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I'm thinking of starting a second army, and I would really like it to be something that I can show my friends to get them into wargaming. I already have orks, and I'm looking for a change.

I'm thinking ideally, it would have:
-A few "Wow!" models
-Low-ish overall model count (lower then orks, anyway), because, hey, after assembling and painting hundreds of boyz (and state troops for fantasy), maybe it's time for a more elite army
-Something that I would at least like to have myself (I've probably considered almost every army at some point or another, so this isn't hard)
-Playable at smaller games from 1k-1.5k points
-Relatively easy to "pick up and play"

Space Marines seems like an obvious choice--and I've kicked around doing White Scars now and then, and they are an iconic part of the game.

I would say Space Marines offer the best starting block into the game. They are easy to pick up, lack a lot of excess complex special rules and are generally more forgiving than other forces.

I think Gray Knights have that wow factor and are definitely an elitest type so few models,

As a fellow Ork player, I think the Ork army should be plenty enough to get people in to the game bc the just super fun to play.

Easy access to the game is basically any loyalist marine army. Orcs are pretty simple to pick up too so you shouldnt have any trouble intoducing somone new

I suppose Space Marines are the most "balanced" intro to 40k. They show you what the game "should be like" as opposed to playing a specialized list (like Tyranid gaunt spawn or All terminator all the time marines).

Plus it has the advantage of making them want to start collecting their own army very quickly, since space marines are terminally boring (in my opinion. Lots of people apparently like them.)

Whatever army most appeals to them.

I will go with many stages for choosing an army.

stage 1 : what you like in Science fiction (alien, mad max, star wars) and when you look in 40k, you choose SM.

stage 2 : SM suck and I want that. That mean you played a few game and see the goodies of the others army (because you good paint job or you find the an army who suit better of your style of play)

stage 3 : the DREAM ARMY, just because you don't care about the rules, the mathammer or whatever people thing (need more FW)

stage 4 : the full Krieg army.

Chaos space marines!

My own two cents I have to say I think grey knights. Thy offer a low model count and therefore can shrink that huge number that new players face when buying a new army. They have that wow factor with many neat special abilities. Not extremely straightforward as lets say, the space marine codex but if they can get over that bump then it's golden.

With chaos you won't be fighting for Terry shaivo.

Instead you'll be fighting for a neckbeard, an angry redneck, a creepy hedonist, and/or a paranoid schizophrenic.

What the devil? The implication I get from the OP is that he wants to impress his friends with a well-done, ornate army with a couple of centerpiece eye-poppers and lots of variance and detail. Not one easy to play.

For that I would say Eldar, because WRAITHKNIGHT CENTERPIECE (even if it isn't spectacular on the table) and LOTS OF COLORS on the basic infantry.

If you like the more hardcore army feel, Imperial Guard with allied Marines gives opportunities for Land Raiders and Leman Russ heavy tanks as centerpieces, while the Marines can get some lavished look on them and provide a cool unit, and Guard can have the professional soldier look about them to impress your buddies with your parade-ground style

Is nurgle the schizo or is slaanesh?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also I'd rather take orders from a redneck than Terry shaivo any day

Space Marine if you want to win

Dalymiddleboro wrote:
Is nurgle the schizo or is slaanesh?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also I'd rather take orders from a redneck than Terry shaivo any day

Tzeench is the schitzo.

And at least Terry Shaivo is too unmoving to hurt me if I feth up. An angry redneck is very very capable of ripping my head off and gaking down my neck if he happens to be in a bad mood when I do his bidding.

hellpato wrote:
I will go with many stages for choosing an army.

stage 1 : what you like in Science fiction (alien, mad max, star wars) and when you look in 40k, you choose SM.

stage 2 : SM suck and I want that. That mean you played a few game and see the goodies of the others army (because you good paint job or you find the an army who suit better of your style of play)

stage 3 : the DREAM ARMY, just because you don't care about the rules, the mathammer or whatever people thing (need more FW)

stage 4 : the full Krieg army.

Lol, you nailed it.. at least for me. I walked into a GW shortly after a 4 hour drive to San Jose. I was 13 and I had watched Starship troopers on a portable DVD player. When I entered the store, I saw a game between IG and Tyrainds. Yeah that is what I looked like.
Right there I had bough a 4th ed IG codex two boxes of the 20man infantry squads (Yeas GW at one point sold the guardsmen in boxes of 20) a LRBT and a command squad. I build it all up (painted poorly cuz i'm 13) then after a week or two I forget about them.

2.5 Years later I discover the old IG stuff in my closet and decided to go back to the GW in San Jose. (I live about 2 hours out now) When I got there, I was given a crash course of 5th ed then handed all the SM codex's and was told to chose one. I picked Space wolves.
Now I liked space wolves and I plan on returning to them at some time in my life, but I had sold my 2k points of SW to fund my new IG army and after 2 more years I sold my IG off. (some of them, I kept the vehicles and codex)

Now I'm almost 18 and I have about 1.2k point of DKoK and growing.

hellpato wrote:
I will go with many stages for choosing an army.

stage 1 : what you like in Science fiction (alien, mad max, star wars) and when you look in 40k, you choose SM.

stage 2 : SM suck and I want that. That mean you played a few game and see the goodies of the others army (because you good paint job or you find the an army who suit better of your style of play)

stage 3 : the DREAM ARMY, just because you don't care about the rules, the mathammer or whatever people thing (need more FW)

stage 4 : the full Krieg army.

I skipped straight to stage 4, except with armored company, because when I was 12 I resolved I would buy, build, and complete an entire Imperial armored regiment, and bought my first Leman Russ. Then, sometime in 2010 (a decade later), I finished, with three companies of Leman Russ tanks, a command Baneblade with a Regimental Defense demi-company of Leman Russ tanks, two Superheavy companies, a Support company, a Mechanized company, and a maintenance company.

I was only ever sad between 2006 and 2008, after GW dropped Armored Company and before Forge World published IAv1 with the Armored Battlegroup rules in it. I've been happlily playing Forge World ever since.

Codex Marines seem to be the perfect answer to your question. Lots of options, simple to pick up, and can build armies for several different playstyles.

They also have some strong centerpoint pieces. In the lower point games, even a Dreadnaught or a 5-man Termie squad can really feel central. (Yes, we all know how to kill those with relative ease, but that should be true about anything but the Hellturkey). In larger point games, Land Raiders or larger Termie squads can be quite the centerpiece.

Also Orcs versus Humans just feels... right. And Codex Marines will have plenty of options for shooting up the orcs as they rush in, but will still probably need to do some melee at the end of the game (the tide will eventually reach them), giving them a more balanced intro to the game.

To top it off, Space Marines list can be effective and fun in a variety of different complexities. Librarians can be amazing HQs, and do some interesting and fun stuff with their powers. Or, if they're not ready for Psykers, give them a different HQ, and Space Marines are still viable. Lots of different options.

I might have to caution against Eldar if your plan is to teach them against Orcs. Unless you go Wraith-heavy (and then why not just go Termie heavy), they're going to need to understand Battle Focus, what units *don't* have battle focus, why you can do things they can't, why they can do things you can't, and OMG Psykers!. Not the simplest way to learn. And with how specialized everything is, when they're learning, the fights won't be that forgiving (No, you Guardians shouldn't be OK in that assault... No, your Banshee's can't do squat for shooting compared to those Lootas... SM armies are a lot more intuitive that way).

If you want Orks vs Humans, you'd go with Guard or Sisters.

Marines ain't human

Dalymiddleboro wrote:
Is nurgle the schizo or is slaanesh?

Nurgle is the neckbeard, his unwashed body constantly rotting away. Khorne is the angry redneck, killing people for the sake of it. Slaanesh is the creepy hedonist, and that goes without saying. Tzeentch is the paranoid schizo, constantly plotting against himself.

 Melissia wrote:
If you want Orks vs Humans, you'd go with Guard or Sisters.

This. Personally I'd pick Guard because I love the Leman Russ (I know, it's a terrible tank design, *shrug*), but sisters make for a more epic story IMO, if only because they're one of the few Human factions with really good fluff (as opposed to the Mechanicus who lack an army and Guard who are so all over the place).

Space Marines. Easy to paint and they've got pretty simple rules. The fact that they basically ignore morale is a huge deal, as getting swept could really put a new player off.

Xenos armies are typically a bit harder to use, i've noticed. They require more specific tactics to perform decently.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:

hellpato wrote:
I will go with many stages for choosing an army.

stage 1 : what you like in Science fiction (alien, mad max, star wars) and when you look in 40k, you choose SM.

stage 2 : SM suck and I want that. That mean you played a few game and see the goodies of the others army (because you good paint job or you find the an army who suit better of your style of play)

stage 3 : the DREAM ARMY, just because you don't care about the rules, the mathammer or whatever people thing (need more FW)

stage 4 : the full Krieg army.

I skipped straight to stage 4, except with armored company, because when I was 12 I resolved I would buy, build, and complete an entire Imperial armored regiment, and bought my first Leman Russ. Then, sometime in 2010 (a decade later), I finished, with three companies of Leman Russ tanks, a command Baneblade with a Regimental Defense demi-company of Leman Russ tanks, two Superheavy companies, a Support company, a Mechanized company, and a maintenance company.

I was only ever sad between 2006 and 2008, after GW dropped Armored Company and before Forge World published IAv1 with the Armored Battlegroup rules in it. I've been happlily playing Forge World ever since.

Good for you.

I was actually making a similar decision and decided to go Dark Angels and picked up a bunch of Dark Vengenace terminators from ebay.