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Hello!

My name is Emily and I am completely new to Warhammer. I am hoping to play as one of the 40k series but am having trouble deciding between 3. I would appreciate any input on either two below including army lists.


I am now between Witch Hunters, Chaos Space Marines, and Space Marine....Mainly because I'm realizing that CSM don't use much gun power which I prefer along with tanks.
I was orginally looking at 'Iron Warrior' CSP but then saw the 'Angels of Ecstacy' and 'The Flawless Host' in the online CSM Codex...I really like the color scheme of both of those but don't quite understand what I need to start an army of them.
Witch Hunters would be my first choice atm but I am worried about the fact that there is no Codex available on the Games Workshop Website/the Codex needs to be updated.
Just now looking into SM


Thank you

Best to stat for your first time would either be witch hunters or CSM. Whichever you like better.

Witchhunters are cool, more expensive to collect as they are mostly metal models, but several very cool looking units and they do decently.

CSM is classic, cool models, mostly plastic so not as expensive, but regarded as lagging in strength compared to newer codexes.

My personal favorite of the three is Daemonhunters, I love the GK's and Inquisition. Very cool models, very expensive again due to almost all metal models. Very expensive point-wise as well, armies will be much smaller in terms of how many units you can field.

Painting will be easiest on the CSM. Both DH and WH have distinctive color schemes, and very detailed models if you look to make your own scheme, though with time and patience, they look better than most other models.

Well, Daemonhunters and Witchhunters can both be taken as allied units in a Space Marine/IG army, if you want to have your cake and eat it too. (You need 1 HQ of parent list [SM/IG] and 2 troops, then you can take 1 HQ, 1 Elite, 2 Troops, 1 Fast Attack from the allied books)

That's my best suggestion to you. IG are typically used as the subordinate list because they complement the other two very well. Sisters can be used to provide a mob of power armor saves, GK can be used to reliably hold points (good save, good resilience against charges, etc) and IG can do everything else.

Otherwise, go with Eldar. They're much more difficult to learn, simply because their attack plan is not just "sit and shoot" but not all your games will be the same thing.

Eldar are imho WAY too hard to learn without some help from a vet, but are an awesome army to play against when someone knows what they're doing.

Chaos is a bit lame imho most people end up building an impossible to beat lash or plague list (alright not impossible, but hard) and that gets real tiresome, but the people who play it for fun, they usually have some really nice models so if you like that aspect of the hobby, play chaos.

Idk about witch hunters and demonhunters so

Thank you everyone for all of you opinions/posts...it has helped a lot!

Xyrael -> I was considering doing the combo at first but read that with the cost of Daemonhunters the Witch Hunters wouldn't have much 'Faith' to upgarde the army...is there a certain army list that you know of that would help with this problem.

Eldar aren't so bad to learn, and they have a lot of different ways to play, but you really do have to be smart with them. They're a glass cannon for sure.

I say go with witch hunters, the 2 inquisition armies are imo the classiest armies you can play. The models for both look amazing, and of the two WH is probably the stronger. The downside of course is that they cost more than a standard army and have their own complexities (faith being the big one).

You could also always just buy the Assault on Black Reach starter. Gives a good 400-500 points of orks and marines to start you off and see what the game's about, and then proxy the models as another army until you figure out which way you want to go.

Anavrin wrote:Eldar aren't so bad to learn, and they have a lot of different ways to play, but you really do have to be smart with them. They're a glass cannon for sure.

I say go with witch hunters, the 2 inquisition armies are imo the classiest armies you can play. The models for both look amazing, and of the two WH is probably the stronger. The downside of course is that they cost more than a standard army and have their own complexities (faith being the big one).

You could also always just buy the Assault on Black Reach starter. Gives a good 400-500 points of orks and marines to start you off and see what the game's about, and then proxy the models as another army until you figure out which way you want to go.

I looked into the Witch Hunters after the positive feed back on here and see no Codex on the Games Work Shop website...Is that a problem?

Witchhunters can take Daemonhunters as allies, and vice versa (p 25 of WH Codex, don't know the DH one), if you want to skip out on the Guard. Problem is, only Adepta Sororitas can use Acts of Faith, don't expect them to bolster your GK/IG/SM.

The plus to using IG as the parent list for either DH/WH; you can use Psyker Battle Squads, Leman Russ Squadrons, and Vendetta Gunships; all the juicy parts of the IG that shine, alongside the troops; the units that really shine in the WH/DH codex's. As a side note I wanted to toy with, what would happen if you combined a Psyker Battlesquads leadership killer with the WH Inquisitor Lords Purgatus, to permanently reduce tough units from Ld10 to Ld7. Would it work..?

emielizabeth wrote:I looked into the Witch Hunters after the positive feed back on here and see no Codex on the Games Work Shop website...Is that a problem?

Hmm... after a quick trip to the GW site, the result is I have no idea.

Found the codex listed on the main WH page, can add it to cart, but it's not listed under the codex entry and has no picture which is odd. Perhaps someone else who's more up to date on the status of the space nuns can help?

Eldar would be the most viable choice at this time. The rumor mill pretty heavily supports Witch Hunters, Deamon Hunters, or some combination thereof as the next codex release. This means that models you buy for those armies now might be come invalidated pretty soon, and that since most of the models for these armies are expensive metals, cheaper plastic versions might be coming out soon.

Rumours of Plastic Sisters of Battle were plentiful even when the Witchhunters Codex came out, and yet they got nothing of the sort. I don't envision GW coming out with plastic Sisters when an cumulative Codex which puts Sisters in an even lesser role is released.

Just want to inform that money is not an issue, I know metal is more expensive but I can afford it..
So please don't base opinions on price.

Thanks again for the continued input, it's much appreciated

Well, based on aesthetics AND fluff (background for each army) I'd say these are my opinions on each:

If you simply want to paint, and aren't in the mood to learn how to use green stuff for modelling (I myself found it to be a pain in the ass but other people like it) then go for Witch Hunters and Daemonhunters, their models are some of the most detailed, elaborate, and sexiest when fully painted. Of all the armies, a DH/WH army list that's painted properly will always win the moral victory of "I paint better than you"

If you want conversion, that is, building your own models from pieces and green stuff, envisioning things and making them happen, then Chaos are the ones for you. There are a number of Chaos ideas you can use, so let me share my own idea:
A few of the Imperium's finest Space Marines found themselves stranded in the warp. They chanced upon a drifting soul that burns bright like a star but for some reason keeps all the evil of Chaos at bay. This soul happened to be the Star Child (or perhaps a Chaos God, most likely Tzeentch, convinced them it was the Star Child to more easily convert them) The Star Child is the Emperor's soul in the warp. Believing that this being would become a fifth Chaos God, but also a Good God, if relieved of his mortal shell, they turn on the Imperium on a quest to destroy the Emperor's Golden Throne and create a Heaven in Chaos that would safeguard all of humanity while destroying the Chaos Gods. This is my personal favorite, you can maintain the righteous look of the Imperium, and even overdo it, turning Raptors into Angels (modelwise), using some of the special "Legion" Marines, but customize the models a bit, and turn the Daemon Prince into the finest of the Emperor's hero's, make him look like a Primarch (if you've read any of the books) or even a super angel, a 6 winged Seraphim etc. This was my own idea, but since I don't envision playing SM anytime in the near future I'll share it in the faint hope perhaps you'll use it. You'd use CSM rules, though, not SM/DH/WH. Just an idea. Chaos can be anything, which really makes modelling for them fun.

If you follow Eldar fluff strictly, then you have very little in the way of painting, as all aspects are *technically* supposed to have a specific color scheme. That's just fluff, a lot of people ignore it and paint their aspect warriors in the colors of the Craftworld they are using, and not the color of the aspects. Eldar, aside from Chaos, are probably the most colorful of all the armies. I think only Tzeentch beats them out on sheer amounts of colors used, and that's if you're not using silly space clown Harlequins.

Thanks for your help everyone!
I lowered it to CSM and Eldar...
But in the end CSM won due to the fact that I'm a beginner and Eldar sounded too difficult to start out with...Maybe it will be a future army once I learn more about Warhammer!

-Emily

HERETIC! I GIVE THEE 1 LAST CHANCE TO SIDE WITH THE IMPERIUM OR PERISH! But srsly its great to see another person joining the hobby! Have fun with the traitor marines!

Old One Eye wrote:HERETIC! I GIVE THEE 1 LAST CHANCE TO SIDE WITH THE IMPERIUM OR PERISH!

I knew a cleric of the Imperium that sounded like this.

He was eaton by nurglings.

lol
That's cute

I'll consider it though......just because I'm having difficulty with a CSM army list and I've been told Space Marines are easiest...but don't want to give up on CSM too easily!

Stick with CSM! Of course having sold my soul to the warp long ago, Im a little biased! Loyalty to the chaos gods is always rewarding.

Of course, that reward may be 'turning into a spawn', but its more than the emperor will give you!

Check out the article written on CNC about choosing an army. They also have a few other articles that are good for new players. The article is here Capture and Control: New Player 101

Looking at 'Iron Warriors' now

ahh, good old Iron warriors brings back memories. I recommend reading "storm of iron" as it's a great book about them.

They also sell Iron warrior conversion packs if you want them to look the part.

May the Dark Gods smile upon you!

Chaoslordx13 wrote:ahh, good old Iron warriors brings back memories. I recommend reading "storm of iron" as it's a great book about them.

They also sell Iron warrior conversion packs if you want them to look the part.

May the Dark Gods smile upon you!

I'll look into that book, thank you for the tip

Firstly, let me say that Storm of Iron is a commsumate read: it was my first true taste of the sons of Perturabo and chaos in general, and though I eventually ended up collecting Thousand sons it started my severe attraction towards Iron warriors.

Now onto tactics: Chaos marines in general operate much like their loyal bretheren, but sacrifice some of their flexibility for an extra edge of brutality. Whilst they cannot feild great hordes of warriors (their cheapest model is 13 points), raw strength and resilience can help see them through any fight. Whilst many people dislike the current chaos space marine codex, and will tell you that it is bland and sub-par in many respects, only having a few 'competative' army list's, nothing could be further from the truth-it is a powerful and deadly army that can utterly crush any opposition if played well.
The Iron warriors as mentioned previously in this thread cannot feild the great heavy support batteries of the previous codex, but will still win most of their battles through shooting-'pie plates' or weapons that fire large templates capable of damaging many enemy troops at a time are a particular trend. They most often take the mark of chaos glry (sometimes reffered to as the mark of chaos undivided) in squads, showering their veneration of all the gods as well as providing a useful in game benefitThe most common tactic used is to take large squads of chaos space marines armed with heavy weapons, supported by tanks such as predators, vindicators, defilers and the fearsome land raiders, and line them up so that they can shoot down most enemies coming their way, before hacking down the few survivors in assault. It is by no means the only way to play Iron warriors though-many of the seige-masters of Olympia have fallen to the worship of the chaos powers wholly, and have become raving Berserkers of Khorne for instance. Likewise, although they are not famous for it it is not impossible that a force of Iron warriors summons many daemons to aid them in battle, and their ranks are rife with mutation and sorcery. The enticing thing about a chaos army is that it can be played in any way you desire, and no one strategy is any less valid than another-ultimately, it just comes down to your skills as a general, the whim of the gods, and a little bit of luck.

If you have any further questions, feel free to PM me and I will try to help you the best I can.

I absolutely fething hate Storm of Iron. It's Mary Sueism at its worst. It's as bad as Twilight for that matter.

My apologies-I should have stated that I belive that Storm of Iron is a good read. Obviously we do not all share the same belief's.

Little lord Fauntleroy wrote:My apologies-I should have stated that I belive that Storm of Iron is a good read. Obviously we do not all share the same belief's.

I'll allow it It was written with another era of fluff in mind though.

It doesn't help that people hold it up as an example of that "THERE'S A FEMALE MARINE IN THERE!!!!1111!!" crap.

However, it's also worth saying here and now:
Iron Warriors do not embrace the Chaos Powers. They go out of their way to avoid anything that would shackle them to the Chaos Powers.

Kanluwen wrote:However, it's also worth saying here and now:
Iron Warriors do not embrace the Chaos Powers. They go out of their way to avoid anything that would shackle them to the Chaos Powers.

Really? I was under the impression that only the Alpha legion and Night Lords did not like chaos to that extent. Obviously they're no Word Bearers, but I believed that the IW at least tolerated chaos to some degree.

Again, apologies on my lack of background knowledge.

Iron Warriors stay as far away as possible. They employ Cult Troops from the other Legions/Warbands--but the most corrupted I can think of for the Iron Warriors is the fact that they bind Daemons into cybernetic bodies.

Kanluwen wrote:Iron Warriors stay as far away as possible. They employ Cult Troops from the other Legions/Warbands

Correct me if once again I have failed, but don't some Iron warriors fall too far down the path of battle and become devoted to Khorne? I think I remember reading that somewhere.

Kanulwen wrote:but the most corrupted I can think of for the Iron Warriors is the fact that they bind Daemons into cybernetic bodies.

That would be an interesting idea for a unit of possessed.