simplycj wrote:Hello everyone!
I'm a long time Warhammer
40k fan and I've finally decided to take the plunge into the
40k universe. Currently I have a few armies in mind, Vanilla Space Marines, Space Wolves, Blood Angels, and finally the Tau. Could you guys help me by answering a few of my questions?
- What are the pros and cons of each of the armies I listed (It doesn't have to be an extensive list, though that would be awesome)
- Can I paint my army any way I want to (i.e. Blood Angels with a white paint job, or Space wolves with red), and if I do will I be able to field that army in a competitive match/ tournament?
- If I were to go with Space Marines of any of their variants which of these sets would be better for a fresh army(
imho I find that the Pre-Heresy Power Armor variants are badass)?
http://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Space-Marine-Battle-Demi-Company" target="_new" rel="nofollow">
http://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Space-Marine-Battle-Demi-Company or
http://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Horus-Heresy-Betrayal-at-Calth-ENG
- Any tips on what troops I should spend my first 1000 points on? (Tau or
SM)
- Pros and cons, Thunderwolf Cavalry v. White Scars on bikes w/power lances
Finally, I would like to thank you for your time and help with answering my questions!
Welcome to our cult, the kool-aid is on that table right over there...
Anyway...i'll try to give you a quick pros and cons of each of the armies you named off.
Space Marines Pro's
- Uniformity of stats (
SM's have virtually all the same stats so memorizing them won't be difficult)
- 3+ Armor saves across the board and good ballistic skill (meaning you will almost always hit with everything on a 3 or better)
- Grav weapons are pretty insane. Useful against almost every unit type out there.
- Easy to collect second hand since there are quite a few players that start out with a
SM army and grow out to other things.
- No lack of vehicle choices
Space Marine Con's
- Uniformity of stats can also be a downside at times.
- Lack of Monstrous Creature choices
- More expensive troop choices since you have solid stats and 3+ armor (so you'll be bringing fewer guys than some other armies)
- Not super great in close combat in general
Space Wolves Pro's
- Share a lot of Pro's with
SM's but are definitely much better at close combat (especially beat stick units like
TWC)
- Their lords can be made into close combat death machines.
Space Wolves Con's
- Biggest con I can think of vs. Space Marines is their lack of "Decurion" type formations like the vanilla marines have
- No grav weapons
Blood Angel's
- Overall, the Wolves have better
CC units I think than the
BA. Otherwise, they try to be a close combat oriented army in a game edition that heavily favors shooting vs. hand to hand.
Tau
- Crappy toughness in their general troops and they die VERY easily in close combat.
- They mitigate their close combat weakness by having spiffy overwatch rules that allow multiple units to combine fire during overwatch.
- They have some of the best Monstrous Creatures and Gargantuan creature choices in the game.
- They are the gods of shooting. They have feth-loads of
STR 5 to
STR 7 shooting that can overload a lot of defenses and armor saves. In a game edition that favors shooting armies, they are kings of it.
Paint your dudes however you see fit. That's the fun of painting them
IMHO. Most tournies that you might play in are only going to care that they have a three color minimum.
As long as they are Space Marines, go ahead and use whatever armor variant you choose! I really like the older armor variants and such from
HH and no one will fault you playing with Mk IV power armor dudes as opposed to the more "modern" variants.
What should you get first? I would probably go with at least 1
HQ choice and 2 troops (for either
SM or Tau). Beyond that, I would try and come up with a solid 1000 point list first, and then buy what you need for that list. I don't play Tau so I won't try to recommend you units for those, but as far as
SM goes...
- At least two
Tac squads
- At least a Rhino or two
- Centurion Devestators
- or
TWC if going Space Wolves
- A Drop Pod or two
- Space Marine Captain and maybe a Librarian or Chaplain
Hope I helped a little bit.
