Returned to the fold - how well will my old army go?

[rat of vengence]

Hi all, 

I've been off in the wilderness for a few editions, awaiting the game becoming my type of fun again. It appears, 9th Ed might be that time. Now, I've heard some bits and pieces, and I'm vaguely familiar with Primaris etc. I have a few questions though...

 

1. I've got a Codex Marine army from 6th Ed, the last time I used it. What works? What sucks?

 

2. Primaris units. Is there anything I NEED to make a halfway effective army, or can I get by without them. I don't need to powergame, not my style, but I don't want to be curbstomped each game either.

 

3. What's your best source for 32mm adaptor rings? I know basic 25mm troops went to 32mm, what else changed?

 

I'd appreciate any help you guys can offer me :)

 

Thanks, 

RoV

[WrathOfTheLion]

Basic stuff should be good. Terminators, tactical squads, rhinos, dreadnoughts, devastator squads, drop pods, etc. all can be used effectively. Land Raiders and Predators are a little less useful, but should be fine in standard play. I've used a Land Raider Crusader to good effect.

 

You should be fine without Primaris. I have both, but I've been having a blast the past few games playing non-Primaris lists with SW and DA.

Edited March 15, 2021 by WrathOfTheLion

[Gederas]

Hi all, 

I've been off in the wilderness for a few editions, awaiting the game becoming my type of fun again. It appears, 9th Ed might be that time. Now, I've heard some bits and pieces, and I'm vaguely familiar with Primaris etc. I have a few questions though...

 

1. I've got a Codex Marine army from 6th Ed, the last time I used it. What works? What sucks?

 

2. Primaris units. Is there anything I NEED to make a halfway effective army, or can I get by without them. I don't need to powergame, not my style, but I don't want to be curbstomped each game either.

 

3. What's your best source for 32mm adaptor rings? I know basic 25mm troops went to 32mm, what else changed?

 

I'd appreciate any help you guys can offer me

 

Thanks, 

RoV

Welcome back! Now, onto the questions:

1. Basically anything that's not a VEHICLE is decent enough of a choice. Flyers are the exception. Scouts lost a lot of usefulness because they're no longer Troops, but Elites (blame the players who brought "Marine" armies in 8th with nothing but Scouts for Troop choices to get as many Command Points as possible).
2. You don't need them, but they're fun. Eradicators are far and beyond the best unit they have for points to effectiveness in terms of shooting, Bladeguard Veterans are amazing at anti-MEQ.
3. No idea about 32mm adaptor rings, but all Firstborn (non-Primaris) Marines (outside of Scouts) in normal Power Armour are on 32s. All characters are all on 40mm bases now.

Hope that helps?

Edited March 15, 2021 by Gederas

[Jorin Helm-splitter]

1. You should be fine without primaris, vanguard vets, dreads, attack bikes with multi-melta, and termies are all in pretty good shape. Scouts and vehicles are in rough spot though, that said you might want to list what you have in a future post.

 

2. Eradicators, plasma inceptors, and bladeguard vets are some of the more effective choices. It really depends on what you have though, 9th really rewards having certain types of units for the new mission style.

 

3. I'm not sure where to get the adapter rings, I didn't mess with them. My suggestion would be to try getting some games in before even worrying about it, most people aren't going to care in pickup games.

[Karhedron]

I wouldn't worry with adaptor rings. The general take is that if your models came with 25mm bases when you bought them, they are fine to use. Large bases can increase the range of certain abilities (particularly characters who can buff units within X") but also make models harder to squeeze into tight spots. Since changing bases sizes doesn't tend to bring a clear-cut advantage, there is not much pressure to change. Even most tournaments are fine with old models being run on their original sized base.

[Silas7]

Secret weapon used to make them but it appears they have discontinued the product.

[Ishagu]

Adapter rings are hard to find these days, they were popular a while back.

 

I will say that Marines look a lot better on 32s, so it might be worth rebasing them.

 

As for what's effective, I recommend you pick up the codex and have a good read. The army functions differently from how it used to, but will be familiar all the same.

Edited March 16, 2021 by Ishagu

[XeonDragon]

Lots of great advice above. I only got into the hobby about 2.5 years ago, so Primaris was pretty new. I made a deliberate choice to focus on first-born models (second-hand) off eBay, Gumtree, FB marketplace etc. to practice painting on before slowly purchasing primaris kits. Along the way, I played and even went into a couple of tournaments with armies varying from entirely to mostly "firstborn" marines, with a little over a 50% win rate (yeah, I'm not a super talented or experienced player). So, with that in mind, here is my 2 cents:

 

1. Most primaris units (including the hot or "meta" ones) have a firstborn equivalent that is at least comparable in performance. For example, blade guard veterans are all the rage right now, but relic terminators, normal terminators and assault terminators can do a similar job as well, maybe even better in some circumstances/armies. Likewise  Eradicators are awesome, but the job they do can be done my multi-melta devastators, appropriately kitted bout company veterans or attack bikes with multi-melta. 
2. Vanguard veterans are particularly spicey, and don't really have a primaris equivalent.
3. For troops, infiltrators and incursors  (primaris) do things that tactical marines can't (deploy outside of the deployment zone, deepstrike denial auras etc.), and scouts now take up an elite spot to do. Intercessors are good, but a similarly priced tactical marine squad (e.g. with grav cannon and amp, chain sword on the sergeant)  can do better shooting in some circumstances (i.e. not moving). 
4. Venerable dreadnoughts are good enough for their points to be a viable option compared to the primaris Redemptor Dreadnought.
5. Vehicles are a bit weird. Primaris vehicles tend to have more guns than firstborn equivalents (compare a repulsor executioner to a landraider, for example), and on a point-for-damage-inflicted basis tend to be better.  

 

Now, if you want to see two good players pitching a firstborn army against a primaris army, have a look here. They are doing a follow-up soon, which looks like it will be either Dark Angels or Salamanders (firstborn) vs Ultramarines primaris. So, in short, a lot of what you will have will be competitive. Some won't, some might even be damn good (e.g. attack bikes with multi-meltas). I think the Primaris units that don't have a firstborn "comparable" unit might include plasma inceptors, infiltrators, incursors, and heavy intercessors (when they come out). I think terminators can do most things that aggressors or blade guard veterans do, so if it were me and I had some terminators running around (especially Catiphractii and Tartaros terminators, which are now simply "relic terminators"), they would be some of the last primaris units I would seek to purchase.

 

Good luck and welcome back to the hobby!

[Jorin Helm-splitter]

One thing that I should have mentioned if you haven't played since 6th is that in addition to the marine codex you'll also want/need a supplement. All of the first foundings have one now, and they add a lot of flavor and depth to marines. If you have a first founding start there, otherwise you might want to tell us what playstyle you appeals to you.

[DistractionTacMarine]

 

 

Hi all,

I've been off in the wilderness for a few editions, awaiting the game becoming my type of fun again. It appears, 9th Ed might be that time. Now, I've heard some bits and pieces, and I'm vaguely familiar with Primaris etc. I have a few questions though...

 

1. I've got a Codex Marine army from 6th Ed, the last time I used it. What works? What sucks?

 

2. Primaris units. Is there anything I NEED to make a halfway effective army, or can I get by without them. I don't need to powergame, not my style, but I don't want to be curbstomped each game either.

 

3. What's your best source for 32mm adaptor rings? I know basic 25mm troops went to 32mm, what else changed?

 

I'd appreciate any help you guys can offer me

 

Thanks,

RoV

Welcome back! Now, onto the questions:

• Basically anything that's not a VEHICLE is decent enough of a choice. Flyers are the exception. Scouts lost a lot of usefulness because they're no longer Troops, but Elites (blame the players who brought "Marine" armies in 8th with nothing but Scouts for Troop choices to get as many Command Points as possible).
• You don't need them, but they're fun. Eradicators are far and beyond the best unit they have for points to effectiveness in terms of shooting, Bladeguard Veterans are amazing at anti-MEQ.
• No idea about 32mm adaptor rings, but all Firstborn (non-Primaris) Marines (outside of Scouts) in normal Power Armour are on 32s. All characters are all on 40mm bases now.

Hope that helps?

Not all characters are on 40mm - most firstborn characters are on 32mm

[Gederas]

Hi all,

I've been off in the wilderness for a few editions, awaiting the game becoming my type of fun again. It appears, 9th Ed might be that time. Now, I've heard some bits and pieces, and I'm vaguely familiar with Primaris etc. I have a few questions though...

 

1. I've got a Codex Marine army from 6th Ed, the last time I used it. What works? What sucks?

 

2. Primaris units. Is there anything I NEED to make a halfway effective army, or can I get by without them. I don't need to powergame, not my style, but I don't want to be curbstomped each game either.

 

3. What's your best source for 32mm adaptor rings? I know basic 25mm troops went to 32mm, what else changed?

 

I'd appreciate any help you guys can offer me

 

Thanks,

RoV

Welcome back! Now, onto the questions:

• Basically anything that's not a VEHICLE is decent enough of a choice. Flyers are the exception. Scouts lost a lot of usefulness because they're no longer Troops, but Elites (blame the players who brought "Marine" armies in 8th with nothing but Scouts for Troop choices to get as many Command Points as possible).
• You don't need them, but they're fun. Eradicators are far and beyond the best unit they have for points to effectiveness in terms of shooting, Bladeguard Veterans are amazing at anti-MEQ.
• No idea about 32mm adaptor rings, but all Firstborn (non-Primaris) Marines (outside of Scouts) in normal Power Armour are on 32s. All characters are all on 40mm bases now.

Hope that helps?

Not all characters are on 40mm - most firstborn characters are on 32mm

I go by recent releases. While yes, they may be Chaos Marines, but Khârn and Obsidius Mallex (the Chaos Lord with Thunder Hammer) are both on 40mm bases. Khârn also predates Primaris marines, and came out after the rebasing GW did with their boxes, as most of the Firstborn on 32s weren't updated.

 

In this case, it would be REALLY helpful if GW made a "base size chart" for 40k like they do with AoS :lol: But seeing as how the most recent Power Armoured Firstborn models (while Chaos) are on 40mm bases....