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Welcome to Warmahordes!

In an effort to boost player interest in the game as well as allay some of the more common questions that come with new players, I’m starting a generic FAQ and overview of the game, how it relates in terms of play to Warhammer(it seems most Warmahordes players are former 40k players), and a faction overview or “What faction should I pick?!?”

As for myself, I’ve been a dedicated 40k player since I was a wee lad, I believe I started around 3rd edition. The first codex I purchased was a 3rd edition Eldar, played for a while before moving to Dark Eldar in 5th edition, then moved onto some Orks and Grey Knights in 5th/6th. I moved away from the game a few years ago because I got deployed to Okinawa for 3 years. After looking to get back into 40k, I was exceptionally dismayed at the moneymongering schemes that GW started getting into as well as the generic feel of all the newer codices. As such, I was introduced to the game by a friend relatively recently, but have since started playing quite extensively. I play Circle Orboros primarily, however I also play some Trollbloods as well as Retribution of Scryah on the Warmachine side of the house.
But enough about me! Let’s get into an overview of the game and the differences between Warmachine and Hordes!

OP's Note: Please, bare in mind that I will be updating and adding info to this thread as needed. Please feel free to drop suggestions and/or ask questions, I will do my best to promptly respond.

Table of Contents
1. Overview
2. Factions and Armies
3. Getting Started
4. FAQ and External Resources

Overview

Firstly, let me clear the air; Warmachine and Hordes are the same game, which is why you’ll see reference to “Warmahordes”. Warmachine represents the traditionally “civilized” factions of Caen, the world the game is set in, whereas Hordes represents the more feral factions.
The entire game revolves around one model, call a Warcaster(in Warmachine) or Warlock(in Hordes). This model is the commander of your army and has special constructs or beasts under his command, called Warjacks(for Warmachine) or Warbeasts(for Hordes). Throughout the game, your Warlock or Warcaster will command these lumbering beasts of war to destroy your opponent. In addition to Warjacks/Warbeasts, there are also various units of regular soldiers and powerful solo models to assist you and buff your army.

”Is there any different rules between Warmachines and Hordes?”

No. They are the same game.

”What’s the biggest difference between Warmachine and Hordes factions?”

The largest difference between Warmachine and Hordes is how your main model, the Warcaster or Warlock, interacts with your army and their specific spell resources. Both have access to special rules, attacks, and spells, but their resources are fundamentally different.
A Warcaster has a statistic in his profile, called Focus. When a new turn begins, a Warcaster will add Focus tokens to himself until he has his maximum. After he has his maximum Focus, he can give these Focus points to the Warjacks under his command; the Warjacks then uses these Focus points to perform special abilities, such as running, charging, or making extra attacks. The Warcaster can also choose to keep the Focus points for himself, using them as a resource to cast spells. Any leftover Focus points boost the models armor, making him more difficult to destroy.

A Warlock from hordes uses a different statistic called Fury. Conversely to a Warcaster, a Warlock takes fury from the Warbeasts under his command. As you play, your Warlock commands(called “forcing” in the rulebook) his Warbeasts to perform the same actions that a Warjack would have to pay for, and generates a resource called Fury. Each Warbeast has a maximum amount of Fury that can be on them at any one time. At the start of a Hordes player’s turn, rather than just getting Fury, he “leaches” the Fury from Warbeasts under his command, thus generating his resources to use for spells.

”Well, that sounds like the Warlocks/Warbeasts are a lot more powerful, if Warbeasts don’t need to pay for their actions!”

Fear not, for the system is well balanced. One of the biggest balancing components is if a Warlock fails to take all the Fury off of one of his Warbeasts, there’s a chance that that Warbeast will go crazy, called “Frenzy”. When a Warbeast frenzies, it attacks the nearest model, friend or foe, and cannot be controlled for that turn. A Warjack will never frenzy.

Additionally, if a Warlock fails to properly account for his Fury, or if one of his Warbeasts dies, then he loses access to the Fury that the Warbeast would generate in later turns. As such, the more his Warbeasts die, the fewer Fury he can generate with them, thus the system balances itself out.

”How does the game play compared to Warhammer?”

Okay, this is the question that will get me lots of hate from Warhammer players, but that’s okay, here goes; Warmahordes has significantly deeper strategy than Warhammer and requires a LOT more planning. There. It’s been said. Bring on the flames, they sustain me!
Don’t get my intention wrong; I really enjoy 40k! I’ll never stop playing it. That said, Warmahordes simply plays differently and, in my most humble opinion, it is a much more strategically deep game.
In terms of gameplay, the largest difference is Units vs. Models. Whereas in 40k you will act and shoot as a unit, in Warmahordes it’s each model that acts differently. While Units still need to stay together(though you get a lot more than 2” to do so), each model moves and acts completely independent of the Unit. This adds a layer of complexity, but also makes more sense.

Secondly, each model has far more options to act compared to Warhammer. In essence, each model usually has basic stats, a few special rules(the most basic units may not have any special rules), and usually has one or more weapons to use. In addition, many models have access to special abilities and actions. This creates a unique playstyle in which each model has a complex activation phase and has many tactical options. In comparison to 40k, you could maybe imagine that each model has, at the minimum, as many ability options and special rules as a character in a Squad of 40k, or maybe as much as a named character model.

Just remember, because these special abilities are built in to the unit, each individual unit will have no customization options; it’s often thought by new players that lack of customization of units == lack of depth. This is completely untrue! Each individual model is complex enough without adding another layer of customization. The second layer of tactical depth comes from the Warcaster/Warlock. If you have the same army list and swap out the Warcaster or Warlock, your strategy is completely different! Not only do synergy between models change, but the capabilities of your leader are completely different.

All told, it’s easier to make a Warmahordes list, but it’s much harder to learn to play it effectively. The interaction between units and the special spells your leader has takes many games to master so you can play efficiently.

Factions and Armies

All the different nations of Caen are represented by “Factions”. This is the primary decision in how your army will play, how they look, and what tactics you’ll use. It’s the same as a Codex for Warhammer. Below is a rundown of the look and feel of the Factions available, and how they play;

Cryx[Warmachine]: Cryx are your zombie/evil factions of Ruthless sorcerers and liches. Filling the roll of “Bad Guy” for Warmachines, they are a faction devoted to necromancy and spellwork. Their Warcasters are pretty strong, though fragile. They have a multitude of playstyles, both ranged and melee, to use.
Circle Orboros[Hordes]: The Circle is a band of Druids that are attempting to hold off the apocalypse that comes in the form of the Devourer Wurm. Their playstyle focuses on hard hitting heavy Warbeasts, teleportation and movement, and spells. Their Warlocks are some of the strongest casters in the game.
Convergence of Cyriss[Warmachine]: A really unique faction, the Convergence needs a longer entry to explain. Firstly, all their Warjacks share some stats with their controlling Warcaster; as such, they are immune to many debuffs. Secondly, they can give spent Focus points to other nearby Warjacks, which gives the entire army some interesting synergy. To get a really good idea how they differ, you may need to consult the Forces book(they're quite complicated).
Cygnar[Warmachine]: The “Good Guys” to counter the Cryx badness, Cygnar love their lightning. Most of their units utilize lightning mechanics, dealing area of effect damage and also being able to arc to nearby models. They also have many arcnodes available, for cheap. They are the strongest ranged army in the game.
Khador[Warmachines]: Crazy Russians from the north, Khador focus on hard hitting tough-as-nails heavy Warjacks. Their Warjacks sport the highest armor and defenses available, but also the lowest speeds. They are one of the few factions that can run entire armies of just Warjacks and still be competitive. Their Warjacks are the toughest in the game.
Legion of Everblight[Hordes]: The Legion fills a roll similar to Khador, but for Hordes. Their Warbeasts are complete monsters, tough to kill and they hit like trucks! Flavorwise, they are evil dragon worshipers, with many pale or eyeless models. Think “Dark Eldar meets Zerg/Tyranid”. Almost all their models have Eyeless Sight, so they ignore cover saves.
Protectorate of Menoth[Warmachine]: The zealous religious Faction of Warmahordes, these guys worship their God, Menoth. They are likely the most tactically deep of all the factions, with a plethora of options available to them. Activation order of models is very important. Flavorwise, they are a bash of Grey Knights and Sisters of battle meets old fashioned DnD Clerics.
Retribution of Scryah[Warmachines]: Elves! With bows and guns and towering Warjacks! Retribution has a good balance of ranged and melee units and some very strong Warcasters. They have many units focussing on killing Spellcasters, so some of even their cheap units are deadly to enemy Warcasters/Warlocks. Great tactical flexibility.
Skorne[Hordes]: This nasty group of vampire-esque dudes are all about blood and melee combat. They are full of great melee units, but they are also the slowest of the Hordes factions. They also have some of the best basic combat Warlocks. They blend melee and toughness into a solid brute-force army.
Trollbloods[Hordes]:One of the few “Goo Guy” factions, the Trollbloods have a similar “nature” or “shamanistic” feeling as Circle Orboros. They have a good mix of range and melee, though many ranged units are bad at shooting, but have powerful weapons. They have some fantastic Warlock casters, really good offensive spells, and most all their units have the Tough special rule(allows them a 30% chance to survive after they “die”).
Special Factions: The Minions[Hordes] and Mercenaries[Warmachine] factions are a little different. Both can be their own faction for list making, but most of their units can also be used by various other factions. As such, Mercenary and Minion units and Warcrasters/Warlocks are some of the most diverse in the game, giving tons of tactical options.

”I'm coming from playing X army in Warhammer, which faction is best for me?”

Ultimately, I believe it's aesthetics and joy of painting that brings me to a faction. However, if you're more of a powergamer, here's an overview of each factions strength;

Cryx: Power up the more they kill, excellent spells, though many units are glass cannons.
Circle Orboros: More melee focused, very strong spells, lots of teleportation and hijinks, but lower survivability.
Convergence: Very unique playstyle, immune to many debuffs, but have a stronger reliance on Warcaster choice.
Khador: Strongest heavy Warjacks and high armor, but very slow army.
Legion of Everblight: Almost all models ignore cover and cloud effects(like hiding in cover), strong warbeasts, but have very a difficult learning curve.
Protectorate: Strong synergy, good ranged units, balanced Warcasters, but have a VERY finicky order of activation to maximize synergy between units.
Retribution of Scryah: Good mix of ranged and melee, lots of options for killing spellcaster efficiently(especially vs. Hordes factions), though most models are on the weak side, defensively.
Skorne: Exceptional melee and high defenses, but very slow and methodical.
Trollbloods: Very tough units, even basic troops don't like to die, however, they tend to have shorter range and lower accuracy than other factions.
Minions/Mercenaries: LOTS and LOTS of different units that play differently, great mix of Warcrasters/Warlocks. Might be overwhelming to a new player.


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Starting Warmahordes!

So, once you've decided to take the leap, let's get into what you need and how much it's going to cost! Below is a short list of what I would suggest you get before you start playing;

Required:
Battle Box for your faction: These usually run for around 30$ online, more at your FLGS. These include one Warcaster/Warlock, and generally 2-3 Warjacks/Warbeasts. Usually a pretty good deal, also it's worth noting that many Privateer Press tournaments require battle boxes in their tiered tournaments. They also include quick start rules.
Rules: These can be found in battleboxes or in the relavent rulesbooks(called “Warmachine Prime MkII” for Warmachine and “Hordes Primal MkII” for Hordes)
A place to play: normal maps are either 4'x4' or 4'x6' for larger battles.
Ruler: for measuring distances.
Six 6-Sided Dice: this is pretty much the maximum you will ever need! Different colors are a plus.
Paper: Scraps for tracing the templates for weapons or marking damage, what-have-you.
Pen/Markers: For tracking damage.
Token: Coins or some kind of token for marking Fury and Focus.

Suggested Additions:
”Forces of...” Book for your faction: This gives a lot more back story and more units to play with. You can also proxy units if you don't own the model!
Clear Tape/Card Sleeves: You can use either of these to protect your unit cards, allowing you to make marks in dry erase pens.
Dry Erase Markers: see above.
Terrain pieces: cool looking terrain makes for a more interesting game.
Paints! : Naturally, a painted army allways works harder for you!

Once you've got your battle box, assembled the models and played a few game, it's time to start looking at expanding your army! From here, you will probably want to look to your specific factions Forums on the Privateer Press forums to get advice.

However, I would ALWAYS suggest getting one or two more Warcasters/Warlocks in your army BEFORE you go crazy buying new models. The centerpiece of your army is the Warcaster/Warlock; if you find THEM uninteresting, chances are you'll find your whole army uninteresting! Playing a few and getting a feel for them is paramount to success. Along those lines, feel free to proxy other Casters/Locks in your games, if your friends are alright with it, so you know which ones you may want to pick up.


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External Resources

Battle College
The Battle College is a Wiki style page that contains a large wealth of knowledge. If has overviews of every faction and every unit and model, with tactical tips and explanations of abilities. One thing to note is that while the articles are generally well kept and updated, the discussions that some link to are old and invalid!

Privateer Press Forums
The official forums, you can find lots of faction specific advice here. Please be considerate and read the FAQs and intros before asking questions, as chances are your question has been andwered before!

There are lots of online stores that can be found, personally I'd suggest Ebay as one of your best resources, but, as always, try and support your local FLGS!

 ZakFaire wrote:

Khador[Warmachines]: Crazy Russians from the north, Khador focus on hard hitting tough-as-nails heavy Warjacks. Their Warjacks sport the highest armor and defenses available, but also the lowest speeds. They are one of the few factions that can run entire armies of just Warjacks and still be competitive. Their Warjacks are the toughest in the game.

you've done a lot of excellent work Zakfire, and its nice to see an all in one post like this. But you are wrong on a few counts - like here. Khador running entire armies of just warjacks and being competitive? Vewry far off the mark. In fact, khador is just about the opposite. aside from a handful of niche builds that are not very competitive, khador is very much an infantry faction. in game, and in the fluff, khador's strength isnt its warjacks - its khador's excellent infantry.

And if you want some faction blurbs, try these. Im missing convergence though!

Trollbloods: Braveheart Trolls - Large, tough, strong with a kilt and tartan wearing scottish highlander theme and a back story that begins like the Trail of Tears, until their version of "Crazy Horse" starts winning when he binds the tribes together. The most "good guy" choice, with some Dirty Dozen, Braveheart and the Incredible Hulk thrown in for spice. Pieces can cost more than average to collect because they are larger and require more metal to manufacture. trollbloods are seen as the "brick" faction. they tend to grind out an attrition based win. they hit hard, but their true strength is being able to buff themselves up with multiple layers of buffs and snnergies (kinda like the protectorate), and absorb whatever you throw at them, and laugh it all off. they are also the "humourous" faction. No, they're not orky, and no they're not comedy, but they have some amusing moments, especially as the faction as a whole always seems to be hungry they like drinking, fighting and carousing with the trollblood maidens afterwards. they have a lot of shaman and "rock/stone" themed magic, and shamans, and they have a lot of "irregular" forces - in that i mean, they are a bunch of barbarian "warriors", instead of rank upon rank of "soldiers", and they tend to fight with a scavenged mix of guns, swords, axes, hammers, bison cavalry, lots of attitude, and general trollish badassery.

Skorne: Roman/Samurai Legions with slightly more torture and pain. A mix of Roman, Samurai and Persian influences, particularly in fancy ornate armor. A cruel empire of slavery, war and conquest revolving around a warrior society, a warrior cult that glorifies death in battle against overwhelming odds (its their only way of acheiving immortality as the Skorne reject the gods, and face only oblivion on death otherwise) and a study of death magic and ancestor worship. The Skorne despise the gods, and especially those who worship dieties, and consider themselves all the stronger for standing on their own, without any dieties to aid them. They are the hordes faction that is most likely to look like an organized army in uniform. They employ enslaved crocodiles, the elephantine Titans, their infantry tends to be heavily armed cataphracts, light infantry equipped with spears, shields, swords, needle gun things. and then there is a soul fueled terracotta army of warrior-stone golems to bolster their numbers. they posess movement shenanigans, huge damage output and great resilience, along with nasty pain-fuelled magic.

Legion of Everblight: Blighted evil goblin-ice elves who worship a dragon (who commands them with a tyranid-like hive mind) that has genetically twisted them in his own image and into his perfect army. In a lot of ways, the Legion is the closest wargaming entity to Tolkien’s brand of orcs (being, essentially, tortured, twisted elves)
The Elves look more like goblins, their leader is a dragon-possessed ogre who grew wings (and promptly ate another dragon). They fight with primitive bows and swords but wield scary magic and breed dragon blood spawned monsters that are a cross between sharks-on-land and a dinosaur. They play by their own rules (ignore terrain, LOS etc), and hope to eat the souls of all the other dragon-gods. Lots of female characters ranging from weird deformed mutants to bow hunters to ninjas to sorceresses. Overall they're very fast and tend to be the most beast-heavy faction. definately a hit and run/glass cannon faction that focuses purely on assassination and "killing the other guy" as opposed to grabbing objectives and playing the attrition game. For the most part, their beasts are melee beatsticks, who are no slouches at range either. Their infantry ranges from various flavours of either claymore, or bow-armed elves, typically as skirmishers rather than “line” infantry, or halbard wielding ogryn berzerkers who act as shock troops from hell.

Circle of Orboros: Terrorist Druids meet up at Stonehenge for a tree spiking or a human sacrifice.
Forget tree hugging hippies. They are the wrath of the hurricane. Heck, one of their leaders is a carnivorous soul-eating tree! They are consummate manipulators, shrewd, and extremely sinister in nature. These guys embody purely the wild, powerful, untameable and incredibly destructive aspect of nature. Fires, floods, plagues, earthquakes and any other portents of disaster are their stock in trade. These nature manipulators believe that civilization, which has become too strong in the last few thousand years will bring about the destruction of mankind at the hand of the Devourer, an entity that represents the primal chaos of predation and nature’s fury. As such, they seek to destroy civilisation, and restore "balance" to the world, and placate the Devourer. Though they seek to deny its return, they draw their power from this very same diety that essentially represents the end times they seek to hold at bay. And they will do whatever it takes. They will steal babies, they will torture and kill, they will sacrifice, blight the harvest, spread plagues and make Faustian deals to advance their agenda. Their forces in the field are wild, savage and barbaric in appearance. It consists of druids, wildmen and hunters, werewolves, 8 foot tall beastmen from your worst nightmares, stone-golems, semi-sentient sacred stone markers, grizzly bear-sized goats, and anyone else they can manipulate to serve them. They source their magics from the very wilds themselves, and use this magic adeptly to manipulate terrain and nature itself(earth and stone, forests, wind, lightning etc), slay foes, teleport their troops, or makes their minions stronger. they're a fast, hard hitting, surprisingly resilient glass cannon/ guerrilla faction who can do ranged, attrition and denial as well though they primarily deal in melee. Essentially, they go in like an ICBM, wreck face, and disappear again, leaving their foes striking at shadows. They have a lots of dirty underhanded tricks and manipulations and a great ability to punish magic users.

The Farrow Minions (the mercenaries of hordes- they're a subfaction, like WMs pirates and dwarves) - the iron Kingdoms do not have ork. Instead, they have Pork! Farrow are scavenging Boars who walk on their hind legs and carry scavenged/looted rifles. They are led by a self styled, (if somewhat deluded) Conan the Boar-barian, and are allied with a Mad Scientist who created Frankenstein cyborg-pigs sewn together from spare parts of bodies and robots to do their dirty work. A new addition to the game, there are fewer choices of models if played with one of their own generals, but all units and solos can be included in almost any Hordes Army. They're a movement/damage output faction. You have cyber roadhogs, warhogs, gun boars, cleaver armed infantry, rifle armed brigands and so on. Generally speaking, they look and feel like a warband of brigands and scavengers on the edge of society more than an “organised” army. But many a fool has underestimated their effectiveness.

The Alligator Minions. Hordes doesnt do lizardmen. they do Gatormen. With Bayou, Voodoo, and sinister undead undertones these Gatormen are leather hide tough, but fight with only simple spears and possess no technology not even bows and arrows. They are joined by other swamp creatures such as poison tree frogs, giant snapping turtles who spit acid, and fishmen who like to sneak up behind you. Another new addition to the game, there are fewer choices of models if played with one of their own generals, but all units and solos can be included in almost any Hordes Army.Their strengths generally lie in their resilience and disruptive magic.

Khador are angry russian imperialists. The thing to remember is that in Khador, the word for "bigger" is the same as the word for "better". And also, in Khador, there is no such thing as "excessive force". Khador mix devastating short range firepower, excellent melee abilities, great artillery and long range fire support elements, and extremely heavy armour. Khador are the faction most reliably seen as "tough" or “hard”. They're primarily a faction geared around attrition, stsying power, and massive damage output. Though they're often seen as the beatstick faction (listen to the battlecries of "axe to face", and you'll get the mentality of your average khador player quickly enough!) they're surpringly an all-rounder faction, boasting the widest diversity of troop types in the game. Khador options range from power armoured Men O War super-heavy infantry, to other heavy infantry like Iron Fangs, heavy and light cavalry options, regular "line" infantry like winter guard and assault commando stormtroopers, irregular guerrilla type infantry like kossites, manhunters and kayazy assassins as well as ice and blizzard wielding mages types. As mentioned, though they're seen as a beatstick faction, through various warcasters, khador can do a blitzkrieg game as well as having some surprisingly excellent ranged options. as you’d expect from the "excessive force" faction, khador don’t so much go in for long range rifles and chainguns like their southern neighbours in cygnar (although the Winter Guard Rifle Korps and the Widowmakers are beyond excellent) as much as they do for big massive artillery pieces that put huge holes in the ground, or are simply quite devastating and over the top - flamethrowers, rockets, mortars etc come as standard. Khador tend to be a "raw stat" faction. They don’t have a lot of indirect support pieces - pretty much, warcasters are the support options for a khador army, as opposed to the choir, book, vassals etc of menoth. However, Khador units tend to be remarkably self-sufficient, and are quite happy, and fully capable of standing on their own without the need for someone else to buff them. In terms of jacks, khador tend to go more jack light. In the fluff, the materials used to build the cortexes (ie the brains) of the warjacks are in remote and inaccessible places, and as a result, Khador lacks the sheer numbers of jacks as other factions. And so, they do things properly. They laugh at even the idea of “light” warjacks as a waste of time and resources. Instead, they make fewer, but bigger, tougher and stompier jacks than their neighbours. They make up for the lack of jacks with their aforementioned hard hitting infantry options like men o war, iron fangs and other options like horse-drawn tanks. khador jacks are big, relatively slow, and not that bright. They're solid beatsticks, and a few have excellent abilities. Their warcasters range from infantry centric support casters like irusk, denial masters like the Old Witch, to monstrous beatsticks like the Butcher, and light, flighty, assassins like Strakhov and Sorscha. They tend to be “harder” individually, and as a general rule, like to lead from the front, more so than other factions.

Cryx. they're best described as dragon worshipping undead necromancers, with a pirate fleet, ghost fleet, summoned "demons" (ie bane-nouns), stitched-together-from-machinery-and-body-parts necromantic constructs (thralls), zombies, blighted amazon warrior women, blighted trollkin, and a general assorted thieves, murderers, cut throats and scum of the earth. They're quite fast, extremely hard hitting, but quite squishy behind it all. Cryx are the gutter fighters of the iron kingdoms. A Cryx player who plays fair is doing it wrong. Cryx armies play by every low down, dirty underhanded, mean and nasty trick you can think of. Plenty times their assassination runs come out of nowhere, followed by cries of "they can do WHAT now???" Overall, they're an offensive debuffing/ buffing faction. They'll cripple your armour, stats, and other abilities via spells, feats and other necromantic lore so your defensive measures are far less effective, then they'll buff their own guys up to crazy levels, wade in, and then when it comes to crunch time, and your armour is like paper, they tear through it whilst your guys are rooted in place. That’s how they play. They're fast, vicious, extremely mean and will generally be the ones striking first. Cryx has very limited options for a ranged game, but makes up for this with excellent spell slinging abilities via cheap arcnodes and speed. Though generally not individually tough, they can however play an immensely strong attrition game by recycling their troops (and their opponents!) by bring things back from the dead, and swamp the board in an unending tide of undeath. They can suicide their troops for massive area damage, and are just about capable of getting anywhere on the board through ghostly shenanigans, or sheer, blinding speed. in terms of jacks, Cryx jacks either come in the "chicken" variety, which are spell relay nodes with legs and bitey things, and meaner and bigger helljacks that want to hamstring you, torture you, rend you limb from limb and eat your soul(and if you’re lucky, in that order!). Depending on caster, Cryx generally plays light in terms of numbers of jacks fielded, but make no mistake- their options are solid. Cryx are generally regarded as having a lot of excellent choices, and fantastic warcasters that can really control a game.

The Protectorate.

The protectorate is a nation of fanatical religious extremists. They're unrepentant, extremely dangerous fanatical warriors, who despise sorcery, have issues with technology, free speech, free thinking, and are quite happy to brainwash their own citizens into their extremist cause. They follow the teachings of a god called Menoth. Menoth is a deity who is basically an even more nasty, angry, ruthless, spiteful and vengeful version of the fire and brimstone god of the old testament. In the fluff, worship of Menoth has been on the decline for centuries-(for very obvious reasons!), and they’ve had enough. They’ve stoked their anger for these centuries, and have finally released it, and have started a great crusade, to sweep aside all the newer imposter religions that have sprung up, and re-impose the absolute worship of menoth as the prime (and only!) god in immoren. Fire. Torture. Burning stuff. Crucifixions. Typical "death to heretics, and blasphemers" stuff are the hallmarks for the Protectorate.

In game, they’re generally regarded as a denial faction. In a nutshell, they stop the other guy doing what they want to do (eg no charges, immune to shooting, immune to magic, spreading out damage amongst themselves etc) and then following up with a brutal counter punch. Their jacks tend to have lower stats than the rest of the factions, but this is more than compensated by their aforementioned excellent support units. Those units are the key to the functioning of the protectorate - they're a very synergistic army, and are all about overlapping layers of protective, and vengeful buffing. it ends up being a "denial loop" with no end. They are a more technologically regressed faction, but take great strength from divine prayer and faith. Though their ranged game is more limited, they have a very diverse access to extremely high damage melee infantry (exemplars) and are perfectly viable in a brawl. In terms of units, they don’t have an “army” in the modern sense of the word. Their military forces tend to be divided along the lines of the militant orders of extremely zealous crusading templar knights-exemplars (heavy cavalry, heavy infantry, and super-heavy infantry types) armed with a variety of weapons such as crosshows, halberds and magical swords, Next you have the “armed militia” element of the protectorate, with fire-spear armed temple guardians, firebomb and rocket armed zealots, priests, shaolin monks and inquisitors. A third aspect are the native idrian tribesmen who act as scouts, and skirmishers for the larger armies. This is backed up with their excellent priestly support units (choir, vassals etc) that are used to support their jacks. Menoth is regarded as a premier “jack faction” in that, unlike, say Khador, they are able to run a lot of jacks easily and efficiently, thanks to their excellent ancilliary support. Their jacks, on their own, are rather lacklustre, and their stats are lower than other factions. With the support elements in play, their stats and abilities skyrocket. Very much a “sum of their parts” aspect of the faction. Their warcasters are a diverse bunch representing everything from crusading knights (kreoss), witchhunters (reznik), high priests (severius), martial artists (amon), prophets (haringer) and pyromaniacs (feora). There is an equal mix of piousness, nobility of spirit, purity of purpose, intolerance and outright fanaticism in the faction.

Cygnar.

Fluffwise, they're america (kind of) in that they're the richest, most technologically advanced country in Immoren, but are surrounded by enemies and constantly under attack. They're liberal in the sense that 19th century america, or UK was liberal. In some ways, they’re far more liberal and forward thinking than people today! Cygnar are generally just trying to make do, trying to survive, and fend off all their adversaries. Also, they have lots of lightning themed units. Essentially, they're regarded as the "good guys" of the setting.

Cygnar is regarded as one of the premier ranged factions in the game. But this falls short of the mark. Cygnar are more than just guns. Cygnar have fantastic (and in some areas, the best) ranged options, but it’s not all they do -they're not tau! Cygnar is about well trained, professional infantry, wielding chainguns and rifles, backed up by counter charging melee units and jacks. Add in a lot of units that wield powerful, electric and voltaic “lightning weapons”, and the “electric chicken” becomes a bird with a nasty kick! Cygnar tend to be a bit standoffish in how they play. Cygnar are about ranged supremacy and area control, all backed up with pointy swords. Their magic is generally geared towards buffing their defensive abilities against ranged attacks, buffing their own ranged abilities, and general toolboxiness/utility (like haley). Cygnar is the most technologically advanced human faction, and have the coolest toys and gadgets. Though they’re not a “jack-faction”, cygnar have a lot of ways to put multiple jacks on the field and run them well. Their jacks are an almost perfect mix of armour, speed, utility and skill. They’re well- armed, well armoured and extremely well crafted. Their forces tend to look like a modern, or pre-modern army, and are well armed, and well equipped, divided along the lines of long gunners (US army), trenchers (US marines), gun mages (who get all the girls!) affiliated knightly orders (sword knights, precursor knights), the stormnoun units (stormblade and stomguard,heavy infantry, storm lance heavy cavalry, stormsmiths, stormtowers etc do you see an electricity theme here?) and as a faction, since they pay the best, they make the most use out of mercenaries. again, they have a diverse bunch of warcasters (ranging from plucky underdogs (stryker), spellslingers (haley), mentor/genius inventor (Nemo), genius mechanic (Darius), scouts (kraye), duellists/anti-heros (Caine) and so on.

Retribution.

Retribution of Scyrah are like a sci-fi cygnar. in a way that only genocidal, xenophobic elves can be! the elves are in a bad place. all their gods bar 1 - scyrah - their goddess of spring have disappeared. Their empire is crumbling away. Thanks to this, their civilization and race are dying, and the number of soulless births are increasing. They have maybe a century left. They decided that the disappearance of their gods happened at about the same time as the birth of magic in humans, that its humans fault for it. and they're out to get them. You know - when life gives you lemons, kill all humans. The elves are probably the most advanced faction in Immoren. Their “lines” are clean, sleek, sci-fi and very futuristic. They’re more like Protoss than Industrial Age elves! A lot of their weapons make use of technologies and magics unknown to the rest of Immoren. Their warjacks (called Myrmidons) do not burn coal, but are instead are powered by the latent energy of Caen (they’re very “green”!) In ways they're similar to cygnar in terms of gameplay, but along a slightly parallel path, and one where they punish magic users above all else. Their jacks are like the Protoss from Starcraft in that most tend to have a forcefield that protects them. They’re quite a combined arms faction. Their jacks tend to be well made, skilled and relatively fast. They’re great on utility (they can all generally shoot and perform in melee), but tend to be a bit lower on the scale in terms of raw damage output and, despite the powerfield, resilience than other factions. Their infantry comes in a variety of styles. You have the infamous skirmishers of the Mage Hunters warbands, which have infiltrated human lands for centuries with a policy of targeted strikes and assassinations of human mages, and more recently, the military forces of the elven Great Houses, with rank upon rank of well trained, well-armed halberdiers and riflemen, along with the knightly orders of the elves – the Invictors and the famous Dawnguard. Their infantry, as a whole tends to perform well at range, and melee. Units are very powerful, and self-sufficient. Their warcasters similarly come in a variety of styles from support casters to assassination. Generally though, they lack the raw stats of other factions’ warcasters, and though most support a ranged game, they tend to act more as utility/support than frontline beatsticks

I'd also include a note. WM/H is NOT a steampunk robot / giant monster beat up game. Most lists will utilize 1-3 jacks & 2-5 beasts but you need units.

Think of beasts & jacks like tanks. Yeah they're great & powerful but without support they will get swarmed over. This was something my friend learned the hardway & almost quit the game after buying a tons of jacks & losing almost every game.

Cygnar[Warmachine]: The “Good Guys” to counter the Cryx badness, Cygnar love their lightning. Most of their units utilize lightning mechanics, dealing area of effect damage and also being able to arc to nearby models. They also have many arcnodes available, for cheap. They are the strongest ranged army in the game.

Cygnar don't have many Arc Nodes. We have 2 and one of them is a Character Jack and the basic one the Lancer is more expensive when compared to the cheaper Arc Nodes that Cryx bring to the table.

gobbo76 wrote:

Cygnar[Warmachine]: The “Good Guys” to counter the Cryx badness, Cygnar love their lightning. Most of their units utilize lightning mechanics, dealing area of effect damage and also being able to arc to nearby models. They also have many arcnodes available, for cheap. They are the strongest ranged army in the game.

Cygnar don't have many Arc Nodes. We have 2 and one of them is a Character Jack and the basic one the Lancer is more expensive when compared to the cheaper Arc Nodes that Cryx bring to the table.

I'd also argue against them being the "strongest ranged army in the game". Ranged legion isn't just a thing, but it does it better too, with plenty of ways to ignore Cover/Concealment, Terrain, and Stealth that Cygnar lacks.

With cygnar being the best ranged faction, both retribution and legion can out shoot cygnar.

FoWPlayerDeathOfUS.TDs wrote:
With cygnar being the best ranged faction, both retribution and legion can out shoot cygnar.

Purely in terms of attritional shooting I would put Cygnar ahead of Ret, but if both armies contained an equivalent amount of shooting you would back Ret to get a caster kill faster than Cygnar.

Legion are just as shooty as Cygnar, but differ in that their main shooting strength comes from their beasts so again Cygnar wins on pure volume of shooting but there are less special rules/buffs attached to it. Imo the best way to phrase it would be to say that Cygnar have the best shooting units, Legion has some of the best shooting beasts/heavies.

I can appreciate the hard work you put in but your faction synopses in general are not very accurate. Cryx has ton of arcnodes, not Cygnar. Cryx doesn't have multiple ranged games. They pretty much have one.

Khador does not run a lot of jacks. Period.

I've never found legion to be the tough faction. There beasts in particular are more glass cannons.

 ZakFaire wrote:
Factions and Armies

All the different nations of Caen are represented by “Factions”. This is the primary decision in how your army will play, how they look, and what tactics you’ll use. It’s the same as a Codex for Warhammer. Below is a rundown of the look and feel of the Factions available, and how they play;

Cryx[Warmachine]: Cryx are your zombie/evil factions of Ruthless sorcerers and liches. Filling the roll of “Bad Guy” for Warmachines, they are a faction devoted to necromancy and spellwork. Their Warcasters are pretty strong, though fragile. They have a multitude of playstyles, both ranged and melee, to use.
Circle Orboros[Hordes]: The Circle is a band of Druids that are attempting to hold off the apocalypse that comes in the form of the Devourer Wurm. Their playstyle focuses on hard hitting heavy Warbeasts, teleportation and movement, and spells. Their Warlocks are some of the strongest casters in the game.
Convergence of Cyriss[Warmachine]: A really unique faction, the Convergence needs a longer entry to explain. Firstly, all their Warjacks share some stats with their controlling Warcaster; as such, they are immune to many debuffs. Secondly, they can give spent Focus points to other nearby Warjacks, which gives the entire army some interesting synergy. To get a really good idea how they differ, you may need to consult the Forces book(they're quite complicated).
Cygnar[Warmachine]: The “Good Guys” to counter the Cryx badness, Cygnar love their lightning. Most of their units utilize lightning mechanics, dealing area of effect damage and also being able to arc to nearby models. They also have many arcnodes available, for cheap. They are the strongest ranged army in the game.
Khador[Warmachines]: Crazy Russians from the north, Khador focus on hard hitting tough-as-nails heavy Warjacks. Their Warjacks sport the highest armor and defenses available, but also the lowest speeds. They are one of the few factions that can run entire armies of just Warjacks and still be competitive. Their Warjacks are the toughest in the game.
Legion of Everblight[Hordes]: The Legion fills a roll similar to Khador, but for Hordes. Their Warbeasts are complete monsters, tough to kill and they hit like trucks! Flavorwise, they are evil dragon worshipers, with many pale or eyeless models. Think “Dark Eldar meets Zerg/Tyranid”. Almost all their models have Eyeless Sight, so they ignore cover saves.
Protectorate of Menoth[Warmachine]: The zealous religious Faction of Warmahordes, these guys worship their God, Menoth. They are likely the most tactically deep of all the factions, with a plethora of options available to them. Activation order of models is very important. Flavorwise, they are a bash of Grey Knights and Sisters of battle meets old fashioned DnD Clerics.
Retribution of Scryah[Warmachines]: Elves! With bows and guns and towering Warjacks! Retribution has a good balance of ranged and melee units and some very strong Warcasters. They have many units focussing on killing Spellcasters, so some of even their cheap units are deadly to enemy Warcasters/Warlocks. Great tactical flexibility.
Skorne[Hordes]: This nasty group of vampire-esque dudes are all about blood and melee combat. They are full of great melee units, but they are also the slowest of the Hordes factions. They also have some of the best basic combat Warlocks. They blend melee and toughness into a solid brute-force army.
Trollbloods[Hordes]:One of the few “Goo Guy” factions, the Trollbloods have a similar “nature” or “shamanistic” feeling as Circle Orboros. They have a good mix of range and melee, though many ranged units are bad at shooting, but have powerful weapons. They have some fantastic Warlock casters, really good offensive spells, and most all their units have the Tough special rule(allows them a 30% chance to survive after they “die”).
Special Factions: The Minions[Hordes] and Mercenaries[Warmachine] factions are a little different. Both can be their own faction for list making, but most of their units can also be used by various other factions. As such, Mercenary and Minion units and Warcrasters/Warlocks are some of the most diverse in the game, giving tons of tactical options.

”I'm coming from playing X army in Warhammer, which faction is best for me?”

Ultimately, I believe it's aesthetics and joy of painting that brings me to a faction. However, if you're more of a powergamer, here's an overview of each factions strength;

Cryx: Power up the more they kill, excellent spells, though many units are glass cannons.
Circle Orboros: More melee focused, very strong spells, lots of teleportation and hijinks, but lower survivability.
Convergence: Very unique playstyle, immune to many debuffs, but have a stronger reliance on Warcaster choice.
Khador: Strongest heavy Warjacks and high armor, but very slow army.
Legion of Everblight: Almost all models ignore cover and cloud effects(like hiding in cover), strong warbeasts, but have very a difficult learning curve.
Protectorate: Strong synergy, good ranged units, balanced Warcasters, but have a VERY finicky order of activation to maximize synergy between units.
Retribution of Scryah: Good mix of ranged and melee, lots of options for killing spellcaster efficiently(especially vs. Hordes factions), though most models are on the weak side, defensively.
Skorne: Exceptional melee and high defenses, but very slow and methodical.
Trollbloods: Very tough units, even basic troops don't like to die, however, they tend to have shorter range and lower accuracy than other factions.
Minions/Mercenaries: LOTS and LOTS of different units that play differently, great mix of Warcrasters/Warlocks. Might be overwhelming to a new player.


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Starting Warmahordes!

So, once you've decided to take the leap, let's get into what you need and how much it's going to cost! Below is a short list of what I would suggest you get before you start playing;

Required:
Battle Box for your faction: These usually run for around 30$ online, more at your FLGS. These include one Warcaster/Warlock, and generally 2-3 Warjacks/Warbeasts. Usually a pretty good deal, also it's worth noting that many Privateer Press tournaments require battle boxes in their tiered tournaments. They also include quick start rules.
Rules: These can be found in battleboxes or in the relavent rulesbooks(called “Warmachine Prime MkII” for Warmachine and “Hordes Primal MkII” for Hordes)
A place to play: normal maps are either 4'x4' or 4'x6' for larger battles.
Ruler: for measuring distances.
Six 6-Sided Dice: this is pretty much the maximum you will ever need! Different colors are a plus.
Paper: Scraps for tracing the templates for weapons or marking damage, what-have-you.
Pen/Markers: For tracking damage.
Token: Coins or some kind of token for marking Fury and Focus.

Suggested Additions:
”Forces of...” Book for your faction: This gives a lot more back story and more units to play with. You can also proxy units if you don't own the model!
Clear Tape/Card Sleeves: You can use either of these to protect your unit cards, allowing you to make marks in dry erase pens.
Dry Erase Markers: see above.
Terrain pieces: cool looking terrain makes for a more interesting game.
Paints! : Naturally, a painted army allways works harder for you!

Once you've got your battle box, assembled the models and played a few game, it's time to start looking at expanding your army! From here, you will probably want to look to your specific factions Forums on the Privateer Press forums to get advice.

However, I would ALWAYS suggest getting one or two more Warcasters/Warlocks in your army BEFORE you go crazy buying new models. The centerpiece of your army is the Warcaster/Warlock; if you find THEM uninteresting, chances are you'll find your whole army uninteresting! Playing a few and getting a feel for them is paramount to success. Along those lines, feel free to proxy other Casters/Locks in your games, if your friends are alright with it, so you know which ones you may want to pick up.


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External Resources

Battle College
The Battle College is a Wiki style page that contains a large wealth of knowledge. If has overviews of every faction and every unit and model, with tactical tips and explanations of abilities. One thing to note is that while the articles are generally well kept and updated, the discussions that some link to are old and invalid!

Privateer Press Forums
The official forums, you can find lots of faction specific advice here. Please be considerate and read the FAQs and intros before asking questions, as chances are your question has been andwered before!

There are lots of online stores that can be found, personally I'd suggest Ebay as one of your best resources, but, as always, try and support your local FLGS!

Yeah from what I see, Khador run one or two jacks max as the casters are focus hungry in khador, but each Khador jack puts out solid damage and can take a fair amount of damage before being wrecked, and also with spells aplenty and feats also, Khador are surprisingly quick, you see the speed stat and then suddenly Beast-09 is shoving his large axe into your face, so although they have the lowest stats for speed, and have amazing jacks, they only can run a couple of jacks well, and are surprisingly quick, with Strakhov and Beast-09 or Black Ivan or a Spriggan together having a 21 inch threat-range, or they can use spells to protect their units and jacks from ranged fire till they apply axe to face.

Cygnar: They are the ranged faction, but thats volume really, I mean with just about every unit having ranged attacks, buffs like snipe, deadeye, fire group, and units like rangers (give attack roll boosts) and the stormstrider, Cygnar is HIGHLY accurate, and with all the lightning and high rat medium pow guns cygnar picks off support units like Choir or small based units like WinterGuard with impunity. And with access to the most mercs of all factions, Cygnar can have an answer to every problem, and combining mercs with some of cygnars spells can get ridiculous, I mean 20 inch threat ranges sometimes, or the support solos meaning cygnars glass hammers (stormblades for example) can march up and kill some stuff.

Legion: With insane pows or abilities or amount of attacks or the simple fact the can ignore all the tricks other factions use to keep safe (stealth, clouds, etc) and such insane fury managements (shepards, forsaken, I believe succubi) legion hit hard, but have relatively low arms and/or boxes legion get up fast and hit hard, but if they don't kill what they attacked they can be in trouble

Cryx: With just about every light warjack (called bonejacks) sporting an arc node, with such low point costs, Cyrx puts debuffs on stuff from far away, with casters with powerful spells but the casters are usually quite weak, so the arc nodes allows the caster to stay further back. All of Cryx jacks seem to be faster then most jacks, hard to hit, but Cryx decided to use paper mache on their armour

Please correct me if I was wrong