Beginner's 40k
Guide contents (9 of 10)
  1. What you need before you start
  2. Building a legal list
  3. How to read a datasheet
  4. Setup: terrain, missions, deployment
  5. The battle round and every phase
  6. Resolving an attack
  7. Scoring and winning
  8. Ten mistakes new players make
  9. What to do after game one
  10. Glossary

What to do after game one

However it went, you now know things no amount of reading could have told you. Here's where to point that.

  1. Talk it through with your opponent. Which rules did you both check mid-game? Those are the ones worth re-reading properly before your next game.
  2. Read your Faction Pack properly, not just your own datasheets. Now that you've seen a real turn happen, the detachment rules and enhancements will make a lot more sense than they did cold.
  3. Look at your secondary objective choices. Second games are a good time to try different secondaries and see which suit how your army actually plays, rather than which sounded best on paper.
  4. Play the same points level again before going up. A second 1,000-point game will cement the phases and scoring far better than jumping straight to 2,000 points while you're still checking the turn sequence.
  5. Try the same army against a different opponent, or a different army against the same opponent. Either tells you something the first game couldn't.
  6. Keep the tracker's printable turn sequence reference nearby for a game or two after you stop needing the full tracker — it's a faster refresher than opening the guide again.
  7. Watch a battle report or two. Seeing the phases play out on a table you're not responsible for is a good way to absorb pacing and priorities.
  8. Check for balance updates. The Munitorum Field Manual changes over time — re-check your list's points before your next game rather than assuming it's still current.