Warlord?

[Hausdorff space]

Hi, I'm looking into this game, it seems pretty cool (and inexpensive).

Information on the game is far from prevalent however, so I've come here in search of answers. (As this is clearly the place to go for them)

Soit would be right good of you, if you could help me out answering some of my questions.

 

*What is the state of the game currently? Is it thriving, keeping a moderate pace or falling away into stagnation? (I've heard different things from different people)

 

*I've seen that an average tournament sized force is 20 to 40 models strong. But what sort of prices are we talking about in getting such a force?

 

*Reaper sold starter packs for each faction, but they seem to be discontinued (from what I can tell), whats going on there? are they going to be bringing out new ones?

 

*From the little I've read, the game seems somewhat comparable to confrontation (though maybe not as rules intensive). Would this observation be correct?

 

*What are the playstyles (in general) of the different factions?

 

thanks

[orcsoul]

WL state of the game ... it's far from stagnating, i'd say it's on a steady plateau/gradual upswing from my limited perspective.

 

Prices for models, most infantry and marginally larger sized mini's cost on the average of 3-5 dollars a piece, cavalry and larger models tend to be in the 8-10 dollar range, and very large minis can go up to 20-25 bucks. The 8-10 packs of rank and file soldiers are in the 35-40 dollar range as well.

 

THe starter packs/army kits have been discontinued, and the faction books are no longer applicable but make for some great fluff. HOwever you can still find the starter packs for sale, and the models are still valid, you'll just need to get up to date data cards which can be found in the rage chronicles pdf somewhere on the site.

 

Dunno how it compares to confrontation.. never played it.

 

And I don't know enough about all the various factions to comment on how they play either, though it seems to me that you can make any faction army play however you like, each army has sufficient variety to make it play almost any way imaginable.

[Hausdorff space]

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

And I don't know enough about all the various factions to comment on how they play either, though it seems to me that you can make any faction army play however you like, each army has sufficient variety to make it play almost any way imaginable.

The factions must certainly have different strengths and weaknesses though. These would impact on how they are played.

 

Nobody plays this game in my area (as far as I am aware), and if I buy into it I will be purchasing over the net. In which case I would like some idea as to how each faction plays. Nothing overly detailed, just a one line summary for each faction mentioning its main strengths/weakness, if they favour attrition or assault or ranged or magic, etc.

 

I'm surprised such a summary doesn't exist anywhere on these boards (I haven't been able to find one)

[chesme]

Welcome to the game, Hausdorff space!

 

 

*What is the state of the game currently? Is it thriving, keeping a moderate pace or falling away into stagnation? (I've heard different things from different people)

 

This is a sort of glass half full/half empty sort of question, I'm afraid. It all depends upon the viewpoint of whoever answers. And then, those answers may vary due to location, since some places only follow one mini game or whatever is popular there (which leads a lot of people to misinterpret that any other game is stale or dead because they don't see it played at their FLGS). Warlord is still alive and well, with players from all over still battling it out. It's growing even now and will continue so into the future. Support from Reaper is strong, especially with the added RAGE Chronicles earlier this year. I would agree with orcsoul that it's even starting to take a slow upswing lately, as a lot of new players to Warlord have been posting questions in the forums here.

 

 

 

*I've seen that an average tournament sized force is 20 to 40 models strong. But what sort of prices are we talking about in getting such a force?

 

Well, model count can greatly change from faction to faction and content all depends on your playing style/what models you like. The range of 20 - 40 models sounds about right for 1000 to 1501 point army lists in most of the factions. You can get a 500 point force from most factions for about $50 - $60. So, you are looking at about $100 - $150 for 1000 to 1501. Of course, this is all a generalization since it truly counts on what models you like and want to use (as your bigger, tougher models will have a higher POINT cost and the more you use of those, the smaller the total model count in your force).

 

 

 

*Reaper sold starter packs for each faction, but they seem to be discontinued (from what I can tell), whats going on there? are they going to be bringing out new ones?

 

As already said, those starters have been discontinued for now. I think that's mainly because the data card changes earlier this year disrupted the point cost that they equaled out to (they were advertised as about 750 points in each box yet no longer added up to that after the changes). I'm sure Reaper plans to release something like those starters again, but there's no official word on when that will be just yet.

 

 

 

*From the little I've read, the game seems somewhat comparable to confrontation (though maybe not as rules intensive). Would this observation be correct?

 

Sorry, I haven't played Confrontation either so I can't really answer this one.

 

 

 

*What are the playstyles (in general) of the different factions?

 

I would recommend taking a look at this thread:

 

http://www.reapermini.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=27496

 

Though not complete, it might help get an idea of each faction.

Edited November 1, 2007 by chesme

[Ranzadule]

I've played or play everything.

 

It has an uncertainty in "who goes next" like the old Conf. I like that. WL has a model count more like Warmachine than Conf as most conf forces of 400 were about 12-15 figs. If you play Warmachine, it's like a 750 game. I play a lot of 1501 games and it's a good size for a skirmish/battle hybrid. There are nowhere near the special abilities or combos of Confrontation, but sme people like it that way. Te models are really nice and metal. People like that as well. There are also rules for generics if you have a pretty model you want ot try out. Take a look around and fire away here and join in the fun.

[Shakandara]

*What is the state of the game currently? Is it thriving, keeping a moderate pace or falling away into stagnation? (I've heard different things from different people)

 

I think Lauren's comment is right on the mark. Your mileage will vary; I love to play Warlord, and have a decent group of local players, but unless I'm pushing them for games, I don't know of a whole lot of other Warlord action going on around me. You will find in most areas that you won't be able to walk into a store with your WL army in tow, and play a pickup game against another WL player. The trick, however, is to grab a Warhampster gamer, tell him he can proxy his figures for whatever army he feels like playing, and get him to sit for a game of Warlord with you. Give them the chance to play, and you've won half the battle.

 

*Reaper sold starter packs for each faction, but they seem to be discontinued (from what I can tell), whats going on there? are they going to be bringing out new ones?

 

This has been addressed by others in the thread, but I just wanted to add that, while the faction boxes are discontinued, there are now Army Packs of figures for practically every type of soldier out there. Buy an Army Pack, a leader and an elite, and you have basically the contents of most of those faction boxed sets anyway. Once you pick a faction, go visit the faction tactics threads to get ideas on what kind of builds you might like to try (and at what point values); this will provide you with a good measuring stick for how many models you'll need and what kind of cost you'll ultimately be looking at.

 

Good luck!

 

~v

Edited November 2, 2007 by Shakandara

[Castlebuilder]

Wherever there is someone pushing the game, Warlord seems to be doing well. I know that in my local shop it is very strong. Reaper doesn't go crazy with advertising like some game companies. They rely on word of mouth, the Black Lightning demo crew, and the big conventions for introducing people to the game. I guess the bottom line is that it is a great game and it will be what you make of it.

 

Compared to other games, Warlord is pretty affordable. You can start small and build up as you want to try new army combinations. The starter packs were a good deal, but with the changes this past summer they were becoming obsolete. I'm guessing too that a new and improved version of the starter armies are on the way, but there is no telling when this will come about.

 

I've only played confrontation once. It was a terrible game, but that was as much to blame on the guy who took over the demo as the rules system. I would probably be willing to give it a go again, but I spend so much time playing Warlord and CAV that I don't have time for any new games.

 

It's hard to nail down the factions to a one or two sentence description. Each one has so many options that it is hard to stereotype them. I'll give it a try though......

 

Crusaders (Good Knights) - Tons of healers, best cavalry in the game, well armored troops.

 

Darkspawn (Dark Elves & Demons) - Some great spellcasters, nasty demons, and some real unique troops.

 

Dwarves - Well armored, hard hitting

 

Elves - The archers are great, but expensive. They rule the game until the enemy closes into melee. A tricky army to play, but has lots of potential if played well.

 

Mercenary - Lots of options here, with good, neutral, and evil sub-factions

 

Necropolis (Undead) - The vampires are real nasty fighters, but expensive. The skeletons and wraiths make a fragile, but fun horde army.

 

Nefsokar (Egyptian themed) - Some great infantry, excellent light cavalry, spell casters and cool unique characters/monsters.

 

Overlords (Evil Slavers) - Strong infantry & cavalry, and some very neat leaders and heroes. A great army if you like to poison people.

 

Razig's Revenge (Undead Pirates) - Skeletons with matchlock pistols make a fun, and interesting fantasy army. They can still melee once their pistols are empty.

 

Reptus (Lizard Men) - Probably the prettiest minis in the game. Excellent defensive skills with pretty good attacks too. They also have some of the nastiest solo monsters in the game.

 

Reven (Orc/Goblin/Ogre Horde) - The bull orcs hit real hard, the lesser orcs are cheap, and the goblins are dirt cheap. A real fun army if you like swarming things and lots of casualties. Throw in a hill giant and you have a rock to move your army around.

 

That's a real brief summary. Hope it helps. If nothing else, it may spark some more questions and score you some better answers.

 

Castlebuilder

[outek]

*State of the game:

- It kind of depends on your location and who you ask. In my area (and in some of the other FLGS's in the state I know of), it is growing/increasing. However, we do have an active group; and when people see a game being played, they are more willing to try it out. With any of the games using the RAGE 'engine', it's easy to learn, but sometimes hard to master.

 

*Size of forces/cost:

- The 20-40 minis for 1000-1500 point games is fairly accurate. It depends on what Faction and the specific models that you choose. As for the costs, it depends on the models. The estimates given previously are good baseline figures.

 

*Play styles: All factions can be played a myriad of ways but here are some basic generalizations (though it depends on what models you use).

- Crusaders: Hard-hitting at close range/hand-to-hand, heavily armored with good discipline.

- Dwarfs: Good all around units; when an enemy goes down, it stays down. Good discipline.

- Elves: More of a ranged force with excellent manueverability, good discipline and magic users.

- Necroplis: Undead. Has both cheap expendable units and some hard hitting ones. Magic users are very good.

- Nefsokar: Think ancient Egyptians. Haven't played them enough (probably a combination between Elves/Necropolis in ability/styles).

- Reven: Orcs/goblins. If you can think of a style, they can probably do it.

- Reptus: Lizardmen. Have not played them enough.

- Mercenaries: They can be styled however you want. Flexibility is their strength.

 

**Castlebuilder beat me on the post. Go more with his descriptions than mine...he's more kmowledgable in Warlord**

[rgtriplec]

Crusaders (Good Knights) - Tons of healers, great Clerical magic, best cavalry in the game, well armored troops, lots of low cost leaders, large variety of solo characters. Not a powerful army in terms of Mages and archers. They have very good faction benefits and a solid sub-faction.

 

Darkspawn (Dark Elves & Demons) - Some great spellcasters (Mages... no Cleric or healers), nasty demons, and some real unique troops, several flyers, lots of hard hitting low cost troops, IMO Darkspawn can field the best horde army as the troops are cheap but tough. Great faction benefits.

 

Dwarfs - Well armored, hard hitting, Clerics that are as good or better than any in the game, high defense but also more damage tracks than most models, limited but very competent range and Mages, great solos, the premiere burrowing army, great cavalry, Dwarfs have the best magic defense in the game. Great faction benefits.

 

Elves - Great archers and the only army that has two really great archer soldier types, archer hero's and leaders can be uber-powerful, very hard hitting troops but they suffer from lower DV and few tracks, good solos, great magic both Mage and Cleric, extremely fast. Great faction and sub-faction benefits.

 

Mercenary - Lots of options here, with good, neutral, and evil sub-factions. The only real problems with the mercs is that the faction and sublists are all primarily very good ground troops with decent magic and ranged support. They lack flyers, burrowers, cavalry and good spearmen. They easily have the worst solos in the game and their faction benefits are few and most would trade them off for anything else.

 

Necropolis (Undead) - The vampires are real nasty fighters, but expensive. The skeletons and wraiths make a fragile, but fun horde army while knights are tanks. They have a little bit of everything but Clerics but make up for that in other ways. IMO they have the best leaders and heroes in the game and are one of the tougher armies to face. Great faction and sub-list benefits.

 

Nefsokar (Egyptian themed) - Some great infantry, excellent light cavalry, spell casters and cool unique characters/monsters. They are very similar to the crusaders. Great faction and sub-list benefits.

 

Overlords (Evil Slavers) - Strong infantry & cavalry, and some very neat leaders and heroes. A great army if you like to poison people. Great faction and sub-list benefits.

 

Razig's Revenge (Undead Pirates) - Skeletons with matchlock pistols make a fun, and interesting fantasy army. They can still melee once their pistols are empty. Pretty one dimensional in being a great ranged army that can melee with the best of them with a little magic, but they are very dangerous even with their limited abilities. Faction abilities could be better.

 

Reptus (Lizard Men) - Excellent defensive skills with pretty good attacks too. They also have some of the nastiest solo monsters in the game. Lots of flyers, very competent range clerics and mages. Excellent faction benefits.

 

Reven (Orc/Goblin/Ogre Horde) - The bull orcs hit real hard, the lesser orcs are cheap, and the goblins are dirt cheap. A real fun army if you like swarming things and lots of casualties. Throw in a hill giant and you have a rock to move your army around. Reven is very versatile and can be played in a number of ways.

 

But, the thing is most armies can be played in several ways. Dwarfs are slow but if you wanted a very fast Dwarf company it could easily be done. Elves are considered soft in melee but I have made elf lists that have withstood knights and heavy cavalry. With most armies you can make a rock solid hard 1500 point company with only 15 or so models, but you can also make a horde style company with most factions. So playability is really up to you and how you choose to build you lists. I choose a couple factions you like the models and/or fluff to and then ask if they would be competent as...

 

I'd recommend a faction... but I like most. For looks Reptus is very popular with most people but I like the models from the Darkspawn, Overlords, Nefsokar, Razig and the Dwarfs the best.

 

I'd recommend going over to reapergames.com and checking out the data cards and downloading the Rage 2007 pdf... somewhere there is a quick start rules set too.

[warlordgarou]

*Reaper sold starter packs for each faction, but they seem to be discontinued (from what I can tell), whats going on there? are they going to be bringing out new ones?

 

While the faction boxes are gone, they're not too hard to find in the secondary market. They show up on Bartertown from time to time, as well as eBay and some other miniatures sites. Heck, I'd lay even odds that the members of this forum have a couple dozen squirreled away in their respective basements.

[rgtriplec]

*Reaper sold starter packs for each faction, but they seem to be discontinued (from what I can tell), whats going on there? are they going to be bringing out new ones?

 

While the faction boxes are gone, they're not too hard to find in the secondary market. They show up on Bartertown from time to time, as well as eBay and some other miniatures sites. Heck, I'd lay even odds that the members of this forum have a couple dozen squirreled away in their respective basements.

 

MiniatureGiant.com has about 14 of the 17 box sets, other places have them too. They were discontinued because all grunts used to be fairly compairable to each other as they were all 1 track models. Now with some box set grunts having a DV of 8 and 2 tracks vs another with DV 12 and 4 tracks the costing became skewed, all the sets used to be something like 500 points. Now there is probably a 300 ponts spread between some of them. They are still a good deal as additions to a company some may be weaker troops like necropolis(default), elves,and mercs but others still have very good grunts like the Dwarfs, Crusaders, etceteras.

[Hausdorff space]

Cool, thanks for all the replies. Now I have more questions...

 

So are the old boxsets still worth getting? I know the data cards are out dated, but they're all free in the rage download anyways aren't they?

Similarily, is the rulebook of any real use anymore?

 

Do they (the old boxsets) make a decent force for first games and getting to know the rules?

(I know the points balance is screwed up with the new rule, but I could easily buy an extra mini or two to balance it back out)

 

And what is the quality of the metal the minis are made out of? any lead?

(for comparisons i play GW, PP, Rackham, Urban Mammoth and Corvis bell games)

[rgtriplec]

No lead, Reaper minis are outstanding quality metal. Not bendy or breaky.

 

The Rulebook is bitter/sweet. If you get the quickstart rules download or the pamphlet in the starter boxes... either coupled with the Rage document and Datacards and errata are probably all you need. The book does contain some nice fluff and painting tips but isn't as useful as it once was.

 

Here's my take on the box sets. Other may disagree. I'm basing my thoughts on you using the box to start your army and not as an addition to an already well built company. If you already have a 1000 point company, then any of the boxes are great. If not... some are better than others.

 

16501: Starter Box: Necropolis **

Only rates this high because it contains Judas and Malek, 10 Skellies IMO are not a starter army.

14016 Judas Bloodspire

14040 Malek

14075 Skellie Warriors (10)

14041d little death familiar

 

16502: Starter Box: Reven *****

Excellent set every figure is very useful.

14063 Varaug

14079 Ombur Skulltooth

14043 Lurgh

14027 Fighters (8)

014041a baby worm familiar

 

16503 : Starter Box: Crusaders *****

Excellent set every figure is very useful, the Duke rocks.

14068 Duke Gerard

14045 Valandil

14109 Knights (8)

14087b female fairy with book familiar

 

16504: Starter Box: Overlords ****

Great set, could possibly five stars, all figures are useful.

14003 Ashkrypt

14035 Balthor

14107 Warriors (8)

14041b bad fairy familiar

 

16505: Starter Box: Nefsokar ***

Useful set and fine starter army, but if you go Nefsokar you probably would want a different soldier.

14098 Khufu

14081 Netikerti

14100 Awakened (9)

14087e imp with book familiar

 

16506: Starter Box: Dwarves *****

Great, great set, possibly the best grunt (not adept) soldiers in the game, maybe the best value for a warlord and a great mage.

14042 Thorgram

14082 Margara

14112 Dwarf Warriors (8)

14041e earth elemental familiar

 

16507: Starter Box: Elves **

Danithal and Niriodel rock, but Vale guards are the worst elf grunts IMO.

14066 Prince Danithal, Warlord

14015 Niriodel

14119 Vale Guard (10)

14041c Elven Fox familiar

 

16508: Starter Box: Reptus *****

Argueably the best set out there, everyone is very good.

14092 Khong-To, Warlord

14096 T'Kay

14135 Reptus Warriors (9)

14087d baby basilisk familiar

 

16509: Starter Box: Darkspawn ***

Witch Queen and Nasithe are a great combo, but I’m not a fan of the warriors.

14065 Witch Queen, Warlord

14078 Nasithe

14163 Isiri Warriors (9)

14087c evil dolly familiar

 

16510: Deluxe Starter Box Set: Crusader & Necropolis

 

Crusaders: ****

Unforgiven are not the bread and butter knights of the crusaders but they are very good, and can stand toe to with just about any other grunt.

Lord Ironraven

Halabarad

Unforgiven (9)

 

Necropolis: *

Azraphan is cool, not a fan of anything else. Skellies are not are starting force in small numbers… the need to be a horde, IMO you need about 9 more to beat the Crusaders in the box.

 

Azarphan

Naomi

Skeletal Breakers (9)

16511: Deluxe Faction Box Set: Necropolis *****

Athlak is great and the knights are the bloodseeker version of Crusader Justicars.

9 Crimson Knights

Athak in an alternate sculpt

 

16511: Deluxe Faction Box Set: Reven *****

Berserkers are great, maybe my favorite Bull Orks, and I play the Bull Ork sublist. I love Kharg, he’s cheap and useful.

9 Bull Orc Berzerkers

Kharg in an alternate sculpt

 

16513: Deluxe Faction Box Set: Crusaders *****

Justicars are the Bread and Butter adepts of the Crusaders and are tough as nails.

9 Justicars

Sir Broderick in an alternate sculpt

 

16520: Starter Box: Mercenary **

Merc Warriors… can’t say much positive about this set other than Orba and Leisynn are pretty good.

14062 : Orba Sinhan, Mercenary Warlord

14060 : Leisynn, Chaos Wizard

14156 : Mercenary Warriors (9)

14087a: Familiar: tree spirit

 

16521: Starter Box: Razig's Revenge *****

Probably the most complete of all sets and everything is great, might be hard to find.

14029 : Razig, Undead Pirate Captain

14218 : Baron Le Bone

14084 : Skeletal Gunner & Soul Cannon

14106 : Dark Maiden

14073 : Skeletal Pirate Crew (8)

 

16514: Deluxe Faction Box Set: Nefsokar *****

Great set Devourers are hard and nasty and the Chosen is very useful.

9 Ammat Devourers

Chosen of Sokar in an alternate sculpt

 

16522: Mercenaries: Lupine Starter Box ***

Would rate higher but werewolves cost more because they are four of five times as big as everything else in the game. So with that said they are *** because they only get 4 soldiers vs 8 or 10. But it is small for a starter army.

Featuring

14030: Lord Vasyl, Lupine Lord

14032: Corm, Lupine Shaman

14031: Lupine Rager, Adept x2

14239: Lupine Rager, Adept x2

 

16523: Necropolis: Crypt Legion Starter Box *****

Great set goes with the sub-list which makes everything more powerful.

Featuring

14144: Moandain, Warlord

14169: Dauron, the Death Knight, Hero

14167: Zombies (9), Adepts

 

16515: Overlords of Craclaw Deluxe Boxed Set **

Overlord crossbows are by far the best crossbows in the game with their critical shot, deflect, ranked and high DV. Would rate higher if it was being added to a 1500 pt company, but it’s not a great starter unit because it has no melee..

 

9 Overlord Crossbowmen

Corvus in an alternate sculpt

[vutpakdi]

So are the old boxsets still worth getting? I know the data cards are out dated, but they're all free in the rage download anyways aren't they?

Similarily, is the rulebook of any real use anymore?

 

Generally, yes, they are worth getting for your chosen faction, if you can find them and want to build an army around the minis, because the sets are generally very good buys. The Lupine starter is one of the better buys: about $64 of minis for $40. But, not all of the box sets have minis that you will want to use. For example, I don't particularly like skeletal warriors, so I don't think that the basic Necropolis starter is a good buy.

 

Do they (the old boxsets) make a decent force for first games and getting to know the rules?

(I know the points balance is screwed up with the new rule, but I could easily buy an extra mini or two to balance it back out)

 

It depends on the box set. For most of them, if not all, you'll also want to get a sergeant and 3 or so ranged attack types.

 

And what is the quality of the metal the minis are made out of? any lead?

(for comparisons i play GW, PP, Rackham, Urban Mammoth and Corvis bell games)

Good metal, maybe a trace of lead, if any.

 

Ron

[Hackrilege]

As one of Hausdorffs group who is also looking to get into the game (crusaders ) I thought I would jump on this thread rather than start another "Starting Warlord" threads.

 

First, whats the point of picking up the rule book when it is mostly out dated? And yet you can't do without it due to terrain rules and rallying and regrouping...

 

Are all the models in the minatures gallery the ones avaliable? Because there are "lion's lancer" which I can't find in the gallery, but I can see the card in RAGE.