My first post -Convince me what faction to play!

[Lolman101]

Hello,

So this is my first ever post here but a few of you might see me a lot on the dakkadakka 40k general thread. Basically at the end of this year when I get back home to England I want to get into AoS. I've played 40k for a while now but never touched fantasy or AoS. I know a bit about the lore from videos and stuff but I'm basically a fantasy virgin. Therefore, I would love someone to just talk me through what I would need to play (rules and stuff), if I should wait before I decide  (I can't even buy anything until about October time) and what out of the factions I'm interested in shoukd I play? (How do they play, if they're fun tomplay, ect...). Also, if people could suggest builds and how to start the army it would be nice.

Declaration! I am in no way a competitive player and don't care if I win or lose. I've played 40k Orks for a while jow so that should give you an idea of what I'm like. But I do want games to be fun and challenging for the people I play against. 

Factions that interest me:

Seraphon. Who doesn't like dinosaurs riding dinosaurs?!

Skaven. From my first time playing Vermintide 1 I love the idea of this race. But I hear it plays a bit weirdly right now in terms of using all the cool stuff from the different clans. I'd probably have to stick to clan pestilence if this was the case.

Sylvaneth. They're cool tree people like the LOTR. What's not to like?

Armies of death. Spooky skeletons and ghosts! Basically I love the idea of a skeleton and ghost army that is an always eternal and unbeatable foe. However, if I did pick this army I would want to remain pure skelton and ghost. Don't want to touch the vampire stuff. Have no interest in vampires or zombies at all. I also have a cool idea for a ghostly skelton paint scheme involving the technical Oxide paint and dry brushing white (so super easy to paint everything).

[someone2040]

So in general, any race in general is a good option as long as it's something you're interested in painting and playing.

In practice, the armies that have battletomes for the most part tend to be a bit more competitive and have more options available to them. Which matches most of your choices apart from Skaven. 

Skaven unless you really love them I would probably tend to avoid at the moment. There's a lot of old clunky models in the Skaven range even if a lot of them did get a make over in 7th edition and some nice additions in 8th edition.

 

So for me, that would leave Seraphon, Sylvaneth and Legions of Nagash.

Seraphon are one of the earlier battletomes which did not come with allegiance abilities but got them later in the last edition of the Generals Handbook. That means in terms of customisation from allegiance it's a bit on the light side, but they do have some powerful allegiance abilities. They also benefit from having a very large range of models (One of the only old armies not to be broken down into sub-factions) and pretty much all the models in the faction look great! A little personal bias since I've collected them since they came out aeons ago under the Lizardmen name although I have yet to re-base them for Age of Sigmar.

 

Sylvaneth are one of the first armies to be in the 'new format' having allegiance abilities and all the bells and whistles. That being said, out of the factions you've chosen they are a bit on the lighter side when it comes to army flexibility, as there is only a limited number of kits in the army. Doubled with the changes in the Generals Handbook 2017, they have lost some of their flair and have fallen a bit behind in terms of competitiveness. That being said, it's still very viable to build a competitive army and they tend to have a nice variety of models. These guys could be big winners by the time you can actually start buying models in October as the new version of the Generals Handbook will likely be out by then with revised points.

 

Death just got a new book and look really strong at the moment. There seems to be a variety of builds you can do, but certainly most lists I tend to see take at least one big thing (Whether that be a Mortarch, Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon or Nagash!). Deathrattle seems to be pretty strong apart from perhaps overpriced Wight Kings, and the Nighthaunt stuff also sounds like it's doing well being able to resurrect models now. I think you'd definitely enjoy playing this army.

 

That being said, I touched upon it a bit. If you can't actually buy anything until October, you may find the landscape has changed by that time. Not only do we know there should be at least a new version of the Generals Handbook out by that time, but there are rumours of magic supplements or perhaps even a new edition of Age of Sigmar completely.

So the best laid plans now may become for naught by the time October comes around.

[RuneBrush]

Completely agree with what @someone2040 has said!  If you were jumping in now, I'd be nudging you towards Skeletons as it sounds like you've more enthusiasm for them (as well as already having worked out a paint scheme), however October is 6 months away so a lot can (and likely will) change.  There should be a new Generals Handbook out by then and most likely a new magic supplement too which could well change what armies perform like.

From a competitiveness point of view, I know you've said that you don't mind winning and losing (which is a great attitude to have) but I would say that choosing an army with a Battletome and Allegiance abilities is good advice.  Not so much from the "winning" aspect, but more that it will give you more choice when picking the army and allows you to play that army in a more flavourful way during a game.  As an example, the new Legions of Nagash battletome allows many Death Heroes the ability to resurrect slain Skeletons and summon "reserve" units up from the grave as part of their allegiance abilities.

[Lolman101]

Thanks for the advice so far. What is a magic supplement? Is it a codex kinda thing? Also is the general handbook like the rule book and chapter approved all in 1? 

[AaronWilson]

It HAS to be skaven, who doesn't want captain Squeak squeak leading thousands of little furry rats, vying for pwoer, being back stabbed, snuffing green gas!

[RuneBrush]

7 minutes ago, Lolman101 said:

Thanks for the advice so far. What is a magic supplement? Is it a codex kinda thing? Also is the general handbook like the rule book and chapter approved all in 1? 

We're not entirely sure yet!  Gut feeling says that it's going to be an expansion book, sort of like an expansion but purely adding magic rules & spells.

Generals Handbook and Chapter Approved are pretty much the same thing for the two systems.  I suppose the Generals Handbook does also contain some elements you get in the 40k rulebook too

[flemingmma]

I'm gonna say skellingtons because if you like another factions units you can just swap their heads for skulls and have some more grave guard

[Num]

5 hours ago, Lolman101 said:

Skaven. From my first time playing Vermintide 1 I love the idea of this race. But I hear it plays a bit weirdly right now in terms of using all the cool stuff from the different clans. I'd probably have to stick to clan pestilence if this was the case.

Hi  and welcome to the hobby

I only play skaven because I fell in love with their background. It's a mixture of absurd fun and Machiavellian schemes that seems unique in fantasy literature.

What's cool with skavens is that their background is deeply explored in various books (eg thanquol) and games (eg vermintide, total war). They have a huge range of miniatures to pick from, although some are a bit old fashioned (eshin and moulder).

If you go for skavens and are not super competitive, I would advise staying with the chaos allegiance and play whatever you like (until some new skavens allegiance perhaps). If you're more competitive and/or like the skryre models (stormfiends, cannons...), you could also go with skryre. I personally think pestilens is more boring hobby-wise, because you'd be mainly painting plague monks.

 

[Lolman101]

Again, thanks for the advice so far everyone! So far rat men and skelton warriors are winning in my mind. Was wondering if anyone had any cool battlereports of these two factions playing so i can get a feelmfor how they do play (bonus if models look good).

[Num]

1 hour ago, Lolman101 said:

Again, thanks for the advice so far everyone! So far rat men and skelton warriors are winning in my mind. Was wondering if anyone had any cool battlereports of these two factions playing so i can get a feelmfor how they do play (bonus if models look good).

Just some recent ones out of my mind (feel free to browse the Skaven topics in the chaos subforum)

 

 

 

Plus plenty of videos on YouTube with some nice looking stormfiends or Thanquol&Boneripper

 

 

I don't know about skeletons but they look fun too

Cheers

[Lolman101]

I super want to do Skaven but then I get flash backs to painting my Orks... so much hidden details on so many models! The skeltons just seem so easy to bash out and still have them look good.

[AverageBoss]

Undead are very neat with the new Legions rules, but quite dull without them imo (boring rules and the same 2-3 models repeated a hundred times if you stick with a single micro faction). This thread has plenty of great battle reports and army pictures.
 

 

[Lolman101]

Well it's annoying. I have a while to wait but I'm honestly tempted to buy 2 skaven starter boxes for £80 from my local retail when I get back (20% off)  and make it (seperating the priest model for 2 priests). I think I worked outnit was like 1k plus points which is pretty good for £80.

[Tittliewinks22]

I voted for all because in the end, all that matters is playing some Sigmar!

[Lucio]

Personally I think Skaven are the coolest, most unique models in the range

Personally what I'd do is build 500 point Clan chunks to start and play a few small scale games.

Clan Pestilens gives you the chance to convert into a Nurgle Rotbringers army

Clan Skyre and Moulder work well together with some Clanrats and Stormvermin

[Richelieu]

My thoughts: 

Skaven: I love rats.  I was born in the year of the rat and I had a number of pet rats growing up.  Some of the models are dated and the clans don't really play well together and only have one list that is moderately competitive.  They are a very affordable range however.  And did I mention I love rats?  

Lizards: Strong competitively.  Large range.  Lizards riding dinosaurs.  Lizards riding dinosaurs.  Lizards riding dinosaurs.  

Skeletons: Fresh rules, huge range of options for play style and model expansion.  Not my cup of tea, but there are some awesome models (I particularly love the Vampire Lord on zombie dragon).

Sylvaneth:. To this day Alarielle is my favorite GW model.  I was on the cusp of starting a Sylvaneth army when GW teased Daughters of Khaine so I ended up with them as my second army instead.  The model range is limited but very cool and you'll always be able to hang with the strongest armies, if not be quite on their level.

[Lolman101]

Arghhhh. I'm goin gto have to decide later but basically 2 boxes for £80 sounds good to me and then I can always turn the other two engines i to other skaven weaponry when i branch out to other skaven. I'm not competitive but I hesr AoS is a lot better than 40k and any mix of units have a good chance to win vs none super competitive build.

[Mayple]

On 28.4.2018 at 6:05 PM, Lolman101 said:

Arghhhh. I'm goin gto have to decide later but basically 2 boxes for £80 sounds good to me and then I can always turn the other two engines i to other skaven weaponry when i branch out to other skaven. I'm not competitive but I hesr AoS is a lot better than 40k and any mix of units have a good chance to win vs none super competitive build.

Two of those boxes are great value Even if you end up not using everything, you have so many bits and parts available for future kitbashing/converting.

[Twitch of Izalith]

2 Starter boxes are great value for any of those armies to be fair - not just clan Pestilens

I think I would get Sylvaneth - the starters make a really solid force to get going with that's reasonably powerful and very easy to paint and your "next steps" are also really easy hobby wise - I would get 6 Hunters with scythes and 6 with bows - lots of points but only 12 Models. 

I started getting a Death army together but got a bit demoralised at the thought of multiple 30 and 40 model units. I have 20 grave guard and 20 skeletons and already can't be bothered! . I think the Skaven would be the same - One unit of 40 plague monks is fine but painting several of them would hurt my soul . I really like the idea of a Nurgle army that has some Clan Pestilens in it to add some variety to both armies.

As others have said - the best choice is to go with the army that you like best, but to get on the table quickly, cheaply and with a solid force that is both easy to paint to a basic standard and has lots of possibilities to come back to and improve - my vote goes to the Tree People.

Have fun whatever you choose

[Lolman101]

I'm a 40k Ork player. As much as I hate painting so many units,  I'm used to it. plus it's mostly all cloaks. Tbh, it's more the bug stuff I worry about. The little details on the warp stones and such.

 

But it is best... the death army was going to be me just painting everything in oxide. It would look okay but be super lazy... painting is a big part of the hobby for me as well.

[Num]

On 28/04/2018 at 6:05 PM, Lolman101 said:

Arghhhh. I'm goin gto have to decide later but basically 2 boxes for £80 sounds good to me and then I can always turn the other two engines i to other skaven weaponry when i branch out to other skaven. I'm not competitive but I hesr AoS is a lot better than 40k and any mix of units have a good chance to win vs none super competitive build.

Make sure you build the cannons and bell dual use for even greater value.

Bell (requires a few magnets) https://spearofruss.blogspot.fr/2011/08/screaming-bell-plague-furnace-magnetic.html?m=1

the cannon /  plagueclaw (simple conversion, no magnets) : https://chatteringhorde.blogspot.fr/2011/10/dual-use-plagueclaw-catapult.html?m=1

[bonzai]

I'm not going to vote, but I will give my advice. Prioritize by models you love first, then play style, then and only then on competitiveness, as it is subject to change.

Seraphon are the only faction that translated over to AoS in tact. As such they are one of the most complete armies out there. They can go hordes, elite, monster mash, can shoot, and have great casters. So can touch on pretty much any play style. On top of that with the GHB17, their mobility is now through the roof and they clean up on the objective game.  As such they are one of the top armies right now. If you are looking for a complete army with tons of options and synergies, then this may be the army for you.

Skaven, if considered as a faction in their entirety, also have a ton of options. They might well recieve a compilation battle tome like LoN and the chaos gods, but it will most likely be in the future. Until then they will either have to be solely Skyre, Pestilens , or chaos allegiance. Army generally is fragile, and suffers from leadership issues. If you get past that then the army offers insane ranged mortal wounds (skyre),  cheap but effective horde infantry, and a decent selection of behemoths. If you want a characterful glass cannon horde army, then this may be the army for you.

Sylvaneth are the most limited model wise of the armies selected. The army has tanky behemoths, insanely effective heavy infantry, and fragile regular infantry. They are pricey points wise, so you really have a balancing act as far as to what you can take. This causes then to usually be fairly low model count. While the behemoths and heavy infantry are pretty tanky and durable, they have no defense to mortal wounds, and can be swarmed and brought down.  This leads them to have a more tricksy play style. They play keep away with wild wood shenanigans, and whittle down what they can with their ranged units and magic. Only when they are ready to engage on their terms do they try to close the distance. Otherwise they can be prone to getting over whelmed. If you are looking for a more elite army with tricks up its sleeve, then this may be for you.

Skeleton warriors can be played as either Deathrattle or Grand Host of Nagash, and you probably want to run GHoN. You lose Black Knights as Battle Line, but gain far more benefits. Extra healing, extra attacks, and the ability to get the old wightking banner back. Of all the armys you picked, this one is the most straight forward. If you like armys that contain lots of large bricks of units that are durable and can grind out wars of attrition, then this may be the army for you.

Thats my two cents.

[RuneBrush]

9 hours ago, bonzai said:

Skeleton warriors can be played as either Deathrattle or Grand Host of Nagash, and you probably want to run GHoN. You lose Black Knights as Battle Line, but gain far more benefits. Extra healing, extra attacks, and the ability to get the old wightking banner back. Of all the armys you picked, this one is the most straight forward. If you like armys that contain lots of large bricks of units that are durable and can grind out wars of attrition, then this may be the army for you.

I'd say that Skeleton Warriors are excellent in any of the Legion based allegiances from the Legions of Nagash book.  Grand Host of Nagash gives them a 5+ chance to recover an additional D3 models each hero phase and Legion of Night would allow them to deploy in ambush whereas the other two don't grant that.  All 4 allow you to use Gravesites to recover additional models each turn.  I don't think Black Knights are available as battleline following LoN

[bonzai]

6 hours ago, RuneBrush said:

I'd say that Skeleton Warriors are excellent in any of the Legion based allegiances from the Legions of Nagash book.  Grand Host of Nagash gives them a 5+ chance to recover an additional D3 models each hero phase and Legion of Night would allow them to deploy in ambush whereas the other two don't grant that.  All 4 allow you to use Gravesites to recover additional models each turn.  I don't think Black Knights are available as battleline following LoN

GHoN also has a command trait that gives deathrattle units within 6.  So for me the Grand Host edges out the other allegiances . 

[RuneBrush]

14 minutes ago, bonzai said:

GHoN also has a command trait that gives deathrattle units within 6.  So for me the Grand Host edges out the other allegiances . 

You've got two command traits that are specifically Deathrattle focused for a Grand Host army - Ancient Strategist (re-roll failed charge rolls within 9") and Lord of Nagashizzar (+1 attack within 6").  Lord of Nagashizzar is really powerful when combined with a Wight King or Vampire Lord, who's command ability will also grant +1 attack