Starting Faction advice

[Omit]

Hello everybody,

A friend of mine has been trying to get me to start Warmahordes, so I've started looking at the factions. I like the looks of the Circle, Retribution and Mercenaries, so I am trying to decide which of these factions to go with.

Circle is the only one that currently has a starting box, but I've read that pKaya and the Argus are somewhat undesirable, so I'm not sure if the starter box will help make the decision for me. I think I like fury more than focus, but I've only played one game so far with some borrowed khador.

Anyway, if you could give me some advice on which faction will be easiest to pick up/ good in the long run I would appreciate it!

[ElectricPaladin]

Honestly, I don't really believe in "starter" faction vs. "advanced" faction. Very few people I know have more than one or two (usually around 1.5, actually) armies. "Harder" or "easier" to start is just one of the benefits or flaws of a given faction. So, you may as well just pick the one you like the best, whatever it is.

Yet again, I recommend checking out [URL="http://battlecollege.wikispaces.com/"]Battle College[/URL]. They do a really good job of summarizing factions and models.

[tonyzahn]

I second what EP said. There really aren't any "beginners" factions in WM/Hordes.

As far as the 3 you mentioned:

Circle: Fast, usually squishy, with lots of movement trick and ways to generate terrain mid-game. They're the most hit-and-run faction in the game, with some slower heavy hitters in their stone-and-wood constructs. They're not as straight-forward as some factions, but if you know what you're doing they're annoying as hell.

Retribution: The new kids on the block, they don't have quite as many choices as some of the other factions, and they're jacks are not the best (they're not bad though), but their infantry and solos are disgustingly good. Make sure you pick up an arcanist ASAP to boost the melee output of your warjacks.

Mercs: Mercs can do anything, and with style, but they're fragmented. There's several "mini-factions" within the mercs, and it's probably easiest to start out with one of those: Rhulic (dwarves), Pirates, or ... other. The pirates have lots of internal synergy in the form of solos that make the basic Sea Dogs unit better in various ways. The dwarves are slow, but sturdy and have lots of high-pow, short-range shooting.

I'd say proxy stuff until you find what you like and go with it, don't worry about whether it's listed for "beginners".

[under]

The Argus is pretty weak and having two is terrible (note: Paralysis does nothing to Constructs (Warjacks) and Undead) but the 360 degree animus is really nice with Lord of the Feast or Treasher. But one argus is in no way an automatic handicap.

pKara herself has a bad rap I feel, she's not good at 50 points, solid at 35, and awesome at 25/15 and below almost the exact opposite to Morhavana. My opionion is based on pre-Domination experience, so it's a bit dated now.

[Kilcin]

I would suggest starting the army who you like most of the casters fluff wise/mechanics which you can get a feel from their spells and the stuff on Battle College; this increases your chances of sticking to that faction. I have known players (myself included) who got into an army just for one or two casters then regretted it and seling the army later. I wouldn't recommend starting with a Mercs force though; they don't tend to get as much "loving" as an actual force (I have a Searforge army).

[MiketheLurker]

A Ret army might be the way to go (sort of) since they don't have a specific battlebox. You can pick up a caster, a few 'jack kits (which are nice) to start out a 15 point game and just buy some infantry to bring it up a bit higher.

If you do buy some 'jack kits, I would recommend magnetizing them. I hear it works really well on the Retribution 'jacks.

[Mdw005]

I found the model that I liked the look of the most. In this case, Harbinger. I expanded from there. You will find that if you play with models that you like the look of, you will adapt your playstyle to meet the needs of the model. After you have played the game a bit, you can find out what interests your fancy more.

The real question comes in a year from now. When you look back, knowing what you know then, would you have picked that faction?

-MW-

[Gunnbjorn]

I find the most enjoyable armies are those whose mindset you can get into, and for that you have to like the looks, the fluff, and the mechanics.

I started with Magnus in Mk1 because I loved the look of his warjacks but I couldn't get the hang of his tactics. Trollbloods not only had my favorite warbeasts (in appearance) but I had way more fun aggressively charging them in - even when this tactic failed (often miserably) it always seemed the most natural thing to do.

Also, keep in mind that Circle is getting a new plastic starter box in May; you might want to get a box now or later depending on which models you prefer.

[Omit]

I like the idea of Elves doing whatever it takes to protect their species, but for me this would include hiring human mercenaries, and after looking at Battle College, the selection of mercenaries is sorely lacking in lesser races to throw at danger. I'm now primarily considering a force of mercenaries based on the Nyss elves, so Cylena Raefyll & the Nyss Hunters and Lanyssa Ryssyll. The plus side of this is that they will work for any of the 3 factions I mentioned, but I'm not sure what warcaster would go best with them fluffwise, I'm looking for someone willing to do anything to stop everblight and restore Nyss.

Thanks for all the comments!

[Omit]

And then the other part of that question is are there any theme lists that include the Nyss hunters?