How to get started with Warhammer 40K?

So I have been reading 40K lore for a year or so now after hearing about it from Youtubers and it sounds pretty cool but I have heard that it has gone out of print from TotalBiscuit and in general it is really confusing to understand where I start. So my question to you is:

How the hell do I start to play Warhammer 40K?

There is a couple Games Workshop stores near where I live and such so all that is not a problem. What is a problem is getting a hold of a rule book or something that tells me how to play the game, a board to play the game on (if there is one), Dice (I have a feeling the game won’t come with any) and a sense of how this all works. Could you help a guy out?

For sure, my good man.

Easiest way is to buy the newest starter set that has come out. It has the new 7th edition rules, two small armies, blast templates… and dice.

Next up is to buy glue and paints. There are certain colors armies have as fluff… but really you can paint them however you want.

A table is usually consisted of a 6’x4’ area where you can really use whatever as terrain and such. I often use books as elevated platforms.

Next is to find a newb friendly vet at your store to show you the ropes, you aren’t going to learn faster than by playing with someone who knows his stuff.

Alternately….
Buy the rulebook, dice, separately. Spend some time researching which army seems the coolest to you (Because the starter pack comes with two set armies), then buy a battle force set for that army specifically.

That’s a quick low down on how to get started. Ebay and amazon are your friends.
40kforums.com is a great resource for newbies, you can find me on there as the Nickname Silas.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

EDIT:
The new Starter Set is not quite out yet, with the 7th edition rules. So might be a little wait on that, but you can still buy the rulebook and such as stated above separately

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When will it be out? And can I have a link to the starter kit? I searched on the games workshop site and couldn’t find anything.

Also Space Wolves is the army I like. For Russ! For The Wolftime!

For whatever reason, I can’t find the new Stormclaw set on their website. I can however, find it on ebay.

After reading up on it, this would be fine for you as it comes with a small paperback version of the rulebook as well as models and such… but, it’s pretty darn expensive.

EDIT:
It’s a limited release… that’s why i can’t find it. Also explains why it is so expensive on ebay.

So you can try to buy it from an ebay seller or wait for the new actual starter set.

Or just go into your Games workshop store and see if they have any left. :slight_smile:

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Might I also recommend your own private oil company? Games Workshop stuff is expensive.

Anyway… good idea picking up a Space Marine army - they’re generally quite good for newbies as I understand (haven’t played in years though).

I began W40k with the starter kit and maybe you could go in the GW store next to your home and ask for more help, they could be a great help. If you want to learn all the rules of W40k you need some free times because there is a lot of rules =P

So what will be your first army? and Had you paint already?

Birthday in about 2 weeks so that is all happening then.

Okay If you want I show you some of my figurines (Orks and Space Marines are my major armies, I bought the Orks Flash Gitz not long ago) or a preview of codex (Orks and Space Wolves =P).

But I think to begin in the universe of W40k the starter kit is the best and the new is really awesome with the Orks and Space Wolves and for this time you can customize your figurines (not the heroes if you don’t have bitz^^).

Been doing it for 25 years now and you could always do this.

So as along time player take this as it is but find another mini game. Here’s why, its great for new people becuase GW stores are accessible but, the things that make it great also make it bad, really bad. So they constantly have new things coming out and this and that,which is great becuase it keeps it interesting, but they make it so that the newest things are always the best, always. which is fine if you have the money to drop every few months on the latest and the greatest, but if you dont you will soon find that your awsome army, with no changes soon becomes uncompetitive unless you buy in the new stuff. New editions are brought in not with the end result of trying to achieve a balanced game, but to shake up the “meta” and promote sales an areas they are lagging.

Its a big world of minis out there. There are so many amazing mini games, Infinity, Flames of war, Bolt Action, Malifuax ect. that have amazing rule sets that are cheaper, and imo more enjoyable to play. All that said if 40k is your only option give it a try, becuase the whole genre offers something that video games can never offer.

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I agree with most these things, there’s a reason I stopped playing this year… what with 6th edition being so close to 7th… then all the new supplements… price hikes…

Just too much for an old gamer (15 years of 40k) to want to keep up with anymore.

That being said, it’s still a very fun time and I enjoyed. The fluff and lore is fun, some of the models are fantastic, there can be some really epic battles.

It’s just not for me anymore. Besides the new Orks… they look so rad I just want to own them for the sake of owning them and painting them…

I just want to be able to play with my friends every once in a while. I probably won’t be entering any competitions.

Thats cool and a great thing, just be wary that if one of your frends can buy all the latest stuff, they will win the most, its just how the game is built. Might I suggest you google gaming groups near you to see whos around playing, its an amazing way to make new friends (not saying your old ones are bad). These things are like crack, once you start its something that tempt you for the rest of your life, the saying goes that a mini gamer never dies as long as there is unpainted lead on the painting bench.

Oh and if you want to be inspired to paint head on over to www.coolminiornot.com best painters in the world drop by and they are all super frendly and wiling to give advice.

Since I don’t have the ability to order a starter kit, Where could I get the rules? Are the rules the codex astartes books?

I think I can get everything else in the nearby stores

Also, I have seen some Space Wolf armies with Dreadnoughts and stuff that isn’t on the store. How does that work? Could I use models from other armies to buff my own? (I assume it would have to be in reason because I can’t have an army with a Space Marine and a Chaos Daemon or something. I am just wondering if I could get a dreadnought or titan and add that to my army)

Your store should have the rules separately as well, so no worries there.

As for the dreadnoughts, I believe the Space Wolves have their own dreadnoughts…. but the new ally and unbound rules allow you the option to use other armies units in your own army provided you meet certain requirements.

what are those requirements?

For allies, you need to have at least one HQ Unit (Basically the generals of your armies), and Two basic troop units in both your Primary force, and your allied force…

Once you meet that requirement, you can add other cool things like heavy support, elites, fast attack units… etc.

There are other types of Detachment rules as well, but i don’t know them offhand.

So here is what you need before any miniatures:
The rule Book:
http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Warhammer-40-000-EN-A

The army book for your army, here is the space marines:
http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Codex-Space-Marines-EN

Dice and a measuring tape:
The GW ones are expesive, hardware store for the tape and look online for cheaper dice.

Then using the Army book follow the rules for making a legal army and then buy the units.

Rapid Fire Questions!!!

  1. How many dice would you recommend (I have been watching some battles (Surprisingly entertaining) and those guys must have like 100 die!!!)

  2. How do imperial knights work? Can you just have them in any imperium of man armies?

  3. How do accessories work? (Can I just add any shoulder plate on to my soldiers)

  4. If I add a weapon onto a figure’s leg (as if it were holstered or something) can he use it?

  5. Are there any rules for the amount of weapons a guy can have or anything like that?

  6. Can I have battles between 2 allies (Like Space Wolves VS. Astra Militarum or Grey Knights VS. Adepta Sororitas)

See my above post, the rule book answers all those questions. And yes 100 dice for the horde armies is standard, like orce, space marines 30-50 should do.

  1. Usually the Box-o-Die you can buy from Games workshop is enough.

2 Imperial Knights can be a stand-alone or added to any Imperial (Don’t quote me on that), army.

3-5. You can basically put anything on your model as long as it’s somewhat obvious what it is, doesn’t mean they can use it…. They are still restricted to what war gear they can purchase in the rules. There is a loose “What you see is what you get” rule… meaning if you have a guy with a pistol, you usually can’t say he has a rocket launcher, unless your opponent is cool with that.

6- Yes.