Start in W40k, Dark Imperium or Battleforce?

[Hyunckel]

Hi to all, as the title says I want to start in the W40k universe and I have my doubts of the best way to do it, the army I choose it's black templar marines I like the lore, and the miniatures, my first option is the dark imperium box set mainly for the manual, I would sell the death guard but I have my doubts with the 2 marines battleforces of this Christmas, experts of the forum what you recommended to me the Dark imperium or a battleforce?

[Imren]

In my experience, most beginners that buy a starter box with several units usually assemble them all in one go and then find it too overwhelming to paint the force when they realise the effort and time needed to do a good-looking paintjob on just one model. They get stuck playing with an army that is barely painted (primed and maybe drybryshed a colour).

If you care about having a painted army I'd suggest that you don't expect to play soon after throwing yourself into this hobby, instead assemble only one troops choice unit, and after watching hours of painting tutorials on youtube and acquiring the essential painting equipment and theoretical skills, then you paint that unit and only when finished you move on to assembe the next unit and paint up that one. Doing so will in the long help you get a nicely painted army to field and (enjoy the respect of other hobby enthusiasts) be proud of.

With the kill team rule book you could still start playing with just one unit while you build your army unit by unit.

Another advantage is that as you progressively buy units to your army, you buy those units you really want based on your experience playing with the units you already have and avoid having surplus models that you realise you don't want to include in your army list(s).

So for beginners that want to play painted (by themselves) armies the best advice I can give is really to start painting one unit of the army you want play and take it from there. Don't build a battleforce straight away.

Good luck!

[Knightsword]

Exactly what Imren said. When I first started years ago I bought too much in one go and then lost all enthusiasm for painting due to the sheer number of assembled models that needed painting.

 

I came back last summer and started getting single units towards my army. Personally I find it best to do some list building which then gives me an idea of what units I need/want to buy.

[BluejayJunior]

The benefit of the starter set is that you get the rules and two smaller armies. If you have a friend that wants the other half, it's a great deal. The boxes are about the same price, so if you got the battleforce, you'd have to spend a bit more to get the rulebook as well. And you will eventually need to pick up the codex for them, too. 

The contents of the battleforce are pretty similar to dark imperium, with one unit swapped out and the addition of a dreadnought. So it isn't likely to overwhelm you any more that the dark imperium box will. But the models in the DI box are a little easier to build if that is a concern to you.

 

I am going to disagree with Imren about painting them. I started with DI and assembled everything and then started playing before I had decided what I wanted to paint my Space Marines as (chose Blood Angels). Unless the people you are going to play with are snobs, most won't care that you don't have a painted army if you're still learning the game. If you wait until your army looks perfect to start playing, you'll never actually play the game. Painting is a skill that needs to be practiced. Most people aren't going to look down on you because your first painting models don't look absolutely gorgeous. But I will agree that you shouldn't buy anything else until everything else is painted (or almost completed), because then you can start to get overwhelmed. 

When painting, I would focus on one unit at a time and don't worry about the other units that need painted. I would watch the Warhammer TV channel on Youtube. That is how I learned to paint and think it is really great. I'm sure the have Black Templar tutorials. Also check out the BT forum for painting tips. There are plenty of other tutorials you can find, but Warhammer TV is what worked for me. It made painting seem easy and not overwhelming. But if it doesn't work for you, then find a channel that you like. 

 

The battleforces are limited time items, so if you don't get them now, you probably won't find them later. But nothing in there is exclusive, so you won't be missing out on anything by not getting it. The DI box does have a few exclusive models, but you can get it at any time. Both boxes are pretty good deals and come with good models. 

Since the DI box comes with two armies, you can also build both and start to learn the game by playing both armies yourself, if you needed to. 

 

It's hard to suggest one or the other outright, so I'm trying to give you the differences to help you make a choice. I don't think you can go wrong either way. Dark Imperium is a really good starter set, but if the battleforce looks really good to you, now is the time to get it, as you won't be able to find it again. 

 

If you have any other questions about getting started, let me know. I have only been playing about 1.5 years. I started with Dark Imperium right at the beginning of 8th edition, so I was in a very similar situation. If there is anything I can help with, don't hesitate to ask on here or DM me. 

[Arkangilos]

Another good option is starting with the Dark Imperium box, painting one troop choice at a time (like Imren said) and playing kill team while you are working on the next unit.

[thewarriorhunter]

Like others have said, 'it depends'. Do you want to play with a painted army? Do you not care about paint and you just want to play? Are you going to pay someone else to paint your army? How much money do you have budgeted to start the hobby?

 

There are a lot of questions to be answered to help point you in the right direction.

 

If you don't care about paint: buy whatever box you perceive to be the best value for you, glue everything together and start playing.

 

If you care about paint: figure out how you want to paint. I personally paint off base which means I can't play a unit until they're 100% done. It sucks sometimes but it's the method I use. Some people paint when they're already on a base, if so you can use them in between paint sessions. If you want to paint them I'd suggest starting at the Kill Team Level. You can still buy a box you prefer but with Kill Team you only need a few models to start. You can be up and running a lot faster and have something to play while you're painting up the larger part of your force.

[Panzer]

For someone who wants to start right now I'd actually recommend the Battleforce box over the Dark Imperium box considering how much money you'd be saving. The core rules are free anyway and chances are that someone who wants to start with 40k already has a friend active in the hobby he could borrow the rulebook from for the complete matched play rules.

[Ishagu]

The battleforce box, imo, is the better bundle of Astartes. Both of them - Fists and Ultras themed ones have great models to start building an army.

 

It can be very overwhelming to start out. I've been in the hobby for 20 years and even I get burned out if the project on my hobby table is too big. Will you be painting the models yourself? Do you intent to use a commission artist to move things along?

Just to add, I don't want you to be worried or put off, it's equally likely that you love having a big project to work on!

[Claws and Effect]

I'm a stickler for painted models, so my approach was to get what I needed and do a quick basic paint job to get them to a playable standard (for me). Then I go back later as time allows and do more detail. That's part of why I picked Raven Guard, some of my more seldom used units are still base coat black with some color here and there to make them tournament legal (3 color minimum in my local meta).

 

The DI box is probably going to serve you better. If you can find a buyer for the Death Guard you can get nearly half your money back to buy more stuff with. And you get a rulebook to start playing with.

 

You're still going to want the SM codex, but it's better than needing the codex and the rules.

[Hyunckel]

Maybe I should add in the op I'm new to 40k but not new to the hobby I have fantasy armies painted, not al the miniatures i have but a lot of them (Dwarfs, Dark elf and Lizardmen)  I'm not a good painter but I can reach a medium level and of course I have all the materials to paint, with the Dark elf I made the error of bought a lo of things but It was a deal and I take advantage, in 40k I wanna take it in a more relax way, as the vast majority of you say. 

 

The price of the Dark Imperium and the battleforce are similar but I would sell the chaos marine part of Dark imperium and this make DI cheaper, I have to add I'm from Spain in 1 month starts the conquest collection I don't want all but some fascicles I will buy, so the DI has the advantage of the price.

 

How many value points have the battlefornts vs the Dark Imperium?

 

Thanks to all for answering and the help.

[Ishagu]

I think the Battleforces are almost half price in both cases in terms of content, and they are the full kits and not just easy to build variants.

[Panzer]

With the generic Primaris Battleforce box (the one with the Ultramarines on the cover) you save $115.

With the Imperial Fists Battleforce box you save $75.

 

More if you buy it from a non-GW store with discounts obviously. For example a friend of mine just bought the Necrons Battleforce box and with the 20% discount he got he saved more money on the box than he actually paid (normally you'd save $84 with the Necron box).

 

I also think it might be a bit more difficult to sell the Death Guard stuff from the Dark Imperium box right now considering many people already bought that box a while ago and there's a Death Guard Battleforce box this year as well. Maybe try asking if someone wants the Death Guard half before you decide on which box to buy.

[Ishagu]

If you buy the Ultramarine box be sure to pick up a box of Hellblasters (mandatory for Primaris)

[Kinstryfe]

imho, I find the Dark Imperium box to be the best starting point, just because you end up with the rulebook which you'd otherwise have to buy, and it's a decent smattering of units. Of course, so are the collections. If you're starting the Conquest series though, then the collections may have an edge since you'll be getting a bunch of the single pose minis anyway thru that.

 

I take a different approach to the Death Guard though. I find that it never hurts to have something different around to paint when you're getting fatigued, which is exactly what my DG became: something different to paint when I got bored of Ultramarines. It also seemed a better value as that than the few bucks I could have gotten for the parts since so many people were selling theirs in this area. Your situation may be different though.

 

No matter what you choose, make sure to post pictures once you've got some paint on them.

[Shovellovin]

Whichever box you decide on buy it today from eBay for an additional 15% off.

[Arkangilos]

Another benefit to having two forces is you can have a family member play with you.

[Trevak Dal]

Yeah some people can argue about "saving money" with the battleforces/star collecting boxes, and you do-BUT if that stuff is sitting on sprue, or is assembled but unprimed then it isn't doing anything for anybody, even if it's a limited time thing.

 

*Says this :cuss as I ordered one of those imperial fist boxes*