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So I haven’t played since 5th edition back in 2011. I really would like to get back into the gaming aspect of 40k...

When I first started playing someone broke down all the armies to me in the sense of like.. the Blood Angels are the fast attack melee guys, the Orks are swarm.. etc.. There’s so many new forces and armies that I don’t want to waste my money on buying the wrong models and the such. Is there a thread on the forums that talks about the individual armies and their strengths and weaknesses?

Thanks!!

Most of the armies can do multiple things now. There's thread that detail the optimal units for each Faction, but if you're just getting back in, I wouldn't worry too much about being tournament ready from the get go. Get the models you like. Build a list you'll enjoy playing. And then play. You'll learn more about which armies are in your local area by playing, then by reading here. Then you can start adjusting your own list to be competitive against them

I used to play BA, but idk how good they are anymore.

This thread should help. Like I said, play what you like. If you like BAs, play them. Any faction can be good.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/746294.page

Thanks for the advice and I'll check out that link, still looking for the lowdown on the armies however :(

Really briefly on most of the major factions:

Eldar:
Craftworlds: generally fast, rely on psychic buffs. Decent shooting, and assault units. Can be tough if you go the Wraith route. One of the better factions out there.
Dark Eldar: Fast but fragile. Except Covens, they are slow and very tough. Fractured Codex, so it's really 3 different factions in one codex. Kabals is shooting, Cult is fast and Close combat, Coven is tough.
Harlequins: Fast and tricky. Rely on invuln saves. Great at taking down vehicles, has issues against Hordes and Monsters. Often allied into the other 2 Eldar factions but is viable solo.

Necrons: decent shooting. Not quite as powerful as they once were. Honestly not super familiar with how they currently play.

Nids: one of the stronger armies out there. Have a good mix of big monsters, horde, and CC expertise with some nasty shooting thrown in. Might be one of the better Mono-codex factions out there.

Genestealer cults : sort of a mixture between Guard and Nids. Getting a new codex soon so not sure exactly what is changing with them.

Tau: masters at all things shooting, and not much else. Reasonably competitive, strong shooting and overwatch, as always not much CC.

Chaos: often an amalgamation of the different Chaos factions.
Nurgle/Deathguard: one of the strongest factions in the game. Extremely tough. Mix of big tough-to-remove hordes and tough characters/vehicles.
Tzeentch/Thousand Sons: psycher army, also pretty good. Though the Marine component isn't great. Hordes of Tzangors and spell slinging all over the place.
Khorne: still great at close combat if you can get there. Great troops, everything else is questionable.
Slannesh: currently the worst chaos faction, just not much going for them. Might change in the near future though.

There are Renegade Knights too, cause Chaos players throw a tantrum if the Imperial boys get any toys that they dont.

Orks: the newest hotness. Just got a bunch of new fast cars and stuff, but as always the most important units are Boyz and Gretchen. Common for armies to have 150+ models on the board.

Imperials: also usually an amalgamation of different factions.
Guard: most commonly taken as a minimal size battalion for CPs and to get bodies on the field, but also has very strong horde and artillary presence.

Sisters: about to get a Beta Test Codex, not sure how they are going to change. Generally best at short range firepower.

Custodes: Army of heroes. Very low model count, with every model literally as strong as characters from other factions. Lists usually add some Guard to get extra bodies around

Imperial knights: the strongest imperial codex right now. Few large robot things that blow other stuff up. Sort of the gauge by which tournament lists are measured. If you can't kill and/or outlast a Knight list, you're not getting far in a tournament. Knight lists usually supplemented by a Guard battalion.

Grey Knights: almost unanimously regarded as the weakest faction in the game. Should be improving in the next few weeks though. Supposed to be the psycher marine army.

Space Marines: sort of generic. They do pretty well when ultra and brought with Guilliman.
Dark Angels: like regular Marines but better at Plasma.
Blood Angels: supposed to be better at CC but assault Marines aren't good. Their Thunder hammer jetpack Captains break faces though.
Space wolves: space Marines with beards. Not much else to say.

Deathwatch: pretty elite Marines with mixed model squads and special ammo.

Adeptus Mechanicus: robots and stuff. I don't know much about how they play to be honest.

Hope that helps, there are other minor factions out there but they usually just to supplement another army, not the bulk of an army.

I would wait about 3 weeks for chapter approved to come out and for the meta to settle before starting any big projects.

jcd386 wrote:
I would wait about 3 weeks for chapter approved to come out and for the meta to settle before starting any big projects.

Honestly unless you're only planning to play for a short time, just pick the army you think looks the coolest.

GW changes things all the time depending on sales...er I mean for balance reasons.

What is good today can(and often will) be crap tomorrow.

Since Admech was released I've played them mostly, and they have changed quite a bit these last few years. Except robots, robots are always good.

I learned my lesson years ago with Tyranids and Space Wolves. Up down up down(units).

That sucks the BA assault marines are trash... those were my favorites... I think I'll always have a BA army, but I think it's time that I start expanding my horizons.

But thanks!! that's literally what I was looking for..

I'm just starting my research and planning, I won't be buying units until next year. What's Chapter Approve?

Chapter Approved is the yearly book GW releases and it's how they try to rebalance the game. Point increases and decreases, new missions, etc. Also some stuff for friendly games. This year's will also include the beta rules for the new Sisters release coming out some time in 2019.