Old time Warhammer player, first time 40k player. My wife and I purchased start collecting sets for both Ad mech and Space Wolves and we're going to start assembling tonight.

So far we have: Skitarri start collecting Sicarians x2 Ah mech Skitarri

Space wolves start collecting Venerable dreadnaught Long Fangs

Basic questions now from after reading through the indecies and rulebook

1. Are optional weapon upgrades not really optional? Meaning are they always good to take? Are there any specific ones to just avoid at all costs for these units? We don't want to do anything we regret when building them.

2. This dreadnaught looks like it could be either two unique units (Bjorn or murderfang?) Or a standard dude. Is any one better than the other?

3. Does Belisarius Cawl really only come in a three pack where we won't likely use the other 2 characters? Feels bad.

4. Recommendations for next purchases? We're taking it slow since it's pretty spendy for two armies but hey Christmas is coming....

Thanks all. :-)