Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hi all!
After first getting to know Warhammer 40k from playing Dawn of War, I've finally decided to start the hobby.

As none of my mates are joining me I guess I'm all on my own- and lost.

I know nothing about the actual tabletop game other than the awesome looks of miniatures.

After doing some research online, it seems like Space Marines will be the best option to start with (and paint-friendly compared to other races!).
I heard that the Codex/Codices has all the rules for SMs.

Now, just one question:
Do I have to play the Ultramarines when using the Space Marine codex?
I wanted to play Crimson Fists (the color scheme looks awesome!)

I didn't see a separate codex for Crimson Fists online- does that mean they don't have their own rules?
If I can play Crimson Fists, how should I start? Do Crimson Fists get any special rules for their theme?

And finally, should the first thing to purchase the Start Collecting! Space Marines box?
After that, what should I buy next to expand the army?

Sorry if I asked a lot of questions but since being new to the whole hobby, I have so many questions to ask!
I don't want to start in the wrong direction :(

Thank you for all the help/advice!

For the Emperor!

Welcome to Dakka, 40k, and the Space Marines.

Marines are a good place to start. They are a fairly solid army, easy to paint, and well supported. The basic marine codex is a catch-all book for all chapters that don’t have their own special rules (like the Space Wolves, Blood/Dark Angels, etc). It contains the main rules for the Crimson Fists, including a special character. Although the way the rules are set up, you can also use anything available to the Imperial Fists. There is a supplement book, Angels of Death that contains some more options, but you don’t need it. It’s got some nice stuff in there though.

Before you start picking up units, think about the kind of army you want to play. There are as many ways to build a marine army as there are players, so you need to find the right one for you. Some units/builds are more competitive then others, but there are very few “trap” choices. At least on the FLGS level of play, you can take one or two of the sub-par units and still be OK. You might just have to tighten up the rest of your list to compensate. But think of what’s drawing you to the army. Either what units you like, or playstyle (drop pod assault, mechanized spearhead, combined arms, etc)

When looking at box sets there are a few things to keep in mind. One is to get things in actual boxes. GW’s webstore often has “deals” that offer no savings. But if it comes in a box, there is normally a discount. But only if you want to use the stuff in there. The more stuff in the box you don’t like, the worse the deal becomes.

The start collecting box isn’t bad. Unless you do some weird list, you are going to need guys in powered armor. The ven dread kit is one of my favorites to build/paint, and very iconic to the lore. A little “meh” on the table, but workable. The terminator captain is OKish. He’s got a jack-of-all-trades gear load, and you don’t see a lot of terminator captains in lists these days.

If you do start with that box, there are a number of places you can go. While you could field a legal list by breaking the tac squad up into 2x5 man squads, you probably want another troop pick. Another tac squad would not be a bad plan. If you like scouts, they also work. IMHO tac squads need a transport. So picking up a rhino (get a razorback kit if you can, for a few bucks more then a rhino you can field it as either) or a drop pod should be on your short list. There are pros/cons to all the options, but they should have one of them.

The terminator captain really wants some friends to hang out with. One problem with terminator armor is that it makes it rough to get him into a squad, as he doesn’t fit into rhinos. And terminators, while being fluffy, are a little “meh” on the table. Same with Land Raiders. They do look cool though...

A box of devastators will give you more heavy weapon options then just the tac squad’s ML, so would be another good pick. Sternguard work well for the ‘Fists, and is a very nice box of bits. You can cut it with some spare tac squad bodies to make a larger squad, and use some of the spare bits from the vet box to bling out your sergeants.

Hey mate!
since no one has yet replied ill help you out, I got u.

Injection wrote:
Hi all!
After first getting to know Warhammer 40k from playing Dawn of War, I've finally decided to start the hobby.

As none of my mates are joining me I guess I'm all on my own- and lost.

I know nothing about the actual tabletop game other than the awesome looks of miniatures.

After doing some research online, it seems like Space Marines will be the best option to start with (and paint-friendly compared to other races!).
I heard that the Codex/Codices has all the rules for SMs.

Space marines are a good place to start, as they're fairly easy to play with. But if i were you i would choose the army that looks coolest to you.

Now, just one question:
Do I have to play the Ultramarines when using the Space Marine codex?
I wanted to play Crimson Fists (the color scheme looks awesome!)

No, you dont have to play ultramarines using the SM codex, you can use any codex compliant space marine chapter with it. i would recommend buying the SM codex first before you do anything and just read it, and you'll see all the different chapters you can paint etc.
but yes, you would need the SM codex to use crimson fists.

I didn't see a separate codex for Crimson Fists online- does that mean they don't have their own rules?
If I can play Crimson Fists, how should I start? Do Crimson Fists get any special rules for their theme?

All of your questions will be answered if you read the SM codex.

And finally, should the first thing to purchase the Start Collecting! Space Marines box?
After that, what should I buy next to expand the army?

You can buy whatever you want, the start collecting box is a decent start to an army. but if you are looking to play the game more than paint/model i would recommend the kill team boxed game. It comes with 1 Space marine tactical squad, and a tau fire warrior squad, and all the rules to 40k and a small scale game called kill team.

kill team is a good place to start just because its small scale.

hope that helps.

Space Marines are broken up into a few books.

Codex: Space Marines is the book that most people refer to playing Space Marines. You can pick a "Chapter Tactics" that affects bonuses your army gets and those chapter tactics are Ultramarines, Iron Hands, Imperial Fist, White Scars, Salamanders, Raven Guard, Black Templar. Crimson Fist would fall into this category but they do not have a specific chapter tactic.
There is a supplement called Angels of Death that has extra formations and rules for Space Marines and includes stuff for Crimson Fist (don't get your hopes up, it only has warlord traits for them which is a super minor thing.

Look up 1d4chan Space Marine tactics
This will give you a nice breakdown of the Space Marine codex and its multitude of formations and rules without directly posting the rules. WARNING contains bad language so if that offends you then I wouldn't read it.

Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Dark Angels, Grey Knights, and Deathwatch each have their own individual codex as they have different unit entries and rules but by fluff standards they are Space Marines but have different organizational standards and a lot of stuff that is different than Space Marines.

As for starting Space Marines it is really up to you what army you want and what color scheme you want to use. Use an official chapter, use a fluff offical successor chapter, or make up your own chapter. Also even if your army is painted up in Ultramarine Colors you could play them using White Scars chapter tactics or Raven Guard. Just to reemphasize your color scheme has no bearing on the validity of your army or what rules you can or cannot use from the codex.

For getting models there are a few options. The most expensive method is buying individual kits while it can be cheaper to buy the Start Collecting box as its a discount over buying each thing individually. You can also buy Betrayal at Calth or Burning of Prospero as they contain a lot of good models and its very cost effective.

Calth has no iconography molded on its armor so it can be good for ANY space marine faction and includes 30 tactical marines (with melta gun, plasma gun, flamer for special ranged weapons and heavy bolter or rocket launcher as heavy weapons), 5 Cataphractii Terminators (they have rules for them in Angels of Death and are imo better than standard terminators), and a Contemptor Dread which is one of the better dreads for space marines. It also has 2 characters that work well for a Chaplain and a Terminator Captain. In all its a lot of models for cheap and can make a good base for a Space Marine army. Sadly no grav weapons though.

Don't know as much about Burning of Prospero but it also has a lot of tactical marines, terminators, and has Custodes and Sisters of Silence which can ally with any space marine army and their rules where released for free on the website. The two characters included are rather obviously designed to be Thousand Sons and Space Wolves so they wouldn't really fit outside of those factions but you can always look to trade.

In all what your doing is exactly the right thing, ask questions from veteran players and learn from their mistakes, take their advice, but remember that ultimately its your money and time that is being spent so do what makes you happy.