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I have been thinking about getting into 40k for some time now and finally took a trip to the FLGS. I was able to watch a bit of play and picked up the rule book. Prior to this I had been doing a bit of research online and have one problem, I cannot decide on what army to pick.

I have gone through/watched a few bat reps and I have an idea what I want and don’t want in my army.
I do not want a horde army. I have been playing blood bowl for the last 15 years and I am a terrible slow painter. I also do not want a army that hides on their own table edge and lets the enemy come towards them.

What I do want to an army that takes the fight to the enemy. And while I do not have to win every game, I want an army that is going to be competitive in the way I would play it. The following are some of the armies I am currently thinking about going with, what I think about them, and how I would play them. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Dark elder: To me DE seem like the army is all about bringing the fight to the enemy. I would load up on transports with troops and unleash mass amounts of fire power. I am just worried they might be unforgiving for a new player like me.

Dark Angles: Bikes and deep striking terminators should get my army into the fight fast. I have also herd this is an army where inexperience might be more detrimental then some of the other armies. I am not sure how true that last statement holds. It seems like they are more durable but, there small units might be a weakness.

Blood Angles: Assault marines as troops, Furiosos in drop pods or stormravens sounds like a good way to meet the enemy head on. I would also field some Baal Predators for an extra punch.

Necron: While they might not bring the most mobile army on the list, I like there models. I really like the idea of fielding a god in the form of the C’tan shard. I would load on troop in the skimmers to get in range of the opposing force.

Space Wolves: Only reason I would field an Space wolf army is for Thunderwolf Cavalry and fenrisian wolf packs. If these units are not viable this army will not make the cut.

I was hoping I could get some opinions on why you would choose or not choose any of these armies and if any of my preconceptions are true or not. While I am still going through the rule book it would be nice to pick an army in the near future so I can get in some games. Thank you for the advice.

I can comment on the Crons.

I include the CTan in fun lists but they are a bit slow for most lists, plus expensive. Not sure if that makes a difference to your choice.

I find playing the Crons to be great fun, because there are many builds that are competitive. They also have a number of great combos which you can build in to surprise your opponents.

Things like wraiths, scarabs are very mobile and of course the Nightscythe is an awesome transport.

hth

Chaos space marines would be perfect for you.

Dark Edar and Eldar in genera are unforgiving for new players. Dark Angels are decent and you can get the Dark Vengeance stuff fairly cheaply on eBay. I woudn't recommend Blood Angels as 6th edition totally nerfed them.

Necrons or Wolves are what I'd recommend! Necrons can be incredibly mobile. Thunderwolf cavary can be incredibly effective, I don't know so much about Fenrisian wolves as anything other than a tar-pit though.

DE, IMO, is an army all about the offensive, they're that army that really live by the "The best offence is the best defence" rule, they don't (usually) play well in a defensive game, you have to strike hard and quick to win. But that doesn't mean you have to rush your game, the key to winning is often hiding, given how fragile the army is, you have to move around covers, luring your opponents out then strike with all you have when you see the chance. It's kinda like hunting a lion with a stone-axe! We've all done that, right? Best thing about playing DE is that games are usually decided in 3 turns(whether that's turn 1-3 or 2-4 or 3-5 is up to you!), but games rarely ever take the full game, because it's either you're tabled or you've tabled. It definitely isn't a newbie friendly army, as it's very hard to win with until you know how to play them, but if you can take a fair few losses and learn from them without throwing a hissy fit, it's a good army to play. (DE is my first army too.)

Necrons aren't exactly slow, given that their flyer transport allows them to pinpoint "deepstrike" anywhere their flyer is, and their flyer can cover the whole table quite easily. They also have a few units that can grant other units the ability to deepstrike instead of moving, this means that some of their units can jump from one side of the table to another, in one turn, given that you didn't scatter too badly. And there is also the monolith gate thing... Last but not least, their best units are often the jump infantries or their skimmers, so personally speaking, while they can't compete with DE in term of fielding a lot of fast skimmers, I wouldn't say they're "slow", I'd actually say they're faster than my DE, given that with a flyercron build, they can get anywhere on the map more efficiently than my DE(you know, the "fastest army"). Their biggest flaw however is that most weapons are 24", longer range weapons are few and far between. Their low initiative also makes them quite weak in melee, except the few that aren't. Can't speak for C'tan as I've never tried. Overall, I think necrons is one of the best choices to start with, they're relatively cheap(money, not points) to build, and given that their codex is still a solid codex, it supports quite a few different playstyles: from french bakery flyerspam, to footslogging silver tide, to wraithspam(assault necrons, and very good at it too), and plenty more builds to suit your need!

Can't speak for the marines.

P.S. If your FLGS isn't terrain packed, don't go DE, DE really needs those LOS blocking terrains.

If you want to win, and don't mind an army that looks very "clone troopers", go 'Cron Air.

If you are less concerned on the winning everytime and want an army that's fun to build/paint and good at shooting and assault, CSM is the way to go (still very competitive IF you take x2 Heldrakes and Spawn with JuggerLord Axe/Brand). I also recommend CSM TDAs, they get passed over alot, but shouldn't

However, if I was a new player, I'd do drop wolves. Get 7 pods into your list and pack them with GH with WG leaders... FTW

Thank you for the advice. I went back to the FLGS last night and picked up my army. I decided to go with the necrons based on some of the post about their maneuverability and there staying power. I was able to pick up the codex and some models. The store put in an order for more which I will pick up later this week. Now i just have to go buy some modeling supplies and paint to get them on the field. Once again thank you for your time, Ill be posting my list i came up with shortly if you have any advice.

What did you get?

Excellent choice

Before you start building stuff, checkout the threads on Dakka for "what to make out of a battleforce". Even if you didn't buy a battleforce, there are good tips in those threads on how to make the most out of things like Deathmark boxes, how to kitbash crypteks and lords etc.

Also, don't forget you get generic overlords (with a base) in the Anni Barge box (which you will definitely want a couple of.

good luck!