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I've been playing 40k for a little over a year now and I like it a lot. So, I have decided to try Fantasy as well. What I would like to know is some Fantasy players opinions about the different Fantasy Armies. Armies I;m interested in include; Beastmen, High Elves, Ogre Kingdoms, Tomb Kings, and Warriors of Chaos, but I would love to here about any army. What I'm really interested in is how it plays on the table. What does the army tend to be good at and what does it tend to be bad at? Don't need an detailed tactics, just a basic summary from experienced gamers standpoint. Thanks a lot for your help!

I'm no expert on all the intricacies of a couple of these armies, but basic strat/style summaries are fairly easy...also w/ each army's main site!

Beastmen - http://z2.invisionfree.com/herdstone/ - decent magic, solid in close combat due to primal fury, somewhat horde-y with gors/ungors, can go super elite w/ minotaurs. large monsters really overpriced/underwhelming

HE - http://www.ulthuan.net/ - great magic, Teclis can put this army over the top w/ his demigod magic. Elite CC troops, particularly in the Special category. Fast army, has ASF across the board. Solid shooting.

Ogres - http://www.ogrestronghold.com/ - Low model count (1 ogre is like 30 pts). Can play a bull-rush/charge style or more tactically w/ gnoblars and sabretusks (I hear those are now "mandatory" units). High movement, but slow in combat.

TK - http://z4.invisionfree.com/Khemri/index.php?act=site - slow movers (no marching), has resurrection magic for all those dead skellies...which do die easily. Can field lots of monsters and can have solid shooting.

WoC - http://s4.zetaboards.com/cotec/index/ - Strong army. I'd think most would argue the most forgiving army in the game. Elite troops, lots of magic options.

There is a wide array of things to consider, regarding your playstyle preferences - shooting, magic, cavalry, monsters, cc troops, speed, etc. Also, would competitiveness/strength of the army matter? Your results from playing TK probably won't be the same if you played WoC. Granted, while there is some parity in the game, some armies are simply "better" than others.

Being High Elves are on your list, I'd reccomend trying those first as they come in the starter set, which means you already get a decent whack of the models you want, with the books / etc you need.

Then once you've had a play with that it'll give you a better standpoint to expand / move onto your next force.

Having only just started Fantasy myself I don't really know much about each army personally, but I chose Skaven to start, partially because it appealed to the same part of me that collects Dark Eldar, and it was in the starter kit

Another reasonable option not on your list, but slightly sideways is Chaos Daemons.
By putting them on round bases and buying the LotR movemnt trays, you have an army that's suitable for both fantasy and 40k.

Thanks Dr. Cheesesteak for the sites. I love Chaos (I play Chaos Marines in 40k) but Im wondering if they are to similar. I have also heard that beastmen are very bad in general. I don't have a play style as I've nvr played Fantasy. I would like a competitive army but Im not a tournament player.

Play Wood Elves, they are broken.
In all seriousness, how do you game is whats important, Tomb kings have lots of cheap units that die in droves, but you just bring them back, cant tell you about the rest, don't play them.
Sorry I couldn't be more help

Woc are pretty solid for not needing to baby sit them with buff magic and such.

The link in my signature is for an intro to woc for players starting the army so you may want to have a look at that if the army interests you at all.

Im leaning towards WoC, but the only thing I'm not sure about is if they're are to similar to CSM in 40k and that I will lose interest.

The best army to start in fantasy would either be empire if you like hordes that are capable (all handgunners core is very good) or chaos warriors (fantasys answer to space marines) if you like elites. Ogre kingdoms can also be quite good if you like lots of monsters and don't want to paint a huge number of models

Personally out of the ones you listed I would go with either WoC or Beastmen. WoC as very forgiving, but as someone who has played against them they are not much fun in the hands of a WAAC player (if you are standing on the other side of the table). They are strong in most phases but are often looked at with a sour taste due to the cheese they can bring.

Beastmen on the other hand are very caplable in a couple of phases (Deployment, Movement, Magic, CC) they lack in the shooting phase. They die in droves as well, but with proper magic support they can be as choopy as they get. A horde of Gor's can output 40+ attacks at Str 4/5/6 very easily with just two spells and a proper BSB. I would qualify their CC as very effective. Magic can also be as potent. With the ability to take the Herdstone and 3 Lv 1/2's you can generate 3-4 Power dice before rolling for winds and channeling. So most of the time you will have a 3+ dice swing which is also very effective.

All in all I say go Beastmen.

Woc can be cheesey, but one can build a non cheesey strong army that people will play against.
They are quite forgiving too which is good for beginners.
Later on they have a ton of options so you can specialize you units or characters or not. There are lots of magic items from the chaos book alone, and each mark changes the personality of the character or the unit.
Another upside is you don't have to worry too much about buff magic since your warriors are better in cc than pretty much all races mix that with a crazy awesome statline and boom killing machines.
Also if you are worried about their lack of shooting don't be they have magic that makes up for that.