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Figured I would be somewhat creative with the subject title (new player looking for help didn't really cut it for me)
As stated I'm looking to start something different as Warhammer 40k is just getting to expensive for me to keep up with at the moment.
I played Necrons (still do when the mood takes me) and I was looking for a similar fit in the mean of heavy, Machine based but somewhat frighten if pulled off well enough.
Coc and Cryxx (though it isn't machine still looks pretty good) where what I was lead to but I thought I might find a second opinion here as to how they play?
Cheers

Sorry just realized this was in army lists was meant to go in general.

First warning. If you are looking for Privateer Press games to save you money, you are going to have a bad time. A 35 point starter may be quicker to get on the table than a 1500 pt 40k army, but you are going to be shelling it out if you want options in the long run.

As to play styles, Cryx are the top end of utilizing the arc node aspect of the game. Lots of movement, lots of ability to debuff your opponent.

Cyriss is all about synergy. Probably one of the hardest factions to pick up without having a fundamental rules. Individually the models are good but not spectacular. Lots of abilities that work best with other models. Think markerlights.

A 35 pt army is probably the most common points match up.

$100 at your local FLGS will net you a faction starter and a couple of different add-ons to bring you up into the 25-35 point range.

The quick-start rules cover about 80% of the rules. So, a rulebook is NOT a necessity. Faction books are nice for the fluff but are not needed, as all model info is printed on its card.

If you plan ahead and proceed carefully through eBay, bartertown, Dakka Swap Shop, e-tailers (with deep discounts), and swaps with any of the locals in your area; you can put a 50 pt army on the table for roughly $100.

CoC is roughly 1 year old and looks to be very much a synergistic build of an army. Probably difficult to play right off the bat.

Cryx is much more straightforward of a faction to play. Necromantic robots...'nuff said.

Your area has Pressgangers (PP guys who hold tourneys and demo the games) out looking for guys like you. They will pretty much break their back (if they are worth their salt) to help you get started.

In a learning game a WarmaHordes player will help you, a lot. I have yet to see someone "baby seal" a newb. But, and be warned, once you get good and begin playing competitive the gloves come off. Page 5 is no joke.

2 things on james' helpful post.

1) 35 point being the standard does certainly differ from store to store. At the three stores I regularly play at, 50 is the standard and you need to pick the right people/be the last person available to play a 50 point game. It isn't because these stores are populated by rude individuals, rather that is just the norm.

2) Page 5 being no joke is certainly accurate, but it depends how you mean that. It isn't the 'MAN UP OR YOU'RE A WUSS' thing that some people sadly have bad experiences with then post on the net about, it's more that the game rewards aggressive play quite a bit. I've always thought of, and experienced that, page 5 is more of a joke, playing up how aggressive play does well, than a hard and fast rule of 'MAN UP OR ELSE'.

The rest is accurate, but if you get into the game hard you'll end up spending plentiful amounts of money just because you'll play, say, Deneghra and a lot of banes, then go 'I'm bored of this' (after, you know, a few months/year/whatever), 'I'm going to buy Skarre and a whole mess of Satyxis', or 'Morty and all the Slayers' or stuff like that. It's really easy to want to just pick up another 50 point army because you see it in a batrep/on the table and think it looks like great fun. And while, again, it'll only cost a couple of hundred buying online, when that happens 3/4 times it reeeally adds up

See, I disagree to an extent about the cost of the product. First and foremost PP does not have the kind of draconian rules that Games Workshop does in regards to online sales. In addition, PP products have a huge wholesale to retail markup which means retailers online are discounting their product dramatically. The end result is most brick and mortars will also give you 20-35 percent off the sticker price whereas they only have about 10-20 percent wiggle room to discount GW products.

And even aside from GW, You'd be amazed how much commonality there is among units. I play Mercs, one of the most expensive factions to begin with, and the different legs of a merc army are so dramatically different. For example, if I want to run a Rhulic (dwarf) warcaster I have to run whole different battlegroup from what I run with my pirates. That said, there's a number of models and units which can be used in both, such as pressgangers and, in non tournament scenarios, solos and units like McDougal and E&H.

Then you have units and solos which are viable across multiple armies, such as Boomhowlers and Sylys.

I guess the point i'm making is while it's true you will get bored with one warcaster and will eventually pick another, and/or another faction alltogether, it's not like you will be starting at 0 points with that new caster/faction. I could pick up McBane, a dramatically different caster from Shae, and probably spend less than $50 rounding out his army in the form of a few solos. And I could literally just drop in Broadsides Bart for Shae and be good to go. My game play will be very different tactics entirely different, and yet it's mostly the same models.

I think you might want to look into the Trollblood Faction. They don't have the Machine look of Necrons, but they have an extremely similar playstyle of being extremely resilient, taking the first punch and then hitting back harder.

Starting up with Warmachine is cheaper, but in the long run you can spend just as much money playing Warmachine as 40k. The difference is that whilst you might spend $400+ on a single list in 40k, that same $400 will get you the models to pay a variety of lists with vastly different playstyles.

Just some trivia. I got 53 points of Warmachine for about 160 quid from the local FLGS. My 1500 pts. Tyranid list costed me 265... just saying,