New to Warhammer 40k

[Domikaze]

Hey dudes,

As I just posted in my introduction, I am completely new to Warhammer 40k and I am interested in getting started. I have been trying to do as much research as possible to learn the rules of the game (as hard as that is with no experience in playing it) and trying to find the army that I wanna go with.

By far, the army I am most interested in at this point is the Orks. Aesthetically and story-wise, they are right up my alley. I also like what I read about their play style and they seem like a ton of fun. I am still looking at other races (the Tau, Space Wolves, and Necrons mainly) to compare them and make sure I go with the right choice, but it's kind of hard to know what separates the races from each other and what kind of special aspects/rules they have to their army. Would anyone know a good place to read up on the races or any kind of decent summarizations floating around?

Also, if anyone has any other good tips for ways of helping me decide a final army, I would really appreciate it.

Lastly, in terms of things to buy to get started, I am going to pick up a battleforce and a codex, but I am also probably going to pick up an HQ as well. My friend out here is going to pick up a Tyranid battleforce and codex since he already has a Hive Tyrant that he has been painting. But, it's kind of hard to figure out which HQ (for Orks, most likely) would be good to pick up considering I don't really understand the dynamics of the game, let alone any kind of strategy I want to go for. Am I biting off more than I can chew with this? Or does anyone have any suggestions on helping me decide this as well?

Thanks!

[Primarch]

Hey Dom,
First off, if you're not sure what to play, choose the army that appeals in terms of models, colour schemes and style as well as how it plays. You're going to be spending a lot of time glueing and painting those little guys so something that looks good to you is the best choice. (I started orks, decided I didnt like them and sold them all off without ever playing a game).
Orks are a good choice for army and can be very versatile both at a range and in hand to hand. Space Wolves are likewise a good army with a variety of options. Currently Tau and Necrons are a little old in terms of rules and both focus more on shooting than getting to grips with the enemy up close and personal.
Gmes Workshop have an article about getting into the game on their site so that might be worth reading.
If you do decide to go with orks, buy the Black Reach box set, you get a lot of models including an HQ choice as well as a bunch of marines you can either keep as a back up or trade off with your friends. The Battleforce is also a good place to start. If you have a credit card, buy from the UK as you will find your money goes a LOT further with the current exchange rates. I recommend www.maelstromgames.co.uk or www.waylandgames.co.uk (please click the banner at the bottom if you do order from wayland as it pays towards the sites upkeep). Black Reach also contains a rulebook which is very useful.
Hope that helps.
Primarch

[me_in_japan]

I'd agree with Primarch on these points.

In terms of getting started in the game, I think Black Reach (the boxed game) is a very good starting point. You really do get a lot of models, plus a rulebook (dont underestimate the value of the rulebook. I have the big, hardback collector's edition. It cost me 50 GBP, but its so big I cant carry it to games. The wee book in Black Reach is B5 size and about as thick as a magazine. It has 100% of the rules in it. This is much, much more practical, and you'll get a lot of use out of it. I wish I had one, frankly.)

In terms of 40k as a game, dont worry about learning the rules. Theyre far, far easier to learn by playing than reading, and the folks round here all know them off by heart, so we can help you through your first few games.

As Primarch mentioned, Orks and Space Wolves are probably better options than Tau and Necrons. The Tau and the 'crons are both quite old armies, and have limited models to choose from, as well as some of their rules being obsolete.

To explain the above, you should know how 40k evolves.

Games Workshop periodically update and change the rules of 40k, based off their own experiences and feedback from the gaming public. These rules changes can be minor, or very, very major. Any given new edition of the game will affect different armies in different ways. As you know, each army has a codex(army book) published for it. The thing is: some of these codexes were last published for 4th, or even 3rd edition. As a result of this, the rules in some codexes do not match up with the rules in the current, 5th ed 40k rulebook. There are a variety of fixer-upper rules FAQs to deal with this, but basically, if you want to keep things simple, choose an army with a more recent codex.

For you, that means Orks or Space Wolves. (Tau are 4th ed, Necrons are 3rd ed.)

Anyway, I'm wittering on about stuff wot you really dont need to know about at this point. Basically, do as Primarch suggested: Choose the army that you think looks nice, as you will spend a lot more time sticking them together and painting them than you will playing with them.

Id add a caveat to Prim's comments: When you commit to an army, commit to it. Otherwise you end up with about 30 models (or more) for every single faction, none of them painted. Choose one army. Paint em (even if you are a bad painter. Thats ok. Everyone is a bad painter to start with.) Play some games with them. Dont be disheartened if you lose. Its not about winning - its about learning to not make the same mistakes twice, improving your game, and THEN winning.

So, give it some thought. If you have any questions, just ask.

-dave

*edit* ps - as a further incentive, I have never, ever, beaten orks at 5th ed 40k. Space Wolves do give me hassle, but orks just steamroller me every blinkin' time. Its not that Im bad at 40k (heck, I won the last tournament, but only cos nobody brought orks...) it's just that Orks are so...cheap yet deadly. bah, humbug, and all that so much for the eldar and their hi-tech toys...

[Domikaze]

Thanks for all of the advice, dudes!

I keep saying I am on the fence about Orks, but they are like the only race I get excited about and research throughly. So, I suppose it's already decided for me and I should just start saying that I am going Orks. Which I am.

So, in terms of their versatility, what kind of things can they do? I always was under the impression that they are a very melee heavy army and all about getting in close with high numbers (while taking a lot of damage) and giving the damage back 10 fold. It would be cool if I could get a pretty diverse army going, because I can be quite fickle and I know I will want to mess with different tactics and play-styles. I read up on all of their units and I love the sound of units like Weirdboyz, Shokk Attack Gun and Stormboyz, with all of the crazy damage they can do to other units as well as themselves.

Also, are the Space Wolves really melee oriented? What kind of tactics are they good for? (Sorry, I know this question is vague)

On the subject of a starter set, I guess I never really thought of getting Assualt on Black Reach and all of that extra stuff looks real cool and tempting. The thing I am worried about, though, is my friend out here (who I will be having most of my matches with) is going to be getting a Tyranid battleforce along with his Hive Tyrant and I want to match his points/army so that we can have some balanced matches (if possible) as we learn the game. So, would the units in Assault on Black Reach for the Orks be able to match that? Or would the Ork Battleforce be better?

Also, if I were to get Assault on Black Reach, I would lose the Trukk that the Battleforce comes with. What would losing that Trukk mean to my army make up? What kind of effect would the other differences (getting copters instead of bikes and getting a warboss and Nobz) have on my army make up? It's hard to figure out what I would be losing/gaining with no experience in using these units and I am sure you guys know the difference.

Lastly, as for those nice extra Space Marines, if I didn't want them, would there be a way to sell them or get into contact with anyone who may want them? I am not sure if I would keep them or not, because where as it would be cool to have an alternate army to change things up or have them for a friend or two out here who doesn't have an army to use, just like you guys were saying before, I am afraid if I don't commit to just the Orks I will just have a scattered unit composition and no painted models. Not to mention the cost of building two armies.

[Danguinius]

As long as you don`t play Imperial Veteran squads with three meltaguns mounted in Chimera transports (repeat over and over), I`ll support whatever decision you make, Dom...go with the Orks!

Danguinius

[Primarch]

Orks ARE very good in melee, but shoota boys can lay down so much firepower, even with their bad shooting skills that they can wipe out units at a time. Lootas, Killa Kans, Bikes, Deff Koptas and the other vehicles can throw out a LOT of firepower if thats the way you want to go. Nobz, Boyz and the other infantry models can assault most things and win.
Space Wolves are good in melee but I find that they do well in close range firefights. They close with the enemy, shoot them to pieces and then counter attack when the enemy get into melee range. To be honest though, you definitely sound keen on orks.
As for what to buy, the battleforce is necessary since it gives you some boyz, a trukk (to get the boyz there faster) and some bikes which provide some much needed support. Black Reach gives you a pocket sized rulebook, lots of boyz, a warboss and deffkoptas. If you only get the battleforce then you will need an HQ option as well. If you get black reach you should probably buy a trukk as well.
If you do go the black reach route and decide that you dont want the marines, there is a trading section on this site. If you want cash or models, just say what you're after and arrange to make a trade. Sending money can be tricky so it may be better to arrange to drop off the models when you both attend the same event. (Plus its a good chance to get some games in). The other option is to get a 3rd friend to play and encourage them to play marines. Buy a box of black reach each and swap the models.
Whichever route you go there is one bit of advice that cannot be stressed enough for orks. If you CAN take a power klaw you SHOULD take a power klaw. Boyz who get charged suffer from long strength and low initiative. In EVERY combat where I have fought orks in melee it is the power klaw or lack of one which swings the fight.
Good luck.

[me_in_japan]

Hmmn. Black Reach or Battleforce.

lets break it down:

Black Reach

Cost : 55 pounds

Includes:
1 Warboss very, very good in melee. (very variable, points-wise. Say, 100pts ish)
20 Ork Boyz good in melee. Can soak up a lot of damage. (2 squads of 10, I nob-with-klaw in each = 190 pts (or a bit more, if you give em fancy guns)
5 Ork Nobz very good in melee. quite hard to kill. (very variable, in terms of points. Can get pretty expensive, though. Say, at least 150pts)
3 Deffkoptas good in melee, but also surprisingly shooty. (105~180ish points)
Rulebook you need this
Templates you need these
Dice you need these (but may already have em)
Range Sticks you dont need these if you have a tape measure.
Assorted Marines you dont really need these, but can flog em off or whatever.

You will also need to buy: A Trukk. This will cost you 20 pounds. (and 35~50 points.)

Total points : 550 ~ 650.

Now, Battleforce.

Cost: 50 pounds

Includes:
20 Boyz (see above)
3 warbikes Much like deffkoptas, but more choppy and less shooty. (about 110pts (NobKlaw combo)
1 trukk Absolutely vital for your boyz. Game-changingly important. (35~50pts)

You will need also to buy: a warboss for 12 pounds (or ghazkull for 20 quid. He's really, really killy though.)

So, total points for battleforce/warboss: 450~500

If you don't buy Black Reach, I have a question: Where will you get your rulebook and templates from? You need these to play (obviously).

One other thing to consider is: What will you want after you have explored the options within either box set? Don't kid yourself. If you do get into this hobby, you're going to end up with a lot more than one box set. Ork armies need plenty of boyz. The next step after either of these sets would probably be another box of boyz and another trukk to put em in. After that, you'd likely want to get some special fancy stuff. Lootaz, deffdreds, whatever.

It should also be borne in mind that the two boxes are not mutually exlusive. You could always buy one now and get the other later (in this case, id go Black Reach first, for the rules and templates etc.)

So, personally Id go with black reach plus trukk. I reckon the deffkoptas are better than the bikes. The trukk is the only draw for the battleforce, and you're gonna need more than one of em anyway in future, so may as well buy it now and save the battleforce for later. If you can sell the space marines, you'll actually end up spending less on BR+Trukk than you would on the battleforce+warboss, and you'll get more stuff for your money.

my two cents...
-d

[Domikaze]

Thanks for the advice! Last night I was talking to another friend of mine out here who wants to get into 40k again (he has an Eldar Army back home) and he said that he would be willing to go 50/50 with me on Black Reach since he wants to make A Sisters of Battle army. Sooooo, it worked out nicely for the both of us and I am going definitely going for Black Reach now.

I was just going to ask if I should get that truck or not, since I would be losing it and would have the extra money to get it if I had to. So, I definitely appreciate the thorough response. I didn't know it was a game changing difference, but figured it was important to get my troops in.

We are probably going to place an order for this by next week. I am sooooo damn excited!

[Domikaze]

Another thing I forgot to mention was if I wanted to have Nobz with Claws, Big Shootas, etc. would I have to order those parts separately? If so, I am guessing that I would need those add-ons for when I am constructing the models or I am guessing I would otherwise have to buy new models to add them onto if I just made my Nobz and Boyz as is from the BR.

[Primarch]

Another thing I forgot to mention was if I wanted to have Nobz with Claws, Big Shootas, etc. would I have to order those parts separately? If so, I am guessing that I would need those add-ons for when I am constructing the models or I am guessing I would otherwise have to buy new models to add them onto if I just made my Nobz and Boyz as is from the BR.

Sadly, the Black Reach models dont come with power klaws, so you would probably need to pick up a box of Ork Nobz at some point in the future. Dont worry about it too much for now as your main opponent only has 1 monstrous creature (the Hive Tyrant). The Black Reach box comes with 2 big shootas. The battleforce (I think) has big shootas and rokkit launchers as well as 1 power klaw.

If your friend wants to start Sisters of Battle, he wont be able to use the marines. Well, he could use them as stand ins until he gets some real models I guess, but the terminators and dreadnought wouldnt be a lot of use. Sisters of Battle is a VERY expensive army to buy at the moment since all the models are metal. There are rumours saying they may be released at the end of next year in plastic, but they are only rumours.