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IAv1E2 ABG

Tough, flavorful, lots of viable options, only one truly junk unit (the Atlas, and even then it works as part of an alliance) but even in the previous edition it could be defeated if you had the general purpose counter.

I'm actually going to say Space Wolves (pre-Wulfen). Only one auto-include, good troops, resilient walkers, and is definitely the best CC loyalist dex. Necrons at face value is pretty balancrd, but it is very, very easily abused to become one of the most potent, irritating armies in the game.

Number 2 would be Demonkin. Decent troops, plays to the fluff and as long as gorepack is left out of the picture there's really nothing broken about it yet it remains potent.

Number 3 IMO is the sisters codex. Sure it's old, but it still has potency and Celestine is coming back. It doesn't have any broken formations (outside the imperial agents) and has aged very well IMO.

Probably harlequins.

If you look at them closely, everything is playable and every model is used. There are the worst ones like an overpriced tank thingy that has a gun facing forward and an identical gun facing backwards - both with ~60-90 degree firing angle and as the vehicle has a rule that it can fire it's back gun at a different target + it's turret weapon rotates 360 degrees, you just turn your vehicle backwards and get split fire. It's 10-10-10 and you're not shooting one of the guns anywayz. So, other than this thing, which we should still note is not entirely bad - just stupid on the tabletop and like 10-15% overpriced, everything else looks decent. And there are still quite a few options to run harlequins even though there are so few units.

You could go for mostly bikes that are kinda like a ravenwing if you add in eldar allies. You could run tropes with mages on foot or mounted or both - they're still neat. Tropes don't really have any obsolete weapons other than a melta pistol, which can still be used but is overpriced across all the books. Tropes can have the variety of gear that either makes them truly TAC or more oriented towards dealing with a certain foe, yet not entirely useless against most other stuff. HQ - that are all elite for some reason - all have their uses - most often multiple uses and none are never-includes - which is very hard to say about most other codexes. There are ways of dealing with...basically anything the opponent can throw at you. But not in a way that you counter stuff. Also, the codex doesn't really support building deathstars which is a good thing.

So, i'd say that Harlequins is the most perfect lil codex atm. It's hard to consider them a self-sufficient codex though. Simply of how they're organised and of how few entries they have compared to full sized dexes. But on the other hand, if you take something like codex Orks, CSM, Dark Eldar Tyranids or Daemonkin and shave away all of the never-includes, you end up with comparable amount of units.

The Skitarii Codex is also quite well balanced, you got pretty much everything you need in there.
The only problem with it is that you do not have that much choice.

CAD Necrons are also a very well balanced army actually. Not as though as the Decurion Detachment, but with option to take multiples of units that would normally be taxed with other units in the Decurion.
Wraiths and Doomsday arks as an example.

Dark Eldar is also actually quite well balanced as a book with many different types of units to choose from, but just suffers greatly when compared to their counterpart the Eldar.

I'd say the most internally balanced I've come across has to be Renegades and Heretics. Apart from Orgryns, Marauders and the non IC psykers (who's name I forget), all the units are completely viable and the list allows for extremely varied builds. Whilst some units shine, such as Spawn, Rapier Laser Destroyers, Wyverns and Earthshaker cannons, they aren't so far ahead of the rest of the curve like you get in most dexes.
Externally, if built correctly they can hold their own against top and top-mid lists very easily and if you take out The Unending Host detachment, there is nothing OP about them, it's just that they have lots of units avaliable for the points that can do a very good job.
They are a very anti-death star army (as in they can neither build one and opponents death stars lose a ton of efficiency against them) which says a lot for balance imo.

Renegade and heretics is one of the most unbalanced codexes out there. There are so many auto takes and options that you would never take. Just look at that dirt cheap 20 pts laser destroyer, or the discount whyverens.. How are any other equivalent weapons ever going to compete with that.

Daemons maybe, internally there are only the special characters that are badly balanced (with Fateweaver being an auto include and all the others never taken). Concerning units, Blood crushers and slaanesh fiends need work, everything else has its uses.

Also Necrons. I'm always impressed that my Necron opponent can put anything on the table and its still useful. Even the monolith can sometimes work. Only bad thing about the Codex is the decurion. Without it Necrons are great.
Space Wolves seem to be too much dominated by Wulfen and TWC, although most of their units aren't bad and do what they're supposed to do.

Tau are well balanced. Take out riptides and storm surges and ghost keals, and you've a book where every unit has a purpose and is balanced against each other. Only vespid and stealth suits really aren't what I'd consider up to snuff.

I find it telling that any time anyone holds a codex up as “balanced” you need to preface it with “as long as we ignore XYZ, <codex> is reasonably well balanced”

It doesn’t mater which ones. Every codex has some flaws.

I agree that Necrons are the most balanced here. They are the only army that can be focused in shooting and have decent melee. Most armies that can do both have to sacrifice the other.
Necrons also don't have hard counters, nor are a hard counter to any particular army. Sure there may be some one-off list exceptions, but overall this is true.
The only legit complaint is the 4+ RP is annoying. But Necrons lack of a swift punch makes this ok.

DAs are definitely not the most balanced. RW skews that too much for them.

SemperMortis wrote:

 AnomanderRake wrote:

Martel732 wrote:
Space Wolves are codex: Wulfen and TWC. They are the reverse of balanced.

And yet you can actually play your Troops units without having to get bribed with free transports in that book. Tactical Marines have fallen by the wayside if they aren't in a Gladius, Grey Hunters and Blood Claws are still usable.

I call that a win for how Codexes ought to work. Troops are supposed to be the solid core who hold the line and let your fancy units go haring off to do dramatic things, but all to often in 7th your Troops are there to be belittled and ignored in favour of min/max armies and formations with no Troops.

What makes blood claws and grey hunters better then tactical marines? Im asking, I don't play against SW often.

Grey hunters get two special weapons instead of a special and a heavy. They can also all take CQC weapons for 2 PPM. I think they are pretty well balanced. They hit hard in combat for a shooty troop unit, and two special weapons aren't bad.

Blood claws have WS and BS 3, but rage and are cheaper than grey hunters. Good clean up or second assault wave type units.

 Arlen wrote:
The Skitarii Codex is also quite well balanced, you got pretty much everything you need in there.
The only problem with it is that you do not have that much choice.

CAD Necrons are also a very well balanced army actually. Not as though as the Decurion Detachment, but with option to take multiples of units that would normally be taxed with other units in the Decurion.
Wraiths and Doomsday arks as an example.

Dark Eldar is also actually quite well balanced as a book with many different types of units to choose from, but just suffers greatly when compared to their counterpart the Eldar.

I was going to include Skitarii and DE in my post, but I think the OPS criteria included competitive to some degree. IMO skitarii are a very well balanced book, but seriously suffer from a lack of transports. This is partially made up for by having units that function differently (objective grabbers like dunestriders and the infiltrators and the overwatch which is pretty much everything else). They are good in small-ish games 1500 or less without being OTT.

Same thing with DE. Especially now that the FAQ final draft brought venom/raider poison spam back. No argument the dex could be better, but internal balance is still pretty solid due to lackluster-ness. Now when you add covens into the mix they can get pretty mean.Things like the grotesquerie and dark artisan manipulating the PFP table on top of the fast vehicles, poison spam from venoms and Raiders topped off with 5" 9/1 lance bombs makes for a pretty nasty combo

 gummyofallbears wrote:

SemperMortis wrote:

 AnomanderRake wrote:

Martel732 wrote:
Space Wolves are codex: Wulfen and TWC. They are the reverse of balanced.

And yet you can actually play your Troops units without having to get bribed with free transports in that book. Tactical Marines have fallen by the wayside if they aren't in a Gladius, Grey Hunters and Blood Claws are still usable.

I call that a win for how Codexes ought to work. Troops are supposed to be the solid core who hold the line and let your fancy units go haring off to do dramatic things, but all to often in 7th your Troops are there to be belittled and ignored in favour of min/max armies and formations with no Troops.

What makes blood claws and grey hunters better then tactical marines? Im asking, I don't play against SW often.

Grey hunters get two special weapons instead of a special and a heavy. They can also all take CQC weapons for 2 PPM. I think they are pretty well balanced. They hit hard in combat for a shooty troop unit, and two special weapons aren't bad.

Blood claws have WS and BS 3, but rage and are cheaper than grey hunters. Good clean up or second assault wave type units.

I'll also add flexibility to the Grey Hunters, they can't get mounts but they're amazing in troop vs troop confrontations.
Counter-attack is situational but the ability to grab a CC weapon for 2ppm gives them huge flexibility. An 80 point minimum squad has 24' shooting, 12' rapid fire and 3 attacks per model when being charged, 12' pistol shots and 3 attacks per model on the charge and 2 attacks per model in continued combat, they'll ruin just about any other troops choice. They are expensive considering they have to upgrade to get a sergeant but a lot of players don't ask and suicide run them thinking they can off the character for challenge points before whatever went in dies, in just about every tournament I've been in somebody has had a variant of this conversation with a Space Wolves player.
"Are there aren't any power weapons in that unit?"
"No"
"I'm charging it"
"Doesn't look like a fight you can win"
"You declaring overwatch or not?"
"Sure"
"I challenge your Wolf-whatever-sergeant"
"There isn't one"
"Your CHARACTER - I don't care what it's called, @#$£ing Space Furries"
"There isn't one"
"What?"
"There is no character, I never bothered upgrading"
"They come standard with troops"
"Not for Space Wolves"
"@#$£ing Furries"


Anyway, my vote goes to Necrons.