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I've decided to take a peek around the corner of the Grim Dark Alley that is WH40k to see what this 'Age of Sigmar' is all about. Although, to be honest, I was more or less forced to do so by one of the friendly but little bit over-enthusiastic store owners of my FLGS, who had a lengthy chat with me about AOS and all it encompassed (seriously, he delayed my carefully constructed time table with an hour. So far for a quick visit to the FLGS )

Now, I have little to no experience with WHFB, nor with its... 'progeny' ('successor'? 'replacement'? I'm confused), so I'm pretty much a blank slate when it comes to the Old World. I do like some of the models though, some of them look absolutely amazing (I painted an Empire General for a friend a while back and I was surprised at how much detail it had), and if my attention wasn't already divided between Orks, Space Marines and the Spiky Space Marines, I'd definitely want to get more into it (read: buy models for it).

And with there being no restriction on how many models you take or what kind (except for what you agree with your opponent, naturally), it seems a lot easier to get into it from a 'financial' perspective.

So what I'm trying to say is: I'm interested in 'trying' AOS. (*shocked gasps from the audience*)

Problem is, I have no idea how to actually... 'do' that.

I've looked a bit at the range of models, and while Orcs (Goblins!) and Chaos Warriors (Blood for the Blood God!) would perhaps be obvious choices given my WH40k track record, I've found that the Vampire Counts are starting to grow on me. I like the idea of a Wight King leading armies of Grave guard and skeleton warriors to raid and pillage everything they can find because some gakker misplaced the Wight King's wife's skull and her headless body just won't stop nagging about it. (alright, I jest, I think skeletons in heavy armour just look awesome)

So I have the model part covered somewhat (or at least, I know where to begin - suggestions are welcome though), but the actual gaming part of it still eludes me somewhat. I understand the rules are available online, but as said, I have no real prior experience with this sort of thing, so seeing it 'in action' would probably help.

Which leads me to the question: what is the best way to 'get into' AOS? Should I try playing practice games at home, or should I just storm into the FLGS store and pray I don't embarrass myself in front of the people there?

Or, in other words, how does one best learn how to play AOS?

Find someone else who is new, and put models on the table. The box set has some scenarios that are pretty fair, and check out some battle reports online. The newest ones from miniwargaming.com are pretty good.

Welcome to the game! I played 40k, never wanted to play fantasy, now I have a second option on game night besides munchkin, and boardgames

Overall I would recommend (yes, by now it's just preaching on my end) giving this a shot - it's a leaked comp for GW store tournament. It tells you how to make armies and after a handful of games I can tell they're fairly balanced, and it's very easy to calculate it because your army size is decided by the pool of wounds. Along with little clarifications it makes the game much more playable and gives you some guidelines. Also great changes to shooting there.

Grab a friend, make 50 wound armies (very nice for starters - that's basically the size of the starter armies in AoS box - 47 wounds on Sigmarines side), look what best suits your playstyle, what synergies you have (general's skills sometimes refer to particular unit keyword, making, for example, black orcs better, or goblins, or something else, you get the gist) and then... play. And use terrain. Seriously - this game is a skirmish now - it's a sin to not use some sweet terrain for your loose troops to navigate between and over!

Watch the tabletopminis battle reports on YouTube. They go through the scenarios from the starter books, which begin as basic as you can get (one model vs one model). They do a good job introducing the gameplay and I found the videos pretty well done (perhaps except the constant background music).

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

I've been looking at the models some more, and decided to go for a Wights-only party, as in, an army composed of mostly skeletons (for fluffy reasons, and because I like their models). Which means my force would probably look a bit like this:

1x Wight King
1 x Grave Guard
1x Black Knights
1x Skeleton Warriors

However, I've noticed that the Vampire Counts don't seem to have any archers or ranged combatants, which is rather disappointing, because skeleton archers just sound like fun (you ran out of arrows? No problem! Just grab one of Jimmy's bones and use that instead!). Of course, I could be wrong, so if anyone could clarify this a bit, that'd be great.

Also, I've been looking at the Mounted Wight King's model and.... why in the seven hells has it not been resculpted?! The current sculpt is probably the same age as the Wight King it's supposed to portray, which of course has its merits, but if that thing is supposed to be the center piece of my army, I'd rather convert one myself than use an ancient (although strangely appealing) one. I mean, the not-mounted version looks pretty damn awesome, and I'd like my mounted Wight King to look equally awesome.

So if anyone could point me in the right direction for how to a kitbash a Mounted Wight King, that would be great

Hexwraiths have cloaked legs IIRC? Could probably kitbash one of those into a mounted Wight?

If you're starting out, I would recommend using scenarios rather than a pitched battle type game.
Reason being you're obviously a cinematic-style gamer, so the narrative is easier to forge.
The other thing I've found with the scenarios is it's quicker to pick up on relative strengths and weaknesses of your units; because you have a specific aim in order to win rather than just tabling someone, every turn becomes a (frequently painful) lesson in finding the right tool for the job.

The vampire counts have a lot of spellcasters and models that restore lost wounds and models. I think they are going for more swarm tactics...

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:
I was more or less forced to do so

Was a gun put to your head? Was the family threatened? Maybe some blackmail? Geez, even Games-Workshop doesn't force us to by their products. Sorry to hear you were forced.

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:
I've found that the Vampire Counts are starting to grow on me. I like the idea of a Wight King leading armies of Grave guard and skeleton warriors

So I have the model part covered somewhat (or at least, I know where to begin - suggestions are welcome though), but the actual gaming part of it still eludes me somewhat. I understand the rules are available online, but as said, I have no real prior experience with this sort of thing, so seeing it 'in action' would probably help.

what is the best way to 'get into' AOS? Should I try playing practice games at home, or should I just storm into the FLGS store and pray I don't embarrass myself in front of the people there?

If you like Vampire Counts, then that is what you should get. VC haven't been in a WFB starter pack for as long as I can recall, so I'd check eBay to see if some disgruntled WFB8 VC player is rage-quitting and selling their army at a significant price discount. Structurally, you'll want a Hero (Wight King) leading a couple blocks of infantry (Grave Guard & Skeletons) to start. Add a Wizard and a Monster, along with some fast movers for variety. Maybe even units of Zombies & Ghouls down the road.

As for playing, I'd read the rulebook (all 4 pages!), download your warscrolls, print the relevant ones, and work through basic movement / shooting / fighting at home. Then march in and look for an intro game. Fortunately, there isn't that much to mess up. And best, you don't have 10+ years of bad habits to break, nor unmet expectations to undo.

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:
Thanks for the advice, everyone!

I've been looking at the models some more, and decided to go for a Wights-only party, as in, an army composed of mostly skeletons (for fluffy reasons, and because I like their models). Which means my force would probably look a bit like this:

1x Wight King
1 x Grave Guard
1x Black Knights
1x Skeleton Warriors

However, I've noticed that the Vampire Counts don't seem to have any archers or ranged combatants, which is rather disappointing, because skeleton archers just sound like fun (you ran out of arrows? No problem! Just grab one of Jimmy's bones and use that instead!). Of course, I could be wrong, so if anyone could clarify this a bit, that'd be great.

Also, I've been looking at the Mounted Wight King's model and.... why in the seven hells has it not been resculpted?! The current sculpt is probably the same age as the Wight King it's supposed to portray, which of course has its merits, but if that thing is supposed to be the center piece of my army, I'd rather convert one myself than use an ancient (although strangely appealing) one. I mean, the not-mounted version looks pretty damn awesome, and I'd like my mounted Wight King to look equally awesome.

So if anyone could point me in the right direction for how to a kitbash a Mounted Wight King, that would be great

vampire counts do not have archers, BUT tomb kings do, they have normal and horse archers, you can take them... and since tomb king skellies share the same keywords you can still use your necromancer/wights on them for support/hero phase etc... you can even take CHARIOTS :O and even a BONE GIANT

Well, I'd consider the Khorne units and models in the starter box.
It gives you a starter army of about 50 wounds.
The Khorne models there are really nice.
I don't like the look of most of the older Fantasy models.

A very, very quick message to help, regarding Painting.

To save you time, effort, yet look really good, please see this trick: http://www.beastsofwar.com/games-workshop-painting-tutorial/simple-effective-paint-scheme/

I've done it myself. Long story short - spray with a white basecoat (I used a simple Japanese brand myself), then wash with Nihilakh Oxide from GW. I skipped even the drybrushing because I think it made it look worse IMHO. Very effective, very impressive, extremely fast.

I'm just like you, Ezra. I play 40k, was curious about AoS, chose Undead (mainly due to their excellent End Times story), found this extremely effective painting method, was very pleased.

There's a similar thing done with the desert stuff, white with a light tan wash. Both are fast and good.

RoperPG wrote:Hexwraiths have cloaked legs IIRC? Could probably kitbash one of those into a mounted Wight?

If you're starting out, I would recommend using scenarios rather than a pitched battle type game.
Reason being you're obviously a cinematic-style gamer, so the narrative is easier to forge.
The other thing I've found with the scenarios is it's quicker to pick up on relative strengths and weaknesses of your units; because you have a specific aim in order to win rather than just tabling someone, every turn becomes a (frequently painful) lesson in finding the right tool for the job.

Those Hexwraiths may indeed be the solution, I'll definitely look into them when I get my hands on their kit

Lythrandire Biehrellian wrote:The vampire counts have a lot of spellcasters and models that restore lost wounds and models. I think they are going for more swarm tactics...

The guy from the FLGS said something along those lines as well, with the VC summoning more skeletons each turn and such. That doesn't really appeal to me, to be honest, because A. I'd have to buy even MORE skeletons (my wallet! somebody save my poor wallet!) and B. it just doesn't make much sense to me from a fluff perspective; I mean, it's not like the Wight King keeps some spare skeleton warriors in his basement which he can magically teleport to the battlefield whenever he needs them. My Wight King's an honorable not-man, such tactics are beneath him

Davor wrote:

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:
I was more or less forced to do so

Was a gun put to your head? Was the family threatened? Maybe some blackmail? Geez, even Games-Workshop doesn't force us to by their products. Sorry to hear you were forced.

Haha Okay, I admit, "forced" is a bit exaggerated; the guy of the FLGS was just so enthusiastic about AOS that I felt morally obliged to at least see what it was about My family and myself are still safe and sound, thank you for your concern

bitethythumb wrote:

Spoiler:

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:
Thanks for the advice, everyone!

I've been looking at the models some more, and decided to go for a Wights-only party, as in, an army composed of mostly skeletons (for fluffy reasons, and because I like their models). Which means my force would probably look a bit like this:

1x Wight King
1 x Grave Guard
1x Black Knights
1x Skeleton Warriors

However, I've noticed that the Vampire Counts don't seem to have any archers or ranged combatants, which is rather disappointing, because skeleton archers just sound like fun (you ran out of arrows? No problem! Just grab one of Jimmy's bones and use that instead!). Of course, I could be wrong, so if anyone could clarify this a bit, that'd be great.

Also, I've been looking at the Mounted Wight King's model and.... why in the seven hells has it not been resculpted?! The current sculpt is probably the same age as the Wight King it's supposed to portray, which of course has its merits, but if that thing is supposed to be the center piece of my army, I'd rather convert one myself than use an ancient (although strangely appealing) one. I mean, the not-mounted version looks pretty damn awesome, and I'd like my mounted Wight King to look equally awesome.

So if anyone could point me in the right direction for how to a kitbash a Mounted Wight King, that would be great

vampire counts do not have archers, BUT tomb kings do, they have normal and horse archers, you can take them... and since tomb king skellies share the same keywords you can still use your necromancer/wights on them for support/hero phase etc... you can even take CHARIOTS :O and even a BONE GIANT

Ah yes, I've just found the Tomb Kings archers on the GW site, they certainly look like they would do the trick; they do look a bit different than the other skeletons though, so I'd have to convert them to make them fit in a bit more I think.... maybe I could combine the archer bits of the TK with the VC skeleton warrior parts?

Also, that Bone Giant looks pretty cool, but I think it'd be quite difficult to convert it into something more VC-y.... and it's quite expensive

Kommissar Waaaghrick wrote:A very, very quick message to help, regarding Painting.

To save you time, effort, yet look really good, please see this trick: http://www.beastsofwar.com/games-workshop-painting-tutorial/simple-effective-paint-scheme/

I've done it myself. Long story short - spray with a white basecoat (I used a simple Japanese brand myself), then wash with Nihilakh Oxide from GW. I skipped even the drybrushing because I think it made it look worse IMHO. Very effective, very impressive, extremely fast.

I'm just like you, Ezra. I play 40k, was curious about AoS, chose Undead (mainly due to their excellent End Times story), found this extremely effective painting method, was very pleased.

That paint scheme looks pretty awesome indeed! I'll definitely look into that technique in the future

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:

RoperPG wrote:Hexwraiths have cloaked legs IIRC? Could probably kitbash one of those into a mounted Wight?

If you're starting out, I would recommend using scenarios rather than a pitched battle type game.
Reason being you're obviously a cinematic-style gamer, so the narrative is easier to forge.
The other thing I've found with the scenarios is it's quicker to pick up on relative strengths and weaknesses of your units; because you have a specific aim in order to win rather than just tabling someone, every turn becomes a (frequently painful) lesson in finding the right tool for the job.

Those Hexwraiths may indeed be the solution, I'll definitely look into them when I get my hands on their kit

Lythrandire Biehrellian wrote:The vampire counts have a lot of spellcasters and models that restore lost wounds and models. I think they are going for more swarm tactics...

The guy from the FLGS said something along those lines as well, with the VC summoning more skeletons each turn and such. That doesn't really appeal to me, to be honest, because A. I'd have to buy even MORE skeletons (my wallet! somebody save my poor wallet!) and B. it just doesn't make much sense to me from a fluff perspective; I mean, it's not like the Wight King keeps some spare skeleton warriors in his basement which he can magically teleport to the battlefield whenever he needs them. My Wight King's an honorable not-man, such tactics are beneath him

Davor wrote:

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:
I was more or less forced to do so

Was a gun put to your head? Was the family threatened? Maybe some blackmail? Geez, even Games-Workshop doesn't force us to by their products. Sorry to hear you were forced.

Haha Okay, I admit, "forced" is a bit exaggerated; the guy of the FLGS was just so enthusiastic about AOS that I felt morally obliged to at least see what it was about My family and myself are still safe and sound, thank you for your concern

bitethythumb wrote:

Spoiler:

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:
Thanks for the advice, everyone!

I've been looking at the models some more, and decided to go for a Wights-only party, as in, an army composed of mostly skeletons (for fluffy reasons, and because I like their models). Which means my force would probably look a bit like this:

1x Wight King
1 x Grave Guard
1x Black Knights
1x Skeleton Warriors

However, I've noticed that the Vampire Counts don't seem to have any archers or ranged combatants, which is rather disappointing, because skeleton archers just sound like fun (you ran out of arrows? No problem! Just grab one of Jimmy's bones and use that instead!). Of course, I could be wrong, so if anyone could clarify this a bit, that'd be great.

Also, I've been looking at the Mounted Wight King's model and.... why in the seven hells has it not been resculpted?! The current sculpt is probably the same age as the Wight King it's supposed to portray, which of course has its merits, but if that thing is supposed to be the center piece of my army, I'd rather convert one myself than use an ancient (although strangely appealing) one. I mean, the not-mounted version looks pretty damn awesome, and I'd like my mounted Wight King to look equally awesome.

So if anyone could point me in the right direction for how to a kitbash a Mounted Wight King, that would be great

vampire counts do not have archers, BUT tomb kings do, they have normal and horse archers, you can take them... and since tomb king skellies share the same keywords you can still use your necromancer/wights on them for support/hero phase etc... you can even take CHARIOTS :O and even a BONE GIANT

Ah yes, I've just found the Tomb Kings archers on the GW site, they certainly look like they would do the trick; they do look a bit different than the other skeletons though, so I'd have to convert them to make them fit in a bit more I think.... maybe I could combine the archer bits of the TK with the VC skeleton warrior parts?

Also, that Bone Giant looks pretty cool, but I think it'd be quite difficult to convert it into something more VC-y.... and it's quite expensive

Kommissar Waaaghrick wrote:A very, very quick message to help, regarding Painting.

To save you time, effort, yet look really good, please see this trick: http://www.beastsofwar.com/games-workshop-painting-tutorial/simple-effective-paint-scheme/

I've done it myself. Long story short - spray with a white basecoat (I used a simple Japanese brand myself), then wash with Nihilakh Oxide from GW. I skipped even the drybrushing because I think it made it look worse IMHO. Very effective, very impressive, extremely fast.

I'm just like you, Ezra. I play 40k, was curious about AoS, chose Undead (mainly due to their excellent End Times story), found this extremely effective painting method, was very pleased.

That paint scheme looks pretty awesome indeed! I'll definitely look into that technique in the future

Sorry for quoting all of your post, I am on my phone and its a pain to reply, anyways the tomb king archers actually come in the warriors kit box so if you buy the vc warriors kits and one tomb kit box you could easily male one warrior squad and a squad of archers and have lots of bits for converting and such... Heck you could use the bits to make a bone giant, there is a pic of a converted bone giant which is more or less lots of skellies combined, just to point out you could take archers like waywachers or peasants from brets paint them ghost like and add them to your undead force like a spirit-ghost squad

You could, for instance, convert regular skeletons, replacing their spears with bows (either hand-made from thick copper wire or cut off from other armies' models - either Ungor Raiders or Empire Archers should be cheap enough for this to be fairly affordable, and both feature lots of other small bits for conversions) and use tomb kings' archer warscroll with them, as they, too, will be skeleton archers.

As for Wight King on mount... I'd use the coolest Black Knight bits you can find and try to convert the body with parts of the foot Wight King model (say, head). And then use what's left of the foot WK to convert up a skeletal necromancer to avoid having mortals/vampires in your army.

Edit:
Oh, now I noticed that in the photos that Waaaghrick linked there's exactly what I described - a Wight King's head (and I think sword hand, or maybe it's the whole upper body converted?) on a Black Knight model. And it looks fantastic!

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

I've managed to get my hands on a Wight King, so his quest to get his army back can properly begin. I also have a box of Empire Battle Wizards lying around, which I think I'll make at least one Necromancer from (who will also be a skeleton, because magic's funny like that).

Now I may or may not have stumbled upon some cheap WHFB Orks while on holiday....

....which means I now have about 25 Orks, of which five Arrer Boys, to play around with

I think I'll use them for some test games, I liked playing them in WH40k so playing them for a bit in AOS shouldn't be too much of a problem We'll just pretend the Wight King acquired their service by accidentally scaring to death the Nob in charge.

Again, thanks for all the comments everyone, you've all been a great help so far