Allies taking the uniqueness out of armies?

[Chumbalaya]

So let me get this straight, a for-profit company released a product that promotes other products in order to make sales?

Call the cops!

On topic, allies are a whole new mess of options for every army. Each Codex does its own thing, but now you can add in other elements to make your particular army even more unique.

[Kyban]

Except Nids.

Of course the most obvious allies would be IG and that could result in some extremely nasty lists so they probably chose to forgo it for balance reasons.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

Necrons can have some fun/fluffy allies, even without much counts-as. They have a pretty big ruler-complex going on, would probably loveeee lording it over the lesser species within their domain. A PDF on a surrendered world, fighting alongside their Necron masters to drive off a Waaaaagh!, a Tau colony with unquestionable loyalty to the Overlord after its Ethereal was controlled with Mindshackle Scarabs.

Perhaps years after the PDF drove off the Waaaagh! curious Crypteks rounded up the Feral Orks and have been studying/raising them, eventually them to "dah biggest scraps!", the Orks following their "Tinbosses". Perhaps model a grumpy-looking Necron Overlord covered in the trophies and spoils his Orks have been nailing to him :P

[Kyban]

Necrons can have some fun/fluffy allies, even without much counts-as. They have a pretty big ruler-complex going on, would probably loveeee lording it over the lesser species within their domain. A PDF on a surrendered world, fighting alongside their Necron masters to drive off a Waaaaagh!, a Tau colony with unquestionable loyalty to the Overlord after its Ethereal was controlled with Mindshackle Scarabs.

Necrons are also experts at manipulation. They could have coerced other factions into fighting for them.

[imperialpower]

some good points maybe I am just a bit of a purest and prefer each army to have it's weak points to be overcome tacticly instead of just filling the void with another races units but I see the apeal of making your own fluff to say why a particular race has had to ally with another, each to there own

[Wildeybeast]

So let me get this straight, a for-profit company released a product that promotes other products in order to make sales?

Call the cops!

On topic, allies are a whole new mess of options for every army. Each Codex does its own thing, but now you can add in other elements to make your particular army even more unique.

I have no objections to them making a profit, my worry is when (if) the rules mechanics are being determined on a basis of how to maximise the sales of models rather than in terms of what will make a fun game to play.

Of course the most obvious allies would be IG and that could result in some extremely nasty lists so they probably chose to forgo it for balance reasons.

Because balance was clearly the key factor in determining the rest of the allies matrix.

[The AKH]

some good points maybe I am just a bit of a purest and prefer each army to have it's weak points to be overcome tacticly instead of just filling the void with another races units but I see the apeal of making your own fluff to say why a particular race has had to ally with another, each to there own

40k is still more complex than Rock-Paper-Scissors - taking an allied contingent that covers up your main army's glaring weaknesses doesn't magically make those weaknesses invalid. At the end of the day, generalship and dice are still the deciding factors in any game.

[Filthspew]

At the end of the day, generalship and dice are still the deciding factors in any game.

Unfortunately not

If it was, then every game with equal points armies would be a fun, fair match that either side could win if they are roughly equally skilled players.

Sadly, that is not the case.

GW made a game that is so filled with imbalancing aspects, allies being just one of those, that it is necesary for us as players to make sure that everyones expectations for a game is met for everyone to have fun.

To create that situation, where dice and generalship is the main determining factor for the outcome of the game, we have to add or discard from the GW rules.

Heck, we even have to consider it in our listmaking.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

You say that... but me and my mate can make virtually any army list broken.

[Denzark]

It actually makes armies more unique. Surely? Because instead of IG on its own, it could now have what, IG and a combination of 5-6 allies? IG/SM IG/GK IG/Ork IG Tau IG/SW. So more variety not less, times that for all except nids.

But does it take the uniqueness out of what you will see on the table top? Possibly but only at gatherings of WAAC gamers.

I 100% agree though that the table is skewed. SM fighting with Tau? a Xenos scum? Tell that to the Red Scorpions. The table was over permissive.