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I want to start playing 40k but don't know where to start is this a good place http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Space-Marine-Strikeforce

Well, the Strike force is good start if you want to play Marines. Do you have a Codex? and rule book?

Not yet can't decide if I should buy the dark vengeance starter kit or just buy the the codex and rule book separate as I want to play space marine or imperial guard

I would get dark vengence, its a really good deal

Welcome to Dakka!

Get Dark Vengeance as it is a good start to a DA/SM army (you can probably counts-as the DA as SM) and the mini-rulebook and templates are always worth having. You can sell the Chaos stuff on Ebay or to a friend to recruit another player, and make some of your money back.

If you decide you want Guard instead of Marines, then you could also sell off the DA, you're still getting the rulebook/templates/dice for what will be a low cost (looking at Ebay prices, you're looking at 70-80% of your money back for selling off both sides) or just use them as allies or painting practice.

If you choose marines, then the Strike Force is a good deal, everything in it is pretty useful and it gives you a playable army from the word go.

I'd recommend the strike force route for sure as well. Depending on your budget I'd recommend grabbing another kit for Scout Snipers and Assault Marines, round the squads out to 10 strong, much more effective that way. Maybe pick up a devastator squad or a predator for some heavy weapons.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give to new comers is to really consider the effectiveness of the squads loadout, once it's glued in place and painted can't go back and change your mind. For instance the command squad pictured looks like a really cool squad, but it is completely ineffective the way it is kitted out. I recommend using proxies until you figure out which weapons you really favor.

As a newish player I have some suggestions:

Consider looking at getting some 2nd hand models/codexes etc from ebay or similar. This will save you a TON of money whilst enabling you to get some games in. Even better you can even resell those models for the same cost if you wish to try a different army. Tbh Space marine armies are not that easy to win with.

Be aware. Being a newb can be very painful. Some players will mercilessly take advantage of your uncertainty with the rules.

The strikeforce is one of the few deals GW has. From a price POV, always check to see if the box has stuff you need, and what it would cost to get everything separately. Generally, if it’s a bundle in a printed box, there are savings. and the “one-click” web offers get you nothing. But even of boxes where there are savings to be had, make sure you want the stuff. The strikeforce, for example, is mostly useless to someone running an all-bike army.

The Dark Vengeance set is another good spot to get marines, but they're all covered with Dark Angels iconography.

The strikeforce can be built as a solid, take all comers, 1,250 point marine list. You aren’t going to be winning any tournaments with it, but you should be able to get a good fight against most everyday lists. Building from it, I’d start by getting a devastator squad box. The strikeforce is a little light on firepower, and fielding heavy weapons that aren’t missile launchers is good. But there are a lot of different ways to play marines, so once you get a few games in, you will start to find your own style.

I guess my opinion here would be different so..

I definetely do not encourage you to get the DV box for a simple reason - it is a good way to pick bad habits. While playing "counts as" with the DV units is doable, I highly recommend getting pure SM boxes because with DV you'll end up with units that you'll most likely never use and as you get more into the game, you will find that "counts as" doesn't float your boat anymore and removing all those Dark Angels ornaments to turn them into regular Marines will be such a horrible pain for you that you will most likely hate the minis before you're done with them.

As for starting with Space Marines.. the best thing you can do before you start buying miniatures is to decide what Chapter you want to run(note: you don't have to paint them the Chapter colour scheme - you can use your original colours and call them a Successor Chapter of one of the main Chapters) and then read potential army lists to see if they fit your dream playstyle.

When it comes to the models themselves.. well.. I won't direct you to eBay nor encourage getting 2nd hand minis from anyone unless they're in really good shape because most of the times they need filing down or washing down the paint off them because people rarely sell well-painted armies for money that new players are ready to spend.

Main issue with the Strike Force is that some of the things you'll be getting are rather situational and might never actually appear in your army, while GW rarely gives proper discounts on such boxes, leaving you with more money spent on actually useful things than if you bought them separately most the times.

If you really want to buy a bunch of boxes to feel like you're actually starting something, the safest option would be commander box(or librarian if you prefer psyker generals), two tactical squads and two razorbacks. I'm recommending Razorbacks over Rhinos because you still get all the parts to build a Rhino in RB box, but then you also get guns for the former and swapping between them literally means replacing top hatch with separate gun module which takes approximately a second.

Other 'safe' purchases would most likely be sniper scouts as many people seem to run them in various lists, Land Speeders and Thunderfire Cannon. If you like the models, you probably can't go wrong with the centurions too as the grav cannons are pretty neat.

So.. yeah, start fresh with the 40k - see what you like the most, check out army lists to see if tere are any that make you go "oh, I want to play that!", buy boxes and paints and..have fun building your army! It probably wouldn't be the same if you bought "someone else's" models as the way you assemble them, the way you paint them and pose them is all your effort put into making the army look as cool in your own eyes as possible.

Getting bashed for discouraging buying 2nd hand minis in 3...2...1...

Here is what worked for me.

1 - Choose your army. If it is SM, this point is done
2 - Use your google-fu. Learn some elements how the game is played and what your chosen army can do. Watch few, just few battle reports. Read fluff (if you are into fluff...which I hope so! )
You may like the models, the fluff but maybe you wont like actually the style of the army. For example, I met guy who wanted to play SM, but SM from book where they often kill tank just by farting melta fumes. And when he played the, it was disaster for his ideas.
3 - You know which army now, for sure? Buy codex, rules and plan your army for some small points.
4 - Buy the models you will use. Maybe some "Battleforce" or Dark Vengeance will be compatible with your future army lists, but if not, you are wasting money on models you dont need. And believe me, first steps into WH40K are not cheap. You will buy books, models, but also colours, brushes, modelling tools...and every saved penny counts.
5 - (insert into any steps) - ask on Dakka or other forums for anythin you are interested in. Better safe and ask than sorry and reselling your army for new one.

 Klerych wrote:
I guess my opinion here would be different so..

I definetely do not encourage you to get the DV box for a simple reason - it is a good way to pick bad habits. While playing "counts as" with the DV units is doable, I highly recommend getting pure SM boxes because with DV you'll end up with units that you'll most likely never use and as you get more into the game, you will find that "counts as" doesn't float your boat anymore and removing all those Dark Angels ornaments to turn them into regular Marines will be such a horrible pain for you that you will most likely hate the minis before you're done with them.

As for starting with Space Marines.. the best thing you can do before you start buying miniatures is to decide what Chapter you want to run(note: you don't have to paint them the Chapter colour scheme - you can use your original colours and call them a Successor Chapter of one of the main Chapters) and then read potential army lists to see if they fit your dream playstyle.

When it comes to the models themselves.. well.. I won't direct you to eBay nor encourage getting 2nd hand minis from anyone unless they're in really good shape because most of the times they need filing down or washing down the paint off them because people rarely sell well-painted armies for money that new players are ready to spend.

Main issue with the Strike Force is that some of the things you'll be getting are rather situational and might never actually appear in your army, while GW rarely gives proper discounts on such boxes, leaving you with more money spent on actually useful things than if you bought them separately most the times.

If you really want to buy a bunch of boxes to feel like you're actually starting something, the safest option would be commander box(or librarian if you prefer psyker generals), two tactical squads and two razorbacks. I'm recommending Razorbacks over Rhinos because you still get all the parts to build a Rhino in RB box, but then you also get guns for the former and swapping between them literally means replacing top hatch with separate gun module which takes approximately a second.

Other 'safe' purchases would most likely be sniper scouts as many people seem to run them in various lists, Land Speeders and Thunderfire Cannon. If you like the models, you probably can't go wrong with the centurions too as the grav cannons are pretty neat.

So.. yeah, start fresh with the 40k - see what you like the most, check out army lists to see if tere are any that make you go "oh, I want to play that!", buy boxes and paints and..have fun building your army! It probably wouldn't be the same if you bought "someone else's" models as the way you assemble them, the way you paint them and pose them is all your effort put into making the army look as cool in your own eyes as possible.

Getting bashed for discouraging buying 2nd hand minis in 3...2...1...

I won't bash the idea of getting 2nd hand minis - I will say to buy a box Tactical Marines first. You need the bits. Stuff will come up. You may need a random bolt pistol or chainsword or something. GW provides nice options in their boxsets for kitting out your dudes. Best way to start though? Go to the FLGS and watch some people play, then pick the army you like the most. Both armies mentioned can win well and are fun to play. The strike force is great, so is the Reclusiam Command Squad (SP?). Stay away from DV unless you want to play DA or Chaos and buy the mini book on ebay (MUCH BETTER than the standard BRB).

Welcome, welcome, etc.

Start with the basics. Do you want space marines or guard? Getting that nailed down will make things easier. Do you have people to play with? A local gaming store? Talking with people in person will be useful. Do you have a copy of the rulebook? I would definitely make sure you have that, either in its full-sized form, or go to eBay and buy a copy of the dark vengeance mini-rulebook.

I'd hold off on making any big purchases until you have a clear plan for what you're doing.

I'm thinking on going IG ill pick up a codex later this week and a rule book and there are 2 local GW stores less then 15 miles from me I went in the other day they helped out a lot even offered to let me use store display models to learn how to play and to get a feel for what army I want

Usmcsni wrote:
I'm thinking on going IG ill pick up a codex later this week and a rule book and there are 2 local GW stores less then 15 miles from me I went in the other day they helped out a lot even offered to let me use store display models to learn how to play and to get a feel for what army I want

Well, IG is not a typical beginner's army. I'd go for a Space Marine army in the first place.

Can imperial knights be used as an allies for space marines

yes

If you've not done it yet, get DV:
Dark Vengeance comes with a full-colour 168-page mini Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook; ... a quick-play reference guide; ... dice, templates.
Teh templates and rulebook are great, and the dice and quickplay ref are handy.
If you aren't going to use the models, use them to practice painting. They're cheap, and have a good range to details to practice techniques with.
Or, sell them on, as most DA and Chaos players will have a use for them.

But, the big BRB also has articles in it on how to do 'the hobby'.

Look through the army lists section here on Dakka, and the battle reports.
Once you know from your 'local' GW what army you want to play, build up an army list for the game size you want, and see what sets are best value for your list.
Factor in tools though. Paints, snips, dice, tape measure, glue, files, etc.
Depending on what army you end up running, look into magnets. If the army has a lot of options, like Marines and IG do, you might want to swap arms and weapons around, and magnets let you run more choice with fewer models.

As most peeps have already said welcome to the addiction. Dark vengeance us the way to go from what everyone on the form have told me. Just try and watch the spending as it will start draining you. Good luck with SM choice you diff won't regret it

Just ordered DV