Allies taking the uniqueness out of armies?

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

As has been said before, very win-focused players will use it to make statistically superior armies, but I don't see why that's necessarily a bad thing. I'm in the fluff-focused camp, but different players like different things in this game, and I think Allies improved the game for all.

[da_WaaaghMaster]

I think everybody wins with the ally rules. Powergamers will be powergamers (Eldrad in every list), there's no controlling that. The rest of us that like to model, convert and make fun/fluffy lists get just as much use out of these rules. Powergamers usually stick to the tourney scene anyways, and I avoid that like the plague.

[fuzzbuket]

i like it like i liked the allies with the old GK.

i dont have to spend as much money and as a painter it means i can have lots of little armies (Wooo)


also am i the only one who think epidermus grots is actually quite fluffy? if some orks have a pact with daemons they better have a sacrifice: who better to sacrifice than grotz

[DarkLink]

It's inevitable some will pick for advantage, but I'm yet to see it. And it's not as if it's free points. To really cover your tactical deficiency, you'll be spending a good amount of points to do so, thus weakening the area your strength lies in.

I've seen it, but it's not nearly as bad as people have made it out to be. For example, the notorious idea of taking a Farseer and a handful of rangers just for Runes of Warding isn't actually all that potent. You're spending 300+pts for Runes of Warding, which is good but at that cost not that good, and since allies are actually enemy units Runes hits your own psykers as well. So for some armies, it's a cool little option, but far from game breaking.

There are one or two nasty combos you can do, but not really anything nastier than stuff that currently exists in the game.


On the other hand, you get cool stuff like Tau allied with Gks, with the Tau battlesuits converted to look like mini-Dreadknights and the Fire Warriors as Stormtroopers, making for a pretty awesome themed army.

[Black Hydra]

I think people have deviated a bit from the original post. It wasn't about WAAC so much as diluting the uniqueness of each army. As someone pointed out before, it could be that GW doesn't care about armies' unique aspects to sell more. But that really doesn't seem to be what they intended. After all now we can create properly themed armies.

I mostly agree with the unique aspect of army being sort of diluted. I really don't feel like running any allies with my Necrons even if they make my army better. I do want to play good enough to have engaging matches, but I chose the Necrons because I like them, and yes I admit it also because they won't get updated for a while so my money is secure on that end. But I really do like the models and lore. The fluff allows us to make any kind of Necron force. And allying at best seems to be out of convenience which is properly reflected in the allies chart.

So my point is, even if it is technically possible to ally Necrons with other armies, it just doesn't feel completely right to me. On the other hand I'd ally my CSM with Vraksian Renegades because it is fluffy and good.

It's about taste in the end. How much of your army you want to stay as one army or if you're competitive. It's not a bad thing at all, but I do think some armies don't need allies whatsoever.

[DarkLink]

It's not like you have to use allies. And as I mentioned, there's now a wealth of counts-as possibilities. Chaos cultists, GK Dreadknight army, etc. All allies does is add options, and that's not a bad thing.

[Black Hydra]

Well I'm not saying we have to use allies. I'm just saying that I won't use them with my Necrons because I want to play them for what they are. And I agree with the counts-as rule which I did mention in the previous post. Like I said it's all about preferences.

[eldargal]

I don't see how more combinations can be seen as making armies less unique. If I want to I can have an Imperial Guard force backed with Space Marines, like the background often has them. Or a combined radical Ordo Xenos and eldar strike force. Or Imperial Guard thath ave defected to the Tau Empire. Or Grey Knights allied with eldar to purge a daemonic incursion etc. All things I could not do before that are supported in the bakground to some degree and would be great fun for a narrative campaign.

[Black Hydra]

EG- you realize you just mentioned all the obvious choices right? Not that you're wrong. But I wanted to play Necrons for the Necrons. True I could make units counts-as while modeling them to look Necron-y but that doesn't always work. I don't know. It's not bad but I don't want "inferior beings" in my Necron army if you know what I mean. <- don't take that one too seriously folks, it's a reference.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

I wouldn't exactly see the Ordo Malleus and the Eldar as best of friends.... (not an obvious choice)

As for Necrons, yeah, I can't see them allying with anyone, everyone else is inferior.

EDIT:
As for me, allies means that I can buy mini armies, for example:
My Guardians of Celeres stand ready with the Cadian Helljumpers to cleanse the galaxy.