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Im fairly new to the game and there are so many armies to pick from, can anyone help me

I prefer Ranged combat, picking off important targets from a distance but I dont want to be useless in melee

Aesthetics wise I would rather have a "clean" and "beautiful" army

Finally I want an army that fights in a reliable manner, but with some nifty little tricks if possible


If I had to rank the importance of these attributes I would say
3 Ranged
4 Melee
1 Beauty
2 Reliability

Either Imperial Guard or some form of Space Marine by the looks of it. I would have said Tau but you wanted decent melee capabilities, seemingly a more balanced force, while Tau focus a lot more on ranged firepower. To an extent Imperial Guard are like this as well, but are able to stand up in melee combat a fair bit better, not to say you will be running around charging but they will buy you plenty of time to reposition if needed.

As for nifty little tricks, maybe look at either Eldar or Dark Eldar. Basically there are a few forces that can do what you seem to be asking for, so I'd go with whatever has the best looking models in you opinion.

eldar? they're beautiful, reliable if used right and the right tool for ranged and hand

I would probably recommend some form of Space Marines, likely either regular Space Marines or Grey Knights.

Blood Angels would be too close-combat oriented perhaps. Space Wolves to scruffy and lacking in the "clean".

Grey Knights seem to cover all your bases of reliability + neat tricks (Assassins, Grenades, etc..) + "clean" aesthetics and shooting with solid cc.-abilities. The lack abit in the very long range, but things like a Vinidcare might still give you the "feeling" of picking out targets from a distance.

Regular Space Marines with a clean paint job would perhaps be the next-best option. You would trade away some of the "tricks" for a bit more long-range and diversity of units.

Your 3,4,1,2 thing is confusing me. Are you saying that the aestetics of the army are the most important? If so, Eldar are your guys. If you were putting ranged combat on top, then go with Tau.

It also depends on what you like as far as 'beauty' is concerned. Do you want graceful, flowing lines and dainty figures in a more feminine sort of beauty? Or do you like the hard angles and bold colors of knightly heraldry? Space Marines (and really all the Imperial armies) tend to have hard angles, with lots of tiny details. Eldar tend to have the more fluid, simple structure.

Personally, I find any model well painted to be beautiful, be it Eldar, Orks, or Nurglings. So that's a personal choice. I'd recommend looking at Tau or Eldar though.

If you're new to the game, don't use Eldar or Tau IMO. Tau are outdated and you'll struggle to win with them, and Eldar are very hard to play right from what I've heard.

Thanks everyone for the replies, Ima read up more on Eldar now <3

Also Grey Knights sound interesting, Ima check them out too


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ive been hearing bits and pieces about being able to have a Grey Knight / Imperial Guard army

I already own some Imperial Guard army (a dude bought an IG starter box, didnt like it and sold it to me for $30 How do I go about mixing Grey Knights and Imperial Guard, is it in the Grey Knights codex? (if this even really exists)

Used to be able to with the ally rule in the Daemon Hunters codex, which was replaced by the Grey Knights codex. So can't anymore.

ah too bad, that sounded like it would have been pretty cool!

Out of curiosity are there any that are still mixable?

Black Templars, of course.

A nice, clean, black and white paint job. Badass aftermarket bling from Forge World. They are (currently) a gunline army with one of the best assault units in the game. And, because 6th Edition's going to hit before they get updated, they're likely to stay a gunline for a good long while, despite being fluffed as melee-oriented ass-kickers.

Talamare wrote:Thanks everyone for the replies, Ima read up more on Eldar now <3

Also Grey Knights sound interesting, Ima check them out too


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ive been hearing bits and pieces about being able to have a Grey Knight / Imperial Guard army

I already own some Imperial Guard army (a dude bought an IG starter box, didnt like it and sold it to me for $30 How do I go about mixing Grey Knights and Imperial Guard, is it in the Grey Knights codex? (if this even really exists)

Look into the henchmen rules and you will find uses for the Imperial guard in a grey knights army.