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If you want to see some Tau, here is a link:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/listProducts.jsp?catId=cat440178a

For a newbie, I would probably suggest space marines.
They are a highly adaptable army, as well as having a range of different units and benefit from being quite easy to play.
Again, look on the GW website for more info.

Here is a list of the units:

HQ:
Captain (Combat Leader)
Chapter Master (Better Combat Leader)
Chaplain (Makes units better in combat)
Librarian (Psychic Powers)
Master of the Forge (Repairs Vehicles + Good Gun option)
+ Special Characters

Troops:
Tactical Squad (Standered Troops)
Scout Squad (Infiltrate - Get behind enemy lines)

Elite:
Terminator Squad (Heavy Armour, big guns)
Assualt Terminator Squad (Very well protected, good at H2H)
Sternguard Veterans (Good shooting)
Dreadnought (Walker)
Venderable Dreadnought (Better Walker)
Ironclad Dreadnought (More armoured Walker)
Techmarine (Repairs Vehicles)
Servitors (Helps techmarine)
Legion of the Dammed Squad (Um... Never found a use for these)

Fast Attack:
Assualt Squad (Fast movement, good H2H)
Vanguard Veteran Squad (Better Assault Squad)
Landspeeder Squadron (Fast Skimmers, get guns around quickly)
Bike Squad (Resnobal firepower, can do H2H. Fast)
Scout Bike Squad
Attack Bike Squad (Good guns quickly)
Landspeeder Storm (Transport scouts)

Heavy Support:
Devestator Squad (Carries heavy guns)
Thunderfire Cannon (Big cannon, quite effective)
Land Raider (Heavy Armour, tank buster)
Land Raider Crusader (Heavy Armour, anti infantry)
Land Raider Redeemer(Heavy Armour, flamethrower)
Predator (Multipurpose tank)
Whirlwind (Barrage Missile Launcher)
Vindicator (Very Heavy Gun)

Quick run down of the SM codex, with a few short unit explanations.

Have a look down this list. Most of these are painted as Ultramarines, but you can paint them however you like. (Mine for example, are Black Consuls in black and gold)

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/listProducts.jsp?catId=cat440176a

If futuristic is what you want, SM are for you.
The IG are much like modern and 20th Century military, where as the SM are much more futuristic.

forruner_mercy wrote:That is another thing: do you want guys who can survive whatever is thrown at them, or massed amounts of troops?

This is something important to think about.
Eldar have the problem of being T3, making them quite squishy.

Where as marines are T4 with a 3+ armour save, making them much more durable.

If you want easy to understand rules, go for SM.

Again, SM.
A 3+ save beats a 5+ save any day.

Go for one of the different types of Space Marines then, if you want to avoid having the same as everyone else.
I don't have experience of them myself, but I have heared that Blood Angels are quite good.


Here is a link for Blood Angels:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/listProducts.jsp?catId=cat440165a

You can have SM and BA, but not as one force. (Outside of apocalypse that is)

They would have to be two seperate armies.
I would advise against starting both as a beginner.

Just done a quick search and found this thread on BA tactics:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/377139.page#3207650

Mech is using lots of vehicles.

Descent of Angels is, AFAIK, deep striking.

forruner_mercy wrote:

RaptorsTallon wrote:Mech is using lots of vehicles.

Descent of Angels is, AFAIK, deep striking.

Isn't it Deep-striking the entire army?

It could well be.
It seems to focus around every model having a jump pack.

MrMerlin wrote: If it goes against sm, My orks wipe them of the tabe in an instant; last two battles against marines, both times i only left him a battered LR. You just have to use something that ignores armor and they get theyr asses handed over to them on a silver plate.

Thats interesting....

I play space marines and every time I play orks, I destroy them.


You are right that everyone playes SM, but I don't see a problem with playing BA, BT, DA or SW. Marines have a lot of players because they are versatile and are in the starter set, I don't see a problem with liking Marines and playing either standered marines or, preferably, a marine varient.

Jedend1 wrote:

RaptorsTallon wrote:Mech is using lots of vehicles.

Descent of Angels is, AFAIK, deep striking.

Thanks. I wouldn't perticulally like an army with lots of vehicles to be honest. I prefer all out infantry. Would you say Blood angels or Space marines had alot of vehicles if so, are they important to have?

And Marzillius, you said all you play against is Space Marines, well not every Space marine player has the EXACT same army... They may have the same units but each SM player will have diffrent sized army or some tactics you have never come across, therefore it can be challenging and is certainly diffrent whenever you play diffrent 40K players.

Space Marines can do both infantry and vehicals well. All depends on how you build them.

If you want to see pictures, go onto the dakka gallery and search blood angels.

Here is a picture of some Blood Angels I just found:

They are mentioned in the SM codex, but there won't be much about them because, as you said, they have their own codex.

DA are an older, and therefore less competetive book.
They have a different play style to normal marines, from what I have seen Deathwing is the most popular.

Go for it!

Blood Angels have great models, rules and background.

Jedend1 wrote:Agreed! As you know they have a codex for the Blood Angels, is there a new addition to it coming out, if so when?

I doubt there will be a codex update for the BA soon, seeing as it was only relasesd in April (I think) 2010.

The current rumors are that the main rulebook will recive an update sometime towards the end of next year.

Yeah, that is the White Dwarf update for the old BA codex.
It is now obsalete because their is a new Codex out.
That was writen in 2007 to update the old BA codex, and a totaly new version was released in 2010.

I don't remember having faced the Blood Angels, but I have been allied with them.
They were really effective, especialy the Storm Raven.

There is the battleforce:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat440190a&prodId=prod900148a
It will save you quite a lot of money. If you get that, a codex and a HQ choice, you should be able to make at leased 500pts, if not 750.

I would go with red. It looks good and I have heard many stories about how hard it is to paint yellow.