[PanzerPig]

Hey everyone, Ok this thread is about helping out new gamers, be it a single pearl of wisdom, or an A-Z of little tips. I got back into the hobby about a year ago now (I think) after a year or two out. And thought I'd share some of things I'd picked up about the various aspects of the game that I wish I had been told when I first picked it up those many years ago. When I got back into it I almost felt like I was starting from scratch with a brand new rule set and some mind blowing models to buy I hastily picked up my wallet and ran to the nearest store. What I really wish is back then i'd known what I know now ( ahh the power of hindsight). So while I imagine there are a great many threads for new gamers to read in terms of starting (the beginners guide on heresy was a very good one may I add), I wanted to get those little bits and pieces that experienced gamers know and spread the word. Ill start with a few of my own,

Firstly don't skimp on the paints, its tempting to buy some cheaper paints as the models are so expensive, but the one thing ive found is its worth the extra money to have your models looking nicer. You spent a lot on them for the cast, give them some nice clothes

Secondly when it comes to list writing double check the FAQ's, the BRB and your codex for the rules, you may think you've got a super combo going, but there is nothing worse than half way through a game your opponent telling you its illegal and all your plans are up in smoke. No harm in just making certain and avoiding nasty surprises.

Third, this game gets expensive. If you want to play a decent game, it will cost you money and a fair chunk of it. I (and many others I'm sure) feel its worth it however, and you get some great looking figs for your hard earned coin-age.

Fourth, and this ones a big one, THE INTERNET CAN BE WRONG. You will see a great many people on forums saying X unit is uberz and Y unit is a complete waste, but contemplate the reasons for yourself, think about the roles it fills in YOUR army. I'm not saying the advice on forums isn't valuable, but it is not the be all and end all. Put some thought into your list, show it some love and it'll love you back.

Finally the most important one, don't take a game to seriously, if you win then congrats, but if you lose then take it on the chin and think of it as a learning experience. Remember kids if you can't laugh at yourself when your losing someone else will.

These are all pretty obvious points but its surprising how many people will forget them or just not even think about them. So you gamers of heresy, if your old wise and venerable (dreadnoughts) what do you think is a good tip? If your a fresh recruit, what do you wish you had been told upon starting?

Don't be shy now

Peace 'n' love,
Panzer

 

[humakt]

Here is one that has certainly stood the test of time for me.

Meltas normally role a 1 to hit if its critical to your plans. Make sure if you target something you are prepared to shoot it until its dead.

 

[the-ad-man]

if the imperial guard has ever tought me anything: one is never enough!

deffinately true, dont ever have one WONDER SQUAD, cuz they will be destroyed in no time

backup!, and backup your backup! very little ever works alone

 

[Tzeen Qhayshek]

Definitely never put your faith into one unit. Your opponent will see it and will destroy it. If you don't think psychology plays a part in a battle - it does.

 

[mynameisgrax]

I'd like to stress point #1 in the original post. There are many ways to cut costs, but if you use paint that wasn't intended to be used on models, then your figures are going to look like absolute crap. Citadel and Foundation paints are the only ones I'll use (some people like Privateer Press', but I'm not crazy about them).

I always try to make sure that I have the right units to deal with any possible type of enemy. This usually means having enough template attacks (to deal with hordes), anti-armor shooting attacks (to deal with vehicles, especially transports), and assault focused units. 2-3 of each is usually a must have, although versatile units (like missile launchers and obliterators) can count as dealing with both, since they have both anti-armor and anti-infantry shooting options.

I'd also make sure to take at least 3-4 troop choices in every list, and in larger games of around 1750-2500 points, 5-6 troop choices would be better. At least 2 of these troop choices should either be fast, mechanized, or be able to outflank, so you can claim distant objectives.

Also, I wouldn't take too many kill points. The general rule of thumb I've found is that at 1000 points it's better to only have around 6-8 kill points, and for every 150 or so points above 1000, you can have 1 more kill point. So in a 2000 point game, you should have about 12-14 kill points, but probably no more.

Of course, some armies (Orks, Imperial Guard) are probably going to have a lot of kill points no matter what you do, but you should do the best you can.

Finally, check with your friends, ebay, and 'selling' threads on warhammer websites for deals when starting your army.

Good luck everyone!

 

[jaws900]

well done for points 4 and 5. Possibly the msot importan t points for gaming. Just becuase everyone says 1 unti is crap doesn't make them so, that and your oppoent seeing somehtign they don't always face can put them offbalace.

 

[the-ad-man]

Definitely never put your faith into one unit. Your opponent will see it and will destroy it. If you don't think psychology plays a part in a battle - it does.

good point there, tzeen. psycology is a huge thing, mostly the 'oh fuck' factor haha
ive found the 'oh fuck' factor (OFF) occures in a few situations:

1) when rolling buckets of dice: if you have 2-3 or even 4 squads of basic guard firing at one squad, 30 or 40 shots is very daunting for your opponent, especially if they can rapid fire with 60 - 80 shots!

2) you deploy about 20-30 men total: this applies to more 2+ save armies, where you have few models, but each one is a total power house.

OFF is a very distracting tool and can be the difference between a loss and a win. with your opponent so off-put by what your doing they make mistakes, the more mistakes they make, the more OFF takes hold, thus more mistakes are made. hopefully allowing you to capitalising on them


thanks again to tzeen for reminding me

 

[Deathscythe4722]

My advice: Keep your eye out for convienient conversion pieces. You can save yourself alot of cash if you have extra models and enough extra bitz to convert them with.

A good example is Khorne Berserkers for the CSM. They come in packs of 12, but are most efficiently used in squads of 8. This leaves you with 4 extra models, which can easily be modeled into basic CSM by using the extra arms that come with vanilla CSM. This also works in reverse, albeit with slightly more creativity required.

That is the biggest example i've run across so far, but im sure most other armies have units like this. Keep your eye out for easily converted models, and never throw away that extra arm you're sure you'll never use!

 

[jaws900]

My advice: Keep your eye out for convienient conversion pieces. You can save yourself alot of cash if you have extra models and enough extra bitz to convert them with.

A good example is Khorne Berserkers for the CSM. They come in packs of 12, but are most efficiently used in squads of 8. This leaves you with 4 extra models, which can easily be modeled into basic CSM by using the extra arms that come with vanilla CSM. This also works in reverse, albeit with slightly more creativity required.

That is the biggest example i've run across so far, but im sure most other armies have units like this. Keep your eye out for easily converted models, and never throw away that extra arm you're sure you'll never use!

or get 2 boxes and now you have 3 8 man squad for your lovely Khrone army. The main problem is lack of powerfists in the kit so swipe them from the vanilia Chaos marines

 

[Col. Schafer]

Most of this aplies only to casual gameing and not say tornaments.

-Glass cannons can be wonderfull, but whats even more wonderfull 90% of the time are things that stay alive and dish out consistant punnishment.

-Reserves can turn the game around and curb stomp your oponent, they can also never arrive and cripple you to death. If useing reserves, dont rely on them.

-AV14 tanks may seem a wonderfull thing, but at the end of the day your average HQ choice has more wounds than the most badass vihicle.

-Never underestimate the value of tank shock and ramming.

-If your game gets side tracked but the new course of events is more fun, screw the plastec space men. Its a game for fun, dont let it drag you down.

-When buying somthing, ask yourself "How hard is this to convert? to scratchbuild? How much money could I save? What could I spend that money on? Am I up to the job?"

-Never ever ever dont take somthing because it sucks. If it seems like a unit would be fun to play, roll it out with all the bells and whitsles. (heres looking at you punnishers!)

-The other advice in this thread is golden.

-Never try to leave heresy online, it doesnt work. :victory:

 

[Deathscythe4722]

or get 2 boxes and now you have 3 8 man squad for your lovely Khrone army. The main problem is lack of powerfists in the kit so swipe them from the vanilia Chaos marines

I actually solved the lack of PF problem by looting the Possessed Marines that came with the Battleforce. A couple of the Possessed arms have almost exactly the same dimensions as a PF, you just have to cut the arm off a little above the elbow and replace the shoulder joint, to prevent your champ having one arm twice as long as the other

 

[Miyamiya]

Hi all! This is my first post here, I just got back into the game after a 6-7 year break lol.

1. Don't under-estimate white primer. Darker models may look awesome and evil when you are holding them 6 inches away and under bright light, but they look dull from 4 feet away under normal light.

2. Take your time to paint the models, it's not worth rushing just to build a large army.

3. Pick an army that you think is cool, whether it be the models or just the backstory. Don't pick a "gimmick" army.

4. Wargear is optional, you shouldn't be maxing out your points per model.

 

[Sephyr]

I'd like to stress point #1 in the original post. There are many ways to cut costs, but if you use paint that wasn't intended to be used on models, then your figures are going to look like absolute crap. Citadel and Foundation paints are the only ones I'll use (some people like Privateer Press', but I'm not crazy about them).

I generally agree, but i painted some models with the FolkArt acryllic paints I found at HobbyLobby and the results were quite good. They have a good variety for very low prices, too!

 

[PanzerPig]

Hi there all, some excellent advise coming out, a lot of real gems. One particular one that really stood out was this one;

My advice: Keep your eye out for convienient conversion pieces. You can save yourself alot of cash if you have extra models and enough extra bitz to convert them with.

I agree 100% about just hanging on to those extra arms, torso's, weapons and extras (I even have a few small stones from my garden in my bits box for basing), they come in mighty handy.

I played a few games the other day (right after posting actually) against IG, curse them and the million heavy weapons backed up by approx a trillion laser pointers...grrrr. One thing I noticed in those games was that no matter how good your list, Lady luck is gonna come and beat you down..with a stick.....a sharp one. Both me and my (very good) opponent had some amazing luck and some awful luck, the moral was take it in your stride and keep playing, don't get demoralised just have faith that eventually the averages will even out (Its the karma of the dice gods).

Again, I'd just like to thank everyone who's posted so far, some really good, solid advice from all aspects of the game but I'm sure there are a few more golden tips out there.

Peace 'n' love,
Panzer

 

[dutchy1982]

Both me and my (very good) opponent

I'm touched PanzyPig Good advice all round.

My advice. Don't be afraid to try new things even if you don't have the models at first. Who cares if a plant pot is posing as a defiler for a couple of games. If it gives you an idea of how they play before you go and buy the expensive models then all the better.

Also I'd like to re-iterate that the games for fun. Panzer and I have some cracking games, where I think we've drawn the last 5 on the trot, but the point is not to let things get on top of you. Think how these things can tie in with the history of your army. Just have fun.