How to play WARHAMMER 40K

Let Guy and Ant teach you the basics of Warhammer 40k 10th Edition by playing a small, easy to follow game of Chaos Space Marines vs Tyranids. We'll teach you how to plan a basic army, set up your table, all the core rules of the game, and give you the confidence and knowledge you need to enjoy the most popular tabletop game in the world.

If you've found this video useful in your 40k journey, please consider supporting us!

Music by Midwinter Minis, Choirgiant, Sebastian Kling, and the YouTube Audio Library.

SPECIAL THANKS:
Ant for fielding his awesome Synthwave Tyranids
Mikey from @HellstormWargaming for helping me iron out the rules
Zingbo, Peter, and Nedwork on the MWM Discord server for spotting mistakes in the first draft

Here are some timestamps for useful moments in the video:

0:00:00 Starting out in Warhammer 40k
0:01:20 How to build a starter army
0:02:20 What will you need to play
0:02:58 Chaos Space Marine army
0:04:32 Tyranids army
0:05:25 Understanding datasheets
0:07:41 Weapon profiles
0:08:37 Roll to wound
0:09:26 Armour penetration
0:11:02 Rules, apps, and guides
0:13:25 Setting up the battlefield
0:14:50 Deployment
0:15:50 Unit coherency
0:17:01 Rounds, turns, and phases
0:17:22 Chaos Command phase 1
0:17:54 Chaos Movement phase 1
0:18:32 Advancing
0:19:01 How to move models
0:19:25 Chaos Shooting phase 1
0:22:41 Partially in range
0:23:36 Tyranids Command phase 1
0:23:29 Tyranids Movement phase 1
0:24:42 Moving over terrain
0:25:48 Fire Overwatch
0:29:14 Tyranids Shooting phase 1
0:30:20 Benefit of cover
0:31:10 Feel no pain
0:32:11 Tyranids Charge phase 1
0:32:25 Making a charge
0:32:45 Command Re-roll
0:33:27 Tyranids Fight phase 1
0:33:35 Psychic abilities
0:36:05 Assigning damage
0:37:40 Chaos Command phase 2
0:37:55 Battleshock test
0:38:15 Chaos Movement phase 2
0:40:27 Chaos Shooting phase 2
0:40:40 Grenades
0:41:00 Mortal wounds
0:42:45 Multiple profile weapons
0:43:34 Firing multiple pistols
0:44:50 Hazardous Test
0:45:40 Firing pistols in combat
0:46:33 Split fire
0:47:00 Chaos Charge phase 2
0:47:36 Chaos Fight phase 2
0:49:16 Forgetting rules
0:51:49 What does D3 mean?
0:54:00 Tyranids Command phase 2
0:54:27 Tyranids Movement phase 2
0:54:52 Tyranids Charge phase 2
0:55:09 Tyranids Fight phase 2
0:58:06 Chaos Command phase 3
0:58:56 Chaos Shooting phase 3
1:01:15 Chaos Fight phase 3
1:02:20 Good luck getting started

[MidwinterMinis]

ERRATA:

38:00 During the Battleshock Tests, the footage of the Cultists and Legionaries rolls were accidentally swapped in the editing process. To reiterate, you pass (and are safe) by rolling ABOVE your leadership value, and fail (become battleshocked) by rolling UNDER your leadership.

The two "Twin Linked" rerolls on the Flying Hive Tyrants weapons were performed incorrectly. The entire roll is not considered "the attack", each individual dice is considered a unique attack. You can decide whether to reroll for each individual dice. Why the rules writers didn't just say "Twin Linked: re-roll failed wound rolls" is beyond me. Why write 7 words when 100 will do, eh?

Thanks for watching! If there are any rules or situational stuff that you still feel uncertain about, drop a comment below and I'm sure some kind Warhammer 40k expert will be glad to point you in the right direction!

[benbot]

>Beginner's guide
>An hour long

*god-emperor help me*

[Rvrian]

Been playing warhammer for about 3 years now and yet I will still watch this whole video.

[babblingbeastofnurgle]

You forgot step one: sell both your kidneys and take out a mortgage...

[andyseverance]

I am just getting into 40K and having such a clear and straightforward explanation of the rules is a lifesaver! Thank you so much for doing this!

[captainweekend]

Slight clarification on Twin-Linked, it does not require you to re-roll all wounds. The wording states "Each time an attack is made with such a weapon, you can re-roll that attack's wound roll." When attacking with a weapon, each dice is considered its own attack, and rolling them all together is referred to as fast rolling. That means that you only need to re-roll the failed wound rolls, however the rule does state that it can be any wound roll, not just failed ones, which is intended to leave open the option to re-roll a successful wound if you're looking instead for a critical wound for the sake of devastating wounds.

Honestly fast rolling probably deserved its own clarification, it's often taken for granted by people because its done so often that it muddies interpretations of the rules, even with experienced players it seems. For instance you shouldn't fast roll when making feel no pain rolls for several models, as it needs to be clear before you roll which dice are for which model.

Also the rules are pretty unambiguous when it comes to "when a model is leading a unit". The rulebook clarifies that once a character in a combined unit loses its bodyguard it is no longer considered a combined unit and the character and bodyguard are considered separate units from that point forward, therefore any abilities that specify "when this model is leading a unit" are no longer usable once the bodyguards have been destroyed.

[daneiyt]

Tip: USE PRINTOUTS IF YOU JUST WANNA PLAY

[TheHaughtyOsprey]

THANKS GUYS! Ive been watching and reading lore for 2 years and Im ready to start playing. This has helped me understand so much more about what types of minis to choose and weapons to pick for them. Its really inti idating to see how complex the rules for this game are but you have helped me get more of a grasp on things.

[MisterTingles]

as someone who's really only into the modelling and painting side, but has thought about getting into the game proper a number of times, intro vids like this are very helpful. I still glaze over when confronted with stuff like 5+ different stats to express weapon strength and damage resistance, but y'know... probably a reason for it I just don't grasp yet.

[rodrigodamian]

I love all your "How-to-play" games and your battle reports. They might have the occasional missed rulling, but they are by far the easiest to follow and the most entertaining to watch!!! Love your content!!!

[davidwilding]

An amazing, simple easy to follow introduction to the 40K game we know and love. I especially appreciate the chapter section for easy reference! Thanks Guy!

[joshmcintyre]

I just started playing the game, and this was hands down the most helpful video I’ve come across so far.

Thank you for the great explanations, I feel much more confident about my understanding of the game than I did an hour ago!

[apinakapinastorba]

About that ”leading a unit”, it’s not open for intepretation because rules say that when bodyguard unit dies the leader unit is now a standalone unit

[dracometeors]

Maybe already said but Twin-Linked let's you reroll whatever Wound Roll you want, you don't have to reroll the whole bunch of dice.

[ShrekK]

Bro one of the main reasons I got so hyped over 10th edition was cus I knew this video was gonna come out. I love your how to play’s

[Tarvanis]

Even though I don't play or collect 40K myself, I very much appreciate the start section, because the statements there are applicable for almost any wargame:
You don't need a lot of models for your first game. You also don't need to create your force by any "balanced gameplay" rules, it's more important to get the gist of the game first. And finally, basically anything can function as a playing surface and terrain. Just use the dining table, throw some books, pencils, bottles, cans, etc. on it and start having fun.
Thanks for showing some of the "improvised first terrain", I think it really sells the point.

[blueblaze]

Imagine something like Lego Warhammer! We'll never hear the end of it!
Easy to assemble because you can put the pieces together, pre painted, and they wouldn't look out of place. Take some of those old kits and make your own war zone.

[Madbog]

Great video, though a small correction:Twin-linked does not mean that you reroll all the dice in the wound roll. Instead, it means that you reroll all 'failed' dice.

[DarkHue]

This was super fun to watch and definitely cemented the decision to get into WH40K by my brother and I. I'm going Space Marines (Ultramarines) and he's going Chaos Space Marines (mix of cultists and Emperor's Children).

[benjaminjack]

Been waiting for this!!! Perfect timing before the crusade begins at my local store. Thanks so much for this, Guy.