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Hi all.

In anticipation of my first ever game of Warhammer 40k, I have created my first ever army list. Please offer any criticisms/corrections, but please keep in mind that my unit choices are limited by the few models that I own & a desire to maintain WYSIWYG. Mostly I just want to be sure that I have costed everything correctly rather than having an actual effective force.

Here goes:

Combined Arms Detatchment (500pts)

HQ - Company Master with relic blade, auspex & Lion's Roar (& bolt pistol?) (140pts)

Troops - Tactical Squad (200pts)
Veteran Sergeant with plasma pistol, chainsword & melta bombs.
9 tactical marines with 1 plasma cannon & 1 plasma gun.

Troops - Tactical Squad (160pts)
Sergeant with bolt pistol & chainsword.
9 tactical marines with 1 missile launcher & 1 flamer.

Also a couple of questions about bolt pistols:
As the marines are equipped with bolt pistols as well as bolters (assuming I'm interpreting that correctly), does this mean they can fire the pistols instead of the bolters & still charge into combat?
Does the Company Master also get a bolt pistol, or was this replaced by the relic blade & Lion's Roar?

Thanks in advance.
Gin.

Your next purchases: one drop pod and one razorback/rhino. Tactical marines require transports to be effective.

Plasma pistols cost twice what they're worth. Nobody will mind if you say Raphael has a combi-plasma instead of a plasma pistol.

Relic blade replaces Company Master's chainswors, Lion's Roar replaces bolt pistol. Yes tactical marines have bolt pistols and yes you should shoot them before charging.

Yes, you can shoot bolt pistols before charging. Whether you should or not is often a judgment call. A couple casualties on the other side can turn a doable charge into a long shot.

For your Company Master, instead of the Lion's Roar, I recommend taking a standard combi-plasma, and squirreling away 10 more points to give your CM artificer armor. Easiest place to get the extra points from would be to drop the veteran upgrade from your sergeant. It's marginal anyway.

Your next purchases: one drop pod and one razorback/rhino. Tactical marines require transports to be effective.

Oh man, shopping lists already? I'll definitely take you up on the Rhino's as I really like the look of the models & I was planning to get them at some point anyway, & I'll consider the drop pod though I'm not a huge fan of the model.

Plasma pistols cost twice what they're worth. Nobody will mind if you say Raphael has a combi-plasma instead of a plasma pistol.

My stubborn dedication (appropriate for Dark Angels, no? ) to WYSIWYG, may prevent me from giving Raph' (I forgot he had a name) the combi-plasma though, at least until I start getting competitive anyway.

For your Company Master, instead of the Lion's Roar, I recommend taking a standard combi-plasma, and squirreling away 10 more points to give your CM artificer armor. Easiest place to get the extra points from would be to drop the veteran upgrade from your sergeant. It's marginal anyway.

Done! Poor Raph's been busted back down to regular sergeant, and Balthasar has traded in Lion's Roar for a regular ol' combi-plasma so he can have access to some of that dirty, dirty 2+ armour.

Thanks for humoring such a small list guys. Appreciate it.

When buying Rhinos, I'll suggest spending a little extra to get the Razorback kit instead - you still get the parts for a Rhino, but as long as you don't glue down the top hatch you can easily swap between the two as your lists change.

This is an alright list but it depends what you're up against.

For example, for the same amount of points I could take a Leman Russ with multi-meltas, bolters or lascannons, as well as a big bunch of guardsmen/veterans which could outgun and outnumber you.

The list you've composed would do well against Chaos or Space Marines, but perhaps you would suffer if it came to Tau, Orks or AM, so it really depends.

When buying Rhinos, I'll suggest spending a little extra to get the Razorback kit instead - you still get the parts for a Rhino, but as long as you don't glue down the top hatch you can easily swap between the two as your lists change.

Good to know, & considering there's only €4 in the difference, I think I'll do just that. It's surprising they don't just sell both as the same multi-part kit actually.

This is an alright list but it depends what you're up against.

I've no idea. I believe the guy who agreed to show me the ropes actually has several armies, so hopefully he doesn't use the occasion as an excuse to show his vast superiority over mortal noobs. Also my options are limited by what came in the Black Reach & Dark Vengeance boxed sets. Even so, I wanted to stick with basic infantry until I nail the basics.

I wanna say good luck and welcome to DA I've been playing for about 4 years now and have a vast collection but be prepared to lose a few games. It's luck of the dice yes but like you said the other players will probably have better units I.e. Tanks, monsterous creatures, daemons....etc. but don't get discouraged your list will get there eventually also. Like I said been playing DA for years now and love them!