How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition

Recruiting pals into wargaming can be tough, but 10th Edition Warhammer 40k is a prime opportunity - here's how to get your friends involved.

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing an artwork of Space Marine Terminators shooting, and a close up of a terminator faceplate in white

With Warhammer 40k 10th edition fast approaching, there’s never been a better time to get into playing Games Workshop’s, er, ‘leviathan’ sci-fi miniature wargame, but, as long-time fans know, roping your pals into the hobby can be a hard sell. Here’s how you can use the strengths of the incoming 10th edition to get your friends into Warhammer 40k.

First, the good news: Warhammer 40k 10th Edition is shaping up to be an ideal tool for luring friends through the proverbial Eye Of Terror into the miniature wargames hobby.

The core rules have been streamlined; 9th edition’s complex unit rules have been squished down into a handful of universal mechanics called Warhammer 40k abilities; army building has been made simpler than ever; and all the Warhammer 40k factions are getting full, free, downloadable rules PDFs on launch. Wargamer played 10th at the first opportunity, so you can bet on us having lots of resources to help you and your pals out from day one.

But there are many types of friends, with different things that float their respective boats, and every good tabletop commander knows to choose the right tool for each job – so we’ve whipped up this field guide on how to get all your friends into Warhammer 40k.

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing Imperial Guard models fighting Tyranids, including the new Screamer Killer model included in the Leviathan box

The Gamer

Our first type of friend is The Gamer. If you’re hanging out on this site, there’s already a good chance you and your fellows enjoy games of all sorts, with videogames heavily in the mix – this person especially so. The Gamer relishes the challenge of games and mastering their mechanics. They see the game like Neo sees the Matrix – every rule combination is a solvable puzzle, everything is connected, and therein lies the route to victory.

With 10th edition, the mechanics of 40k are being wholeheartedly rewritten from the ground up, with each faction getting new rules for their armies, units, and new Warhammer 40k detachments to build the army lists you’ll take to battle.

Since everyone will be starting fresh in this brave new world, with previous edition expertise providing only limited benefit, your Gamer friend can take this as the perfect jumping-in point to set their brains to work on mastering the game – without being handicapped with the need to catch up on three to six years of accumulated insider knowledge.

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing the book cover art, transfer sheet, and cards included in the Leviathan box

The way to get the Gamer to buy into 10th will be to set up a session with them to go through some sample games; the new Combat Patrol game mode would be excellent for this, as it hands both players small, manageable forces that are equally balanced.

The Gamer will get to try one or two factions, feel the flow of the game, and (if you’re really committed to winning them over) some glorious wins to give them the wargaming bug. They’ll be poring over netlists for tournament-topping armies and buying three of all the strongest units in no-time.

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing the Space Marine terminators and Tyranids models from the Leviathan box, fully painted with scenery

The Lore Scholar

Our second type of player, the Lore Scholar, is someone who is already acquainted with Warhammer, perhaps intimately so. Maybe they shock you with their deep knowledge of the Horus Heresy books, and can list off more Space Marine biological modifications than the average self-described 40k mega-fan (so at least three out of a possible nineteen). The Lore Scholar is utterly enamoured with 40k as a fictional universe; unfortunately for you, though, they’ve shown no interest in playing the game so far.

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing an artwork of Imperial Guard troopers and vehicles fighting Genestealer Cultists

The way to get a Lore Scholar to the table is going to be selling the fiction that the tabletop game provides, and 10th Edition has already shown it’s blending the mechanical and narrative of its units and factions splendidly.

Take the Chaos Daemons, for example, who can spread their corrupting essence throughout the battlefield, allowing them to manifest eerily close, and send opposing forces mad with their warp energies. This tabletop storytelling is the bit that’ll get the Lore Scholar excited.

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing an artwork of the Cicatrix Maledictum, or Great Rift, splitting the galaxy in two

As previously, the best way to lure in this type of player is to set up some demo games, but this time use the Crusade missions, which provide an asymmetrical battle between two opposing forces, each with their own agenda.

Give your characters names, goals, previous accolades, and believable beef with the enemy. Describe your units’ actions in grim detail. And then, at a crucial moment, reveal your Gambit card for the ultimate dramatic climax.

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing the new Tyranid Neurotyrant model included in the Leviathan box

The Hobbyist

The Hobbyist is already a Warhammer enjoyer and customer – but one who highly prioritises painting miniatures, modelling, kitbashing, and even the artistic competing aspect of the hobby above playing the game, thus cruelly denying you another sparring opponent for 10th Edition.

Even the most hard-bitten tournament Warhammer players engage in the crafting and painting side of the hobby at some point, but approaches vary on whether this is the best bit, or simply a necessary evil to establish and maintain a complete army.

The good news is that 10th edition is dropping with a veritable smorgasbord of new miniatures, with the Adeptus Astartes and Tyranids both set to gain multiple new minis all coming (conveniently) in the new Leviathan box.

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing the front box art for the Leviathan box, featuring a face that's half Space Marine, half Tyranid

Just show your Hobbyist friend the awe-inspiring Neurotyrant, or the new, knife-toting, Phobos-armoured Primaris Lieutenant, and see their eyes widen in avarice. The new minis are loaded with detail and, handily, the Leviathan box promises exceptional value for money on them; the fact that they’re both ready-to-play armies out of the box is a bonus.

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing the new Space Marine phobos lieutenant model included in the Leviathan box

To fully envelop this friend into the game of Warhammer, why not organise a painting session together, where you both arrange to split up your sprues from Leviathan, build your models and get some paint on plastic.

And, while you’re there, you may as well play a few practice games of the new Combat Patrol system, since the rules are already in the box…

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop screenshot from the CGI trailer for Warhammer 40k 10th edition, showing the new Space Marine lieutenant firing his combi-flamer weapon.

The Timmy

Once upon a time, the creators of Magic: The Gathering came up with several player archetypes to make sure their sets and cards were satisfying the majority of their audience, one of which they termed The Timmy.

Timmy loves spectacle and awesome moments and big monsters and clashes for the ages; Timmy loves walking away with one favourite epic moment of a game in a string of losses; Timmy’s breath halts when they see the Strength 24 Volcano Cannon and is already looking up how many they can take in an army…

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing the new statline for the Volcano Cannon weapon

Timmy is a power gamer, but isn’t there to necessarily win for the sake of it; no, they want to win big. This could mean crushing whole squads of Space Marines with one big Tyranid bug, or letting off a brutal firing line and demolishing enemy vehicles before they get a chance to fire back.

Although 10th Edition is reputedly less lethal than 9th – meaning that all units are a bit less powerful and tougher to kill – there are still eye-popping levels of power throughout the game. What’s more, Timmy will share a love of epic narrative moments with the Lore Scholar – perhaps even more so if it means the crushing rout of an enemy force – and 10th army rules provide plenty of scope for both.

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th Edition - Warhammer Community image showing the new Lion El Jonson model, Primarch of the Dark Angels Space Marines

Whether or not your Timmy friend has already dipped a toe into Warhammer, they’re going to be enamoured with striking, set-piece models such as Primarchs like Lion El’Jonson; super-heavy tanks; lords of war; and anything with the new ‘epic hero’ keyword. To get them interested in 10th edition, set up a game with them just playing big monsters or a single primarch, and throw waves of battlelines at them. Timmy will be in heaven.

Just be careful of the monster you’ve unleashed if you don’t want to face Volcano cannons, Tau Empire railguns, or whatever other highly tuned, dramatically destructive wargear Timmy will come across and fall instantly in love with during this edition.

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing all the miniatures included for Space Marines and Tyranids in the Leviathan box

The board game group

Lots of people are getting into board games these days – sometimes down at a board game café; sometimes a regular meet-up at a pub (or, if you’re not from the UK, somewhere less dark and full of sticky floors). You may be wondering if these board game friends you’ve made would be interested in playing Warhammer at all, and perhaps 10th edition is the best time to raise the topic.

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing an artwork of Space Marine Terminators shooting, and a close up of a terminator faceplate in white

As previously mentioned, the Leviathan box and Combat Patrol game mode offer a hitherto unseen ease of entry for new players to the game, but first you should test the waters over Discord or Whatsapp, or your board game group’s Facebook page.

Let people know you’ve acquired two perfectly matched armies, you’ve got everything needed for a few tester games, and would anyone like to try it out? Would the group be up for letting Warhammer take over one week? Go on, it won’t bite…

How to get your friends into Warhammer 40k 10th edition - Games Workshop image showing Raven Guard Space marine models and Imperial Guard vehicle models fully painted

Remember to not get disheartened if not everyone wants to join in or is taken with the game – Warhammer doesn’t click with everyone, but it’ll be worth it to find that one or two people whose eyes light up as the dice begin to roll.

Perhaps you’ll discover Timmys, Hobbyists, or Gamers in your midst that were laying dormant all this time. The others can go back to board games, but you can always try Warhammer Underworlds, Kill Team, War Cry, or even a Warhammer board game with them later.