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To play Warhammer or Warhammer 40,000 you must first collect an army. Of course "collect an army" is a simple phrase that sums up quite a lot, such as purchasing, painting and organizing your Citadel Miniatures into units and squads. This may sound daunting at first, but don't worry! As you'll see, it isn't necessary to do everything at once.
WHERE TO START?
The first thing you should do is sit down and decide what force
you would like to collect – not an easy task with so many
different armies to choose from, but an enjoyable part of the
hobby experience nonetheless. Next, you should go to your nearest
Hobby Centre or Independent Retailer (or the Online Store) and
pick up the rules for Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, or The Lord
of The Rings Strategy Battle Game. Also pick up a boxed set of
basic troops so you can experiment with the rules and get the
hang of the game.
After playing a few games with the handful of miniatures you purchased, some players find that they really enjoy fielding that army and continue to collect miniatures for it. However, there are over 12 armies to choose from in the Warhammer world and another 12 that fight among the stars of the 41st millennium. With all these choices, there's an army for everyone! The rulebooks are a perfect place to start looking for a new army.
Then there are those gamers that are blown away by an army they've seen in passing and instantly know that this the army for them! Other people choose an army because they are attracted to particular models or enjoy the background and flavour of the army in question. Lastly, there are some individuals that can identify with a particular race and their tactics in battle (i.e., the Orks of the 41st Millennium and their brutal, headlong rush into close combat and their disregard for personal safety)!
The best way to decide what army is for you is to check out the available Citadel Miniatures as well as looking through the Warhammer Army books and Warhammer 40,000 Codex books. Each book is an indispensable guide, a tome of knowledge that covers the background and history, detailed rules, troop lists and the all-important points values for each and every model in the army!
USING POINTS VALUES
The points value system of our games is really quite easy to understand
and immensely useful. To explain it simply, every model in Warhammer,
Warhammer 40,000 and The Lord of the Rings is given a points
value to represent how effective the model will be on the battlefield.
Additionally, the points system allows you to choose the size
of game you would like to play. A small game with 500 or 1,000
points per side will last no more than an hour or two, while
a battle between 2,000 or 4,000 point armies will take an evening
or longer to finish. It is quite easy to structure the size of
your game depending on how much time you have to play, as well
as the size of your army.
COLLECTING SMALL BLOCKS OF TROOPS
Though some veteran players purchase an entire army at once, most of us purchase ours in small, manageable blocks. You may have the lofty goal of fielding a massive 4,000-point Dark Elf army with which to crush the weakling High Elves once and for all, but it's much easier to buy it in smaller chunks. As you play you can decide what else you need to add to your force by judging what was lacking during your previous battles.
We suggest that those new to the Hobby try building their armies in manageable block of around 500 points. This smaller number is far less unwieldy then trying to accomplish everything at once. In this manner you can work your way up to larger games, painting your miniatures as you go. As you play these smaller skirmishes, you not only build upon the knowledge of how your army works, but you'll also figure out what additions would make your army a force to be reckoned with!
START YOUR ARMY WITH CORE UNITS AND TROOPS
Everyone wants to paint and field a lethal General mounted on a massive dragon or a truly venerable Space Marine Commander! However, the best way to learn how to play a game is to move around a lot of troops, seeing how they function in tandem and testing their resilience against the enemy.
When we refer to "core" we mean the mainstay of a particular
army or race. The core troop type of a Space Marine army is the
battle-hardened Tactical Marine, equipped with a Boltgun and
his near-impenetrable Power armor. Later, you can add more specialized
units into your army. Add some elite troop types like the unstoppable
Space Marine Terminators to lay down some devastating firepower
or the much-needed swiftness of the Land Speeder and its screaming
antigrav engines can give you fast-support where you need it
most.
ADDING ELITE TROOPS TO YOUR FORCE
After you've collected, painted and played a few games with some
of your core units it will be time to add some exotic items to
your army! Rumbling tanks bristling with devastating heavy weapons,
war machines that lob massive rocks high into the air to crush
the foe and special characters that have a rich history all their
own are all possible and worthy additions. Each army has an impressive
assortment of elites that will help you overcome your enemy and
send them running for the hills!