free people. The "normal" humans struggle to survive this setting is for me the most interesting. And there are so many possibilities for different takes on them, being inspired historicaly or going total crazy. I too like the human miniatures and the possibilities for kitbash (but to be honest, chaos can top that). 

[dea]

Have always been drawn to elves in fantasy settings, Wood elves were my first fantasy love, so of course the Sylvaneth are my favourite faction.  Also the first army I have ever actually finished painting (well all the models I currently have for it). Really love (for all elf armies really) the spectrum of fragile but deadly warriors and giant monsters (i.e. Treemen, Dragons ect) and lots of magic. As much as I would love to expand it more with actual Wood elf models, they're all still on square bases, so I am holding off until they get a faction release, which hopefully gives boxes of 15-20 for cheaper than they have now. 

Also incredibly pumped for Cthulu elves, as tempting as the insanity that is the KO release is, I am saving my money for the new Malerion and whatever craziness comes with him.

[AverageBoss]

Vampire Counts.

While most of the denizens of the undead faction are mindless shambling horrors, the vampires themselves are so characterful and drenched in lore, possibly more than anything else in the game. VC army books were very focused on individual characters, and when you made a VC army, it was an extension of the vampire(s) leading it. They have come far short of that in AOS fluff so far, but I am hoping for that to change when the Death factions start geting updates.

[nuttyknatty]

Unusually perhaps, I don't have a favourite.

I originally collected and played both Orcs & Goblins and High Elves simply because they came in the first box I bought. Then, when looking for a third army, I picked Empire because they were 'different' enough from either of those two armies. Then I picked Beastmen purely because no one at my club was using them!

Finally went with FEC since I didn't have a Death army (and already had the other three alliances) due to the price of the new boxes!

I genuinely feel that I'd have a blast playing anything!

[Praecautus]

My first ever army was 40k space orks - thrugg bullneck I am looking at you. So I still have a soft spot for mean and green.

but chaos, the first slaves to darkness book fell into my mind like a lead weight into jelly. It is tragic, the drive for power coupled with a tightrope walk of spawndom or become a prince )which may not be a better fate). The concept is great and drives my armies now, so 20+ years later I am currently developing a khorne army that sees khorne as their great protector. 

[Galas]

13 minutes ago, The Nameless One said:

Unusually perhaps, I don't have a favourite.

I originally collected and played both Orcs & Goblins and High Elves simply because they came in the first box I bought. Then, when looking for a third army, I picked Empire because they were 'different' enough from either of those two armies. Then I picked Beastmen purely because no one at my club was using them!

Finally went with FEC since I didn't have a Death army (and already had the other three alliances) due to the price of the new boxes!

I genuinely feel that I'd have a blast playing anything!

I have to aggre with that. Warhammer its the only fantasy setting I have encounter (AoS,40k and Fantasy) that even the factions/races I like the least... I still like them. Woods elves are the faction that I less like in Fantasy, and even them, I don't dislike them.

I just like factions in different degrees, I  dislike no one.

[swarmofseals]

My first ever faction was Khorne aligned Chaos Warriors in WHFB 5th edition, but my favorite is definitely Wood Elves. I enjoyed the lore and aesthetic of the army, and I really like the dryad kit. The new kits for Sylvaneth are mostly great too, imo. 

That said, I always wished that they would push Wood Elves in a bit of a different direction. The link between GWs Wood Elves and Tolkien's Lorien/Mirkwood Elves was always super clear. I'd like to see them push away from that more "traditional" representation and towards something closer to truly feral aelves. I always wanted to see GW go full Princess Mononoke and give us some aelves riding giant wolves/boars/etc and mix the army between forest spirits, aelves and animals. Warhawks and the newer Wild Riders/Sisters of the Thorn kit were a nice starting point but they could go much further, and change the aesthetic of the aelves to match.