New Player trying to decide on a Great Nation

[Maogrim]

Greetings, esteemed sages, mages and regents of the Nations of Hysh! :)

I'm a brand new AOS player who used to play WHFB in the olden days (Dwarves and Dark Elves). Now, recently the almighty YouTube algorithm tried to lure me in by suggesting HeyWoah's 'Every AOS Army in 16 Minutes' ... and it worked. I was hooked and haunted and after finally deciding on the glorious Lumineth Realm-Lords I bought the Launch Box...

So here we are. Haven't played a single game yet, new tome is on order but hasn't arrived yet due to supply chains to Germany being abysmal right now. Early on I wanted to go with Ymetrica, since I really love the aesthetic of the Alarith units, especially the majestic Spirits of the Mountain.. But since getting a little bit more familiar with how the games usually work I got the impression that Stoneguard units are incredibly slow and while I am not looking to be ultra competitive I also don't want to lose every game because my opponent manages to score and I don't...

With the new Battletome out I heard that there's another Great Nation that seems to make better use of more defensive units like Wardens, and that's Alumnia due to their free movement...So here's where I need help, since I really want to decide on a Great Nation and paint the army accordingly before doing my first games.

Do you think Ymetrica is viable? If so, what would need to accompany the Wardens and Stoneguard in order to succeed? Dawnriders? A Loreseeker? Sentinels?

Or would Alumnia be just more fun to play and less a struggle to succeed with? Could Alumnia make use of Alarith units as well? How similar would an Alumnia army feel to a Melusia-heavy Khailebron army (which is my second army project for AOS, but LRL have priority)?

What I own so far is this: 10 Wardens, The Light of Eltharion, 5 Dawnriders, 5 Stoneguard, a Stonemage and a Shrine Luminor. How should my purchase schedule look based on the Nations you'd recommend?

Thank you for indulging me and my ramblings. I am very much looking forward to your feedback. :)

[Siegfried VII]

If you want to focus mainly on the Mountain aspect of the army with some support from other aspects (a few vanari/hurakan units) the Ymetrica is the way to go.

If you want a more all around list or focus on another aspect Alumnia is the better choice of the two..

If you want to go Ymetrica do not use more than Avelenor as far as Mountain spirits go and use the battalion. So after Avelenor, a Stonemage and 2 large units of Stoneguard, fill the rest with units that complement you weakness, which is speed.

A Windmage with teleport, Dawnriders, Windchargers are your options here and if you want projection of power Sentinels or Ballistas can do the trick.. 🙂 

[LuminethMage]

What Siegfried said above : ), just to add, it’s still an it hard to say how things work out with all the new units, As you said the main weakness of the Alarith was that they are slow. But we now have a teleport spell, combine that with Speed of Hysh, and the new Windchargers, Dawnriders or just archers in general and it shouldn’t be that bad anymore. 

If you want to focus on Alarith, Ymetrica is the way to go. The next buy in that case would be Avalenor, to make your Alarith core. You already have Speed of Light with that and the Dawnriders. So you could look how this works out for you, and then see in which direction you want to go. More Vanari/Scinari or dip into the Wind Temple. 

[Maogrim]

Wow, thank you for the, dare I say, Lightning Reflexes on those answers.

I'm not entirely sure whether I want to go full Alarith or not, albeit they are what drove me to the faction. I just wonder if Alumnia's tactical prowess with the additional movement, more magic and a teleport artifact might be more fun to play.

From what you wrote I gather the normal Mountain Spirit isn't quite as viable an option? Kind of a shame, since I like the peaks on its shoulders and the weapon more than I do Avalenor's.

Which heroes would you recommend? Just Avalenor and the Stone Mage for starters? How about the Lore Seeker? Is the Stone Mage a good Shrine Guardian or would I want to let him use his flight spell?

What would you recommend for Alumnia? Just Wardens, Dawnriders and Sentinels?

Sorry for the barrage of questions..

[Siegfried VII]

If you go for Ymetrica Avelenor and Stonemage for sure.

Now regardless of what other way you go a Loreseeker and a Windmage for the teleportation are also safe choices.. 😉 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Siegfried VII