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So, after about 2 years absence (AND abstinence!) im slowly getting back into 40k. Im a long time gamer who has played most armies in the past. Now im looking into creating a versatile, competetive list that can deal with most opponents. I'm somewhat of a character player, in that i dont want a generic marine army, even though its versatile. The army has to have appeal to me, both in painting and modelling aspects of the hobby.

So, suggestions are more than welcome! Whats new, whats hot, whats not right now?

Thanks in advance!

well, what fighting style do you like?


Grey Knights are extremely fun to paint and have alot of powerful character options(both named and generic)

Orks are similer. they have alot of varity in the codex and plenty of modeling opprotunities(konversions everywhere )

As far as versatile? Id say.....Gork help me for saying this, but Marines are pretty versatile. And even though on the surface they are bland, you can do a couple conversions that will make them look 10x more characterful. A few examples are, replace the shoulder pads with a different style of pad, either make it yourself or buy from one of the many bits sites, and that changes their look dramatically.

Another idea, is one I would do if I EVER built a SM army. Take the arms from Fantasy Chaos marauders, they are the perfect size for a Space Marine, and use those arms for the arms of the Space Marines. They looks super buff and really badass looking, again drastically changing the look of the army.

And again, SM are a very diversified army, they have the tools to handle pretty much anything out there. They have really good troops, and badass specialists, like the SternGuard for example, to handle tougher things.


There I said it, play a Space Marine army. Now Im going to go break something, burn it, brake the lump of melted something, and stomp on the ashes for a little while to make me feel better

If you want versatility and character, with lots of conversion options, orks and chaos come to mind. I agree that borrowing bits from WHFB is a great and easy way to convert.

I am slowly building a CSM army right now. I like the WHFB chaos warriors a lot and am thinking of using their helmets to mix in with the CSMs. Also, the warrior models look great and seem just slightly bigger than the CSMs, so I will probably slap some CSM arms and/or shoulder pads on them to make aspiring champions that stand out very nicely. Yet another idea is to paint the warrior cloaks in camo or in other-worldly colors to represent the infiltrator rule of CSM chosen. Finally, I do not like plaguer fluff (come on, I am sick, undead, maggoty, and stinky?!), but like the T5 and FNP, so I will likely convert CSM models with necron bits to make bionics and use the plaguer mechanics for Iron Warriors.

To answer your other question, right now it seems DE and GK are in vogue, due to having the new codexes. That might change towards the end of the year when the necron codex is rumored to be coming out.

So far checking through miniature range and reading, the ones most appealing are Grey Knights and Space Wolves. I ran Orks with their latest codex just after i quit, and while they are fun, they're not for me. I've read and understood that SW are very overrepresented and i dont really wanna crowd the scene How are Grey Knights as far as competetive armies goes? I've read that their biggest problems are top tier AV targets? Im sure there are ways around this though..

As far as what kind of strategy i play i want a fluid moving force. the last thing i want is a static stand-still army. So, a good mix between fire support and great melee..

It's worth pointing out that Necrons and Tau are speculated to receive new Codices 'soon', so they be worth waiting for or not choosing altogether (Necrons - ~Nov, Tau ~Q1 2012).
Conversely, Space Marines, Space Wolves, Blood Angels, Grey Knights, Tyranids, Imperial Guard and Dark Eldar have all been updated within the latest edition and are unlikely to receive a new 'dex any time soon.


IMHO, as you're an experienced gamer I feel you would know the feel of the armies themselves, and I don't believe I could recommend you an army accurately considering such a broad scope, so I at-least would request greater detail/ more specifics of what you want...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ninja'd by specifics! Dang!

Space Wolves and Grey Knights are both competitive and versatile in that they excel at range and up-close; both operating best in close quarters where they'd shoot and then mop up in close combat.
Due to their low model count and individual customisation, the Grey Knights could have a lot of character with you easily able to name each individual.
Space Wolves have a great selection of kits, so the modelling aspect is a real boon here and by their very nature, each Space Wolf is a character/individual, although this is less so in game terms. However, unlike for some armies, each model can look different to one-another.

For a moving force, Space Wolves are better than this than GK IMHO. I'd imagine the typical Space Wolf army having the main force rushing towards the foe before smashing into them, firing into them at close range before finishing them off in close combat. All the while they can receive covering fire from other units.
However, as you noticed, Space Wolves are commonly disliked due to the power of their Codex and whilst not exactly the most common army, they are very popular on the tournament scene and - like Grey Knights - have recently had a lot more players, partially due to band-wagon/FotM etc.

You may find my tactica (signature) interesting for more on the Wolves and I'd recommend any of JY2's battle reports for the Grey Knights too.

I think Dark Eldar may be an option; they have an absolutely stunning and well supported range of models that should be a painters dreams. They're also a competitive, yet unforgiving, army capable of defeating others. They'd also be typically the definition of a fluid force (Space Wolves for example aren't exactly subtle) and are commonly seen as the fastest army in the game. They also can possess a great mix of close combat and long-ranged elements and definitely aren't the static army you fear...

Tjolle79 wrote:So far checking through miniature range and reading, the ones most appealing are Grey Knights and Space Wolves. I ran Orks with their latest codex just after i quit, and while they are fun, they're not for me. I've read and understood that SW are very overrepresented and i dont really wanna crowd the scene How are Grey Knights as far as competetive armies goes? I've read that their biggest problems are top tier AV targets? Im sure there are ways around this though..

As far as what kind of strategy i play i want a fluid moving force. the last thing i want is a static stand-still army. So, a good mix between fire support and great melee..

Grey Knights are certaintly competitive.

for anti-armor, they have psycannons. which are 24" assault 2 or heavy 4 guns that are Str7 with rending. they can get these in large quantities in just about every unit they have.


they can be a fast moving force with the use of Stormravens. imagine a flying Landraider. thats the stormraven.

they can also Mech up in rhinos and razorbacks.

their vehicles have a psychic power which allows them to ignore stunned and shaken results.

Psybolts are an upgrade for many weapons which increases the Str by 1. affected weapons are bolters(all kinds), assault cannons, and autocannons. this makes double Autocannon dreds pure win(4 TL Str8 shots)

nearly every unit can deep strike if they want(even the PA dudes)

Alot of good points here. thanks guys! I've noticed and read about GKs low body count being somewhat of an issue. How many models are typical for say 1500 points? With the old codex it was dreadfully few.

Is this still a major drawback or are they simply good enough to withstand punishment without dying too fast?

Last SW list i made checking over models landed around 45 models including vehicles at 1500 points.


I want a small force to start with, mainly because im starting over from scratch, both when it comes to collecting an army, but also as far as paints and other stuff goes.

if you go for basic strike squads you can have a fair number of bodies on the table. they are only a few points more then regular marines.

So the army list is versatile enough to go for a somewhat regular setup with GKs, ie Regular troops in transports, terms in LRs, tactical deep strikes etc?

I absolutely detest the idea of fielding Paladin deepstrike units like i've heard so much about.

I want to be able to field a greater variety of troops, but still remaining somewhat small in number with specific aims.

Can that be done and still be competetive, or do i have to put all my points in even fewer uber hardcore units?