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Im curious to see what the general populace of Dakka thinks on this subject. Here is the set up that i want you to take into consideration for how you vote on the subject.You're starting a new Marine army from scratch, no previous power armored armies, no difficulties in getting what you order, you will not have any problems getting a game in with forge world items, in fact its welcomed and encouraged to add to the game. You have $500 to put forth to your starting force, and your buying everything at Retail cost, no ebay, no discount sellers, direct from FW or GW.

Do you start a Codex: Space Marines army, Codex: Chaos Space Marines, or do you do a Legion from Forge world?

HH army for me, because I personally really dislike Vanilla or similar Space Marines, and the only CSM that appeal are Nurgle. I've not seen a HH army in it's glory and they get some truly beautiful models to work with.

So, HH. Probably Death Guard. Or maybe Empies Kids.

I'd do HH.

 Blacksails wrote:
I'd do HH.

Without a shadow of a doubt, HH.

 motyak wrote:

 Blacksails wrote:
I'd do HH.

Without a shadow of a doubt, HH.

Copy cat.

Get yer own darn opinion!

*Edit* I feel like I should contribute more and actually generate something of a post with content.

Here's why I'd do HH;

1) The models are prettier. Not just the basic line squads, but the detail and variation in armour Mks is awesome. Not to mention that anyone wanting to play an original legion will have tons of great models specific to that legion.
2) The rules are certainly no worse than standard 40k. The Lord of War slot in HH is actually reasonable, and its pretty hard to screw up balance between factions using the same army list. That being said, there are some internal issues that leave you puzzled...like why Firedrakes have 2W, yet Justaerin Termies only have 1, with both being the elite of their chapter. Either way, fun rules, fun weapons.
3) HH models can be used just fine as stand in 40k models using rules from C:SM and the like. So you're really getting one to a lot of armies for the price of one.
4) I just love the Salamanders, so that's my own personal reason.

Codex Marines. Drop Pod army. Probably Salamanders, although Iron Hands are a close second.

HH if your know anyone that plays, but with the cost of ordering exclusively from FW you might find getting a game troublesome.

I would go Codex Space Marines, pick a colour scheme that suits you and use White Scars tactics like every other marine player.

I'm actually just getting back into the hobby with, you guessed it, Vanilla Marines. Salamanders, debating between Pods or Armored Column (Raiders/ Rhinos)

I’d go codex, but pick up some FW bits to spice it up. $500 does not go very far over at Forge World; can you build a viable army there with that?

If price were no object, I’d be rocking out with the legions. But we have a budget, so Codex.

You can get an entire space marine company (sans vehicles) for like $700ish direct from GW. Owning an entire company is incredibly appealing to me. If someone gave me $500 to spend, I'd probably save up for a bit and just go all out for that.

Probably Legion.

Right now that is 273 pounds

Mk3 tac squad for 160
Mk3 command for 25
Contemptor + Arms for 48
MK3 heavy support squad + guns for 35

I would go with HH and pick the Iron Hands or Salamanders as the models can be used for both HH and 40K. Sure you might have to buy a few extra models but a single army would fit in both setting. That's like having 2 armies for the price of 1.3 - 1.5

Since I *am* doing this, what I've done is:
- 3x SM Battleforces (the new $250 iirc boxes)
- ~8x boxes of various blinged marines.. DAs, BAs, vets etc.
- 1x squad of each mark of forgeworld armour.

I think basic marines look to bland for "genetically engineered long lived warrior monks with the wealth of a million worlds lavished upon their chapters". Ergo the higher quantity of bling and the addition of older marks of armour to mix in.

That said, which legion you choose, be it traitor or loyalist will have a huge impact on your enjoyment of the army imo. Pick a legion or warband that you really like everything about, and will have the ability to paint and modify to a standard you're happy with. I'm going Blood Ravens and Iron Warriors because I love pretty much everything about them both. I'd definitely suggest deciding on that first before you start buying. Depending on what you want, what you buy will probably be very different. My Blood Ravens can use a lot of (sometimes modified) Blood Angel and Dark Angel iconography. If you go chaos, if you want it to look really good you'd probably want to mix in some older mark and specific legion units.

Lastly, don't pay GW retail whatever you do! Discount Games Store for example sells those same SM Battleforces for $177 instead of $250 (it's $350 here in Aus.. but that's another topic ; p)

I have to say do a legion. They have tons of options for aesthetic/bits, they can be used in either era, and the cool factor they have are without peer.