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Yay! I finally got around to buying the 8th edition rulebook.

Still not sure what to play... at first I thought WoC but now I'm also considering HE or DE. Is there anything I should be mindful of when choosing an army? (actually I'll probably end up collecting a little bit of each.)

EDIT: actually... is this thread in the right place? Should I have put it in the Army List section or the tactics section?

EDIT2: Changed the title of the thread.

Only things you have to be somewhat mindful about when choosing an army is that

1.) You like the models and from a first glance the playstyle. For example, it makes not that much sense to start Skaven if you want reliable, non-random units.

2.) It´s not scheduled for release in the immediate future or an exceptionally old armybook. Wood Elves or Tomb Kings for example are very old allready and thus are below the current average power level for armies.

All of your armies are rather recent, so you can ignore #2.

Regarding the playstyle you have to know that WoC are tougher than DE or HE, but DE / HE are quicker. All three are quite good at magic. WoC lack shooting as well.

IMO the most important factor when choosing an army is to pick one whose models and background get you excited and hold your interest. This is critical to sustain your focus and motivation in painting the army and learning to play it.

Folks who pick an army on a whim or because they heard it's powerful but who aren't genuinely into it rarely have the focus necessary to get good with an army or finish painting it.

Thanks for the input folks!

I think what I'm going to do is at least buy the army books and read through them.

No shooting for WoC is kind of tipping the scales more to playing an elf army though.

Unsolicited plug here, but ogre kingdoms are cheap cheap cheap to start, require much less models for assembly/painting, are very competitive in 8th (maybe not top tier, but very solid) and have one of the best battalion deals of any WHFB army (the absolute best from a pure $$$-savings standpoint, and it's all useful! you just have to convert the leadbelchers, which is easy with all the extra arms you get on bull and irongut sprues).

Monstrous infantry are Fun in 8th edition, as you get full attacks from the second rank. You can also throw your weight around and not get rolled over by enemy blocks as easily as an army like high elves will (unless you build/play them well, of course).

Buying ogres to use as chaos ogres for my WoC, I'm continually amazed by what a good deal their boxes are. 6 bulls for $40, or 4 Ironguts for the same price. Whereas for river trolls (which are admittedly a newer and very excellent sculpt) I pay $45 for 3! With much less extra bits to go around. You also get tons of gnoblars on the ogre sprues that you can use as their own unit!

So that ends my plug, but imho they're one of the most under-represented awesome armies in 8th edition, I can't figure out why more people haven't started them. Whereas by contrast, everywhere I've gone has been saturated with WoC players (out of 11 Dakkanauts playing at DakkaCon, 4 of us had them). WoC is awesome, but extremely common, and even moreso now that 8th edition allows some very powerful builds for them. Whereas Ogres got worlds better in 8th, but everyone had abandoned them in 7th and seemingly they are still a rare sight, at least at the stores / small tournies I've been to.

Well, it was worth a shot . Obviously they captivate my interest, so I believe what Mannahnin said is most important- you've got to really like the models/feel of an army to stick with it, otherwise you'll abandon it before really learning how to play it well or finishing painting it.

Grrr... Ogres were always one of those "hrm maybe" armies for me. Maybe I should give them a look and see about slapping together a 1-1.5K list for them. The models are big enough that I might try airbrushing for the first time.

The LAST thing I need is another army lurking about. But once I finish painting the HEs, TKs, and Night Goblin Armies, I'll look into the ogres.

Ogres are really fun to build and paint. They're also not that tedious as you'll probably only have some 20 or so models to paint in total, compared to the 100 or so for Skaven. Granted, they have more detail, but in the long run it's alot less tedious. They're also rather easy to convert (same principle as WH40K Orks basically).

The converting comparison to 40k orks is a good one... never thought of that! But you're right, for Ogres, slapping on various shaped pieces of scrap can look like armor they picked up, a weapon with strange spikes coming out of it is just their preferred club, etc. Makes it nice and easy not to mention flavorful.

Actually I kind of like the look of the Ogres... hmmm... maybe I'll consider them too... I love the Maneaters.

I don't think many people are keen painting models that look like the people you play against at the table.

I take you don't think he'd like to play skaven, then?

(Zing!)