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Hey there Dakka! I've been a long time 40k player, but I've been finding myself becoming more and more interested in WHFB. I know very little about the relative power levels of the armies, (I've heard that daemons are pretty crazy, but other than that, I know next to nothing) and was leaning towards either Lizardmen, Orks and Gobbos, or Wood Elves.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of these armies? Are any of them ultra powerful, or particularly underpowered? Preferably I'd like a mid-tier army, although I'm willing to play on either side of the line if I like the army/concept enough.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/470806.page

Lizardmen - Very high in magic solid Core choice

Orks and Gobbos- Horde army... Orks are very much like Orks in 40K (they do best in close combat) Gobins can be a pain they draw their strength in numbers. Can have decent fun magic. A very good army can be played several different ways and is different from every other army in the game.

Wood Elves - Ranged or flank tuff army to play with a rough learning curve. You have to out be one step ahead of your enemy at all times. Ranged attacks can be deadly, but you can't remain stationary for long. I don't know much about the Flank strategy, but from what I know it's very effective in the hands of the rite player.

I played lizards for a while and everyone groans when a slann hits the table with lore of life. Nothing worse than facing T-8 Suarus warriors with a 4+ regeneration save. That being said, a buddy of mine plays wood elves and constantly complains that they need a new dex. I'm not sure what the rest of Dakka thinks but at my FLGS I've heard that they are the weakest codex right now. I perosnally am on vamps now but Lizards are a great starting point and are a noob friendly army if run with the correct lore and correct list.

Lizards are great. Saurus are very forgiving to new players, as they are tough, disciplined, and cheap enough that you can suffer moderate casualties without flinching.

 Vindicare-Obsession wrote:
a buddy of mine plays wood elves and constantly complains that they need a new dex. I'm not sure what the rest of Dakka thinks but at my FLGS I've heard that they are the weakest codex right now.

Wood Elves do need a new dex, but I've seen them table WOC armies it's a matter of who is playing them.

Very helpful comments and advice! I'm really leaning towards lizard men at this point. Lizard guys riding dinosaurs? You don't get much better than that.

My next question is what tends to be the "standard" points level in WHFB? From what I've seen it seems to be much higher than in 40k, but I really don't have much idea.

Standard points level varies. Most people in the UK play 2400 as it is the points level most Tourneys use. But with the way my LGS now works, we have had to drop to 2k due to time constraints.

 GimbleMuggernaught wrote:
Very helpful comments and advice! I'm really leaning towards lizard men at this point. Lizard guys riding dinosaurs? You don't get much better than that.

My next question is what tends to be the "standard" points level in WHFB? From what I've seen it seems to be much higher than in 40k, but I really don't have much idea.

Where I play, the norm is 2000-3000.

Orc and goblins you just have to worry about animosity really, decent war machines, ability to field hordes, some cool unique units, and good cheap chariots. Lots of unit options and can be highly maneuverable. Leadership checks can be your undoing.

Lizardmen, best sorcerer in the game hands down, rare choice salamanders provide you with 6 flame throwers in a standard 2250 game, that completely annihilate anything. Moderately expensive but also have cheap options for units. Cold Blooded rules, 3d6 leadership checks where you drop the highest, is a huge bonus.

Woodelves, more like forest spirits. Wood Elves win games by having as few elves and as many tree's on the board as possibly. Glade Guard are decent but the s4 ranged attacks only come in under 16inches. Most of their units are extremely over priced for what they don't do (cause a lot of them don't do much) but they can be a great army. Personally they are my favorite. They are the fastest army in the game, but to utilize the speed you need Glade Riders (way too expensive for what they are), and Rider of Kurenos (extra way to expensive for what they are) to take advantage of it. Dryads are great close combat units, skirmishers so stubborn in forests, 2 attacks s4 t4, they kill a lot of things with ease, also they have a mundane 5+ save. Treekin the heart of the army, 65pts s5 t5 a3 and have stomp armour save 4+ with 5+mundane ward. Only problem is trees are flammable so that can ruin your day. Lastly the treeman s6t6 can beat a dragon's face in, can strangle people with roots, thunderstomp, again though its flammable. Mostly just an army to play if you like the look of them, they are currently probably the worst army in the game, but IMO most rewarding to play, since it actually means something when you win. Unlike daemons of chaos where you just roll people 90% of the time.

I belive the general game (at least in virginia) is 2K. That will hold "new" players (or people who like to argue ) for about 3-4 hours. Veterans can usually finish a 2K game in about 2 hours.