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As the title suggests, looking to get back into 40k after probably 20 years plus of not touching it and having forgotten anything I ever really knew! I have been collecting and painting Ais and various fantasy dungeon crawler types, but sci-fi has evaded me.

Essentially I'd been looking for an army I'd enjoy painting, as that's my main interest, but I would be interested in potentially playing people at some point as well(very casually). But I have pretty much no idea where to start? Orks are my choice as they seem the most fun to paint, but beyond that I'm at square one.

Ive watched a few videos and its like theyre talking a foreign language, im miles off the pace! From what i can tell, its not as simple as getting a rulebook and a codex, the rules seem to keep getting updates and changes etc, so I don't want to start in the wrong place and make decisions based on bad information, so any advice on where to begin would be much obliged!

(If this is the wrong place for this, I apologise)

If you want to concentrate on painting, and only maybe play the game. Then the thing to do should probably get some paints and some models and do that for some time . Orks aren't the most fun to play right now, and the edition is slowly running its course, so learning the layers of rules it has could be invalidated in 6-9 months.

Get the models you like, start painting, and cross your fingers that maybe in 10th ed they get good rules.

All armies go through cycles so I would probably pick an army that appeals to you rather than based on power. Orks may not be top of the pile at the moment but they are certainly not trash tier (poor old Necrons seem to have that dubious honour at the moment). If Orks appeal to you then I would suggest going for them. The differences in power level are not too important unless you are at the very top, very bottom or plan to play competitively in tournaments.

The rulebook and Codex will cover most of what you need. GW do update points in the "Munitorum Field Manual" but these updates can usually be found online. They also update missions fairly frequently but these are less important as long as both you and your opponent are happy. The missions in the rulebook are still perfectly playable if you don't want to constantly chase the meta.

Once you get your army painted and start playing, you may decide you want to look into newer mission packs and the like but you can probably manage without them when starting out.

So is buying a codex of ebay a place to start, or hold off until I've painted something? I figure the main rulebook can be "found" online one way or another to at least get a brief idea of the plan.

I don't really care if they aren't a good army, but I would prefer the things I buy to make a functional army. I looked at the Xmas battleforce and there was a lot of talk of it being mismatched, with the fixed pose Boyz not working as they are part one unit, part another due to their load outs. (Then talk of a speed waaagh and regular waaagh that went straight over my head)

BigOscar wrote:
So is buying a codex of ebay a place to start, or hold off until I've painted something? I figure the main rulebook can be "found" online one way or another to at least get a brief idea of the plan.

Wether you pick one up on EBay etc, or "find one" (while also "finding" the main rulebook), this is the current version of the Codex you'll want:
https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/codex-orks-hb-2021-eng

You should absolutely get the Codex + rules 1st before you go painting, buying, & most importantly assembling, stuff.

BigOscar wrote:
I don't really care if they aren't a good army, but I would prefer the things I buy to make a functional army. I looked at the Xmas battleforce and there was a lot of talk of it being mismatched, with the fixed pose Boyz not working as they are part one unit, part another due to their load outs. (Then talk of a speed waaagh and regular waaagh that went straight over my head)

This is why you need the rules & Codex 1st....

Ruleswise calling a Waaagh! is something a warboss can di during the game. It gives certain units in the army a 1 turn bonus. A Speed Waaagh! is what a vehicle heavy army uses. It's just a different set of bonuses focused on vehicles.

As for the Xmas bundle? Or really any multi-unit boxed set - Xmas bundles,Combat Patrols, Start Collecting kits, etc? Don't look at them as an army in a box. Look at them as "stuff you'll want" - in a box for some degree of $avings.

You're also going to hear plenty of negatives about playing Orks. (particularly much about how they suck in tourney/competitive play) They're only partially true. Especially if your expected play environment is casual. You can absolutely make fun to play, great looking, casual play Ork forces.

Orks are taking a bit of a kicking at the moment in the competitive world, but they're still going. If you're not about competing, then don't worry.

I would do as others have suggested; look up the various multi-unit boxes we've had over the years and buy the ones that have the most things you like the look of. I search "40k Orks lot" on eBay every few months to see whether there's any bargains I can pick up.

Even if it's a load of random sprues, most Ork kits are compatible with one another.

Otherwise, stock up on boys, Trukks and deff dread kits for bits, and you'll be able to kitbash anything you could ever imagine

Cheers guys, that is a helpful starring point. One of the big draws of orks was that even sloppy kitbashing works as its very ork style, so kits with plenty of bits seem a big plus. (I remember absolutely butchering my gorkamorka set as a kid, great fun)

Get a codex, get some Boyz, look up the rules then wing it from there looks like a plan. Thanks also for showing which is the current codex as there do seem to have been a few over the past 20 years