Suggested by user: Shake Zoola.

What is the best 40K army for a beginner player to start with and why?

I would say Generic Space Marines.

Easy to understand rules, easy models, pretty much every example in the BRB involves space marines.

Basic Space Marine , Ork or Eldar I would say.

I take it that Tyranids are assumed a terrible army to start with? :-P

Basic marines. They are cheap to collect and forgiving to use.

doak22 wrote:I take it that Tyranids are assumed a terrible army to start with? :-P

Whoops. Fixed that, but unfortunately the option has to be at the bottom now.

This certainly seems to be an overwhelming response. <.< Orks are pretty forgiving if you want an army that can just muck in there although not so much shooting.

Best: Generic Sm.
Worst: Dark Eldar. You have to get used to them for ages.

Necron, and I see they are getting a good proportion of the votes. Simply because they are the easiest to paint. You don't need too many to have an army that works. Only a few easy-ish to understand special rules (with exception of the monilith).

hmmm.... Space Marines I think? lol

Generic Space Marines. The models (barring Thunderfire Cannon) are easy to assemble, relatively easy to paint to tabletop-standard, and they have forgiving statlines/rules that are easy to follow.

Tyranids have to be one of the worst, just for the sheer number of large metal models- they'd be a pain for a beginner to assemble I think.

Krusha123 wrote:Best: Generic Sm.
Worst: Dark Eldar. You have to get used to them for ages.

I started DE. Never regretted it, I love the fluff and play style, but two years later I'm still getting hauled up on rules mistakes because I'm used to reading a codex that is 3rd Ed. Seriously, don't learn with a codex that is so out of date, you spend all your time relearning it.

Ya know, for the amount of complaining that everyone does about GW's support for SM's, there seems to be a general consensus that it works well for beginners. So, of course they are going to focus on support for them, if its universally considered to be a good starter army, they can rope in more new people if its constantly the most up to date and balanced force that is easiest to use. Just saying.

I can't believe necrons received more votes than orcs!

Chaos Marines. Fewer options than Space Marines so less to know, one of every unit type available to learn the basics, and a broad range of models to choose from as well as varied fluff to experiment with.

Caboose wrote:Ya know, for the amount of complaining that everyone does about GW's support for SM's, there seems to be a general consensus that it works well for beginners. So, of course they are going to focus on support for them, if its universally considered to be a good starter army, they can rope in more new people if its constantly the most up to date and balanced force that is easiest to use. Just saying.

Well, the reason people are saying this IS because GW had so much support for them! In my opinion, if GW had more support for say... Tyranids, it would also have the resounding vote.

Caboose wrote:Ya know, for the amount of complaining that everyone does about GW's support for SM's, there seems to be a general consensus that it works well for beginners. So, of course they are going to focus on support for them, if its universally considered to be a good starter army, they can rope in more new people if its constantly the most up to date and balanced force that is easiest to use. Just saying.

The Space Marine codex being a good starter army has absolutely nothing to do with all the additional Chapter codici, which is what annoys most people. If Space Wolves, Blood Angels, Dark Angels and Black Templars wouldn't have their own codex, then noone would be whining about the attention the Space Marines are getting in the first place!

Kandle wrote:Basic marines. They are cheap to collect and forgiving to use.

+1 (thats it in a nut shell)

ihatehumans wrote:I can't believe necrons received more votes than orcs!

Yep easier to paint, you need less of them and they are more forgiving on the battlefield. Much better than Orks IMHO.

I started with nids, and that didn't work out so much. So I moved over to chaos marines, and proceeded to fall in love with them. You could say chaos marines are just as easy on beginners as vanilla marines, but when it really comes down to it you have to give smurfs credit for being easy to play.

Standard marines have my vote, if only because of how easy they are to play.

frogboy wrote:

Kandle wrote:Basic marines. They are cheap to collect and forgiving to use.

+1 (thats it in a nut shell)

Make that +2

Of the armies that i own now (which includes SM) i still wish i had started with guard.

Guard was such a royal pain to start with... of course that was over 10 years ago for me. Hellhounds were not Fast vehicles (dumb), you were forced to play obscene amounts of footsoilders just to get 3 or more Troops (no originallity), and the upfront cost was painful (some things don't change).

Go with vanilla SM. The armor, leadership, and ATSKNF will cover a lot of rookie mistakes.

I voted for Space Marines. Most of the reasons why have already been covered by others. The only points I would add are the availability of AOBR models, the ease of working with plastic, and the small size of the force makes it easier to play during games. Making decisions for 40+ marines is easier than pushing 120+ Orks.

What interests me more are the votes for Witchhunters. They have expensive models with a lot of metal that are tough to get right now. They also have very specialized rules (including faith points) that are not easy for new players to grasp. As a parting shot, they aren't very easy to paint either.

SM all the way. Guard for example, have tons of extra rules now which are extremely hard to remember for someone who's played for a while. Marines have a nice balance of everything in the codex, and all the rules can be covered with the options they have, very easily.

Space Marines!

Because..

4 . 4 . 4 . 4 . = easy to remember !

i also believe space marines are easy to play to i started with CSM and then did sm know i am wanting to trade both for necrons because one there easy to paint but yet fun to play and i like the fact they are robots with the same stats as a SM but are more points and can be fun if you get to know how to play better.

hope this helps

Funny, I think CSM are much more 'forgiving' then generic SM. No weird rules in CC, limited unit selection, best all around troop choices, and a no brainer HQ.

yakface wrote:Suggested by user: Shake Zoola.

What is the best 40K army for a beginner player to start with and why?

Space Marines for several reasons:

1. It is a small army.
2. Cheap to buy.
3. You will never be disappointed with the release schedule.
4. Easy to paint.
5. Forgiving of mistakes on the tabletop.
6. Straight forward tactics (and the army is still good while using them)

If money, time of assembly, and other factors are considered on top of the game rules and easiness to play then Regular Space Marines are it.

Perhaps I'm a little biased for it being my main army but I find the Imperial Guard to be quite forgiving in the gaming department, you can have so many troops that losing a bunch of them will not hurt you, so mistakes sting far less, and use of meatshields are actually desirable.

In a nutshell- Spehzz Marinez!!1!
But IG could be good, they have tanks and infantry, so noobs can have a go at painting both aspects.

Space Marines, of course!
No, really, they're really easy to pick up.

Guard's a pain to be your first army, very unforgiving if you screw up. I started 40k as them, my first games were awful. Then I got more chimeras

I would actually have to say Necrons. They might not be as easy to play as vanilla marines, but as far as modelling and painting go, they are a breeze.

I prolly should say i brought up IG cuz i bileive in starting whith the army you like rather than the easyest one that said i ditched them as a first choise in favor of Tau to avoid modelling & painting so many models straight up... Still feel i should'a went with the guys i like most and so should anyone else, letting others tell you what to do may get you stuck with an army that dosent suit you'r personal prefference of playstile.

I volted for CSM. Thier rules are more straightforward than SM's. CSM players don't have the added flexibility of combat tactics, combat squads and ATSKNF which add to the rules. I feel SM are more tactically challenging to play at a high level than CSM also. Most enemy lists are geared with marines in mind to begin with.

Tim the Biovore wrote:I would actually have to say Necrons. They might not be as easy to play as vanilla marines, but as far as modelling and painting go, they are a breeze.

Phase-out and terrible CC ability is why i decided against choosing Necrons to answer the poll.

out of total and utter bias i have to say tyranids

Seriously however with the massive amount of generic gaunts available there a good army to develop painting skills on. Same could be said for other horde armies (orks, IG).

I started with Tyranids simply because:

I like the way they look...
A new codex was coming up just when I decided to get into 40K...
An army for sale was easy to find locally...

Would I recommend it to others as a starter army? Not necessarily, but I don't rule it out. If I had simply wanted to learn the game and had no preference about the models or "flavor" of the army, I'd probably have chosen Space Marines. I'm certain you'll get a better feel for the rules overall with SM though.

But if a particular army interests you and you don't mind learning how to play them (and don't mind losing as you learn), go with that one.

I have played against one dark eldar player and that army seems like a pain not only to paint but also to play with. However if you are interested in putting in some time for hobbying and painting, a dark eldar army I think would be fun. Tactically on the battlefield though seems horrible that's why I voted the Dark eldar as being the worst army for a beginner. The best I think would be any type of space marines or chaos space marines, because they are versatile and not very numerous like IG or Tyranids.

ceorron wrote:Necron, and I see they are getting a good proportion of the votes. Simply because they are the easiest to paint. You don't need too many to have an army that works. Only a few easy-ish to understand special rules (with exception of the monilith).

This...

I couldnt have said it any better myself...these are the EXACT reasons I started as necrons...and why i feel they are the best beginner army out there!

Marines of any varient (BA, SW, BT, DA, SM). Forgiving, easy to paint, they all have good models, and are tough all around. And you can write as much fluff as you want, cuse hey, SUCCESSOR CHAPTERS FTW!

I started with dark eldar, but I won hardly any battles for years!

I chose Orks. The worse you build or paint them, the better they look. It is very difficult to create a bad list and strategies are very strait forward. Plus, they are very effective against most any one. And, with the Assault on Black Reach set so readily available, Orks are cheap to get started.

I voted Space Marines. They're no more forgiving per say, but they show every aspect that 40k has to offer. You can play a shooty SM army, or a more up close and personal army, or even hybrid.

EDIT: Also, new players won't be overwhelmed with the vast amount of models they have to paint. That's still killing me after years of this game.

One that you like the best in the GW Starter Packs

multiple choice poll needed

Any of the armies in the list that have been updated the last Year or so works fine.

The perfect example of a starter army is, as much as i hate to say it: Vanilla marines.

All you need are the codex and some models, then after the player has gotten a grasp on the basics and settled into a favored playstyle he/she can paint the models into a variant chapter like space wolves or blood angels without spending too much.
Tactically flexible, no inherent flaws, and guaranteed to always be updated regularly.


The other dark meat is the orks, that is, if you want to roleplay a chav, or just aren't into the whole "grimdark" of the 40k universe.
Line is updated with disproportionate regularity.




Slightly older codices that work with a few caveats:

Tau is doable in points over 1500, as long as the player is aware of that he'll be fine. loads of gear and options are useless.

Eldar is definitely workable, with it's very modular synergy it's easy to learn, but initially hard to win with.

chaos.. now hear me out, it's great and all, but it's aging very badly, starting out with a barebones codex when every new codex get insane amount of toys and special rules for a better price than your barebone units probably feels like getting a broken nose on the first day of boxing practice..


bad examples:

Necrons, no.
easilly painted, maybe, actually being fun to play, nope, gives a very shallow impression of the game.
player retention is very low after they understand that they are gimped to hell and back for taking the "newb-friendly" army.

Dark eldar..
being shoved into the "must use one of two list variants to function" mentality from the get go isn't a positive experience.

witch/daemonhunters , anyone completely new to the game should be steered clear from both for his own sake, later if he *really* loves 40k and the thought of 200 lbs of minis equalling the cost of a car doesn't bother the player, then that player can make an informed decision.


A few thoughts anyway.

Space Marines are the way to go. Lots of options, good leadership and ATSKNF, fantastic models, and great rules. When I got my 3rd Edition box set I was hooked on the Marines. Nothing against the Dark Eldar, but they were too annoying to glue together (compared to the marines that is).

Caboose wrote:Ya know, for the amount of complaining that everyone does about GW's support for SM's, there seems to be a general consensus that it works well for beginners. So, of course they are going to focus on support for them, if its universally considered to be a good starter army, they can rope in more new people if its constantly the most up to date and balanced force that is easiest to use. Just saying.

Required ease of use =/= Required over-updating.

Voted SM, they may be a little bit more diverse than csm but they are a whole lot easier to paint , they are focused on alot by gw and kept simple to make it possibly for anyone to grasp and play

It really depends on what the player prefers. But if I had to pick one it would be generic SM; easy to use, collect and paint.

orks; you just rush forward with your army and charge, you need a lot less strategy to play them, therefore they are really nice for beginners, especially if you have never played any wargaming games before.

And guard just stay there and shoot. Which dosen't change the fact that both need you to assemble and paint looots of models.

yea but guard wants to stay out of cc, so you have to think about running away from the enemy when they get too close, while orks onlyshoot if they have shoota's or when they are loota's

Uhm a commissar in a 20 man squad means i dont run from anything that dosen't outnumber me, tarpiting strong CC units is no big deal, hell i've beaten 3 termies in CC in just 3 turns, that was 3 turns where he tried to kill a unit without having the attacks to do it fast and eventually was draged down, and yes the rest of the termie squad was shot down before that.

well in the end it will be just what you prefer that makes it better for you: raging "things" that slaughter everything in their path just for the fun of it, or organised humans with numerous strong tanks. (and even a aircraft from the size of an apocalypse model )

It's got to be vanilla marines. They are forgiving and there is no mass of rules to learn and you can paint them any colour you want

Who in their right mind would say Eldar!?!?!
And Nids? Most new players I know cant pin...

a lot of players will just say the army they find the easiest, but this is most of the time an army you play a lot, for example: if you play da for 5 years or so you can think they are easy, but they are not easy for new players

Marines, either CSM or SPESS MUHREENS HURR!!

Yeah, pretty much SM or CSM.
they have a solid range and both codex's can teach a new player almost all aspects of the game.

Yup, Codex Marines. Assembling an army can be even cheaper when you start taking loads of cheesy, expensive add-ons.

I do have to disagree with votes for Imperial Guard, however.

First, it's not the easiest army to maneuver. While Guard is forgiving in terms of casualties, it's quite ponderous on the field. Furthermore, any of the weapons a Guard player will want to rely on like meltaguns and massed lasguns require advancing to close/medium range. If you're up against a melee-based army, the battle can be won or lost by a few inches.

Second, assembling and painting Imperial Guard is no easy task. Compared to Space Marines, you'll find yourself painting several times as many models on the same point level, and painting so many identical infantrymen can get tedious.

Guard is more of an intermediate army. It's not impossible to start with them, but getting together a sizeable force requires a lot of dedication and playing them requires a bit of practice to get right.

Deuce11 wrote:Funny, I think CSM are much more 'forgiving' then generic SM. No weird rules in CC, limited unit selection, best all around troop choices, and a no brainer HQ.

QFT, although I voted SM because they have more usable options for HQ and fast attack choices.

I think orks as they are reasonably cheap and they have simple rules. As they are so messy it is easier than some armies.

Well Space marines have always been called the noob army that people play before they pick their "real" army. By that I mean that everyone I know who plays 40k starts with space marines then moves onto a second army. And people who only play space marines are WHFB players who don't want to be left out on 40k nights.

lolololololol i click SM for obvious reasons and see the result: lol might have known. 67%!

Wish I could vote again for chaos daemons. Makes you learn faster than other armies. "so I have to deep strike?What's that?.....OH,okay,sure...Wait,where's the rest of the army....Oh,okay.......hey, why can't I assault nao???"

Space marines? You have got to be kidding me!

Yes, let's take a new player and have him start an army that everyone has kitted their lists out to beat, and that has no specialized units, so it's difficult to figure out how to play with them. Then let's throw a bunch of toys at them with obscenely expensive upgrades so that they are tempted to take as few models as is possible. Then, we'll tell them that their army is "forgiving" so that they march their units out against artillery and in front of dedicated assault units and get ripped to absolute shreds.

The ONLY thing that marines win in is that they're easy to paint. With everything else, well, there's a reason why new marine players lose a lot of games.

My vote went to orks. Cheap AOBR models, units which are obvious in their use and straightforward in their strategy, and are still relatively easy to paint. The guard are even better except that the collecting/painting is so damnably expensive in both money and time.

Ailaros wrote:Space marines? You have got to be kidding me!

Yes, let's take a new player and have him start an army that everyone has kitted their lists out to beat, and that has no specialized units, so it's difficult to figure out how to play with them. Then let's throw a bunch of toys at them with obscenely expensive upgrades so that they are tempted to take as few models as is possible. Then, we'll tell them that their army is "forgiving" so that they march their units out against artillery and in front of dedicated assault units and get ripped to absolute shreds.

The ONLY thing that marines win in is that they're easy to paint. With everything else, well, there's a reason why new marine players lose a lot of games.

My vote went to orks. Cheap AOBR models, units which are obvious in their use and straightforward in their strategy, and are still relatively easy to paint. The guard are even better except that the collecting/painting is so damnably expensive in both money and time.

I have never thought of that before and you are quite right. I started with sm and I had a lot of trouble winning games, although painting was quite easy. Since my little brother started playing 40k I told him to collect orks, partly because they are easy to play with, cheap and quite easy to paint, (and also because I had split an AOBR kit with him). So I think Orks are a good starting army. Not quite sure about guard though. But you are forgetting another important thing about the hobby. People who start armies pick them because they think they are cool and they like the feel and look of that army, not so much for its battlefield effectiveness, people worry about that later. I think that the most important part of collecting an army that you like the look of the army you are collecting, because you are going to be looking at them for a long time (with painting and modelling), that’s why I chose SM. If you keep that in mind any army is a good starting army.

Yes finally a person who can think independetly – every army is a good starting army, thank you man

well, every army is a starting army, but not all of them are good starting armies, and only one (or a close tie between a few) can be the best.

I mean, you could start with Dark Eldar. This means that you have to mail order your miniatures and even your codex because not even retailers are allowed to stock them anymore. Meanwhile, you've got to figure out their non-universal-special-rules entanglements while trying to paint miniatures that look awful unless you're a pro painter. Then, you've got an army that you'll have a very hard time winning games with for awhile.

You CAN start with a DE army, but I'd have a hard time saying that it's somehow equal to every other army because all other armies are equal with regards to new players.

I disagree with this type of mentality entirely. A player should start with the army they want to play. Er, just jump in with the Tyranids if they want to, or the Eldar or whatever. I am not trying to be obtuse, but a man should take his lumps with whatever army he wants right off the bat, molding both the army and himself into the force/commander he needs/wants.

Just my 2 cents.

Got to go with the marines on this one. Easy rules and the models are more common and easy to get good prices on in trades or ebay.Usuallly everyone has some space marine models or bits hiding in their extras even they dont have a marinr army.

TAU!

they are so easy to play... . .. and win with..

my first ever game i played was my art teacher who has been playing for years (played as orks) and me as tau

even though it was only a 1k point battle.. still wiped the floor with him...

Disagree a bit there chap.

Tau are, by definition, one of the premier 'second armies' that people go to after space marines. Mainly because against a good player, if you screw up, you can get destroyed in short order...

I voted Space Marines mainly because every single unit in the codex is at least decent. Sure there are simpler armies (A basic Ork horde, for example) but the fact is, space marines are cheap, anyone can pick them up and do decent, and with those 3+ armor saves and solid statline, if luck goes in your favor you can beat armies that you shouldn't.

I'd say Necrons are a very easy force to start with.

a basic army with no wierd troops choises, just build up some Necron warriors and get a Necron Lord. For them, the rules are pretty easy. They are resilient as few, they have good firepower, and are easy to paint up to be playable.

Once one have learnt the basic rules, there are plenty of choises to continue at from each of Fast attack, Heavy support or Elites. For example; Destroyers, Tomb Spyders or Immortals/Flayed Ones.

I'd say Space Marines are more complex for a starter than Necrons. Both for modeling, painting, and gaming at low point costs.

Tyranids. They don't have vehicles or any other related stuff that would wrech what the tyranid army stands for to confuse new players. I did, and i don't regret it.

Da 'nid crusher wrote:Tyranids. They don't have vehicles or any other related stuff that would wrech what the tyranid army stands for to confuse new players. I did, and i don't regret it.

Not so.
While Tyranids lack vehicles, they also lack a decent amount of AT aside from close combat. (Yes, try slogging a Carnifex towards a Raider or Wave Serpent...lol)
They also have a lack of high armor saves outside of Monstrous Creatures which means you have to think tactically with your troops. (well, maybe just a little bit.)
Many beginning Nid players I have seen take all the shiny Ymgarl stealers and MC's and get stomped because they look cool but are relatively easy to avoid.
Greetsz,
Mr. Self Destruct

Mr. Self Destruct wrote:

Da 'nid crusher wrote:Tyranids. They don't have vehicles or any other related stuff that would wrech what the tyranid army stands for to confuse new players. I did, and i don't regret it.

Not so.
While Tyranids lack vehicles, they also lack a decent amount of AT aside from close combat. (Yes, try slogging a Carnifex towards a Raider or Wave Serpent...lol)
They also have a lack of high armor saves outside of Monstrous Creatures which means you have to think tactically with your troops. (well, maybe just a little bit.)
Many beginning Nid players I have seen take all the shiny Ymgarl stealers and MC's and get stomped because they look cool but are relatively easy to avoid.
Greetsz,
Mr. Self Destruct

Maybe, however we are talking about beginners here, not retards! Simple tactics aren't hard to come by if you have a brain. Yet i do tend to stear clear of tau when playing 'nids.. i'm not explaining this because anyone with genral knowlage of these armies will know. (i will admit that the saves are awful since it being hard to upgrade them with the new codex)

space marines spoil young players. If you get used to the 3+ armor save, 4s/4t and the 9 leadership, you'll quickly find that anything less than a 3+ save is trash. I sure learned that the hard way...

I played my first Tyranid game today. I won, mainly because of my trygon and hive tyrant wiping the floor with marneus calgar and a land raider (which I kept stunned and immoblized for 4 turns).

I like tyranids a lot, but guants with their 6+ save is getting annoying. Seriously. Chaos Space marines and loyalist marines have spoiled me.

Id say its fairly unanimous that space marines is the way to go for a beginner.

Necrons - Fairly easy to paint and play
Space Marines - Little harder to paint than necrons, little harder to play because of wider variety of options

However I think any beginner should go with whatever army they are most attracted to, rather than what is best for beginners

Man I started with Necrons and have yet to win a game with those damnable robots. I still love the shiny little bastards, but damn, they are far too easy to annhilate. Crap CC abilities, half their units are broken (Pariahs, Wraiths, Flayers), almost zero mobility, and their only dedicated anti-tank unit has only one wound and is a big easy target. They're easy to paint and collect, but they suck ass on the battlefield right now.

By beginner army I think learning the game, and had to go space marines. Easy to paint, forgiving to play and expandable (with a little repaint) into more complex options like space puppies or DA. Plus if your only investment is an AOBR set and you decide on another option, your not out alot of $$$. Orcs are readily available, but not as forgiving to play, 3+ saves on marines can definitely pull your arse out of the fire more than a 6+ imho

Morgrim wrote:This certainly seems to be an overwhelming response. <.< Orks are pretty forgiving if you want an army that can just muck in there although not so much shooting.

loota boyz and killa kan are some of the best shooting units in the game


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Flying Pooo wrote:

Ailaros wrote:Space marines? You have got to be kidding me!

Yes, let's take a new player and have him start an army that everyone has kitted their lists out to beat, and that has no specialized units, so it's difficult to figure out how to play with them. Then let's throw a bunch of toys at them with obscenely expensive upgrades so that they are tempted to take as few models as is possible. Then, we'll tell them that their army is "forgiving" so that they march their units out against artillery and in front of dedicated assault units and get ripped to absolute shreds.

The ONLY thing that marines win in is that they're easy to paint. With everything else, well, there's a reason why new marine players lose a lot of games.

My vote went to orks. Cheap AOBR models, units which are obvious in their use and straightforward in their strategy, and are still relatively easy to paint. The guard are even better except that the collecting/painting is so damnably expensive in both money and time.

I have never thought of that before and you are quite right. I started with sm and I had a lot of trouble winning games, although painting was quite easy. Since my little brother started playing 40k I told him to collect orks, partly because they are easy to play with, cheap and quite easy to paint, (and also because I had split an AOBR kit with him). So I think Orks are a good starting army. Not quite sure about guard though. But you are forgetting another important thing about the hobby. People who start armies pick them because they think they are cool and they like the feel and look of that army, not so much for its battlefield effectiveness, people worry about that later. I think that the most important part of collecting an army that you like the look of the army you are collecting, because you are going to be looking at them for a long time (with painting and modelling), that’s why I chose SM. If you keep that in mind any army is a good starting army.

Orks are Hard to play waaagh gives you fleet for 1 turn and new ork players always use it 2nd turn.all but 4 units have a 6+ save only 3 units get a 4+ and if you do want a 2+ they always move through difficult terrain

i also play Space Wolfs. Go Drop pods for the win and 18 long fangs with 15 ML

I'd say Space Wolves are the best for a beginner.

For two reasons.

1. Counter attack, mixed with strong heroes and power armor makes for a very forgiving army when you make mistakes. Also certain abilitys that make them stronger, such as being able to split fire with Long Fangs.

2. Difficult to stray away from the base strengths of the army. With vanilla space marines, kids normally buy one of every unit and are left with a very weak army.

i would say an army you can use with out using many special rules

I voted Space Marines because they win in two out of three categories.

1) Easy to play? Orks.
2) Easy to paint? Space Marines.
But this is the key:
3) Easy to build an army list with? Space Marines.

Since I started playing I've watched six other people pick up the hobby. The story was the same. They saw Space Marines being marketed, fell in love with them, bought an army, put together a list, painted them, played... and lost. But they were hooked on the hobby anyway, so they tried a second army based on battlefield tactics more than fluff, sometimes twice, but eventually found an army that is NOT Space Marines that they now play, and win, with. With the exception of one, who still plays Space Marines.

It can be noted that Necrons can in fact be filled in for 2 and 3 instead of Space Marines. Unfortunately, they're even harder to win with than Marines if you're brand new to the hobby.

ig teaches em that you lose games ands gets them to use tactics

Basic Marines; good dollar/point ratio, pretty easy to pick up quickly and more forgiving if you make mistakes.

Orks you can just charge and such and win.


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but guants with their 6+ save is getting annoying

So cheap, use them for screening and have the real threat behind them, t shirt saves are nothing tho

While it pains me to say this, SM. It's a very powerful, very forgiving, and very flexible book. Allowing a new player to try out many different play styles without having one mistake getting him thrashed.

ceorron wrote:Necrons Simply because they are the easiest to paint. You don't need too many to have an army that works. Only a few easy-ish to understand special rules (with exception of the monilith).

+1

I also say Necrons:

Necrons are a good choice to see if you're really going to like 40k enough to get to your next, real army. Not only are they easy to paint, they will quickly accustom the budding gamer to the boredom and monotony of modelling & painting. And on the tabletop, suffering defeat after crushing defeat with their one viable list will kill the new player's sense of being a tactical and strategic genius. He will emerge from these labors more endurant, humble, and wise. Also, he shall know no fear. And that'll be fitting since one flavor of SM or another will be his next army.

Seriously? Who voted for Witch hunters? I know 6 of you are out there

You know what? Tau. I find Tau easier to play than space marines, oddly enough(I play mainly against orks, and three quarters of them are dead before they can get halfway across the map). JUst slam the crap out of the enemy with long range firepower. For the greater good, of course. And battlesuits are just so versatile they can fill almost any role in combat, even assaulting. Their special rules aren't all that hard, either.

SM

Cannerus_The_Unbearable wrote:Chaos Marines. Fewer options than Space Marines so less to know, one of every unit type available to learn the basics, and a broad range of models to choose from as well as varied fluff to experiment with.

I absolutely agree that Chaos Marines are the best. I love C:SM and play them regularly but the variety actually makes them harder to play then many other armies in my opinion.

Orks or Spase Muhreens.

Space Marines are very forgiving of mistakes.

There is a lot of variety in how to build your army, as well.

*sigh*

Space Marines.

I want to say Chaos,but they don't have all the fun options as C:SM as they have models for any strategy and can easily be changed to fight different enemies.

I would like to say Eldar because you have to learn everything. It's a brutal learning curve. But that would either make for some good practice before moving on to a more forgiving army, or just discourage new players who didn't have the guts to stick it out, so, I guess I vote SM. It's friendly for the youngins.

It depends too much on people's personal preferences, how hands-on they are, how much spare time they have, how much disposable income they have, their local meta-game... There are too many variables.

SM, CSM, Cron
the MEQ trio

if you are mad enough vanilla no shenanigans Elite Nids(Warrior instead of gaunts) would also work fine

Chaos because it is easyish, introduces some special rules and it isnt played by everyone!!

Necrons get back up 3+ armor save simple to use. All units can destroy armor.

I actually said SW would be best....just seem like an easy to understand beat stick to me. Aim them at the enemy and get into combat a soon as you can.

Orks are easy : CHAAAAAAAARGE

Space marines... everything is easy with SM...

But when the newbie will become a little bit more experienced, he will choose another army, I hope...

Space marines have some of the cheesiest base troops. I should know, I play Dark Angels. The Tactical Marine troop is a monster and forgiving in combat, shooting or close combat. It takes a very savvy player to take them down, usually takes more than twice the numbers.

'Nids are a good starter horde army. Fluff-wise, you don't have to care about rate of attrition. They are cheap as hell and swarm like a mofo.

Lol 19 people said dark eldar?

Dark Eldar ARE the best. Once a player learns how to play DE, playing any and all other armies will come far more easily. It empowers the player with a tactical versatility that no other army will provide, and then they have free reign to pick up any other army, and almost immediately they play it very effectively. The most amazing SM and Tau players I know, started as DE so they could become accustomed to the need for flawlessness. ALL the sloppiest players I know, without exception, began as SMs... And are stuck forever playing them because they get even MORE decimated playing anything else.

SMs are probably the WORST army to start with. People who begin with SMs are too often doomed to never get the hang of other armies, because they require tactical forethought to play. I've noticed that people who begin with SMs are seldom able to break away from them. They become accustomed to the handicap bonus, and they find it difficult to function as a tactician, as required by other armies.

Space marine, simple rules, variable play styles, lots of models.

JB wrote:

I voted for Space Marines. Most of the reasons why have already been covered by others. The only points I would add are the availability of AOBR models, the ease of working with plastic, and the small size of the force makes it easier to play during games. Making decisions for 40+ marines is easier than pushing 120+ Orks.

What interests me more are the votes for Witchhunters. They have expensive models with a lot of metal that are tough to get right now. They also have very specialized rules (including faith points) that are not easy for new players to grasp. As a parting shot, they aren't very easy to paint either.

with this thought in mind I voted for the daemonhunter (I.E. Grey Knights) due to the fact that they field notoriously small armies ranging from pillboxed purifiers spamming psycannons to truly terrifying psyfleman shooting across the board. Where there would be 40 marines to command, 20 knights would sufficiently take their place point-cost wise.

Whatever army looks good and or interests a player. For me, I would not buy or play if I did not like the models.

This is the only reason I chose Eldar, before ever having played the game.

Space Marines! They are easy to learn and it's easy to start a SM army with AOBR.

Space Marines. Fairly easy to get a hold of the rules, easy to paint, very adaptable tactically and small force means cheap to buy.

I'd probably say Necrons.

They're incredibly easy to paint, the We'll Be Back rule will certainly make a beginner feel like he has a lot of power at his fingertips, The Monolith is the most powerful vehicle in the game (hands down), and they're basically Space Marines in their statlines (except for their initiative and the ridiculous WSKNF that Space Marines have, but their guns are almost on par with the Tau, so that makes up for it). You don't have to worry too much about building your list; as long as you have a Monolith, anything else goes. It's almost impossible to make an ineffective Necron army.

Admittedly, a newbie might get frustrated if they get caught in melee with Necrons one too many times (which is what The Monolith is for), but WBB makes things much less painful than they would normally be. If, say, Tau got caught in close combat, they would be just as fethed (if not moreso), without the saving grace of WBB.

Space Marines are much more well-rounded than Necrons, but this doesn't necessarily make them easier to use.

Space Marines, if you don't like the rules of Codex Astartes, you can use a more Raven Guard like approach or another chapter that bends the silly rules.

As strange as it seems, Necrons.

They're easy to paint and simple to play, as their's no complicated assault to worry about, as your genna get mown down anyway.

And when your just beginning, people should go easy on you. and by the time you start loosing, you'll have looked at SW and say, 'Ohh, space vikings!'


P.S. Apologies to all Necron players.

1. Space Marines
2. Necrons
3. Chaos Marines
4. Chaos Daemons

Marines - Chaos or Vanilla, but not a Variant. I think that some of the special rules can confuse players (blood frenzy etc.) of course, they should do whatever they want, but I would learn to play with vanilla marines.

Blood Angels: normal SM with some extra oomph in their CC and the only stratagy is throw at them what ya got.

Ultrasmurfs are almost always used by beginners (GO GUARD!)

Space Marines basic, because they don't have so many complex rules to learn, I started with IG and a friend started with Nids, He had to read his codex every 20 seconds, playing with a friend who started space marines was easier too.

spave marines - Easy rules and Assault on black reach (which means orks are second)

Space Marines, just because they are more of those models in stores and they look easier to paint

Eldar. No, they're not forgiving. I don't think being 'forgiving' is good for beginners. It takes longer for them to learn from their mistakes. Eldar have an unit per job, and this would help the beginner learn quickly what kills what, what gets killed by what, and to never take Swooping Falcons.

Generic Marines , very easy to play and paint!

Regular Space Marines, they are easy to learn.

I voted Regular Space Marines. Good solid troops, fun units, and the most forgiving when you make mistakes. Great starter army.

now that most metal nids have been upgraded to finecast,ther lighter and easier to construct and nids dont have to worry aboutvehicle rules as they dont have any.thats why I started them.that and battle for maccragge gave you 24 nids and 10 marines

obviously SM but if any one votes witch hunters then they must be out of there mind!

SM are cheap...no GW models are cheap my friend :(

Segef wrote:Basic Space Marine , Ork or Eldar I would say.

While I myself started with Eldar and still play them as my biggest army I would not recommend them for a beginner. You have to play very carefully and know about all synergies and tactics else their frailty will outweigh their strengths quickly. Other armies have drawbacks, too, but in case of the Eldar any opponent uses it by simply shooting or hacking at you. Other weaknesses might have to be spotted first and abused accordingly.

@Topic
I chose vanilla SM, cause they are easy to learn, to play and to paint.

SM basic codex

they are sturdy and good for everything, it's an excellent starter army.

personally I think space marines being a good starter army is a misnormer. yes the army is forgiving, but you also have to really know what your doing to be good at them espescially since the 'for fun" variants I've come across are a lot weaker than most army's "for fun" lists. I say necrons are the best current army for begginers because its relatively easy to paint them and you tend to learn fast when you get curb stomped. That and theres no excuses if necrons defeat you so you dont have to deal with the whine factor(barring you have the luck of a leprechaun).

Vanilla Marines are probably the easiest...I can't beleive 20+ people said DE!

i have to sigh for this one

(sigh)

everybody hates vanilla marines but yet they will advise them to noobs...(confused)

ok they are an army easly flexible and easy understandable rules i get that but for so much hate, why advise them?

my advise is go for the one you like the models for thats to be sure.

oh and i voted for demons

The Manila ultramarines in my opinion are the best because A) They are a well rounded in all forms whether it be assault range land or air. B) as one of my 40k instructors told me is that point for point the ultra's are one of the most inexpensive models. also they are still powerful and versatile

Brother Sergeant Cody wrote:The Manila ultramarines in my opinion are the best because A) They are a well rounded in all forms whether it be assault range land or air. B) as one of my 40k instructors told me is that point for point the ultra's are one of the most inexpensive models. also they are still powerful and versatile

vanilla marines are like any other marine chapter so

A)you say they are the best for air, do they have the stormraven?
B) you have been led into the trap of GW selling ultrasmurfs AFAIK

not having a go at you, just curious about your claims...

Pains me to say this but, yeah, Space Marines are a good Starting Army

RatWolf wrote:Pains me to say this but, yeah, Space Marines are a good Starting Army

(gasp)

not you too

*looking defeted at the keybored*

the world already has too many vanilla marine players

any way you started off with SW and there good starters

daemons as well and they dont have to roll too many psycic tests for there powers and all of there army gains deep strike

*sigh* guess nobody loves chaos anymore...

happy - no i didnt start with Space Wolves, i started with Space Marines

Never said I don't like nilla marines. I don't like ultramarines for fluff purposes. If someone else wants to run them then I can live with that, but the truth is they are the easiest and cheapest to start and learn the rules with.

Space Marines are so easy to play and are relatively cheap as well. Plus tactics wise they are very straight forward.

RatWolf wrote:happy - no i didnt start with Space Wolves, i started with Space Marines

*que lightming and a drum roll*


GASP

Tyranids is deffenietly not the best army to begin with. it relys too much on synergy and there is just many things that you will have to think about when playing Tyranids, so making it a starting army wouldn't be the best idea. Though I was very happy that they made the battle for macragge starter once. I wouldn't have been playing right now, if it wasn't because of that one.

However my Vote will go to Space Marines. Easy to paint, easy to assemble, Easy to understand.

Wow i would consider that unanimous for Space Marines. However I don't think that is exactly fair there should be a least two more easy armies to play.

tyranids... They require much less tactical knowledge than space marines.

Orks. It seems that the general strategy seems to revolve around charge forward and melee.

My vote went for 'nilla Marines. But looking back now, I should have chosen the Orks when I bought my 2nd Ed box set......
The Marines stood me well but.....My second army was IG and I stuck with them for ages, however not so easy to game with.
So, looking back, Marines are probably the best way for kids and noobs to get into the tabletop hobby..*sigh*

Well, basic space marines, because they're forgiving to new players, and are simple, also necrons are new player friendly. daemons aren't good for new players, I know from them being my first army.

Voted Marines, though I think Orcs are a fair starting army.

I have to say, as a WH player, with several thousand points, whoever suggested them as a starting army (10 of you so far) are horrific trolls. Yes they are wonderful thematically, and I adore my pure sister force (given the inquisition half of it got raped by the new white dwarf codex), but they were horrific a choice to start with; only half the dex is worth using, and the entire army was metal.

IS A trap

I would Say Dark Angels because when you can field an army of nothing but Terminators sometimes you don't need tactics.

Generic marines - Easy to adapt to

White Ninja wrote:I would Say Dark Angels because when you can field an army of nothing but Terminators sometimes you don't need tactics.

So can Gk. They can field an army of Psyker Termies, with force weapons, or 2 wound Termintors( Paladins).

DakkaDakka wrote: