If you've been in the hobby for a few years it's pretty likely that you have more than one army, even if the second one is still under construction. For Age of Sigmar alone I have four fully playable armies, I also have a Necron army for 40k, as well as a Republic army for Star Wars Legion. If I were to stretch back through the whole 20+ years I've been in the hobby I can safely add at least five more armies to that tally. While having the collecting bug is nothing new for us, I think there is more benefit in it than just that for having some variety in your armies.
Right now for AoS I have a Tomb Kings, Maggotkin of Nurgle, Nighthaunt, and Daughters of Khaine army. Each of these provides me with a bit of a different play experience, which is key. Even though I love the way each of these armies play, hence why I collected them in the first place, I find it's nice to stretch out and try something different every now and then. My Maggotkin are a tar pit that slowly wear down the enemy, while the Nighthaunt are a fast, responsive army, running circles around my opponent (especially with a Dreadblade general). The Daughters of Khaine are probably the most unique of my armies when it comes to play style. All of the Death and Nurgle stuff share a certain resilience, where as the DoK are a bit more of a glass cannon. I built them to have one of everything so I could try every little bit of how they play.
When I take an army to multiple events throughout the years I usually like to switch it up and bring something new eventually. I played my Tomb Kings for about two years, then my Nighthaunt for about 2 years, then started mixing in Nurgle and Daughters of Khaine. Both of these started out as smaller, 1,000 point forces meant for Vanguard and team events. My DoK are still at that 1,000 point level, but I have since expanded my Nurgle to a full army. Sadly I only got to take them to a two day and a one day event before COVID struck, but I'm hoping to play them some more at events in the future. Even my Nighthaunt actually started out as a 1,000 point army. This is a great way to slowly build up an army while still getting games in with them. It also gives you an early litmus test to make sure you actually like the way they play before expanding them further.
Over the summer I painted up a Necron army. It's almost at 2,000 points and I really just need to finish one or two more units to hit that mark. I started out in 40k but haven't played much in recent years. Now that I have an army for that it gives me yet another avenue for gaming. At Adepticon 2022 I might play in both a 40k event and an AoS event. I also have my Grand Army of the Republic army. I've yet to play any games of Star Wars Legion, but it gives me one more way to play. Another benefit of having multiple armies is learning multiple ways the games are played. This will help you improve as a player in general and teach you lessons you can apply to one of your older armies, or prepare you to face more opponents in the future.
Beyond just the game play benefits of multiple armies there's also the hobby bonus. I've done several articles on this in the past, but it's nice to have a variety of things to paint. It helps you avoid burnout and can also let you try out new color schemes, techniques, and basing ideas. While I can get into a groove of painting just one army for a few months, I usually need to break it up with something else at some point. While one off models are great, it's also nice feeling as though you're contributing to a larger project at the same time.
How many armies do you have for each system? Do you only have one army and stick with it?
Until next time,
Tyler M.
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