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Ok, so after swapping back in forth between several different armies, wasting money on a bunch of various codex's and mini's I have decided it would be a good idea to get an army that is very well rounded. I want to be able to have a little bit of everything. Need suggestions. Because if I don't stop this nonsense of buying 4 different codex's and a few hundred dollars on Mini's I'm going to go nuts.(and broke)

Well rounded army..... need a little bit of everything....

Son, your looking for Space Marines.

Well, you might want to analyze what you like:

If you like assault armies go for Tyranids or Daemons or Orks.

If you like Shooty armies go for Tau or Necrons or similar.

If you like small elite armies go for Necrons or space marines.

If you like large expendable armies try orks or tyranids.

If you like painting go for something that isn't necrons!

And finally, if you want to go for a well-balanced army, then as Happygrunt says, definately go for space marines. Space marines are also good if you're comparatively new.

Ardensfax wrote:
If you like Shooty armies go for Tau or Necrons or similar.

If you like large expendable armies try orks or tyranids.

Or Imperial Guard

Side note, is it possible to make a space marine army that isn't just one chapter?

you could make two small armys of different chapters and use them together in one game.

ZekeWN wrote:Side note, is it possible to make a space marine army that isn't just one chapter?

No it is not. However, there's a lot of overlap with similar units. A Space Wolves rhino is the same as a Dark Angels or Ultramarines rhino, for instance.

hmmm, maybe I mislead with that last question, what I meant is I'm not wanting to take stuff that is specific to certain chapters only. If that even makes any sense? And if that's not possible can I just make my own chapter?

You mean like take the Black Templar's icons and paint scheme, but run them like standard Codex Space Marines?

Sure. No problem. Just be sure to tell your opponent so that there is no confusion.

ZekeWN wrote:Side note, is it possible to make a space marine army that isn't just one chapter?

Why not? A buddy of mine is fielding an army with every squad from a different chapter. Maybe the marines are attending a convention dedicated to all the ways they can smite the enemies of the Imperium, and some baddies crash the party. I think it would be an interesting project to paint up one marine from every chapter that has artwork somewhere in a codex or book. I'm guessing between 100 and 200 models.

kronk wrote:You mean like take the Black Templar's icons and paint scheme, but run them like standard Codex Space Marines?

Sure. No problem. Just be sure to tell your opponent so that there is no confusion.

To some degree, I would rather completely invent my own paint scheme/icons. Also bingo on figuring out what I wanted, I guess I didn't realize that there was a generic space marines book. I thought they all had there own books and you HAD to pick a chapter.

Also, the Deathwatch has an interesting history of joining marines from various chapters to fight Zenos.

Kind of like an all star team.

Is this what you are asking about?

Nope, you can use the standard space marine book and make your own chapter.


Failing that, if you like another chapters units (Blood angels for example) there is nothing stopping you making your own chapter, but using the blood angels book for rules.

I see your question, now.

Go have a look at the Codex Space Marines at your local game store. In the back, there are dozens and dozens of paint schemes and Space Marine chapters that all use this one book.

You totally can make up your own chapter, too. That's quite common, actually.

any army which has had a codex put out in the past 3 years is likely to be well-rounded.

If you've been jumping from army to army, it implies that you don't know what you're looking for in an army, not that there's something wrong with the armies you've been playing.

Why didn't anyone mention Chaos Space Marines at all?

Because what if he doesn't WANT to follow the Emperor, but just wants the power of Space Marines?

A Space Marine force with squads from a variety of Chapters is known as a Crusader force, and harkens back to 2nd edition. As long as everyting is organized out of one Codex, you're good to go.

My advice is to keep jumping.

It may be hard on the wallet, but I personally believe you can't decide if you love or hate an army 'til you've bought it, assembled it, painted it, and played it.

Or do what I do, just get about 1000 points of a bunch of different armies and try them all out.

So far I've found that I absolutely love Tau, I can be competitive with Orks but their tactics bore me a bit, and I have fun with Necrons in friendly games, and that I'm not a huge fan of playing Space Marines, although they can be fun to paint.

And as soon as I have all my models assembled I'll be trying Daemons.

Just take a look at my signature. At first glance it looks like I'm a wishy-washy donkey-cave who can't figure out what he wants.

But really I just like to try everything.

Ask anyone here, I have a sordid love affair with my Tau, and they're always my first choice when someone challenges me to a game.

Krak_kirby wrote:I think it would be an interesting project to paint up one marine from every chapter that has artwork somewhere in a codex or book. I'm guessing between 100 and 200 models.

I concur with this.. (lol)

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/307185.page

I am doing it and asking for "internet paint donations" to make this a truly unique army, with a heckuva story..

gazelle wrote:A Space Marine force with squads from a variety of Chapters is known as a Crusader force, and harkens back to 2nd edition. As long as everyting is organized out of one Codex, you're good to go.

Or Deathwatch.

FyoraSilverwolf wrote:Why didn't anyone mention Chaos Space Marines at all?

Because what if he doesn't WANT to follow the Emperor, but just wants the power of Space Marines?

He didn't mention wearing his backside (_)(_) for a hat, so we didn't think of pointing him to the forces of Chaos. My bad!

(sorry, I couldn't resist!)

Lord Manimal wrote:

FyoraSilverwolf wrote:Why didn't anyone mention Chaos Space Marines at all?

Because what if he doesn't WANT to follow the Emperor, but just wants the power of Space Marines?

He didn't mention wearing his backside (_)(_) for a hat, so we didn't think of pointing him to the forces of Chaos. My bad!

(sorry, I couldn't resist!)

I'm entirely confused by your post. You're either avoiding cussing in some kind of insult or making a reference to their horns? I don't know. But I am not offended, since you apologized for whatever it was.

But either way, I think Chaos Marines are equal to regular marines in their ability to be well-rounded. It's pretty easy to have specialized units in the army too, if you want them, and they aren't that bad in their non-specialized capabilities either.

So, if you're going to look into Space Marines, and don't have any qualms with maybe being on the other side in the fluff, look into Chaos Space Marines as well.