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TL: DR I'm sold on 40k, and am super stoked to play this game.

I've avoided 40k for a few years now for several reasons. First, I'm on a budget and the sheer retail cost of a 2000 pt army just seemed ridiculous to me. I got into Warmachine because it seemed like there was a lower model count for the average sized games (I hadn't heard of games like Infinity and Malifaux at the time). Second, I fell in love with the 2d6 system, the balance across factions, and the convenience of having all the model's information and rules on a handy card. The War Room app is pretty sweet as well, and effectively saved me money I would have spend on a rulebook (just being frugal). When I thought about the cost of the books for 40k, it just put me off.

The LGS in my town is pretty much GW only, though they play other games (just not WM/H). I've ranted about this before on here, and reddit and the privateer press board and to just about everyone. So I drive 45 minutes when I want to play games. Recently, I've been debating again whether or not to start 40k, and my partner got fed up and just said "go buy a box and try it".

We don't want or allow discussion of this nature on Dakka. Be smart please. Ta. Reds8n , reading forums, taking quizzes and looking at the models. I love to paint, convert and magnetize, had received various 40k models over the years to paint for people, and I was really looking forward to the hobby side of the game. I decided to pick up Dark Eldar pretty much because they are SADISTIC SPACE ELVES and I wanted to listen to black metal while painting them. I figured that if I didn't like the game, I could paint them well, wait for the new codex, and sell them on ebay or to some other nerd (win win win). I also bought the codex.

I've always been into the 40k universe (played most of the PC games) and loved the fluff. The stories are surprisingly rich and every race has a dark and brutal history. My favorite are the Eldar just for ghost robots and being so terrified of their final fate that they upload their consciousness to a machine in order to escape it.

I was completely blown away by the plastics (though finecast is watch the language please. and i'm glad it's going away). Clipping the pieces off the sprue made me feel like I was 10 again, assembling my GI Joe vehicles. Every piece snapped perfectly in place or glued with zero pinning required. I loved the options available for customizing figures, swapping weapons and heads for hours before deciding on final assembly. I ended up magnetizing two of the Kabalites (splinter cannon/dark lance/rifle and the Sybarite) and one of the Wyches. Everything else was resolutely assembled because I didn't care enough to magnetize the sails on the Raider and I doubt anyone will quibble over the heat lances on the Reavers.

So with everything snapped together, I headed down to my LGS (the one where they don't play PP games) after chatting with a couple of the guys I know who play there regularly. They've been doing Kill Teams lately, which was great for me to observe instead of the sprawling 2000+pt, 3 hour games. I was surprised at how simple the core of the game was (dice pool and a few easily remembered charts), but struggled a bit with all the different weapons and special rules. I spent a lot of time thumbing through the shop's rulebook, because a pdf just doesn't cut it when you have 5 different things you are checking. Still, I had so much fun just hanging out, chatting and thinking about ways to not get blasted off the table.

Here are my final thoughts. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the narrative of the game. People were describing their model's actions and motivations to each other, interacting with the terrain and just having a blast, win or lose. I've fallen headfirst into the fluff pit now as I make color choices for my Kabal. I never "roleplayed" Warmachine and so 40k has been a real treat (since my D&D party rarely meets anymore). I'm also really happy about ALLIES, since I will most likely end up collecting Eldar instead of DE. I still favor Warmachine and Hordes for its 2d6 elegance, the balance between factions, the tactical gameplay and overall synergy of the armies. I'm just glad that I finally gave 40k a shot, and will definitely work it into my gaming schedule. The LGS is starting an Escalation league, so I think I'll use that to build up my army slowly.

Thanks for reading!


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EVIL SPACE ELVES!!!!

Glad you're having fun, and thanks for sharing the positivity.

Seems like a big part of you enjoying your foray, is that the group you went to play with sound like a really decent, fun bunch. This is a huge factor in anyone's (but particularly a newcomer's) enjoyment of the game. Shouldn't be forgotten or underestimated.

Good luck with your eldar.

Good that you like it! It is defiantly easier seeing small games than a 2000+ game.
Would avoid that P word on here you mentioned about rulebooks and such haha

But that picture....is quite disturbing