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They chose Necrons, IG, Tau, GK, and Eldar. This is casual gaming, however I imagine the more we play the more competitive it will get.

We are playing 6th because we only have access to 6e materials, and I’m stoked.

I’m stuck between CD and vanilla SM. We aren’t planning on allies soon.

Any 40k vets have recommendations for which codices I should consider? I’ve been watching tons of bat reps and figuring out who I like. I’m stuck between these two. Tyranids are also really cool.

Any help is appreciated.

Welcome to Old Hammer!

If curious, you might want to check out the ProHammer project (see link in my signature), which provides a unified ruleset that works for 3rd - 7th edition (yes, you can even play codexes from different editions against each other, my group does it regularly). ProHammer integrates the best aspects (IMHO) of rules from across the "classic" editions of the game.

As for your codex choices - for "CD" do you mean Chaos Daemons?

Your group doesn't have any straight up marine armies yet (amazing really!) so I'm tempted to suggest you buck the trend and play Chaos Daemons - although against the Grey Knights you could be a bit handicapped. The marines are probably a more versatile list and there are more playstyles to try out.

I'd basically second everything Mezmorki said, but also add that you might want to look into Kill Team - the group can collectively pool in to buy the rulebook which is all you need for it and that way you can start relatively small. Some of the older 40k core rulebooks also just have rules for using small scale games in it, though I'm not sure if 6th does. The primary reason for the suggestion here is just so your group can get accustomed to the game and start small with just 1-2 boxes of infantry each and build up from there.

Also considering you are coming with your D&D group, you guys could look into the rpgs (Dark Heresy, Only War, Black Crusade, Rogue Trader, Wrath and Glory), maybe even use your models while playing those if you do role playing games with a battle mat.

 kurhanik wrote:
...Some of the older 40k core rulebooks also just have rules for using small scale games in it, though I'm not sure if 6th does...

Last time that was in the core book was 4e. I'm pretty sure there was a separate Kill Team supplement for 6th/7th, though it wasn't well thought out (the limitations weren't great and the balance was wonky) and if you're interested in that I'd suggest legacy Heralds of Ruin (a third-party Kill Team supplement for 6th/7th).

Chaos Daemons IIRC were quite powerful in 6th but were powerful based around one particular crazy unit (a lord of change accompanied by a bunch of screamers It think) so would most likely be a fairly good choice if you want a more normal army build.

AnomanderRake wrote:

 kurhanik wrote:
...Some of the older 40k core rulebooks also just have rules for using small scale games in it, though I'm not sure if 6th does...

Last time that was in the core book was 4e. I'm pretty sure there was a separate Kill Team supplement for 6th/7th, though it wasn't well thought out (the limitations weren't great and the balance was wonky) and if you're interested in that I'd suggest legacy Heralds of Ruin (a third-party Kill Team supplement for 6th/7th).

4th is the one I am thinking of. And man I forgot Heralds of Ruin existed, and yeah it was far better than the official 6/7th edition version of Kill Team if memory serves.

the_scotsman wrote:Chaos Daemons IIRC were quite powerful in 6th but were powerful based around one particular crazy unit (a lord of change accompanied by a bunch of screamers It think) so would most likely be a fairly good choice if you want a more normal army build.

Wasn't a lot of Chaos Daemon's power in 6th also rng based? Its been a long time since I've actually thought of 6/7th edition but I vaguely remember there were certain wombo combos that could basically win the game, but it required a bunch of pre game dice rolls landing in your favor, and if they didn't you were instead playing at a handicap.

D&D group?! Don't forget to bring your HACKMASTER +12 to the table.

To be fair, in the 7th Edition Chaos Dex (which may be the same as the 6th-I don’t know off hand) you could have a 2+ Jink, instant death balesword Daemon Prince of Nurgle

Tyranid lore is cool, but the army isn't in 6E or 7E.

 kurhanik wrote:

AnomanderRake wrote:

 kurhanik wrote:
...Some of the older 40k core rulebooks also just have rules for using small scale games in it, though I'm not sure if 6th does...

Last time that was in the core book was 4e. I'm pretty sure there was a separate Kill Team supplement for 6th/7th, though it wasn't well thought out (the limitations weren't great and the balance was wonky) and if you're interested in that I'd suggest legacy Heralds of Ruin (a third-party Kill Team supplement for 6th/7th).

4th is the one I am thinking of. And man I forgot Heralds of Ruin existed, and yeah it was far better than the official 6/7th edition version of Kill Team if memory serves.

the_scotsman wrote:Chaos Daemons IIRC were quite powerful in 6th but were powerful based around one particular crazy unit (a lord of change accompanied by a bunch of screamers It think) so would most likely be a fairly good choice if you want a more normal army build.

Wasn't a lot of Chaos Daemon's power in 6th also rng based? Its been a long time since I've actually thought of 6/7th edition but I vaguely remember there were certain wombo combos that could basically win the game, but it required a bunch of pre game dice rolls landing in your favor, and if they didn't you were instead playing at a handicap.

You're thinking of 7th edition, where you could get the Invisibility power but it was random. 6th edition's super crazy combo had to do with some other combo you could use to make the huge unit of screamers and the lord of change (or maybe the named LOC guy with 2 heads) almost unkillable.

Basically, don't do that one particular thing, and daemons should be fine.

If your group is a DND group, and they like campaign style play where armies grow and progress from battle to battle, 9th ed's Crusade system is cool.

Doesn't sound like that's an option for your crew, but I thought I'd mention it. I'm a role-player by heart, and Crusade is the closest I've come to getting the role-play feels from a miniature game. Others will dispute that, but it is my personal experience. Your mileage may vary.

Someone else mentioned the Warhammer 40k RPG's from Fantasy Flight Games- I liked those too, and I thought they added a lot of depth to the 40k world.

Stay away from Daemons, their 6th ed rules were a mess. Warpstorm table, psychic power table, three different daemonic reward tables. I think you should suggest your group play with highlander rules, 40k is imbalanced as heck and always has been, but usually it's more 1-3 choices that are wildly undercosted rather than an entire codex being head and shoulders above the opposition, playing highlander helps curb the most powerful lists.

 Stormonu wrote:
Tyranid lore is cool, but the army isn't in 6E or 7E.

https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Codex:_Tyranids_(6th_Edition)

Unless you mean most of their army was functionally useless in which case, true.

Ziggax wrote:
They chose Necrons, IG, Tau, GK, and Eldar. This is casual gaming, however I imagine the more we play the more competitive it will get.

We are playing 6th because we only have access to 6e materials, and I’m stoked.

I’m stuck between CD and vanilla SM. We aren’t planning on allies soon.

Any 40k vets have recommendations for which codices I should consider? I’ve been watching tons of bat reps and figuring out who I like. I’m stuck between these two. Tyranids are also really cool.

Any help is appreciated.

You might actually really enjoy the Crusade system of 9th. You can get a core rulebook on eBay for like $27. It might be hard to make it all come together with old codexes though.

Ziggax wrote:
They chose Necrons, IG, Tau, GK, and Eldar. This is casual gaming, however I imagine the more we play the more competitive it will get.

We are playing 6th because we only have access to 6e materials, and I’m stoked.

I’m stuck between CD and vanilla SM. We aren’t planning on allies soon.

Any 40k vets have recommendations for which codices I should consider? I’ve been watching tons of bat reps and figuring out who I like. I’m stuck between these two. Tyranids are also really cool.

Any help is appreciated.

Chaos Daemons are very particular and function differently than most armies. For a new player I would not recommend them. Marines are fine. Tyranids are also cool.

 Daedalus81 wrote:

Ziggax wrote:
They chose Necrons, IG, Tau, GK, and Eldar. This is casual gaming, however I imagine the more we play the more competitive it will get.

We are playing 6th because we only have access to 6e materials, and I’m stoked.

I’m stuck between CD and vanilla SM. We aren’t planning on allies soon.

Any 40k vets have recommendations for which codices I should consider? I’ve been watching tons of bat reps and figuring out who I like. I’m stuck between these two. Tyranids are also really cool.

Any help is appreciated.

You might actually really enjoy the Crusade system of 9th. You can get a core rulebook on eBay for like $27. It might be hard to make it all come together with old codexes though.

A terrible idea - you can get the IG, T'au, GK, and Eldar books for $3/mo in the app until they get a new codex. Only Necrons are on their new one. I don't imagine those would terribly soon, buuut you'd be caught out when they do.

The first year or so of 6th edition while the 5th edition tyranid codex was still in use weren't bad.
It was just after that garbage 6th edition tyranid codex came out that things became awful for them. If you could convince your friends to let you use the 5th ed codex, nids wouldn't be the worst.

Welcome Ziggax

You will find there is a strong community for old versions of 40K . most players go for 5th or 7th as the most preferred versions.

My topic on this is here-

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/789567.page


6th is actually considered the worst of the compatible editions (3rd-7th) with even GW killing it after only 14 months. 7th is a fixed version of 5th so long as you don't use formations (it is the solution FW used when making 30K based off the 7th edition core rules)

Our group uses 5th, similar to what Mezmorki did with pro-hammer but we do not make up any of our own rules, we just house rule in better versions of 15 rules from editions 3rd-7th into 5th that make it better.

Since our group is very much into playing to the lore we also allow players to use whatever codex they like that best represents the army they play(chaos players use the 3.5 chaos dex for example). just did a game 2 weeks ago that pitted the 4th ed ork codex VS the 5th ed marine codex. it was a blood bath and an absolutely awesome game(orks won BTW)..

The great thing about the older edtions is that you never have to worry about rules being changed or models being invalidated since those editions are done and set in stone so to speak. as for finding the older books/rules/codexes. it is very easy to do online and if you want a hard copy they are very cheap to buy.



Arson Fire

I prefer to use the base 4th ed nid codex and just "import" newer bugs into that rule set. it is actually quite easy to do.,

 aphyon wrote:

Arson Fire

I prefer to use the base 4th ed nid codex and just "import" newer bugs into that rule set. it is actually quite easy to do.,

Sure. The 4th ed codex was far better than 5th or 6th.
I just figured that they were playing 6th, and the 5th ed codex was at least compatible with that edition. Part of its lifespan was in that edition, so you wouldn't really have to change anything. It would just be like playing in early 6th.
However the 4th ed codex wasn't ever part of 6th, so it would be like trying to play in a period of the games history that never existed. Which seems a bit more dubious to me.

Actually they are all pretty well cross compatible with the core rules of 5th. it is what we have been doing for the past few years. i used the 4th ed book to do a battle against 3.5 edition chaos (khorne berserkers) and had a great game. a couple weeks ago i fought the 4th ed ork codex with the 5th ed marine codex for another great game.

I'd look at playing 5th ed rather than 6th ed. It was straight up better.