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I decided to get into the tabletop aspect of 40K and can't decide on my first army. Originally I wanted to play Iron Hands, because I like the lore/aesthetic, wanted an infantry/armor army, and from my research, Space Marines are a good beginner army. My research also told me how broken they are, and I don't want to be a tryhard either. Ultramarines are flexible, but are the default army. The local hobby shop has a Blood Angels Start Collecting box that's a good deal. I like the lore/aesthetic of the Blood Angels, and they're very aggressive, but have little to no defensive options. I'm also thinking about a custom successor chapter, but I don't know how good they are. I don't know who runs what at my shop, but I know marines are popular. So if everyone runs marines, I want something different. I'm also toying around with the idea of running Guard. The infantry are paper and have no melee strength, but they can make a lot of ranged attacks, have good armor and artillery support. Psyker or Inquisition support can also help. The local shop also has the Start Collecting box for them as well. Cadians are a bit boring but I'm thinking about purchasing some 3D printed heads to make them stand out, (Conveniently enough, the new Greater Good Codex has rules for custom regiments.) but I don't know how my shop feels about 3rd party stuff. Horde armies have more models and are more expensive. I'm in college, so doing this on a budget is going to be another factor. I've done most of my research, most of my questions are answered, but I'm still stuck. Hope you can help.

Honestly? I'd recommend picking a box, seeing how you like painting them, then seeing how you like playing them. Look through painting tutorials and the Tactics section, respectively.

On Imperial Guard, definitely check how your local FLGS feels about 3rd party stuff. You can get stuff cheap on eBay, but some of the cheapest will be 3rd party. Also, if you do go for official models, look through the forums for extending some of the kits. For instance, you can get an Infantry box and two easy-to-build boxes to make two infantry squads for a small discount, and you can turn one box of Heavy Weapons Team, one Infantry Squad box, and six additional 60mm bases to make 3 Heavy Weapons Teams at a near 30% discount. (Also, GW's Contrast line is your friend when painting Imperial Guard!)

 Iron Git wif da Hamma wrote:
I'm in college, so doing this on a budget is going to be another factor.

Due to this I'd probably go with something a bit smaller or niche.
Have you thought about Kill Team?
As far as armies go, I'd go for something like Adeptus Custodes, an Inquisitorial retinue with a lot of different but powerful units, Deathwatch or something else with a few models.

-STS

Always go with what you like the look of and the lore of.

The game changes, rules change and your army will sometimes be super powerful, and other times be terrible. But it's your models that remain. So make sure you chose something based on aesthetics rather than pure gameplay.

You could do your own chapter too and just use whatever chapter rules fit the most. You could create the Bloody Hands or Iron Angels chapter or something. They look like Iron Hands and have lots of augmented limbs but are more assault based like the Blood Angels. It's all up to you.

Ok, piece of advice...
Choose the army YOU want to play man, don't worry about what other people think of you. An army is a pretty major investment. and a long lasting one, sure iron hands might be OP now, but a new codex is coming in 2 months and they could be nerfed into craptitude. Army power comes and goes. but plastic is eternal. Invest in an army because you like what it looks like, and like the Lore.

Don't start an army because you feel peer pressured to play something differant.

 Iron Git wif da Hamma wrote:
I decided to get into the tabletop aspect of 40K and can't decide on my first army. Originally I wanted to play Iron Hands, because I like the lore/aesthetic, wanted an infantry/armor army, and from my research, Space Marines are a good beginner army. My research also told me how broken they are, and I don't want to be a tryhard either. Ultramarines are flexible, but are the default army. The local hobby shop has a Blood Angels Start Collecting box that's a good deal. I like the lore/aesthetic of the Blood Angels, and they're very aggressive, but have little to no defensive options. I'm also thinking about a custom successor chapter, but I don't know how good they are. I don't know who runs what at my shop, but I know marines are popular. So if everyone runs marines, I want something different. I'm also toying around with the idea of running Guard. The infantry are paper and have no melee strength, but they can make a lot of ranged attacks, have good armor and artillery support. Psyker or Inquisition support can also help. The local shop also has the Start Collecting box for them as well. Cadians are a bit boring but I'm thinking about purchasing some 3D printed heads to make them stand out, (Conveniently enough, the new Greater Good Codex has rules for custom regiments.) but I don't know how my shop feels about 3rd party stuff. Horde armies have more models and are more expensive. I'm in college, so doing this on a budget is going to be another factor. I've done most of my research, most of my questions are answered, but I'm still stuck. Hope you can help.

Come on over and start with kill team! Its a great game. Once you learn it, most games take about an hour to an hour and a half. Its very tactical and fun, and you can always expand your force to a full 40k army later.

 Iron Git wif da Hamma wrote:
I decided to get into the tabletop aspect of 40K and can't decide on my first army. Originally I wanted to play Iron Hands, because I like the lore/aesthetic, wanted an infantry/armor army, and from my research, Space Marines are a good beginner army. My research also told me how broken they are, and I don't want to be a tryhard either. Ultramarines are flexible, but are the default army. The local hobby shop has a Blood Angels Start Collecting box that's a good deal. I like the lore/aesthetic of the Blood Angels, and they're very aggressive, but have little to no defensive options. I'm also thinking about a custom successor chapter, but I don't know how good they are. I don't know who runs what at my shop, but I know marines are popular. So if everyone runs marines, I want something different. I'm also toying around with the idea of running Guard. The infantry are paper and have no melee strength, but they can make a lot of ranged attacks, have good armor and artillery support. Psyker or Inquisition support can also help. The local shop also has the Start Collecting box for them as well. Cadians are a bit boring but I'm thinking about purchasing some 3D printed heads to make them stand out, (Conveniently enough, the new Greater Good Codex has rules for custom regiments.) but I don't know how my shop feels about 3rd party stuff. Horde armies have more models and are more expensive. I'm in college, so doing this on a budget is going to be another factor. I've done most of my research, most of my questions are answered, but I'm still stuck. Hope you can help.

Not sure what you mean by Defensive Options (are you talking the Chapter Traits and such?)
(How I'm going to use Skew) Assume exact balance between Toughness/Horde and Shooting/Fighting is 0,0 every army will skew towards away at least one of those poles.
Looking at the list from GW's store page:

Space Marines - you already ruled out because you don't want to duplicate a too popular army
Sisters (AKA Nuns With Guns) will be similar to Space Marines - and have some mechanics that remind me of Chaos Space Marines without being space marines.
Custodes - are in a funny spot right now, but they're supposed to be better than Marines, yet stat out worse than Primaris I also wouldn't count of them being an army for long not that there's any reason to believe they're going away either.
Mechanicus - will be similar to Guard with different fluff.
Knights - will get you some looks because the army inherently skews.

Chaos Demons - will skew based on the deity.
Chaos Space Marines - could be a pretty viable option for you, you get the versatility of Space Marines, while technically not being "Space Marines"
Death Guard /Thousand Sons will be divergent space marines like Blood Angels or Dark Angels and get their own book making them their own army (for now) they will skew a little but not as much as the Demons or Knights because of Marine versatility/diversity.

Craftworlds - potentially have more versatilty than any other army out there between aspect warriors, Wraithbone units, guardians, vehicles, etc.
Dark Eldar - are in sad shape and don't really feel like they have too much versatility they'll skew speed, high damage low durability.
Tau will be fairly similar to Guard.
Nids will usually skew horde and close combat, but can skew other ways as well.
Genestealer Cults will have some versatility between Genestealers for close combat and cultists (guardsman quality) shooters keep in mind this army waxes and wanes as an independent army sometimes it's an army unto itself, sometimes its a sub-list of Tyranids, sometimes its just fluff mentioned in the Nids codex.

Based off of what you've said so far (And not including current power level or codex age) I'm guessing you'd be happy with Chaos Space Marines (and/or the Deathguard/1000 sons variants), Eldar, or Nids/Gene Stealer Cults and probably in that order.

 Brutus_Apex wrote:
Always go with what you like the look of and the lore of.

Unless being a poor college student means that's un-affordable. Then go with your 2nd choice. Or 3rd.... Or however far down the list you need to go based on budget.

ccs wrote:

 Brutus_Apex wrote:
Always go with what you like the look of and the lore of.

Unless being a poor college student means that's un-affordable. Then go with your 2nd choice. Or 3rd.... Or however far down the list you need to go based on budget.

Which is an upside to Kill-Team.

Iron Hands aren't broken any more, if anything they're one of the weaker choices in 9th, so if that's what you like, I certainly wouldn't not do it for fear of being FOTM. Though marines are definitely what 50%+ of the population plays, so if you are looking to play something not everyone else does, definitely don't pick marines.

If you do play marines, unless you are really committed to the narrative side, by far the most budget-friendly and wise thing to do is just come up with your own paint scheme, and then you can call your models whatever chapter you want as the game changes, without the need to repaint or rebuy.

yukishiro1 wrote:
Iron Hands aren't broken any more, if anything they're one of the weaker choices in 9th, so if that's what you like, I certainly wouldn't not do it for fear of being FOTM.

Maybe but people have long memories, I can think of more then a few times people accused various armies of being OP FOTM even after nerf.

slade the sniper wrote:

 Iron Git wif da Hamma wrote:
I'm in college, so doing this on a budget is going to be another factor.

Due to this I'd probably go with something a bit smaller or niche.
Have you thought about Kill Team?
As far as armies go, I'd go for something like Adeptus Custodes, an Inquisitorial retinue with a lot of different but powerful units, Deathwatch or something else with a few models.

-STS

I actually never considered Custodes. I thought they were more of a 30K thing. Like the terminators and jetbike lancers. Definitely something to look into.

 Iron Git wif da Hamma wrote:

slade the sniper wrote:

 Iron Git wif da Hamma wrote:
I'm in college, so doing this on a budget is going to be another factor.

Due to this I'd probably go with something a bit smaller or niche.
Have you thought about Kill Team?
As far as armies go, I'd go for something like Adeptus Custodes, an Inquisitorial retinue with a lot of different but powerful units, Deathwatch or something else with a few models.

-STS

I actually never considered Custodes. I thought they were more of a 30K thing. Like the terminators and jetbike lancers. Definitely something to look into.

nope they're very much a 40k army.

Not sure what you mean by Defensive Options (are you talking the Chapter Traits and such?)

I think I used the wrong words to describe what I'm saying. I meant to say how the army defends against attacks. To use an example, while the Guard are squishy, they have the numerical advantage and use it to tarpit the opponent in a sea of men. The tarpit bogs down the attackers and gives heavy weapons, armor, and artillery the time to make attacks or fall back.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

ccs wrote:

 Brutus_Apex wrote:
Always go with what you like the look of and the lore of.

Unless being a poor college student means that's un-affordable. Then go with your 2nd choice. Or 3rd.... Or however far down the list you need to go based on budget.

I've got enough money to buy some models now, and building them will keep me busy for a while. Technically I can afford it, I just don't have the money to buy everything at once. I'll save up money for paint or a codex and get one thing at a time, so it'll be a while before I start playing. I can use that time to review the rules and strategies more. Killteam is another option too.

Forgot about Kill Team. Put me in as another supporter of that option!

Same things I said apply and are even cheaper: find something you like, see if you like painting them, and then see if you like playing them. If you find out later that you don't like something, then you still have something to bring to Kill Team, and at worst you're only out $40-$70 dollars depending on faction and where you bought from.

I'm surprised that nobody has suggested Necrons. For a first army they are better than ever these days:

* Easy to paint (which is usually the new player killer)
* Latest models with more to come
* A lot more diverse and mobile than you may think
* Cheap (really cheap now that you have the new box sets coming out - ebay is full of cheap warriors and destroyers)

Sumilidon wrote:
I'm surprised that nobody has suggested Necrons. For a first army they are better than ever these days:

* Easy to paint (which is usually the new player killer)
* Latest models with more to come
* A lot more diverse and mobile than you may think
* Cheap (really cheap now that you have the new box sets coming out - ebay is full of cheap warriors and destroyers)

You also have no idea what new codex is like so buying units now is risky. There's also serious lack of stock for them especially on AT department. Oh and destroyers are risky to buy from ebay now as nobody has idea what happens. If you are on tight budget then buying stuff that goes to legends would suck...

Also lots of their good units(DDA, wraiths, tomb blades) are not cheap.

Myself I would agree with suggestion about custodians. As long as you keep away from FW models price isn't that hard. Albeit for truly competive lists you will likely need some but even with just plastic you should be okay since 9e is very kind for custodians.

tneva82 wrote:

Sumilidon wrote:
I'm surprised that nobody has suggested Necrons. For a first army they are better than ever these days:

* Easy to paint (which is usually the new player killer)
* Latest models with more to come
* A lot more diverse and mobile than you may think
* Cheap (really cheap now that you have the new box sets coming out - ebay is full of cheap warriors and destroyers)

You also have no idea what new codex is like so buying units now is risky. There's also serious lack of stock for them especially on AT department. Oh and destroyers are risky to buy from ebay now as nobody has idea what happens. If you are on tight budget then buying stuff that goes to legends would suck...

Also lots of their good units(DDA, wraiths, tomb blades) are not cheap.

Myself I would agree with suggestion about custodians. As long as you keep away from FW models price isn't that hard. Albeit for truly competive lists you will likely need some but even with just plastic you should be okay since 9e is very kind for custodians.

True about codex but you could apply that to every single army as none have their updated codexes out yet.
Stock values change and AT can be held off until later when they come in stock. You'll have plenty of models available to paint until then
Destroyers I should have been specific and referred to the new melee destroyers. They are all over ebay and very cheap in comparison to their marine counterparts from the same box sets. You can also get them in said box sets, sell the marines and probably save money or keep them aside for a potential future army I doubt they will legends the Destroyer models, those are some of the best selling models for Necrons. They are more likely to release a new look for them in line with the heavy destroyer.
Finally as someone who has just started a Custodes project I can tell you now, those buggers are not cheap. Sure you have a low model count but the actual cost of the box for those few models is the same if not more than other armies where you can get 10 to 20 models a box. AT is expensive for custodes, with most options being Forge World and the subsequent stock and price issues. A cracking second army to collect as you can also paint them up quick and well quite easily - but personally I still recomend Necrons. I have a whole load of Necrons myself and have never regretted buying them

Let's just get this out there: You will be perceived as having the "default army" if you play any marines. Nobody is going to go "oh, marines - oh but they're blood angels, ah, those are different" at the end of the day, most games of 40k are played against some form of space marine.

If you're between Guard and Marines, I'd advise marines personally. You're right in that horde armies are much more painful to get together and paint, and Guard are almost entirely a gun-based army that doesn't have the most engaging play pattern.

Marines are a good starter army for a reason. They have broad appeal, they do everything well, and they're very very cheap to collect thanks to being in every starter box ever. I would advise:

1) The new Indomitus starter box
2) The marine half of the previous starter box, called I believe "Dark Imperium"? Someone who knows marines please correct me if I'm wrong there

If you split those boxes and just get the marine halves, that'll probably run you a bit over 100-140$ maybe, and you'll have basically an ideal starter army with everything you need. If you like the "commando" aesthetic, substitute one of them for "Start collecting Phobos Primaris Marines" or whatever it's called.