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Hey Im new to Privateer Press and was wondering army is best for a beginner, i've narrowed it down to 2 choices i like the aesthetics of:

1 - Protectorate of Menoth: Dont like Cinerators, bastions, feora

2 - Circle of Orboros: I only like Baldur Stonecleaver, megalith, Wold stuff, Wolves, Reeves, Druids, Stonekeeper, stoneward + woldstalkers, Lord of Feast, Mannikins


Bearing in mind my preferences, which army would be easies to use/learn?? Would the circle choices ive picked actually be any good?


Thanks for any help,

Vitruvian

Based on your Prot preferences, most styles of Menoth will be fine for you. You don't need
Bastions, Cinerators are corner case (though I'm the opposite and own two units of
the Cinerators), and Feora is not required to play.

For circle, if that's all you really like you're going to be more limited in what you can field.

Playstyle, Protectorate you lose a glass cannon warcaster, and two defensive unit
options. However, the defensive units can easily be replaced by other infantry options
such as the Temple Flameguard. There are also lots of other infantry options to
choose from in general with protectorate.

For Circle, only liking Baldur will be very limiting. I don't know how good he
is these days, so I'll let others comment on that.

Something else that should factor into your decision is the fundamental differences between Warmachine and Hordes: namely, Focus VS Fury.

Gearjock on Youtube recently posted some introductory videos on Warmahordes that might help you decide:

Focus
Fury

Which mechanic do you prefer? In general, Focus is easier for newcomers to wrap their minds around, but Fury isn't that complicated.

BTW, you can put a very satisfying Baldur/Constructs list together for Circle. Admittedly, you're more limited in what you like for the faction, but if you prefer the Fury mechanic, you're also going to find it much easier to build a Circle list with more limited choices.

Cheers guys,thanks for the heads up. Ill check those vids soon. Guess i need to do a bit more thinking!

Vitruvian XVII wrote:2 - Circle of Orboros: I only like Baldur Stonecleaver, megalith, Wold stuff, Wolves, Reeves, Druids, Stonekeeper, stoneward + woldstalkers, Lord of Feast, Mannikins

I see a Baldur theme list in your future.

Ive seen a few of those tier list things on BOLS, is there anything like that for Baldur??

Yes, it's in the Circle book. You can only take Construct Warbeasts, Druids and Stones. To get to tier 4 you need to take the following:

Shifting Stones (Stone Keeper optional)
Sentry Stone & Mannikins
Stoneward & Woldstalkers (2 units of them)
Megalith (Heavy Warbeasts cost -1 point)

Malfred tipped me onto not really going for a theme list at first- they're pretty limited and sometimes call for repeat units (stoneward & woldstalkers above) which when starting out you generally want one of each unit in most cases, rather than repeats.

I'm super tempted by Circle with Baldur and wolds, and some of their other units, too. I love their look! So if you do start 'em, you would be required to post pics

Thanks George,i shal put the book on my 'to buy' list.

@ RiTides: Thats good advice cheers.

Turns out one of my mates has lready bought some Menoth models so it looks lie its Circle for me! (RiTides, when i get the models i'll put them in my random blog in my sig)

Was also wondering, how well does Hordes integrate with Warmachine. I'll be the only Hordes player in my area so just want to check if I can play without causing any problems before buying the models!!

Just be careful to read the rules when playing. Some abilities will mess up
models with fury, some will mess up models with focus, and some will
mess with both. In all cases, if you read the actual wording, you should
be able to figure it out.

Vitruvian XVII wrote:
Was also wondering, how well does Hordes integrate with Warmachine. I'll be the only Hordes player in my area so just want to check if I can play without causing any problems before buying the models!!

Hordes and Warmachine were designed to be fully compatible, so no worries there.

As Malfred pointed out, some models were designed more to fight against Warmachine models, and some to fight against Hordes. This doesn't mean that they can only be used against models of that game; they're just more effective that way. Like the (very situational) Trollkin Skinner. One of his abilities is "Dismember," which gives him an extra damage die against warbeasts. While the model does have other abilities, he's still going to be pretty much wasted points if you're using him against a Warmachine army, as they don't have warbeasts.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
BTW, this is probably obvious, but: Be sure to buy Hordes Primal MkII for your rulebook if you're going to play Circle, not Warmachine Prime MkII.

While a lot of the rules are written exactly the same, you'll need the specific rules on how to use and manage Fury, as well as warbeast "animi"(which are spells unique to each warbeast which can be cast by either the warbeast, or the warcaster that controls the warbeast).

Thanks for the reassurance guys. And lol, yeah i realised the rulebooks were different!! Appreciate you pointing it out though

Thanks for all your help, If i get around to putting my minis here on dakka i will make sure to let you know!


edit: One more thing. Im going to buy Baldur, whats the best choices to get for a small force (a bit bigger than battle box size)? I have no idea what im doing yet, maybe a few light, a heavy or 2 and a unit or two? Cheers in advance.

Once you get past Battle Box size, Warmachine/Hordes games are usually played at 15, 25,35 and 50 pt games. There are larger games, but those are the most commonly played point sizes.

Here's an idea for progression:

At 15 pts:
Baldur
Woldwarden
Woldwyrd
Druids

At 25 pts add:
Druids overseer (UA)
Lord of the Feast
Shifting Stones
Stonekeeper
(this actually clocks in at 24 pts, but you'll see why in the 35pt list)

At 35 pts add:
Megalith. He's 11 pts, but he's going to be your go-to construct for Baldur.

Going up to 50 pts, look at troops like the Wolves and the Reeves, maybe even Skinwalkers if you like them.

An 11 point model? Good god

He's probably worth it. I went against a list with him in it a few weeks ago in a tourney. That ugly son of a bitch shrugged off rounds from my Defender and just kept coming.

Combined with his ability to cast his Warlock's spells and healing himself every round... he's tough to deal with.

Baldur and megalith are great , both can heal, and baldur excels with other constructs woldwylds are a must, and megalith is worth it, ive painted him at least 2 times (for commissions), though if i was to use him for myself id repose it

Iv got about £100 for my starting budget. Got Hordes MkII already (very nice read), will obviously have to buy Forces of Hordes Circle, so that leaves me about £80.

Was thinking of:

Baldur
Megalith
Shifting Stones
Stonekeeper
Woldwarden
Woldwatcher
Wold Guardian

Those are the ones that seem coolest to me, though i have no idea whether they're any good apart from the stuff listed in the Hordes book.

Id be quite happy to swap out some stuff for Woldwyrds, Stoneward + Woldstalkers, Reeves or Lord of the Feast.

Bloodtrackers are really good with Baldur, because of the Stone Skin spell which will buff their ranged attack, so you're looking at STR 11/13 weapon master ranged attacks. You can later charge with the Megalith or Woldwarden and bounce around Stone Skin with their Geomancy abilities. Pretty nasty stuff

I think for 25 pts im gonna go with this:

Baldur
Woldwarden
Woldwatcher
Druids
Shifting Stones
Stonekeeper
Lord of the Feast

21pts w/out stonekeeper (dont know his points!)

For 35 id add a megalith prob, though after looking at Bloodtrackers theyre sounding mighty tempting!


Got a rules query though, if Druids cast 'Counter Magic' or 'Summon Vortex', does it happen automatically?? Cant see how you would roll for it if not.

Cheers.

Vitruvian XVII wrote:I think for 25 pts im gonna go with this:

Baldur
Woldwarden
Woldwatcher
Druids
Shifting Stones
Stonekeeper
Lord of the Feast

21pts w/out stonekeeper (dont know his points!)

I'd go with a WoldGuardian and a WoldWyrd for the same points. The Stonekeeper is one point that leaves you three points to spare.

Druids do indeed cast spells 'automatically'. They cast spells as their action.

WoldGuardian and Woldwyrd instead of warden and watcher?

Thats pretty cool aout the druids, still have to roll magic attack to hit for the other two though right?

WoldGuardian can do combat just as well as the WoldWarden if not better. Your druids will drag in enemies to help mitigate his low speed. His animus will make him and Baldur pretty much immune to shooting. You will lose out on the free spell each turn though.

The WoldWyrd has more fury than the Woldwatcher, can disrupt enemy magic and gives you three magical ranged attacks every turn.

The druids need to roll to hit if they target an ememy model.

I would guess if you started Circle the other Warlocks and units would grow on you.

Thanks George, ill bear that advice in mind.

@Taco: I hope that was a meaningful comment and not just a really poor attempt at a joke

I already think the Tharn bloodrackers are pretty cool, think i just need to play a few games first.

Thanks for all your help guys!

With Tacobake, it's usually something in-between

Ah, the Circle models look so cool to me! And I had a similar thought process- at first only attracted to the Wolds, then the Lord of the Feast, bloodtrackers, wolf-riding bloodtrackers (not sure of the name) all started looking more and more awesome...

But thankfully, I have enough trolls to assemble / paint that I'm not going to be too tempted!

I had heard (very, very vaguely... I believe from this Battle College page that people have warned me to be wary of trusting! but have helped me somewhat) that the Wold Guardian was not the best fit for Baldur, at least nothing like Megalith.

The same source tells me that the Wold Warden is excellent, but the Wold Watcher may not be. Again, take with lots of salt (pour it on, really) but those pages have helped me get a grasp on the basics and then reading through the PP forums (plus now finally having gotten several games in!) is helping me understand a bit more on what works together best (for trollbloods in my case, but I looked at Circle, too).

Ah, the Circle models look so cool to me! And I had a similar thought process- at first only attracted to the Wolds, then the Lord of the Feast, bloodtrackers, wolf-riding bloodtrackers (not sure of the name) all started looking more and more awesome...

Wolf Riders, appropriately enough.

I'd pretty much ignore virtually all strategy from Battle College. The Watcher is an excellent defensive light warbeast, due to the combination of Shield Guard and Stone Form, which lets it intercept incoming attacks and shrug them off due to its absurdly high armor. A nifty ranged attack on the thing as well, which lets it actually do something from the back ranks.

The Watcher is also an excellent warbeast, both offensively and defensively. A bit slow in a faction with few mobility boosts, but it hits extraordinarily hard and is very difficult to kill on the way in due to its animus (1 less die on ranged damage rolls against it). Hell, the thing is worth its point cost for the animus alone, IMO.

Thanks for all the help, ive started a circle blog here:

Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Circle Orboros by Vitruvian


Cheers,

Vitruvian

Just putting my 1.8 US cents in (Thats approximately something + something else for those in other nations):
I'm getting Cygnar because I like the mechanics of Warmachine.
I'm getting into Circle later because I like the theme.
Just something to continue. On a basic level, what of each faction/game appeals to you?

Cryx is my main, most of the model line I like.
Menoth: Paladins and Vilmon, nuff said.
Khador: I like most of the casters, just not the rest of the faction models, except Fenris
Cygnar: I like Siege, eStryker, and Kraye, and Defender, I don't like anything else in the model line.
Retribution: I like Garryth, MHSF, MHA, Sentinals, but not really looking for 'angry elves'.
Mercs: I like Shae and Ashy, but they both don't work for cryx, so that's a 'no' from me. I don't like pMag's model, but if I did go merc, I'd go with him...alot of the units and solos are nifty, while the only jack I like modelwise are the Vanguard and the Freebooter.

Skorne: is my second army, I'm only going for an eMorg themed list, just for looks... and IMPERIAL ASSASSINS, is too good of a name to pass up
Circle: I like Mohsar...and that's about it...
Legion: I like eLylyth and Ryhas, only beasts I like are the Raek and Protector, while I don't like any of the infantry (hex hunters are new, but I'm meh about them).
Trollbloods: I like Grim and Fennblades...and that's about it...but I was heavily debating between Skorne and trollbloods when I wanted something hordes.
Minions: I'm meh about the whole thing, but I do very much like Wrongeye and Snapjaw model wise and rules wise.

I have cryx and skorne, my next decision is between the following:
Grim Angus vs. eLylyth, but this would be a ways away, gotta paint the stuff I already have first

I have cryx and skorne, my next decision is between the following:
Grim Angus vs. eLylyth, but this would be a ways away, gotta paint the stuff I already have first

I always tell myself that too