40K noob seeks advice

[PhoenixFire]

Hello all,

As stated i was looking for some 40k advice. I'm closing on a house in the Plainville area at the end of the month and during all my packing for the move I've come across all my old 2nd Edition D@D and other gaming stuff and it has me wanting to get back into some kind of gaming.

I've never played 40k other than a few games back in high school over a decade ago, my wargaming experience is limited to a few hundred games of axis and allies and a collection of about 1,200 "mageknight" pieces that were given to me i never really found a use for. (assuming any of that counts as wargaming experience lol).

Anywho 40k has always kind of intrigued me and i figure it would be a nice way to do some gaming as well as a nice hobby killing time painting and preparing the figurines. (I'm a Fire Dept LT and have a lot of free time on my hands) I'm also looking into Warmachine but it doesn't seem as intricate as 40k (but what do i know, i'm a noob)

so to the point what should my first step be? pick up the 40k rulebook, the codex of whatever army i decide on, some sets and start painting? I'm not even sure what army i want to invest in yet although i'm kind of leaning towards Grey Knights or Tau based on pure looks.

any advice to this old gamer but wargaming noob would be welcome

thanks,
-Jason

[steelforge]

Welcome!

WH40K is a good bit of fun.  The seemingly preferred rulebook is the Assault on Black Reach rule book as it's smaller and easy to consult at the table.

As for picking up 40k.  Come by some Thursday night. 

As for Army, I play Tau.  That being said I've read the Grey Knight Codex and have a pile of Terminators with swords.

Grey Knights are very popular now.  They are a great army.  Terminators and flyers, very cool.

But for a Futuristic feel, you can't beat Tau.  They're actual aliens and the closest you'll find to a good guy in the setting.
And they're Gundams.  I'm happy to talk Tau endlessly.

The Tau Battlebox, sold at BG is actually a great deal.  Sure the Stealth Suits are sub optimal, but with a new Codex soon, they have to improve.

[Benjamin]

Hey Jason,

Between Warhammer 40k and Warmachine, there are a few notable differences. Warmachine is played with a balanced ruleset with faster games, and is also cheaper to start. On the other hand, winning in Warmachine requires knowing as many rules as possible and working within a smaller margin for error. I play 40k, so I can speak to that better.

Selecting your first army is an imperfect process. Cool looking models may not actually be fun on the table in the game. It depends on what you're really looking for. Warhammer can incorporate the competitive player, the hobby/crafter/painter, or the casual gamer.

The most important tip I can offer is to do research. If you want to see what Warhammer 40k looks like in action, I highly recommend Thursday nights in Plainville. There have been lots of games running lately, lots of different armies in motion.

The more research you do before you buy your first model, the more likely you are to buy something you will be happy with. The rulebook is an excellent place to start, as is an army codex. Open the two side-by-side and see what you can figure out. Look on the internet to what other players' lists look like and why some units are chosen over others.

Personally, I didn't get it right with my first army. I thought Chaos Marines would be fun, but they never worked how I wanted. I sold and traded my way into Chaos Daemons, and it's been all love ever since. With so many options, you're bound to find something that appeals to you.

Grey Knights have the newest rulebook and are generally very strong. The Tau are expecting a new rulebook in six months or so, but there are still some army builds now that make them very formidable.

Another tip, your army will face down many, many enemies who do very different things. Become comfortable with your army and figure out what you like. Then worry about the other side of the table.

If you really, really can't wait to start putting models together and painting, Battleforce boxes are a good place to start. You'll get enough of the basics to field a small force and get you started. Definitely stop by the Plainville store to check out what's available.

[canadianone]

personally, i love tau, basically they are anime aliens with gundams (battle suits) and while their standard infantry couldn't kill a hamster in hand to hand combat, they have the best standard infantry gun in the game, and their armor is very respectable for non marines. Tau, are really a shooting army that is very mobile, but folds like wet paper in close combat. However, you may want to consider waiting a bit, because it might be frustrating to get the codex, build an army, and then find out in 6 months that it is no longer what you want when the new codex comes out.
 

[PhoenixFire]

thanks for the responses guys, i'm about an hour away from the Plainville store right now but once we close at the end of the month i will definitely be down on Thursday to check it out.

[Alley Livingston]

You should enjoy how your army looks, but definitely check out the descriptions of each army and try to find out a little about how each work. I'm a spacewolves player (a variation of the spacemarine, basically infused with wolf DNA, pretty bad ass) and therefore am fond of them over the xenos armies (tau (really long range shooters), eldar/dark eldar (elf type alien race that are really fast and enjoy poison and squishy fast transports), tyranids (big bug things that are hordes of guys or giant monstrous creatures that are hard to take down), orks (obviously know what those are, but in game they're unpredictable, really good at close combat and suck at shooting), or necrons (alien guys that have the ability to stand back up after being killed).) The most basic army that most people know all the base line stats for and is the most balanced overall I think is the space marine, or ultramarine variant really, then there are different types of them, but the only ones that have their own codices are spacewolves, normal space marines, and chaos space marines. I'd really start here:
http://www.gamesworkshop.com/gws/catalog/landing.jspcatId=cat440163a&rootCatGameStyle=wh40k

Check out the description of each army and see what you like best. Do you want a balanced army, close combat oriented, speed oriented, horde oriented, psykers, shooters, tanks, whatever floats your boat, just do a bit of research, talk to the guys at the Plainville location on a Thursday night after your deal closes and you can get there, and find what you'll enjoy. Best of luck.

[Loranus]

I think its best instead of trying to pump him with all this information is to let him come check it out on Thursday when he finally closes. We definitely have a fair share of new and experienced people who show up and I don't know about anyone else but I would definitely be willing to set up a Demo game for you to check it out.

I myself travel about 45 minutes to reach Plainville for Thursday 40k and I believe its worth the trip every time I go. The people are Fantastic and its definitely probably the best place I can figure to learn the game. I think we Have had at least 1 player of every army show up except I think Eldar and Chaos marines.

[Benjamin]

I think we Have had at least 1 player of every army show up except I think Eldar and Chaos marines.

Chaos Marines showed up last week, and those rare times Sam Soko plays, he runs Eldar. We're pretty close to having every army covered, which is awesome.