So many options, so little...

I guess the first issue I have is picking which army I want to play. In a perfect world, I'd have the time and money to indulge all of my ideas. But this, as we all know, is not a perfect world. So much to chose from, and almost all of the armiy lists appeal to me in one way or another. And that's before I start considering "counts as" and incorporated allies.

Part of me yearns for the freedom of the "old days", previous editions that allowed you to build your units precisely the way you wanted, or the ability to ally in just about anyone you wanted to. Sort of what Apocalypse started out being. At the same time, I understand how badly those older rules were abused. I distinctly remember having an entire Space Marine 2500pt army wiped out by one "commander" unit with a vortex grenade and eight (yes, I said eight) different saves ranging from armor to force fields to "dodging". So, really, I understand why the army lists have developed the way they have to some extent, and of course, GW has a vested interest in preserving its market share, so the lists are more likely to cater to the miniatures line than the "fluff".

Ultimately, it leaves me with a lot of small decisions to make: this unit vs. that unit on the battlefield, what will be most fun to model for, which miniatures are "coolest", how deep is my pocket, what's allowed in tournament play ('cause I'm considering it amd don't have the money to build a "legal" army just for that reason). I'll figure it out, I'm sure. Maybe ranting about it here will help influence my decision.