Completely New Warhammer 40k Player Seeking Advice - BA, SW, GK, or BT

[Phury]

Hello Warhammer forums!

I am completely new to Warhammer 40k. I am still reading through the rulebook and such so my knowledge of many aspects is still lacking/foggy. I am currently playing Warmahordes so obviously trying to figure out what is going on in a Warhammer batrep with the Warmahordes rules in my brain is confusing lol. Its getting a lot better now though.

I am at the point now where I would like to start a small army and actually work with the rules because I feel that's how I will learn best. But that brings me to these forums and it's wealth of knowledge from all you fine people. I play Cryx in Warmachine and I decides I wanted to stay away from corrupted alien baddy type armies (Chaos, Tyranids, Necrons etc.)

Out of the remaining armies the Space Marines looked the most appealing to me. I really can't decide which though. I read some fluff and play styles of a few and now I can't decide between Grey Knights, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, and Black Templars. I know people say pick the one that appeals the most but I really don't know which one that is lol. Could you lovely people give me what insight you have of each of those 4 chapters. I don't want a super shooty army but I also don't want to have one that can't do anything until it hits melee.

I don't want to build this army to counter an army but just as a additional point I will most likely play Necrons the most to start. I am not asking for the army that counters them the best but I don't want to get rolled by them either if that can be kept in mind

Thanks a ton in advance and I look forward to joining the SM's!!!

[BrokenWing]

Well...I mean...of the four chapters you listed, none of them are bad at close combat and all of them are good at shooting...it's just the flavor of shooting and close combat you need to decide on.

[kevin]

well if you're not set on an army yet i would recommend getting the assault on black reach box. you'll get a chance to try out 2 totally different styles and get a very good value on each of those armies separately. if you add up the prices for what the models cost outside of that box you'll see that both armies in that box are worth the cost of it. you get more that twice the units you could get buying them separate. plus you get a rule book templates and dice. the nice thing about space marines is you can use these as part of one of the other chapters later if you decide vanilla marines aren't for you.

[Phury]

I did take a look at the AoBR kit but I really don't think I would ever use the Orks or at least not for a long time. I already have a rulebook and dice so I guess the templates would be good but I am fairly certain I don't want to do Vanilla Marines. I know I could convert them but I think it would just be easier to pick up the actual kits for the army I choose.

I do think however that I narrowed it down to Blood Angels or Space Wolves.

I do like the look of GK's to a degree but I feel shiny greyish models would just make me feel like they are always waiting for a coat of paint to get rid of the pewter color. I am so used to seeing that with my Warmachine unpainted models Black Templars I also eliminated from my choice simply because the other 2 appeal more.

So now that the search is a little more narrow, any more insight into Blood Angels or Space Wolves? Are either more forgiving to mistakes? Do they kinda run similar or is there a big play style difference between them?

Also, what point level is a good place to start? Do people play as low as 500?

Thanks again for the help

[edmundblack]

GKs are all plastic now with some fineco$t (best avoided) models, so being silver won't be a problem if you do it reasonably well.

All Marines are quite forgiving in how they can be used, so you can just go with whatever you fancy at the end of it. 500 points is possible, but you'll likely not get much other than basic stuff in there. It's a good place to start when learning the game, and can form a good core of your army to build on. But you'll soon want to expand, trust me.

[daddy4count]

See if you can't get your hands on each codex for a couple of hours... read through them and see what you think.

Honestly both armies are capable at performing at tournament level (all three if you count GK's)

There are some big differences between Angels and Wolves... but both can bring a ton of meltaguns and razorbacks to the table. Wolves have Thunderwolf Cavalry, while Angels have Death Company. Angels get some specific Dred's and the Stormraven as well... if either of those float your boat.

Blood Angels are basic codex marines with a few specials... they still get basic Terminators and Sternguard vets... but they can take Assault Marines as troops, deep strike Land Raiders, as well as take them for Dedicated Transpo.

Wolves are a departure... no such thing as Tactical Squads, you get Grey Hunters. Terminators don't get their own unit type... instead your Wolf Guard may take T armor as an upgrade.

Really, I think between the two it is going to come down to which one you like better