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In a desperate need to get my Warhammer 40K fix I, like most dedicated fan-boys that have been missing the hobby, downloaded Kill Team from xBox Live. Within a few hours the game was beaten and my hunger for 40K only grew more now that my nourishment of 40K literature would not suffice. A lot of the questions I have can change over time and people will display their own opinions. That's what I want.

A.) How is 40K now? Is it still steadily popular? About the same as 15 years ago?

B.) I've been awing over Dark Eldar ever since their revamp. Are they a "fun" army to field now that they have fresh models? As far as price point vs. model point value, how do they even themselves out as a "army of value"?

C.) I see that GW switched over, or have started to, to resin models. I am happy to see this as I loathed working w/ metal w/ a passion, but have the new resin models gotten brittle? How does GW's take on resin hold up?

Thank you all. I appreciate your responses in advance.

-J.

A. I didnt play 40k 15 years ago so i dont know

B. I hear dark eldar are a pretty fun and balanced army

c.I like the resin models more than the metal ones

A. Well I don't know what it was like 15 years ago, but 40k seems to be the most popular miniature game in most areas.
B. I have heard that the Dark Eldar are a fun army to play.
C. The first batch of the resin models had some serious problems, but the resin model I helped my friend build was fine except for some air bubbles.

Alazahr wrote:In a desperate need to get my Warhammer 40K fix I, like most dedicated fan-boys that have been missing the hobby, downloaded Kill Team from xBox Live. Within a few hours the game was beaten and my hunger for 40K only grew more now that my nourishment of 40K literature would not suffice. A lot of the questions I have can change over time and people will display their own opinions. That's what I want.

A.) How is 40K now? Is it still steadily popular? About the same as 15 years ago?

B.) I've been awing over Dark Eldar ever since their revamp. Are they a "fun" army to field now that they have fresh models? As far as price point vs. model point value, how do they even themselves out as a "army of value"?

C.) I see that GW switched over, or have started to, to resin models. I am happy to see this as I loathed working w/ metal w/ a passion, but have the new resin models gotten brittle? How does GW's take on resin hold up?

Thank you all. I appreciate your responses in advance.

-J.

A. In the States, 40K is easily the most popular.

B. They're extremely fun. They're my main army, and it's considered to be one of the most balanced books to come out recently.
Each model is quite potent. 9 points a model gets you a Guardsman with a poisoned Lasgun, I5, Power from Pain and night vision.
The army itself got a bit more hitting power due to the proliferation of poisoned attacks, but they also got a lot more defense with Power from Pain (1st unit destroyed gives the unit Feel No Pain, Haemonculi let units start with tokens) and Vehicles that can take a 5+ invulnerable save which actually makes a big deal.

C. The new resin models have unfortunately started off their lifespan with a host of imperfections in the casting. My dad's been looking for a Prince Apophas model for a couple weeks to finish off his Tomb Kings and literally every single one of the twelve that he's looked at has the same major flaws in it. They also can melt in heat. Many stores have had the models in their display cases melt. Hopefully in the future the models will turn out better.

A.) How is 40K now? Is it still steadily popular? About the same as 15 years ago?

Well, it's definitely the most popular sci fi wargame around. No doubt. The current ruleset is pretty good, if a bit reliant on transport vehicles. It's pretty different rules wise to 15 years ago (if I'm right in assuming that was still 2nd edition. If you played during 3rd, the core of the rules is still the same).
Major changes from second edition:
-The game now has three phases, move shoot and assault. Psychic powers happen in the relevant phase and no longer use cards.
-Points values are roughly half or lower what they used to be. So a space marine is 16 points ish these days.
-Save modifiers are gone, now a gun either bypasses a save or doesn't.
-Vehicles are much, much simpler.
-Movement is simplified.
-Close combat no longer works by rolling and comparing weapon skills, but by rolling to hit vs enemy weaponskill, much like WFB.
-Many weapons are simplified.
-Force organisation is more structured and balanced.
-Games are now twice to three times the size (generally- smaller games are still playable and enjoyable).
Generally, the game has been streamlined for faster play.

B.) I've been awing over Dark Eldar ever since their revamp. Are they a "fun" army to field now that they have fresh models? As far as price point vs. model point value, how do they even themselves out as a "army of value"?
Dark Eldar are about as pricey as any other 40K army. However some builds require a lot of transport vehicles which will put the price up.

C.) I see that GW switched over, or have started to, to resin models. I am happy to see this as I loathed working w/ metal w/ a passion, but have the new resin models gotten brittle? How does GW's take on resin hold up?

The resin is flexible rather than brittle AFAIK, but there have been a few issues with miscasts. These seem to be fading away with time though.
Edit: Mr Self Destruct, where did you hear of models melting in display cases? I've seen posts where people put the models in ovens and in the boots of hot cars, and it seems like only heat and pressure can cause the resin to BEND as one would expect, but I have seen nothing to suggest Finecast resin melts at the temperatures in the average display case even in hot weather.

Thank you all for the feedback.

The only way I can see a resin figure melting is by an extreme form of bending. A lot of my local gaming stores have their displays facing windows, so I can see what he means and the issues this would cause.

In the general statement of things regarding expense (and to add some clarification) I came from a main army of Tyranid way back when. We can obviously see the difference a price can make when you field a horde-like army. It's way different then fielding, say, Deathwing. (Of course this is arguable.)

That's good to know about resin either way as I just like to hear that difficult metals, due to expense of production, are out. It's about time.

To add a "D.)" to the questions... Is there an army as of right now that are dreadfully overpowered and to look out for? The "iWin" button, so to speak.

-J.

Alazahr wrote:To add a "D.)" to the questions... Is there an army as of right now that are dreadfully overpowered and to look out for? The "iWin" button, so to speak.

-J.

Not really. VERY VERY debatably Space Wolves if you want to stretch that.

I would have to say Space Wolves (with the Rune Priest in particular being very annoying) and possibly Blood Angels are both slightly overpowered, but no one is "dreadfully" overpowered.

Why did you stop playing 40k in the first place? If the community, rules, or figures drove you away in the first place those issues might still be around.

Anyways 40k is still as popular, perhaps slightly more mainstream now with the abundance of 40k shops and general US cultural acceptance of "geekery".

I was in the same boat as you. I quit playing about 10 years ago then started back up last summer. I've had a hell of a time so far playing.

The rules are far more streamlined but require more models. People seem to be more or less the same. The game is a lot easier to grasp tactically, and more geared toward being a tactics-oriented game than Hero-Hammer.

Dark Eldar is fairly middle of the road when it comes to money-into-army. I'm into my Mech Vets army about $1,000. My Chaos Army was far cheaper, around $400. DE would run you somewhere in the middle. Bear in mind that you don't need to spend $1,000 to assemble a mech IG army, I just made a ton of money on EBAY selling things with the goal of buying up a Mech Vets army, so the limit was how much old crap I could sell.

In terms of hobbies though, 40k isn't that expensive. I also bow hunt, and one bow will cost at least $400, arrows about $50, and about $250-300/yr in expenses. Shooting, you can easily spend $1,000 on an entry-level AR15. So in terms of cost, 40k is way more expensive than it used to be but you'll get more mileage out of your money than most other money pit hobbies.

A. More balanced, from what I've been told.

B. Fun army, best codex fluff wise written to date. Other 'fun' armies: SW (Though OP, Orks, and ANGRY MARINES!)

C. Keep 'em out of the sun and they are fine.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and D.... GK in the right hands, Mech Guard, SW to some extent (just low cost, but make up for it with little fast attack, 1 great troops choice, and costly characters).

Alazahr wrote:A.) How is 40K now? Is it still steadily popular? About the same as 15 years ago?

B.) I've been awing over Dark Eldar ever since their revamp. Are they a "fun" army to field now that they have fresh models? As far as price point vs. model point value, how do they even themselves out as a "army of value"?

C.) I see that GW switched over, or have started to, to resin models. I am happy to see this as I loathed working w/ metal w/ a passion, but have the new resin models gotten brittle? How does GW's take on resin hold up?

A. 40k is more popular than ever. The Dawn of War videogames have gone a long way towards doing this. 40k rules are WAY simpler than they were in 2nd edition, and you can actually finish a big game in an afternoon!

B. Dark Eldar are incredibly good. They can dominate in tournaments, they can be fun and fluffy, and are balanced fairly well internally and externally.

C. Finecast is GW's new plasticy resin. The quality of it is very good and it doesn't require pinning, but there's a good deal of miscasts which GW will replace for free. The launch of it was badly timed with a price hike and the Internet really blew the miscast factor out of proportion. They're getting better after the first batch or two.

Any suggestions on first purchases? (Skip the Battleforce comments. I'd like to focus on "get these first and these last" type suggestions.)

-J.

What army?

for Dark Eldar it depends on what your army theme is going to be.


for Kabalite, you want Warriors(4+ poisoned weapons), a Raider for each unit to ride in, a few Ravagers for Dark Lance support. Maybe a Razorwing if you like its rules and the Model.

if you go Wyche coven, you want Wyches, Raiders for each unit(or Venoms for smaller units) with Ravagers for Dark Lance support. if you want fluffy, you could take some Talos or Chronos pain engines.


an Archon melds better with the Kabalite army.

Lelith has a great model and good rules.


you can also mix the 2.

Incubi are a great assault unit.

Mandrakes are all kinds of suck, which is a shame because the models are awsome.

you can also run Harliquins now.