Best Starter Army?

[xxvaderxx]

GK Hands down. Its more important to have a legal army on the table faster, than it being more or less forgiving.

[Ork E Nuff]

First playing army? I'd have to say the SM. Any vanilla chapter will do. It's the easiest to understand, the easiest to build, and if you've been collecting for a while, the easiest to field. Good stats, good all around units, great character and background fluff. Purists will dictate that you have to stick to one chapter or the other, but today is the day of "counts as" units, so go crazy! Build you a balanced force with a great character, either spelled out in the codex SM or one of your own making, and remember to have fun...it's still just a game, a great hobby, not a life's calling.

[Ziac45]

I really would have to go with Grey Knights. Small model count allows for a quick army to paint, a cheaper cost, and they are a powerful and forgiving book. So all in all if you are a brand new player getting into the game you get a less imposing amount of models that need paint aren't paying an arm and a leg, as well as having a strong army. That is pretty much everything a new player needs.

[Eupackardia]

Since you have the models I suggest you just start with ''count as'' armies and test out which play style suits you best. Though of course if ya want to play nids and only have Space Marine models it might be a pain... but meh, gather up some friends and test those codices.

The important thing is to have fun.

[Panxer]

Space Marines; of any of the varieties...just choose your aesthetic. You like red and fast? Blood Angels. You like green and terminators? Dark Angels. You like black and shooty/choppy? Black Templars. You like blue and vikings? Space Wolves. You like shiny and overpowered? Grey Knights.

Marines are like bumper bowling, which is apt for new players. There's no inherent risk. Straight out of the box you have superior everything. You automatically regroup if you lose morale and fall back, you have elite level everything as standard options, everything either can deepstrike or drop pod in, everything hits on 3's in the shoot phase, you can loose half your army to bad tactical decisions and still pull out a win, and it's a great opportunity just to learn the game without stressing too much about getting knocked around a bit.

That said: This is the 41st millennium. There is only war. This is as Sci-Fi as it gets on the table top; you have all these other non-human races with equal ability (albeit more finesse required). A buddy of mine made a good point when he said something to the effect of, 'is that all your imagination can handle? The universe is vast and all you want to play is an army of master chiefs? Play something that will make you think more than you normally would. Challenge yourself!'. I tend to agree with him. I play almost exclusively with Tau, and it hurts my psyche every time, but I also play IG, and nothing is more satisfying than putting some manticore hits which obliterate whole squads of termigaunts or monstrous creatures.

Just some food for thought.

[eldargal]

Whichever army you like the most.

Not very helpful I know, but it is true. Pick an army you like, not one that will win battles. A few games with something like Space Marines to learn the rules is one thing, but when it comes to actually collecting an army you should go for one that interests you. The learning curve may or may not be steep, but by picking an army you like you are more likely to maintain enthusiam for it and by persevering you will learn how to use it effectively over time.

I started with Eldar, a 'veteran's army, and while the learning curve was steep I'm now an extremely capable Eldar player. I know the army well, I know what synergises, I can see when the internet choice is right or wrong and I never get sick of my army.

Personally I think starting with the easy-to-play Marines tends to stunt ones tactical growth. I see a lot of Marine players who really struggle when they make the change to other armies because they are used to a forgiving playstyle. Better to get used to things not going your way from the start, in my opinion.

[Bean]

Whichever army you like the most.

Not very helpful I know, but it is true. Pick an army you like, not one that will win battles. A few games with something like Space Marines to learn the rules is one thing, but when it comes to actually collecting an army you should go for one that interests you. The learning curve may or may not be steep, but by picking an army you like you are more likely to maintain enthusiam for it and by persevering you will learn how to use it effectively over time.

I started with Eldar, a 'veteran's army, and while the learning curve was steep I'm now an extremely capable Eldar player. I know the army well, I know what synergises, I can see when the internet choice is right or wrong and I never get sick of my army.

Personally I think starting with the easy-to-play Marines tends to stunt ones tactical growth. I see a lot of Marine players who really struggle when they make the change to other armies because they are used to a forgiving playstyle. Better to get used to things not going your way from the start, in my opinion.

Very good advice. If there's something you like the looks of you should go with it and not bother with whether it's good or easy to learn.

That said, I would still suggest Grey Knights if you're just kinda drawing a blank. They're good, they're not particularly hard to learn, and they're totally awesome.

[Dubledox]

Grey Knights...not great. THough they are great models.

They are arguably the best codex out their right now. NSIS

[gdmnw]

Oh man, just starting out is the best bit of the whole kaboodle.

Read around, talk to people in stores, buy the codex of the army that sounds like the most fun.

Go from there.

[o0HoldFast0o]

For me it was buying the army where I liked the models most first. I can't stand putting anything on the table unpainted- so liking the models was a plus! I have since added 2 other armies to my roster. I went Tau first (almost went eldar) and I love them. Fun army, if limited at the moment. After that I went grey knights- because out of all the marine chapters out there I liked their armor best! Doesn't hurt that they are a forgiving army that beats face!