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Hello Everyone!

So I am at an impasse with my armies. I would really like to invest in just one, but we all know how tempting armies can be :-). So here are the armies I have bits and pieces for:

Dark Angels
C:SM
Space Wolves

I know DA just got their codex update and C:SM may get one this year ( depending on what rumor crosses your desk). I am not a WAAC player, but I also do not want to play a sub-par army with only one or two builds that are viable.

So my question is this: which army is the better choice to invest in at this time and why?

I'd say C:SM.

They get a wide array of units. Some considered very good that other codexs don't get (TFC). They allow for a lot of different play styles. And are likely to get updated soon.

With DA, you get good: Termi wing and a bike wing
With SW, you get: Good Cav list, Great Drop pod lists. Good Termi-wing.
With C:sm, you get the general SM army.

When I have played with both SW and DA, it seems like there are only a few really good builds to employ. It also could be due to the fact that I am the only one of the folks I play with that uses a SM army that I have not seen many others in action.

It appears to me (on the surface) that C:SM gives a player the most flexible and robust toolbox to deal with the various other armies out there. Am I oversimplifying the matter?

If all you want is bikes and termies, go DA
If all you want is good infantry and cheap missile launchers, go SW

If you want all of that, plus better dreads, heavy choices, and many other tricks, go vanilla marines. They have better anti tank fliers anyway.

 Havok210 wrote:
When I have played with both SW and DA, it seems like there are only a few really good builds to employ. It also could be due to the fact that I am the only one of the folks I play with that uses a SM army that I have not seen many others in action.

It appears to me (on the surface) that C:SM gives a player the most flexible and robust toolbox to deal with the various other armies out there. Am I oversimplifying the matter?

I cannot speak for Space Wolves as I have never played them. But the new DA book allows for a lot of synergy between units making quite a good well rounded army with plenty of builds to choose from. You just see one or two main builds for fluff reasons such as Raven Wing or Death Wing.

C:SM might feel flexible because they have an epic ton of options that interact in different ways while list building. If you want an army that isn't lacking a ton of extra options they might be the way to go.

C:SM has the ability to interact with Forge World much more than SW. I'm pretty sure DA has access to as much as C:SM does, however.

C:SM will probably be updated soon, so you would have that to look forward to. On the other hand, CA has already been updated, so you wouldnt have to worry about getting a new Codex, and C:SW is probably one of the ones that will be done (much) later.

It all depends on what you want to do. If you want to make a general army, C:SM is good too. However, if you don't paint it in an original legion's colours, you can probably use either depending on what you are feeling.

(Also, never, ever paint something in the colour that a codex is about. I painted mine in the colours of the Ultramarines, and now I'd feel like a dick if i tried out CA or anything like that. That's just me, though.)

Loyal servants of the Emperor would do well to adhere to the Codex Astartes.

Build a custom chapter and finagle with all three. I played DA for years and eventually wanted to broaden my horizons.

I say Codex Marines. Personally, I think they're the best investment.

 kinratha wrote:
With DA, you get good: Termi wing and a bike wing
With SW, you get: Good Cav list, Great Drop pod lists. Good Termi-wing.
With C:sm, you get the general SM army.

What makes SW Drop pod lists so good? I read that a lot and don´t really know why. SM have larger pod capacity and Sternguard. Whats the difference between a SW and DA pod list?

I'm not a SW player, so if one wants to correct me, feel free.

Grey Hunters are much better in a drop role then tac marines. The counter charge, extra weapons, and double specials gives them some big advantage in the knife-fight range of an aggressive drop. C:SM tacticals in pods are there mostly for the post drop objective grab.

Pod terminators. Lets you get them guaranteed on the first turn, with the precision of inertial guidance. Rather then waiting for normal reserves and scatter.

I don't know if I'd call them better then a vanilla codex drop list, but they can do it, and do it well.

Go with Space Wolves. They are the kings of badassery and can do just about anything in game! And yes, GH are much better than regular 'ol tac Marines. Cheaper and have other options in place of the ones that the Tac Marines can get, and they are excellent footslogging or podding in.(I dont like Rhinos personally.) And the Counter-Attack and extra attack can really help in combat, as well as the Wolf Banner.

Also the Terminators are cheaper and better. Wolf Guard with Terminator Armour and a Frost Blade is only 3 more points than a regular Terminator and are better, and more flexible. As for the Longs Fangs, well there isn't much to say except that they are the masters of shooting and everyone hates them

And the Thunderwolves are(I think) one of the best and most effective units in the game. Fast, deadly, and hard hitting. Though they cant do much in the way of flyers or big vehicles, they can chew through just about an infantry, walker, or lighter tank. Give them some Thunder Hammers. Storm Shields and Melta Bombs, and the enemy will be worried all game about where the unit is.

kinratha wrote:With DA, you get good: Termi wing and a bike wing
With SW, you get: Good Cav list, Great Drop pod lists. Good Termi-wing.
With C:sm, you get the general SM army.

Btw can a unit with Mark of the Wulfen still carry a Melta?

Why not go with all of them? Paint them in your own colour scheme, buy the different special units you need and you could run them as any of those codices. All power armour looks the same anyway, and a guy with a bolter fits with any army.

I think it'll depend more on playstyle than 'semi-competitve'. All three listed are decent at winning with at least 2-3 builds per army, the difference is in the play styles of each.

Dark Angels have some things that make them fun to play that revolve around some great Terminator units and rules. They also have great Bike units and rules. Icing on their cake is the backstory IMO, as Ultra backstory is bland and full of fanboi writing.

Ultramarines have some things that make them fun to play though too. Their veteran PA units are fun to play with despite their high cost. The Thunderfire cannon can be enjoyable to put into a list. Some of their special characters are amazing at opening up new build ideas.

Space Wolves have their own niche as well. Thunderwolf Calvary? Great fun to play and useful. Longfangs are amazing fire support for the otherwise close-combat oriented army.

All armies make great use of Deepstriking via either Teleportation or Drop Pods to harass turn 1.

C:SM

They're supposedly getting updated soon (or at least that's the rumor), they have lots of neat toys, and they are really easy to personalize (and make your own cool fluff for).