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I get on very well with my Father-in-Law, who is a long-time model maker of the trains/boats variety, and has long been curious about my Warhammer hobby. So naturally for his last birthday I pre-ordered him the 3rd edition Bolt Action rulebook (having previously established that ww2 is the period he’s most familiar with).

Now he’s starting to get overwhelmed with all the options available to him! Not knowing much about Bolt Action specifically, I’ve made some very generic modeling recommendations ie tools and paints etc. but what he really wants to know is what troops to build so he doesn’t auto-lose.

I really want to tell him that for historical games he doesn’t need to “chase the meta”; that he should just build a list that is true(ish) to the period and fun to paint, because Bolt Action isn’t as harsh as 40K for unequal unit choices… but I don’t know if that’s actually true!

What would you suggest for brand new wargamers dipping their toes into Bolt Action?!

Cheers!
Neil

If he's not going to be playing in tournaments then yes you are absolutely right.

If he has a particular force that he wants to use then the Starter Army sets are great.

If he wants to play competitively, then it is probably waiting to see what the V3 equivalent of Gurkha paras in a Bren carrier will be.

In the v3 force building, you NEED a rifle platoon, so basic troops and an officer.

After that it might be worth going through making a list with him and then seeing what he wants.

The basic box of soldiers is very versatile in Bolt Action and will enable you to build officers, snipers and even some anti tank weapons (depending on the force)


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Also worth saying that themed forces can work very well in Bolt Action too, mechanised infantry/footsloging paras/armoured platoon can all work out for you

I'd encourage him not to worry about auto-losing, but who will he be playing with? A local scene, tournaments, just the two of you? Have him pick up either a box of infantry from the army of his choice or a starting army box IMO. Get some models assembled and help him learn the basics of moving his minis, rolling to hit, cover, etc. I agree w/ Syrup -- soldier boxes are versatile and he'll probably love looking at the sprue options and starting it trick out his models. Maybe have him get on a forum or Facebook group or somewhere social to ask questions if he needs support. Nice of you to help him, have fun!

Starter armies are not so good now, a few can't build legal armies or will struggle

best bet is start out with a basic infantry box - can make junior officers and a couple of squads - go for historic load outs

will make the game playable at low point values and can then add a weapons platoon and maybe a third squad and see what play style appeals from there

the lists are all very generic currently and will be replaced

key bit is to enjoy it and not overly worry about people min/maxing stuff

I know it would be a second rule book, but have you considered the friendliness of the new bulge starter set and helping him dive into that? Killer set, good practice potential, and he can use the opposing force w/ a friend. Just a thought.

Thanks everyone for your replies! I have passed all this on and he’s very grateful.

He’s wondering about the templates and dice now, whether they’re the same as V2? I can’t find anything online to say they’re not, but don’t want to tell him to buy these: https://us.warlordgames.com/products/templates-tokens-and-pin-markers-set in case they’re not 🫣

Cheers,

Tokens, templates, and dice are the same as 2nd Ed. The only thing you need to add to your 2nd Ed. collection is more platoon commanders and, potentially, more order dice for the larger armies.

I find Warlord's tokens to be useless, though, as I can't read them.