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So I'm eyeing 40K and really like the aesthetic to some of the factions. But SM is not one of them. I know I should probably start with them, I've read it countless times that they're the "best" for new players. But I'm going to have a really hard time painting an army that I think has very bland models. How do the CSM compare as a point of entry? I think their sculpts are significantly more attractive than the SM and from what little I've read they sound like they require less finesse than some of the other factions that I think look good (outside of orks, maybe?). Any advice would be much appreciated.

You're right, Chaos Space Marines sacrifice some of the regular Space Marine's flexibility for an extra edge of brutality. They are a close combat army that can do shooting very well, and vice versa for regular marines. They also have the advantage of being fairly well supported model wise, andif ypu're new to the game I see few better armies as a starting options.

One issue with the Chaos Space Marine Codex is that it's rather limited in the ways of competitive lists available, so keep that in mind.

It's going to be a while until I'm concerned about a competitive list. But I do want to be able to grow into my faction choice and be able to stick with it for at least a couple of years before I start experimenting with other factions. Thanks for the heads up.

CSM is still a pretty good entry point. Oblits are one of the most forgiving units in the game, and the basic CSM can do much more than their supposed "tactical" squad counterpart. Just make sure to avoid the Possessed and Dreadnoughts like the plague, if you're inexperienced then a bad roll with them can really mess up your day.

For the record I might be a bit bias, as my first ever army was a Chaos one (although it's far different than what we have now, since i started in 3.5).

Thanks for the opinions guys. I'm set to play a demo tomorrow evening. I'm sure I'll have tons more questions after I get some hands on experience.

Screw it.

Do the Deamons. It's a brilliant learning army.

I honestly think grey knights would be a fantastic starting army.

You can make a very good army rather cheaply $$ wise, and the GK terminator models are some of the best models in the game in my opinion. Lots of fiddly bits you can work on.

A curse or a blessing I'm not sure which, but if you take an older army such as the chaos marines and don't plan on anything else in a couple of years is that you'll get the game down quite well and then get another army with a new codex. Though I wouldn't expect a new chaos dex until 2013, if you switch over to something after getting tired of them they will get lots of new shiny to update and play with.

Chowderhead wrote:Screw it.

Do the Deamons. It's a brilliant learning army.

Ah, no, bad Chowder, bad.

DON'T start with Daemons. I started daemons when I was fairly new, and have come to HATE them with a passion. Having an entire army deepstrike when you're new teaches you so many bad habits.

Chowderhead wrote:Screw it.

Do the Deamons. It's a brilliant learning army.

I'm given to believe that you may be misleading me.


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Luco wrote:A curse or a blessing I'm not sure which, but if you take an older army such as the chaos marines and don't plan on anything else in a couple of years is that you'll get the game down quite well and then get another army with a new codex. Though I wouldn't expect a new chaos dex until 2013, if you switch over to something after getting tired of them they will get lots of new shiny to update and play with.

On the upside, right about the time I would expect to be looking at another faction the CSM would be the new hotness.

As far as not being boring to paint/model, SW and GK are my favorite marines. SWs because they have a lot of detail that you don't get with vanilla marines, and because you have to do some conversions/kit bashing because some of the most popular models don't have kits. (Long fangs from devastators, wolf priests from Chaplains). I just started a GK army because I love, love, love the base models. So there's my two cents.

I think the Black Templars look interesting, but I'm not sure what their relation is. They and Dark Angels are listed under SM on the GW site whereas the other chapters seem to get their own heading. I'm sure I'll get the full rundown tomorrow at the store.

BT and DA are the 4th ed marine armies so they lack a lot of the shiny of the 5th ed marines. Both have things they do well, they just don't have as much to separate them from the standard marines as the new ones do. I'm not a Templars player so I can't give a rundown as to their pros and cons but I've got a list of them for the Dark Angels if you would like to see it.

While I happen to love Space Marines...

CSM are perfectly fine for a beginner. There's a lot of nuance that will be lost on a brand new player, but I think they are still a great army. Everyone has a 3+ save and is fearless (or close enough) and they have all of the Mech perks.