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Hey guys,
Ive spent the last month researching the wide array of WH40k armies and Im deciding between Necrons or IG. I've already got a box of Cadian shoc troops and started painting them, btu Im not really enjoying painting them...I guess it's too 'normal' as opposed to painting an army of evil/iron almost immortal warriors.

Playwise, Ive read the IG codex through and through, Im just not too sure about the Necrons. I understand the IG can be played by fielding a lot of troops or a lot of tanks or a combination. This is unfortunately also going to come at a price (which is also a factor), whereas the Necrons seem to be able to shoot through anything, but really should stay out of cc.
My Dilemma is also about the strenghts of the armies - I've watched a couple of Battle reports of IG vs Necrons, and the Necrons always seemed to win. Not sure if it was conincidence or are the Necrons waaay stronger ?

Only one thing is holding me from going with the new necron Battleforce - the fluff. I understand the IG are regular men being led to combat by their Commisars, even at the cost of a couple of bullets in the head, but Im just not a fan of the Emperor and anything doing anything in his name. But what about Necrons - they are searching for their former glory, but they have no souls...they are led by a Overlord who seems to still have some measure of free-thinking, but what about the rest of his soldiers ? Mind you, its just a total turn off fielding an army of 1980s terminators (the movie)...am I correct here, that the Necron army functions as 'robots' ?
And a 500point Necron army should also come cheaper money-wise as the IG, correct ?

thanks

Well, I can only speculate on price of course but I'm pretty sure BOTH battleforces that the IG offer come CLOSE to 500 points just like the necrons. I think that's what all of the battleforces are meant to give.
I personally can not STAND the IG but I have a friend who loves their fluff but if I'm being honest the necrons are by far my favorite of the two. They have a few units that are SCAREY in CC so I wouldn't count them out
I know the IG have a few nicknames my favorite being the "parking lot" army. You hit the field setup and shoot until you can't shoot anymore (giggity)
Fluffwise it's just like a combo of our army navy air force and marines.
Whereas the necrons are zombie robots from the past here to harvest whatever they feel to be "inferior" which is EVERYTHING lol so it's all about whihc models you like more man I love the necrons I love the zombie robot Egyptian feel vs a bunch of random guys that are forced into combat against things they shouldn't KNOW about let alone be fighting =) (I'm a huge space marine fan btw so it's not all hate on the imperium XD)

The new fluff does a somewhat better job of making them more than soulless automatons.
They are still soulless, yes, but they have some personality and reason behind their actions now rather than "REAP SOULS FOR THE C'TAN"

Then again, I'm biased. They are my first army as well.
I found them pretty fun to paint, there is so much you can do with them, and a each model is pretty fantastic-looking in of itself.
That being said, due to their generally high armor saves and WS/BS they are a forgiving force to start with. (Major issue is low initiative across the board, big disadvantage in melee
)

The Necron fluff is essentially "We are the best, we should be the overlords. Lets conquer everything and show them all who is the boss". They don't want to kill everyone, they want to rule everyone.

Well, they might want to kill the Eldar, since the Eldar sent them into a 60 million year slumber 60 million years ago.

I love the Guard, but they're not for everyone. I like them specifically because they are the average joes in a galaxy full of superhumans, monsters, aliens, and "zombie robots", and they still step up to the plate. Now, if you don't like them because they are average joes, then I would go for Necrons. Hell I even thought about starting a Necron army (but I decided to wait for a new Tau or Eldar codex).

As far as cost, stay the hell away from IG. They are the most expensive mainstream army to collect (sisters are probably worse, but they are far from common), and their Battleforce is god awful. Seriously, don't touch it with a 10 foot pole. The Necrons, on the other hand, seem to be in the mid-range of army cost, and their newly announced Battleforce doesn't seem to have any bad units, and the savings are great, as long as you are new to the army.

Really, the most important thing in this game is having fun. If you don't think commanding a bunch of regular guys with (fairly) normal military hardware is interesting, then Guard probably isn't for you. And, I really like the new Necron fluff, I have to say.