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Hey guys, I've been stumped for a while as to what I'd like to work on next, so I thought I would ask for your opinions.
I can't decide if my next army should be Space Marines (Astral Claws), Dark Eldar (Custom Kabal) or Tau (Custom Backstory).
Here are lists I made for each race, using units that I feel I would enjoy.

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Space Marines (Chapter Tactics: Astral Claws):

HQ:
MotF - 145
- Conversion Beamer
- Power Axe
- Bike

Troops:
5 Scouts - 74
- 4 Sniper Rifles
- Missile Launcher

5 Scouts - 74
- 4 Sniper Rifles
- Missile Launcher

Heavy Support:
Thunderfire Cannon - 100

Thunderfire Cannon - 100

Total: 493 Points

I really love the fluff of the Astral Claws, but I don't know exactly what their combat specialty is, so I went the age old strategy of blowing the enemy off of the board. Thunderfire Cannons and Scouts sit back in bolstered cover while MotF zips around blasting stuff with the beamer. I do have two questions though.
1) Are the Forgeworld chapter tactics legal in normal tournaments?
2) Can I use Forgeworld characters such as Lugft Huron and Armenneus Valthex in normal games? Because I really love their fluff and models, which is why I want to start an Astral Claws army.

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Dark Eldar:
HQ:
Haemonculus - 50

Elites:
3 Trueborn - 122
- Blaster
- Haywire Grenades
- Venom (2 Cannons)

Troops:
5 Warriors -110
- Venom (2 Cannons)

5 Warriors - 110
- Venom (2 Cannons)

Heavy Support:
Ravager - 105

Total: 497 Points

Haemonculus is cheap mandatory HQ and hangs out in the Trueborn Venom. Trueborn squad and Ravager are on anti tank duty, and warrior squads and three Venoms are there to murder infantry. Pretty straightforward and I can't get the blue, orange and white paint scheme I thought up for them out of my head.

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Tau List:
HQ:
Cadre Fireblade - 60

Elites:
Riptide - 180
- Heavy Burst Cannon
- Smart Missile System

Troops:
12 Firewarriors -108
6 Firewarriors - 54
6 Firewarriors - 54

Fast Attack:
4 Pathfinders - 44

Total: 500 Points

Cadre Fireblade joins large Firewarrior unit and the three units make a phalanx, with the large unit in the centre. Firewarriors handle infantry, Pathfinders mark targets, and the Riptide glances and vehicles it can, using the nova reactor if it has to. I'm not sure if this list is super cheesy or not and I don't want to be that guy, so I was thinking of taking out the Riptide and adding a Railhead and a missile suit or two.

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Thanks for reading guys, give me some answers telling me which race you think I should go with and why, and tell me how I could improve that particular list.
Cheers, Pheonix Lord Asurmen.

I wouldn't want to face any of these lists as they all basically disregard the third phase of the game which, quite frankly, annoys me.

I can't answer your Forgeworld question. No one can and it has been hotly debated for about 41 millennia but I'm sure, rule of cool applies here, if you bring out the whole damn Astral Claws chapter, painted to perfection, no one, and I mean no one not even a TO will stop you from fielding a company of them I'm guessing.

I don't know anything about your custom Sept but as for your Dark Eldar, I would bring some wracks as they make nice objective holders and it meshes better with what you have. One Haemy leading a bunch of bratty kabalites makes no sense. On the other hand, a low ranking coven Haemonculus hiring, blackmailing or otherwise eschewing aid from a certain Cabal while on a mission with his creations is awesome. Props if you can fit Scourges somewhere as they are the perfect blend of Coven and Kabalite and personally one of my favorite units and models. My vote goes here. Also because there are too many Tau and Space Marine players right now and too many of them are just FotM players. It's totally up to you though. I'm not going to say you're wrong or you're that guy or a jerk for playing Tau or Space Marines. If you enjoy it, you enjoy it, no matter how over powered or under powered that faction is. Only you can decide which project you want to invest your time and money into next.

I can't really comment on the lists themselves as I do not have any experience with those armies and their codexes. However since you didn't get an answer yet I thought it might be courteous to share some feedback.

The thing with Forgeworld rules is you can't force them on someone. Meaning, people could "tolerate" it, however the moment you become too good with Forgeworld rules people will either want to get to those rules too (which works) or will want to ban it (which is sad but hey...)

However, since you can create your own chapter, I guess you can field what you want can't you?, with your character, maybe you can't apply the special rules, but if you like the models, just use them as a standard company commander or something of the like.

Dark Eldars are nice looking, indeed, nothing to say about that.

For the Tau list, don't mind being cheesy if you like the units.

On your last and foremost important question, which one you should chose, well sad story is:

It's your choice. It also depends on your personal goal with an army. First of, which other lists do you have?

For example, do you have an IG list full mech and you are tired of full mech and want a full infantry army for a change.

Do you look for a really competitive army, the best looking army?

If its a matter of looks, then it,s really up to you. I myself chose guard as first army because I like all the models, couldn't careless about how good they were, I wanted bastions, vendettas, chimeras, manticores, russes, infantry squads, etc.

Think about when you'll want to expend this army, what model you would add next, do you love most of the range of models or just a few ones. How hard will it be to paint them all, etc.

Personally, I avoid to give advice on such choices, but I am always ready to ask the right questions.

Good luck and have fun with your new army.

When you put it all like that it is hard to decide ha. It all sounds good and cool. I personally do not prefer the Tau play style though. I assume from your forum name you have Eldar. Tau is a great ally for Eldar, so is Dark Eldar. Space marines are a lot of fun and have the best easy conversions and sculpts. I have space marines and Eldar my self. I think space marines have the best variety for list building and modeling.

Its all said above, as far as the lists though, the MOtF doesn't need the power axe, if hes in CC hes dead anyway.

The DE list looks good, and the tau is OK, I personally like missilesides if its an ally force you can only take 1/1 hq 1/2 troops 0/1 elites 0/1 fast and 0/1 heavy so you can take the unit of 2 fire warriors.

If you are a seasoned gamer, I would suggest Dark Eldar. Keep the diversity and spirit of the hobby alive!