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Hello all, a friend and I just decided to get into playing 40k and I was wondering where the best place to start would be?

I'm wanting to go with Tyranid but really don't know much about them or the overall game in general. I'm curious as to what kind of things I should look into getting and/or what to avoid.

Any tips or general help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

The "Start collecting boxes" are very good value. While the Tyranid one may not be ultra competitive, from a place like Dark Sphere in the UK It's only 37.50, which is just insane value.

In Tyranids right now, Genestealers, Broodlord, Swarmlord, Malonthropes, Exocrines and Hive Guard are currently all very good and what you will see on the competitive tables.

Go to a FLGS and ask for an introductory game. So you see what the rules are and how the game is played.
Ask if you can have a look at the index books to get an overview about the factions and units.
And always take your friend with you so he get´s the same info.

Take your time then decide what faction you like to play.

Go grab 300$ from the bank and burn it. That'll get you into the right frame of mind to move forward.

Yeah, asking your FLGS for a testing game is a good start to play. If you don't have one, perhaps you have a club localy. Try there.

A local FLGS can often have test models you can atemt to paint. GW sends them out to stores. Try that.

Tyranids are cool. In the start just pick a model you like and try to paint that one. Then ask some experienced player for good models to get you started on your army. Usualy an HQ and maybe some troops.

Go grab 300$ from the bank and burn it. That'll get you into the right frame of mind to move forward.

I recommend the opposite of this approach!

Start small, there is nothing more daunting than a pile of unpainted grey plastic. To begin with aim to collect 2 squads of 10 basic troops and a HQ unit as this is the smallest army that there is!
Alternatively buy one of the Start Collecting boxes which will be about the same price.

Tyranids are cool, but it is a struggle to create a narrative other than 'last stand against alien hordes' with them and your models don't have any individual personalities which gets a bit boring after a while.
Maybe consider the Genestealer cults as an alternative.

 Kroem wrote:

Start small, there is nothing more daunting than a pile of unpainted grey plastic. To begin with aim to collect 2 squads of 10 basic troops and a HQ unit as this is the smallest army that there is!
Alternatively buy one of the Start Collecting boxes which will be about the same price.

I would add a caveat to that though - armies built by collecting one unit at a time tend to be a little dysfunctional (what works at one point level doesn't always work as well at other point levels). Do start small and get a few games under your belt but find someone who can help you put together a full-size army list that you can work towards.

Thanks for all the input guys, really appreciated. Sadly my local FLGS doesnt carry any GW merchandise as it just doesn't sell here very well. I made a trip to a different store and they have a very active community for it there so I may try to find someone who at least knows the game and is willing to teach. I imagine I'll start with picking up the Start Collecting box and see where I go from there!

The Swarm box set is a great value as well. I just started Tyranids with the Get Started and Swarm box sets and I'm almost done painting them.