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How do points determined army size? What size army should I start with?


Thank you Zeb

Discuss it with whomever you are going to be playing with. Also find out if they use match points or power points. Power points are on the data sheets match points are on their own tables.

Definitely discuss it with whomever you're likely to be playing against. I really like the Power Points system for quick and easy calculations, but once you get into points per weapons and stuff it can be a bit daunting for new players. Maybe? I've always quite enjoyed that aspect even when not playing, just assembling my models.

1.) Points/Power levels are determined before games. This is usually agreed upon with your opponent and you guys are free to choose any number (it would be hilarious to watch a game of 10 points sometime). However many points/power level you have is how much you can purchase for your army (this is in your rulebook). Points levels have no bearing on other restrictions, like how many detachments you can have or if you can have more than 1 unique character per army. The common points levels played at are 500 points, 750/800 points, 1000 points, 1500 points, 1750/1800 points and 2000 points. Anything above 2000 is generally considered an Apocalypse Game and those get five kinds of crazy (one for each digit. Yes these games are usually above 10k per side).

2.) That said. If you are just starting out, it's good to build your first army in 500 point chunks (starting at, obviously, 500 points). Start by trying to fill out the basic requirements for a patrol, then slowly move towards either a battalion or rounding out your forces with 1 of each of Elites, Fast Attack and Heavy Support (Superheavies and Fliers are not manditory).

When starting out, you might want to aim for 500 point lists. That makes for a nice intro to the game, but feels very small. From there you can scale up. Depending on your local store, most games probably range from 1,500 to 2,000 points, but what is “normal” can vary a lot with location.

But if you point out that you are just starting, most people will probably be willing to toss together a low point list to help teach you the ropes.

If it helps, my local GW store said that they tend towards 100 power point games most days