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So for a good while I've been waffling between staying Blood Angels or looking elsewhere, army-wise. I started them and 40k over a year and a half ago now, using the pdf codex, and at this point I've felt myself getting pretty sick of them. Painting MEQ is boring, IMHO, and while the new BA codex was a nice upgrade from a print-out, Ive gotten really tired of the BA "nearly all nilla SM models with a red-paint job and different stat lines" and since according to the local GW staff, all IC other than lemartes is back-ordered indefinitely...im at the tipping point. That and the realization that in a store event of the staff BA vs customers this Saturday, Id be bringing my own BA, resulting in just a big BA fight, I'm going for a new army, no MEQs!

However, I need the advice from people who actually play other armies, as I'm looking for a new experience both in the game and in the hobby.

could Imperial Guard, Tau, Eldar, and Tyranid players please share their experiences and advice on starting these armies (ease of starting them, playstyles etc) and help me choose which to collect?

I'm actually on the exact opposite end of things from you. I've been a nid player since I started a couple years ago, but I despise the new codex, so I'm thinking of switching to BA since it's the newest one out there (and will thus hopefully not be changed for the longest). I might wait though and see if the rumors of new Daemonhunters pan out, as I really like the GK models.

I've had the chance to play with and against all four of the armies you listed, and my personal recommendation if you're getting bored would be to go eldar. They're flexible, and I find their play style quite fun. Zipping around on jetbikes and in fast, hard to kill, skimmer tanks. They do tend to be a bit of a glass cannon style army though (in my limited experience with them).

I loved nids until this codex, they had their problems and weren't one of the "best" armies, but their models are great looking and the level of customization possible with their codex was amazing. The new dex though has them not really any more variable than any other army, which made me sad to see. Also, they ruined my carnifexes right after I finished converting a pair of them.

IG are alright, but I'm not a fan of mass tanks or painting dozens and dozens of identical models, which are their main two play styles.

My experience with the Tau is too limited to really say anything about them.

It's really got to be fun for you and something you will enjoy. I've only got DE and CSM and I wouldn't recommend DE for obvious reason, though they give me the most fun. CSM can feel alot like SM but they are different with way different options like daemons and different heavies.

Tyranids definitely looked like they would be a lot of fun to paint, its really too bad that they were ruined by the new 'dex, if that's what happened.

Eldar sound cool, and I was thinking IG mainly because of the WWII feel about them and the kit-bashing appeal (mixing and matching various bitz for each squad to give a unique feel) but i've tried painting the AoBR orks and factory painting is something I REALLY want to avoid. I also want something potentially flexible with their tactics, as a stint with orks with just moving 6" and running every turn until in assault range felt too monotonous.

the one worrisome part for eldar is that painting them would be very siilar to painting an SM wouldn't it?

Over the years I've collected every army except Eldar - so here is my 2 cents:

Marines and their EQ.

Quite boring to paint, but there aren't a lot of them. Armies can get expensive if you want to get all the shoulder pads and other decorations for the infantry and tanks. They are the most forgiving army to start off with as their amazing armour and weapons can really get you out of a tough spot. ATM Drop Pod lists and Mech Marines are popular, but even at 1500 points, the army is silly expensive.

Dark Eldar.

Models are rubbish, codex is the oldest in the range and if you make a mistake with them, you'll most likely lose. But in experienced hands, IMO, they are the most deadly army. If you can be bothered to convert the models, you could have a unique looking army. They are a total Glass Cannon, but man will you earn respect if you beat an up to date list.

Tau.

These guys are quite tough to build an army for in my experience. I found them quite boring to put together and paint, similar to MEQ actually. I never won a game with my Tau, so I cannot comment on how they should be played. Wait for a new codex if there is one.

Necrons.

Wait for the new dex if there is going to be one. Easy to paint, fairly forgiving to play and I found them quite enjoyable to paint and play. They also have one of the hardest tanks in the game and their guys just don't want to die. I like them, but they aint competitve. They play a bit like MEQ, but are foot sloggers mainly.

Guard.

Scary army to face. They have a little of everything. Masses of infantry, tanks, an awesome codex and quite a lot of army variants. If you don't want to pay for or paint a lot of models, look elsewhere. Guard can get really silly expensive and can also be boring to paint as there are so many of them. Play styles vary so much but Mech Guard tend to be the best. I've seen Guard armies effectively win on T1 just through sheer firepower.

Nids.

Got a rough deal on the codex, but have gorgeous models. Won't take as long to paint as guard, but they might be a lot of models. Not all that expensive to buy either. The new Nidzilla is quite fun to play as you have a ton of big creatures. The army tends to play as either a swarm list or big stuff list.

I'm not going to bother with the Inquisition armies as they are being redone ATM I believe and they are too expensive for what you get (metal models).

I hope this helps.

thanks for the tips radio, DE is out, my store sells neither the codex nor any possible models, and as for WH/DH, they have 1 box of Inquistion-type models, in the corner....hidden, petty sure it was some SOBs.

Necrons seems to be a "assemble, prime, play" type of army, and i really enjoy painting.


not considering:
MEQ
DH/WH
DE
Necrons
CSM

eldar still looks good, so do guard, those will most likely be the two im going to choose between.

*EDIT* I just saw two episodes of the WWII documentary mini-series Band of Brothers, its really hard to say no to Guard right now

Elector wrote:I just saw two episodes of the WWII documentary mini-series Band of Brothers, its really hard to say no to Guard right now

NP Dude.

Well if you like painting, you'll definately enjoy Guard and they are really fun to play too.

I still haven't seen Band of Brothers yet :( I should get round to it.

you really should, thats the best WWII thing ive ever seen. it gets quite intense tho.

ill be going guard then

now i gotta figure whats a good starting purchase.

I always start with the infantry. The vehicles are a quick by comparison. Always eat your veggies before dessert...

You could just roll with a battle force, then pick up a couple of Chimeras and a Vendetta. You'll have two troopts if you make them Veterans, all in transports, and Vendettas are f'in amazing. Also, a Sentinel too

Yeah, Guard are a blast. I bought two battle forces and have been upgrading with vehicles. I got lucky and found a 3 Leman Russ Apoc Battle Tank set and picked up a Valk.

The Guard are all about strength in numbers. I have seen a group of guardsman take down a Avatar, but then again, I've seen them get torn up too, but overall I enjoy guard.

Do veterans have different wargear or anything that would prevent me from later turning them into squads in platoons while still WYSIWYG?

from what i understand, IG is big on expendable masses, massed las-fire, and their vehicle ordnance, so it seems that veterans are a good start, but it would be better to use larger platoons of conscripts, correct?

Also, a Basilisk sounds like some good heavy long-range ordnance, LR seems the mid-range battle tank, and hellhound is close-quarters flame-broiling? which would work best as a first tank for IG all-comers list, given their specialty on ranged combat and taking down their enemy before it reaches them?

If veterans can indeed be a pretty good troop choice without the "2 squads and a CC" rule, a battleforce might actually be useful, without having to buy 2 more CC and two more squads just to have the basic list requirements.

Guard all the way. Veterans can be turned into stock infantry squads with no real issue - the only difference they usually have from regular line infantry is that they often have extra special weapons, or shotguns if you want em.

Conscripts are terrible - they cost a bit less than regular Guardsmen, but are a lot worse. They could be a fun gimmick with Chenkov, but I wouldn't want to paint 50 men for just a gimmick. Guard have strength from their massed heavy and special weapons, and conscripts can take neither.

A good first tank would be a Leman Russ - however, they're rumored to have a new kit for it coming out this summer for Spearhead. It's got crazy good front armor, long range, and lots of powerful guns that can take out just about anything. Demolishers are even better at a closer range, and the kit comes with lots of options that you can swap out or magnetize. Basilisks are cool, but not as generally useful as a Leman Russ.

oh, ok my bad, i was under the impression that Conscripts were regular Guardsmen.

the heavy and special weapons come from heavy weapons teams right?

a new leman russ sounds awesome, but whats Spearhead?

and are Chimeras a must-have if i use veterans?