New to the game, looking for advice

[Cyberspidermancer]

Hey all! I'm going to be purchasing my first models soon and, frankly, I'm having a hard time making up my mind and was looking for some advice. 

My daughter and I are going to be modelling and painting together, and since I had to give up my 3000+ points of skaven years ago, this has me very excited.  She will probably be getting assorted order pieces b/c she just wants to paint, really (shes 8 and thinks the gryph- hounds are just the coolest things ever. )

I, on the other hand, can't quite make up my mind. I'm looking at 3 armies. 

1) idoneth deep kin just look freaking amazing, the play style seems neat from what I read with their movement and screening tricks and how hard they hit. Unfortunately the don't seem to have much variety in their model line, at least not yet. 

2) night haunt also looks really cool. They have a lot of units and heroes to pick from, the ghost theme is a nice change from standard undead stuff, and come on,  banshee queen. 

3) back to the old skaven stand by. I love the rat ******,  and I know I'll enjoy them, but I think I really want tho start with something different. 

So that's my issue. What's your take?

[Laststand]

Deepkin are very cool. Amazing models and enough diversity to be interesting. Be aware if you are looking at serious competitive tournament play the only viable thing is a list with 90% eels. Otherwise lots of fun to be had.

Nighthaunt seem to only play with half the rules. Every model flies, ignore rend, big charges = double pile in and attacks, they hose out mws from their powerful and very cheap heroes and their dead are returned in a click of the fingers, they can also deepstrike. None of the players in my group enjoy games against them even when we win. 

Skaven... well. Whats to say about the evil, twisted, warpstone addicted ratty monsters that you wouldn't already know?

For something different you could try Sylvaneth but from a hobby point of view you will prob enjoy Deepkin.   

[robinlvalentine]

I think with the Deepkin you do have to accept that they have a very small range right now, that's unlikely to be expanded for a long time to come. And unfortunately, if you want to build them into a strong army, you'll only be using a small portion of that already small range - they're not really built for the 'one of everything' approach. 

But that said I think they're some of the best models GW has ever produced, with really interesting rules.

Speaking of some of the best models GW has ever produced... the Nighthaunt minis are really incredible, I think even more impressive in person than they look on the site. Each one is its own feat of mini engineering. They're a cheap and easy army to get into, as they're the poster-boy bad guys of this edition of the rules. With the Soul Wars set you can get loads of them for cheap. They've got lots of 'easy build' kits too which might be fun for teaching your daughter the ropes of building minis. 

Skaven are in a good place right now, having just gotten a new battletome, but they haven't really gotten any new models, so their range is a bit of a crapshoot right now. They've got lovely modern plastic kits sitting alongside 20 year old Mordheim models, and lots of their heroes and units are still metal/resin. So I think if you want to really experience just how far GW miniatures have come in recent years you'd be better off with a more recently updated faction, but if you've still got a big soft spot for the old stuff they'll be fine. 

[Sedraxis]

From what I'm reading the new Deepkin Start Collecting seems like a great fit for you.

Mixed Order is great if you're in it for the hobby and can even be made competitive with loads of options in case you ever decide to try a tournament. Throw in some Gryph Hounds for your daughter and whatever else you guys like in the future.

[Overread]

1 hour ago, Cyberspidermancer said:

 (shes 8 and thinks the gryph- hounds are just the coolest things ever. )

That's because they are! Hopefully you've introduced her to the greatest of them all? 

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/06/22/no-007-good-boy/

 

As for which army what might help you choose is loadup the GW store page for each army and go through every model they have and open a new tab for them. Then once you've done that go through each tab and close any that you're "meh" or don't like. The idea being that by the end you've got an idea as to what you really like within the army. Might be you find you've actually closed most of the tabs and what you like is the lore side but not as much the models; or maybe you really like only one or two heroic models but not the troops or warriors that you'll buy and build way more of etc... It can help you sort out what you do and don't like about an army from the visual and aesthetics side. 

 

That said Skaven just got a brand new shiny Battletome and some new endless spells and fancy toys. Though they still have quite a lot of legacy models so things like ratling cannons you'll recognise from when you started years ago. There's also a handful of "cast on demand" models being released next week (for only one week) which are a few more historical sculpts 

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/02/24/made-to-order-legends-of-the-skaven/.

also if you're into the lore side of things Skaven ahve survived the end of the Old World and the birth of AoS really well. They are basically the same back-stabbing, fearsome fearful filthy scheming rats of old. Even the mighty Thanquol has managed to claw his way into surviving the End Times to reappear! 

[Tzaangor Management]

I think the above are solid points and would make a couple of additions:

1). Eels are likely to get a significant points increase in the next GHB (expected July-August 2019), so would caution against going too heavily into them if you're looking to be competitive, but aren't likely to get an army painted and on the table quickly. 

2). Nighthaunt look great and are easy to paint, but I've found them very repetitive. Not only do most of their models look very similar, but there is also very little variety on each individual model. This may not be a problem, but for me it's been a bit of a motivation killer. 

On the flip side, if you have an airbrush and the mentality for it, you could get them painted and on the table in no time.

3). The Skaven models are, in general, not up to the quality of Idoneth or Nighaunt. This may or may not be a problem for you, as many people enjoy the character of them. For me it's a big downside, as the models made since the launch of AOS are dynamic, put together with fewer gaps and misaligned pieces and are more detailed.

Being primarily a hobbyist, I'd recommend the Idoneth. I am about to start them myself, having got about halfway through the Nighthaunt in Soul Wars and got bored. 

Good luck making your choice, I don't think there's a wrong answer here for withe gaming or painting ☺️

[JPjr]

5 minutes ago, Tzaangor Management said:

This may not be a problem, but for me it's been a bit of a motivation killer. 

Ye gods this. I know people say don't buy any new models until you've painted what you've got, but I swear 90% of my purchases are made specifically to give me something to paint other than the Nighthaunt sat on my desk.

A few months shy of Soul Wars first anniversary and I'm still staring at loads of unpainted ghosts, they're fun in small batches but a whole army is killing my vibe.

I think what makes it so frustrating is that they're actually fairly easy to paint quickly and still look half decent, you just need to not be too precious and go for it.

[Chikout]

I've actually quite enjoyed painting my nighthaunt. They do all basically have lower robes. Upper robes, flesh, wood and metallics with the odd flame here or there. There isn't much in the way of mounts or monsters to give the variety. That only really comes with the coach and one of the special characters. 

Overall I'd say go Idoneth if you want an interesting painting challenge,  nighthaunt if you want an army that is easy to paint but looks good, or Skaven if you are into converting. 

Gameplay wise it depends how competitive you want to be. 

If you're not worried about winning every game go Idoneth. They can do well but a lot of their coolest minis are not so great in the game. 

Nighthaunt are a solid mid level army. 

Skaven with their new book look very strong with a lot of different ways to play. 

Personally I think Idoneth are the way to go. The new start collecting box doesn't have the best discount but it makes an ideal start to an army. 

 

[Cyberspidermancer]

Fantastic advice, thanks guys! I decided to preorder the new set and get the warscroll book for the deepkin for myself and a box of gryph hounds for the kid. I'm looking online and just wondering what other books/ sets I need to play? What book are the battle plans for? Do I need the core rule book? Do I need the generals handbook if I have the app and my warscroll already? Where do I fund rules for the realms and magic? 

Thanks again, can't wait to get started

[Redking]

You don’t need the core rulebook because the rules are in the app and so are the warscrolls.  However, the rulebook gives you lots of story, hobby, and battle plans.  The general’s handbook will give you updated points and battle plans.  The army books will give you more story and the army rules/Batallions.  I personally would start with the models and paints you need, then once you have several things put together you can start getting the books.  The app gives you everything you need to get started with narrative.

if your daughter likes the Gryph Hounds, SCE or mixed order is a good way to go and easy to learn with.  You can pick up the Soul Wars half on eBay.  Or if you want the rule book, then buy Soul Wars and sell/trade the Nighthaunts.

[XReN]

5 hours ago, Cyberspidermancer said:

Fantastic advice, thanks guys! I decided to preorder the new set and get the warscroll book for the deepkin for myself and a box of gryph hounds for the kid. I'm looking online and just wondering what other books/ sets I need to play? What book are the battle plans for? Do I need the core rule book? Do I need the generals handbook if I have the app and my warscroll already? Where do I fund rules for the realms and magic? 

Thanks again, can't wait to get started

You need the Core Book, it has Grand Alliance Allegiance abilities and 6 battleplans and rules for playing in 7 mortal realms (so all except Azyr) 
You can probably pass on Generals Handbook because it will be updated relatively soon
Then you need your battletome
Malign Sorcery is optional, it's mainly for realm artefacts and endless spells, whille also providing realm spells (6 per realm, again, 7 realms) that can be used when the game happens in one of those realms, you can ask on Idoneth discussion about how valueble this book for you and figure out what to buy next, how to play them ect.