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sup guys.
i have dilemma here. basically ive been a lurker in the warhamer 40k world for a long time and ive decided to dive in to the hobby and after contemplating collecting every army (exept dark elder) and have finally narrowed it down to two armies, eldar and crons. here's my problem. im on a pretty tight budget so i thought i'd go crons cause you dont need to buy tons of them (which would obviously cost lots of money) but crons strike me as quite a bland army and im worried i'll get bored playing them. and eldar who seem much less bland have put me off with their whole 'specialist' approach to fighing. which brings me to my question-what army (of the two afore mentioned ones)

p.s
i would appreciate advice from experienced players who have played both armies before.

Eldar are less expensive for two main reasons:

1) Due to their outdated codex you can find a plentiful amount of cheap models on Ebay and other websites.

2) Eldar tend to be higher cost point for point, which means fewer models on the table (and fewer models to buy as such). |

I play Eldar and its awesome! They are lots of fun and you can get some really interesting tricknology going on. Necrons are far more competitive though since they have fliers as dedicated transports. You'll have to pay tons of money for those transports tho!

I find Necrons more interesting. They might be easier since they have a newer codex.

Crons would be easier to jump into. However Eldar are well worth the challenge. Sit down and study them I'm starting to find Eldar with a Dark Eldar Ally or visa versa can be used for some deadly quick shooting.

 AngelofBlood wrote:
Crons would be easier to jump into. However Eldar are well worth the challenge. Sit down and study them I'm starting to find Eldar with a Dark Eldar Ally or visa versa can be used for some deadly quick shooting.

Eldar have a lot more rules I believe. They also use a lot of psychic powers, and I believe those psychic powers are also primarily defensive. They have a lot of little things that are good, is what I've been told. Necrons seem like they have a lot of power and resilience to them.

Crons are solid but get into Close Combat with them they fold. Since Eldar and Dark Eldar are battle brothers they benefit from eachothers Psyker abilities. This includes powers that make your guns twin-linked against a target also can lower saves and the like. May be a little too advanced for a new player.

 Inquisitor Ehrenstein wrote:

 AngelofBlood wrote:
Crons would be easier to jump into. However Eldar are well worth the challenge. Sit down and study them I'm starting to find Eldar with a Dark Eldar Ally or visa versa can be used for some deadly quick shooting.

Eldar have a lot more rules I believe. They also use a lot of psychic powers, and I believe those psychic powers are also primarily defensive. They have a lot of little things that are good, is what I've been told. Necrons seem like they have a lot of power and resilience to them.

Not quite. Almost everything in the Necron army circumvents the main rules in some way or another. Getting to know all the tricks they can play is like learning 40k from the ground up... Heck, I play against them regularly and still didn't know that, if a Night Scythe falls, its "passengers" can enter the board on foot like normal reserves... Again, their rules are convoluted and full of exceptions. It's hard to keep track.

Eldar play by the rules in comparison. Yep, some exotic wargear here and there, some powerful psychics, but hardly the levels of crazy attained by the 'crons...

I find lots of players like Necrons because they are competitive in 6th edition because of their flyers and special rules, and because they have classically been the go-to "Xenos Space Marines" for people who want a non-Imperial army, but can't give up the 3+ armor.

Lots of people can't get past the fact that Eldar are not as hardy or as horribly cost effective as Space Marines(if you got regular updates like SM always do, you would be too!). If you can get past that, they are a fun army to collect and can be entertaining to paint.

They require planning on the field, because you can't just rely on their armor to cover up mistakes.

Well I think the OP said that he didnt want to get involved in dark eldar anyway.

Also as far as starting the hobby fresh and getting in to an army I would imagine that getting in to another army just for allies seems like a little too much hassle and dedication. I am just starting myself and have to keep my motivation around the idea of my single army as I build and paint them.

But since I'm the rookie player I have no opinion about which will play better. I think the Eldar have cooler models, a better storyline.

Icculus wrote:
But since I'm the rookie player I have no opinion about which will play better. I think the Eldar have cooler models, a better storyline.

In the end it all boils down to this, really. Models and fluff.

As for monetary costs, I have no idea. At first I thought both armies can be pretty harsh on the wallet, but veteran Eldar players say effective lists can be built with a really low model count and, on the other side, Necrons have access to one of the best Battleforces in GW's range.

Better to hear from Eldar and Necron collectors, though.

 Agent_Tremolo wrote:

Icculus wrote:
But since I'm the rookie player I have no opinion about which will play better. I think the Eldar have cooler models, a better storyline.

In the end it all boils down to this, really. Models and fluff.

As for monetary costs, I have no idea. At first I thought both armies can be pretty harsh on the wallet, but veteran Eldar players say effective lists can be built with a really low model count and, on the other side, Necrons have access to one of the best Battleforces in GW's range.

Better to hear from Eldar and Necron collectors, though.

Well said!!

Well I think the OP said that he didnt want to get involved in dark eldar anyway.

I was just giving them a direction they could go in that wasnt the wraithguard army

Personally I love Eldar, the agile play-style, the awesome models and fluff and if you include FW they've got a hell of a model range.

Perhaps the only downside is the asinine comments you will see all the time in regards to Eldar's competitiveness, people post stuff like:

"Nobody should be playing Eldar right now"

and that's it. The Internet can be a jerk..

Eldar are fun (I know ), Necrons are fun too....

Choosing an army?

Rule of Cool wins everytime. Get the one you like.
Which do you like the look of more?

I have both armies, and I would strongly recommend Necrons, over Eldar.

Eldar are in a really tough spot right now, with an outdated codex. A lot of the models are also, starting to show their age a bit.

You'll have a constant uphill battle with Eldar, and it may turn you off of the hobby. Even with superior skill, it's going to be very difficult to overcome the points cost handicap you incur by taking a full Eldar army.

Necrons are a great starter army though. The models are easy to assemble, and paint for the most part (Arks, are a nightmare) They've got great rules, and fluff, and I personally enjoy playing my Necrons out of all of my armies the most.

As far as Price goes, someone mentioned Ebay for Eldar, and that would be a pretty cheap way to get an Eldar Army.

The Necron army does have extra value built into some of their kits though. A good example is the Barge kit, which comes with a plastic Overlord, and the Warrior kit, which comes with Scarabs. Keep in mind the 20% off from a lot of Online stores, if you buy new.


Honestly, here is what I would do. I would take both codexes and read through them. Check out the prices and the model range. Get a feel for which one you like, and figure out what is important to you.

If winning/gameplay matters- Necrons
Price- a Bit of a toss up, but if you search long enough, you can get good deals on either one.
Fluff is tottally subjective
Looks/style- also subjective.

I would weigh in all of those things, and then you should be able to come to a decision you are comfortable with.

Eldar are outdated, hands down. But it appears that they will get a new codex by the end of this year. Maybe, maybe not.
Necrons are the new black. Their codex is absolutely great.

 wuestenfux wrote:
Eldar are outdated, hands down. But it appears that they will get a new codex by the end of this year. Maybe, maybe not.

if this does happen then should i go with the flashy new eldar, as necrons will surley be out of date then?

Not really. Codices for most armies aren't a once-a-year thing. Sometimes it is several, several years between updates for armies. The Necron Codex was written for the tail-end of 5th edition, but it was obvious that it was written with 6th Edition in mind. It will be a viable codex for many years to come. Just because the Eldar may (should) be getting a codex update in the relatively near future does not mean the Necrons will be outdated.

That said, unless they radically change the way Eldar work, it is an army that requires no small degree of skill to play effectively. Unlike a lot of other armies, the Eldar have very few power-house units that can carry a battle by themselves. Eldar armies are all about synergy, units working in support of other units to build an effective team-based strategy for victory. Necrons are less-reliant on having one unit doing something so that this other unit can do this other thing which then allows a third unit to do something totally awesome.

This is not to say that Necrons are definitively better than Eldar, but a new player unfamiliar with the intricacies of playing 40K may find the Eldar playstyle a bit complex for their first run out of the gate.

cheers, mate-good answer.
what about playing the armies, im guessing that the resiliance of the necrons (and their plain design) makes them quite boring to collect and play.
whereas its the opposite for eldar?

 Sir pimpalot wrote:
cheers, mate-good answer.
what about playing the armies, im guessing that the resiliance of the necrons (and their plain design) makes them quite boring to collect and play.
whereas its the opposite for eldar?

No, Necrons also needs a player with some skill. It needs to be played aggressively for being successful.
Eldar is a bit crappy today. Its troop choices have low toughness unless you want to field a large Wraithguard unit hoofing around the board.

Necrons, in general, are a more-resilient force than Eldar, and are thus more forgiving of mistakes or unexpected complications, but, in keeping with their fluff, yes, they are an offense-based army. as opposed to other armies which just line up guys with guns and stand there shooting. Relentless advance of the killer robots being the Necron image.

They're not as difficult an army to play effectively as Eldar, but that doesn't mean that they're an insta-win, though debates on which armies are is... best left for another thread entirely.

Crons

Simple. If you want to play a douchy soulless op robot army go with the Crons. If you want to play a awesome finesse underpowered (until next codex) army go with eldar. Its really a lifestyle choice,

oddworx wrote:
Simple. If you want to play a douchy soulless op robot army go with the Crons. If you want to play a awesome finesse underpowered (until next codex) army go with eldar. Its really a lifestyle choice,

Really? "Douchy"

Posts like this really don't add anything to the discussion, would you mind taking some time to explain, and perhaps articulate your thoughts in more constructive manner next time? No one is going to take stuff like this seriously, and it just degrades the thread.

If we can keep it polite and constructive please people.

ta.

Ok, now I have a little more time to post.,,
Cron's is what I suggest.

The reasons are the following
* Eldar are hard to play. They require a lot of finesse.
* Crons are cheaper to get into, Eldar aspect warriors are mostly only available in Fineca$t.
* Crons are overall a better army right now. The codex was written with 6th in mind.
* The Eldar codex was written with 4th ed in mind. Its really aged.

You can build a successful Eldar army. The person who dominated templecon earlier this month was Eldar/Dark Eldar, but its expensive and hard to play!
If your going for a first army, start with crons.

I own a rather large Necron army and my brother has a large Eldar army. I've played both but primarily Necrons.

It all really depends on your playing style, or since you're new, your thought style. The Necrons are very resilient but can be slow at times. However the ability to teleport around (with a Cryptek), come back to life, and eat away vehicle hull points like no tomorrow makes them a very deadly team.

However, the Eldar are boss. My brother's army is mechdar (everything has a transport or is a skimmer, except one wraithlord, which just soaks up fire, some Reapers, extremely long range, and infiltrators) and has all the boosts for the vehicles so they are jetting around and deploying infantry to mop up what is left. He has never lost a battle with them (against friendly locals and one store opening but it's been a lot of games) andI've won the few times I've played with them. Also all the psychic powers are very nice and powerful.

The specialist model army is very nice. While Necrons are so generalized that everything is effective against everything, the specialized models will ensure you don't waste squads firing at models they're not very effective against. The problem with specializing is that you're screwed if say your one tank killer squad gets blasted early on and the enemy still has tanks/MC.

As a summary:

Necrons:
Resilient
Allow for error
Eat vehicles
Slow

Eldar:
Fast
Loads of Psychic powers (Eldrad especially)
No room for error
Specialized

That's my two cents.