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Hi I'm thinking of starting a hordes army I'm thinking skrone, but I don't really know all there play styles or strengths and weaknesses so if anyone can help it would be gladly appreciated

I did an article on a different site on the factions to help new players.

http://www.beastsofwar.com/groups/hordes-general-discussion/forum/topic/chosing-your-faction-in-hordes-and-warmachine/

Skorne:
Background- The Skorne are a hearty desert-dwelling race who have recently crossed over to the western side of the continent of Immoren where our story takes place hungry for conquest. They are a godless race of slavemasters who live by strict societal codes. They are undoubtedly evil, however it is not for the sake of wickedness, but the necessity of a harsh life and tormented afterlife. One would not be far off the mark to think of Skorne as fantasy Klingons.
Aesthetics- Skorne borrow from several Asian cultures from India, to China, to Japan as well as many Roman influences. Their troops and beasts alike wear ornate lacquered armor giving them a much stronger disciplined military appearance than the other hordes forces. Most of their beasts bare pain hooks embedded in their skin as a visual cue of how the Skorne paingiver beast handlers rear and train their warbeasts. Torture is an art and pain is an expression of the soul to the Skorne.
Gameplay- On the table, the Skorne mentality of warfare is very well represented. They have access to ranged infantry and beasts for support, but they rarely get the glory. Skorne have some of the most devastating melee beaters in either game and offer several common support options to let them excel. A bronzeback titan with only generic buff effects available to every warlock could single-handedly demolish a colossal. Through these explosive displays of melee prowess, a Skorne commander can slowly gain an advantage by killing an opponent’s expensive model but only exposing a cheap model of his own. Most Skorne warlocks are either melee or magical specialists that buff their own, their infantry’s, or their beasts’ capabilities. Skorne’s support units and solos are superb and generally offer strong offensive effects.

No way you wrote that I already read it


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Now what types of miniatures, or what exact ones do I need


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Also I just watche a video that said skrone isn't for noobs is the statment true if so y?

I would personally start with the battle box, or the 25p bundle from PP, nice armies in a box. Skorne are slow and steady. When you hit your opponant you know they're going down

Which I love, so there not really a noob army, y get the two player box of it has no skorne?, I never really locked at trolls how do they play?

Slow and steady? Skorne are freaking lightning! They're across that table in no time! So many freaking movement buffs in that army.

So there mainly movement buffs no really toughness ate attack mat or def buffs cuZ there already buff?

Probably the fact that my opponant was using 3 gladiators... I meant the skorne battlebox, comes with 3 good beasts and a warlock

TrollBloods are amazing, lovly minis and good stats

I want heavy hitters I think but I don't know how they all play really

Definatly trollbloods then, they realy on brute force and some good spells

What models should I get?

 Noob9405 wrote:
So there mainly movement buffs no really toughness ate attack mat or def buffs cuZ there already buff?

Actually they have paingivers who toss out strength buffs, fury management and heal. The faction warlocks also tend to have a buff of some kind that goes well with beasts. They're really a sort of mix of Menoth and Khador. They also have the highest fury warlock currently with Rasheth.

Hmmm i dunno who to go with

Noob9405 wrote:Hi I'm thinking of starting a hordes army I'm thinking skrone, but I don't really know all there play styles or strengths and weaknesses so if anyone can help it would be gladly appreciated

my take on Skorne:

A mix of Roman, Samurai and Persian influences, particularly in fancy ornate armor. A cruel empire of slavery, war and conquest revolving around a warrior society, a warrior cult that glorifies death in battle against overwhelming odds (its their only way of acheiving immortality as the Skorne reject the gods, and face only oblivion on death otherwise) and a study of death magic and ancestor worship. The Skorne despise the gods, and especially those who worship dieties, and consider themselves all the stronger for standing on their own, without any dieties to aid them. They are the hordes faction that is most likely to look like an organized army in uniform. They employ enslaved crocodiles, the elephantine Titans and a soul fueled terracotta army of warrior-golems to bolster their numbers. in terms of playstyle they like to get the most out of their beasts by imflicting pain on them to do so.

When you talk about the "style" of an army, you're doing it wrong. Skorne dont just do one thing. A Hexy list will play differently to a Morghul list. Its all about the warlocks, and the synnergies you build within the list. swapping one unit for another turns an army based on hit and run into an attrition brick. Skorne have great beasts that put out a lot of damage, and great warlocks that buff their movement, and even more damage output. It comes at a cost of either sacrificing their own models or inflicting injuries on their beasts. they also suck up souls and "burn them" to push their Stone guardians even further.

A lot of Skorne is like a lot of hordes: synnergy. a buffs b which buffs c which buffs a. but Skorne can pretty much do a lot of close and deadly, attrition, spellslinging, movement shenanigans, assassination. What they might be a bit lacking in maybe is a ranged game but they still have options in that regard.

Noob9405 wrote:Which I love, so there not really a noob army, y get the two player box of it has no skorne?, I never really locked at trolls how do they play?

No army is a "noob army". there is no "space marines" in this game. whatever faction you pick, the learning curve will be steep. You will lose the vast majority of your early games, and frequently, you wont even see it coming. Its almost a rite of passage though - the best way to learn things in this game is to get stomped by them a few times. the 2 player starter is often viewed as a great deal, but if its skorne you want, go for skorne.

Trolls?

Trollbloods - Large, tough, strong with a kilt and tartan wearing scottish highlander theme and a back story that begins like the Trail of Tears, until their version of "Crazy Horse" starts winning when he binds the tribes together. The most "good guy" choice, with some Dirty Dozen, Braveheart and the Incredible Hulk thrown in for spice. Pieces can cost more than average to collect because they are larger and require more metal to manufacture. trollbloods are seen as the "brick" faction. Every time they hit you, its like being kissed by an express train. they fight hard. they tend to grind out an attrition based win. they hit hard, but their true strength is being able to buff themselves up with overlapping layers of buffs, and absorb whatever you throw at them, and laugh it all off. they are also the "humourous" faction. No, they're not orky, and no they're not comedy, but they have some amusing moments, especially as the faction as a whole always seems to be hungry they like drinking, fighting and carousing with the trollblood maidens afterwards.

Noob9405 wrote:So there mainly movement buffs no really toughness ate attack mat or def buffs cuZ there already buff?

they've got those. meet the paingivers

Noob9405 wrote:I want heavy hitters I think but I don't know how they all play really

bear in mind, warmachine and hordes is different to 40k. the emphasis is on aggression, and damage output. in 40k, the pendulum is very much swung on "surviving" - you need to roll to hit, wound, armour saves, FNP saves etc. each is a hurdle, so by the end of it, 100 shots end up killing 4 guys. in warmachine, 20 shots can kill a dozen guys. All factions are capable of heavy hitting, and taking down beasts or jacks in a single turn - its simply the nature of the game.

Pick the models, and the faction that you like, and dont worry about them being underpowered, or not being able to bring the pain. this is warmachine, not 40k. everybody knows how to fight.

Noob9405 wrote:What models should I get?

what models appeal to you?

THis isnt 40k. In 40k, you say "I want to play space wolves" and you'll be given a hundred responses all championing the save 3 builds. In warmachine, you'll get a hundred different answers. to be fair, this is a game where everything can be built into a game winning strategy. that said, with regard to skorne, the closest thing to an "autoinclude" would be paingivers. those guys buff beasts like its no ones business. Want an infantry horde? makeda. Want to go beast heavy? tyrant hexy. or xerxis. Assassination. either prime or epic Morghoul. each will have their own style of play. there is no "long fang spam" in this game. and none of those can stand out and say "im better than all the rest". its not what you take, its how you play.

its a level of freedom most 40k players find dazzling and even a little bit frightening.

So either Skorne or Trolls. What picks your fancy?

Wow amazing answers! Well at first it was circle but there hit and run and I don't like that, then skorne cuz there heavy hitters I was told, but then heard there not for noobs so someone said trollbloods cuz they hit hard what I want and buffs but it seems to many play them already so, it's hard for me after like 4months researching 40k the see hordes and war machine because I have a budget seems better actually

Trollbloods seems good, loads of good starter stuff like kriels and additional heavies

 Noob9405 wrote:
Wow amazing answers! Well at first it was circle but there hit and run and I don't like that, then skorne cuz there heavy hitters I was told, but then heard there not for noobs so someone said trollbloods cuz they hit hard what I want and buffs but it seems to many play them already so, it's hard for me after like 4months researching 40k the see hordes and war machine because I have a budget seems better actually

take a breath!

OK first up, to correct you on a few things. Like i said in my previous post, no faction is about "one thing".

I play 2 factions. Khador, and Circle, and my plans for 2013 include branching out into Trollbloods. Now, take Khador. typically seen as the "slow high ARM, melee-centric faction that hits like a freight train". Now, the "hits like a freight train" bit is always right. In Khador, there is no such thing as "excessive force". But as the high ARM faction? Sure. When unbuffed. they are ARM values that are naturally higher than everyone else's, but despite being called a "high ARM" faction, they have no way to buff up their ARM even further, aside from one guys feat. As for "slow". have a work with Vlad, who can double his jacks' speed, or Strakhov, who does a fantastic game of Blitzkrieg. As to melee-centric - yes, they're more brutal than Space Wolves in close combat, but that doesnt stop them having the best snipers or artillery in the game. even their rifle korps guardsmen are extremely hot. So essentially, Khador arent "just one thing".

Its the same with Circle. Hit and run? Sure. Kaya. anything involving a warpwolf stalker. but they do other things too. How about eKaya and Kromacs alphastriking (ie blitzkrieg) shenanigans? How about Morvanna and Baldur's control and attrition game. his construct lists are as hard as anything Khador can produce. as for Morvanna, she has a habit of reincarnating anything that gets killed! And for a faction frequently described as "glass cannons", they have some of the hardest melee troops in the game in the form of warpwolf skinwalkers. *shrug* Circle is about more than one thing my friend.

Skorne? yup, they're rock solid. they're heavy hitters. they're as noob friendly as the rest of the game, which as i said earlier, is par for the course as you're dealing with a ridiculously steep learning curve. but thats true for all the factions. #

trolls? they hit hard. they take a punch. they've got a nice rounded playstyle. again, like everyone, you can take them multiple different directions, and aside from a slightly lacking ranged game, they're pretty solid all rounders.

Warmachine and Hordes is a fantastic game. But dont get hung up on the worries, and dont be too bothered about factions. seriously, play what you want to play. go through the galleries - check the models out, check out the warlocks, read their backstories, and see what grabs you. the rest will follow.

Ok thanks I'm still stuck on war hammer where it's one type of play. Style basically


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But what it saying is it all depends on the warlock

I'd go for the 25 pt bundle. The nihilators are a great unit & personally I like naaresh more than morghul, though naaresh can get a bit complex. Probably the best would be the 25pt box and Xerxis or Makeda (Both are fairly straight forward)

 Noob9405 wrote:
Ok thanks I'm still stuck on war hammer where it's one type of play. Style basically


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But what it saying is it all depends on the warlock

pretty much this.

Different warlocks do different things in different ways. no two casters will play the same way. So, take your average 25/35/50pt list. swap the caster. its basically an entirely different army.

Wow sick, but also all army's can do heavy hitting but skorne and trollblood are better at it?


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Right?


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I might get stuff for Xmas but I'm debating hordes or warhammer what one is better, popular, what one do people play more

 Noob9405 wrote:
Wow sick, but also all army's can do heavy hitting but skorne and trollblood are better at it?


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Right?


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I might get stuff for Xmas but I'm debating hordes or warhammer what one is better, popular, what one do people play more

Every army is capable of hitting hard. Its all in how you build your list.

You can build for caster kill, scenarios, attrition.or all comers. With every faction.

Its hard to wrap your head around it, especially coming from 40k, I play Khador and I have a stupid fast 50pt list that hits like a sledgehammer. I can also play a ranged game by changing out the caster and switching out jacks. Or I can go all brick with crazy tarpits, jammers, and brick jacks.

That's the beauty of WM/H its literary all in how you make it.

Holy f>%£ hmm I love the look of circle but I thought you couldn't go cc so changed my mind I may go back

 Noob9405 wrote:
Holy f>%£ hmm I love the look of circle but I thought you couldn't go cc so changed my mind I may go back

What part of big ass werewolves and big ass stone constructs made you think Circle can't throw a punch?

That's what I thought then I read something and it said there hit and run


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I think I seen somewhere the circle can spawn forests and I like that I think I'll pop a forest up the hide my warbeasts in it and move up that way, so what warlock can pop up forests

Yeah, they hit you with a decent punch and then run.

 Grey Templar wrote:
Yeah, they hit you with a decent punch and then run.

..to the next guy and punch him in the face.

I admit they do look like WH wood elves so one would believe they are shooty and not CC, but circle pack some punch then run away, then hit you back again in the next turn

I don't want that I changed my mind because of it


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Also with wh/ h is there any posing you can do? Or is it just putting the configuration you want?

 Noob9405 wrote:
I don't want that I changed my mind because of it


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Also with wh/ h is there any posing you can do? Or is it just putting the configuration you want?

Are you talking about weapons options like in 40k? If so the answer is no, the models have what they have.

If your asking about the models having static poses, some do, some dont, you can always cut and GS your way to liking it.