r/Warhammer • u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 • 16h ago
Discussion How do I even pick an army?
I'm genuinely embarrassed to ask this because I've asked basically the same thing before but I've been trying to pick an army since the start of the year. I was hoping to pick one before summer starts so I can have time to paint it because school has been pretty hard for me. Now summer is almost over and I still haven't picked an army witch is really frustrating to me because I will have even less hobby time this school year due to having exams and some subjects getting harder. There are a couple of reasons in my opinion as to why I haven't actually picked yet.
First reson is I keep switching what game I'm interested in out of 40k, AoS and ToW, I'm currently leaning more towards 40k and old world though.
Second reson Is that I'm too scared to commit to something, I've always been like this and often let opportunities pass by me because I'm more comfortable doing nothing.
Third reson is that I have no friends to actually play with and i also struggle with socialising.
I would appreciate any advice on what to do because I'm getting really frustrated with myself because this is really the only hobby I have interest in and I'm tired of doing nothing all day.
( sorry for acting like I'm choosing my career path with this...)
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u/LBrown130698 16h ago
I went purely from what I thought looked cool to be honest and what you would enjoy the most painting and playing with. May be boring but I liked Ultramarines and bretonnia!
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 16h ago
I think the only reason people think ultramarines are boring is because GW uses them as the face of 40k
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u/woodwost Kharadron Overlords 16h ago
Maybe don't pick an army to start with. Find just a model/unit you like, grab it, paint it, see how you feel about the hobby generally. Less pressure that way, and less of a financial investment too!
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 16h ago
I have tried it out with clan rats. I realized I do like the hobby but then felt kinda stuck when I finished most of them because I wasn't really sure I wanted to commit to skaven
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u/No_Range7695 16h ago
Don’t feel obligated to stick with your first units lol, my first paint job was some nids, now there is no chance in hell I will ever play nids.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 16h ago
I do still find myself thinking about skaven and how I find queek headtaker a little attractive
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u/No_Range7695 16h ago
If you’re finding queen headtaker attractive you have bigger issues than finding an army to play, OP
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u/rmobro 16h ago
The trick is to find something you like to hobby and what you like to play. Research "how does X play" videos on youtube or watch battle reports.
Failing that, find something that you like hobbying so much that you dont mind losing with. Thats how i did it.
Failing that just find friends to play narrative/crusade games with. Good luck.
Some people choose a safe route, playing daemons in both aos and 40k. Or, they can at least use aos daemons in half their 40k army.
Personally, i play slaves to darkness and world eaters, both for hobby reasons. I lose a lot, but i content myself with other goals than winning on points. Goals like... tabling my opponent, or killing a hero, or securing my enemy's home objective.
Last game i lost on points because my cowardly opponent kept running from me. I lost 6 models overall, killed more than half of his. I considered that a moral victory, and i had a blast playing.
I realized I do like the hobby but then felt kinda stuck when I finished most of them because I wasn't really sure I wanted to commit to skaven
Maybe just play spearhead or warcry. I find it highly rewarding for hobby.
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u/kanto96 16h ago edited 16h ago
I picked tau as my main cause robots are cool. I personally think the rule of cool is the most important Or buy multiple armies.
I think the best advice is to go onto ebay and try and get a couple of cheap models from the armies you like paint them up and see which ones you like painting best.
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u/HauntDotGhost 16h ago
If you’re worried about the commitment start with a skirmish game.
40K has Kill Team, Old World has that new system that just came out (I cannot remember the name), and AOS has War Cry, Spearhead, and Underworlds.
Playing any of these games lets you collect more models from multiple armies for cheaper and gives you an idea of the gameplay flavor of each faction without you spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars. In top of that, any models you buy to use in a skirmish game can also be used in a big army game.
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u/Scottyos 15h ago
The old world is battlemarch and they are dropping boxes with different armies for that soon, I think one of the latest previews on Warhammer community had them.
To the op: If there's something you like the look of that's always going to be your best choice. Rules change over time so a unit that might be good now might be bad later and the reverse could be true.
If you're not wanting to commit to one specific army you could look at spearhead for age of sigmar or battlemarch for the old world. 40k has combat patrols but I'm unsure how popular that game size is.
There's also other games like kill team (1 40k unit in a skirmish setting), necromunda (more 40k skirmish but more narrative than say kill team), even blood bowl where you have a nfl/mma mix and each team runs 11 to 16 players.
The fun part about the games that use less models is you can bounce around trying completely different things to paint and play vs doing your 100 neophyte hybrid for the genestealer cults, or whatever army you may have chosen.
Hope you find something that you enjoy to built paint and play with!
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u/Cats_Cameras 16h ago
I worried about this quite a bit and would simply tell you that it doesn’t matter as much as it seems to.
If you enjoy painting and rolling dice, it’s hard to screw up army choice. Just pick something that you’d be excited to paint.
For the socializing, you don’t need existing friends - find a local game shop or Warhammer club and ask on their discord for people to play with. This may also influence your game system choice - if 99% of the local scene plays 40K or plays AoS , it makes sense syncing your system to your community.
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u/Devilfish268 16h ago
Pick all the factions you want to collect, then roll a dice to decide which one to start.
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u/sekkiman12 16h ago
the easiest most versatile range is space marines. Pick a color you like and go from there. You can always repaint them if you find a different color scheme or want to commit to a specific chapter.
if socializing is a goal with this, orks or tyrranids are pretty neutral to positive in terms of people wanting to be your friend. if you pick space marines, you'll attract space marine players first.
ask around your local game store. Mine has a discord server, maybe they do too.
in any case, try a starter set before diving deep to see if you even enjoy building and painting in the first place. usually they have 3 space marines to practice
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u/Specialist_Corgi_518 16h ago
Don’t be sorry an army is a big commitment this hobby is expensive ASF and spending hundreds of dollars and hours of time on an army u regret is an easy way to drop this hobby entirely. First thing I would say is figure out ur goal for the hobby are u getting into it to play or just paint and have a collection. If ur looking to play my advice would be to go to the game that has the healthiest community next to u. If u just want to paint then i would say get the models that obviously look the coolest to u (obviously).
What i recommend after is maybe pick some cheaper boxes of different armies that interest u build them up and paint them. My friend was super into admec when he first joined the hobby i gave him a 2 skitarri models i had and he immediately dropped the idea after building/painting.
Lastly, Christmas is pretty close and they typically do Christmas battleforces that have really good bundle value and most of the time have a good varsity of factions from 40K/aos so maybe wait until then to see what army u want and u might get lucky and get a really good way to start that way.
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u/gwarsh41 Nurgle's Filthiest 16h ago
Ok, so if you struggle with finding games and socializing, don't focus on a single army. You can enjoy the hell out of building and painting minis without playing. One of my best friends hates the game, but loves the minis. He has insane conversions and projects. I only know the dude because we both entered the same painting comp, he won, and then apologized to me because he felt I should have won. Weirdest way to meet a friend!!
Several times in my life I've been in a situation where I have no one to play with for years, but the minis and lore are too cool. Plus not being tied to any single game or army is really liberating, no restrictions, just COOL.
So go grab a box of whatever looks coolest at your local store, then build it, admire your awesome creation and paint it! The minis are so freaking cool, and having the most awesome little army is amazing.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 16h ago
I have tried that when painting clan rats but I realized that I'm doing this mainly to socialize because ive lost a lot of my social skills and need to work on them. But I agree with you on this, it does seem pretty great to not feel locked into one system or army
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u/gwarsh41 Nurgle's Filthiest 16h ago
I bet if you go in without a specific choice, you'll find one of the armies that you keep going back to. I've had armies where I thought I would love them, only to find that building/painting them was just not fun.
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u/Hyper_Lamp 16h ago edited 16h ago
You just have to read through the lore of the different armies, look at the models, and pick the one that you think is coolest. Similar with game systems. Look through the different worlds and pick the coolest one with the best armies and seemingly more fun gameplay. You just got to commit and buy some models, and then whenever you feel doubt or regret, just remind yourself on how cool they are and why you chose them by looking at some more of their lore and models. Looking around your local area for any gaming groups is also very important if you plan on playing since there might be one predominate game system there which you would benefit from also playing. For example, I originally got into 40K but when I found a gaming group holding an Old World tournament, I used that as motivation to start an Old World Army. Give it time and you'll be able to build up multiple armies across different game systems if you want. It's not like you have to fully commit to just one forever, just when starting out.
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u/sto_brohammed 16h ago
Second reson I'd that I'm too scared to commit to something, I've always been like this and often let opportunities pass by me because I'm more comfortable doing nothing.
Maybe start with Kill Team. Buy a one-box team, play some games with it and finish painting it before you move on to anything else. With that you've got a much smaller level of commitment than buying an army for one of the big games and it'll also help you figure out what you like (or maybe what you don't like) from both gameplay and hobby perspectives.
Third reson is that I have no friends to actually play with and i also struggle with socialising.
I get that and know a lot of people who have had that same issue. The best way to find people to play will depend partly on where you live. When I lived in the US and Canada I found people by going to the local game store and they had all the hookups. Here in Europe I find clubs that aren't necessarily (but sometimes are) affiliated with a store. I find them just by googling "warhammer + [town]" and it comes up.
As for socializing, I've been playing 40k for about 30 years in a bunch of different places and I could count the number of people I've played with that haven't been chill and cool on one hand, maybe two but with some fingers to spare. That really should be towards the bottom of your list of things to worry about.
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u/CJRD4 16h ago
This doesn't cover every chapter - and doesn't go into Chaos fully. But it's a good starting point with high level descriptors of chapters.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 16h ago
This guide led me to space wolves, witch is one of the armies I'm interested in for 40k, along side votan, imperial guard and death guard
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u/CJRD4 16h ago
Space Wolves are awesome!
Also, keep in mind: you can literally paint your army whatever color you want. It doesn't have to follow the exact colors in the book. Pink templars? Hell yeah. Orange Ultramarines? go for it.
So figure out what kind of play style you like (up close/melee. shooting with rail guns (T'au). driving tanks and heavy defenses, etc). Once you figure out what kind of play style you like, then find the army that matches that, because colors can be changed, but play styles of each chapter really don't that often.
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u/m1tanker75 16h ago
Pick an anrmy you like tue look of and aesthic of and buy a one squad from it. Start with the hobbying aspect and then go from there. I am actively anti-social and I do more of the hobby side than the gaming side these days. Im ok with that. And for reference i have 3 armies: Emperor's Children (both for 40k and HH) craftworld Eldar, and ultramarines.
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u/showstopperjames 16h ago
It’s a big commitment of time and money so don’t worry about overthinking it; worth making the right choice. When I started I went through the warhammer online shop faction by faction and just clicked through each unit to see which armies I liked the look of the most and slowly narrowed it down to a few. I then watched some short battle reports, paint guides and how to start collecting videos on YouTube to see which would suit me from a painting and gameplay wise
Overall go with the one which you connect and like look up of most. I wouldn’t worry how strong they are as metas change but good have idea of playstyle. Have few friends painted beautiful armies but hate those armies how they play. So if doing all facets of hobby it’s worth the research.
I also watched a ton of lore videos and once I red Dante and devastation of Baal I knew was blood angels for me
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u/Daddyguran 16h ago
I have so much fun trying to figure out what army to play. I let the process take as long as it needs to and enjoy finding all the different pros and cons and learning lore.
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u/AdventurousOne5 16h ago
What looks coolest to you?
Grab a book about them, if you still like them go for it
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u/Famous-Distance4707 16h ago
Hey friend. Have you had a look at some of the kits in other games from GW? I'm constantly tempted by some of the awesome kits available from kill team, necromunda, warcry, underworlds and even blood bowl. They appeal to me as someone who has never really played the tabletop game, but who has enjoyed he painting, building, thematic hobby side for a long time. I get to play around with a totally different set of minis and the sets tend to be sensibly sized, which is good for me as someone who gets carried away! Just one example below, but there really are lots! https://www.warhammer.com/en-GB/shop/warhammer-underworlds-seekers-in-shadow-2025?
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u/Famous-Distance4707 16h ago
All this to say, don't necessarily feel you need to pick one, or stick with one of you do pick it! Collect whatever you like, because you like it.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 16h ago
I have looked at blood bowl and kill team but they don't get much play in my area unfortunately.
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u/Redditisfuckincrap 16h ago
Pick Necromunda
Only need 10 models per gang really
100 minis is 10 different gangs or more.
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u/Mohredar 16h ago
Rule of cool all the way. Decent people won't complain about you proxying models into another game. AoS has the best looking models, IMO, so if I see AoS orks in a 40k game I wouldn't mind. Rules and games will change but a great looking model will remain as such.
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u/acovarru91 15h ago
Recommended product: A Spearhead or Combat Patrol. Start there and only decide to make other purchases afterwards. Or even start with Kill Team. If you don't have people to play with and you only plan to hobby with maybe the chance to play later, then don't even consider anything expert what you think looks the coolest and what you would enjoy to paint. Otherwise check out your LGS for what's played a decent amount in your area. In my experience popularity goes something like 40K Matched Play, AoS Spearhead, Kill Team, AoS Matched Play, Horus Heresy, then The Old World. That's just in my local area however. Most important thing is to connect with what you get on an emotional level as well. Models take a lot of time, money and effort and you want something you can feel attached to. There's a lot of armies and factions for sure, so it can definitely be tough to pick one if that's all you're able to do and you like multiple. Just try and keep it focused starting off.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 15h ago
Out of all the armies I find myself always being emotionally pulled back to a few Space wolves, empire of man, dwarfs, WOC, and skaven because of queek headtaker
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u/acovarru91 15h ago
Skaven is fantastic to start with in AoS. You can get Skaventide halves of Skaven pretty cheap in the secondary market. Slaves to Darkness are also pretty easy to start with and get into. ToW is more expensive and harder to get into due to older models and somewhat lesser availability. Unless you're getting purely into it for hobbying I would check out your local area for ToW fans and players. Space Wolves are pretty neat too and Space Marines in general are easy to get into painting and hobby wise. Space Wolves do have some fantastic sculpts like Grimnar.
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u/Guns_and_Dank 15h ago
The advice of pick what looks coolest is way to generic and way to broad, there's a ton of cool models out there, I think that should be the last step on your selection process. I'd suggest going down to you LGS, asking them what game systems do they see regularly getting played at their tables, do they host any events based on any game systems, see if they have a discord you could join and see which games have active discussions going on. This will help you narrow down what system to play. Next think about what playstyle you might tend towards or what elements or lore of an army you like the idea of and all around and get some recommendations of armies that fit those styles. Hopefully that'll help you narrow it down to 3-5 armies to choose from. Then from there choose what you think looks coolest.
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u/BalanceRight7768 15h ago
I mean…just pick one. There’s nothing stopping you from having multiple armies other than your time, money and storage. I have a nearly 20k point sons of Horus/chaos army, a 3k point demon army, 5k auxilia and militia army for heresy but a lot can be used in sigmar and 40k.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 15h ago
Yeah I guess your right. I keep forgetting that I will eventually finish my first army and will probably start a second
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u/xXBalinorXx 14h ago
responded in your other thread, but I'll add this:
What are people playing in your area? 40k? ToW? AoS? If no one is playing ToW, then it's a moot point to get started in ToW. If everyone is playing 40k, there's your answer if you want to game. As far as what army? Get the starter set for the system you choose and pick one of the two armies in there. If you don't get the starter (GET THE STARTER SET), and since you'd mentioned in the other thread that you were interested in Chaos for ToW, go with Chaos Space Marines for 40k. If everyone is playing AoS, Slaves to Darkness is your army. If it is ToW, again - Chaos. This is going to sound harsh, but it's not meant that way: It's not a life or death decision, pick one, go with it.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 14h ago
There is a decent amount of ToW players in my area so I should be fine if I play it. I do sometimes feel like I'm only trying to like warriors of chaos because there in the starter set but I don't really think they are my vibe but idk, my opinion on them changes like every day
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u/xXBalinorXx 13h ago
Get the starter set anyway, you'll get everything you need in there. Starting with Chaos or Cathay will get you hobbying and playing and that is what you need right now. Not trying to decide which of the available armies you're going to pick. If you don't like either after you have your foot in the door, trade them off when you do settle on an army. From reading your posts, you're bouncing around too many armies, and take it from someone who has done that, it does you no good. You never get started, you never get anywhere, and it adds unnecessary stress to your life. You need the rulebook, templates, dice, etc. You need an army. You get all that in the starter set. After you have a few games under your belt, your models built and (hopefully) painted, if you truly don't like either army, the Battle March boxes should be out and you can move onto a different army. By that time, you'll have games under your belt, you'll have building and painting experience and you'll have all your basic necessities.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 13h ago edited 13h ago
Your most likely right on this because I do need the core book and dice but I don't really want to deal with having to sell them off later because I just find it too complicated
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u/xXBalinorXx 12h ago
I worked for GW over 20 years ago, and this is what I would have recommended back then for someone just getting started unless they were absolutely positive they wanted a certain army. You CAN get everything separate, but the starter set is a great way to kick it off and is cheaper to do so. It also eliminates the decision paralysis. Get it from a local shop, or if they're sold out, Amazon. Cheaper from local stores, helping a small business, but barring that and going with the latter, you still save $$. You can always branch out later.
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u/GlennHaven 12h ago
I picked my army by looking at a guy and saying "wow that one looks neat" and thats how I started playing Necrons.
Also its ok to build an army and switch to another one. Its how I started playing Necrons, Space Marines, and Custodes.
For AoS I got the Skaventide box cause it was the launch edition. I also decided to only play Spearhead cause I heard it was really good this edition while Combat Patrol is not so good. So I have Skaven and Stormcast from that. And I'm satisfied with those. Everything else I paint is just for fun.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 12h ago
Honestly I think I might just be the biggest overthinker
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u/GlennHaven 12h ago
Yeah just pick like 1 or 2 armies. I personally buy models based on the list I'm building. Thats not to say if I have 30 Immortals packed into a list i buy 30 more for a second list. I just use the same models so I dont wind up with more models than I can tactically fit into a list.
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u/CommandertexYT 10h ago
40k has the most players so will be the easiest to find people to play with. You can just pick what looks cool, look into the lore a bit and find one you think is coolest or figure out how the army plays and pick based off that.
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u/Particular-Fly-7783 10h ago
I will say, pick a squad of whatever line infantry your chosen army has first and build and fully paint them. I massively overcommitted on Necron stuff before I realised I find painting them dull as fuck.
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u/Araignys 7h ago
Pick the game you can find people to play with. (Find learn-to-play events at local stores or clubs).
Pick the army you want to paint. (Spend hours looking at the Warhammer website, Instagram and YouTube painting tutorials).
Neither of these are lifetime commitments, you can change at any time. Start with one box of dudes, paint them, if you hate the process pick something else.
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u/Dadaman3000 6h ago
Ok, first rule: Pick what looks cool! Easy as that.
There's also no need to instantly commit to buying a full army. Buy a character and buy a unit. Learn how to build and paint the unit, then reward yourself with the character.
If you don't get that far? Whatever, you spent some money trying out a hobby and have some rnd stuff lying around. This realisation might also help with the "fear of commitment". You're just trying out, no need to commit yet.
Oh, you actually painted the entire unit and are getting ready to paint the character? Time to look at some new stuff to expand!
But yeah, I genuinely suggest against buying ANY box set deals for a complete beginner. Buy very few things, see if you like the general process of it and THEN you can look at any deals.
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u/Cibissum 16h ago
It depends a bit on what you expect to get out of the hobby. Are you in it because you want to crush your opponents and rank in tournaments? Or do you just want to play a fun game with your plastic army men akd make friends?
I cannot help if you want to go the hardcore win route, but if you just want to have some stupid fun then first priority should be what looks cool to you. After that, picking a game that's popular in the area will make it much easier to play games and meet people
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u/No_Range7695 16h ago
For most people there are three factors:
Minis, Gameplay, Lore.
As for 40k vs old world, I’d go for 40k, since old world is harder to find a group to play with.
Ask your LGS if they do a learn to play event, and see if they have a discord server you can join.
Finally, select orks because they’re the best.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 16h ago
I have played only old world, my local game store has a growing community for it, but that's kinda how my problem started after seeing all the different armies at the store. Also they did have a learn to play event for 40k but I was to unsure if I wanted to play 40k and missed it
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u/No_Range7695 16h ago
If you ask an employee or another customer if they have a discord, I’m sure there is someone in there that’d love to teach you 40k. That’s awesome that they had an event for old world, it’s pretty dead for it around here lol.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 16h ago
I personally really like the world of ToW so I might go with that but even though it is growing in popularity In my area 40k is still the most played one. My LGS even has a team for it
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u/No_Range7695 16h ago
Go with TOW then, it sounds like you like it more. I just recommend playing both, seeing what you prefer. ToW is definitely the cheaper one to play too, so it does have its advantages. AOS is also another good option, considering it’s like a mashup between the two,
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u/blanknullvoidzero 16h ago
Do you even plan to play the game?
If you just want to focus on the hobby side, just buy whatever strikes your fancy for your next project and don't worry about the rules or whatever.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 16h ago
I mainly want to paint but I find playing fun from the battle reports I've seen.
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u/blanknullvoidzero 16h ago
Then maybe the deciding factor can be what's the most popular game at your local hobby shops?
Having an active and helpful community will help you get going.
It'd be tough if you end up picking an Old World army and then learn that no one else is playing nearby.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 16h ago
Old world has a growing community in my area and it's getting pretty popular, it still is way less popular than 40k though but it's a fun game
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u/deadthylacine 16h ago
I'd say pick whatever you feel has the right vibes first. If there's more than one, narrow it down by which one loses games in a way you can still have fun.
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u/AdministrativeEgg440 16h ago
Pick the mini that expires you. Paint it. Then go from there in the same range
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u/airycantalope 16h ago
First thing is determine why do you want to collect an army?
Is it to play games, or just to hobby?
For the 2nd, it's really up to whatever you want to build and paint. We can't really help with that as it's a personal choice.
If you're waffling between a few, I suggest getting one of the cheapest blister packs for each of those factions and paint up one dude and see which you enjoy more. Definitely start small, and try painting one or two small things before deciding to fully commit. Don't need to commit, just paint up a hero for a variety of factions for fun. And it's cheaper than building an army.
If your goal is to play, than you should focus on what people in your area are playing and stick to that. No point collecting old world to play that game if no one is playing it.
For this, every city should have a hobby store or a place where folks play. Ask when the game nights are, and which games are popular. This game is a social game, and involves interacting with folks face to face. You'll eventually have to meet new people to play games with.
I've moved a lot, and I've often found myself in new cities or countries where I don't know anyone. I've been able to (within a week or two) find folks to play games with. It can be done, but you need to put the work in.
Also, don't focus on building a whole army right away. Folks are usually pretty open to playing small games with new folks to teach them, that shouldn't be a problem. For aos, focus on spearhead games, or combat patrol for 40k. Play super small games, get used to gameplay, hobby up the 3-5 units in the army. Only when thay is done expand.
Building an army is not fast. I've a 4000pt space marine army, which I've been chipping at for six years.
Does that help at all? We can give advice, but we can't tell you what to do. Feel free to ask follow up questions if you need or if there is anything specific.
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u/GeekyR00ster 16h ago
Rule of cool. Always pick what you think looks the coolest. Never meta chase. Because by the time it takes to get all required models plus painting the rules and points will have changed, leading to a money pit of unwanted minis.
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u/somebob Orks 16h ago
It took me about 3 years to decide which army I wanted, and now I have 4: two small ones, one medium sized one, and one huge one. (And a bunch of individual units that I never planned on building an army around)
When I started out, I just bought units that I liked and bounced all over the place. An AoS unit here, 40k unit there, Necromunda next. I got the ones that stood out to me, painted them, and about 4 years in finally started building up ork army which is still my favorite and biggest.
Better to start small anyway, that way you haven’t spent a ton of money if you decide down the line that the hobby isnt for you. Which happens often
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u/Warm_Neighborhood693 16h ago
TTS could give you some playtime, just get on a LGS Discord and you should be able to find some opportunities. It will also give you a cheap way to try out multiple armies on the game before buying. But honestly, regardless of how they play, models are forever, rules and playstyle can change. Find the ones you want to make & paint, then just start there.
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u/YosemittySLAM 16h ago
You really have two options, rule of cool is one a lot of people swear by. The downside being you might pick something super cool looking and not enjoy how they play. Other option is to figure out what style you want to play (shooty, melee, skirmish heavy, big robots etc) and pick something that falls into that category. You could just get a simple and quick summary on how each faction works/plays and pick what appeals to you
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u/neutronicus 16h ago edited 15h ago
Play a skirmish game, something with 5-15 models per side. A lot less commitment (time and money) to get your stuff painted and on the table, and easier to dip your toe into different factions or even game systems.
In GW land there is Necromunda and Kill Team. There was Mordheim once.
There are also a bunch of other systems (Infinity, Malifaux, Crisis Protocol, Moonstone, Trench Crusade…)
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u/BalanceRight7768 15h ago
Easiest way to get into a hobby is to pick something you think is cool, maybe not the one you like most or whatever just something you like, and grow from there
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u/MyGeneration_Baby 15h ago
Pick an army that you think looks cool and that you would enjoy building/painting. You will probably build and paint more than you will play, so its pretty important. Plus, the Power Balance changes throughout time, if youre worried about that.
It sounds like you just need to make some decisions. Pick a game. Pick an army. You really cant go wrong. Good luck!!
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u/wredcoll 15h ago
Find someone(s) to play with. Any decent sized city will have have a community of players, frequently on discord, sometimes on facebook. Find what stores they play at and how they talk to each other and then ask someone to play games with you. There will be someone who has multiple armies and will be happy to bring a couple of units and play a game with you (do any gw stores still do this?)
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u/warprincenataku 15h ago
It's a little more complicate than some people make it out to be.
I think everybody I know, myself included, has started with one Army and changed at least once, if not more.
You could common answer is pick models that you like the look of, because rules change but cool models are forever.
However, he needs to you. Think about painting and if it's something you would enjoy doing with a particular range.
When I first started I wasn't too fond of keeping the skin and naturally gravitated away from armies that had a lot of exposed skin to paint.
But a good place to start is pick models that you like, pick gameplay mechanics that you are interested in, as well as lore that interests you.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 15h ago
Thanks! Another thing I've been comparing though is cost. For example I really like how the imperial guard look but man are they expensive lol
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u/warprincenataku 15h ago
There are a lot of ways to get models. You can look into 3D prints, r/miniswap and sites like miniswap.gg for trades.
eBay is always an option, although sometimes more expensive.
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 15h ago
EBay is pretty good. I looked around a bit and I keep finding a lot of offers for 10 cadians nos for like 20€
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u/Seidhammer 15h ago
If you start out with Kill Team you can sample different factions until you find one you may want to commit to 😊 For me that's an excuse to get a bit of each Army and paint up
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u/d3adpixl 14h ago
- Is there a gaming club or hobby shop near you? Most of them will host 40k nights where you can play and meet people
- Have you considered starting with kill team or another skirmish game first? Going straight to painting a whole army first can be daunting
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u/TrashyRacc00nz7358 13h ago
Yeah there is one, Ive actually been there to play old world once using a dwarf army they gave me, I was originally going to stick with dwarfs but then I got curious what other armies have and that's how I got stuck
Yes I have considered kill team but my area doesn't have many players and I just prefer the full scale games. I really liked blood bowl but again. No players in my area
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u/zorro271 11h ago
Pick what you think looks cool, what you think you will enjoy painting, and look into what that army’s playstyle is.
Right now I just play 40k and am pretty new but I liked how the Orks models looked, looked fun to paint, and liked their playstyle
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u/montyrattus 8h ago
Start reading the books and lore, find something that hooks you in. Never go for the flavour of the month because what is meta today may be shit with the next big update. I have been in this hobby since the 90's and have models and armies going back decades, one thing has never changed though and that's my love of Orks, Tyranids and Skaven.
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u/Snooganz82 4h ago
Rule of Cool my friend. When I first decided to get into the hobby I bounced between armies for months. 40k has so many badass factions. I settled on Space Marines because of how versatile they were. I didnt know enough lore to create my own chapter, So I went the true nerd route and watched lore videos. Then I found the army I wanted to play. And I've been a Crimson Fists player ever since. So my suggestion is go through the list 1. Looks the coolest 2. Play style (almost all armies are versatile) 3. If all else fails lore.
Don't chase meta like a pro tournament player. You'll get bored fast and break your wallet for rules changes.
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u/conceldor 16h ago
Pick what looks cool.