[SensaiSwindler]

Hey all, I was browsing for game info and stumbled across the site. From the posts I browsed this is a very impressive community you have here and I thought I would pop in and say hi.

I am a complete noob when it comes to the actual game. I have been aware of it for years but never had the time/money to drop on a new hobby. I recently quit playing WoW and am looking for a change of pace so here I am . I was introduced to the game through the horus heresy book series which I just finished the newest book. Quite simply the lore and history of the game are amazing, I and a friend have become very interested.

I am from the Pittsburgh area and haven't even started picking up the rule books and codex. Planning on remedying that this weekend. Just hoping for some friendly advice to steer me towards where I need to be getting started. Having been reading the horus series I already have my mind set on SM for my first army. Any advice is absolutely welcome.

Thanks in advance,

-Swind

 

[SensaiSwindler]

Hiya guys, thanks for the welcome. Right now I'm just trying to work through all the info I can find on the game. Gonna swing by the local game shop today and take a look at the rule set and codex, try and get a feel for the local scene and base info. Being that I haven't even lain eyes on a rule book yet I will try to suppress the thousands of questions I have from reading the resources site I have been browsing today.

My main question is a balance issue. Having played CCGs, MMOs, RTS, and what have you, and from what I have read my main question is: Can any army be competitive? Obviously there are the same balance issues with 40k as there are with any multi-faction game, but can a reasonably built army of any faction be competitive? Being new to the tabletop genre as a whole all I have to go on via experience is a CCG such as Magic.

From what I have read for army lists obviously certain factions have natural adavantages over others, but does it go to the point where fielding a certain faction army is a waste of time against certain counter faction armies? Man, I'm long-winded today, but in my particular case I want to field a SM army for my first as I said above. Is this a smart move and will I find myself able field a respectable all around playable army going this route? Whew, thanks again for any and all advise.

 

[SensaiSwindler]

Anphicar, thank you sir. That was exactly what I was hoping to hear. Having never seriously looked at any table top game the sheer amount of options and custimization is a bit daunting, but I'm really excited to dive in.

Along those lines I saw the battle for macragge box set as I was looking at the introductory info. Is this starter set worth it (primarily to use as a foundation or jump off point for my first army, or would I be better suited just picking up the rule book, SM codex and start building from the ground up?

 

[SensaiSwindler]

Thanks again for the welcome all.

 

[SensaiSwindler]

Cool, I think I will take you advice Anphicar and just start fresh. Luckily my friend and I are going to hit the shop today and I can get started.

 

[SensaiSwindler]

Well I hadn't gotten that specific yet. Like I said I want to field and SM army. I haven't decided on a specific chapter or mix match/diy. My friend is probably going to field a one of the xeno armies. I don't know enough of the mechanics yet to know what advantages/disadvantages I would get through the army make ups to decide on any specifics.

 

[SensaiSwindler]

Wow, guys serious thanks for rundown. I just found out yesterday my room-mate used to play and still has his Tau army, so thankfully I find I'm not lacking for opponents. You guys reinfored what I had been thinking. I'd read that SM armies are generally smaller due to their point costs. I read a SM army list guide before I found the site. From what I understood of the guide and my thoughts towards the army this is the basic concept of what I was thinking. (Obviously right now I still have no idea what costs what and the composition is going to need to be ironed out as I start to actually figure out what costs what.)

This may sound kinda lame but since my initial intro to the game was the HH series I really want my army to function like legions. I'm sure there are specific and correct terms for what I'm conceptualizing here but bear with me. I'm kinda condensing all the thoughts on my army list, tactics, and just general ideas into this.

I want my army to be like shocktroops, a really aggressive style strategy. I definitely want to use close combat assault types as a fist with a good mix of mid range types. Now I know I am getting ahead of myself with some of this but I read about the deep insertion mechanic and the idea of dropping a terminator supported by a group of assault/cc marines into the middle of an enemy force and just tearing things up is very appealing.

So yeah, while right now I have no idea to achieve it , my general idea for the army tactics is fast moving, hard hitting, assault style army.

 

[SensaiSwindler]

Hey all, I just got home from putting a serious dent in my wallet , but I now have an actual army :rock: ! I picked up the space marine battleforce, a dreadnought, and a HQ. Now just a long night of assembly and a long weekend of painting. My room-mate and other friend picked up armies as well, so i really pumped to dive in. Sorry just had to share .

 

[SensaiSwindler]

Thanks man, for now I just picked up a commander, nothing special, and i haven't moved into a chapter. I think I am going to go DIY chapter wise since I have a very specific color scheme in mind. And I am trying to document the process with my digi. It's slow going, still working on assembling. And I adopted that quote along time ago, being that it comes from the escape series its actually pretty poignant.

 

[SensaiSwindler]

Thanks for the guides guys. I got the army constructed and have settled on a paint scheme. I read a few of the guides posted here (big ups to those who posted). Going back to the shop right now actually to pick up a termie squad and a few more paints. I base coated the existing army last night so they are ready to paint.

 

[SensaiSwindler]

hijacking my hello thread :shock:

heh, anyways yeah 501st is a friend I encouraged to sign up here.

welcome dude.

 

[SensaiSwindler]

Hey loyalist, sorry I never saw this post sooner. Phantom of the attic is by far the best shop in the pittsburgh area. It's also where I play weekly. It's on south craig street in Oakland, right between the Pitt and CMU campuses. They are listed in WD for the exact address.