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So I am once again looking at what army I should play?

I like Grey Knights for their looks...really cool.

I like Imp Guard for their tanks....tanks are awesome.

I like Space Marines...not as cool as Grey Knights but very versatile.

So my question is which should I play and why? And if Imp guard...catachan or cadian?


Thanks

What armies do you already have?

Grey Knights:

Pros:
They have very different wargear and playstyle to any other Marine chapter, and have lots of cool big toys to field (Stormravens, Land Raiders, Dreadknights, all-Terminator armies)
Their paint scheme is simple and elegant
They're a pretty powerful codex
You can build a decent, although not great, list for cheap (Draigowing)

Cons:
They're pretty fiddly, and you need to keep track of powers you'll only use situationally
They have few long-range weapons
People may give you the side-eye because they're considered a cheese army


Imperial Guard:

Pros:
One of the most flexible codexes out there; so many different kinds of tanks.
Great if you want to field a horde, gunline, or parking-lot style list
Many different and visually distinct regiments
Easiest faction to substitute cheaper and/or cooler non-GW models
THE BANEBLADE (Apocalypse only)
Lets you field Vendettas, which are hands down the best flyer in the game currently

Cons:
If you stick to GW models only, can get VERY expensive if you want a horde of infantry (even moreso if you want Elysians/Death Korps)
A ton of painting identical infantry (this is a big con for me, might not be depending on your opinion of painting)
People WILL give you the side-eye if you field a swarm of Vendettas

Spess Mehreens:

Pros:
Easiest faction to find used, whether IRL or on eBay
Can be fielded as Codex Marines, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Dark Angels, or perhaps even Chaos Marines with minimal remodeling/addition of units
The most popular faction(s), so plenty of revamps and codex updates
Very good blank slate for coming up with your own fluff and color schemes

Cons:
Everybody plays Marines
Can start to feel same-y if you codex hop
No, seriously. Everybody.
People will give you the side-eye if you codex-hop and make no effort to represent chapter-specific wargear (this purity seal is a Wolf Tail Talisman!)

Imperial Guard are one of THE most flexible and they are also used as THE ally of choice for those armies who can take them.

So from a purely practical standpoint, its just HARD to go wrong by getting an IG force. Takes more painting than some, so thats a necessary disclosure there.

What I mean by flexible is that it can be built several ways and be good. It also has an answer for every single threat type, and you can play fast or gunline, outflankey or Deep Strikey or whatever you want realy. With allies Space Wolves and such, they can really have some cool shinanigans.

Bludbaff - I like the breakdown...can you do the same for Tau, Space Wolves, Blood Angels, and Dark Angels?

I know its a pain, but thanks.

You know, it would be a little more helpful if you could tell us a little more about what you're looking for from an army in general. It will be much easier for you to give us a little information than for us to give you all of it.

My bad. I thought this thread was dead. I did a little thinking and posted a new one....in case they can close the new one here is what I posted:

Which army is best at long to medium range that won't die instantly in close combat? That is why I am thinking a space marine like army..could be wrong though.

GK are fantastic medium range. Probably the best medium range army you can find. They also hold their own in CC, but are rather lacking in the long range department.

Guard do tend to die instantly. If you don't like removing a fistful of dollars men each shooting/assault phase, then guard aren't for you. They're also very, very expensive in USD.

SM are great all-rounders with good medium and good long range. However they're due an update. So if you're wanting SM don't buy too much (however the staples are unlikely to change due to the excellent balance in the current marine codex).

Which army would do a lot of damage at range and then finish up close?

J0kerrMT wrote:
Which army would do a lot of damage at range and then finish up close?

Grey knights.

psycannons are awesome.

plus they get a lot of awesome power weapons/hammers

Psyfilman dreads are awesome too.

Just as a heads up, around here a thread isn't considered dead if no one has posted on it in less than 60 minutes, nor does it go necromantic within 24 hours.

J0kerrMT wrote:
Bludbaff - I like the breakdown...can you do the same for Tau, Space Wolves, Blood Angels, and Dark Angels?

I know its a pain, but thanks.

I can do Space Wolves for you:

Pros:
Excellent defensive setup with bolter, pistol, and CC weapon as standard wargear + Counter attack and wolf standard on Grey Hunters making them just as effective if not moreso if they get charged than if they get the charge
Long Fangs are the best Devastator equivalent in the game
Cheap(ish) terminators who can take Combi-weapons
Effective Psychic defense
Good CC units
A few love or hate units that might be really effective for you
Awesome miniatures that are no more expensive than the standard Marine boxes

Cons:
No flyers
No Skyfire
A few "meh" special characters
A few love or hate units that you might regret having
Expensive Stormshields
Puppy/furry jokes ahoy!

Oops. Wrote most of this post and then got distracted. Ignore duplication/contradiction of replies above please. If I contradict someone who knows the army they are the one to listen to.

No prob. I will say, though, that these are way less authoritative. I play both IG and GK, and I talk theory with and play against a friend with vanilla marines often. However, I play against SW and BA rarely, and I haven't actually played a game against Tau or DA since they got codex upgrades. I'll give it a shot though, and anyone with better info should feel free to correct me or add anything I missed.

Tau:

Pros:
Some of the best pure gunline action--long range, powerful, and varied weapons
Interesting visual design, with possibility of interesting paint schemes
Playing xenos gets you automatic cool points (because everybody plays Imperial)
Brand new models for several powerful units

Cons:
Very dependent on Pathfinders--one unit is all but mandatory, two is a great idea, three is not a bad choice
New flyer is a bit meh, compounded by competing for FA slots with Pathfinders
Newest codex, so a bit flavor-of-the-month at the moment
Riptide is $85!

Space Wolves:

Pros:
Their devastators (Long Fangs) and tacticals (Grey Hunters) are better and cheaper than Codex Marine equivalents
They have an HQ character dreadnought
Rune Priests' psychic hood equivalent still works like it did, so more effective at psychic defense than Codex
Perfect if you dislike the normal Marine demeanor and wish they swilled beer and listened to Motorhead

Cons:
Not as strong as they were in 5th due to lightly armored transports (in this case Razorbacks) being less survivable
Aesthetics (pelts worn over power armor?) are a turn-off for some
Not so great if "Party Viking Space Marine" just sounds silly to you

Blood Angels:

Pros:
Assault Marines as Troops makes them actually worth taking, unlike every other Marine codex
Best non-GK Marine codex for close combat focus, mostly due to previous
Mephiston packs the punch of a Monstrous Creature
Interesting dreadnought variants

Cons:
Nipple Armor
Vampiric qualities attract Twilight jokes
Kind of lackluster comptetitively...not outright bad, just nothing to be excited about

Dark Angels:

Pros:
Best bike army around, and not too shabby for all-Terminator armies either
Only Marine codex with its own Warlord table, as it's the only one designed for 6th so far

Cons:
Very poor flyers, particularly for how expensive the kit is
Theme armies tend to overlap very little, so if you want to try out a Ravenwing list and a Deathwing list you'll need to buy nearly two full armies