Yeah, that, and the game itself is almost impenetrable to new players. The modern era of theme-machine may have solved the faction bloat issue, but it also saddled it with a sheer cliff of a learning curve and an initial buy-in cost that exceeds even GW's big-game offerings. I'd love to recruit people, but I don't even know how you sell it to a new player in its current state.
Why do you come to that conclusion?
As an entirely new player, I found the entry cost rather laughable compared to GW.
My typical GW army did cost 400,- for full 2K points. Hobby material not included and we are talking Elite army's like bananas here, so an low Modell count. Orks had been about 600,-.
Starter set for warmachine and another units and a few solos sets me back between 200 and 300 for 50 points Single faction. Things like colossals not included, but I did exclude lord of wars for 40k too so there is that.
In worst case I would call both even as far as money is concerned.
Warmachine purchases seem to me more narrow, first because of themes and second because of unit boxes including WA's
If I like to play the infernal machines theme I drop 50,- for a full unit of thralls and get 3 WA's included.
If I would want to set up chaos devastor marines I drop 45 for 5 guys and 2 of each weapon option of Las cannon missile launcher or auto cannon. So I need 2 boxes for 90,- to set up 2 units with the same weapon.
If I dare to want the new weapon option of the chain gun I need 4! Boxes totaling in at 180,- to play one lousy squad.
If I like to set up a normal marines squad with something else then missile launchers I need to buy a box of devastor marines because the standard box does not come with all weapon options on the sprue.
So as a new player I would need to buy between 2 or 3 (2 Chaos Marines 1 devastor) box to just set up one full troop choice (20 guys and the heavy weapon options)
I think grabbing a single box of thralls is less complicated plus I can't end up with a stupid unit like 10 marines 1 wielding a flamer 1 an missile launcher and so on.
That aside I found it far easier to wrap my head arround theme forces.
I took a look at cryx and figured I like banes.
Oh there is a theme for banes! Let's see what banes are good at! Okay let's see what would support a bunch of banes, ah the bane solo! Yeah he seems solid let's get one! OK bane riders those seem mean, let's get some! And so forth.
It's really hard to buy something entirely wrong or useless if I keep to a theme for an start.
And all I got in the starter box is perfectly usable for my new army. Well except the reaper I don't like the reaper but that may be is a matter of personal taste. But the chicken and the slayer? Usable and offer me even a good base for future lists.
Same process for 40k? Let's stick to chaos but it's even worse for other factions.
Okay here I am I want to play chaos! Let's grab some chaos marines! Oh they don't come with all the weapon options... Guess I grab some devastors then. Oh they are maxed with 20 not 10? Okay let's grab another box then. We'll that's the first of 2 troop choices I have, what else is there? Cultists? Okay they lack one of the keywords my marines have so they don't get some of the merits the marines get and I need to be lucky to even get some Modells else it's kit bashing because there is no box for them.
OH and I need 40... Yeah that's great I assume.
Now I would have one unit of chaos space marines which are borderline useless, because for whatever reason GW decided that rules wise playing the units which make up your faction identity (chaos marines and tacicals respectively) are far worse then spamming cultists or scouts.
And one unit of cultists which are okayish but need very specific HQs to do more then getting wiped out turn one.
And if you don't know those things you are in for a nasty and expensive surprise already. (we are talking about 200 just for two troop choices here the very basic to even field an tournament level army)
And if you start with the starter sets you are, depending on which one, even worse off...
But I don't want to make this even longer alltought I could on any length about the starter sets in comparison.
So from a new players (warmahordes) point of view I have to say it feels cleaner to start. I decide for an faction then for an theme I read up on it and I grab some of the limited options I have and I have a a workable list.
I mean I just put together something here and something there ending up with a list like: denny 1 slayer chicken reaper, 20 banes plus CA 5 bane rider 2 machine wraiths the bane solo and while I lost horrible because I have no clue, the units did what I expected them to do (except the reaper really reaper what are you even?) and I had the feeling of "yeah this is going to work out with more practice!"
In 40k my first games where more like
OK I got all this cool stuff for my army!
Opponent gets turn 1
Okayy seems I won't get to have a turn.
And it left me with the feeling that I simply spend hundreds of euro on Modells I would never really use again because most of them are points wise not even worth fielding...