Quote Originally Posted by Volatar View Post
Lore would be great I guess. Where can I find that and start reading?
Most of the novels are pretty specific. Like I said in the Fluff thread, if you're looking for general knowledge on the setting, you're best bet is that giant rulebook, that's only about half-full of rules. Then it's about a third of Fluff, and a third of pretty pictures.

Since this is the Tactics thread, and I've already been over the Fluff in the other thread, I'll go over how each army is supposed to work on the tabletop (whether or not you choose to follow what the designers intended, or come up with a weird build outside the norm, that's up to you).

Adepta Sororitas: Like Space Marines, but worse. The only way to access their Codex is through an iPad or eReader (or wait six months for a hard copy). If you really, really, really truly like the even-more-expensive-than-normal Sisters miniatures, then sure, buy them, and use Space Marine rules.

Blood Angels: You've got faster than normal - for Space Marines, that is - vehicles, and your infantry models are slightly more durable than normal. If you must get into Assault, you also have a very minor edge over other types of Marines. Since Lore is a selling point, if you're into Catholic Berserkers, then sure, go for it. Although, Black Templars can do this as well, but are more like Templars...Y'know...In case Black Templars wasn't obvious.

Chaos Daemons: Great battlefield control. Whether you set up shop with hard-to-kill Monstrous Creatures, or get board control with a large number of fast-moving units that can also show up anywhere on the board. Daemons are also no slouch when it comes to Psychic Powers, whether you're using them to buff your own Troops, or gain even more board control with Telepathy, Daemons have got Psychic Powers covered. Unfortunately, they don't do real well outside of close combat.

Chaos Space Marines: Space Marines. With a few extra minor buffs. Again, if the real selling point is Lore, then go for it. You don't really lose a whole lot. One of the few armies in the game that actually wants to be in Assault, because the majority of their units can actually perform in that department.

Dark Angels: Get into the middle of the board, and stay there. Whether you've gone for durability or offensive capabilities, these Angels' main strength lies in the middle of the board.

Dark Eldar: Fast and fragile, with an enourmous amount of firepower. While their guns aren't the most impressive in terms of raw power, they make up for it by having loads of shots.

Eldar: Similar to the Dark counterparts, Eldar are also fast and fragile. Instead of outputting a tremendous amount of shots, they use a lot of weapons that perform better, the better the dice roll, as well as giving themselves a bunch of buffs that makes their normally fairly average firepower into an extremely powerful gunline.

Grey Knights: Another 'masters of the midfield' army. They have lots of shots that go a fair distance, but lack any real longer-range firepower. However, unlike Dark Angels, if their opponent wants to Assault the Grey Knights, that's fine with them.

Imperial Guard: Light infantry, heavy tanks. Your infantry are expected to die in droves, especially in Marine-heavy meta-games. Arguably one of the most expensive armies in the hobby if you want to do them correctly, which does put a lot of people off.

Necrons: Contrast to the Eldar, slow and tough. And pack an enourmous rate of fire. If you just want to put models on the table, these are the guys for you. Conversion work on these guys is actually discouraged except for on a few models. If you're lazy, and want a reasonably strong army with no work, pick up Necrons.
Like a lot of things, the community at large recognises that Necrons are kind of on the powerful side in the game (but not as powerful as some others, mind), they're really boring to collect and paint.

Orks: Tough, but low armour saves. Your goal is to have loads of models on the table. Like any horde army, you're expected to have a vast amount of money if you want to do them right.

Space Marines: The 'Everyman' army. There's a reason that Space Marines are GW's posterboys, even if they aren't the most powerful army. They're easy to use, and you can build your army a variety of different ways. Unfortunately, with aethetics and lore being part of your process, maybe you don't want to model the same model over and over again.
...This last part is true for nearly all armies, but for Marines, with their large, blocky areas of armour, it's especially true. The only army with less individuality-per-model is Necrons.

Space Wolves: A close-range army. They have decent shooting, and decent Assault capabilities, but not enough either way to say "This is a Shooty/Assault army. The models are really cool, in a highly distinctive way that regular Space Marines aren't. But, if verisimilitude (the most heinous word in 40K) is something you look for in science fiction, then, Space Wolves are not going to be your bag. Some of the things on their models are wildly impractical (and, in 40K, that's saying something).

Tau Empire: Firepower. But fairly static. But they make up for their inability to move a lot with even more firepower.

Tyranids: Exactly like Imperial Guard, but, in the first sentence, replace 'tanks' with 'big bugs'.