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So, I know there is a new ruleset coming out in January, but I'm probably going to pickup some models during the boxing day sales.

Anyways, I'm having a little trouble figuring out the "scale" of the game. What I mean is, I don't really know what an average stat is (like how in 40k you can figure MEQ is average and anything weaker/stronger than that is weak/strong). For instance, what is an average SPD or MAT? Also, I'm trying to figure out how the playstyles of the various factions differ. In very broad terms, could you describe the various factions playstyles?

"Average" SPD is 6.

Since you're rolling two dice to hit, assume that average dice is 7.

MAT or RAT 6 hits DEF 13 half the time. These stats are "average".

Any difference between attacker's and target's stats changes this relationship.
MAT 7, 8, 9 are veteran/elite level close combat troops. DEF 14,15, 16 are sneaky hard
to hit gits.

ARM 13 is standard average infantry armor. Armored infantry can trend up from
14 all the way up to 18. Warjacks and Warbeasts tend to start higher and go up from there.

Broadest terms:

Cygnar: Shooting, expensive troops.
Khador: Specialist troops, armor and strength.
Cryx: Speed and debuff.
Menoth: Attrition/Death triggers and synergy
Searforge: Steady advance (haven't tried mine yet).

I'd say average spd is 5. A lot of infantry are 5, some 4, lots 6, few 7. Jacks are 5, slowest 4, fastest 6 [dervish, cygnar lights].

A very few warjacks are SPD 7 (BONE CHICKENS)

What were some of the "must have" units for MK1?

shaarn wrote:What were some of the "must have" units for MK1?

For Khador: Beast 09, IFP, Widowmakers, mortar, Kovnik (well, in an Irusk army at least). Kodiak and Spriggan (and the Destroyer) all had their days in the sun.

syr8766 wrote:

shaarn wrote:What were some of the "must have" units for MK1?

For Khador: Beast 09, IFP, Widowmakers, mortar, Kovnik (well, in an Irusk army at least). Kodiak and Spriggan (and the Destroyer) all had their days in the sun.

For Khador I would say: Beast, Widowmakers, Behemoth, Destroyer, GLT and as a personal choice - Demo Corps.

In regards to what each army specialises in:

Retribution: Versatility. Nearly every entry in the book can do two things well.

it might be worth looking into Hordes too, its like warmachine but uses a Fury system instead of focus, and your warjacks are Warbeasts. all the basics are still the same and completely compatible with warmachine.

but they are currently going through their field testing for the new MK 2 version of the game. so probably not the best time to start, as you'll start learning and then everthing changes lol, unless you learn the mk2 rules first .

as a few have said about Khador things, and being a menoth player i shall try to explain a bit about them.

Pretty much, Protectorate of menoth are a bunch of people who worship menoth! a totally awesome god who invented mankind.
they arent bad, but they are generally slower, worse at ranged, but are just behind khador in terms of Strength.

they are like Obi-wan ''If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.''
as they have lots of synergies where their own models dying helps them out. main example is Knight exemplar (my favorite) when you kill one, his buddies get stronger. and when you get to the last guy, he is stronger then a warjack

But their main big thing is denial. Due to all the support troops and units they have, More then any faction, your army has to be built around everything interacting with each other to make it really powerful either by buffing yourself up, or stopping enemys from attacking you.

sorry i dont know how to make it very broad as warmachine is a pretty complex thing

the best thing you can do is buy a battlebox for the faction you like the most of, and hopefully have a friend buy battlebox too, of one he likes, and just play it out.
Once you learn about the game from the battlebox you should understand enough to see what kind of models you would need in however you would like to play.

Dont want to make it look very complicated though lol, the game is easy to learn but hard to master
we've managed to teach alot of kids how to play in demo games in our LGS so you should be fine

So what would you say were the must have units for Cygnar and Cryx?

For Cygnar? Most likely the Centurion, Storm Blades, trenchers, Junior warcaster, Defender, Strangeways (I think?), Lancer (if you need an arc node), Gunmage Captain Adept. Oh, and the squire.

Something like that.

Depends on the caster first.

Centurion is very defensive, but its polarity shield (or whatever) makes it very
slow to move around the map if you want to keep its buffs.

shaarn wrote:So what would you say were the must have units for Cygnar and Cryx?

The beauty of the system is that there are NO "must have" units/models. Maybe some are better than other but you can ALWAYS build your army around models you just like.

syr8766 wrote:Most likely the Centurion

a 4" speed model in an army that moves 5"+...

syr8766 wrote:Defender

One-shot 9pts model while for 7 pts you can get an Ironclad?

syr8766 wrote:Gunmage Captain Adept

3pts solo that can kill... something... sometimes... for the same price as p/eEiryss...

My advice is: There are NO "must have" units in that system. Read the rules. Take whatever suits your style of playing. Never, ever think anything is a "must have".

My advice is: There are NO "must have" units in that system. Read the rules. Take whatever suits your style of playing. Never, ever think anything is a "must have".

But it looks like you are saying that there are some "do not take" units based upon the comparisons in your previous post. What are some units that are pretty much universally regarded as sub-par.

I would buy the starter box that you like the look of the most.

Play at least 5-6 games with these only
This will give you a feel for the stats and what possibilities there are in the game.
Then figure out where your force's weaknesses are and decide which units you want to shore that up.

When I started I bought the Cryx starter, then some Nightwretch bonejacks.
And the Skarlock, jsut cuz it looked cool. Then I learned it was awesome.
I liked the Undead Pirate theme so I bought the Revenant Pirates, Rengrave, and Pistol Wraiths.
Then I found out that they can rip apart most regular infantry, but cannot handle heavy stuff.

So now I switch between a second Slayer or Bane Thralls for an additional heavy hitter threat.
And I add in Black Ogrun when I want a solid meatshield for my caster.
My list is by no means optimal, but I feel like I have something to deal with anything that might be thrown at me.

Some match-ups are still tough, but I have never been one to tailor a list to my opponent.
Khador in particular can give me fits.

This was how I went about creating my force. YMMV.

shaarn wrote:But it looks like you are saying that there are some "do not take" units based upon the comparisons in your previous post. What are some units that are pretty much universally regarded as sub-par.

I was rather trying to show why they're not must haves. All of the above models can be really good in certain armylists and really bad in others. If you ask me what models are "regarded as sub-par" my answer will be: don't do it. WM is not like the other systems. It is all about the right combination of caster/feat/models/abilities in an armylist. If you build it right, you can win using models/units that other think are useless.

To expound on what mazgier is saying. In WM/H the 'caster is what makes your army, so each 'caster might have their own must haves, but no faction has must haves for every 'caster. And often a 'caster can make something that seems useless on its own into something great.

To further elaborate on the two answers above, Centurion's downfall is it's speed while upkeeping the polarity shield. If you have a caster that is able to speed it up that doesn't matter too much.

In addition it is a rock on defence with the shield powered up. If your list is relying on giving ranged punishment to enemy and them answering with counter punch it is worth to consider centurion.

There are very few subpar units in WM/Hordes GMCA is close to one as Black 13th is not much more expensive but has 4 times the firepower and more.