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Captain Bazarko
2009-03-19, 05:49 PM
Well I finally got around to starting Warhammer 40k, and I face one problem that actually isn't money at the moment. I can't decide which fraking army to play. So far, I've got my top three choices in order:

Witch Hunters- Awesome units, good balance, and Inquisitor Lords are manly as hell, but they cost more because no plastic models have been produced

Eldar- The only Xenos race that I can tolerate, I like their use of psykers, weapons and transports, and that they're the most fabulous aliens in the universe

Space Marines- Ownage and mansauce, stats that kill everything else, but for that same reason I don't like them as much, though their models probably have the most versatile building options due to the numerous chapters and "do it your self" missing legions.

And as an honorable mention, da Orkz cuz dey iz rockin an fightin an, an... WAAAAAAAGH!!!!

So can any 40kers offer some advice?

Kyeudo
2009-03-19, 06:10 PM
My suggestion: Pick a philosophy you like and go with it. If all you really want to do is scream "WAAAAAAAAAAGH" at the top of your lungs while you charge close enough to use your Choppa, play Orks. I like to bury my opponents in a wave of small enemies and devour them, so I went with Tyranids.

If you still can't decide, read this (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3886999/1/Shinji_and_Warhammer40k) and then pick the most awesome thing you read.

Fendalus
2009-03-19, 06:25 PM
Speaking as someone who has 6 armies (2 Tau, 2 Space Marine, 1 Tyranid, 1 Imperial guard) it really depends on what you like background wise, and what you like to build and paint. Making an army when you hate making the models and painting them is doomed to failure. Making a army you don't like the background for will make it less fun as well.

From a mechanics prospective, I wouldn't suggest going Which Hunters. Around here, at least, they seem to be weaker than the other armies, while our biggest Eldar player has gone almost undefeated. But we are in the middle of nowhere, so most of this is just localized advice based on personal experience.

Captain Bazarko
2009-03-19, 06:33 PM
Yeah, I was concerned that the Witch Hunters might be a tad weak. They do however have faith points, a limit on transports yes, but stat wise pretty good without being obligatory massive power load. Plus, being able to solve any problem with the one solution, "Living Saint! Living Saint!"

"Okay, I just killed her!"

"Sucks to be you, she returns to fight again!"

Celestine is all kinds of manly, regardless of the fact that she's a woman. But I don't think I should be basing my army off of the unique, point draining characters that can be used.

Eldar yes, sounds like a solid plan with Eldar, fabulous space-elves from Magic-Land, with elite units that are like figure skaters with powerswords. I'm game.

StoryKeeper
2009-03-19, 06:46 PM
Join the Eldar. We know how everything is going to turn out already. Now we're just telling the right armies to go fight at the right times. Give us a few millenia and we'll bee sipping martinis on a pile of mon-keigh and other non-eldar corpses.

chiasaur11
2009-03-19, 07:37 PM
Join the Eldar. We know how everything is going to turn out already. Now we're just telling the right armies to go fight at the right times. Give us a few millenia and we'll bee sipping martinis on a pile of mon-keigh and other non-eldar corpses.

That's what you said last millennium.
Besides, the Orks and Nids got the most troops, the Necrons are nearly unkillable, Chaos is present almost anywhere emotions are felt, the Tau are almost sorta the good guys, and the Big =][= has control of the galaxy and CIAPHAS CAIN, HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!

You have some psychics that can't tell when a Nid hive fleet with a warp presence big enough to make anyone who can do card tricks faint in terror from half the galaxy away is coming right at you, and your big plan is "Die, and hopefully, we'll die hard enough to make a god of death, who will kill that other god we made".

You lost your #1 guy to failbaddon. Victory seems unlikely.

Lappy9000
2009-03-19, 08:45 PM
Yeah, I'm not a 40k guy, but my friend is:


A forgiving starter army is Space Marines. Really hardy chaps, with a good bit of ranged Ooompf. Lots of new kit options with the new codex.

Witch Hunters are one of those odd armies that GW released to fill the fluff (like Daemonhunters). Consider them outdated and meh.

Eldar take a bit of getting used to. This is because they're tricky xenos. Not to say you can't start with them.

For any army, take some time learning to rules. Know them in and out. If you can't get a hold on the rules, go onto the next army. This is crucial so you'll know what's going on, what ace's-up-the-sleeve you've got at our disposal, and you'll be able to explain it to your opponenet if he asks during a game. Flipping through the codex time and time again is a killjoy.

Don't forget about the main SM chapters: Dark Angels and Blood Angels. The Space Puppies (Space Wolves) are getting an update within the year. I play Dark Angels and they don't disappoint. The fluff is pretty cool for DA and BA. Hell, the fluff for everything is pretty neat.

The Imperial Guard are getting new everything starting May 2nd. Google "imperial guard rumors" or go to the belloflostsouls.blogspot.com (I think that's right) and enjoy. Lots of cool stuff coming out for them.

Find a local hobby store and see if there's a 40k group and attend their days of gaming. Most chaps are friendly and will show you the ropes for the rules in general and the specific army. This is definitely your best bet for learning about an army.

Hope it helps, and contact me if you want to chat about it :)
[email protected]

Oracle_Hunter
2009-03-19, 09:08 PM
It is true that Eldar are a tricky race to use, 'cause they're far more specialized than pretty much everyone else. That said, you can ask any questions about how to use them over at this nifty thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101608&page=23) :smallbiggrin:

Also: Eldar are totally sweet. We give our dreadnoughts giant swords 'cause Dread CC weapons aren't awesome enough :smalltongue:

Captain Bazarko
2009-03-19, 11:13 PM
Hmm. I don't have a copy of the Eldar Codex, could someone rattle off the stats of their most basic infantry unit so I can get a good idea of the play style?

Oracle_Hunter
2009-03-19, 11:35 PM
Hmm. I don't have a copy of the Eldar Codex, could someone rattle off the stats of their most basic infantry unit so I can get a good idea of the play style?

Ha! That won't help you at all :smalltongue:

The Eldar are a specialized army; they don't really have a "basic" unit they build off of. The closest would be the Guardian (WS/BS 3, S3, T3, I4, AS 5+) but they are almost always seen as a necessary evil rather than a backbone. Aspect Warriors, for instance are WS/BS 4, I5 while Exarchs (who can lead Aspect Warriors) are WS/BS 5, I6, A2... and they vary more by Aspect.

In general the Eldar are Fast and Deadly. They have a units that can move across the board quickly (Falcons, Swooping Hawks), ones that are very maneuverable (Warp Spiders, Harlequins) and ones that are both (Jetbikes!). Their specialized units are very good at what they do - Striking Scorpions eat light infantry, Howling Banshees cleave heavy infantry, and Fire Dragons kill tanks hard.

But, the Eldar can also be slow and shooty! Dark Reapers can take out heavy infantry at great range (S5 AP 3 Heavy 2), Dire Avengers can hold strongpoints against waves of orcs (18", S4 AP5 Assault 2), and everyone fears the Wraithlord and the smaller Wraithguard (12" Wound on 2+ with a 6 meaning Instant Death; Glances 3-4 Penetrates 5-6).

And even these can be tweaked with Exarchs and Farseers/Warlocks!

In short, Eldar don't have a playstyle - they play however you want them to :smallbiggrin:

BobVosh
2009-03-20, 04:00 AM
Tyranids are the most forgiving in terms of play, but you apparently hate the most awesome race of all. So, let us let that go.

Witch Hunters are all fluff as mentioned, ignore em.

Eldar are fun, but you shouldn't begin with them. Plus Eldrad is a total ****. http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Eldrad

Space Marines are therefore your boy. Fairly cheap, definitly numerable, and not too difficult to figure out.

Also Kharn the betrayer. What a guy. http://www.ragnarokz.net/?p=30

Darth Stabber
2009-03-20, 10:11 AM
Ive got 6 armies under my belt. In order i started them: Orks, Vanilla marines, Imperial Guard, witchhunters, daemonhunters, and Blood angels, and i still play witchhunters, Guard and Blood angels. I can only speak to those experiences, but as it sits

Orks - Two Strategies that really work, Green tide(flood the board with as many boyz as possible), or Cult of Speed(vehicle and speed based, Makesure you have a lot of red paint before trying this, because the red ones go faster, Seriously the red ones go faster). Lots of plastic either way, (you won't have more than 5-6 metal minis, unless your warboss has a big retinue). I just requires either a metric ton of Orks, or 1/2 a ton of Orks and 1/2 a ton of vehicles(which can get expensive). Added plus Orks are the easiest army in the game to mod, anything in your bits bin can be used, and if you are a lousy painter, Orks still look good painted sloppily so long as they are painted.

Vanilla Marines - Simplest army to play, and requires few models to be effective, and they do very well without specialization, infact it is rather hard to build a bad marine army. Cheap, easy, fun, but in my experience does not stay satisfying for long due to the lack of specialization.

Imperial Guard - Tanks and flashlights. You need to take a ridiculous number of weak troops to fill out your org chart, but they are really cheap, and contrary to popular belief, you can kill stuff with lasguns, it's just harder than it should be. But the real reason to play Guard is of course: Tanks. Leman Russes own the battle field, Period. The walkers also carry some decent punch. And there are so may one can modify, customize, personlize and specialize their guard army, so you can very easily make it your own.

Witchhunters - Very flavorful army and the one I play the most. Also a very difficult and unforgiving army to play. Battle sisters seem like marines only cheaper at first blush, but 1 lower WS and Toughness makes a bigger diffence than you might initially think. That being said they are still in power armor, so very friendly. What the witchhunters lack is solid tankbusting power. Against folks other than marines and Guard I get by by giving my all my sister's sergeants Plasma pistols, but when you are trying to take down a Russ, you need something bigger. The best fix for this weakness is to induct some guard so you can get your own leman russ. In fact I recommend that if you want to play witchhunters, just go out and buy a platoon of guardsmen and a leman russ, you will want it eventually. Aside from that, Spend your faith wisely and remember that Inquisitors are bad***, but they can still die. And all of your minis will be metal, Metal is a pain to paint compared to plastic, If you can make your peace with that, then go ahead.

Daemonhunters - Another very flavorfull army that is a blast to play, except this one I can recommend to first timers. Grey Knights are like regular space marines only moreso. Each and every one of them is weilding a stormbolter 1handed. they all also have a +2 str melee weapon, making these guys swing with 6 str, Yeah, they wound allot. You can get by on even fewer models than the Marines. Big downside, again everything is metal.

Blood angels - What do you get when you use Orkish strategy to lead Marines? You get these guys, and boy is that a joy. The death company rocks the party, specially with jetpacks, Oh yeah and Jump marines are a troop as opposed to elite or fast attack, so you have a highly mobile melee threat with 3+ armor saves. Baal class Predator tanks are the win against swarmy armys, or you can use the other variants for other purposes. Word of advice, take Mephiston, best Psyker evar, he can use all three of his psychic power every turn and swing is force weapon, he has a 2+ armor save and is a certified manufacturer of dead bodies every where. kept a C'Tan at bay for 4 turns after knocking down a Necron Monolith. If you want to play marines and you love maneuverability and bonecrunching melee, these are your guys.