which faction to choose

[Digger]

Howdy folks. As the post says I'm new here and I was wondering a few things. First, some folks where I am have been planning on starting a miniature wargame and it has been decided to play Warlord (and there was much rejoicing). Warlord had my vote because I've always loved Reaper miniatures. Unfortunately I am getting into this quite late. I missed the pre-release beta rules. So I was wondering if any of you have any insights into the various factions. I'd like to start assembling my troops but can't decide which to go with. I am leaning toward the dwarfs. So if anyone could share any info they have pieced together that would be great i.e., backstory, strengths, weaknesses, etc...

 

Cheers!

 

~Digger

[SaintRigger]

Well... what is your prefered playing style?

 

Do you like finesse, speed, pinking off people from far away, brute forcing them, magic or steel... etc?

 

I'm a big fan of the undead myself, as of late.. mostly because I like the idea of shambling hoards of skeletons and whatnot. There are the forces of the Necropolis which can be seen as the "gothic" undead if you will, with vampires, skeletons, gargoyles etc... and then the Nefsokar which are the egyptian undead.

 

I also like the Reven who are beastmen, but this has alot to do with aestetics and the fact taht sometimes it's just fun to beat someone down.

[Mengu]

Well, as their nature would dictate dwarves are tough, they move slow (though there are ways to work around that), they hit hard. They are not very shooty, so they need to use terrain to their advantage.

[Cerridwyn1st]

The important thing is to define your style and choose something that goes with it. If you can play a few demo games and try different factions, that would be great, but I do understand it might not be possible. If you can't, then when the book comes out read the different faction discriptions and see what appeals to you.

 

Archers: Elves, bar none, especially when it comes to vollies. Reven aren't bad either. Goblin Skeeters rock as archers and can be ranked in front of Bull Orc Archers because of their "small" ability.

 

The archers for one faction (I think it's Overlords; please correct me if I'm wrong) have Ranked but not Volley. They can't mass an archery attack, but they can be held safely behind your melee lines and shoot from there.

 

Magic: Two of the most powerful spellcasters in the game are the Warlords for Darkspawn and Overlords. Naomi of the Necropolis also kicks some serious magical butt. The elves are very versitile magically, having an archmage and several other spellcasters, including the Warlord. You could say the same of the Crusaders, but more towards Clerical magic.

 

All the factions have magic, but each is a little diffeent in focus. For instance, there are no clerics in the Necropolis faction.

 

Melee: Reven are very powerful melee fighters, having good offense and defense.

 

Dwarves and Crusaders are particularly good in formation fighting.

 

In the Overlords, the captain Iks has the Mob ability, as do the grunts for that faction. So if you like to throw out lots of stuff, there you go.

 

IMO, Skellies should be a little cheaper and have mob, with at least one leader model that also has mob. You can still get quite a few of them on the board, though.

 

Hope this helps you a bit.

[Digger]

Thanks for the quick response folks. My playing style tends to be the abundant use of steel (always seems to be the quickest way to settle any dispute). I also am concerned with the aesthetics of an army. If I’m going to spend the time (and $) assembling and painting I want the end result to be something I like. Therefore the Dwarf faction seems to appeal most to me. They seem to balance the two well. This is based upon what I can gleam from the minis I’ve seen.

 

Anyway, I just thought I’d send some feelers out for some insights. Thanks again.

 

Cheers!

[shakhak]

Oh god I can see right now that this thread is going to turn into the usual my army is better than yours.

 

Cold Steel and Brute force. Sounds like Crusaders to me. Lots of steel, strong grunts, good clerics to keep the units on thier feet, and strong leaders to take down monster causing the peasents oh so much trouble.

 

Reven(orcs) are another charge in smash some skulls kind of faction. A bit lower armor and a bit better fighters, strong leaders also. They have several different archers and mages to choose from but I feel as if all factions will eventually.

 

Reptus(lizard/snake men) are superb fighters also. High defense with a bit of asian flare, strategy is a bit more important here with these guys because some of thier abilities(360, ranger) make them more expensive and they can be harder to use effectively.

 

Dwarves are strong and harty. Lots of cheaper units and strong expensive leaders. They're balanced in the ways of the mage and cleric, although I see more clerics in thier future than arcane magic. They are great for a little bit of everything in the exception of short range, but what they lack there they make up with in accuracy.

 

Darkspawn are mage oriented with a touch of demon brute force.

 

Tomb gaurds are alot like the dwarves with lower armor and higher discipline, oh and they're undead.

 

Necropolis is all about cheap grunts and expensive leaders, alot of mages also.

 

Overlords strike me as the Crusader's bane, oppisite in alignment but the same in many ways. Strong Grunts, Powerful leaders, and instead of clerics they have bondslaves(fodder). Good balance of mages and clerics.

[SaintRigger]

I'm going to second what Shakhak says.

 

I think you might enjoy the crusaders and Reven. Dwarves are also an interesting choice. All the models are beautiful (I really like the Reptus models - but there aren't enough out yet)

 

 

Of course NONE CAN BEAT THE UNDEAD!!! BWAHAHA ;)

(sorry, had to slip that in)

[Cerridwyn1st]

I'll third that vote for the Crusaders or Reven if you like head-bashing. Go Crusaders if you like models that look good.

 

Bonus is the grunts can be painted quick and still look awesome. Having solid helms instead of faces means they are easier to paint than just about anything in the game, except maybe skellies.

 

If you want your army to look good and you aren't a great painter yet, try the Crusaders. Heck, if you are a great painter try the Crusaders. The Leadership and Elite models could definatelty use a deft hand in getting them painted to look nice.

[Digger]

Thanks for all the advice. I was heading toward ye olde dwarfs then I thought, "Crusaders might be cool", then I took a good look at reptus minis. Saweet.

 

I may be ending up with more than one army.

 

Nobody tell my wife. She still rolls her eyes from my Warhammer orc addiction.

 

~Cheers!

 

"If ya don't think too good. . . don't think too much"

[dewen]

Crusaders are full of clerics. Can't say that about any other faction.

 

Elves are fast and have incredible range.

 

Dwarves are slow and their grunts are kinda cheap.

[Cerridwyn1st]

Hey Digger, I posed your question to my son - what factions look good and are good in melee? He suggested Crusaders and Reptus. Cedric plays Dwarves, by the way. He thinks the Crusaders look cooler, but the dwarves are great fighters.

 

If you are going to get more than one faction, might I suggest you get something that excels in a different area? That way, if someone has a group that is good against your Basher faction, you can hit them with something different, say distance fighting.

[Digger]

Thanks Cerridwyn - I was thinking the same thing concerning different factions. I think I'll be going with two factions with different playing styles. I'm leaning towards Dwarf and Elf. But that is subject to change 5 minutes from now

[Cerridwyn1st]

If you want factions with very different abilities that also look good on the table, then Dwarves and Elves would be good choices. Elves are better range fighters, Dwarves are better at melee. If the two meet on the battlefield, the winner really comes down to who gets the best choice of where they are starting.

 

If the dwarves get to come on the board last and can put themselves in strike distance of the elves, their superior melee attacks will win the day. If the elves have any kind of distance, they'll mow down the dwarves before the short guys can do much of anything.

 

If you do get the dwarves, I'd suggest getting Bear Cav and/or a griffon to add to your troups. They have a lot more movement than the rest of the members of the faction, giving them the chance to drop on your opponent's archers and chew them up while you close the gap with your melee fighters.

 

Of course, my son tried doing that to me in one confrontation, and I still mowed down his stuff before he could close. Elf archers really rock.

[airhead]

Did you notice the range on the Dwarf Warlord (King)

 

30"

 

But I think he is the only dwarf with ranged attack

[Steven Page]

There are dwarven crossbows as well.

 

I lean toward the Mercenaries. I like the brute force of the Lupines, and the versatility of the rest of the force.The special faction rules for the mercs are nice as well.

 

The dwarf special ability "be sure" might be the best in the game, especially against Reven.....