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Can someone give me a little information about war machine and how it is played? the models look really cool and it seems like you only need a few models to play the game, is this true? is it kind of like inquisitor but you control a war band instead of just one character? is it expensive to play?

acreedon wrote:Can someone give me a little information about war machine and how it is played? the models look really cool and it seems like you only need a few models to play the game, is this true? is it kind of like inquisitor but you control a war band instead of just one character? is it expensive to play?

In Warmachine, the main mechanic is Your Model's Stat + 2D6 vs. Your Opponent's Stat. For example, if you want to do a melee attack, take your model's MAT, add 2D6, and compare it to your opponent's model's DEF. If you equal or exceed it, you hit. Now take POW+STR of the weapon you attacked with, add 2D6, and compare it to the opponent's model's ARM. For every point you exceed the ARM by, you do a point of damage.

Your Warcaster is a fighter/mage character who generates Focus points. The warcaster can spend them on spells and other things, or he can allocate them to his warjacks, steam-powered robots with magical brains. Focus can be used to make attacks more accurate, more powerful, and to make more attacks. There are other things focus can do, but for right now, I'm giving you the basics.

When you start out with Warmachine, there are starter boxes for each of the factions. One of these is a wise purchase to get you familiar with the game, but only comes with about 300 points of models. If you restrict yourself to these types of games, then no, you will not need many more models. If you wish to play in tournaments or a league, you will have to get up to at least 500 points, and taking nothing but warjacks is generally poor practice. You will need infantry of some type.

Warmachine starts out relatively inexpensive. A 500 point army using the starter box can get you a fairly competitive army for cheap if you know what you're doing. But once you see all the cool warjacks and units out there, you'll be sorely tempted to expand, especially because of how radically different these things vary within a faction. It can get expensive real quick if you aren't careful.

acreedon wrote:Can someone give me a little information about war machine and how it is played? the models look really cool and it seems like you only need a few models to play the game, is this true? is it kind of like inquisitor but you control a war band instead of just one character? is it expensive to play?

SETTING:

Warmachine is a game set in a fantasy world in which magic, steam powered robots, mechanika (technology infused with magic), and guns play equal roles.

In this world powerful heros called Warcasters( equal parts warrior, wizard and general with a variety of abilities, spells, etc.) can control warjacks(steam powered robots) with their minds and command battlegroups of them.

Various nations are at war and their warcasters are at the forefront of said war


The GAME:

Warmachine is M:TG in miniatures form. That is it is a game that is often won or lost by your ability to build a synergistic list and being able to activate models in the right order to take advantage of said synergy to pull off combos. Those who excel at doing so have a distinct advantage.

Warcasters often dictate the feel and function of an army with the specific spells, abilites and feats they bring to the game. changing a warcaster can alter greatly how a specific list plays, and the beauty of Warmachine is this variety of play style within a given faction just by changing your warcaster.

Model count can vary depending on personal preference and play style: expect armies from 8-50 models depending on how you build your list. You cna go infantry heavy and have a lot or go warjack heavy and have a small list (yet still be competative). The fun is experimenting with different army builds and different caster combos with units, etc.

The MODELS:

Are awesome. Steam powered robots with all manner of guns and weapons being the highlight imho.

There are fake Russians, fake Imperial Germans, some undead Pirate Necromancer Dragon minions, and a brutal militant religion all using steam powered golem/robots and specialist troops and magical spells to fight each other.

There are also mercenaries including assassins, lots of pirates, mechanized dwarf forces, a lady necromancer and her risen hordes, some northern elves, and a few warcasters.

Then with Hordes you have sadistic fin-headed desert dwelling monster tamers, a much abused nation of quasi-scottish troll-like critters who aren't going to take much more abuse without retaliating, a bunch of druids and forest dwelling canabalistic babarian tirbes who all want to bring down civilization as violently as possible, and the mutated elf and ogre minions of ANOTHER dragon all using big critters ansd their anger to fight each other.

Hordes also has an equivalent of mercenaries including crocodile men, pig men, goblins, Ted Nugent, and some gill men.

Finally the newest army is a bunch of elves who think that warcasters and other human magic users are killing their god and causing them to be born soluless. They seem to be invading the big kingdoms.

palaeomerus wrote:There are fake Russians, fake Imperial Germans, some undead Pirate Necromancer Dragon minions, and a brutal militant religion all using steam powered golem/robots and specialist troops and magical spells to fight each other.

There are also mercenaries including assassins, lots of pirates, mechanized dwarf forces, a lady necromancer and her risen hordes, some northern elves, and a few warcasters.

Then with Hordes you have sadistic fin-headed desert dwelling monster tamers, a much abused nation of quasi-scottish troll-like critters who aren't going to take much more abuse without retaliating, a bunch of druids and forest dwelling canabalistic babarian tirbes who all want to bring down civilization as violently as possible, and the mutated elf and ogre minions of ANOTHER dragon all using big critters ansd their anger to fight each other.

Hordes also has an equivalent of mercenaries including crocodile men, pig men, goblins, Ted Nugent, and some gill men.

Finally the newest army is a bunch of elves who think that warcasters and other human magic users are killing their god and causing them to be born soluless. They seem to be invading the big kingdoms.

Absolutely incredible yet pretty much spot on. I liked Circle's reference the best.

It's the game of create as many combos as possible.

Don't let anyone fool you, Warmachine is just as expensive as Warhammer. Yes, you could just buy a battalion of Dark Elves and add a bit to have a decent 1k list, but who stops there? Same thing with Warmachine.

ah i see. i was kind of hoping it was like buy a box or two of guys and play like inquisitor

Kirbinator wrote:Don't let anyone fool you, Warmachine is just as expensive as Warhammer. Yes, you could just buy a battalion of Dark Elves and add a bit to have a decent 1k list, but who stops there? Same thing with Warmachine.

To start with: Nobody plays miniatures wargames because they are cheap.

With that out of the way: Many armies for WM are often built around stuff from Prime ( the original wave of WM models) to this day despite multiple exspansions. What that says is that while you might WANT the new toys, they are not required to be competitive nor to play. Any player able to practice self-control can play WM without breaking the bank.

WM's default game size is 500pts. Warhammer fantasy is 2000pts.

Those are the standard sizes people play.

Any 500pt. Warmachine army i can make is cheaper then any 2000pt. warhammer army. I challenge you to post retail prices for a 500pt. Warmachine army that is equal in cost to any 2000pt. warhammer army who's retail costs you care to post...

acreedon wrote:ah i see. i was kind of hoping it was like buy a box or two of guys and play like inquisitor

You can do that, but people rarely do. Most often they buy too much stuff, assemble and paint half of it, and play a third of it and then trade a few pieces.

Right now, both games are transitioning to Mk2 which is changing stuff around a bit and simplifying the rules. Now may not be the best time to jump in unless you just like the background and minis a lot.

But you certainly can play the game as a warband game and several of the books have scenarioes.

You start with a warcaster or warlock and then "hang" limited numbers of Warbeasts/Jacks (the big harder to kill pounders), units(groups of multiple figures with a commander), and solos( usually just one guy) on him and then add attachements to the units to improve them. Each unit, jack/warbeast, or solo has something they do well like shoot, snipe, repair, ambush, melee, cause fear, throw barrage templates, etc. The Warcaster can usually enhance their abilities in some way when they are near him/her, can cast spells, shoot, fight, and they have a trick called a feat that they can play once per game which does something advantageous for his side. Warcasters have normal or epic versions with different powers that represent the same caracter. An epic warcaster must be in an army of at least 750 points and cannot be in the same army as their normal version (since both versions are the same person). The game starts out around 250 points (which is a starter box set including a warcaster roughly). Next is 500 points witch is a single warcaster and some units. At 1000 points you cam have a second warcaster. Changing only the warcaster but leaving the units the same can greatly change your army's abilities. Killing the opposing warcaster(s) usually ends the game.

Here's a page with some Warmachine quickstart rules and demo cards to let you try it out. It is basically a Cygnar box set (shooty merchantalist empire ) vs. a Menoth Box set (evil kill-church). Each is one warcaster and three jacks (the golems/robots).

http://privateerpress.com/warmachine/the-game

Here's the same for Hordes (the monster version). It's the Circle (druid) box set vs. the Trollkins (the uh..troll guys) box set.

http://privateerpress.com/hordes/the-game

Good luck!

Yes you can change just the caster to change the army, but very few players stop there.

If you build an army around one caster, there will be certain combos and tactics to use with certain units.

If you change the caster, you affect which combos/tactics/units are the most effective.

The cheapest army will probably be at least $100. And that would be a starter box, a couple solos (individuals that are not usually warcasters), and a unit.

Depending on the points, you may want to add unit attachments (Officers and Standard Bearers, or weapons like chain guns or mortars).

Its really fun.

Thanks guys

FYI (In case you don't know): A second edition of Warmachine is coming in January called "MKII".

I wouldn't go out and buy all the current books and so forth now as they will be null and void rules/stats-wise come then.

A couple guys have bought books at the FLGS with full knowledge of MKII, but
they were interested in seeing if the background was something they
wanted to keep up with.