From the workbench of the esteemed Horati0nosebl0wer

60/30/10% an interior design concept of how to work with room elements. I’ve tried it for color and I think there is some truth to the concept but it doesn’t always hold up. I did put some thought into army composition and I believe that is where the idea has merit.

In a generic army build you’ll have a set figure line you’ll work from. A company says “Play our game and use our models” which is fine if you stay within that ecology. Kick that right in the face or smash the mould with a hammer as you branch into miniature ambivalent games and you have a brand new issue of model cohesion. This is where I think the concept can shine when the mix and match of model ranges to suit a trope starts.

Using SAGA (for example) there is no holding a gamer or hobbyist back from chaotic creativity to go running naked and free in the wilds of unspoilt savanna sunshine, as we’ve been told by Phil and Kaja Foglio (just watch out for bees). The drawback is that in doing so, the random shiny of one moment may not very well make for a group of collected things later. For there to be cohesion the 6/3/1 breaks sequentially for focus and allows the unique character of different units to shine.

Let’s use the lowly ratmen as they seem at first glance a rather simple looking army. Pull up a little more than half of your force from anybody’s GW collection to bulk out a standard motif in Warriors and/or Levy (you can probably do more but hold off, trust me). Spice it up with some larger brutish cavalry Warriors of rat riding rats from Punga miniatures (metarodents?) or a Hearthguard unit using Ral Partha sword carrying rats. Then, top it off with a huge model from the likes of Meirce Miniatures that makes your opponent just want to run to the shower and clean the unnatural sense of grime and stop that creepy crawly sensation when your monster takes the field. Perhaps you can also kitbash something to drop a huge Cheezchukka siege engine or Wheel of Goudadoom to flatten your opponent. All of this keeps the army uniquely flavored to being your own collection instead of Skaven army #385 in your FLGS.

Find a unique trope you want to play and build inside that visual sandbox. Tie the different parts together with color and basing material so it will never be repeated. With that done, the army you drop is customized with bits and bobs lacking any bland regurgitation. Good luck in your own endeavors.