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So im thinking of getting back into 40k after around a year or more away. Ive gotten rid of all my past armies so this is a fresh start and im stuck between Eldar and Chaos.
They both have good and bad points so can anyone recommend to me which I should go for? Ive never played either army so im in unknown waters so to speak. Last army I played was Grey knights.

The answer depends on a number of factors. Who do you normally play against (in a store or gaming club, or do you have a circle of friends that you play regularly)? Are you concerned with painting the army? How are your modeling skills? How much are you wanting to spend? Are you a casual or competitive player?

Chaos Marines are easier to model and paint IMO, and they are probably the less expensive option. However, it seems like everybody has a Chaos Marine army, and they only have a couple of competitive builds if your group/meta is cutthroat. I personally like alot of the new models (love the Warpsmith), but their flyer is kind of goofy looking but so exceedingly powerful you can overlook that. If you listen to the interwebz, any Chaos Marine army without 3 heldrakes is doomed to fail.

Now if you are referring to Chaos Daemons (or a combination of the two), the models are a bit tougher to put together but pretty easy to paint (very little armour, mostly just basic shading and highlighting). Daemons take some getting used to if you are not experienced with running a dedicated assault army. To me, a Daemon horde army is extremely powerful, and often your opponent won't expect it (most Daemon builds are low-model count Flying Circus and Screamerstar). So you have probably a handful of competitive builds, with all sorts of goofy, fun (and yes, effective) builds as well. Daemons can be expensive if you go horde, or pretty economic if you go Flying Circus, just depends on how you want the army to function.

Eldar are, again IMO, harder to build/model, and more tedious to paint. Lots of smooth surfaces can be a bore (same for loyalist Space Marines), but their infantry can be somewhat easy if you have a simple paint scheme in mind. Eldar are extremely powerful against everybody with their new codex, and they have a large number of competitive builds and even larger number of fun and effective casual builds. While Eldar are certainly not as numerous as Chaos armies, they are gaining ground with the 6th edition book. Due to the number of infantry ranges that are finecast and loads of vehicle options, Eldar tend to be a bit more expensive than Chaos too.

Hwee Kaptoored Eet Fhor Kay-oss!


Seriously though, chaos all the way.
That would have been my army if I didn't love the crisis suits so damn much XD

If I ever make a second army, it would be 1k sons. (not really competetive, but would be fun)

Or emperors children...noise marines are also fun.

Chaos Eldar. Let the converting begin.

 BoomWolf wrote:
Hwee Kaptoored Eet Fhor Kay-oss!

Seriously though, chaos all the way.
That would have been my army if I didn't love the crisis suits so damn much XD
If I ever make a second army, it would be 1k sons. (not really competetive, but would be fun)
Or emperors children...noise marines are also fun.

Hehe nice reference there I have indeed lost the battle against my own desires and turned to the chaos gods for pleasur- for favour.
But I am a mere chaos low rank looking to make a name for himself as a chaos lord and im unsure where to begin, so I need some advice from the chaos lords out there.

First off some questions:

1: It says a terminator lord can take things from special issue wargear, does this also include the mechatendrils? because that would be sweet. Or is it only available to warpsmiths.
2: I'm planning to stick my termi lord in with a group of terminators and just hit things with them, what would be the best build for him to do the task the best?
3: Where do I start with building my chaos army?
4: why have I sprouted tentacles?

 Thokt wrote:
Chaos Eldar. Let the converting begin.

They already have them, they're called Dark eldar

 AtomicEngineer wrote:
I have indeed lost the battle against my own desires and turned to the chaos gods for pleasur- for favour.

Good choice. Of course there is no wrong answer, one merely has to ask themselves "Am I a tougher than nails rebel who will crush worlds under my boot with a laugh, or a meta-grasshopper who wants to field an army of weepy doomed emos?". Of course I'm not biased or anything...

 AtomicEngineer wrote:
But I am a mere chaos low rank looking to make a name for himself as a chaos lord and im unsure where to begin, so I need some advice from the chaos lords out there.

First off some questions

1: It says a terminator lord can take things from special issue wargear, does this also include the mechatendrils? because that would be sweet. Or is it only available to warpsmiths.
You'll find the SIW list and most other equipment on page 91. Sadly MT aren't on it.

2: I'm planning to stick my termi lord in with a group of terminators and just hit things with them, what would be the best build for him to do the task the best?
Depends on what you see a lot of in your opponent's armies, and what you intend your termie squad to hit. (I don't mean to be vague; as you'll find if you really begin to dig in, the CSM codex is one of the most flexible in the game, despite the mountain of scrubish whining otherwise.) Do you see a lot of hoards like Nids, Orks or Guard? How about weenie little Tau hiding behind a gunline? Burning Brand of Skalathrax makes em crispy. Do you see a lot of powerful independent characters? Take Murder Sword and watch key HQs run away from you hilariously for the rest of the game. (Or not, and be MURDERED!!1!!1) You get a PW default, and I rarely have cause to swap out the power sword. (Cuts through most normal armor, and due to "Champion of Chaos" things like power mauls or lightening claws rarely see productive use.)

Remember, one of the main strengths of termies is that they can Deep Strike. While you can't assault out of DS, you can fire. Combi weapons are dirt cheap on termies. 4 or 5 melta blasts into a key vehicle's side armor can have a hell of an effect. Even if they don't come in till later, having a termie/lord DSing in is a great way to turn a game with linebreaker, slay the warlord, or simply slaughtering an objective holding squad.

3: Where do I start with building my chaos army?
Two squads of 10 troops and lord, simple as that. Then you can begin thinking about where your army is going; do any particular legion or ruinous power appeal to you? You can start building around them now, or you can do a Chaos Undivided theme and leave your options open. (Remember even if you start out say-with Nurgle-you can supplement with another complementary god later.) As long as you're leaning towards a termie lord you might as well pick up some termies for his squad. Likewise give a thought to what mark to throw on him and your Troops can easily be Noise or Plague marines.

There are as many different builds as players, so you'll want to find your style before you begin to expand your army. I myself prefer a three balance aspect approach to army building...
OBJECTIVE SEIZING - At least 2 squads of scoring troops minimum. If you have 50 or so points left over in a list someone is telling you to toss in cultists. (Remember you play chaos now, never say no to the voices in your head. They don't take it well)
FAST ATTACK - At least 2 units to race ahead/flank/deep strike and chop up opposing troops/key units
BACKFIELD FIRE - Something shooty that camps in your starting area pummeling armor and whatever you don't want to face in close combat.

I play Slaanesh so I usually take something like....
HQ: Termie lord with MOS; Power or Murder Sword, CombiWep
T: 2 squads of 10+ noise marines w/ sonic weapons, rhino and Icon of Excess (Your patron/choice may vary. If you take regular squads of marines/cultists take more as they aren't nearly as hard to kill or as shooty as cult troops.) Having all my rhinos stuck in terrain in a game once and having squads of deadly midrange shooters turn into useless footslogging targets has given me a metal trauma which causes me to scream ALWAYS TAKE DOZER BLADES on a regular basis.
E: 4-5 Terminators with CombiWhatevah/ Power Swords to accompany your lord and make mischief as previously noted.
FA: I take 2 squads of bikers, and give the champ a power sword. They're amazingly killy, the number you take will vary with your point build, but maxing out 2 squads and tossing on MOS/Icon of Excess is an investment I've never regretted.
HS: I love to take 2 squads of 5 Havoks with Lazcannons and watch tanks pop like balloons. Stick them behind an aegis line with a quadgun and one of your sarges manning for cheap anti-air and certain cover.

From there there's a lot of points in most lists to play with, so replace anything with anything else you like and salt and pepper with units to taste. Remember, cool units are cool; never be afraid to play a custom Defiler just because preds are more cost effective. (Unless you are the 1%, I highly recommend printing properly sized paper proxies and try before you buy.) CSM rely on synergy, not spamming min/max units.

I don't want to give you info overload, so I'll shut up for now. Feel free to ask more questions and I'll be happy to ramble some more for you.

4: why have I sprouted tentacles?
Those go in your opponent, you choose where. Did I mention I play Slaanesh?

chaos daemons, all day every day