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Hi Everyone,

I'm new to Warhammer 40k, and decided to play with either Tau,Orks,or Dark Eldar.
Which is better for skirmish(~750 pts.?) sized battles, preferably using only infantry, no leader or hero(to much $$$) and maybe a tank?

Thanks in advance,

Zavel

Tau - new codex, lots of goodies not sure on prices, however, going Troop Infantry route, somewhat fragile (OK save, small model count), unless you want to shell out more money to run Farsight Enclaves.
Dark Eldar - based on what you are looking for, no. They are a glass hammer army. They can hit hard, but one wrong move and they crumple. Also they don't get tanks.
Orks - Personally I think this i what you are looking for. Cheap troops that come in large blobs, you can get a decent core via eBay (look for AoBR), and the conversion possibilities are endless.

If you want a infantry army, definitely do not go for Dark Eldar. DE need to have lots of vehicles, due to their army depending on completely on speed.
Orks would be better, but they are expansive. Orks are a horde army, so a single ork is not worth much points and you will need lots of models.
Tau would maybe be the best if you are short on cash.

The only issue with Orks right now is that they're not the most powerful army at the moment, as their Codex is still from the 4th Edition. However, at this point, it is pretty much agreed upon within rumours that they're the next Codex to be updated, so I wouldn't be overly worried about that.

But I agree, Orks are the best way to go for what you're looking for. And if ever you want to expand with more vehicles and stuff, you have a LOT of options regarding conversions, which can prove to be a lot of fun. Tau generally have a lower model count than other armies, and Dark Eldar can be really tricky to learn and play well.

At small points on 4x4 tables you can't beat orks. 3 units of maxed shoota boys with nob and powerclaws. One Mek with KFF and the rest of the points in Dethcopters with buzz saws.

Its just too much anti infantry dakka and models to kill.

Funny enough, our orks player told me that the only reason I beat him with Dark Eldar at 750 points is because of the small point size.

In any event, I vote Dark Eldar.

(I also point out that while you don't want a leader or hero, you're required to have one to play. Dark Eldar can easily convert one from existing models, however.)

Actually, ig now. You can bring a rediculous ammount of fearless bodies paired with some av14 goodness.


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Or eldar as you can get a couple of wave serpents - one of the best gunboats in the game. Noone will like you for that, however.

Out of the 3, i'd say that they all are good. With orks being my favorite.

 koooaei wrote:

Out of the 3, i'd say that they all are good. With orks being my favorite.

Seconded. And don't listen to anyone saying orks are expensive, there's boatloads of the previous starter set orks floating around out there to buy used. ;-)

i vote orks for 2 reasons.

-variety: you can choose a LOT of usefull units. (not 3 kinds of must-have-ultra-OP-kill squads and 20 other units you'll never use)
-amusement: the whole ork theme is more fun than any other army IMO.

strength is difficult to say cause we have a new dex incoming this summer..

I think tempest scions are what your looking for as they are,Troops with neat orders, ap3 guns, that are quick moving.

Unlike Tau and Dark Eldar, orks are built upon a core of highly effective, cheap units. Beyond the 1000 points mark, FOC restrictions and lack of proper support in other areas means these units are easily countered, but in low points games they just shine. Forget about what's been said about variety - your choices are limited to big guns, nob bikers, perhaps meganobs, and boyz. Specially boyz. When other armies struggle to find durable and killy scoring troop choices to squeeze in in their narrow 750 points lists, you can easily bring 60 or more boyz to the fight.

Tau would be my second choice. At 750 points there's enough room for a riptide, a commander to boost it and some troop support. You may be a little low on scoring units (assuming you don't bring Farsight along), though.

Dark Eldar can put a crippling alpha strike if used right, but would have a hard time surviving to turn 5. We usually play our low points games on smaller tables, where Venoms can't put their long range and shadow shields to good use.

I vote orks. Small point games are where they shine.