From the retribution forums over at PP, but it applies to the games in general.
1. You may win your demo game. You will lose your first game. You will also lose your second and third game. You will probably win your fourth game. After that, your opponents will start to take you seriously, and you will start losing again. Around the tenth game or so, you will start to win again, and then you can stop thinking of yourself as a newbie.
2. You will most likely lose your first game against a faction or warcaster you've never seen before, especially against a more experienced opponent. Even if you read their card carefully, it's a certainty that your opponent knows something about their models you don't see, and the first indication of it will probably be when he kills your warcaster with it.
3. Read the cards carefully while making a list and before every game. Don't make assumptions. Kaelyssa is a Mage Hunter, but she doesn't have Stealth. Vyros has a big sword like a Dawnguard Sentinel, but he's not a Weapon Master. Before you cast a spell, read it carefully - especially check if it affects a unit, a model, or the battlegroup.
4. The Retribution of Scyrah are elves. Don't let this confuse you into believing they play like other elves in other games. If you try to play them like glass cannons, you'll die against real glass cannons. They work best as a versatile combined arms force: find what your opponent is weak against, and hit them there.
5. If you take a Phoenix, do what it takes to remember to use the Phoenix Field at the start of every turn: tape a note to your forehead if you have to. That extra 1d6 shield every turn helps a lot. The same applies for the Sentinels' Vengeance ability and anything else that triggers on your opponent's turn.
6. Try something new every game. If you've never used a Throw or a Slam before, and the situation comes up where you can use it, try it out. Find out how it works, and think of ways you can use it.
7. If your opponent has you outgunned, outnumbered, outflanked, and outmatched, that's the time to do something stupid.
8. Be excellent to your opponents. Remember you'll see these guys next week, and you'll have to face them again.
9. Solos will die first, especially if they have the words "Arcanist," "Mage," "Hunter," and/or "Assassin" in their names.
. . . and my most important lesson of all. . .
10. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER leave an army transport case open, even if you think it's safe. Someone WILL trip over it, you WILL forget it's open and try to pick it up by the handle, there WILL be an accident, and you WILL wind up playing your next game with an army of broken guys!
