What build for new leagues?

What are some good builds for starting day 1 on a new League? Obviously its impossible to play builds that require certain high end uniques and mirror quality gear until you have been farming for a while. Are certain builds better for starting out on a fresh league? When I started I had a friend give me some currency and items so I was able to try out a build I thought would be fun. But what are some good builds for brand new leagues that can be played where you dont have to be drowning in exalts? I guess all melee builds are out of the question?

There are lots of good starting builds. Melee/ST in general is quite good through the end of merc self found if you have general knowledge of stats and simple crafting. Totem builds tend to be easy and can take you to mid maps self found. Shockwave and flame totem probably being the easiest to gear for. Searing bond works good through merc but loses its self found luster in maps fairly quickly. Split arrow and tornado shot are fairly easy to self found through mid maps but leveling as an evasion character in hardcore can be... stressful. Many casters can cake walk through to maps. Arc, flameblast, incinerate are some of the popular ones. New league/self found is more about game knowledge in general rather than a specific build. If you are really unsure about what you should be doing it is worth watching some top racers stream. You can find some race videos and beginner videos on youtube as well.

Edit: I forgot summons! SRS and zombie/spectre are solid choices if you enjoy the play style.

Ethereal Knives is another good skill to build around for early characters. Damage is mostly based on gem level and some physical/spell nodes, so it's great when your gear is uncertain. Here's an EK build that's been very successful for me:

http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/885713