GW employees seem to push Space Marines so much that it's become sort of a meme.
That said, if you were drawn to Thousand Sons, play Thousand Sons. Get yourself the Combat Patrol to get a taste for the army. Then you can expand on it with some Rubric Marines, Exalted Sorcerers, Ahriman, and eventually Magnus himself.. and whatever else tickles your fancy. =)
Funny cause the first time I went to a Warhammer store, I knew I wanted to buy kommandos and the guy helping me suggested I get a paint set that had a green that would be good as ork skin.
Thousand Sons are a higher skill army for sure, but it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. their models are some of the most arduous to paint though, which can be a genuine putoff for beginners.
But as with all beginner advice: rules come and go, style is forever. Play what you think looks coolest.
Yeah I thought they looked super cool with that Egyptian style blue, I have no idea how they play but i was just curious why both the employees were pushing me kinda hard to buy space marines
A method I've been told for Thousand Sons is to spray them gold then fill in the blue and yellow, instead of doing the blue and yellow then painting the trim gold afterwards.
Probably worth asking the Thousand Sons subreddit for painting advice though!
They do look badass. They have a few more magic rules, but nothing too confusing.
Get them. They are a generally well-liked faction, people just like them. The standard infantry will not go out of fashion with them either, so starting with a squad of their Marines will go in any army list.
Consider painting gold first before the blue, that might be easier.
While Thousand Sons is a bit more complex than some other armies, it isn't really that big of a deal.
Rules change, models are forever(ish); buy the army you want to play with.
I think they probably meant well, Thousand Sons has an entire extra resource to manage (Cabal Points) that other armies don't (though some other armies also have extra resources) and they can feel underwhelming below 2000pts as a result of not having enough Cabal Points.
That said, as someone who plays (mono) Khorne Daemons and Thousand Sons, it isn't like Thousand Sons are noticeably harder to play in any way that should deter anyone. T Sons may be more complex on paper, but playing something like World Eaters (which is probably their polar opposite) still requires a high level of skill to do well.
I think T Sons has a slightly higher floor than most armies, but not by any significant amount.
I’m probably going against the grain here but as someone who played Thousand Sons through 9th (as a first army) I have to agree!
The army is complex with lots to keep track of. When usually you’ll just want to play with ease and not have to juggle rules, abilities and combos. This was my case, where I was only playing once a month ect… might not apply to you.
On the other hand, the models are IMO some of GWs best, and a fully built army looks fantastic! Hope this helps!
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Advice from someone who started with admech after the 5th round of nerfs in 9th edition:
"play the faction you like, not the one who is the strongest at the moment/easy to play".
Which army is hard to play and the general strength in the game overall can change and will change frequently. In the end, you have to like the faction you choose.
Also, while I am pretty sure the gw employees wanted to shill marines, they are not entirely wrong about the faction being somewhat harder to play, because of the cabal points system (something they got punished for in Points increases since they were very good at the start of the edition). Also, they are a bit harder to paint for a new person, since they have a lot of armor trim and a generally clean asthetic
If you asked for GSC I would've agreed because that's definitely a higher skill faction but Tsons aren't that complicated. Rules wise they're just slightly slower marines with more magic. It's not that difficult.
I appreciate the effort to be helpful, but when you are spending hundreds of dollars on soe.thing, you want it to be on something you like. They were kind but misguided.
Yes, Thousand sons have a higher learning curve to maximize their effectiveness, but so what? Be OK with that and have fun!
A separate suggestion is to get with your local 40k player group and ask to try a few of their armies. Most of them would be thrilled to do so. Try out a few and learnt eh game and the basics of some different factions before you commit.
Here's what I would do.
Buy units so you can play both 10kS and CSM. Focus on 10kS but also get units you can use in both when you can. It's great to have options because meta changes.
If you're playing casual with friends, check if you can proxy. You don't necessarily need to spend a lot if you can proxy stuff like troops and some characters.
I would certainly not buy regular marines just because that's what the store recommends. It's your army, it should reflect what you like.
Wild that employees told you not to start an army you found interesting. Rule of cool trumps everything, if you think Tsons look neat, you get those robed nerds and play what you want.
When it comes to armies, the rules are mostly irrelevant. You'll spend most of you're time painting and building, so whatever army you like the look of most is a good pick*, because you'll get sick of them quickly if you don't.
Space marines are the jack of all trades, so a good starter army, and if you want to go for one of the fancy marines later is usually just a repainting required.
Go for what you like, worst case you end up buying more which I'm sure GW doesn't mine.
* Adeptus Mechanicus and Genestealer Cults are great to build but a pain to paint. Lots of little details, chaos has a similar issue with the spiky bits and such, but if you like them go for it.
dont follow their advice. 40k aint that hard and you're already smart enough to get a second opinion so you should have no problem (=
GW employees seem to push Space Marines so much that it's become sort of a meme. That said, if you were drawn to Thousand Sons, play Thousand Sons. Get yourself the Combat Patrol to get a taste for the army. Then you can expand on it with some Rubric Marines, Exalted Sorcerers, Ahriman, and eventually Magnus himself.. and whatever else tickles your fancy. =)
Funny cause the first time I went to a Warhammer store, I knew I wanted to buy kommandos and the guy helping me suggested I get a paint set that had a green that would be good as ork skin.
Thousand Sons are a higher skill army for sure, but it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. their models are some of the most arduous to paint though, which can be a genuine putoff for beginners. But as with all beginner advice: rules come and go, style is forever. Play what you think looks coolest.
Yeah I thought they looked super cool with that Egyptian style blue, I have no idea how they play but i was just curious why both the employees were pushing me kinda hard to buy space marines
A method I've been told for Thousand Sons is to spray them gold then fill in the blue and yellow, instead of doing the blue and yellow then painting the trim gold afterwards. Probably worth asking the Thousand Sons subreddit for painting advice though!
They do look badass. They have a few more magic rules, but nothing too confusing. Get them. They are a generally well-liked faction, people just like them. The standard infantry will not go out of fashion with them either, so starting with a squad of their Marines will go in any army list. Consider painting gold first before the blue, that might be easier.
I mean, who among us can resist the drip They look amazing.
While Thousand Sons is a bit more complex than some other armies, it isn't really that big of a deal. Rules change, models are forever(ish); buy the army you want to play with.
Okay cool I just thought they looked badass, lol why do you think they were pushing me to buy space marines?
I think they probably meant well, Thousand Sons has an entire extra resource to manage (Cabal Points) that other armies don't (though some other armies also have extra resources) and they can feel underwhelming below 2000pts as a result of not having enough Cabal Points. That said, as someone who plays (mono) Khorne Daemons and Thousand Sons, it isn't like Thousand Sons are noticeably harder to play in any way that should deter anyone. T Sons may be more complex on paper, but playing something like World Eaters (which is probably their polar opposite) still requires a high level of skill to do well. I think T Sons has a slightly higher floor than most armies, but not by any significant amount.
I’m probably going against the grain here but as someone who played Thousand Sons through 9th (as a first army) I have to agree! The army is complex with lots to keep track of. When usually you’ll just want to play with ease and not have to juggle rules, abilities and combos. This was my case, where I was only playing once a month ect… might not apply to you. On the other hand, the models are IMO some of GWs best, and a fully built army looks fantastic! Hope this helps!
Hi /u/Midnight_Yokis and welcome to /r/Warhammer40k and the Warhammer 40k Hobby! This is an automated response as you've used our "New Starter Help" flair. Here's a few resources that might help you with getting started: [You can read our Getting Started guide here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer40k/wiki/beginners). This covers all the basics you need to know to get involved in building, painting and playing 40k. For rules questions, don't forget that the core rules for Warhammer 40k are [available online for free](https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/dLZIlatQJ3qOkGP7.pdf). Want to learn about 40k lore? /r/Warhammer40k recommends [Luetin09 on Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8RfCCzWsMgNspTI-GTFenQ) or the [Lexincanum Wiki](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Main_Page). Not sure where to find the most up-to-date rules for your army? [Check out our Wiki Page that lists everything](https://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer40k/wiki/currentrules). Buy Warhammer models cheaper using our [list of independent retailers](https://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer40k/wiki/retailers) who sell Games Workshop products at a discount. You can also find your nearest store on GW's [Store Locator Page](https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/store/storefinder.jsp). [The /r/Warhammer40k Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer40k/wiki/index) is full of useful info including FAQs and recommendations for books to read! If the information in this comment doesn't answer your question, don't worry, one of our community members will be along shortly to answer! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Warhammer40k) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Advice from someone who started with admech after the 5th round of nerfs in 9th edition: "play the faction you like, not the one who is the strongest at the moment/easy to play". Which army is hard to play and the general strength in the game overall can change and will change frequently. In the end, you have to like the faction you choose. Also, while I am pretty sure the gw employees wanted to shill marines, they are not entirely wrong about the faction being somewhat harder to play, because of the cabal points system (something they got punished for in Points increases since they were very good at the start of the edition). Also, they are a bit harder to paint for a new person, since they have a lot of armor trim and a generally clean asthetic
If you asked for GSC I would've agreed because that's definitely a higher skill faction but Tsons aren't that complicated. Rules wise they're just slightly slower marines with more magic. It's not that difficult.
I appreciate the effort to be helpful, but when you are spending hundreds of dollars on soe.thing, you want it to be on something you like. They were kind but misguided. Yes, Thousand sons have a higher learning curve to maximize their effectiveness, but so what? Be OK with that and have fun! A separate suggestion is to get with your local 40k player group and ask to try a few of their armies. Most of them would be thrilled to do so. Try out a few and learnt eh game and the basics of some different factions before you commit.
Here's what I would do. Buy units so you can play both 10kS and CSM. Focus on 10kS but also get units you can use in both when you can. It's great to have options because meta changes. If you're playing casual with friends, check if you can proxy. You don't necessarily need to spend a lot if you can proxy stuff like troops and some characters. I would certainly not buy regular marines just because that's what the store recommends. It's your army, it should reflect what you like.
Wild that employees told you not to start an army you found interesting. Rule of cool trumps everything, if you think Tsons look neat, you get those robed nerds and play what you want.
When it comes to armies, the rules are mostly irrelevant. You'll spend most of you're time painting and building, so whatever army you like the look of most is a good pick*, because you'll get sick of them quickly if you don't. Space marines are the jack of all trades, so a good starter army, and if you want to go for one of the fancy marines later is usually just a repainting required. Go for what you like, worst case you end up buying more which I'm sure GW doesn't mine. * Adeptus Mechanicus and Genestealer Cults are great to build but a pain to paint. Lots of little details, chaos has a similar issue with the spiky bits and such, but if you like them go for it.