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Hey guys

I've been out of the Warhammer game for a while now, I previously had ALOT.. Of orks. Unpainted. Dull. And looked miserable.

I've gone through different specifics and things I want in an army.. I.e..

1) elite(ish) so that I don't have a horde amount of army to paint
2)flexible in gameplay.. From what I've heard space marines can play in various ways
3) I really like the background stories to ultra marines, I find it helps when it comes to painting the army.

All I really wanted help with is... Anyone who owns the book or has played against space marines... Can you help me with regards to the current state of the army? Are they a strong force to play with/against? Any Death Star builds? Any poor points?

Thanks for any help!

Space Marines are pretty damn strong right now, what with being the newest codex and all. The 6th Ed Codex introduced an army feature called "Chapter Tactics" which give you different bonuses based off the chapter you pick. You can find a summary here: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/6th_Edition_Tactics/Space_Marines#Chapter_Tactics (Ultra Marines through Black Templars are the ones in the codex).

The tactics you pick will probably influence the unit choices you make. I personally play Crimson Fists and load up on Tactical Marines and Sternguard. My brother, on the other hand, plays White Scars and as result tends to load up on Bikes (unless he wants to play Assault Termies and scout them into combat round 1). I can't think of anything in the codex that is a "poor points" choice off the top of my head, though some units will definitely do better based off the chapter tactics you pick.

Hope that helps a bit.

EDIT: Also, for reference, I've played about 15 games as Crimson Fists and lost once so far. Other than the one lose, the only tough games I've played were against other players using C:SM.

Yeah thanks man! That's probably solidified my choice in space marines.. Now just to choose a chapter if it influences how they play!

Looking at ultramarine a surely they give you the widest variety in play style with their combat doctrines?

Newtype Zero wrote:
Space Marines are pretty damn strong right now, what with being the newest codex and all. The 6th Ed Codex introduced an army feature called "Chapter Tactics" which give you different bonuses based off the chapter you pick. You can find a summary here: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/6th_Edition_Tactics/Space_Marines#Chapter_Tactics (Ultra Marines through Black Templars are the ones in the codex).

They are average, eldar, tau, deamons, all can beat the crap outa them. That said. SM are semi solid and can hold there own. if you want the best builds possible go White scar bike list or IH mech imo. otherwise enjoy and WB!

 raiden wrote:

Newtype Zero wrote:
Space Marines are pretty damn strong right now, what with being the newest codex and all. The 6th Ed Codex introduced an army feature called "Chapter Tactics" which give you different bonuses based off the chapter you pick. You can find a summary here: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/6th_Edition_Tactics/Space_Marines#Chapter_Tactics (Ultra Marines through Black Templars are the ones in the codex).

They are average, eldar, tau, deamons, all can beat the crap outa them. That said. SM are semi solid and can hold there own. if you want the best builds possible go White scar bike list or IH mech imo. otherwise enjoy and WB!

#4 ain't bad when there are 15 races.

I'd argue white scars can be very strong.

 ImotekhTheStormlord wrote:

 raiden wrote:

Newtype Zero wrote:
Space Marines are pretty damn strong right now, what with being the newest codex and all. The 6th Ed Codex introduced an army feature called "Chapter Tactics" which give you different bonuses based off the chapter you pick. You can find a summary here: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/6th_Edition_Tactics/Space_Marines#Chapter_Tactics (Ultra Marines through Black Templars are the ones in the codex).

They are average, eldar, tau, deamons, all can beat the crap outa them. That said. SM are semi solid and can hold there own. if you want the best builds possible go White scar bike list or IH mech imo. otherwise enjoy and WB!

#4 ain't bad when there are 15 races.

I'd argue white scars can be very strong.

15 races? (are you counting different chapters?) orks, nids, deamons, chaos, tau, eldar, IG, (oh yea, IG can put a hurt on SM as well)

I play Ultramarines and I've found them to be pretty potent. If you can balance your options well and build synergy, then you'll do very well. The trick is to specialize every unit, make use of combat squads, choose when to use each doctrine wisely, play an offensive defense.

Ultramarines for the Win!!!

The current SM codex offers wide versatility and many different builds. It is not overpowered, but with good tactics, it gives all opponents a run for their money.
If you like the idea of an elite army and never want to play the same game again, SM are for you!