The Space Marines book is far and away the best from a useful variety standpoint. Chapter Tactics are so simple, yet so great. You could have a whole gaming group play nothing but Space Marines – and even have them run the same *list*, and just by selecting different Chapter Tactics everyone will have an army that plays differently and will lead to different in-game choices. That is fantastic.
Dark Angels with the full-on Deathwing/Ravenwing options and CSM with its wide variety of possibilities (even if no one uses most of the options competitively) are also great given that you can play very different types of armies from the same book, but I don’t think either quite reach the level of Space Marines to change how the army plays with the exact same units and models.
I picked space marines because not surprisingly I live white scars. Also the book gives a balanced and versatile way to play the game.
Also on the whitewashing on recent codexes. If you think of this in computer gaming terms it makes perfect sense. Let’s call 7th a new expansion to a game. That makes each codex a patch to the game. Whereas before these patches imbalanced the game it seems now they are balancing the game slowly but surely. Let’s assume they started with imperial guard not taudar.
Last point. You want to get excited about space marines again. Don’t pay fetish marines. Take white scars for example. They aren’t mutants. They don’t use alien tech. They don’t summon demons that look like their primarch. The rules represent style of warfare and the decorations are what someone from that culture would have. The same goes for iron hands, black Templars, imperial fists, and even ultramarines.
Space marines are then the final stage of human warfare. Super advanced warriors fighting with the tactics and styles of our own ancient past made relevant due to the advances in tech. You see this in dune for example. Like fallout says war never really changes. …KHAN!
Since they are my first “power armor” army I suppose I’m a little biais, but I really believe this new Space Wolf dex is the best so far. While the chapter mechanic in the vanilla book gives great flexibility let’s compare units side by side.
Grey hunters versus tacticals: Grey Hunters – more flexible + counter attack
Blood Claws versus Assault marines: Blood Claws – counter attack
Rune Priest versus Librarian: Rune Priest – Rune weapons for +1 DtW
Storm Fang versus Storm Raven: Storm Fang – larger transport capacity
Can you put together uber builds with the vanillia dex? Sure, but in doing so you sacrifice other parts of the codex.
Wolves on the other hand can assault hard with every unit, thanks to the universal rule of counter attack. They have strong shooting options that equal the vanillia dex. And their formation that allows them to reliably bring reserves with great flexibility (deep strike, outflank, pods, flyer, etc.)
I see the choices needed in the vanilla dex as a bonus to it. All the things you mentioned make sense for making a better space wolf army but not for a balanced ultramarines or fast white scars or shooting fists. Yes for the space wolves their dex is best and I feel that’s where it should be. Making limited uber units should cost you elsewhere. That’s balance. Although updating the vanilla dex with formations would be nice.
Jaded Gamercast 
The Space Wolf Codex has confirmed a suspicion I have had for quite some time now. The flesh is indeed weak…
The Space Marines book is far and away the best from a useful variety standpoint. Chapter Tactics are so simple, yet so great. You could have a whole gaming group play nothing but Space Marines – and even have them run the same *list*, and just by selecting different Chapter Tactics everyone will have an army that plays differently and will lead to different in-game choices. That is fantastic.
Dark Angels with the full-on Deathwing/Ravenwing options and CSM with its wide variety of possibilities (even if no one uses most of the options competitively) are also great given that you can play very different types of armies from the same book, but I don’t think either quite reach the level of Space Marines to change how the army plays with the exact same units and models.
I picked space marines because not surprisingly I live white scars. Also the book gives a balanced and versatile way to play the game.
Also on the whitewashing on recent codexes. If you think of this in computer gaming terms it makes perfect sense. Let’s call 7th a new expansion to a game. That makes each codex a patch to the game. Whereas before these patches imbalanced the game it seems now they are balancing the game slowly but surely. Let’s assume they started with imperial guard not taudar.
Last point. You want to get excited about space marines again. Don’t pay fetish marines. Take white scars for example. They aren’t mutants. They don’t use alien tech. They don’t summon demons that look like their primarch. The rules represent style of warfare and the decorations are what someone from that culture would have. The same goes for iron hands, black Templars, imperial fists, and even ultramarines.
Space marines are then the final stage of human warfare. Super advanced warriors fighting with the tactics and styles of our own ancient past made relevant due to the advances in tech. You see this in dune for example. Like fallout says war never really changes. …KHAN!
Since they are my first “power armor” army I suppose I’m a little biais, but I really believe this new Space Wolf dex is the best so far. While the chapter mechanic in the vanilla book gives great flexibility let’s compare units side by side.
Grey hunters versus tacticals: Grey Hunters – more flexible + counter attack
Blood Claws versus Assault marines: Blood Claws – counter attack
Rune Priest versus Librarian: Rune Priest – Rune weapons for +1 DtW
Storm Fang versus Storm Raven: Storm Fang – larger transport capacity
Can you put together uber builds with the vanillia dex? Sure, but in doing so you sacrifice other parts of the codex.
Wolves on the other hand can assault hard with every unit, thanks to the universal rule of counter attack. They have strong shooting options that equal the vanillia dex. And their formation that allows them to reliably bring reserves with great flexibility (deep strike, outflank, pods, flyer, etc.)
I see the choices needed in the vanilla dex as a bonus to it. All the things you mentioned make sense for making a better space wolf army but not for a balanced ultramarines or fast white scars or shooting fists. Yes for the space wolves their dex is best and I feel that’s where it should be. Making limited uber units should cost you elsewhere. That’s balance. Although updating the vanilla dex with formations would be nice.