I've been meaning to do this kind of post for years. I see this question get asked all the time on social media and around the internet, or when I'm hanging out in a gaming store - I'm new to Warhammer, where should I start? After 23 years of collection Warhammer, and with 11th edition recently announced, I think I 've got some basic advice for new to the hobby folks who might be left wondering - where do I even begin?
There are a few things to keep in mind in this post. First thing is everything I'm about to say is my subjective opinion. At the end of the day, this will be your hobby journey and you should always do what feels right to you. Following that, the second thing to keep in mind is "The Rule of Cool". You need to like what you do, and that's central to the longevity of your hobby journey. If you don't like it, you won't stay with it. The third thing is the hobby is constantly evolving. Rules will come and go, models will be made then discontinued, which is important to be aware of. Also for the context of this post, the terms a "full army" or a "completed army" is implying a 2,000 pts collection that's game legal to use in a standard Warhammer 40k match. With those three things in mind, let's look at some of the components you should consider when starting your hobby journey.
1. Hobby Goals
One of the first components to think about - what do I want out of the hobby? Having an understanding about this will help guide and inform some of your future choices. For instance, do you intend to have a massive collection, or just a few figures to display? Is the game important to you, or is the assembly and painting more appealing? There are no wrong answers to these. But asking yourself these kinds of questions will help inform the kind of purchases you make, and how you grow your collection.
As an example for me, I'm more into the collecting, assembly and painting than the game. The game is fun, and I do steer my collections to be game legal (with what's game legal having been changed over multiple editions), but at the end of the day I add to my collection based on what I think would look cool in it rather than what I'd need to perform well in the game. This prioritization of collecting, building, and painting means I've built up quite a collection over the years. My basement looks like a Games Workshop store if all the product was built and painted, ready for the gaming table.
These questions can also have their answers change over time. Maybe your housing space is small, so a large collection isn't in the cards. Maybe you live more than 3 hours away from the nearest gaming store or in a country where Games Workshop products are hard to come by or really expensive. Maybe the local gaming scene is pure competitive but you just want to play some casual games and it's hard to find opponents. But then you move, or a new store opens up, or something else changes. This can work both ways and it can change your hobby outlook for the better or worse depending.
2. Time Investment
Another component is time investment. This is where if you took the time to ask yourself some introspective questions in the previous point about hobby goals, it will help you figure out some answers in this component. To say the least, this can be a very time intensive hobby. Hours of building and painting, and the average game being around 2-3 hours to play (with that amount of time scaling up depending on how big a game you want to play and/or how well you and your opponent know the game and army rules). Additionally, it can take any where from a few months to a year or two to build and paint a complete army depending on your approach.
For me, I always tell people up front that it takes time to get a full army on the table. When I start a new Warhammer army, I know personally for me that it will be about 3-5 years currently before I have a fully painted army. This has changed over the years, and by my interest level in a given project. When I started Drukari back in 9th edition, I was very invested in building and painting and was able to put the army together in a little over a year. But on the other hand, my Votaan army I'm working on is now almost 3 years old and only about half way to being a full army.
Some of the factors involved is how involved or intricate my chosen color scheme is, my responsibilities as a parent, and work commitments. I've also suffered a bit of hobby burn-out over the last few years which has had me reevaluate my time investment. There are undoubtably a bunch of other factors that impact someone's time commitment to the hobby and there are also some short cuts. Buying a fully painted army of someone drastically will cut down your time putting together a full army, but at the cost of putting your own personal mark on it. You can also commission someone to build and/or paint your army. There are many services out there to choose from.
3. Financial Investment
Simply put, this hobby is not cheap. I work in Canadian pricing, so references to costs will be as such. But getting even the smallest amount on the table is going to cost anywhere from $110 before taxes (which would be a character ($50) and an infantry squad ($60)) to $1,000 or more depending on the faction and where you're buying the product. Of course, 3D printing is becoming more of an option, but that is it's own investment as well and can impact some other parts of your hobby journey depending on what you are looking to get out of the hobby. But for this post's purpose, I'm assuming you're primarily buying the product and not printing it.
Part of this is doing some consumer research and knowing what your local area has to offer. I'm fortunate that I live in Ottawa and there are no less than 7 stores I can think of off the top of my head that sell Games workshop products (1 Warhammer store and 6 Independent Retailers), before I even have to consider the host of online market places. There is a bunch of things to consider about this as well. Different stores do different shelf costs, have loyalty programs, and product availability. This can have a big impact on where you buy.
The other thing to consider when buying kits is individual units vs box sets. Typically, you're going to get a discount if you buy a box set. This varies in amount from faction to faction and the contents of the box, but in an expensive hobby, every little bit helps.
Finally, you can also look to local Buy/Sell/Trade groups online or other online secondhand options such as eBay. There can be some great bargains from people who are just looking to move kits they don't want/need anymore. Obviously you should you caution when dealing with online options, but they can be a treasure trove of out of production kits you want, bulk selling deals, or fully built and painted collections.
4. Army Planning
A) Picking a Faction
So after considering the first three components (Goals, Time, Money), you are now acquiring your first kits. You have an idea about what you want out of the hobby, you've got time set aside to work on it, and you know where you're getting your product. So now, it's time to get some first purchases and start this army!
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| My original Carnifex from Christmas 2003 |
The best thing to do is pick the army that draws you in. Whether it's the look or the lore, when you're standing in the store, something about the faction should speak to you. My first army was Tyranids. I used to go to an independent store in my home town for Pokémon cards and across from the front sales counter was the Warhammer section. It was very small with only maybe a dozen kits and half a dozen codex books. I remember being drawn in by the 3rd edition Carnifex box and the Tyranid codex. I loved the example color schemes and the overall look of the Carnifex. One day I was looking at the Carnifex box when another player came into the store and saw me looking and struck up a conversation. He explained roughly how Tyranids worked (brain bugs controlling other bugs) and that Christmas (2003) I bought that Carnifex and a box of Tyranid Warriors to start my collection. While siting in my basement working away on these models, I started looking over the little advertisement insert that came in the box showing off the other factions and I soon feel in love with the T'au Hammerhead model, which in turn lead me to start collecting T'au the following March. Now I have 15 different Warhammer 40k factions as I've fallen in love with almost every single one.
But there are other factors that could appeal to you. Maybe it's the faction's lore. Maybe it's their available playstyles. Perhaps you've played one of the video games and feel in love with a faction you've played as. Something about the faction should speak to you though and you should be inspired to collect that faction.
B) Color Scheme
With a faction picked out, next you'll want to have a color scheme in mind. This element can be daunting, especially when you're new to the hobby. With 15 factions in my collection now, this is some basic advise I live by - Keep It Simple.
If you are leaving the door open to playing in a tournament, or other organized play, there is typically a rule to have your collection painted to a 3 color minimum (if the event has a painting requirement). The idea being you have a primary overall color, then a weapon color, and an eye/lens color. This is an easy way to pick your colors. Each of my factions I break down into a single color. For instance, my Tyranids are my blue army, T'au are my green army, and Necrons are my red army. Once you have that color sorted, you just have to figure out how you want the other two colors to be. Some people find a color wheel helpful in picking complimentary or contrasting colors.
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| Necrons - The Red Army |
I also like to take inspiration from other properties I like and apply them to my armies. For instance, my Tyranids are based on the blue characters in the original Tron film. I took artistic liberties with them, but the idea of light blue over a darker overall color was inspiring to me. Then I picked a copper color for the talons and weapons because I felt it contrasted the blue, but also I wanted the weapons to feel more mechanical in their bio-engineered state than organic. Finally I did bright green for the eyes and other bio details because who doesn't love bright green alien ichor!
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| First model from 2003 vs Newer model from 2023 |
And the details and techniques of my Tyranid color scheme have evolved over time. Back in 2003 the internet was young, and there wasn't as much easy access to the 40k fandom as there is today. So learning new techniques and even seeing other peoples works for inspiration was pretty limited. But as I learned new things, I'd incorporate them into my paining. You should never be worried about updating your old work when you've learn something new and incorporated it.
C) First units
There are a couple of different approaches, and I believe it does depend on how important it is to you to play the game with the minis. For instance, if you are just purely collecting, with no interest in the game, I'd just get what ever you want. You're not worried about a game legal collection and maybe you just want to paint something and put it on display.
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| Classic Force Organization Chart typical around 4th edition |
As I do like to play the game, I like to start my new factions with some core units that will make my army game legal. In older editions, I would follow what was called the Force Organization Chart. As of 10th edition, it no longer exists and all you need is a character unit and one other unit of any type. That's the bare minimum to be game legal. So basically, you need a leader to lead your army, and something for it to lead. For example, a Space Marine Captain, and a squad of Intercessors (or a Tactical squad if you're old school like me). This gives you the basis for your collection. An epic hero, and their followers.
Now this is where you should have some idea about your style of play. Do you want to be running a hoard of infantry, a mechanized column, broods of monsters/constructs, or some kind of combined arms style. This will help orient the types of units you want to add. Plus the nice thing about Warhammer in this day and age, is that most factions have a starter set, currently called a Combat Patrol, (historically called a Start Collecting! set).
I usually would advise new collectors to look at the Combat Patrol sets. They all give you a leader, usually a squad of infantry, then 1 or 2 units extra and the discount from the set usually means one of the kits in the box is free. The Combat Patrol usually offers a very solid place to start a collection from. For some factions, two sets is a great start, while others sometimes pair best with a recent Battleforce boxset (but they are always a limited run and can be difficult to acquire). However, a single Combat Patrol is usually a great place to start from as it has a few units, and isn't overwhelming to start with.
It's important to not overwhelm yourself when you start. Like eating, it's best to take a small bite, chew then swallow before taking the next bite. The same is true for collecting. If you walk into a store, buy all the kits you think you'll need for that complete army, then try to work on it all, it can be very overwhelming. I've learned the hard way that it's best to keep your backlog manageable and just focus down a few projects at a time before moving on to the next. Otherwise the pile of plastic can become to feel unsurmountable and it kills your hobby drive.
D) Next Steps
After getting your initial units assembled and painted, then it's time to figure out where you want to go from there. This is where your playstyle and hobby goals will help steer you. It's a good place to start learning the game, (if you don't know it already,) but also a good time to learn the faction even if you've played the game before. These first games can also help inform you what to add to your army next. Maybe you need more infantry to take objectives, maybe you want a cool tank for fire support, or something fast to screen out your opponent. Perhaps you struggle against some other factions and there are units in your army that counter them, so they could be a good choice.
I think it's important to get to know your faction and how it performs in the game as you grow it. You begin to learn the ins and outs of the special rules, how the units interact with one another, and it helps to identify areas you need to cover or improve. Alternatively, as I used to do with the old force organization chart, I'd start to pick units from the different battle field roles to add to my collection and work to fill out the larger charts. This could also pair nicely with any local slow grow challenges your local clubs could be holding.
A slow grow challenge usually starts around New Years, or January, and helps incentivize participants to get their initial units painted. You typically start with a Combat Patrol as you initial units, then subsequent months encourage you to add a new unit based on a theme. Maybe one month its tanks and monster's, or it could be elite warriors. Over the course of a year, you build up your army piece by piece and game with it along the way. It's an excellent way for both hobbyist who are new, or veteran to grow a collection.
5. Is it worth it to get...
...a Codex with a new edition coming?
This is the most common concern from hobbyists. It will also be the hot topic now as 11th edition was just revealed this week at Adepticon. There will be a lot of online and in person discourse about when is the right time to get the books, should you get current rule books now, wait for the new ones, etc.
The short answer is do what makes sense to you, but here are some things I've observed over the years. The first being that Games Workshop now seems to run on a 3 year cycle for an edition's life as of the 8th edition of 40k. This is also the same with it's other game systems such as Age of Sigmar and Horus Heresy. It has been pretty stable in it's execution compared to previous editions of the game which could range anywhere from 2-5 years in life span. Additionally, Games Workshop also seemed to have made it a habit of releasing a codex for every faction in a given edition starting with 8th edition, something that was not the case before and in some ways is a positive thing.
Secondly, based on what's been revealed to date, it also seems to confirm that Games Workshop resets the core rules for even numbered editions, while odd numbered editions just expand on the previous editions rules (as of 8th edition). With the announcement of 11th edition it was said that current 10th edition codex books will work in the new edition. So you'd be free to pick up the existing codex, but understand that a new one will come out sometime in the next 3 years.
I would also say this - the Codex product struggles in the modern Warhammer landscape. Still labeled as a guide for collectors, the breadth of their inspiration has been reduced over the last few editions. In older editions, these books contained in depth lore and in universe timelines of events. There were sections that discussed simple army tactics, hobby ideas on how to do unit markings, mix parts together to represent war gear that wasn't produced, even use household items to make faction specific terrain. The picture galleries also tended to feature pictures of all the units in the factions model range.
Now much of the lore content has been reduced over the editions as more space has been given to game rules. Hobby tips and tricks have been moved to online areas. I have also found that the lore sections to be a little more superficial now, providing less information that can serve as inspiration and is usually recycled from the previous edition's codex. Further space is now allocated to the army specific Crusade rules for Narrative play, which were added in 9th edition, and as of 10th edition, the expansion of unit entries to provide unique sets of rules for similar units with different loadouts has taken up more space in the Codex compared to older edition. An example of this can be seen with the T'au XV8 Crisis Battlesuits. Until 10th edition, they were just a single unit entry with a lot of loadout options. Now they are 3 distinct unit entries with specific loadouts and unique unit rules based on which version you take. Additionally, I've also noted that the gallery sections also now focus more on the newly released kits rather than the entire range for a faction.
This ties back into the previous points. What are your hobby goals and/or financial commitments? The current shelf life of a codex is roughly 3-6 years if it comes out in an even numbered edition and at most 3 years in an odd numbered edition. And how many of these books do you need to get? If you only have 1 faction in your collection, maybe it's not so bad. Someone like myself with 15 armies, it stats to get pricey. There aren't often recycle programs either. Sometimes there is a trade in option, but usually for people who have very recently purchased a codex prior to a new editions launch, not for people who've had a codex the full edition. This can mean that over time you start to accumulate a lot of books that may not provide any beneficial use after their edition is over.
...any current models before seeing the new rules?
My answer to this is always yes! There is usually a fear that a kit may go away or not be as good in the game as it currently is. From a collecting standpoint, something going away and being discontinued makes it all the more rare and cool to have in your collection. But as long time collectors can tell you, some kits can be around for decades before either getting an upgrade with a new kit, or finally being retired.
Games Workshop over the 23 years I've collected don't often make units obsolete. There have been two big exceptions to this. The first was at the beginning of 8th edition, which you may be stating to noticing a trend here. This was the time that Games Workshop began adjusting everything to make it so that unit entries for game rules lined up with what came in the kit. This was in response to a court case against Chapter House Studios.
In brief, Games Workshop took Chapter House to court over that fact that Chapter House was making kits for units that had rules in a Codex, but no physical model, such as the then recently released 5th edition Tyranid codex and the Tervigon unit. In the end, Games Workshop was told that if they put something in a rule book, then they needed to have a physical product to go with it. So this strategy was implemented at the start of 8th edition.
The result was the removal of all units and equipment options in the game that either never had an actual model, didn't come in the respective unit's kit or were no longer in production and the creation of the Legends unit entries where such removed content could still have game legal rules, but was otherwise unsupported and discouraged from organized play. Some units have come back from Legends over subsequent editions, such as the Astra Militarum Rough Riders.
The second example of a mass removal of units has recently happened over 10th edition. The focus here was mainly units who's product was made with finecast resin, a stop-gap used when Games Workshop was transitioning away from pewter models towards having all product done in plastic. This was mainly used for named characters and some alternative weapon kits and specialized units. Some of these units got new kits in plastic, but many joined Legends.
As for game play utility, I've been around long enough to see good units become bad, bad units become good and then back again. Each edition and codex changes comes with a new expectation of game play interaction. Some editions favor a certain style of play, such as hoards, ranged weapons, or vehicle centric lists. This is why I would say that focusing on a collection over the game can be beneficial. Especially if you like a unit that isn't so great in the game currently. One thing I've noticed over the years, is when something becomes really good in the game, it can be hard to find that model kit on the shelf. But if you had it before it was good, then you're already set!
Conclusion
This was definitely one of my longer posts, but I hope it served to offer some pointers and things to consider whether you're new to the hobby or a veteran. Your hobby journey is unique to you, and you should always listen to your gut. The game and the kits will always be in a state of transition, and sometimes it doesn't hurt to take a break and come back either when things don't feel right.
At the end of the day, it's a hobby and it should be fun. If you're having fun, you're doing it right!
Until next time!
Czar Ziggy
