[morfangdakka]

We all complain and bitch about all the space marine and the different variant armies out there and it got me to think about it. If GW decided to drop Space Marines or had never introduced space marines as an army would you have played 40K or would you still play 40K? I know GW would never drop space marines but just curious to see what people have to say if space marines and all the variants disappeared the way of the squats would you still play and why?

 

[WarlordKaptainGrishnak]

I'd have to say yes I would still play, as it was Orks that got me in initially but a similar scenario (as current SMs) could arise in the form of the poster race of 40k so it would just be bitching about a different race...most likely Guard, you can't have the human race dying on your fanbase now can you . to think about it though...If Guard where the poster boys, we may actually have got plastic variants for Guard apart from Cadian and Catachan from GW XD

Grish

 

[gen.ahab]

If they never made them into an army I would wonder why their main fluff money maker isn’t an army and play warmachine more.

If they removed them I would say fuck you and still use my codex with my friends. To me the wolves are the most appealing army out there and I just hate the rest tbh, I can either choose between some of the most inefficient soldiers in history, faggy space elves, blue commie monkey, OR green dipshits..... actually I rather like the green dipshits but the rest can burn in a fiery pit of eat shit and die.

 

[BucketWalrus]

If they never made space marines, we wouldn't have CSM's I would be sad, but atleast my orks are still there.

If they were removed, I would cry a tear of joy, then sadness cus my chaos marines would be removed too..

 

[Katie Drake]

I'd stop playing. If my favorite race was removed from the game, I'd want nothing to do with it anymore.

 

[chromedog]

Yes.
I have played eldar for longer and it would deplete the ranks of noobish SM players somewhat as well.

 

[Commissar Ploss]

I don't even think it's technically fluffable. How could you completely remove a race that by definition is scattered throughout the galaxy as a whole, with no accurate account of where they all are at any given time. Especially those that have gone missing or vanished. If you removed SM's you'd have to remove CSM's as well... since the latter stems from the former. that would be the end of the game in my eyes...

but i guess more directly answering the question; no, i would not continue to play the game if Space Marines were removed.

CP

 

[hippypancake]

I wouldn't like it at first but I wouldn't really care because I am mostly into nids...but wait who would stand up and fight against nids then? :*(

 

[BucketWalrus]

The orks ofcourse "CMON LADZ TEH 'UMIES 'AVE GONE AN DISAPEERD LOIK, LEZ GO SMASH SUM BUG 'EADS FER FUN"

Without spacemarines to kill millions of orks per second, the orks organize and wipe out every tyranid hive within 2 months. but now with no one to fight, the orks decide to rig planets like cars and smash them together. the galaxy explodes randomly as khorne goes apeshit cus he loses all his chaos marines.

 

[hippypancake]

idk you bring up a good point without the marines to hold the orks and the nids at bay...what will happen then? I think there would be an epic battle but I couldn't decide on who would win

 

[Dawnstar]

It really wouldnt bother me much, cause I would just play Eldar instead. I find Eldar as cool, if not cooler than, Chaos Marines anyway imo. Plus, the codex is in a much better state than the Chaos one.

It would be a win-win situation for me :biggrin:

 

[BucketWalrus]

Well, the Orks and nids are both very powerful and capable of doing massive hordes, or elitemonstrocities (lootas tear monstrous creatures apart, gotta love str 7 1-3 shot guns plowing into a hive tyrant stupid enough to not bring guards (sadly hitting on 5's so out of 45 shots (max) 15-20 may hit, on 3's to wound another 10 or so. taking his saves he may fail a few. 30 boyz with shootas also works. 60 shots, 20-30 will hit, wounding on 6's, so 10 max may wound, do both in one turn and youve just destroyed a 200+pt model WOO

Though the nids have tonnes of shots that deny ork armor regardless, so shooty nid armies eat orks for breakest.

Since orks reproduce so quickly, and the nids can't hit everywhere. their fight would be a long and hard one. Eventually the nids might lose to much biomass and pull back, or the nids find a way to use the orks regenerative and reproductive abilities to create a limitless source of biomass (send out a spore, it becomes millions of orks, eat all of them but 1, use it to make another million orks... rinse and repeat. thus the orks would be absorbed by a giant ball of bio mass and become a new strain of genestealers. and that would be the end of that.

But point arises, The space marines(this includes ALL VARIANTS) are the main reason the orks are unable to grow at the rate they were designed for, being killed and purged by the billions daily. If this was to stop ubruptly. the orks would grow astonishingly fast and would overwhelm the other races (eldar would be consumed by green, as will tau and imperial gaurd. the necrons would put up a harder fight because of their own staying power but eventually the numbers of greenskins would become just too much.

Now the tyranids have to fight the largest WAAAGH! in the galaxy, A Massive wave of nothing but green, countless ork ships would decend onto the hives and the orks would plow their way through, cutting off the tendrils and stuffing bombsquigs into nornqueens for fun. the docs would learn tyranid weaknesses through examining the very workings of their creation, even engineer new things to experiment "bio-doks" would use tyranid technology to create orks capable of infiltrating hives unoticed and wreak havoc from within, with the hives distracted the orks would hit them like a wall of green. and when the smoke clears, a warcry of every greenskin in the galaxy will be heard, the chaos gods will quiver with fear, as they know that now the tyranids are gone, the eye of terror is next!

 

[Bubblematrix]

I don't know, if they had never existed it would have been far easier on the diversity of the game. The fundamental flaw with the marines is that there are:

a) many different legions with their own unique characteristics
b) many legions which are still space marines deep down watever colour power armour they are wearing

This coupled with the baseline for marines being that little bit too high and you get a recipe for genericism.

Maybe they could get a little less bashing if GW put them on the 2 year wait cycle most others have instead of yearly upgrades by either new colours or new toys. The issue is caused when 50% of your opponents are the same army painted like a rainbow with different tagged on abilities which, so they get played above the already strong basic units, are stupidly strong.

Go back 18 months and I would blame it on ease of manufacture, but the SW and BA models have blown that one out of the water - which is nice because I used to hate the nagging suspicion that the only reason we had too many marines was because the molds were cheap.

So no, I don't think it would enhance anything to remove them (or never have had them) but maybe GW could stop giving them as much attention, there are enough chapters released, just build on them and stop the 12monthly recolouring job.

 

[Khorothis]

I'd put on a trollface whenever I see a hurpadurp-type of SPESS MUHREEN player and ask him "Problem Astartes?". Even if it meant that CSM are no longer legal. People would have to grow up to the challenge of having a 4+/5+ save average and consequently turn into more clever but most of all more mature players, resulting in much more enjoyable games. It'd be something like what they said in Kingdom of Heaven: if you'd burn Jerusalem to the ground there would be a lot of bitching and whining but you might just end up saving humanity from untold amount of pain in the ass.

But the best part would be rolling with the Sisters, who would be the only army with an average 3+ armour save but nodoby in their right mind would cry about it as they're just T3. It would also be great that an "all comers" list would really be an "all comers" list, not just a euphemism for "anti-SM list with a few templates so I won't suck balls if I bump into a horde army".

 

[jasonfly]

What he said

 

[nocturnalK]

lol, if they did not exhist then this would roll on right donw the imperial armys.
No SM would mean there was now hersey so no CSM
this leads to there being no Sisters of battle due to the tech coming from the SM and the fact that the IG could alone not of conqured so much of the galaxy
the GK would not exhist ether.

So in effect what would happen is the IG would be a only a small resistance force as they would not have the planets to replenish there losses....

Na to remove at the SM would mean there would be no imperium as we know it.

To remove them now... there would be only 1 way and that would be for the overall defeat of the Imperum, the only way that could happen would be for the Warp to successfuly oblitirate the entire galxy meaning that no other race surives ether....

Would i still play if the SM had never been inveneted.... Yes cus i would of been none the wiser.

Would i play if the SM was removed from the game... i doubt anybody would because there would be not much left to play if chaos rules all...

 

[Khorothis]

Dude, OP meant that they'd stay in the lore but their codices would be wiped from existence. The lore would be left untouched.

 

[GrizBe]

Forgetting the fluff and the storyline of the Heresy etc... I'd still play 40k if the Space Marines had never been introduced.

If they were removed now... yes, I'd probably still play, though it would mean I'd not be able to use the army I want to, of the Grey Knights.

Forgetting the current fluff... if Space Marines had never been introduced, it would mean no Chaos Space Marines.... Soo, This would probably mean that the IG had a bigger role, and probably better training and equipment, as more resources would have to be devoted to them. Power armour would still be about I feel, but it would be more of an exoskeletal walker then a suit interfaced with the person like SM's are.

Infact... I think that cutting SM's would increase the diversity of the game, but you could run the risk of more 'Tau-like' armies, since we'd have alot of higher tech humans running around.. and probably a higher tech universe all together, as there would be none of that stupid worrying about machine spirits etc that holds things back right now.

 

[nocturnalK]

lol... yup i realise that

thats would be a ghood thing getting rid of that dammed machine sprit thing.. humanity should of advance in 10,000 years

 

[LukeValantine]

I would probably stop playing. Also contrary to popular belief the absence of SM would not make players any better, since they would just flock to the next competitive army. Hence turning eldar/Necrons into the new space marines, and everyone would complain about the idiotic elfs and their ability to have awesome flying tanks and almost a standard 4+ armor save (compared to my Orks, and gaurd who take real skill to play: "Possible future ork/gaurd player hating on Eldar). I mean seriously would any of you Eldar or Necron players really enjoy being the noob army that everyone calls out for being cheap. Because lets be honest next to marines Necrons, and eldar are the next most complained about armies. Not to mention the huge influx of unskilled player would make ppl that player your armies look like goofs.