Hi from Arizona!

[Shinn]

Hey everyone..I just got into the Warhammer universe due to a friend at work. (Gave me the Horus Heresy books and my first Tactical Squad.

After lurking on the forums for a few weeks I've decide to actually register so I can talk about this universe/hobby I'm fast falling in love with.

[Olis]

Hail and welcome to the halls of B&C, brother. Any questions? Ask away, I'll only be too glad to help. Forum rules? Check 'em before anything else - you don't want to get rapped on the knuckles for something silly you could have avoided. Having problems? Come to me or any of the other staff here. We'll do what we can to provide a solution, if possible. ;)

[Shinn]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm sure a lot of my questions gamewise will be solved once my Dark Vengeance set gets here with the Mini Rulebook and I get a few games under my belt. My biggest question thusfar concerns points though. To me it seems as if 1500pt games are the norm..so pointwise as a beginner how big should I go?

[infyrana]

I would suggest you await the Dark Vengeance boxset and decide if you'd like to go Chaos or Space Marines.  In addition, which chapter you like is very influential to your unit choices when expanding your army.  If you want to keep an open mind about chapters - I would avoid painting up the Space Marine Dark Angels beyond a base coat.  My reason for this is so that you can remove their insignias later on with a hobby knife and make them generic marines to fit other chapters.

 

After reading the Horus Heresy novels, if that's what you have, you may find you like other chapters :)

 

I wouldn't worry about points for army sizes just yet, get some games in and find out what units / armies you like before you settle your mind.  You may find you want more bikes, or need transports or another tactical squad and a tank or two.  The boxset gives the Dark Angels a captain, librarian and tactical squad - excellent starting choices, the main things beyond this is a second tactical squad and possible transports unless you choose to go down the Ravenwing option etc.

[Olis]

In addition to what infyrana has stated, my advice would be to start slow - aim for 1000pts to begin with and if you feel you're up to making a 1500pt list with what you've got (or what you can get before using that list) then by all means make one. 

[Shinn]

I've actually chosen the Dark Angels to be my first foray into 40K..Though I do admit it's more from reading about them than anything. Plus tactics wise I prefer having the ability to make quick strikes which Ravenwing seems good for. Thankfully I have a few friends here that play different things so I've gotten to see a few games played.

 

I've ordered enough stuff to be able to field about a 1500ish point army to start off with so we'll see how it goes. :)

[infyrana]

Sounds good!  I think the DV boxset will be a good choice then, especially if you can find a few more models cheap from the set to bulk yours out.

 

Do some reading about bikes - the most awkward thing will be finding Grav guns if they suggest them for your bike crews.  Convert or find an aftermarket place that does ones that looks similar if needed, bits sites are pricey for that one option.

 

Best thing to do though is learn how to magnetise - it's not difficult, just a case of getting yourself setup and finding the right consistency across models so that all their arms are all interchangeable.  You won't need it on the basic DV tactical models, but when you start getting other kits, it's a great thing to have under your belt to avoid having to buy more models or change the ones you have :)  I learnt the hard way long ago, now most every model that's not a basic tactical gets them.