[Scripturam Lupos]

Like the title says, I'm looking to get into W40k, and I'm having trouble deciding on an army to begin with.

My playstyle has never been full-frontal assaults, nor overwhelming firepower. I'm more inclined to using long range sniping, stealth and keeping the enemy confused and unbalanced. After reading most of the Horus heresy novels that have come out so far, I'm in love with the Raven Guard, and the White Scars are slowly becoming my second. The tactics of the Raven Guard appeal to me greatly, and is my main choosing factor for my first army.

So far, I'm leaning towards Tau, Eldar or Space Marines. I love the Sniper Drone Team and Pathdfinders of the Tau and Eldar, but have seen numerous people say they are unusable or not as effective as normal troops. If I went Space Marines, I would heavily lean towards RG or WS models and tactics.

Also, I'm not sure wether I should start with a small army of only a couple troops, or work towards making a substantial army before playing.

Thanks to everyone for reading, and I know that either way I'm going to love this game. I just don't know where to start.

Thanks!!!

 

[daxxglax]

Despite the presence of their sneakier units, Tau do ultimately rely on the overwhelming firepower of their infantry and battlesuits, so that might not suit you. Eldar/Dark Eldar have a little more... finesse, both in background and in gameplay. Dark Eldar in particular forces you to play smart with your paper-thin skimmers and glass troops, ganging up on your enemy at their most vulnerable and denying them clear shots at you.

Raven Guard favors an army with lots of Scouts and fast/sneaky units exploiting weak points in the opponent's defense, with fewer vehicles. It certainly has the feel of subtle special forces, especially compared to other chapters.. Probably good for your first outing, since Space Marine models can be gotten off of ebay quite cheaply, moreso than any other army.

 

[morfangdakka]

I would go with Raven guard or White Scars as your army. Eldar and Tau both rely on mostly over whelming firepower to win the day. RS and WS both fit your play style better but more importantly you like those armies and that will help you finish your army when you are building and painting it.

 

[Xabre]

Raven Guard, certainly. They also recently got a huge upgrade with the Mont'ka supplement. They focus around Scouts spotting for their winged strike forces.

 

[Gorthol]

Raven Guard seem to suit your ethos nicely... Plus to me they're the best looking of the lot!

 

[Scripturam Lupos]

Thank you guys so much for the replies! I'll be going Space Marines now, either RG or WS. If any of you guys play them, could you give me some pointers on constructing my first army? I've just started reading "Scars" by Chris Wraight, so I don't have a complete understanding of their tactics. Any help that area would also be amazing!

That you guys so much you helping me out! I was worried no one would reply and I'd have to wing it when I went in.

Thanks again!

 

[Xabre]

White Scars are all lightning strikes. They're all hit and run. Bikes and transports. Mostly bikes. They're the Mongols of 40k, so it's the mounted 'horseback' army.

Ravenguard is all about infiltration. So they use Stealth and Scouts, and they also use fliers, jump packs and speeders. Like bats. Sneaky, heavily armed bats.

 

[Tyriks]

Welcome to the board and to the game! Like pretty much everyone else here, I'd recommend going Raven Guard. They sound most like what you're after.

This search might be helpful to starting an army:
http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/search.php?searchid=4415994

It's a search of the army lists with the keywords Raven Guard. See what others are using!