For new players: starting squads?

[destructomat]

What are each faction's (free) starting squads? Eldar have dire avengers. SM have scout marines. IG have guardsmen. What about GK, Tyr, orks?

[Kentation]

Inquistorial Storm Troopers for GK, Hormaguants for Nids and Sluggas for Orks. Just in case, Heretics are the first squad for Chaos.

[destructomat]

Right, there are 7 factions...

[destructomat]

Are there any tricks built in to the economy to balance the starting squads? Like taking the cost of each out of the req at start? Or giving orks an extra four population cap (or minus four base population)?

[Atlas]

The economy is balanced for each individual faction, so the short answer is yes. But there's no differences in the core rules of the game depending on faction with the exception of orks generating red naturally. Everyone caps at 100 pop, with one hero and starting squad etc etc

[Swift]

Whilst Dire Avengers are 270 req to buy and Heretics are 210, it is balanced as either one fulfils very different roles.

[welshy]

DA are 300 to buy now

[egewithin]

DA are 300 to buy now

Thanks Obama.

[destructomat]

Whilst Dire Avengers are 270 req to buy and Heretics are 210, it is balanced as either one fulfils very different roles.

But starting squads you don't pay for AFAIK, and are all used at first for the same role: capturing and/or fighting other starting squads and heroes.

[DarthMoose]

The game is balanced around everybody having 1 starting unit.
And as you said

all used at first for the same role: capturing and/or fighting other starting squads and heroes.

Seems balanced. Every race gets a pretty quick, low health capper.

[Swift]

Nono, it's balanced because they have different roles. So going by your logic, their different costs are balanced because you only need them to cap and be a bit squishy, but that wouldn't be balanced if one starting squad was worth 300req and one was worth 210req, because you'd obviously want the cheaper one because it has lower upkeep and reinforce cost. They are balanced because their roles within the faction are as core units that are very good at supporting the rest of your army.