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Hello, I'm a long time 40k player, looking to make the jump to Fantasy. The game's taken off at my FLGS with the End Times, so I figure why not.

The two armies that interest me, just off looks, are Empire and Wood Elves, Wood Elves more so. From what I've heard they can be similar to Blood Angels, being a fast army that hits hard. Apparently they can grow a forest too?

Empire sounds interesting, are they equivalent to Astra Millitarum? Lots of expendable soldiers and big war weapons?

Just hunting general starting advice for the game, with either of these armies. What is the standard game size for Australia? What would an army list of that size include for either army? And how would either army play?

Any advice would be much appreciated Thanks

If your picking an Army based off of their 40K counter parts you are looking for trouble. Fantasy is very different from 40K due to Fantasy being Melee orientated and 40K being shooting. It is extremely rare to be able to shoot an entire unit off of the table, and a weapon will rarely deny all saves as well. Don't even get me started on how magic and movement change the game. And also FTR Wood Elves are more like Dark Eldar, they are the fastest army in the game with good shooting and close combat, but they cannot take a punch in the slightest (No 3+ save for you!)

If your looking for general advise, an Empire list revolves around Synargy. Your basic units are terrible, but stick a Priest and a BSB and a Magic Buff on them and they can take on everything. Your Warmachines are great, you don't have to fear monsters. Your magic is muted, or at least doesn't hold up to the big boys. A Great army for a Beginner trying to learn the basics of 40K, because they are easy to play, but have a steep learning curve to be great.

A Wood Elf list, no matter if it is shooty or Combat-y, revolves completely around movement. Fantasy movement is MUCH more difficult then 40K movement, in Fantasy i would say the movement phase wins games much more then any other phase. Your magic is great, they can sock it out with Daemons and other Elves. You have not the best shooting in the game, but the fastest and most specialized. And most importantly you can make almost an entire army of model that move 9 inches or more. Not a great army for Beginners, but once you get the knack for movement everything else will fall into place.

Games are played between 1500-2400 usually, depending on how much time you have.

All good advice, thank you

Priests sound really cool, would they be a good first model for an Empire Army to jump in with?

How good is a Spellweaver for Wood Elves? The model looks cool and I'd like to start with a good HQ.

Pretty much essential by most accounts- She can have any of the rulebook schools of magic and access to both high or dark magic- with a bonus to cast any spell in a wood!
This is just as well really, because normal combat lords tend to be pretty weak in the Woodies.