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Been away from 40k for a while. I went to the GW website and saw alot has changed. Since ill be starting from scratch I wanted to know if the game was worth coming back to.

If so, what army would be best for me? I am looking for an army that is highly adaptable and mobile.

I used to play nids but dunno if I want to again.

Prepare for the flame war.

IMHO - I have been playing this game since the early days of 2nd edition. I think this is my favorite iteration of the rules yet. Is it perfect? No, but it is a drastic improvement over previous iterations.

As far as what army... this game continues to be um... not cheap, so prepare yourself for an investment of probably > $500 (US). but that largely depends on what size games you play and what the local meta is in your area.

I would recommend looking at the newer codexs as they are more adapted to the new ruleset. Orks and Blood Angels are rumored to be of the next codexs to be released, so if those interest you then you're in good shape.

Now that the larger vehicles and MCs are allowed, they have release a mini-titan army called Imperial Knights. You could literally field 4 or 5 models in the whole army, but each model is about $160 (US). So it largely depends on whether or not you want to spend a bunch at once or slowly escalate your force.

Highly Adaptable and Mobile armies are going to do the best in 7th edition, IMHO... and many armies can do this successfully, so it is hard to advise you much further. Check out youtube for batreps, and of course choose an army which is aesthetically pleasing, as you're going to spend a good amount of money on this game and you don't want to hate the models you're buying.

I hope this is helpful

I have been playing since 3rd ed, took a few breaks along the way, but all were just due to being busy or doing other stuff with mytime as opposed to rage quitting or anything.

I think this edition is in most ways, the best one yet. lots of factions, lots of options and stuff that can happen.

It is reasonably balanced and fun to play, as always the models are a blast to make and paint.

I had already figured i would spend a good chunk of change starting out again. I recently divorced so i have the money and spare time again.

Perhaps explaining my definition on adaptable and definition will help: I am looking for an army that can change tactics turn to turn without suffering much as far as overall strength (i.e successful CC one turn then being able to shoot the next turn with good results) I'm starting to see that most armies have troop carriers which can cover mobility though.

Thanks for all help

Honestly, I don't think it is a good time. If you still had your models, then maybe. The start up cost is ridiculous. If you can I would recommend borrowing an army to play with first and see.

Talk to the people you would be playing with and find out where they are at mentally. New editions are big transition times and some of them might be selling out or looking at games with a smaller start up cost and better rules.


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Based on your criteria: Space Marines

I honestly dont know who I would be playing with. I plan on making a trip to Dallas to look around the stores and see what people are doing/playing/ ect.

Also whats the deal with allies? Can i use a part SM army and part IG now??

Personally, I'd say forget going straight back into mainstream 40K and play around with Kill Team for a bit.

You can buy and build a handful of Kill Teams from different races, won't have to re-mortgage to do it and can introduce mates to it lending them your other Kill Teams


Also lets you get a feel for the different races to help you decide what to invest in if you do go large

daviszero wrote:
I honestly dont know who I would be playing with. I plan on making a trip to Dallas to look around the stores and see what people are doing/playing/ ect.

Also whats the deal with allies? Can i use a part SM army and part IG now??

shot answer... yes. but this is more complex. Try to get your hands on the rulebook. give it a good read through. Being a former player much of it remains the same (WS/BS/S/T/W/I/A/LD - to hit, to wound, etc...) so you can focus on the particulars a little more.

Kill team is a good idea, as are escalation (not the game supplement, but increasing your force slowly) type store events.

40k is as cheap or expensive as you want to make it. You can spend $20 or $2000.

adaptable and mobile sounds like SM, eldar, DE. You can do mobility with most armies, though. I'd narrow your search criteria a bit.

daviszero wrote:
I honestly dont know who I would be playing with. I plan on making a trip to Dallas to look around the stores and see what people are doing/playing/ ect.

Also whats the deal with allies? Can i use a part SM army and part IG now??

If you really want to you can ally your nids with necrons, then with IG, then throw an Eldar farseer into the mix as well and make the whole (legal) army out of fast attack slots and one HQ with no troops at all.

The Force Organization Chart is optional now.
Depending on what you think of that this is the best edition ever, or the worst.


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Also I am 100% sure you can't play 40k in any way for $20

If you played this game in the past and liked it you won't like it now. Warmachine/Hordes is where you want to go.

40k is now Chutes and Ladders for fan boyz who have a very high tolerance for being bent over by GW.

In all honesty, I'd have a look around at what else you can pick up before making your mind up on 40K. A quick look around the forums will reveal the myriad problems with 40K right now. I pretty much agree with the guy above - 40K is riddled with problems, some of which were prevalent last edition, some of which are brand new, all of which are... well, terrible, in all honesty.

I'd seriously suggest at least looking at things like Infinity, Warmachine, and so on.

If you simply must play 40K, and that's fair enough if you're willing to play with/ look past the problems, then I'd say Space Marines sound good for you, though any army can potentially fill the parameters you've set out.

Oh, and never buy direct from GW. Discount online stores or supporting your FLGS is always a better move.

I think it's a great time to come back. By your criteria space marines would be your choice, but I think others fit the bill too. Necrons and Eldar are pretty good at shooting and somewhat decent at CC.

You could do Imperial Guard (Astra Militarum) + Space Marines for shooty and choppy. And since they are best buds, they share transports and can target each other with beneficial abilities.

I'd suggest no, as someone in the same position (played 1996-2002, took a long break, within the past few months have looked at playing again). The startup cost is insane, don't let anyone pretend it's not. Maybe if you scour eBay for deals or are content with Kill Team 250-point BS games, but for real games you're looking at a large investment, several hundred dollars easily, and you can oly play the "I only have 500 points" card for a couple of weeks before you're politely told to either up your game, or go home. Nobody wants to play trivial games because some newbie only has the basics; that's fine for a few games to teach, but you'll be expected to play regular sized games in short order.

From everything I've seen, the game is a mess now. Too much random - random charts, random psychic powers, random charts just for the sake of having random. Codexes are not balanced at all - if you play Chaos for example you're automatically penalized if you don't play a Nurgle force. The game still has the same "Cater to Space Marines, maybe we get around to everyone else" mentality with codexes not being updated in ages.

The fluff is still good, the figures are still good albeit expensive (although IMO too detailed for 28mm scale - too many tiny little bits and bobs that are almost impossible for the average joe to paint), but the game itself is unbalanced garbage and the GW of today is completely brazen about everything being snake oil to sell more kit, no matter the cost.

If you really really like 40k and 40k is the only game played in your area, then go ahead but approach the game as it's intended to be - play leagues or campaigns but avoid competitive gaming and hopefully you can find like-minded individuals so you can have fun - the way to enjoy 40k today is to have a small, close-knit casual group that cares more about messing around while having a few beers versus competitive and tactical gamers trying to one-up each other with their generalship. I'd strongly suggest to look at other games though - the figure quality might not be as good but the prices are reasonable and the rules are actually balanced for an enjoyable game without requiring a 30 minute discussion beforehand with your opponent about what kind of game you want to play.

dresnar1 wrote:If you played this game in the past and liked it you won't like it now.

Now that they're reintroducing things from earlier editions of the game...

The only way this would be true is if the OP started in 5th ed, which means he hasn't been out of the game all that long.

Let me break it down:

-Balance: an utter and complete train wreck.

-Army composition Flexibility: More flexible than ever, there is essentially no FOC any more, different factions can be allied among them selves and you can essentially pick and choose what to bring of each. SM and IG can, in fact you can mix and match all Imperial armies as you pretty much see fit.

-Accessibility: Given what i stated above, it is completely viable (as in legal rules wise) to make a "super friends" army, including several named characters (which tend to be expensive point wise) and only a few troop choices here and there. It might not be the best army out there, but you can round up a 1500 points army in under 20 models if you would like to.

 Ailaros wrote:

dresnar1 wrote:If you played this game in the past and liked it you won't like it now.

Now that they're reintroducing things from earlier editions of the game...

The only way this would be true is if the OP started in 5th ed, which means he hasn't been out of the game all that long.

It depends. I played 2nd edition and what I've seen of 6th and 7th disgusts me (Unbound, within reason, might be the only thing I like since I loved being able to do a highly themed army in 2nd e.g. all terminators, assault squads, etc.). If the OP doesn't play competitively but has a group who likes casual scenario/narrative/campaign style games, then 40k is fine. But if you actually like using tactics, then I can't with good conscience recommend 40k as a game.

Well I've always liked warmahordes too, I guess I'll stave off until I go to a couple FLGS and see if what all is viable to get into. I'm not dead set on anything yet, just looking for something to occupy my time and have some fun like I used to. I prefer more tactic minded games.

Thanks everyone for the advice

daviszero wrote:
Well I've always liked warmahordes too, I guess I'll stave off until I go to a couple FLGS and see if what all is viable to get into. I'm not dead set on anything yet, just looking for something to occupy my time and have some fun like I used to. I prefer more tactic minded games.

Thanks everyone for the advice

Not to sound like a shill but I recently picked up Warmahordes and it's a blast - the fluff is kinda meh but I personally like the figures and I really like how fast but tactical the games are. Even the "worst" choices can be made into a viable army with the right combinations and the right tactics, something that never happens in 40k.

I'd definitely recommend you check out your local FLGSes and see what's going on; there's no point in picking up say Warmahordes if everyone plays 40k or you'll come off as some troll trying to convert the masses. 40k can be a good game just you have to have the right people - it's not conducive to tournaments or pickup games anymore (if it ever was, but 2nd and 3rd edition felt a lot easier to set up a quick game) so for example my local FLGS that has 40k going on is basically entirely pickup games with a monthly tournament, so there's no point for me to bother getting back into it.

daviszero wrote:I prefer more tactic minded games.

Then ignore everything else. If you want a real tactics game, then you've got to play a real tactics game, like Chess or Go, or any of a huge pile of them.

Don't waste your money on a dice game, warmachine, 40k, or otherwise.

 Ailaros wrote:

daviszero wrote:I prefer more tactic minded games.

Then ignore everything else. If you want a real tactics game, then you've got to play a real tactics game, like Chess or Go, or any of a huge pile of them.

Don't waste your money on a dice game, warmachine, 40k, or otherwise.

Right, because anything with dice removes tactics. Sorry, try again.

Look at any game other than 40k, and you'll find that you can still engage in tactics with having a random element. It's not "No dice" or "Lots of random"

I prefer more depth than chess. Plus I like the models

daviszero wrote:
I prefer more depth than chess. Plus I like the models

With all due respect to Ailaros, ignore what he said as not only is it blatantly incorrect and almost condescending, but it's basically trolling. 40k does not have much in the way of tactics - what you bring generally is more important than how you use it, and a more powerful army can generally trump a less powerful army no matter the skill of the person playing it. Things are generally more black and white, either your unit is really good and wins, or really bad and you lose. Dice can factor in as dice always does, but it's not so much what you do as a commander.

I can only speak to Warmachine as I've played that but there is a good helping of tactics and strategy there; not only is there almost no such thing as a "netlist" (and netlists are generally discouraged... ask for the "best" list and you're generally told to play what you want as "this isn't 40k where you pull out a netdeck") but there have been cases where an "underpowered" army has won tournaments against "overpowered" armies because the player was better. If you like the look of an "underpowered" unit and ask on the forums for a way to use it, you'll get actual advice and sound tactics to make the best of it (although likely still warned they aren't that great) whereas in 40k if you like an underpowered unit you're more likely to be told to use unit Y instead because it's better in every case than the unit you like.

Personal experience here: I play Khador in Warmachine. I asked once (on the PP forums) about the use of Man-o-War Shocktroopers, which generally aren't considered a good unit (overcosted for what they can do). Not once did I get told I was going to screw myself by fielding them; I got list suggestions and tactics to make them work. When I was considering 40k, I asked about a small Chaos army since I wanted to do an Iron Warriors force with some solid CSM squads backed up with extras (don't recall the details but I think it was something like a Warpsmith with some CSM squads in Rhinos, a Helbrute and a Forgefiend). I was basically told in no uncertain terms that CSM are bad and I should take Plague Marines, a Nurgle Lord on a bike, Heldrakes, and the like. No suggestions on how to make what I wanted work, just "Those units aren't good, take X instead" with no regard for how X fit my force (or, worse, being told how to pretend that Mark of Nurgle was bionics or some such to justify taking it). I think what stands out the most in my mind was seeing on some other site a tournament Chaos list that had a grand total of ONE Chaos Space Marine in the army (a Sorcerer). Everything else was if I recall Cultists, Heldrakes, and maybe Daemon allies. I also recall seeing someone ask about a fluffy Crimson Slaughter army when that was the new thing, only to again be pointed towards Nurgle this and Nurgle that; nothing about the army was even remotely Crimson Slaughter other than the supplement being used.

That's what I think of when I think of 40k - being told that the units you want are going to cost you the game just because you want to take them over the generic netlist units. Want a non-Nurgle CSM army? You're going to have a bad time.

daviszero wrote:
Well I've always liked warmahordes too, I guess I'll stave off until I go to a couple FLGS and see if what all is viable to get into. I'm not dead set on anything yet, just looking for something to occupy my time and have some fun like I used to. I prefer more tactic minded games.

Thanks everyone for the advice

I vote not to get back to 40K as well if a tactical minded game is what you are looking for. Anyway check out your FLGS is see what they offer first.

The reason NOT to get back to 40K from a prior experience are as follows (according to me).

1. The models and books are much much more expensive than you remembered them to be.
2. The fluff is basically the same,
3. The game itself is not competitive, only enjoyable if you understand win/lose is exclusive of your tactics and enjoy the narrative.
4. Today there are many alternative wargames that give you 'value' for your money and time.

GW IMO right now is fully commited to sell models and fluff at the highest price customers are still winning to pay. unless you are a diehard fluff fan/painter or alreadly have a well estialished group of friends who plays non competitively I won't recommanding playing this game.

daviszero wrote:I prefer more depth than chess.

Unfortunately, you don't get a game that's balanced enough to be a serious tactical exercise and have it be very deep at the same time. It just doesn't work that way.

The closest you can get to this are some of those crazy 1000-page rulebook historicals, but they are, shall we say, a little tedious. They also pretty seriously limit player freedom (you must play an actual regiment with its actual equipment that was actually there at that time, for example).

You're really just going to have to make a choice, give up the serious strategy part (in which 40k is just fine) or give up the depth (in which case it isn't).

daviszero wrote:
I prefer more depth than chess. Plus I like the models

Tip here. When it comes to this, just ignore Ailaros. Don't get me wrong, he's right on many things but there are many wargames that are just fine. It doesn't need to be perfect balance for serious tactical excercise, heck, Chess isn't even balanced. Wargames can be tactical but don't look at 40k for it. Warmachine, X-Wing, Drop Zone. Go for those for a more tactical match.

Pretty much entirely that. 40K isn't the way to go, but you'll do fine with a bunch of other games. Hell, the market's way bigger now. See what's out there.

@OP

It's a fun game. The models are very good overall (I don't like hardly any Finecast models I've come across because of the material), but very expensive. The expense is my primary gripe with the game, but with some thrift and some conversion skills, you can find alot of ways to save money from what you'd pay for everything retail.

There are some very powerful units out there, sometimes concentrated in a codex more than others (Eldar is the current culprit). This leads lots of people to get frustrated over issues like game balance. I've found these issues are simple to overcome through conversations if you're playing with your run-of-the-mill decent person. Obviously with tournament play, that's out the window.

First off, you gotta find people to play with in your area. If there's no one to play the game with, but you spent alot of money, that would suck.

Although I may have just talked them down a bit as OP, if you're into Mobility, Eldar are probably the best army for that. If you're more into adaptability, any kind of Marine army gives you broad access to a bunch of tactical weapons, multi-purpose vehicles, and the like.

It's fun, if you can work past the myriad problems with the game.

I doubt OP wants to deal with Daemon factory, for example. Screamerstar?

I'm sorry, but I cannot in good conscience recommend 40K to anyone now. The price alone is bad enough, then we move onto the game's problems...

 liquidjoshi wrote:
It's fun, if you can work past the myriad problems with the game.

I doubt OP wants to deal with Daemon factory, for example. Screamerstar?

I'm sorry, but I cannot in good conscience recommend 40K to anyone now. The price alone is bad enough, then we move onto the game's problems...

This must be a local thing. I mean, I never even bothered to look up what precisely is meant by Daemon Factory or whatever its called...I can only assume it is Pink Horrors summoning Pink Horrors summoning Pink Horrors ad infinitum to fill up the board up to secure all objectives.

Who in their right mind would want to play that army, as anything other than a 1-off novelty? Maybe at tournaments for prizes I guess. Noone I know would even play it as a novelty.