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So, I have only played a few times, and I lost most of those times. I have limited experience with tabletop strategy games, and my current technique is to run at the enemy between cover and shoot at them, and to throw my assault units at them to slow them down while I try to deal with other their other stuff. Let me tell you, this is a very different beast than RTS' or TCGs, but I'm good at those, and hope with advice to learn to be at least moderately decent at this. I don't mind losing a lot, but I want it to be at least fun for me and my opponent to play against me, and not like playing a tactical dud. Particular advice on how to properly use DE/Harlies, Grey Knights, Tau and Sisters would be appreciated, as they are the armies I plan to collect, currently own 500 points of each due to some friends selling me them for cheap, deciding my first armies for me.

Hey welcome to 40k. I took a few editions off, so for me its also like starting over since nothing is how I remember it. Youtube or twitch battlereports are a good start to see actual games being played and see some tactics.

I'm in same position as you and what I can say to you is:
Play, watch and learn.
I played about 7 classical w40k matches and I won only once (the poor guy took a slow melee army against my Guard)
First.few games I was steamrolled, almost literally, but last two or three I can see I'm doing better. Also you can watch other peole to play (both in the flgs or on the internet), analyze tactics people wtire to get to know what unit is really capable of and so on.
Give it some time and remember, "no scholar fell from the skies" (at least, that's how we say it.)

I'd say take the time to do a post-mortem on each game, win or lose. Consider what went well, how the terrain impacted the game, whether your upgrades paid off, who earned their points back in kills, how your turn sequence, mission objectives, and dice fortunes played out. A good debriefing is helpful, usually for both players.

Also, these forums are awesome for honing the way you think a d approach the board tactically.

Learn the rules inside and out and know your codex just as well.

Having fun is what's most important. What makes miniature gaming stand out from other games is that you'll put hours into the setup of a game, with painting, modelling, reading the lore and picking your army. Winning is secondary to building an army that appeals to you. As for actual help with winning posting your army lists in the army list forum and put down a "begginer wants help" in the tactics part might be a good idea. Other then that it's like every game, play, learn, improve.

As for some actual advice....
*Basic knowledge in probability math. 9 fire warriors rapid firing 18 pulse rifle shots kill 2 marines for instance. Most people do the math while playing and calculate how much damadge they'll do. It's easy to catch on to ones you get the hang of it. (Previous example: 18 pulse rifles shot marines. The fire warriors have bs3=4+ to hit. Marines have T4 vs the pulse rifle str 5=3+ to wound. so the math: 4+ to hit=1/2. 18hits/2=9hits. 3+wound=1/3. 9/3=3to wound rolls failed. 3-9=6wounds. 3+save=1/3. 6/3=2saves failed. 6-2=4saves. all of this equals 2 dead marines). Naturally since it's dices this can not be taken as certainties but it's a good frame of reference. In particular it's usefull to know that for two dices 7 is the most likely result, hence"7" is standard charge/scatter lenght.
*good knowledge on infantry and veichle rules, particularily concerning transports. This will help you pick your targets and decide what's the most threatening/highest priority to focus on.
*Chose if you want to focus on killing your opponent or win on objectives. Both are quite viable and you should generally decide on one before/during a game.
*Good grasp on all the rules really. Naturally learning anything is nigh impossible and most players keep their codex and a rulerbook on hand on all gaming occations, but a good grasp on them will help alot. Particularily all types of saving throws (armour, invo, cover, fnp), instant death, and overwatch.
*Plan your deployment and generall game plan. Have an basic idea of how you want to play (what unit goes where? Which units work well in clsoe proximity to one another? which advance and which stay?). You'll probably get a few wins but when that plan inevitably fails, re-think what went wrong and re-do it. Ladder-rinse-repeat.
*Focus on one army at a time to learn it's strenght and weakness. <-This is sort of special because most players start out with one army and use that exclusively for a long time, learning about what's good and bad about it, what it can and can't do. I'd suggest you play a few games with just one of your armies to get a grasp on how it functions. However, if you like swapping armies often then don't let it interfere with the next point, which is the most important one of them all.
*Have fun and be nice. I can't stress this enough. naturally gaming should be fun and if you just want to win then I can't for the life of me understand why you wouldn't play a computer game instead. Miniature gaming is a social activity by nature.

 HCMistborn wrote:
So, I have only played a few times, and I lost most of those times. I have limited experience with tabletop strategy games, and my current technique is to run at the enemy between cover and shoot at them, and to throw my assault units at them to slow them down while I try to deal with other their other stuff. Let me tell you, this is a very different beast than RTS' or TCGs, but I'm good at those, and hope with advice to learn to be at least moderately decent at this. I don't mind losing a lot, but I want it to be at least fun for me and my opponent to play against me, and not like playing a tactical dud. Particular advice on how to properly use DE/Harlies, Grey Knights, Tau and Sisters would be appreciated, as they are the armies I plan to collect, currently own 500 points of each due to some friends selling me them for cheap, deciding my first armies for me.

What have you got for DE/Harlies and I can give you some pointers for them?

As specific situations can only be viewed by the people playing the game or watching the game in person....after your games, ask your opponent what they would have done in your shoes?

You'd get some honest answers and you'd be able to start seeing in those games a different perspective on how to play.

 Gordon Shumway wrote:
Learn the rules inside and out and know your codex just as well.

I think this is the real answer.

Part of getting better will just be knowing what units are good in your own book to take, and what units to remove first from your opponent's army. The rest is pretty basic with 40k. Shoot the choppy ones, chop the shooty ones, kill the biggest threat to your army ASAP, and don't forget about the mission.

Particular advice for 40k, you are joining in a strange time where there is such an extensive collection of supplements it is hard to keep track of it all.
On a more positive note: any style or combination of armies you ever dreamed of having: now is the best time ever to play anything you want.

1) Learn the big book rules really well. If you have the paper book, do not be afraid to add multiple bookmarks for key rule areas.
2) Learn the rules in your codex really well. Be confident in knowing what each unit does and their stats/rules.
3) Learn the game scenario rules / setup.
4) Get a clear idea of what style of play your army is designed for and try to play to those strengths.
5) Be nice and remember you are "just learning" and put no pressure on yourself.

At this point you would be a "pleasure" to play games with and you can only get better at it.

6) Learning some probability math I agree is helpful: it really helps with decision making when you are toying with that idea of benefit to cost of rapid firing plasma.
7) Snagging the codex for "common" opponent armies is helpful to "know your enemy". Surprises from special rules can be irritating or your opponent misinterprets his own rules.
8) Army lists are key: one of the least random elements of the game = more control over your odds. There is this fine line of pulling out a "netlist", a "competitive" one or a "fluff army". It appears if you know who your next opponent would be, you may want to discuss.
9) Having picked and assembled models you are happy with to play: practice, practice, practice. I find people who really know their list are a hard opponent to beat: they know fully what the army is capable of, what it can and cannot do.
10) Look at how well your army performs with the various objectives: "maelstrom" is a favored "random objective generator".

At this point, you can hopefully start being strong competition or winning games.

I find generally, the more you know, the more relaxing the game.
You can better concentrate on other things and the game flows quickly.
It is important for you and your opponent to have fun.

A few odd "etiquette" items I would want to point out that our forums get into lively discussions on:

1) Keep at or below the agreed points limit for army selection and upgrades: 2 points over many people consider it cheating.
2) Please try to keep your army WYSIWYG: it makes things much easier for you and your opponent to see the model and know what it does.
3) I was bad for this: people are divided on painted vs. unpainted models. I would suggest that if you "black prime" like I do, do not leave it that way for long. It is terribly hard to see details on a matt black tiny model: at least get some block painting done like on the weapons.
4) Difficult "trap" to get into is that yes, you created an army list according to the rules but put together a "cave face" list. Some discussion on how not to bring a gun to a knife fight may be in order.
5) If at any time someone is browbeating you into something: this is your hobby time too, you are under no obligation to play a game with someone who may be too pushy to enjoy a game with. Some people need to win for a "pick me up" or ego boost and you need not be a victim to that. On the other hand, keep an ear open for people gaming who laugh and carry on: they are very likely good people to get a game in with them.

The above list looks too much like work but if you like these games it should not be a big deal.

I hope all goes well and you find fun in the great grim-dark.