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Hello everyone! Long time no post in the 40k forums. I was thinking about getting back into 40k with either a Space Marine army (silver skulls!) or Chaos space marines ( Word Bearers). For someone having to start from the ground up, long story about my other figurines, but as of now I'd be starting from nothing. Out of these two, which would you personally start and why?

If you can't be dissuaded from this foolish course, than I would say Space Marines. The model range is generally one of the best they have and the rules are generally pretty solid. Chaos more often than not get the short end of the stick.

 Crimson Devil wrote:
If you can't be dissuaded from this foolish course, than I would say Space Marines. The model range is generally one of the best they have and the rules are generally pretty solid. Chaos more often than not get the short end of the stick.

I would not be too concerned, I'll end up tallying up everything, look at the price, choke and not buy anything. Perhaps I'm given to fits of fancy and I'll actually do it this time.

Well, it's rumoured there'll be a new codex this summer, so if I were you I'd wait before buying anything (other than staples).

Aye, I'd hold out to see if the new Space Marine codex rumours are true.

There was recently a Khorne codex so if you're into that god it may be worth a look.

As for which army, always go with what looks the best to you.

A fully loved and painted army on the board always improves the game.

(Forgeworld do some great - though expansive - Space Marine upgrade and conversion packs)

Welcome back to 40k. Might I show you to the Eldar section, here is where you'll find your army. You'll also find here we have Codex Eldar: Dark Eldar, A Codex Eldar Supplement to give you some nice additions to your Eldar. We also have Codex Eldar: Harlequins, A Codex Eldar Supplement, if you feel like adding clowns to your collection of Eldar. We also have plenty of the new Jetbike kit, which you'll need about 10+ boxes of. Also feel free to pick up a Wraithknight, as you'll be needing a least 2 down the line.

Space Marines are dead. The Eldar killed them.

Again, welcome back to 40k!

Don't listen to the negativity about Eldar. It is hugely overreacted.

Personally, I would choose Word Bearers because Forgeworld has some really neat models for them.

If we're stuck to those 2 choices, I'd go chaos myself!

Of course, you could always go for a different army - Orks are almost always fun to play as and against.

I honestly say don't do it if you can avoid it. I'm in the same boat, I constantly think of coming back to 40k. But the game as it looks now doesn't reward fluffy armies, it rewards the opposite while paying lip service to the idea of narrative, fluffy armies. I'm in the exact same boat, lost all my old stuff. I last played around 2000. I have to say I honestly do not think it's worth getting into unless you have more money than sense or are playing with close friends. If you're going to be going to a game shop to play, I'd avoid 40k like the plague if you can.

I wanted to start a Khorne Daemonkin army, but if I want to play it fluffy I'll get steamrolled by anyone who is actually trying unless they gimp themselves, and I don't want to play competitive because I like the narrative, spirit of the game style of play, sucker that I am.

I mean if you really want to, I'd wait a month or so since there's supposedly a new SM codex, and Chaos is pretty gak right now. But honestly as someone who has thought off and on about it for a long time, 40k's not worth it unless it's the only game around.

Welcome back, I just returned about 7 months ago. To be frank I'm not sure what all the whining is about. Some things have changed, but its still a Sci Fi game that is fairly challenging due to the mass variety of units and options both to use and play against.

I played orks first, and have now collected Chaos Night Lords. I love Chaos because of all the conversion opportunities, and the fact that its legitimately challenging to play. Imperial Armour 13 aso contains a ton of cool stuff for us.

That said, its a fairly difficult army to play, and requires, foresight, a plan, and a bit of luck at times. Space marines are as good as they've always been, and you don't really need Imperial armour to make them good.

In short, if you want a 50/50+ chance of winning, or want to stick specifically to GW plastic models, go with SMs. If you want the odds regularly stacked against you, but immense conversion and army variety, and don't mind dropping the cash for Forgeworld goodies, go Chaos!

I'd look at other options for games first.
But if you are set on 40k, don't go Chaos unless you like losing. A lot.

 MWHistorian wrote:
I'd look at other options for games first.
But if you are set on 40k, don't go Chaos unless you like losing. A lot.

These posts are starting to get annoying. Absolutely nothing produxtive was said here. Just cause an Amy isn't the top dog or easy to play doesn't mean your gonna lose a lot, nor is winning the only reason to pick an army.

If your strategy sucks you'll get raped with Eldar just as fast as with Chaos.

 Kajaki War Pig wrote:

 MWHistorian wrote:
I'd look at other options for games first.
But if you are set on 40k, don't go Chaos unless you like losing. A lot.

These posts are starting to get annoying. Absolutely nothing produxtive was said here. Just cause an Amy isn't the top dog or easy to play doesn't mean your gonna lose a lot, nor is winning the only reason to pick an army.

If your strategy sucks you'll get raped with Eldar just as fast as with Chaos.

I consider warning someone that a codex is bottom tier a good thing. I would want to know.
Winning isn't the only reason, but someone should know that most battles will be an uphill one.
Pretending otherwise does nothing to help.

It's all about the crew you have to play with. If you have a group of like-minded players and are not afraid to engage in a little pre-game conversation, then 40k is fantastic.

If you're in a situation where you have to go to a store and play pick up games with acquaintances or strangers, make sure those people are agreeable and seem like the type of people you want to play with.

I'm spoiled in that I have created a group of 9 or 10 players who come to my house and play regularly. We play fluffy games and more hard laced games as well. We have a little chat and then figure out what we're trying to do.

Also, in my area there are a few LGS, one which has a very fluff oriented gaming club associated with it, and one which is more of the GT tournament type players.

As much as we hate to admit it, this game requires people to play and no rulebook or codex is going to keep people from trying to break it. it's all about finding the right group.

Personally, I love 40k and encourage you to get involved.

 MWHistorian wrote:

 Kajaki War Pig wrote:

 MWHistorian wrote:
I'd look at other options for games first.
But if you are set on 40k, don't go Chaos unless you like losing. A lot.

These posts are starting to get annoying. Absolutely nothing produxtive was said here. Just cause an Amy isn't the top dog or easy to play doesn't mean your gonna lose a lot, nor is winning the only reason to pick an army.

If your strategy sucks you'll get raped with Eldar just as fast as with Chaos.

I consider warning someone that a codex is bottom tier a good thing. I would want to know.
Winning isn't the only reason, but someone should know that most battles will be an uphill one.
Pretending otherwise does nothing to help.

There's a difference between explaining or mentioning Codex issues, and just straight up dismissing it. My bad if I misread the intent of your post, but saying 'Don't pick Chaos unless you like to lose' is the sort of generic statement that doesn't especially help someone considering the army.

Whether or not Chaos is a bottom tier army is a different argument all together.

 Gangrel767 wrote:
It's all about the crew you have to play with. If you have a group of like-minded players and are not afraid to engage in a little pre-game conversation, then 40k is fantastic.

If you're in a situation where you have to go to a store and play pick up games with acquaintances or strangers, make sure those people are agreeable and seem like the type of people you want to play with.

I'm spoiled in that I have created a group of 9 or 10 players who come to my house and play regularly. We play fluffy games and more hard laced games as well. We have a little chat and then figure out what we're trying to do.

Also, in my area there are a few LGS, one which has a very fluff oriented gaming club associated with it, and one which is more of the GT tournament type players.

As much as we hate to admit it, this game requires people to play and no rulebook or codex is going to keep people from trying to break it. it's all about finding the right group.

Exactly. My local group doesn't really follow the meta or "latest new hot", we barely keep up with the Codex releases for our armies and we're having a good time, even me with my Dark Angels (weakest army of the game).

As for the choices OP listed, the Space Marines have very modern model range, including new Tactical Marines, Vanguard, Sternguard etc. By contrast, basic CSM box is ancient and horribly obsolete. So unless you fancy an army based around starter box Chosen and Cultists, loyalist army is likely to look much better.

 Kajaki War Pig wrote:

 MWHistorian wrote:

 Kajaki War Pig wrote:

 MWHistorian wrote:
I'd look at other options for games first.
But if you are set on 40k, don't go Chaos unless you like losing. A lot.

These posts are starting to get annoying. Absolutely nothing produxtive was said here. Just cause an Amy isn't the top dog or easy to play doesn't mean your gonna lose a lot, nor is winning the only reason to pick an army.

If your strategy sucks you'll get raped with Eldar just as fast as with Chaos.

I consider warning someone that a codex is bottom tier a good thing. I would want to know.
Winning isn't the only reason, but someone should know that most battles will be an uphill one.
Pretending otherwise does nothing to help.

There's a difference between explaining or mentioning Codex issues, and just straight up dismissing it. My bad if I misread the intent of your post, but saying 'Don't pick Chaos unless you like to lose' is the sort of generic statement that doesn't especially help someone considering the army.

Whether or not Chaos is a bottom tier army is a different argument all together.

Given the expense of building an army for 40k it is a very relevant fact to know. If winning games is important to the OP than SM are the better choice. Withholding that information is shady IMO.

 Gangrel767 wrote:
It's all about the crew you have to play with.

This.

I left 40k in 6th ed because I didn't like how my army played in the new edition and how I felt the game was going balance wise, and if I'm being honest, I still don't. I came back a few months ago because the guys that play 40k locally are great and they started a low points Zone Mortalis campaign.

For you, I would wait a bit because there are rumors of a new marine book coming out so if you wait until then you can see what you want from your army and pick which one meets your needs. The most important thing is that you need to identify what you want to get out of this game. Do you want to have an army with stronger rules? Do certain rules interactions for an army appeal to you? Do you want to have a strong theme?

What do you want your army to do for you? My thought process for deciding to play GK in zone mortalis was this. I was deciding between GK and Tau for the campaign. For me, I like to play armies that have mechanics I find interesting. GK have an incredibly strong psychic presence, (having never played psykers before) and each model is important. Also, each model in my prospective force is good at close combat and shooting, but not exceptional at either. On the Tau side, I had never played a primarily ranged force before, and the flexibility of crisis suits being able to choose from a variety of weapons was appealing, and jump shoot jump seemed fun. Additionally, looks were also a concern for me. I like the look of grey knights more than tau, and am able to use one of my deathshroud terminators as a librarian.

TL;DR

Make sure you proxy your army before you buy if possible so that you know how it will play on the table. I hope you have fun with your new army.