Which Army?

I have decided to start a 40k army, and have narrowed it down to 2 choices: Chaos Space Marines and Eldar. I have problems and likings for each of them.

Chaos Space Marines: I like the fact that even Khorne Bezerkers have good shooting options, and that all the troops do well in close combat. I dislike the expensiveness of the troops, but also like Chaos as a whole.

Eldar: I like that they have very good shooting, but dislike that they only seem average at combat, and can be taken down easily like all elves. I also like their small artillery that they can keep in a unit, the Dire Avengers for example.

So please let me know what you think. I decided to just buy the Assault on Black Reach book along with the templates and dice, instead of getting the whole box set since I won't be using either of the armies anyway. Don't try and persuade me on that, i already bought that.

Edit: Typos etc.

Thanks,
SL

This post has been edited by ShaggothLord on Nov 2 2009, 04:28 AM

Chaos can at least have beastmen conversions.

I don't play any 40k, but to me chaos space marines seem a bit standard. Eldar is more special. Even though chaos SM are cool

I would have the same doubts, both have pros and cons in gaming and modelling... maybe I would choose eldars for their neat painting possibilities

Play Chaos Marines. They have much better modeling opportunities when creating the army. Unless you have a great idea, Eldar are a bit stuck in the way you can model them beyond the paint job.

Also Eldar have, from what I can see a pretty steep learning curve at the moment and are tricky to get an effective army build that isn't just shoot and run the whole game.

The best way to get an idea of what army to play is to have a few games against someone using AOBR and whatever spare models you have lying around and useing them as proxies for respective units for chaos or eldar, you'll get a feel for what army suits your playing style best without spending extra money on an army you may not enjoy in the long run.

That said, I think Chaos is the better of the two choices. You already have some daemon models (I think?), so you can run those as generic daemons already giving you a start in terms of an army. You could convert the AOBR marines fairly easilly, which means you'd also have a squad of marines, terminators and a dread in your force. Marine kits are pretty much the most customisable kits GW has made, only Orks come close in terms of the amount of unit choices in plastic, meaning its a lot easier to give your army a unique theme. You'll almost certainly find chaos an easier army to play, they're much more forgiving than Eldar are in my opinion. They also have a lot more nice stuff from FW, in case you fancy giving your force a centrepiece or two.

And maybe try to stick with whatever army you pick so you don't end up making another thread like this in a month or two?

You make a good point, I acknowledge doing stuff like that, but I've gotten a WHOLE lot better at sticking with this stuff, and mentioned somewhere before, alot of the topics were brainstorm sessions.

I have several thousands of points of CSM. (Enough to provide opposition for a couple Space Marine players in Apocalypse, think my effort was about 5k worth of troops. Mostly painted.)

I have no interest in playing them with the current codex.

CSM are certainly a more forgiving. As any MEQ army is. The big question though I think is where are you going with this?

For modelling opportunities only Orks beat Chaos. As a painting challenge Eldar seem better.
If you are looking for really competitive builds CSM really have a very narrow band of workable space.

This post has been edited by snowblizz on Nov 3 2009, 07:25 AM

Just out of intrest, how do the tiers go as for as 40k is concerned?
I'm assuming since everyone plays it, Space Marines are one of the more competitve armies out there?

Yes and no. Space Marines are really force in of itself. They were those most played army even when not a "tier 1" army as we think of it in fantasy.

But Space Marines have gotten a boost in the equipment department. They also play 5th ed very well since they are flexible with scoring units and Killpoints.

FWIW the race is much closer in 40k. Especially as making an anti-SM army can be an effective strategy.

As I understand it vehicles are back in fashion, so mech armies like Eldar and Tau work well. Chaos and Orks have builds, Lash/Oblit/Plaguemarines and Nobbiker-bonanza that surely are top contenders as well. I'm not sure how IG with their ability to take 9 tanks + stuff works. Haven't really heard of 40k tournaments.
Looking at the uk GT, Space Marines (codex only), Eldar, Orks seem to be doing well though.

Its equally difficult to say what armies are "bad". Necrons, *hunters, Nids, Dark Angels seem often to take flack, Dark Eldar possibly (but they are such a huge glasscannon). Chaos Deamosn are so random its har dot say how they place. However it is much easier to perform with "bad" 40k armies vs "good" ones than in the fantasy environment.

Hehe, give him a break, I was like that at his age. It takes a while to really find the army that 'speaks' to you. I know I picked up some Wood Elves, Dark Elves, a few Skaven, a box of plastic High Elves, Dark Angels and Eldar before the I was finally hooked by the Bretonnians at the beginning of 5th Ed.

Back on topic... I would choose Eldar personally, although I imagine they would be quite hard to master. Still, an army of super-elite aspect warriors led by a Avatar looks fantastic and wouldn't be too big (it will empty your wallet very quickly though, so this may not be the best option).

Plaguebeast

Some of us still do that. Luckily, right now it's coming back through all the armies I had before, so I can go "ohhhhh shiny skaven...hey! look at the beastmen over there!"

Indeed, I still am to an extent (more so with 40K... At least up until my recent decision to finish and stick with my Tau), except now I have the money to follow through with my impulses... To an extent . I'm sure my WEs and Ogres would beg to differ.

Plaguebeast

Sorry it seems I've come a little late to his thread, but if you're still undecided here are some more points in Chaos Space Marine's favor:

After playing only 40K, and as such only my Chaos Space Marines, for an entire year, I can safely say that they still make every game exciting, and I've noticed that some of the Eldar players in my gaming group just do the same thing over and over with their army/always have the same game plan. Tactically, Chaos Marines are a bit more flexible, because even the basic Marine not only has a Bolter, but also a pistol and close-combat weapon, giving them 2 attacks in close-combat base.

Also, as mentioned before, Chaos Space Marines offer alot more variety in paint schemes than Eldar do. I've painted mine in slightly modified Alpha Legion colors (I put more emphasis on the green), and I've seen so many other paint schemes it's ridiculous.

On another gaming note, Chaos Space Marines, if played correctly (which is a bit easier to do than with Eldar) can be very competitive. Daemon Princes are arguably the best power for pts. HQ choice in the game, being a bit more than 150 pts. for 12 inch movement, a combat-aiding psychic power, and quite literally a combat monster. Also not to be overlooked are Obliterators, which can change heavy weapons every turn (as well as move and shoot them), and a variety of Troop choices, which are vital for securing objectives in the 2 out of 3 missions that are objective based.

And finally a little bit about collecting Chaos Space Marines. The range is well established, with alot of versatile plastic sets (mostly vehicles, but also terminators, normal Marines, Berserkers, and some characters), as well as an insane amount of cheap boxes of metal specialist troops (the cult troops i.e. plague marines, thousand sons, and emperors children/noise marines, raptors, and characters). Also, with such a range of models available and such a versatile Codex, you can create any type of theme you want to base the collection of your army.


I hope this helps, and good luck in deciding!