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Hey guys....so I'm very torn on like 3 armies to start with. Me and my
Group are going to do a slow grow and all start with starter packs and build from there. Anyways I'm torn between necrons, space wolves and Tau. I know the wolves are a chapter of space marines....does this mean I can run them with sm? And 2ndly what do these armies
Do good and what is bad about each one???? Thanks in advance!!

Space Wolves can ally with Space Marines, although they aren't the same army, so you'll have to have them in separate detachments.

Space Wolves are good in close combat, and have some fun toys that other marine armies don't have. Like all marines and marine variants, they're somewhat of generalists, meaning they're a little outmatched when they come up against specialists.

Tau are ranged specialists. They are great at establishing overlapping fields of fire, and mitigating close combat by getting extra shooting against people charging them and their friends. They have abundant high strength weapons, and are good at staying mobile. They are absolutely garbage in close combat.

Necrons are a tricky balancing act. They aren't as good in CC as most armies, but their firepower is most powerful in an assault range band (meaning you can't always afford to keep your opponent outside of charge range). Their regenerative capabilities make them one of the most resilient armies in the game, which makes them very forgiving. (Forgiving=you can make a mistake and it won't cost you the game.)

>Necrons, Space Wolves and Tau
Ok, that's a start. What in said armies attracted you? Models? Lore? Mechanics?
I always suggest a little system for those starting in the wonderful world of 40k: check these boxes for the armies you like. The one with more checks will be probably the one you'll want to buy (in this order of importance):

[ ] Do you like the aesthetic of the models? You'll be playing with them a lot, so starting an army just because it's the strongest one now is not a smart move, unless you're rich (this hobby is expensive!). I, for example, find man-eating bugs to be an horrible thing, so I know I'll never buy Tyranids models. However, I love the clean-technology vibe of the Tau, and it was a natural choice for me (I drifted for 3 armies before finally choosing it, though).

[ ] Do you like the mechanics? Try many armies until you find one you like playing with. Many armies have completely opposite ways to play (Eldar and Astra Militarum, for example). If you like rapid strikes, mobility and strange weaponry, Eldar will make you smile - while securing your deploy zone, hammering the enemy from afar and using specialists to deal with enemy key units are more Astra Militarum style.

[ ] Do you like the lore? 40k has more or less 30 years of lore, and if you visit the Background subforum, you'll notice people having discussions about many topics (sometimes they get out of hand). The main lore, even if somewhat cheesy (it's a mix of many stereotypes from the 80s and 90s, mostly), is helluva fun and each army is so different than the others that you can catch yourself defending it like your sports team.
Playing an army you despise or don't care about its lore isn't a good decision, unless you only care about winning.

This system is mostly to avoid doing like me and spend lots of money in stuff you don't want to use for more than a couple months. Test, test and test. Don't buy anything until you're certain that's what you really want to play with.

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No, Space Wolves have their own codex - they have many specific rules SM don't have, and vice-versa. You can add a bunch of SM (or any other army) as an allied group, but they use different books.

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A small tidbit about each:
>Necrons
They will weather storms and stand unscathed (mostly). They have quite the resistance with firepower that can deal with anything in the game. Generally considered a defensive army, but have speedy units. Good all-rounder and for starters. They don't have much tactics variation, though. No psykers.

>Space Wolves
The meele-est of Marines, they have fast units and, well... if you like vikings and/or wolf theme, they're for you. They have a unique psychic school, artefacts and special rules, as a boatload of formations and FOCs (ways to create a list). Very offensive-oriented army.

>Tau
Shoot, shoot, and shoot, with mobility as the icing on the cake. Terrible at melee (probably the worst army for that), no psychic potential, but they more than make up for it wih long range and/or powerful weapons. If you like to remove models from the enemy side in batches, they're for you. Can be either offensive (which is much more fun) or defensive (boring castling)

Necrons are the easiest to paint, I know they have a lot of new toys but I don't much use them.
I've not played Tau since 4th.
I play Space Wolves, they do things a bit different then Marines, but have a lot of the same things (tanks, terminators, dreadnoughts, etc).
While way more offensive then other Marines but can still shoot well.
Pretty well rounded stuff.

I like space wolves because I have a massive thing for Vikings...and they seem fun to paint
Necrons because I like shooty tanky things. Also i'm a fan of cryx in warmachine so it felt right.
Tau because they seem to have vicious fire power and I mean they have a damn gundam.

Painting isn't an issue in fact I love to paint my models...

I have a necron army.

They're very durable (like has been said), great at short/mid range shooting (not a ton of long range, although a Doomsday Ark can knock some stuff loose, no questions) and they can be a tough CC game as well (Overlord with scythe on Barge, or with Lychguard can really bring the pain, Wraiths are one of the best units in their class in the game, and even scarabs can just eat tanks for breakfast).

They are also easy to paint (with room for adding personality), don't have a ton of crap units (virtually everything is usable, even Flayed Ones, although there are, like any army, superior options in some cases) and don't have a lot of wargear options to trap you into a lot of unnecessary/expensive upgrades (there are options, but generally only one or 2 upgrades per squad, with a good number of guys having no options).

In short, Necrons are fun, competitive, easy to start, and IMO a great 1st army. I love them only 2nd to my Dark Angels, and if I'd have started them first, I might love them even more.

EvilHomer wrote:
I like space wolves because I have a massive thing for Vikings...and they seem fun to paint
Necrons because I like shooty tanky things. Also i'm a fan of cryx in warmachine so it felt right.
Tau because they seem to have vicious fire power and I mean they have a damn gundam.

Painting isn't an issue in fact I love to paint my models...

by that description, I guess either space wolves or necrons would fit your style better. again, I suggest you to proxy an army with your friends or in a FLGS and test their rules until you get how they work. also, read up a bit of their lore - so you can get more 'into' the armies.