Hi, mate.
I've been playing
WH since the days of 4th ed abck in 1992, for me it is the better game, it is a lot more tactical than
40K as the game relies more on movement and close combat. If you get your deployment wrong you are in trouble! Unfortunately recently I haven't played anywhere near as much
WH as I would have liked, the Ironbeards just will not be converted to it!
As to where to start that is an interseting question. Unlike
40K there is not really one army that stands out as a good starter army (
40K as we all know is
SM). Obviously for starters you will need to get the rule book, I would stay away from IoB as although good value unless you are going to collect HE or Skaven its a bit of a waste of money although you could always eBay the models. One of the things about
WH is it is a S3 T3 game, unlike
40K which is a S4 T4 game. When you start getting S4 and T4 models they make a lot of diference, unlike
40K where they are just a little bit more likely to survive. This makes Dwarves, Orcs and Warriors of Chaos quite tough
Starting an army in
WH for me really comes down to personal taste. I will make a list showing the pros and cons of each army, some I know better then others though.
Empire. The Empire are the Mr Average of Warhammer, virtually all models are average stats of 3s accross the board. They do get some good heavy cavalry and excellent artillery. They are also fairly cheap so will offset their averageness to a point with numbers. They have a decent selection of units and some fairly good elite troops with good missile troops although BS3 does somewhat limit their effectiveness. The detachment rule is really good as well (I won't list it here but suffice to say it can be a nasty shock for someone). Magic is average. If I had to make a recommendation for a starter army then these would definately be one of them.
Elves. I have lumped these together as they have virtually the same strengths and weaknesses. Like Eldar and
DE they can dish out a lot of pain but are very fragile as they limited to T3 and don't have really very heavy troops armour wise. The HE do have the universal rule of always strike first which is useful, though not as useful as it was under 7th ed. Both armies have good stats except fot the T as noted. They are also quite quick with M5 (
WH unlike
40K has different move rates for different races) with good I which means usually they will get to strike first and reroll misses. Missile troops are not the best although
DE repeater crossbows are not too bad, and repeater bolt throwers are ok but slightly overpriced. Their magic is good. In general HE and
DE are good armies but slightly over priced and can be difficult to use, for that reason I would not recommend them as a starter army. Wood Elves are a bit different, they have all the main strengths and weaknesses of HE and
DE but their troops are mainly all skirmishers and are a nightmare to use unless you really know what you are doing so I would stay away from them for now.
Dwarves. Dwarves are tough but slow, they are an excellent defensive army as even their basic infantry are heavy infantry. The entire army can be equipped with great weapons which add +2S and takes them all up to at least S5. They get some of the best artillery in the game which can be further upgraded by the use of Runes. Missile troops are not too bad, the handgunners are useful but expensive. As I said they are slow, they do not get any cavalry at all and have a move of 3". The best way to use them is to sit back with big blocks of heavy infantry, shoot the enemy for a couple of turns then take the charge and hope he bounces off. Dwarves are also non magical which means you will have nothing to do in your magic phase but you do gain an extra 2 dispel dice. Dwarven Runes are slightly overpriced compared to magic items but you can mix and match to create custom items which is more flexible. Dwarven tropps are better than most others with T4 and WS4 and excellent
Ld meaning they are hard to break but low I of 2. I would recommend Dwarves if you are a defensive player.
Orcs and Goblins. They are fun to play but unpredictable due to Animosity, you either win by lots or lose by lots. Animosity can be countered to a point by the use of Black Orc characters. They have one of the widest selection of troops in the game. I will be honest and say that I have not seen the new army book so am basing my opinions on the old one but they will not have changed that dramatically. Orcs are tough with T4 but have poor initiative (2) and average
Ld of 7. Choppas are good as it adds +1S on the first turn of combat. Goblins are poor but do have cheapness on their side so you can get lots for your points and Night Goblins can have some really nasty suprises in their units with fanatics and netters but are prone to running away due to poor
Ld. Cavalry is fairly good but not true heavy cavalry but their light cavalry is quite good and cheap. Magic is destructive. War machines are again average. If you go for an O&G army be prepared to paint a lot of models. They are ok as a starter army but with such a wide choice of units it can be difficult to get it right as a newbie.
Ogres. Ogres have got a lot more useful in 8th ed. They are big, tough, strong and quick with multiple wounds but fairly low I. The downside is they are expensive so you will not get a lot of models for your points meaning you will nearly alwys be outnumbered units wise (a 2000 point army has about 23 models in it). They are a very aggresive army but lack decent ranged weaponry. Magic is fairly poor. Not bad as a starting army.
Bretonnians. They get some of the best heavy cavalry in the game and rely on them as their infantry is poor with low
WS and
BS. The problem is cavalry has been nerfed a bit in 8th ed so I really don't know how well they would work now. Magic is average and missile troops and artillery are poor. I would stay away from Bretonnians.
Tomb Kings are about to be redone so I would wait on them as at the minute they are not great.
Warriors of Chaos. Hard!!!! Chaos Warriors are the best troops in the game bar none with S and T4, good
WS, good armour and good
Ld but are very expensive so you will generally be outnumbered. Marauders can be used to bulk out the army and they still good troops. They have no real ranged troops at all and so are a very aggresive army so I would stay away from them if you favour a more cautious approach. Chaos armies tend to be quite small but can really pack a punch. Magic is good. I would recommend these as a starter army.
Skaven. Like the O&G they are very unpredictable but this is down to their war machines having a tendency to blow up in their faces. If you take Skaven be prepared for a lot of friendly casualties!. Skaven are fast with good I but their troops are generally of a low quality but is more than made up for with numbers. A big problem with Skaven is once they start breaking it can be hard to stop them running as they have very low
Ld. Magic is good and ranged combat is very good if unpredicatble. Again only take this army if you are prepared to paint about 200 models.
Vampire Counts. The vampires themselves are hard as anything but the basic troops are poor. This is offest by the fact they cause Fear and are Unbreakble meaning your opponent has to wipe them out. The downside is once Undead start losing combats they will quickly disintegrate as they take additional casualties equal to the difference in combat resolution scores and as they have low
Ld this can be quite punishing. Magic is vital to the
VCs as it can be used to add additional models to units. They are also slow as they cannot really march unless the unit is within 12" of the general. They have no ranged weapons of any kind meaning you have to get ac ross the board to fight. Also if you lose your general you are in BIG trouble as your army will start to fall apart. They are ok but again I probably wouldn't recomend them as a starting army.
Lizardmen. Probably the best magic users in the game with Slann Mage Priests. Saurus Warriors are very hard with good
WS, S and T but poor I. The army can be bulked out with Skinks which, while not the greatest, are still quite useful as they are skirmishers. They get some interesting war machines and have a great monsterous creature in the form of the Stegadon. Ranged ability is not the best though.
Chaos Daemons. Like the Undead they are unbreakable but suffer from the same Insatbility problem although they don't fall apart when they lose their general. Magic is good. No real ranged ability apart from flamers which can be nasty but are limited in number. The whole army causes fear which is a bonus. Bloodletters are very nasty combat troops with good S And I and Killing Blow.
Don't know much about the Beastmen though.
Sorry for the length of the post but hope you've found it useful