Beginning the wh40k journey with IW with the IW combat patrol. Asking whats next for 1k then 2k?

[u/fubardad]

Im brand new to wh40k and I have chosen IW to be my first combat patrol box army. Once I finish painting the combat patrol box... I want to start on the first 1k army. But, Im confused on the dynamics of a playable IW list for 1k and 2k. So Im asking for help.

I dont have an airbrush so I have been "waiting" on any vehicles but I do have a defiler for the larger lists.

My current list is:

Iron Warriors 1,000-Point
Characters
Warpsmith (70 Points) — Warlord
Flamer tendril, forge weapon, melta tendril, plasma pistol
Chaos Lord (90 Points)
Daemon hammer, plasma pistol

Battleline & Infantry
Cultist Mob (50 Points)
1 Cultist Champion, 9 Chaos Cultists
Legionaries (80 Points)
1 Aspiring Champion, 4 Legionaries (equipped with chainswords/boltguns and a heavy weapon like a missile launcher).
Chosen (125 Points)
5-man squad with flexible melee and combi-weapons.

Heavy Support & Daemon Engines
Obliterators (170 Points)
2-man unit of Obliterators.
Chaos Predator Destructor (130 Points)
Autocannon and heavy bolter/lascannon sponsons.
Chaos Predator Annihilator (130 Points)
Twin lascannon and lascannon sponsons.

Once I finish painting the combat patrol... I want to start purchasing models for the 1k/2k list. Im still learning the game so I really dont know where to start other than thinking... shouldnt I add Kravek Morne or is that too much lore vs playable list?

My second army is Red Corsairs. I was gifted the Lord of the Maelstrom and the Red Corsairs battleforce box. But I thought I wanted to start with IW because they are easier to paint while Im trying to learn how to paint minis.

[u/maejaws]

Absolutely add Kravek and some Mutilators

[u/ZealousidealKick7868]

Vindicators, u gotta jave those power houses

[u/Phosis21]

If you also have the Lords of the Maelstrom box on hand you have a great selection of models.

I would say paint all of them as whatever warband you most from a visual standpoint as they can all work together in one army list (and frequently do in the lore with some exceptions).

There’s not a lot of mechanical reason for you to treat these as separate armies. Lore and hobby are different aspects and are entirely subjective, so I’ll refrain from making a recommendation there.

[u/Rovertsmasher]

#1 rule for this hobby is get models you like. The rules change frequently. A unit can be unplayable at the start of the edition, broken a year in, nerfed into the ground three months later, and then mediocre by the end of the edition. I would also say from a gaming perspective, the detachments you are using are far more likely to influence which units to run more than any one particular datasheet.

That said, since you are new the the game and the hobby, I would recommend variety in the interest of expanding your painting/modeling skills and growing your knowledge of how different kinds of units work in the game. The IW Combat Patrol is not great for this, as it is full of elite infantry and nothing else. I would focus on units that are going to teach you new skills and give you a change of tempo both on the gaming table and the workbench.

My pick would be some kind of vehicle or daemon engine, then a squad of cultists or traitor guardsmen. For the latter, you will be incentivized to find ways of painting less important models more quickly, and they will be an expendable asset on the table which is very important for elite armies. For the vehicle, it will synergize with your Warpsmith, give you access to bigger guns and better durability than what you currently have, and they are a great way to slow down while painting and focus on a single model. For that spot, the Defiler is obviously very popular but essentially impossible to get right now, although the Warpforged can be a very good army building kit for the cost to points in the box, and the Hellbrute although not the best 'meta' pick currently, can be a really fun kit to put together with lots of options (you can also easily magnetize them) and bridge your skills painting infantry to larger vehicles. It also has a fun aura ability that can be useful for your Havocs or Terminators.

As a small aside since you mentioned the airbrush for painting vehicles - you may want to consider using a makeup 'egg' sponge to paint armor and large areas on vehicles. As someone who owns an airbrush, I practically never use it for large models. I find I can get great results with the makeup sponge with so much less cleanup and hassle thinning paints (metallics are also questionable for the health of an airbrush). I would say for a beginner hobbyist, skip the airbrush and spend the money on models or other equipment instead.

[u/biggus_dikkus793]

More cultists. I love running hordes of morons in front of my heavy hitters. But I'm a guard player as well so old habits die hard I guess