Warhammer 40,000 Beginner’s Guide

Luckily for our new recruits, we’ve put together a handy guide to starting your journey in the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium!

In this article, we go over the various entry points to this hobby, and provide a step-by-step guide to collecting your very own army and bringing them to the tabletop for battle.

There are plenty of ways to learn more about Warhammer. If you’re the type who enjoys sitting down and getting lost in reading material, you could spend an afternoon browsing the 40k wiki and learning about the various factions, characters, and historical events.

Those who prefer more action-packed adventures could check out games like Space Marine 2, where you get to hack, slash, and shoot through thousands of alien horrors in beautifully crafted Imperium cities and jungle planets.

And for folks who enjoy passively scrolling through YouTube reels and shorts, there are countless channels and content creators who share bite-sized excerpts from books, featuring easily digestible snapshots of characters, armies, and battles that take place in the setting. For longer-form videos, there are a handful of channels that cover gameplay with high-quality and well produced footage, such as Play On Tabletop.

If you’d like to immerse yourself through some light reading, we’ve also created a helpful guide to the world, covering the history of the Space Marines, the legendary Emperor, and the timeline leading up to the present day. Check our upcoming article for our lore primer to Warhammer 40,000!

If you’ve ever observed real-life gameplay, or watched videos of battle reports, you’ve probably been confused by seeing players rolling entire buckets of dice at once. Or maybe you’ve watched players meticulously using a measuring tape to move their models inch by inch across the table. To get a better understanding of how this all works, why not come on down and try it for yourself?

At Hammerhouse, we regularly hold demo sessions of Warhammer 40k to teach players the basics. Whether you’re a new to tabletop games, or experienced with other game systems, our helpful team is prepared to answer your questions and show you how a game of Warhammer 40,000 is played.

Throughout this guided tutorial, you’ll be able to learn how to roll dice and measure distance, how to move your units of Space Marines around, how to have them shoot and fight, and what makes an army special.

If you’ve decided to get started on 40k, your next step is to choose your faction. At the time of writing, there are 24 distinct armies, each with their own subcategories. Before you make any purchases, you should find a faction that draws you in, whether it’s their aesthetic, their place in the story, or their gameplay potential.

Some players may prefer armies full of elite champions and individual powerhouses. Others might enjoy playing large hordes of aliens, daemonic minions, and loyal soldiers. And some find themselves drawn to gigantic monsters or armies full of tanks and vehicles. There’s definitely something for everyone in 40k’s massive roster of factions.

If you’re having trouble finding the right one for you, step into our VOX-FORGE and let us help you make your choice!

Once you’ve settled on an army, the next step is to find a starter set that works for you. For those who are completely new to the hobby, we recommend starting with the Introductory Set or the Ultimate Starter Set. Both of these sets include Space Marines and Tyranids, two of the most iconic factions in the game, and are designed to get you playing as quickly as possible.

The Introductory Set is the most affordable option, and includes a small selection of miniatures from both factions, along with a paper mat, dice, measuring rulers, reference cards, and a handbook. These sets are designed around Combat Patrols, which are pre-designated armies that you can use to play a simplified game of Warhammer with. Assembling your first miniatures can seem daunting, but the models in the Starter Set are all molded with push-fit parts, making them significantly easier for a new player to put together.

This kit includes a paper mat, an instruction booklet, a handful of dice, measuring rulers, and reference cards. You can split this set with a friend and each pick an army, or keep both for yourself and see which faction you prefer.

For new players who are looking to jump straight into the deep end, the Ultimate Starter Set provides a more definitive experience. Both the Space Marines and Tyranids get an additional unit, and the set comes with terrain pieces that you can use to make your battlefield even more dynamic!

If you’re uncertain about plunging straight into a larger purchase, there are several smaller sets that provide you with paints, brushes, and small squads of miniatures to practice on. The Introductory Set only includes one unit from each of the two factions, but comes with a set of paint and tools.

There are also more affordable paint sets for Space Marines and Tyranids that comes with only a handful of models, and a Paint & Tools set that includes some of the most common paint colors in one easy package, along with the tools you’ll need to start assembling models.

However, if your heart has already been won over by a different army, the Starter Set may not be enough to catch your eye. Every faction in Warhammer 40k has one or more Combat Patrol boxes, which include an impressive roster of units, and can serve as an alternative starter package.

Combat Patrol is a simplified gamemode that’s slightly different from a full game of 40k 10th Edition. Instead of picking your own units, you use the contents of a single box to form your army. Each Combat Patrol army can be played against the two factions you’ll find in the Starter Set, making the entire gamemode cross-compatible. All units can be used in the full version of the game, though often with different stats and abilities.

Do note that Combat Patrol boxes often include multi-part models, vehicles, and more complex kits that are not as beginner-friendly as the Starter Set. These boxes lack a rulebook, map, and dice, making it necessary for you to do further research and fill out the gaps in essential items. On top of that, the miniatures often lack the push-fit convenience that Starter Set models come with, slightly increasing the difficulty for newbies—but if you have an army you recognize and love, then that extra effort is well-worth it!

Once you’ve finally decided on your army and procured your very first starter set, it’s time to begin! As long as you can fully build your models and place them on appropriately-sized bases, you’ll be able to start playing matches and finding opponents to battle against.

Transforming grey plastic into a fully customised warband can feel intimidating, but we’ve also come up with an easy guide to help players take the next steps.

In this guide, we cover the basic steps to building and cleaning up your figures to a standard that you can remain proud of—even when you’re several armies deep into the hobby! Check our upcoming article to find out how to assemble your first miniature!

With these five simple steps, new players can slowly immerse themselves in the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium, and come to enjoy the hobby in their own way. Whether it’s deciding on that very first kit you’ll get, figuring out how to play, or learning to paint up your freshly-assembled army, our friendly staff members are always present to help you out and answer questions.

Once you’ve opened up your first Starter Set and followed our assembly guide, you might need a little bit more guidance before getting the confidence to paint your models up. To help you get some hands-on experience, HammerHouse holds regular demo sessions where you can learn the basics of painting.