BEST Warhammer 40K Armies for Beginners 🎲

[@fernandozepeda7612]

I would swap tau for world eaters for the “one phase army” slot , as i think tau can be harder to pilot for beginners you need to know movement and positioning to to decent with them

[@dadhammerstudios]

One of the guys on the Dadhammer team started with World Eaters, and they are indeed a good "one phase army". Plenty of great army options for sure.

[@Johnnekaiser]

Another Suggestion I'd like to add would be Chaos Daemons. Depending on which Daemons you wish to collect, You have an army that can be played In pretty much any Warhammer Setting. With the Combat Patrol, True It's only Khorne Daemons but you already have a good army for not only the 40k chaos daemons but also Blades of Khorne, Including things like the Boarding Patrols. Kill Team and Warcry and with The Old World they released a PDF Online Rules for Chaos Daemons. Not to mention that with Daemons are very easy to paint. Due to their nature you can really be creative. Like with Nurgle Daemons you can afford to make mistakes with them and make them look dirty or with Tzeench you can give them vibrant colors like their contently being wrapped. Also depending on which setting you'd wish to get into. You can Expand your collection of Daemons with the mortal followers at some point, Again blades of Khorne for AOS Or World Eaters for 40k and have the Daemons be allies or just a straight up unit choice in Blades

[@dadhammerstudios]

Great suggestion! I've never played daemons but I really like the cross over aspect between games. Creates an extra value add. 👍

[@Johnnekaiser]

@dadhammerstudios indeed, while each daemon faction has their playstyle like khorne being hard hitting and nurgle being slow and tanky. The fact that your able go use the models in different settings is the true value and has room to expand

[@jupiterlicht789]

What should the first army be? Well, that's quite simple, ORKS. Why ? Well, the orcs are forgiving of many painting mistakes. And you can be super creative with them. For example, you can build a whole orc base out of rubbish, and make super easy kitbashs.

[@dadhammerstudios]

Agreed! Orks were my first army for this very reason.

[@shadefelblade]

Orks are my 1st army.. so far a huntherd box and zodgrod

[@JestaultSteinkeKachuik]

I disagree with nearly everything on your lists save for Necrons as everything else is either difficult to pilot or requires extensive knowledge of not only your faction but everyone else’s as well. Also space marines may have a large range but something like 80% of it is a dude in power armour making it the easiest faction to proxy or kitbash on top of being easy to paint and pilot making them the best starter faction.

[@dadhammerstudios]

Nearly everything... "so you're telling me there's a chance" 🙌

[@konstantinemelyanov4903]

I’m actually in a very weird position right now…. Where when I started out with minies I said to myself that I won’t play Space Marines, because everyone plays them. But with time, getting more and more bits of different fractions, Tau, Tyranids, CSM, Sister, I start to consider actually just stop overthinking and get an SM army. I’m very inconsistent person, one day I think that Psykers are the coolest thing in universe, other day I’m thinking that tanks are. It really drains me mentally….. Nice video! I really do like the fact that you recommended everything but SM. For reason I completely understand

[@dadhammerstudios]

Hey thanks for that! Really appreciate you taking the time to share your insights/experience. I started with orks, eventually worked my way into Space Wolves and multiple other armies. Many of my friends started with SM...but when I was teaching them to play, it was just overwhelming for them to consider all of the SM choices at play. Personally, I preferred the "charge up the field and smash" approach of orks because it was easy to execute lol, but difficult to stay alive at first. It did allow me to focus on being good at charge/melee though, which provided some focus. We actually discussed this topic on our latest podcast if you are interested. Regardless, thanks again for the comments.

[@BrandonGiordano]

I just recently committed and purchased my first minis to eventually make a full Dark Angels army. Don't overthink it is my advice because I was exactly like you. It is a financial commitment but just start with a couple minis and see if you enjoy their look and painting them. If you're not having fun, then what's the point?

[@dadhammerstudios]

Exactly! If you love the army, just build and paint those regardless what anyone else says.

[@Grayson_Baker]

My first army was Space Wolves. Just loved the aesthetic of them

[@dadhammerstudios]

Love SW! Have an army myself, and it's the only space marine army I own. Old viking guys in the snow is just awesome.

[@danieldryland6959]

As a new player looking to start I found this really helpful as I was contemplating starting with a necron army 😊

[@dadhammerstudios]

Thanks for the comment and for watching. Glad it was helpful! Necrons are always a good choice, plus their newer kits are really good looking and there's good versatility in the new codex that just came out! Good luck 🤖

[@Garciaa__]

Before watching the entire video, if i had to pick one army for begginers i would say that me most suitable armys are: Dark Angels, Necrons, maybe orks and both sort of knights ( heretics and imperial) and last custodes, i guess custodes are the most friendly use for begginers, easy paint, easy rules and you can screw up without pay it with a lost.

[@dadhammerstudios]

Spot on. Funny you list these armies above as all of them were first army choices for several of the Dadhammer Team. No Custodes yet, but to your point, they are budget and beginner friendly.

[@Garciaa__]

@@dadhammerstudios I think that within the Warhammer community there is a consensus about which armies are the most optimal for beginners, the Custodes are an army with simple rules and quite strong in combat, it also allows errors that do not cost you the game, such as the Drukhari or the Aeldari. Added to the fact that there are few miniatures and their painting is very similar to the schemes to follow in Necrons, I think it is an optimal option for combat, for me the first army in 40K was World Eaters, I wish I had known more and had bought Custodes or imperial knights hehe

[@Ox5f3759df]

I went with the Orks because I saw there was a unit that are a bunch of lads that have strapped ACME rockets to their back and that was rad as hell

[@dadhammerstudios]

The amount of shenanigans the orks have in their army is truly amazing.

[@kiswithy5541]

Id personally add price as a huge + point for custodes. You can more or less get a functioning army for 300€> and get into the hobby, find out what you like and maybe start a second army if you are looking for something in particular that custodes can not do well.

[@itsyaboioiyboi5901]

Green iz best! Da new gitz should pick up da beakies though… so I kan krump em!

[@dadhammerstudios]

Waaaaaaaagh!!!

[@bldos5362]

A fungus like you should be praying to the Omnissiah for forgiveness.

[@modernknight86]

All the reasons you listed (especially Rule of Cool and the lore) are why I went for Necrons. I’m painting up a Void Dragon as I watch this!

[@dadhammerstudios]

Awesome! That's a cool model indeed. Thanks for watching 😎

[@AjeetSingh-xq4yb]

Great video. My friend got me into Warhammer 40k and I've been struggling to find a good starter army. I was thinking Tyranids because I always like the swarming alien race in other games (Zerg and Flood).

[@dadhammerstudios]

Thanks for watching! Tyranids are great, and definitely give the feel of a zerg rush. For the Flood, maybe look into Death Guard as your second army...they are more zombie like. Also, combat patrol is a great place to start.

[@relthmcroth1473]

This is a really interesting analysis on the armies a player could start with. At first, I wanted to start with the Tau Empire because I was a fan of the futuristic military aesthetic (and I suppose mecha, too) but I was worried that they wouldn’t be flexible of the table top due to their laser focus on ranged combat. I later tried to pivot to Aeldari for their mobility until I learned that their models were kinda old and the instructions to put them together aren’t always intuitive. Also, their lore kinda stinks ATM. In the end, I feel like I should follow your recommendation and go back to the Tau and sell the Aeldari models I already have (which I never even assembled). Thanks for your recommendations.

[@dadhammerstudios]

I ran into the same situation with orks when I first started. They were pretty easy to learn, a little more difficult to master (since they are mainly just charge and melee), and even then I couldn't remember all the rules so it didn't matter 🤣. Eventually, I got bored with the same thing over and over...and bought another army. Now I have six 40k armies that all play differently. Soy advice would be to stick with Tau for now and expand later if you run into that flexibility issue. That said, Tau are getting a ton of Kroot models soon, which will bring a completely new melee dynamic to the army. I think you're in great hands with the Tau, especially if you like the look of them! Good luck, and thanks for watching!

[@relthmcroth1473]

@@dadhammerstudios Thanks. I gotta get back into the hobby at some point. Good luck with your own endeavours.

[@TheLordofMetroids]

With the expansion of Kroot, The Tau will also have a pretty unique anti burnout feature. A feature that is already preasent in only Orks and Demons really. So one issue with Warhammer, at least in my opinion is once you settle on an army, and a paint scheme, your going to be doing a lot of minis in that paint and mini look. Everything looks like your chosen chapter or whatever faction equivalent, and uses mostly the same painting techniques. Space Marines? all your minis are blue and gold walking tanks, and vehicles. Eldar? All your minis are yellow and blue guys and vehicles. Tyrnids? Hope you like painting red and black bugs, because this is your life now. The only armies that really break this monotony are Orks with their junkyard aesthetics and the squigs. The two sides of their atmy can feel completely different. Its even more drastic with Demons eho straight up feel like 4 different armies stuck together. Now Tau will have this too. Tired of painting those tan spacesuits? Grab a giant bird man.

[@dadhammerstudios]

Yup. Also why I have multiple armies, but new players won't have that. Either way it's an investment.

[@razormaw6374]

I disagree with painting Tyranids you can pretty much do anything you wish this is what appeals to me for Tyranids you can add spots, stripes, two tone carapace the whole colour pallet is your oyster. Also to add to this as long as they have the same colours the spots and stripes don't have to be exact think of it as a breed of dog or cat not everyone has the exact same.

[@lordcastellan4735]

I probably wouldn't have included Tau. There are 2 reasons. They don't play half the game, and painting the can be difficult for newbies. The painting part is especially bad if they try to match the box art. White is difficult to get right without an airbrush. CSM is the better choice. Their rules aren't too hard to grasp and they don't typically have extremely difficult paint schemes. Black Legion and Alpha Legion are both easy to paint. Also, when the start to build up to 2k points, CSM have more options and most stores have better stock of CSM.

[@dadhammerstudios]

I have a CSM army and they are a good broad army that can do lots of things well. Tau has lots of nuance of course, but I mainly picked them since they are shooty and gives the new player time to learn positioning.

[@HorizonIsHere1337]

I'd suggest Custodes for a 1st army every time. Cheap, easy to paint, easy to play.

[@dadhammerstudios]

True, and I wish there were more elite armies like Custodes in general. Horde armies are cool to look at for sure, and have a ton of tactical options, but sometimes it's nice to just have something straight forward.

[@vontszemu2166]

I think Death Guard would be also a great starting army, only the painting could be a little harder.

[@dadhammerstudios]

I've never played Death Guard personally, but they do have a ton of models/variety. I just can't get past how gross they are 🤣

[@Method9]

Tyranids really do not excel at close combat anymore.

[@dadhammerstudios]

I am still new in regards to playing Tyranids. But I have experienced the power of the Screamer Killer in close combat. It made a quick meal out of Votann bikers.

[@Wineblood]

I was going to start with Imperial Knights, but I heard a lot of people say that you don't really learn the game properly as almost all other armies have a lot more models. I think I'll start with Necrons instead, I'm really taking a shine to their lore and aesthetics.

[@dadhammerstudios]

That is true. Knights are huge models that don't give you enough exposure to all the tactics and strategy that inherently come with lots of troops on the board. That said, they are super fun to play...and terrifying to play against lol.

[@Wineblood]

I still love them as both big mechs and knightly things appeal to me, so maybe my 2nd/3rd/4th army. I currently have 3 factions I'm considering for my first army and then Knight after or in the middle of that.

[@dadhammerstudios]

@@Wineblood sounds awesome! Great thing about this game/hobby is there's always something else to collect and build. Good luck!

[@NegativeNezzy]

I have a Chaos Knights army because I found myself largely unable to win with my first army (Aeldari). I'd definitely think about just selling my wardogs if I didn't love my paintjob so much.

[@learntooilpaint]

Interesting video, was thinking about which army to pick up, more of a hobbyists than player, but also want to get my daughter into it as we enjoyed things like other board games. I used to love painting minis as a bit of a chill moment. I bought the small box of runtherd and grots as it was on a shelf for cheap. I think I’m going to buy some bits off Facebook just for painting, like sm, tyranids, daemons, but I think irks will be the bits I buy up, the fun lore, the aesthetic and ability to create an army rolling hundred dice. They also have the most internal diversity of models and kit

[@dadhammerstudios]

Awesome, and really cool that you're getting your daughter into it! Several of us at Dadhammer have experience with getting our kids into the game, some more successful than others 🙄. You shoukd also pick up the free mini of the month if you're near a Warhammer store. That will give you some variety with zero risk!

[@learntooilpaint]

@@dadhammerstudios I was considering taking her down to the local store when they are off next week, I forgot they did free mini of the week

[@dadhammerstudios]

Just make sure it's an official warhammer store. FLGS don't get the free minis. They might give you one anyway depending on the store, but the official free mini program is only for GW stores.

[@nyxhighlander9894]

Me Ill get into the Guard they seem cool now I am drowning in Russes and Infratry models

[@dadhammerstudios]

The struggle is real. I bought 2 Leviathan boxes, yet still have a ton of Tyranids sitting on a shelf assembled, but only sprayed in Wraithbone. 🫣

[@marcoscerezo6154]

What about guardmens

[@NapoleonBonaparteMAGA]

subbed! Thank you!

[@dadhammerstudios]

Thanks for the sub!

[@razormaw6374]

So back in 1996 when i first heard about 40k I decided on Space Wolves for my army of choice but like you said they are just mediocre after accumilating 1000 point army I was bored, think it was about a year later I decided on a fresh start and I chose Tyranids at absolutly enjoyed every part of gaming and painting them I ended my 40k career at a 14k point Tyranid army and sold it all on ebay I havent played or collected since then that was about 17 years ago but i enjoy the lore and always watch 40k videos on just about anything I am very tempted to get back into it would love to collect Tyranids again.

[@dadhammerstudios]

Wow, really cool story! Thanks for sharing this. Yeah I mean it's a great time to come back in, and you don't HAVE to build a huge force to play. I would look into Combat Patrol if you're wanting to dip your toe in. That said, since you collected 14k pts, you know what you're getting into lol.

[@razormaw6374]

​@dadhammerstudios Cheers, I had a look at the combat patrol they're a pretty good idea to get you started but I think first before I commit to anything I'm going to purchase the codex because I don't think my 1997 Tyranids Codex is going to cut it anymore I saw online the new codex is huge and it's a hard back book so I will have a gander cheers for the content.

[@dadhammerstudios]

You can also download the Combat Patrol rules for free on the Warhammer Community website. Those are abbreviated rules/stats, but gives you an idea of what you're looking at for Tyranids. It doesn't replace the codex, but it's something. Good luck!

[@X33dbv]

Very interesting choices, I think they are good choices. Too many rules and too many models aren’t good to begin with.

[@dadhammerstudios]

Thanks for watching! Lots of options for sure, and these are just one persons opinion 😁

[@michaelfurlanic3505]

Blood for the blood god for me.

[@dadhammerstudios]

The Commissar on the Dadhammer Team started with World Eaters...great choice! He loves them, and he's a beginner in 40k. So many good options.

[@NegativeNezzy]

I've always struggled to feel like "Rule of Cool" didn't bait me when I started. 1 year and 20+ games into the hobby I think me and my beloved Aeldari are still at like a 20% win rate? When I was also, apparently, the 'best army in the game'. Elves that die to a stiff breeze be hard yo. That being said, I'll always love these space elves the most.

[@dadhammerstudios]

I always though that the Aeldari had great sculpts and the Windriders looked awesome. So I went ahead and purchased the Combat Patrol to try them out. After a couple of games I changed my mind and decided to stick with the other armies that I had.

[@carbinewolf]

Any Astra Militarum players? I've always been fascinated by the tanks that supplement the grunts. Are they hard to paint/play?

[@dadhammerstudios]

@carbinewolf I'm not a Guard player myself, but I don't think they would be any more difficult to paint than other armies. Lots of militarum green and whatnot. Might be a little challenging if you want to paint a camo pattern on the uniforms, but there are a ton of tutorials out there for that. As for playing, from what I've seen they aren't an elite army, so expect to field a lot of units that die quickly (similar to any other horde army). Their tanks though are pretty powerful, just depends on strategy and support units.

[@lordcastellan4735]

Guard aren't particularly hard to paint, but it depends. If you're painting up cadians or even kriegers, they're not so hard. Catachan get harder because they have a lot of exposed skin, but not that bad. Most vehicles except for the valkyrie, basilisk, wyvern, hydra, and Scout Sentinel are easy to paint. The difficulty painting guard is that they're a horde army, so you're painting a lot. Guard armies can have more models than ork armies. My tournament list has 6 shock trooper squads and an infantry squad. In addition to 8 vehicles and a smattering of character support. As for difficulty play, guard are one the highest skill floor armies out there. Target acquisition, order placement, officer support, screening, and sacrificial units all must be mastered to play guard with any degree of competency. If you do it well, you are a nightmare to stop, if you do it poorly you get steamrolled. It's why guard have one of the higher tournament wins out there, but have an average winrate of 46% for most players.

[@CMDR_BananenKeks]

currently i'm building Tyranids from the Levi Box. I find them really hard to build, because of their small/fine details and already broke a couple pieces. Don't know if beginners would enjoy building them

[@dadhammerstudios]

Yeah some armies just have smaller bits that are difficult to assemble. I had this problem with Necrons when I started on a second army with them after orks, but the older Necron kits were terrible for this. The newer ones are much more builder friendly. Orks were easier for me because they are chunkier/stockier builds. Less small arms to break off. The tyranids in the Leviathan box didn't always fit together the best, at least the larger models. End of the day, they are still models, and some will be easier to assemble than others. Have you had success with other armies? Just curious. Thanks for watching!

[@CMDR_BananenKeks]

My other army is Slamander Marines. The only kit I hated building so far was the redemptor dreadnought

[@dadhammerstudios]

SM are chunkier guys for sure, making it easy to pick up and whatnot. You might find Knights easier to assemble too since they are big boys.

[@dantizzy]

I atarted getting into Warhammer 40k and my first army is ORKS cuz there da biggest and da baddest and lots of WAAAAGH

[@dadhammerstudios]

Smash da humies!!

[@TheLordofMetroids]

Expect $500-$1000 usd for an army. Admech players that can currently spend $2,400 on an army with popular troops. Gee, wouldn't that be nice.

[@dadhammerstudios]

Yeah, I was taking averages. Depends on which army you pick of course, but fair point...some armies are pricier than others.

[@TheLordofMetroids]

@@dadhammerstudios it's more a lamentation than a correction. Admech are priced and built like an elite army, but pointed like a horde. It hurts.

[@riconade4431]

Watching this video very intently despite owning 2 armies

[@dadhammerstudios]

There's always room for one more 😉

[@riconade4431]

@@dadhammerstudios don't tempt me lmaooo

[@Malefleur]

No play Aeldari?? Sad...

[@dadhammerstudios]

If you (or anyone) love the look of Aeldari or any other army...rule of cool always makes up for how complex an army is. If you love how they look, you'll actually love the complexity of whatever army you choose!

[@Someone-zp9jk]

FUCK IT I LL GO ANGRY MARINES!!!

[@zodbones]

DA BOOYYZZZ!!

[@dadhammerstudios]

Boyz iz bestest

[@TheZeroChanel]

I dunno, man. I'm a T'au player, and I think that in 10th Edition they are pretty nuanced. You gotta work and strategize to get your firepower, pick correct targets, choose who gets shooting buffs, and know where to place your army on the table. If you don't know what you are doing, then your army can easily underperform. Units are diverse but each is good at one specific thing and not so good at doing anything else. You need to know who to pick, for what role, and who needs to support them, so the army composition can get pretty complex. Not to mention, that as a range only faction, you are basically playing only half of the game, which is maybe not the best introduction for begginners. (Also T'au don't have any psychic abilities just as Necrons) I don't want to disincourage anybody from playing T'au; they are deffinately an interesting way to play the game. If you are into nuanced, tactical way to play, centered around min maxing, and planning, then go for it. If you are not sure, then I suggest taking T'au as a second army, and the first being something more balanced in melee/shooting. Also if you are going to paint them white, then prepare to suffer. (you'll become a pro at painting, though)

[@dadhammerstudios]

I hear you, and honestly, every army has nuance and details that make them more complicated. They are just range heavy which gives them an extra vote (in my opinion) for new players since they can still roll dice at a distance.