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.

A coworker seeded the idea of Warhammer 40k into my listening phone's news feed over the past year. He knew I was into Magic: The Gathering, and what recently made me cross the line was when he explained to me how loyal 40k fans are gatekeeping the hobby/lore; this is in contrast to MTG, which has been transitioning away from high fantasy for a long time but is now even transforming from its own proprietary worldbuilding into a Fortnite-style platform for other IPs. While this was a mooted concept early on (Deckmasters), I got into Magic to play Magic, and so this past year and the outlook for the upcoming one have been disheartening.

Enter 40k. I've tried delving into the rules, lore, and tips, and admit I'm overwhelmed. While I'm opposed to Universes Beyond in general, I've found inspiration in what 40k units I'd like to play with from the 40K Commander decks Magic put out, and so I've settled on my first 2000 points being an Adepta Sororitas army full of Triumph of Saint Katherine, Sister Repentia, Zephyrim, and Arco-Flagellants--I'm a fan of Miracle as a mechanic; plus, as a recovering Catholic, their 40k flavor speaks to me. I've been dabbling in some singular units here and there for narrative play--as a Vorthos, I'm very intrigued by Inq28/Mordheim/Crusade/even Kill Team. But I have to admit, I don't understand the rules for match play that well--I'm sure I'll get the hang of it playing enough in person, but that's an intimidating prospect, so I'll try to watch a bunch of match reports to figure out good strats & tactics.

My questions on here will probably strike everyone as noob, but this is my first ever wargame (though of course I made up my own games with figurines at hand as a kid).

Welcome to the world of 40K - please deposit your money in the box and fill in the form about the details of which organs you'll be donating first to help you with further payments.



Honestly I'd say its less that the community is "gatekeeping" and more that GW are simply not interested in selling out their game to other IPs. Instead they are doing the opposite and monetizing their IP much more so which has led to more merchandise; Joytoy models; Video games*; animations (through Warhammer+) and a live action deal with Amazon!

So yeah its the total opposite of what MTG and Wizards (ok its Hasbro lets not kid ourselves its all Hasbro pushing stuff) are doing.


Sisters of Battle have an awesome army now with totally modern plastics for everything in their range (got a Big update not long ago). For learning I'd suggest getting hold of a copy of their Codex and a copy of the Big Rule Book (search ebay/fb trade groups there should be loads of the current 10th edition rulebook floating around). The Big Rulebook also has loads of lore in it to get you caught up; though you might want to find the smaller version on the website that is much more practical for gaming with.
After that play some intro games and take your time - 500points is all you need to work toward to get started (less if you go for Killteam as a gateway to models and gaming). You can then slow grow your army from there.
Ask around locally too - sometimes clubs will run growth/expansion/learning/new army campaigns where everyone basically starts really small and steadily buys and adds more models over time building up to larger and larger battles.


*including the awesome Dawn of War series and the even more awesome Total War Warhammer series