freaky spider girls aside, anyone play 40k?
been trying to think of an army to go for. and all i know thus far is what i DON'T want. space marines, chaos space marines, imperial guard, dark eldar, orks (i wanted to like them...but i just can't handle their playstyle), im assuming tyranid since as far as i know they play similar to orks.
basically thinking of tau, or necrons, or whatever else there is (id rather not eldar, but if they are fun...maby). almost got a necron battleforce + codex today, but then realized that would be about $100 for something i may not enjoy playing, i had to stop myself. RESEARCH MUST BE DONE!
Hey I do 40k. I play dark eldar (yes they are one of the harder races to play, but very rewarding if you can play right). I have a basic understanding of how the different armies play, which go as follows:
Space Marines - the superhuman enhanced soldiers of the empire. mid-high cost per unit, however, they are a fairly good race in terms of versatility. They are just as good in an advance as they are on defense. And the 3+ armour save is fairly forgiving for a basic marine.
Imperial Guard - basically humans, they make up the bulk of the empire's fighting force, mid-low points cost per unit, the guard can be divided into 3 parts : the infantry (human with flak jacket and lasgun), the armour (tanks and the like) and ordnance (both vehical and troops with mortars). Best when at least the infantry and one other part is used in concert to weaken the enemy before the infantry reaches the enemy, however beware of heavy fire, as it does take out both troops and tanks, and without one, you can be screwed.
Sisters of battle - the sword of the empire's church, the sisters excel at assault combat. Sitting between the marines and the guard for armor, they make great use of flamers, very niche race however, as they can be a hard race to balance between ranged and melee.
Grey knights and the demon hunters - a branch of the inquisition which deals with demons and the human contacts, grey knights are essentially space marines, however the addition of the inquisition and taking away some of the marines gear and personal give the demon hunters a very different feel from the regular marines.
chaos space marines - the corrupted brothers of the space marines, if you think that chaos and regular marines have the same play style is a very sad notation. Chaos has many units which are comparable to the marines, however, the gifts of chaos, as well as some units that are unique to chaos make the chaos marines a better attacking force. This being said, they are still fairly versatile and the addition of demons can make the army look great.
chaos demons - an army based solely around the chaos demons, I don't know much about this army as it is a new army, came out just before the 4th edition came out.
Eldar - space faring alien race, very old and very separate from most races, the eldar army is an army of choice. most units are infantry, however they all have different styles of fighting, choose the wrong combination of styles and you are screwed. However the right combination of styles, and you own the battle field.
Dark eldar - the corrupted side of the eldars, they live in an eternally dusk city of death, the dark eldar make use of 2 skills: speed and the desire to kill. A very straightforward army in way of choices, the dark eldar army always attack and never defend. however the dark eldar are fragile, and when the dark eldar heavy fire fails to take care of the enemies tanks and heavy weapons, and when the army itself is used incorrectly (ie a head on attack) they crumble and fall.
Tau - a young alien race whose society revolves around the idea of the greater good, the tau are completely range. high advance technology makes for wargear that allows them to make good use of their ranged weapons. If you like melee, this is not your race, as the only units any good at melee are auxiliary units (ie other races that the tau race has accepted/absorbed into their society).
Necrons - ancient, powerful and near unstoppable in large forces, a very costly race for points. The necrons greatest boast is their "we'll be back" rule which gives most fallen necrons a chance of returning to the battlefield. Excellent firepower, and possessing the single largest "tank/transport", without going into the giant war walkers (they are part of expanded/extended play, not for regular play, extremely costly), the monolith. However extremely small range of special characters (2 characters).
Tyranids - the only obviously alien race which makes use of a hive mind and completely biological weapons, armor, wargear and units. The tyranids are the attack en mass army, and excellent in close combat (aside from a few select units). most units are customizable which leads to wide variety of different tyranids, and don't forget your carnifex(es), they are walking tanks.
Orks - don't ask how their technology works, no one really knows, it just works. Extremely crude and warring society, the orks work best with the attack en mass tactic in mind, however they are not as good as the tyranids. You also have to make good use of their different units and skills (as few and far between as they are). orks are excellent in close combat (they usually attack second, but they have a toughness that allows them to more often than not, make it to their attack.)
This is just from what I know, as I only have a basic understanding of the different armies. But believe me, unless you are skilled with hit and run, counter attacking or flanking tactics, as a dark eldar player, I advise you against playing dark eldar.
