New Wargamer here!

[protoRocker]

I've heard a lot about 40k in the past and last week my interest was finally piqued enough to pick up a small force.  I've never played any GW games before and I've done quite a bit of reading, but I still feel like there's a lot to learn. Does anyone have any advice on how to get started?

[King of the Elves]

if your playing space marines or orks then pick up the assult on black reach kit, if your planing on playing any other forces then try to find a rulebook for cheap then pick up the codex and battlebox, dice and templates and your good to go!

[Vermillion]

Truthfully, the best thing you can do is go down to Battlegrounds on a busy night and ask someone if they mind you watching their game and asking questions. That's the best way to learn. If you don't understand something, ask. The community is really good about getting people excited and educated about the game. Have you looked at the armies yet?

[Chase]

Are you closer to the Abington or Plainville location?

I can best help you out based on that. 

[protoRocker]

I live in Braintree, so my home store is the Abington one, but I work in Patriot Place, roughly five minutes from the PLainville store. I picked up Assault on Black Reach about a week ago and have been painting my armies in my spare time. I want to get the Space Marines ready first, since they seem like the cooler of the two armies, but so many of the other armies seem great that while I'd like to focus on building one, there are definitely others I'd like to slowly collect in the future.

(Honestly, It was a short story about Tyranids that first piqued my interest in 40k, so I'd like to collect a Tyranid army. But the Hive Tyrant, which featured prominently in that story and really got me excited in the game, doesn't seem to be available anymore)

[andalucien]

Post removed.

Chase:  Dude, are you serious?

[Frosthydra]

Hive Tyrants are getting a new release this month, I think.

You'll be able to get them soon enough.

If you're looking for a good way to start off, it's best to figure out what sort of Tyranid army you're considering making.  Do you want to focus more on shooting, or melee?

A lot of people seem to love the Tervigon / Termigaunt spam lists, which involve Tervigons focusing on creating TONS of Termigaunts every turn, and just overrunning the enemy with bodies.

If you're looking for melee, learn to love Genestealers, Trygons, and in some people's opinion, Carnifexes (in a squad).

I tend to like an odd combination for my Tyranids, primarily shooting, with some nasty melee elements.  Hive Tyrant with long range cannon, two Zoanthropes (one of my favorite models), two Hive Guard (insanely useful), 2 squads of Genestealers (absolutely brutal when you can get them into melee), and Raveners (most people hate them, I like them a lot).

I'd recommend first and foremost buying the codex, and figuring out what you want to do with them from there.  After that, it's mostly about figuring out what to buy and how to do it.

A word to the wise though, the Battleforce for Tyranids is... quite lackluster.  You get no HQ unit, Warriors are mostly avoided by everyone, and really nothing overly impressive.  You're almost better off building your army piece by piece (spoken from someone who bought it to start  ).

[Benjamin]

I would actually recommend starting out with a used Tyranid army from Battleground or from Battleground.

*cough*

[Benjamin]

I live in Braintree, so my home store is the Abington one, but I work in Patriot Place, roughly five minutes from the PLainville store.

What do your Thursday evenings look like, generally?

[protoRocker]

I didn't know battlegrounds sold used armies. What's the price tag like on one? Also, I'm certainly not saying I'm going to neglect my marines, but is it feasible to try to start building two armies at once? Also, with my income, things'll be slow going. Is there anyone who would enjoy playing low point games with a newbie learning the ropes?

[protoRocker]

I live in Braintree, so my home store is the Abington one, but I work in Patriot Place, roughly five minutes from the PLainville store.

What do your Thursday evenings look like, generally?

It depends. If I'm working closing, I'll be in Foxboro until 8ish, if not I'm home in Braintree.

[andalucien]

I would actually recommend starting out with a used Tyranid army from Battleground or from Battleground.

*cough*

Oh...  right... I should have mentioned BattleGround   Sorry bout that.   I don't think it's out of line to mention that there are other ways to buy used armies though.

[steelforge]

True, but support the people who give us tables and a gathering place.
Without BG we're just weird dudes who play with plastic army men, with Battlegrounds it's a community.

But seriously play what you love.  I play the worst codex out there, and do so because I enjoy it.

If you like the Tyranids, head down to BG and grab the Battlebox.  The Battlebox is great value for money.  If I could do my purchasing all over again I'd just go get 2 Battleboxes and run with that.  Sure it contains some dead weight, but it's a great savings.

 Thursday nights between like 6 and 11 there are 40ker's who love to talk paint, tactics, etc.

Also, don't buy in to the "MUST GET 2500 points!"  Small games are more fun start with your 500 points and work up.

Play what you like.  Anytime you want to bring the Zerg *Tyranids* vs my Gundam Protoss *Tau* at 1000 or 1250 let me know.

-Gundam John

[Benjamin]

Starting around 6 PM, Thursday 40k in Plainville happens. Casual, and we try to keep an atmosphere open to new players. We also have a decent number of Tyranids players, second most popular army in Plainville.

[protoRocker]

Now, is Thursday night around six the same time for big 40k gatherings at the Abington store too?

 Also, any quick advice for painting an army to just look "battle ready"? In a perfect world each of my models would be a masterpiece, but for now I just want to get them a little dolled up to hit the field.