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Teaching new player AoS Where to start?


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So I have been linked up with another player in my area who is interested in playing AoS. I think he plays warmachine and infinity. Where should I start with teaching him AoS. I have the starter box and some additional add-ons. He seems very keen on playing khorne. Any pro-tips on teaching someone the game, or pit falls that I should stay away from?

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If he's coming from warmachine highlight the stricter sense of the rules and use base to base measuring.  Try to explore specific scenarios that call for a lot of tough decisions - lots of combats where the order can really alter the overall outcome, manipulating units by forcing a difficult pile-in, making use of walls as a way to block movement, etc.

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When I showed a friend how to play, I literally followed the 4 page rules through step by step. I didn't use a scenario we just played to hit each other. The rules are so user friendly, that someone from a more complicated ruleset such as Warmachine should find it dead easy to pick up after 1 or 2 turns.

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I second @Nubgan here. Just play to hit each others for the first time, teach him the basic rules. Maybe use few models, but a bit more than 3 :P

Just to allow him to familiarize with the rules, then switch to a simple scenario with a couple of units, to show him that AoS is more complex than a rumble in the mid of the table.

Worked with my brother :)

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21 minutes ago, Nubgan said:

When I showed a friend how to play, I literally followed the 4 page rules through step by step. I didn't use a scenario we just played to hit each other. The rules are so user friendly, that someone from a more complicated ruleset such as Warmachine should find it dead easy to pick up after 1 or 2 turns.

How many units would you recomend starting with? Maybe 2 or 3 units per side?

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If I remember correct it was about 2 units, a more special thing (arty or monster) and a hero. Trying to match similar units in size and performance is probably a decent idea there too. However, I would recommend taking a wizard and a shooting unit so you can perhaps utilize those phases in some way, even if it only happens in one of the forces, at least you get to watch the rules happen.

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Do what @Nubgan said.

As for scenario, Hold or Die, Break the Line or Watch Tower are all solid starts.

That way you can sneak in points but also sell the narrative aspect (rather than straight deathmatch).

And be sure to include terrain rules.

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Hmm I'm not sure just a simple hit each other is the best idea as I know what put off some people to begin with is it just seems like a game where you just push to middle of board and roll dice in a dice off I would play a war machine scenario like the one where you have 3 objectives stretching across the middle of the board equal distance apart then on turn 3 one of the outside two objectives disappears he should be familiar with it and shows how the AoS game is more objective story driven 

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I usually start with a Hero and a Unit per side following the four pages rules step by step. Since AoS is so fast I go on adding more or bigger units for the opponent to start catching up with the complexities of the game.

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On July 12, 2016 at 11:39 AM, Minkster said:

Hmm I'm not sure just a simple hit each other is the best idea as I know what put off some people to begin with is it just seems like a game where you just push to middle of board and roll dice in a dice off I would play a war machine scenario like the one where you have 3 objectives stretching across the middle of the board equal distance apart then on turn 3 one of the outside two objectives disappears he should be familiar with it and shows how the AoS game is more objective story driven 

It of course depends on the gaming experience of the player being taught, but I find explaining that we are just going to play a small unit and one hero each and just go after each other "just to teach the rules" then expand to more involved army lists and scenarios works very well.  

Even an experienced player understands when the first game is just to get the basic rules down.  You can expand more rapidly into more complex lists and scenarios if the player is an experienced miniatures player.

Just my experience when teaching.

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The box comes with scenarios (battleplans) which start small and get larger. (The box is designed to get new players into the game).

Don't cut any corners; play on a full board with lots of scenery, roll for each scenery and leave a marker to remember. If you cannot play on a full board with scenery, you should go to GW or a tabletop store.

Remember, the game is about enjoying the models. get some paint on them asap. Its a lot more fun to smash face with the blood warriors you painted then some gray things out of a box. When you have painted models you can take awesome action photos, like when two generals are toe-to-toe.

The first games are always going to be weird. Mistakes will be made, concepts will be misunderstood. This happens when you are new to any tabletop game. Don't let the simplicity fool you, AoS is filled with complex techniques and tactics. Try deploying/moving in interesting formations instead of just setting each unit in a separate blob on the table. Stick a hero in the middle of a unit, place a unit around another unit, etc.

If something sounds weird to you, discuss with your opponent and make a decision together. I doesn't matter if you 'break the rules' if you both agree. The most common example of this is measuring from bases instead of models.  

Just have fun!

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