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Hey, I just started getting into warmachine(reading all over battlecollege, checked around a few forums) with my brother, and could use some help starting with our first lists. Right now I am saving up to get the rulebooks, and am working on detailed designs for warjacks. I could use some suggestions for 2 twenty point lists, and some general advice for both armies.

My brother is into a winter themed army. He wants any warcaster that can freeze enemy warjacks, and is interested in either a behemoth or devastator unless the learing curve would be too high.
Im interested in running prime nemo and a lancer and firefly with 3 stormsmiths.

Can someone please build a viable list based on these guidelines? Thanks for the help. Also, a question- when we expand our armies, I was looking at a storm strider. Can it be given focus or have beneficial spells cast on it? I am only interested in it to play exclusively with lightning, but willing to use defenders if the storm strider isn't very useful.

Well then first call would probably be pSorscha for your brother, simply because her feat is that everything gets frozen (well, enemies). Her epic version retains some of that ability, a bonded jack freezing things ending their activation (or is it movement) within a few inches (maybe 2?) and I think she retains her freezing spell but I'm not 100%.

And why 20 point lists? It is just an odd number, but if that is the norm for your area then thats ok.

Oh and saving up for rulebooks? The MkII main rulebook is the only one you need to get, as the faction books don't contain anything that the cards don't (apart from theme lists and fluff). As buggy as it sometimes is, War Room is a better one to pick up for just checking the rules of your faction, as well as the theme lists. However if it is the background that you are after, then the army books are a good idea.

Despite the fact I play Cygnar, I have never given the nemos half a look, so I can't help you with that list much, and I've never played Khador, so apart from my initial points on the Sorschas I probably can't help there too much either.

Well, I am going to be scratch building a lot of stuff, so I can't get the stat cards from the model kits. 20 point lists is so we can learn on the table in our basement before going to the store to play, which will probably get up to 25 or 25. Also, I don't want my brother to get crushed to bad(I am used to it) because I have been trying to get him into different war games for a few years, and war machine is going to be a fun game for him, hopefully getting his foot in the door for other games too. Also, scratch building will be a good way of getting him off the XBox(hmm, play black ops for an hour or finish my warjack so I can play at the next point level next week?) I will make sure he starts off just with the basic parts, the stuff that's not structural and can be covered up as sloppy welding, a battlefield patch, or covered by extra armor.

Can the storm strider use/be allocated focus? Thanks again.

Well War Room is basically digital cards. It is much cheaper than the book, and constantly updates the cards you'll be using/wanting for whichever factions you have bought. It would cost you 6 bucks for the Cygnar deck (or thereabouts) and you'll get more cards than are included in the book (since it doesn't update like war room) and can track damage/etc as if it was a card.

And no, it can't use/be allocated focus as it isn't a warjack. It is a Battle Engine. I can't remember 100% where the specific rules for those are, but I'm going to say that they are in Warmachine: Wrath I think?