What Warhammer 40k Army Should I Use?

[Addicted Muffin]

I prefer the Tau over all others, running a 1750 point Pure Tau army with the legendary Shas'ui as my commander.

OK, Shas'ui isn't a name in and of itself, its equivalent to a sergeant as that is its caste ('shas' or 'fire') and rank (''ui' or, in this case, 'sergeant'), from the rest of your sentence I guess you mean either O'Shovah, or Shadowsun, of the two, O'Shovah is slightly more legendary, so I'm gonna guess you mean him.

I think it is O'shavah, which ever was the one famous for fighting Orks and doesnt let you put kroot or vespids in your army. I havnt looked up the lore in a long ass time, lol.

But his blade is pretty BA. I took down a monolith with it once...the look on that players face was amazing. It was kind of a mixture of amazement and fear.

 

[Bassik]

First of all, welcome to the hobby. It's a great way to meet new friends, and much cooler then videogames. Also get ready to have no moneys.

As for armies, I can only talk of my own experience with my Orks, Imperial Guard and Chaos Demons.
Orks are my favorite army to play, as having a huge horde of green advancing towards the enemy supported by colourfull and wacky vehicles is just... awesome. Stay clear of too many specialist squads, tho, you'll have most fun with a huge Boy and Gretchin horde. All those dice in your hand can realy freak people out.

Imperial Guard is my strongest army. A huge wall of infantry with an ungodly amount of tanks, wich are the best in the game, by the way, is hard to defeat by less competent generals. It sounds like an Ork army, but works very different. The standard infantry man is even more useless then an Ork Boy, allmost as bad as a grot, but supported by their officers, these lowly humans can best even the mightiests Space Marines.
Especially if you love tanks and being guaranteed to outshoot your oponent you should play these guys.

Chaos Demons are... a weird army. Highly specialised units that can only enter the battlefield by deep strike... that's just hard to work with. You can never realy get the right guys in the right place at the right time. The apeal from this army comes from the fact that your oponents are just as much in the dark as you are on what will happen next, and most important it's visually very diverse and stylish. If you like painting and modelling, this army is my personal favorite for that.

And affcorse, the old cliche still stands true: don't ask other people what you should play, but pick the army with the models you like most. If you are not sure on an army, you might regret it later and Warhammer regrets cost usually around 200 euros.

 

[Addicted Muffin]

Go Orks. They're tough enough to go toe to toe with most Tyranids, they're fun to convert and you're getting a lot of them for your points. If you want tanks and transports, they're good for that too. Plus they can field Deffkoptas, which are jetbikes. Orks. Do it.

orks are freaking fun to fight. I dont know if this is still in their rules or if it was just house rules for kicks, but my last ork player had all her infantry stacked in the vehicles saying "Codex says if you can fit them in, they're in". So we had 5 or 6 wartruks with piles of orks on them, blowing up and scattering them all over the place. If it wasnt for the preferred enemy trait from my commander, my Tau would have gotten raped, lol

 

[Seventh Actuality]

Necrons just got a bunch of sweeet new models, and as far as I know they're all about the infantry.

Yeah, it's not gonna be cheap, but there's more expensive hobbies out there I guess.

Yeah, but crystal meth and playing pool with faberge eggs are both better for your social life.

 

[Godhead]

I use Necrons, Nids, and Tau.
The Necrons are simple and easy to use with not a lot of variation, but a lot of power.
The Tyranids are the pinnacle of customization. They are the zerg of warhammer. They have many different units, cheap swarms, and deadly results.
The Tau are like a lesser versions of space marines. They have good range, decent customization, and a good a unit lineup.

I prefer the Tau over all others, running a 1750 point Pure Tau army with the legendary Shas'ui as my commander.

Do remember that Tyranids were before the Zerg. /fanboymoment

OT: I would go with Tyranids, Orks, or Imperial Guard for an infantry army. Tyranids as posted before, have great customization and can easily have 100+ models for a 1500 point game; they also lack any form of armour. The Orks are by far the most hilarious race in Warhammer and also have surprisingly sturdy elite choices and are by and far a close combat army, where as the Imperial Guard are ranged and the Tyranids can go either way. And the Imperial Guard, you get a whole bunch of guys with flashlights. One flashlight might do shit, 50 of them will wreck anything in their way (ignoring armour).

 

[Simmo8591]

If you like bikes (and who wouldn't i used to field 6 and 2 attack bikes) may I suggest the Dark Angels Raven Wing or White Scars. Both are very speed heavy space marine forces with a gearing towards bikes and land speeders.
The Raven wing also boast some unique terminator options and the ability to stick a homer on your bikes, drive up close to the enemy, set a beacon and watch your heavies teleport straight into the fray.

Also consider the scout land speeders and indeed scout squads, they are far cheaper (a boon in bike heavy forces) than regular marines but still outclass most other armies core troops. they have a range of decent special weapons and Telion - a cheap yet deadly special character who can fire with pinpoint accuracy.

 

[Addicted Muffin]

Do remember that Tyranids were before the Zerg. /fanboymoment

yup, back when the carnifex amounted to no more than an angry gummy bear...
Gotta say, I really like the design changes they did.

 

[Evil the White]

For Space Marines to be anywhere near good, you need half to two thirds of your army to be regular Space Marines points wise. Then add on points for weapons on devastator squads and the jump packs on assault marines. You can get away with replacing one tactical squad for a scout squad. Anything you have left spend on tanks, either going for lots or nothing. Never, NEVER, spend a lot on your HQ choices. They still die very easily to a missile or a big fist/claw to the face, and that's a lot of points wasted.

Or you could get a captain on a bike, and have very big bike squads for your troop choices, and then annoy everyone cause no-one knows how to play against that style well.

 

[jamart]

ANYTHING that Matt Ward wasn't involved in the creation of.

 

[ace_of_something]

If you want to win without too much strategy go with space marines or chaos. They're the 'well rounded' groups that have no real vulnerabilities like everyone else. Though their units are a bit expensive. Second choice for 'i want to win lots' Necrons. I rarely saw them lose when I worked in a comic shop.

I had a buddy that won a few tournies using the Space Wolves. They were close combat monsters.

 

[Addicted Muffin]

If you want to win without too much strategy go with space marines or chaos. They're the 'well rounded' groups that have no real vulnerabilities like everyone else. Though their units are a bit expensive. Second choice for 'i want to win lots' Necrons. I rarely saw them lose when I worked in a comic shop.

omg, have you seen these new necrons?
Their trend of "can't be beaten" is only getting bolstered.
You used to be able to wreck these things with a decent fist or skimmer, now they have their own skimmers and fists....

 

[Soluncreed]

I play Tyranids, really awesome customization army. They can shoot, assault, and do almost anything. They have a little difficulty with durability, but make up for it by being a pretty mobile army.

I just started looking into the new Necron codex, and they are looking pretty cool. They're durable, they can come back to life, and the new Night Fighting rules are sweet. They can cover just about everything, but from what I'm reading, they are a shooty army.

Orks are just fun. And good. Waaaaghh!

I have a friend who plays Chaos Space Marines. I think they're okay. They got some cool stuff, but I just don't really think they're THAT good.

If you want to win without too much strategy go with space marines or chaos. They're the 'well rounded' groups that have no real vulnerabilities like everyone else. Though their units are a bit expensive. Second choice for 'i want to win lots' Necrons. I rarely saw them lose when I worked in a comic shop.

omg, have you seen these new necrons?
Their trend of "can't be beaten" is only getting bolstered.
You used to be able to wreck these things with a decent fist or skimmer, now they have their own skimmers and fists....

Mat Ward knows how to make a good codex. Necrons are looking so cool, they might be my next army. Especially since they are the polar opposite of Tyranids. And don't forget those Scarabs man. They're scary.

 

[Clockwork Scarecrow.]

Chaos, Imperial Guard, and Eldar are fun and challenging choices.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Play SIGAOD. The Shooty-Imperial-Guard-Army-Of-Death.

Go armored company and get a metric shit ton of Chimeras, Veteran squads and Stormtrooper teams, with a load of Tank Squadrons to back them up.

Or go infantry platoon style and just blast them to death. Here is a picture exemplifying Imperial Guard playstyles.

Spoiler

 

[ace_of_something]

If you want to win without too much strategy go with space marines or chaos. They're the 'well rounded' groups that have no real vulnerabilities like everyone else. Though their units are a bit expensive. Second choice for 'i want to win lots' Necrons. I rarely saw them lose when I worked in a comic shop.

omg, have you seen these new necrons?
Their trend of "can't be beaten" is only getting bolstered.
You used to be able to wreck these things with a decent fist or skimmer, now they have their own skimmers and fists....

I swear GW picks the races that 'sell the most pieces' or something and then gives them all the stat boosts rather then balancing the game. I had a sizable Dark Eldar force back in the day and was constantly frustrated then they didn't get a new edition when everyone else did and that was kinda what ended it for me.
I had a smaller SOB/Witchhunter army.

I also played Fantasy as the Dark Elves for what it's worth. (I loved pulling pieces off them and putting them on my 40k pieces)

 

[el_kabong]

Honestly, I'd recommend simply selecting what seems best to you. Warhammer 40k is like any game out there. Different versions come out and when they do, some things get the nerf-bat and some things excel to greatness (see mechanized units).

What seems best to you might be the visual appearance of the models, the flavor-text and backstory, or how you like to play (do you like elite groups of shooters or swarms of melee?). Go with your gut, backed up by a little research into your preference.

You can make a viable army out of almost any of the factions. The trick is that no one army is better than another by virtue of codex. Unless you're willing to spend a butt-load of cash to get as many options from your particular codex as possible (my roommate has spent $5000+ dollars on his Space Marine army), your fielded units will always have some sort of weakness to exploit. If you decide on an army that you're only playing because of their stated effectiveness, there's no consolation in losing. Players who enjoy the models and army they're using by virtue of the more aesthetic attributes can still find solace even in defeat (more often).

Alternatively, 40k is an expensive hobby. If cost is a factor for you, some of the higher point cost armies (armies that have typically have smaller, elite units) are usually lower cost to the player (in actual dollars).

Personally, I always liked the Grey Knights as a concept (elite demon-hunters). When I was shopping for armies, I also found that their models look really nice (I like the power armor with more medieval style helmets). So, I decided to do a Grey Knight army. As an added bonus, I found out that they are high point cost, so I've been able to build a pretty viable army of about 2000 points (give or take, depending on upgrades) for well under $500. The trick is to run full squads of Paladins and use Draigo as your HQ (totals about 1750 points). The army is really small (only worth 3 kill points), but tough as nails to kill (add a justicar to each paladin squad) and they create a 24" bubble of death and destruction. I don't win every time, but I can take solace in the struggle of the underdog (especially when looking at Orc or Tyranid armies that are huge by comparison).

 

[NyteRaven]

I think the funniest army list out there, and also worryingly effective, is Shooty Orks of Doom, put it this way, a single mob of boys can throw out a hilarious number of shots (36), and while they cant hit the broad side of a barn, its always funny to just watch the opponents face as they realise how many bullets are in the air at once and then the specialist units can make it even funnier, Lootas, Burnas and Flash Gits are all ranged units, though burnas are terrifying for marine and chaos armies as well as the swarm armies, a unit with 15 flamers... yes, 15 of them... and they can also be used as power weapons in hand to hand, meaning that any opposing heavily armoured units will no longer be a problem

Another silly army to do is the HtHIGAoLoLs, a Hand to Hand Imperial Guard army, all infantry, all charging, they cant do any harm to enemy tanks, but its a giggle to watch your men charge in and roflstomp an enemies best units by throwing sheer weight of numbers at them.

And regarding the differences between Eldar and Dark Eldar, if Eldar play well they get scary, if Dark Eldar play well, they're even scarier, 1st turn charges really do offend when its spearheaded by Incubi. Downside is, Dark Eldar get into a slobber-knocker or meat-grinder of a fight, they've already lost, whereas Eldar, who are actually fairly tough, can sometimes emerge on top.

 

[Me55enger]

Scrolling through all that, I see lots and lots of dense text by professional persons.

I used to play, but discovered sex instead.

So heres all you need to know:

If you want to win: go for the 3+ armour saves.

If you want to stand on contextual principals: go for anything else.

 

[Jennacide]

Go Orks. They're tough enough to go toe to toe with most Tyranids, they're fun to convert and you're getting a lot of them for your points. If you want tanks and transports, they're good for that too. Plus they can field Deffkoptas, which are jetbikes. Orks. Do it.

This.

Ork > all. Well, except maybe Chaos. Shouting WAAAAAAAGH! is good fun, but so is "Blood of the Blood God!"

Scrolling through all that, I see lots and lots of dense text by professional persons.

I used to play, but discovered sex instead.

Gee how cute, snarky nerds that assume you can't have nerdy interests and still have a sex life. Behold, I am the anti-thesis of everything you claim.

 

[thiosk]

Go Orks. They're tough enough to go toe to toe with most Tyranids, they're fun to convert and you're getting a lot of them for your points. If you want tanks and transports, they're good for that too. Plus they can field Deffkoptas, which are jetbikes. Orks. Do it.

I agree with this. Yes, you do need to shout "Waaagh!". It is something everyone should learn to do.

Shouting WAAAAAAH should give the attacking army a +10 everything bonus, if shouted at the start of every turn and before every dice roll.