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Hi all. As per another thread I had 10 days or so ago, I havnt played 40k for a loooooong time. Still abreast of some geenral stuff via reading some excellent Horus Heresy books...but the actual modernisation of 40k as a game is not something im familiar with.

As per my previous thread, I was advised on what to buy and bought Dark Imperium. Actually went down to the Store in Sheffield....didnt even know it was still there. Last time I had been in there I was playing a demo of Epic 40k(or SPACE MARINE) as it was called then.


So, the helpful people in the store gave me my Dark Imperium and I am busy bluing things together. Will paint Death Guard first then try decide my Astartes Chapter.

I have a few questions as while I am building/painting I will probably get a few other things-

1- I will play mainly at home vs the wife, nothing serious, just me getting my 40k Fix. With this in mind, what board size will suit best?

2- With the board size in mind, what point totals are used for games generally...and what would suit me best given low key games at home and the table size?

3- Given they will be low key games....are Tyranids or Genestealer Cults complex to play?

4- Thinking of buying a bigger army box down the line(possibly Genestealers/Tyranids and IG). Are the Apocalpse boxes really hard to find now? I think im right in saying they were made just for Apoc release and not many around?

5- Army/Unit cards. I was under the impression(dunno why) that the game had unit cards (think Satar Wars Legion) nowadays? Myabe im wrong but just thought they were part of it but I cant see anything in the Dark Imperium Box? Can see stats in the Book.

6- Lastly, any recommendations for Terrain? Where from? Thinking of a battered human city with some areas blasted/damaged from battle. Maybe some industrial zone with some ruins, some intact.


Thanks all

I don't really play 40k any more, but for terrain try TTCombat.

They do cheap-ish mdf terrain in plenty of different styles. You'll have to paint it yourself to get it looking good, but I think you'll find what you're after.

1) for smaller games 4'x4' is fine. When you get to 1500+ pts area 6'x4' is better.
2) you are probably better off starting with ~1000 pts mark. However keep in mind balance is generally dependant on point values with smaller/bigger favoring others(one easy example is that necrons benefit the smaller the game is). However for home casual games not too bad. Your armies aren't worst for this
3) would avoid cult probably. They are rather different army to play with and against so unless you have specific reason stick with more normal army. Deploying against counters can be weird experience.
4) The apoc boxes were splash releases so once they are gone they are gone. Ergo if you think getting one get one if you can find. Once they sell out there's no more coming.
5) knights have unit cards. Others have just cards for objectives, spells, stratagems etc
6) GW sells one if you can afford. Bunch of 3rd parties also make. You could also make yourself which in long run can be cheaper but initial price can be pricey and requires practice and effort. It's matter of how much effort/money you want and what kind of end result you are looking for.

VAYASEN wrote:
1- I will play mainly at home vs the wife, nothing serious, just me getting my 40k Fix. With this in mind, what board size will suit best?

A typical game board is 4'x6'. Nothing requires this size though. For games of 1000pts or less, a 4'x4' board is fine. For really tiny games, 500pts or less, you could probably get away with a 3'x3' board.

2- With the board size in mind, what point totals are used for games generally...and what would suit me best given low key games at home and the table size?

The most common "format" for game size is 2,000 points. However, that's really big for where you are now, and diving into it after so long at that level is going to be a little overwhelming. Right now, I'd say aim for 1,000 and get used to that points level before expanding up to 1,500, and lastly, 2,000 points. This way, if you grow into the game together, and get used to your armies together as well in tandem.

3- Given they will be low key games....are Tyranids or Genestealer Cults complex to play?

Tyranids not especially, but Genestealer Cult yes. I'd say that Genestealer Cult, currently, are the most complex army to play, with lots of high cost stratagems that force inventive army mustering techniques while punishing the player for misusing them due to their high cost and risk, blip counters and mind games with them that again can punish you just as well if you don't do it right, and many units with little rules that are easy to forget or play wrong (like the Patriarch of your cult not benefitting from Cult traits, but the Familiar that's dancing around with him, which is a mental creation of the Patriarch, DOES benefit). Tyranids are fine; you have dudes, and you want to keep them close to Synapse, and you follow an easy-to-understand rule if you don't (Instinctive Behaviour). Even still, save that for once you're both familiar with the contents of your starter box.

4- Thinking of buying a bigger army box down the line(possibly Genestealers/Tyranids and IG). Are the Apocalpse boxes really hard to find now? I think im right in saying they were made just for Apoc release and not many around?

Not sure. Apocalypse never really took off in my region. Best asked at your FLGS.

5- Army/Unit cards. I was under the impression(dunno why) that the game had unit cards (think Satar Wars Legion) nowadays? Myabe im wrong but just thought they were part of it but I cant see anything in the Dark Imperium Box? Can see stats in the Book.

Dataslates are what you've probably heard it called. You can find them in an army's codex, but there's also a pamphlet that carries the unit's base stats found in every package right now. So your Dark Imperium box should have had a pamphlet for each the Ultras and the Death Guard. Note, this pamphlet will be fine for your starter games, but the dataslates for all your units has been changed recently (all Marines and Chaos Marines gained a rule that gives some extra attacks), and the Ultra's rules are now MUCH different, as they just got a new codex. That said, you can still have fine games with the rules found in the box.

6- Lastly, any recommendations for Terrain? Where from? Thinking of a battered human city with some areas blasted/damaged from battle. Maybe some industrial zone with some ruins, some intact.

I've purchased most of my terrain from GW, or from folks that were selling collections. Do some google searches and you'll find LOTS for sale from many folks, and it's all generally very good. You'll also find LOTS of videos and articles on how to build your own, if you're up for it!

Good luck!

VAYASEN wrote:

5- Army/Unit cards. I was under the impression(dunno why) that the game had unit cards (think Satar Wars Legion) nowadays? Myabe im wrong but just thought they were part of it but I cant see anything in the Dark Imperium Box? Can see stats in the Book.

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Warhammer-40-000?N=2562756967+2947549427&Nr=AND%28sku.siteId%3AUS_gw%2Cproduct.locale%3Aen_US_gw%29&Nrs=collection%28%29%2Frecord%5Bproduct.startDate+%3C%3D+1569939900000+and+product.endDate+%3E%3D+1569939900000%5D&view=all

These might be what you were thinking of.
They include cards for objectives, psychic power cards, & stratagems. All stuff in the codices/rulebook, just on cards. Not required for play, just much handier than page flipping.

40k doesn't have cards for individual units.
Age of Sigmar (the current version of Warhammer Fantasy) does, though these are only produced right when a new book is released & when they sell through that's it.

VAYASEN wrote:
6- Lastly, any recommendations for Terrain? Where from? Thinking of a battered human city with some areas blasted/damaged from battle. Maybe some industrial zone with some ruins, some intact.

Well, start with GWs site. After the sticker shock wears off....
* Take a look on Warlord Games.
* Just google 40k terrain. There is NO end of stuff available. Any price range you'd like.
* Visit your local pet supply store. You know all those trees/rocks/buildings/& assorted plants for aquariums? They make GREAT wargaming terrain.
* For cheap (pine) trees? Tis the season.... Take a walk through the Christmas section of stores. Those pine trees that go with the little Christmas building houses/towns? Perfect. Even better is visiting when they go on clearance on the 12/26
* Visit your local hardware store - look at all those shapes! Especially in the plumbing/gutter/venting sections.... Now imagine them fused together in interesting new ways with a few coats of paint & your SMs hiding behind them....

Lots of good comments here. A few things to add:

I play the same style- just getting the fix with my wife our our small group of friends. Smaller scale really works for us; factions can ally, so for us, a few units of marines, a few of guard and a few of sisters work better than a big army of a single faction.

You can use it as a big 40k army or as three separate kill teams. That style doesn't appeal to everyone, but consider it. It's really fun playing small kill team missions that lead to a full 40k game.

Regarding Big Boexes: We may get big boxes for Christmas- they usually do special bundles, so even if the Apocalypse ones do disappear you'll still have something to fall back on.

And regarding scenery- we build. It doesn't look as good as the commercial stuff, but it's way cheaper and allows us to get exactly what we want. Because we do small scale and 40k, we need building with interiors. So we build stackable levels with roofs that come off one room at a time- great for cityfight style search missions.

So far we have six levels, and we can stack them in any configuration.They come apart easily enough that you can unstack them with models inside them midgame if you want to get into the minutiae of measuring interior distances or even running firefights and combats inside the building.

I haet the way ALL GW buildings are broken. I mean, I get it- Grimdark, plus ease of access. But damn, Imperial citizens have to actually live somewhere, right?

Anyway, again, doesn't work for everyone, but there's me two cents.

VAYASEN wrote:

1- I will play mainly at home vs the wife, nothing serious, just me getting my 40k Fix. With this in mind, what board size will suit best?
2- With the board size in mind, what point totals are used for games generally...and what would suit me best given low key games at home and the table size?

For games lasting 60-90 minutes 500 points and a 4x4 board is fine. We use a 6x4 in reality as it gives space to put all the bits. If you wanted to use a 6x4 board for a game it takes up to 1500 points, higher than that and model densities really constrict what you can do. Those games last 2-3 hours.

3- Given they will be low key games....are Tyranids or Genestealer Cults complex to play?

Not really at 500 points, but those 'stealer cults are a more complex army than the line up and shoot variety.

4- Thinking of buying a bigger army box down the line(possibly Genestealers/Tyranids and IG). Are the Apocalpse boxes really hard to find now? I think im right in saying they were made just for Apoc release and not many around?

Yes... though shops like Dark Sphere often still have them.

5- Army/Unit cards. I was under the impression(dunno why) that the game had unit cards (think Satar Wars Legion) nowadays? Myabe im wrong but just thought they were part of it but I cant see anything in the Dark Imperium Box? Can see stats in the Book.

No, unit cards are in effect in the books.

You can also get them here
http://wahapedia.ru/wh40k8ed/the-rules/playing-this-game/

For making armies Battlescribe is accurate enough.

6- Lastly, any recommendations for Terrain? Where from? Thinking of a battered human city with some areas blasted/damaged from battle. Maybe some industrial zone with some ruins, some intact.

So many choices... If you want fast go for pre coloured MDF terrain. Otherwise MDF is cheap enough and events like Salute let you buy an entire table for £100. Otherwise the amount of cash and effort increases to whatever you want to do.

Thanks for the info all.

Absolutely loving putting the models together (and just primed the first Plague Marines from Dark Imperium).

Cant help but wonder though, given the nature of what I will be playing...low key vs wife at home, if I wouldnt have been better buying Kill Team?

No regrets though, actually playing aside, loving making 40k models again.

VAYASEN wrote:
Thanks for the info all.

Absolutely loving putting the models together (and just primed the first Plague Marines from Dark Imperium).

Cant help but wonder though, given the nature of what I will be playing...low key vs wife at home, if I wouldnt have been better buying Kill Team?

No regrets though, actually playing aside, loving making 40k models again.

Kill team is really just a rule set based upon 40K. You can use your models from Dark Imperium. I'm not sure if there is a free rules primer for Kill Team. In my experience there's a lot more book keeping involved (things like flesh wounds) and rules like falling off buildings etc. It's not a huge amount quicker than standard 40k in my experience. If you're interested just pick up the rule book (or primer) - many of the basics are the same (rolling to hit, wound, save etc).

I recently rejoined, but found myself overreaching with buying new models. I can only recommend to not burn out in your new excitement! Get a few, paint them, enjoy it and build your army after that.

Don't worry about the large box sets like apocalypse ones... they're good value compared to buying them seperately, but they turn up once or twice a year. There will be something around Christmas time. The "Start Collecting" boxes are fairly good value too and mean you don't have to build huge numbers.

If you're looking to save a little time painting I can recommend at least looking at the contrast paints, especially for your death guard.


Welcome back and check out the local gaming section if you want to seek out clubs. Many are extremely welcoming!

TarkinLarson wrote:

VAYASEN wrote:
Thanks for the info all.

Absolutely loving putting the models together (and just primed the first Plague Marines from Dark Imperium).

Cant help but wonder though, given the nature of what I will be playing...low key vs wife at home, if I wouldnt have been better buying Kill Team?

No regrets though, actually playing aside, loving making 40k models again.

Kill team is really just a rule set based upon 40K. You can use your models from Dark Imperium. I'm not sure if there is a free rules primer for Kill Team. In my experience there's a lot more book keeping involved (things like flesh wounds) and rules like falling off buildings etc. It's not a huge amount quicker than standard 40k in my experience. If you're interested just pick up the rule book (or primer) - many of the basics are the same (rolling to hit, wound, save etc).

I recently rejoined, but found myself overreaching with buying new models. I can only recommend to not burn out in your new excitement! Get a few, paint them, enjoy it and build your army after that.

Don't worry about the large box sets like apocalypse ones... they're good value compared to buying them seperately, but they turn up once or twice a year. There will be something around Christmas time. The "Start Collecting" boxes are fairly good value too and mean you don't have to build huge numbers.

If you're looking to save a little time painting I can recommend at least looking at the contrast paints, especially for your death guard.


Welcome back and check out the local gaming section if you want to seek out clubs. Many are extremely welcoming!

Ah right, I had in my head Kill Team would be a smaller/easier small skirmish game....at least thats something out of my head to go buy!!

Thanks for the info. Im ok re painting...I have painted some other stuff so up on things (sort of) and already painted the Plague Marines from DI....just waiting on the Nurgle rot and Biel Tan Wash to arrive in the post before adding more details.....all main colours done and really enjoyed painting them.

I think I will just paint up the DI set and then look at a bigger box nearer Xmas if they are going to release something then. Any idea when the Xmas offers usually appear? Are we talking early december?

Kill team is definitely a smaller skirmish type game, but they've added in more details in exchange for large armies and troop counts... but really in a 1,500 point 40K army I might have 5-10 units. Now in a 100-150point Kill team I have 5-10 single models. Less dice to roll, but more modifiers and bespoke rules and book keeping.

I think the smaller number has encouraged some really awesome teams being made up and some good story making.

TarkinLarson wrote:

Don't worry about the large box sets like apocalypse ones... they're good value compared to buying them seperately, but they turn up once or twice a year. There will be something around Christmas time. The "Start Collecting" boxes are fairly good value too and mean you don't have to build huge numbers.

But no quarantee your faction gets one(well except if you are space marine) and composition might not be good. If you see apoc box available that you like might just as well get one before they go out. They are often really good value in money wise. Provided you want them all. But that's up to each person(I for sure will get 2nd necron box if there's one available once I have money. Just too good value not to!)


Automatically Appended Next Post:

VAYASEN wrote:

Ah right, I had in my head Kill Team would be a smaller/easier small skirmish game....at least thats something out of my head to go buy!!

Well it is but thing is why limit for one? If you have models you can play both! Same models work fine for both so if you enjoy both play both! They have different feel so gives different experience.