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Hi guys!

I'm reasonably new to the 40k scene. I've collected models in the past but am looking to build an actual army that would be good for competing in games and tournaments. I've collected both Chaos and Blood Angel Space Marines and would be looking to either collect another SM army or something new entirely.

It's a bit of a contradiction but I'm pretty much fed up with space marines, I've attempted to collect them a couple times but haven't been very successful in completing a SM army. I tend to get bored with the choices of units and repetitively painting the same units but am looking to invest time and money in an airbrush to paint transport tanks and complete an actual army. On the other hand, a custom chapter is a good idea and their structure is very easy as they do exactly what they say on the tin...

I also like the look of Eldar in Biel'tan with a Brawn GP Inspired white, black and a more yellow-green colour scheme although they don't necessarily appeal to my ethos of getting in close and personal but that's just an assumption! Baring that in mind, I am also partial to Tyranids but again, the swarm mentality would probably make painting laborious rather than enjoyable.

I don't know! I'm unsold on anything in particular in 40k so any advice would be great! I look forward to collecting and sharing my work.

Many thanks,
G

Welcome! Before you decide on an army, have a read of the fluff and history of different armies that grab yout attention, if you choose an army you'll think youd enjoy without reading into them, you might get a bit bored and start a new army (like I did lol).

Good luck and hope you find your army!

I used to have Space Marines, stopped playing around the time 4th edition started coming out and I'm back and now am starting Eldar. I too was bored with Space Marines, I'll play a game using them but I just don't see myself investing in them. It sounds odd but if you already have Chaos, just add to that or start getting Daemons. They aren't as similar to SM as everyone says. Especially when it comes to painting, the fluff and play style are different. I've never painted or had Chaos but they look like they would be fun to paint, maybe even paint your own color scheme. You seem like a person who likes painting more than getting into the fluff so I'd go with an Army that is fun to paint and doesn't have boring models to paint....like standard SM.

You can't go wrong with Eldar.

If you are tired of painting Space Marines and playing with the same units, now is the time to get in to something different.

If you like the look of an army and have a paint scheme ready to roll, make it happen. Eldar are also very competitive right now so this is the perfect time.

Thanks for the comments guys!

Randomtoaster, I have read a lot of the fluff around the common space marines and am always drawn to BA's. They're the right colours and in my opinion, they're just kick ass... That's why I want to pull away from SM. Although, I have recently found the Charnel Guard as a recognised chapter with no specified founding chapter, colours, specialty or anything yet they have a mention in some cool campaigns and served with some big names so it might be an opportunity to make my own believable chapter that holds some merit.
On another note, I noticed you were in Plymouth? I'm actually in Tavistock so once I'm up and running, I will definitely give you a shout!

SeabassMcGrath, I don't currently own anything, I sold most of my models about 8 years ago. Well all of them bar 1 death company model I was particularly proud of. Maybe you're right about the painting, though chaos have some unusual units that require more advanced painting techniques that I don't have the confidence to paint yet. For example, the fleshy parts or evil eyes and maws sticking out of armour.
I do like the idea of a bloodthirsty Khorne army though...

Icculus, as far as gameplay mechanics, how do the Eldar work? I imagine they are guerilla warfare style tactics? I do like the idea of Eldar and someone said they were quite weak in terms of taking damage and I quite liked the idea of an army with a steep learning curve.

I think the coolest thing about Eldar right now is that they have several playstyles that all work well.

But mostly they are a fast, highly mobile strike force. A lot of their units can move-shoot-move. They have high AP weaponry to tear through vehicles. They also have some great psykers.

But, they do have some serious close combat squads as well. Look in to swooping hawks and striking scorpions to carry over some of the playstyle you may have liked about the blood angels.

Eldar are bloody amazing now. They do so many things so well that it isn't even funny. Their models are awesome and they are wicked fun to paint. If it wasn't for my Tau army I might have an Eldar army.

The learning curve isn't too bad. It is just different then marines, less point and click and more finesse.

The dark eldar also have a decent variety in their models. The codex has aged pretty well and competitive lists can be made.

Something to keep in mind.

 gossipmeng wrote:
The dark eldar also have a decent variety in their models. The codex has aged pretty well and competitive lists can be made.

Something to keep in mind.

This is true. The last update to Dark Eldar was epic and the Codex still has bite in it.

I did really like the Forgeworld Eldar models, Irillyth and the shadow spectres. Do they need special rules? Are they only applicable within the Badab wars?

Otherwise I'm pretty much sold! My only achilles heel are vehicles but I'm sure once I come round to getting an airbrush, things will be different...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

gossipmeng wrote:
The dark eldar also have a decent variety in their models. The codex has aged pretty well and competitive lists can be made.

Something to keep in mind.

This is true. The last update to Dark Eldar was epic and the Codex still has bite in it.

Dark Eldar creep me out! Plus I'm a bit of a perfectionist, I don't think I could paint Dark Eldar very well...

 Guylian wrote:
I did really like the Forgeworld Eldar models, Irillyth and the shadow spectres. Do they need special rules? Are they only applicable within the Badab wars?

Otherwise I'm pretty much sold! My only achilles heel are vehicles but I'm sure once I come round to getting an airbrush, things will be different... .

Shadow Spectres have updated rules found here. There is no update for Irillyth yet, however I tried to come up with an update for him over in Proposed Rules.

Read my tag lol.

Yeah, Biel'tan Eldar sound cool. They use a variety of aspect warriors and not many vehicles which would be awesome!

You don't have to do Biel-Tan! frankly the colour scheme doesn't REALLY appeal to me, and doing those spikes properly needs pro skills. Go make your own! I sure did - main colour is dark blue, with black, white and grey decorations! Also purple spirit stones = life complete.

 Guylian wrote:

On another note, I noticed you were in Plymouth? I'm actually in Tavistock so once I'm up and running, I will definitely give you a shout!

Yeah man! Once you're all set, i'll definitely help you into the hobby! It's so hard to find 40k players down here, I guess I hang around with the wrong people haha

Chaos daemons! They're so much fun and look awesome.

Dalymiddleboro wrote:
Chaos daemons! They're so much fun and look awesome.

Ive been tempted to make a daemon army on the side, ever since a kid I loved the great unclean one model!

Well, I think Space Marines are still the best army to begin with. They are forgiving and rather easy to play. Moreover, they will get a new codex soon. So they should be rather competitive in the near future.

Maybe I will stick with a simple SM army and upgrade to Eldar shortly afterwards when I get the hang of the game.

For ease into the game. Orks. They are very forgiving on tactics, quite easy to find cheap, fun, easy conversions, great stuff and there are only a few terrible choices in the codex. So many different play styles too!

Want 180+ bodies on the ground? Orks can do that.
Want vehicles with awesome stuff? Orks can do that too.
Want great CC? Yep orks can do that.
How about a gunline with anti air that isn't dedicated? Da greenskins are bad shots no matter what, it's why we get soo many shots. One's bound to hit. The only real weakpoint is reliably taking down AV14 at a distance.

 dreamakuma wrote:
For ease into the game. Orks. They are very forgiving on tactics, quite easy to find cheap, fun, easy conversions, great stuff and there are only a few terrible choices in the codex. So many different play styles too!

Want 180+ bodies on the ground? Orks can do that.
Want vehicles with awesome stuff? Orks can do that too.
Want great CC? Yep orks can do that.
How about a gunline with anti air that isn't dedicated? Da greenskins are bad shots no matter what, it's why we get soo many shots. One's bound to hit. The only real weakpoint is reliably taking down AV14 at a distance.

Totally agree with this! Nothing better than seeing someones face drop when you take about 5-10 minutes just getting over 100 miniatures out onto the table for such a low point game! But yeah, Orks are an all round great army.

Yeah but toaster, if I picked Orks then we'd have to fight Ork v Ork which is no fun!

I saw the new SM and pre-ordered a tac squad to see how they are. Still undecided though.

 Guylian wrote:
Yeah but toaster, if I picked Orks then we'd have to fight Ork v Ork which is no fun!

I saw the new SM and pre-ordered a tac squad to see how they are. Still undecided though.

Ahh true, but klan v klan is always fun! Space Marines are always a great starting army, and the new army box set for SM http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat440160a&prodId=prod2220002a would be a great place to start!

Most people I know, usually start with SM. Simply because you can make your chapter's paint scheme as complicated or simple as you like it. The army list for SM tend to be very balanced and well thought out. They are flexible for any play style. Just stick with the SM til you find out the way you like to play.

Guylian wrote:looking to build an actual army that would be good for competing in games and tournaments.

Then you want to play with the strongest possible lists so that you can still win with the least amount of player skill possible.

Probably the easiest wins you can get right now come from tau, or necron flierspam, or from tau-eldar combos. Note that as things change, which army is the easy army will also change.

Guylian wrote:I tend to get bored with the choices of units and repetitively painting the same units

Which brings up this. As new armies and rules editions come out, and as meta shifts, different armies wind up being easier than others to win games with. By the time you've painted up a bunch of stuff, odds are pretty decent that you'll have to switch armies, which means that you get to paint an entirely new kind of miniatures range.

Also, in general the easy lists tend to rely on pretty much one unit (two, tops) from any one codex, so once you've painted a few of whatever that unit is, then you're going to be good to go, and won't, generally, have to paint any more of them.

Either way, I wouldn't be too concerned about this as a problem.

Toaster - Yeah, I guess there's always room for the same army to fight, especially as the current trend in FW is for the Badab war units (which most of them look terrible in my opinion...)

Which brings me on to my next point!

Sykojak - that's a great point, every time I've ever been into a GW to ask for advice, they always say space marines! Now I'm gonna wait for the codex to come out. I'm offshore atm and will be from October to December so that gives me plenty of time to read the codex BUT I'm swaying towards Minotaurs atm.

They're kitted out to take on other space marines and they have a named HQ choice so no expensive cutting up of figures just yet!

Ailaros - what you say makes sense and especially as Eldar seem to be strong at the moment, maybe they're not worth me investing in just yet as I don't have the time to complete a whole army, maybe something I'm familiar with will be quite cool.

Either way, I've bought a brand new camera to be able to take shots of my WIP once this new tac squad arrives! I'm tempted to buy a minotaurs shoulder upgrade pack from FW too. I will probably be taking pictures of an unboxing aswell to post up here for anyone wanting to look at the fine details of any parts in particular.