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Hello everyone, im a new user and, new to 40k as well i'm about to purchase my first army but, im unsure which army to get? I want an army known to win tournaments across the board. The two armies im currently looking at are Eldar and, Space Wolves I've heard eldar are fragile but, with stronger attack and, harder to hit as for space wolves I've heard theyre all around balanced but, mostly good for melee. Could someone please tell me which army (any doesnt have to be eldar or sw) is generally most flexible, balanced and, overall strong? i'd like to get a good idea before i invest money in an army i wouldnt like and, probably lose with (ive heard necron and, tau) Thanks Everyone! - Mate

Any 5th edition codex should be fine along w/Orks. Though some people think Nids&Daemons are not balanced (i.e. not multiple builds) but in my opinion Orks and any 5th Edition codex should be fine.

^^

Some 4th ed can do well. I believe Daemons placed on the West Coast during 'Ard Boyz last year and Dark Angel Doublewing can also be competitive. Not forgiving though, the former requires luck and the latter has a so few models on the table (my 1850 list has only 28 models iirc) that every loss is magnified.

5th ed are what should be stuck to though if you're looking for tournament. SW get a lot to play with and do very well. Eldar require more finesse if I hear correctly. Dark Eldar are prolly better if fragile but hard hitting are what you're going for. 5th ed dex, but lots of finesse required. Wolves are a hammer, DE are a scalpel.

Guard typically do wonderfully as well with plenty of options for playstyle and competitiveness.

Just as a heads up Daemons were the the first "official" 5th edition codex as they used universal rules that were coming out in 5th. But orks seem to have been built around 5th as well. Eldar and DA's are old 4th hold overs and pigeon hole you into a build or 2. 5th edition codexes generally have several fun and competitive builds. Allows for variety

Foot eldar are an esoteric build, but having played against them, they can be brutally tough.

Aside from that, though, I'd stick to the 5th edition codices plus orks. Chaos still do ok, but they're pretty outclassed by Wolves or BA these days, IMO.

Guard or orks would probably be best for beginners, they are versatile and have multiple play styles.

My buddies have a Khorn army that SMASHES the blood angels. Even though I have not fielded them in a battle yet, I am confident my Dark Eldar will crush the BA.

I could argue the Tau all day, but they are not for beginners, and the codex needs a serious update(I find the units are too expensive when compared to the fifth edition)

Hey everyone thanks for all the insight i just have one question can anyone tell me which are the 5th edition codexes?

Space Marines, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Imperial Guard, Tyranids, and Dark Eldar.

Honestly, all codices are competative. The only codices I could see struggling would be Tau, GK, and Necrons. SoB still put up a fight though. IG, SW, BA, and DE (being the newer armies) are the most commonly "competative" armies you'll see, mostly because they're newer codices.

SO overall would you guys reccomend eldar or space woves? btw im considering buying the battleforce for whichever i choose off the gw website is this a good idea? thanks for all youre help so far!

This may sound a little basis, but SW are the way to go, if you are starting with a new army. Eldar takes alttle bit more time to understand their tactics.

BTW...this is a TERRIBLE way to decide on an army.

You're MUCH better off simply picking an army you like the look/fluff of...rather than assuming you're going to kick tail.

Just to be on the safe side I'd reccomend collecting vanilla marines....along the way if you decide to say "these 'count as' space wolves" tourney's wont have a problem with it....just go generally loyalist marines (vanilla, SW, BA, BT...whatever)

Deadshane1 wrote:
BTW...this is a TERRIBLE way to decide on an army.

You're MUCH better off simply picking an army you like the look/fluff of...rather than assuming you're going to kick tail.

Just to be on the safe side I'd reccomend collecting vanilla marines....along the way if you decide to say "these 'count as' space wolves" tourney's wont have a problem with it....just go generally loyalist marines (vanilla, SW, BA, BT...whatever)

Listen to deadshane, he speaks the truth. If your just starting, go vanilla, and you can pick a new flavor of marines latter.

Deadshane1 wrote:
BTW...this is a TERRIBLE way to decide on an army.

+2

Every codex can produce a competitive army, all that changes is the number of competitive builds that they can produce. Older codices tend to be limited to 1-2 builds, they have too many useless/outdated/overpriced units in the codex so are stuck with a limited number of units to build a list around (which will often limit their effectiveness a bit). 5th edition codices tend to be a lot more flexible, you have far more options available to you so you can make much more varied and interesting armies. Because of this it tends to be harder to make competitive armies with older codices and easier with 5th edition codices.

Purely from a competitive standpoint Space Wolves are probably a better choice, Eldar are a finesse army with an older codex so not a great choice for a first army. Not saying that they can't beat competitive Space Wolves lists, but they require a fully tuned listed with an experienced player to stand a chance. Either way you should pick whichever one appeals to you the most overall, simply picking an army because you can beat face with it often ends with you getting bored of the army once you finish it, which is a total waste of time and money.

As far as the battleforces go, the Eldar one isn't that great as you get a pretty meh hybrid mech list out of it, Guardians and to a lesser extend War Walkers have no place in a mech list. The Space Wolf one on the other hand is great, it has a ton of infantry to get you going, even if you don't end up using the Drop Pod (finding a spot for 1 isn't that hard) it still well worth it.

Shane has a point. Much more important than the army's reputation for power is liking its appearance/fluff/play style.

Power can change; army books are updated, new editions of the rules come out, and what once was a dominant army slides down the power scale or has its best units reduced in power. Not universally, but with some regularity.

If you really enjoy the look and feel of a given army, you are more likely to be able to sustain the motivation needed to build and paint it, and to learn how to play it. Space Wolves or IG might be top of the power curve at the moment, but until you learn how to play you can still expect to get your teeth kicked in by good, experienced players until you learn what you're doing. Enjoying the look & feel of your chosen army helps give the motivation & persistance to play the games and learn how to win.

The fact that you asked again about Eldar even after everyone told you that a 5th ed army would be stronger/better makes me wonder if their appearance/fluff is grabbing you. If they really do appeal to you more than any of the 5th ed codices, you may be better off playing them anyway. They're not a dominant tournament army right now; though they have a couple of competitive builds. If Eldar really float your boat, you may be better off starting them even though they're not the strongest; because you'll have the motivation to actually complete the army and keep playing it during the losing/learning early games, until you learn what you're doing.

If I'm wrong about this, then Shane's recommendation has a lot of merit. If you build space marines, and give them your own unique color scheme (NOT paint them as one of the big known chapters), you have the flexibility to play them as any of the marine chapters. You can change from book to book if you want, just painting up a couple/several models when needed for a given army's unique units.

WHEW ALRIGHT! ahha thanks to everyone for their advice getting into 40k period seems like a pretty daunting thing let alone choosing your army! after all the debating I think I will go ahead and, start out with a SW battleforce i love the fluff and look of both forces equally but, i think one of the main things pulling me towards eldar was the mechanics fast, strong, elite units sounds pretty cool to me! The reason I chose Space Wolves is because, in my early learning stages i think they would be better off since Ive been told they're easier to play and, of savage warriors/hunters from a frozen world charging into battle with wolves does sound pretty cool! (not to mention those claws they have!) later on, when i'm a better player I probably will start an eldar force because, It'd be fun to constantly have to outmanuever/outthink your opponent. Well guys thanks again for all your help, I CAN'T WAIT to start playing!


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Oh one more question! does anyone know where I can get the SW battleforce for cheaper than the gw website? just curious because, I keep seeing these european sites advertising for cheaper than retail and, yes thats after the exchange rate! like waylandgames.com? thanks everyone!

Possibly ebay

WWW.thewarstore.com

(good place to make large purchases.

NOOOOOOO!!!!!! PLEASE!!!! Don't choose Space wolves!!!! everybody use them !!!! You will find half of your opponents using your same army!!! ... and that's not so funny... I know you're new to the game and you justly want something easy to play but there's plenty of SW players out there...
In my opinion eldars are much better! I think you will easily find some older player wishing to help you building a competitive list anyway... The new Dark Eldars are also a very strong army, very fragile but able to strike with incredible power...

he's already walking the furry path, there's no hope now my brothers.

dont listen to these people. Get a dark eldar army. They are unbeatable if used correctly. It can take a while but once you master it they become an army that really pisses off people because their big tuff orks and marines are getting shredded and demoralized by evislender space elves. I f you want to know more about them pm me.

Want to play the SAME army the majority of players are going to right now just so you can win a table top war game more than most?

Or do you want an army that best matches your personality, that you love the models for, the fluff, and will actually put the efforst into to assemble and paint?

If SW is YOUR army and not just the most COMPETATIVE army, then by all means buy away...

Chaos....why well I beat Space Wolfs everytiime I face them, Dark Elves are just Imperial Guard on Steroids....come on join the Dark Side....Come on over to Khorne....Really....its the way to go....

theamericanos wrote:dont listen to these people. Get a dark eldar army. They are unbeatable if used correctly. It can take a while but once you master it they become an army that really pisses off people because their big tuff orks and marines are getting shredded and demoralized by evislender space elves. I f you want to know more about them pm me.

Telling people to start the game with the most brittle unforgiving army in the game is ill advised... just saying.

Unless of course thats the army that best suits you. Go for it, just expect alot of pain before you get a handle on DE.

Hey, if the guy wants to stand a chance while he's learning and he thinks both Space Wolves and Eldar are cool, then don't hate on him for picking Wolves.
Good luck mate. When looking at what to buy, if you are interested in competative play, it is sometimes good to look at the tactics forum here. Better though is to start small and investigate units yourself through playing them. The downside is, you may end up paying for units you don't use. I don't mind this myself, because I buy what I want to paint and work the rest out later, but it might bug you if you're coming at it from another viewpoint/short on cash.

double

I won't tell you what to to buy, but I will tell you this, space wolves, just another face on the bandwagon, dark eldar, steep and unfriendly learning curve that will have you hating this hobby out of the gate. but as aforementioned, look into the backgrounds, model range, and feel of each race, and let that be your deciding factor, that way when you win it feels that much more like your personal accomplishment, and not, "hey look what the rules did for me on autopilot!"

Da Boss wrote:Hey, if the guy wants to stand a chance while he's learning and he thinks both Space Wolves and Eldar are cool, then don't hate on him for picking Wolves.
Good luck mate. When looking at what to buy, if you are interested in competative play, it is sometimes good to look at the tactics forum here. Better though is to start small and investigate units yourself through playing them. The downside is, you may end up paying for units you don't use. I don't mind this myself, because I buy what I want to paint and work the rest out later, but it might bug you if you're coming at it from another viewpoint/short on cash.

So in order to stand a chance he needs to play SW?

Choose the army you like for fluff, look, and gameplay, not just gameplay. Get good with that army then you will have no complaints about the army you play, and bonus points for being origional.