Variety- From Multiple Armies to a Single Codex

Welcome back Scratchbuilders!  Today I'm going to talk a little about what I've noticed since 6th edition books have started to become more prevalent, especially from the viewpoint of a Chaos Daemon player- variety.

Now don't get me wrong, the 40k universe is filled with diversity, from humans and super soldiers to living metal beings or killer bugs.  Ancient races battle with new upstarts while others simply try to hold what they have against foes from many years gone by.

However, often times within each army set one was left feeling they had 'seen it all'.  The flavor of each army didn't really diversify much when compared to other armies created using the same codex.  It wasn't as though people necessarily chose all the same units (though that did happen), but armies tended to get boring very quickly.

I was one of those who couldn't stick with an army, constantly jumping from one to the next.  From Tyranids to Iyanden Eldar to Blood Angels, Thousand Sons CSM to Necron to Sisters of Battle.  To finally settle on Chaos Daemons two years ago it has been a strange, bumpy ride but I wouldn't give it up for anything, especially after 6th edition hit.

Since 6th edition I've played the army in a multitude of combinations.  Within the book is a myriad of possibilities that can keep my opponents wondering from week to week what I am planning to bring.  Could it be lots of flying beasties?  How about an army of fast close combat monsters?  Maybe nearly invincible Screamer book combos?

What I've noticed is no matter what I throw together, whether it is filled with units from across the spectrum of force org choices or the 4 chaos gods, every time it's caused me to cackle with glee or frustration, resulting in fun either way.

The speed with which books come out has only increased the crazy frantic pace of the game, forcing us as players to constantly reexamine how our codex works when a new challenger is released just months later..  This has made the problem of years past, getting too used to a codex, nearly impossible for a casual gamer such as myself.  Each weekend I sit down and make a new list, select new units to throw together and try out.

It all boils down to that one question which can help keep a game interesting- what I should bring tomorrow.  To not have to switch to yet another army to keep my interest is immeasurably valuable and helps me focus on improving my play with what I already have built.


Oh, and here's some tank pictures so far.