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Hey folks. I am looking to start a new 40k project. The general idea is to play a human merc force hired by a Rogue Trader to 'acquire' or smuggle items, intimidate nobles, assist in gaining control over a planet or hunt down certain people. Basically guns for coins.

For those who played SC2 and watched Firefly, I like it to be a healthy mix between Raynor's Raiders and the Browncoats when it comes to looks. I would like to include a HQ that looks akin to this guy: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/59/4a/9f/594a9ff9803bf789b9791d6ef91f32ee.jpg
Body-count is limited. I prefer a gang of rugged crack shots with excellent training and access to superior gear (thanks to the affiliation with a Rogue Trader), as opposed to spamming cheap infantry blob guard style.
When it comes to play-style, nothing too heavy. I like movement, any sort of movement, so an army that utilizes the movement (or JSJ) phase and avoid slow AV14 would be great. Light mech + crack infantry is what I have in mind. I also enjoy make very daring and brash moves when playing. Makes it more exciting.

With all that in mind, what codex would be suitable to represent the force of a cunning trade prince?
(note that it can be a xenos codex, even though I said human force. It is not too hard to make most models into humans)

Cheers

Astra Militarum sounds like it? Or even Militarum Tempestus.

Eldar might be a good fit.

They have some great infantry (though all, except maybe Striking Scorpions, Banshees and Wraithblades, aren't good in close combat). Plus, the T3 of the Eldar rules fits better with rogue Humans.

Walker mech models from other companies could be decent stand-ins for Wraithlords or even Wraithknights.

I'm not sure offhand if there is an Eldar HQ with two pistols, but Yriel or Illic Nightspear might fit in a more general sense, being very skilled shots, and decent in combat if need be.

You might also want to check out the Harlequins coming out now, if you do go with Eldar. They'll give you more light mech and incredible movement, to complement the more durable Eldar vehicles.

Eldar might really fit the crack infantry style, but the conversion of their mech elements will be extremely time and money consuming. I really dislike those sleek round shapes. I am more the guy who enjoys that heavy metal style of imperial tech. Turning a Serpent into an Imperial tank might involve splicing it with a Stormtalon and probably something else as well. Not sure it is worth the effort.
Still, their rules make a decent fit. Any suggestions how to approach Eldar in that regard? Also, don't you think Dark Eldar might be a better pick in this situation?

As for IG, I like them. Veterans in Chimeras supported by Sentinels, Wyverns and whatever else. Not sure a light mech veteran force is all that playable though. Guard ain't exactly my field of expertise

Also, does anyone think Tau might be decent? Firewarriors in a hovercraft, 1-man piloted mechs (converted to look metal obviously). That is also an option of approaching it, I guess.

Light mechanism + crack infantry is the entire Tempestus army so it seems like what you are looking for.

 buddha wrote:
Light mechanism + crack infantry is the entire Tempestus army so it seems like what you are looking for.

Couldn't agree more, but MT isn't a complete army as it stand. I enter plenty of tournaments and my own meta is very competitive. I do not think that MT will stand a chance. They simply lack the diversity, no Wyvern and other juicy light tanks :(

Solar Auxila would probalby be your best bet.

 Wyzilla wrote:
Solar Auxila would probalby be your best bet.

Those are 30k only, aren't they? This is about 40k. I might use the models though. They are nice.

depends on your "rogue trader". they are very varied and different in style and in the types of forces they have.
I would say develop the fluff of your particular RT and then decide what army would best fit the forces they would have.
It could be that it doesnt fit any of the set armies which could give you the opportunity to do some cool conversion work to do counts as units or maybe an unbound list.

 EVIL INC wrote:
depends on your "rogue trader". they are very varied and different in style and in the types of forces they have.
I would say develop the fluff of your particular RT and then decide what army would best fit the forces they would have.
It could be that it doesnt fit any of the set armies which could give you the opportunity to do some cool conversion work to do counts as units or maybe an unbound list.

Well, not very much the Militant. I am looking at a Trader, Scoundrel, a man who does not really give two flying ducks about Imperial hierarchy but usually tries to act in favour of humanity (amongst his personal gain). Does some part-time exploring. Involved with plenty of white-collar crimes.
But these mercs are not his personal entourage. Just some contractors he grew fond off. Aesthetically, I like to imagine a few Wild West guys mixed with Helghast Shock Troopers (from Killzone). Guys wearing hats, dusters, straw/cigarette in mouth. Maybe shades/pilot goggles. Pretty extreme on the field, doing break-neck maneuvers and rarely play defensively. They used to be freedom fighters, but became mercenaries in the end. Not very fond of Imperial nobility. Value freedom above all else.
Something akin to that when off duty: http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/starcraft/images/a/a4/Heaven%27s_Devils_SC2_Art3.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100418205440

This is still very early in. I need some concrete fluff, but the visual style is pretty much set in stone with only a few alterations to come.

IA13 renegades and heretics. Ranges from cheap poorly armed militia to highly trained well equipped pirates. A full range of tanks, sentinels, artillery and lords of war. The ability to customise further with counts-as marks (call it drug enhancement, bio engineering etc).

Astra Militarum with a focus on veterans, scions and flyers (maybe some FW flyers too.) Ally stuff from Inquisition codex to represent some weirder stuff.

So basically Firefly.

Codex: Inquisition?

Use the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor rules to represent your Rogue Trader (since they're out there on the fringes of the Imperium and are likely to be using the Xenos tech that Ordo Xenos Inquisitors can be equipped with).

Biggest sticking point is the Crack Infantry though, since Acolytes are BS3. They do have access to a full range of gear though, from Flak Jackets and Laspistols, to Power Armour and Plasma Guns. Maybe use Stormtrooper (Militarum Tempestus urgh) allies to represent your shooty dudes and Codex: Inquisition for the rest?

You will get Death Cult Assassins, Arco-Flagellants and Crusaders as melee models whose Stat Lines and Equipment lean more towards Elite units (especially Death Cult Assassins - they murder Marine Equivalent in melee....). Plus you get Chimeras, Rhinos, Razorbacks, Land Raider variants and Valkyries as Dedicated Transports. Psychic support and other more esoteric models like Jokaero, Mystics and Demonhosts can be taken and Servitors can be used to represent robotic forces.

After considering everything, I narrowed it down to four armies.

1. Tau
Mech suits could be modified Sentinels or simply weaponized mechs that were originally made for manual labour. Being able to maintain those as well as having access to advanced equipment would speak of their connection to the RT. Their tanks could be Hovercraft, Hammer's Slammers style.
The Ethereal could represent the RT, making others awesome, but not really the guy who wants (or needs) to fight. With all those mechs and hovercrafts it will get that gritty space western feel with the right dose of metal.
Problems are that I have no real way of incorporating a Nico Okarr-esque HQ. Darkstrider comes as close as it gets, but I do not really see a way to utilize him in an effective way.

2. Dark Eldar
The Infantry are all crack. The army is very offensive and very fast. The barges could be easily converted to those things Jabba the Hut kept riding on.
The problem is that I have absolutely no clue about DE, being one of the three armies I never played. Also, the HQ section feels a bit useless to me.

3. Imperial Guard
Veterans in Chimeras (with the wheel upgrade from Chapterhouse), Sentinels, Wyvern, Hellhound variants, Flyers, Scions. It sounds pretty legit. The order system does reflect their ability fairly well.
The problem there is that Lasrifles feel a bit cheap and the army is a bit too spammy for my tastes. But hey, I mainly play Marines, so everything feels spammy to me.
3.1 Elysian Drop Troops
Now those guys are pure crack. They drop down from up high. They drop their Sentinels. They have dune buggies. The problem here is that it is a FW army, and those are not universally accepted. At least not on German tournaments.

4. Orks
I have seen pretty decent Ork -> Human conversions, so it can be done. These guys have the gritty mech units I am fond off (even if they are cheaper than the Tau mechs).
What I can not deal with is the high model-count. I am fine with Nob Bikerz and those Choppas, but I dislike their troops section. Is there a way to minimize it but still keep it effective?

Inquisition gets a mention, however they would most likely be an allied contingent to an IG force to represent the Rogue Trader and his entourage.

Thoughts on any of the above? This is great so far, keep it up

Trade_Prince wrote:

3. Imperial Guard
Veterans in Chimeras (with the wheel upgrade from Chapterhouse), Sentinels, Wyvern, Hellhound variants, Flyers, Scions. It sounds pretty legit. The order system does reflect their ability fairly well.
The problem there is that Lasrifles feel a bit cheap and the army is a bit too spammy for my tastes. But hey, I mainly play Marines, so everything feels spammy to me.
3.1 Elysian Drop Troops
Now those guys are pure crack. They drop down from up high. They drop their Sentinels. They have dune buggies. The problem here is that it is a FW army, and those are not universally accepted. At least not on German tournaments.

Do combination of these. Most models will be usable in either army anyway. Play them as Elysians normally, and if the tournament doesn't allow FW lists (boo!) then just leave the dune buggies home and use rest of the models as standard IG.

As for lasguns, remember that veterans can also have have shotguns, not to mention three special weapons, a heavy weapon and a bolter for the sergeant. So you can have plenty of powerful high-tech weapons if you want. And of course then there are Scions and their hot-shot guns.

Trade_Prince wrote:

 Wyzilla wrote:
Solar Auxila would probalby be your best bet.

Those are 30k only, aren't they? This is about 40k. I might use the models though. They are nice.

30k can be played against 40k just fine. And the Auxila/Admech line up better against 40k armies then the Legions do point wise. 30K and 40K can legally be played against each other, but from what I understand the Legions only really play well with normal 40k in apocalypse or escalation level matches. The Auxila and Admech meanwhile perform well at the 2k point level just fine.

I would certainly recommend IA13.

Never really looked into the R&H list in IA13. Anyone got a lead where I can read a bit about it? Or an example lists perhaps? Just to get a feel for what I am dealing with.
I am always a bit hesitant when it comes to 30k or FW armies because of tournament legality. My biggest problem is that I am as much a converter and painter as I am a competitive player, so it is always hard to choose an army for a project.
This project is far more personal than most others I have done, so the choice is very important to me.

 Trade_Prince wrote:
Never really looked into the R&H list in IA13. Anyone got a lead where I can read a bit about it? Or an example lists perhaps? Just to get a feel for what I am dealing with.

I kinda fail to see why people recommend that. It is just chaos IG mostly with worse stats and massively annoying random leadership scores.

I am always a bit hesitant when it comes to 30k or FW armies because of tournament legality. My biggest problem is that I am as much a converter and painter as I am a competitive player, so it is always hard to choose an army for a project.
This project is far more personal than most others I have done, so the choice is very important to me.

You really don't need to just choose one list, good thing about most GW/FW human models is that they can used to represent various things on different lists. For example Solar Auxilia models are just carapace armoured humans with lasguns and those exist in many different armies.

Sounds VetGuard/Inquisition to me.

 Crimson wrote:

 Trade_Prince wrote:
Never really looked into the R&H list in IA13. Anyone got a lead where I can read a bit about it? Or an example lists perhaps? Just to get a feel for what I am dealing with.

I kinda fail to see why people recommend that. It is just chaos IG mostly with worse stats and massively annoying random leadership scores.

I am always a bit hesitant when it comes to 30k or FW armies because of tournament legality. My biggest problem is that I am as much a converter and painter as I am a competitive player, so it is always hard to choose an army for a project.
This project is far more personal than most others I have done, so the choice is very important to me.

You really don't need to just choose one list, good thing about most GW/FW human models is that they can used to represent various things on different lists. For example Solar Auxilia models are just carapace armoured humans with lasguns and those exist in many different armies.

No, no it's not. It is a completely different army that has more customization than anything GW or FW has released so far. Have a read of IA:13 rather than just threads about it. It is smack in the face obvious that it's not just IG with worse stats to anyone who looks at it for more than 5 minutes.

I just looked at it and my head started to hurt after the first entry. Too much choice. Not even sure what to make of it

As for Solar/IG/D-99... I do not think that those are the right pick for me. They feel too standard. It misses a lot of the possibilities you could have with converting and interesting rules. In the end, IG are cheap armour saturation, special weapon spam and orders. I think some fringe world merc force can be a bit more imaginative than that.
I think I am looking at a xenos codex and convert them to wasteland humans or something. Orks look more appealing by the minute. If it wasn't for the BS2... and well, Tau and DE are also still in the race

D-99 are not what they once were, sadly. I think that you might like a DK engineer company, as they are basically militarium tempestus with big ass tanks.

Alternatively you could use the inquisition codex and outfit your henchmen however you wanted, throw in an assassin (or all of them) and jobs done.

And I don't really love the tau idea but if you remember the old background the spyer suits the nobility use in Necromunda are made by the tau.

As mentioned, Elysian Drop Troops would be my advice. I'm planning on delving into them once I finish my Eldar.

Any and all of the existing armies fit as Rogue Trader based armies.

SJ

 Trade_Prince wrote:

 buddha wrote:
Light mechanism + crack infantry is the entire Tempestus army so it seems like what you are looking for.

Couldn't agree more, but MT isn't a complete army as it stand. I enter plenty of tournaments and my own meta is very competitive. I do not think that MT will stand a chance. They simply lack the diversity, no Wyvern and other juicy light tanks :(

MT could be the main detachment, with an allied detachment of AM to get that extra cannon fodder and heavy support in place. Even Rogue Traders are going to have fodder from the ships crew as well as a few artillery pieces they've picked up here and there. Use lots of flyers, as a RT army is going to be coming in from orbit.