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Ihave been playing 40k and now want to try WHFB so I was wondering which is the the cheaper army and which is the better army beastmen or skaven? I play space wolves in 40k


Automatically Appended Next Post:
By better I mean which one is the more competitive army

Skaven are more competitive, but if you want to be so, you will have to buy and paint many, many rats. They're quite expensive, though some builds they have are less expensive, though perhaps not as competitive.

Beastmen are still fairly expensive, but not as much as Skaven. They're significantly less competitive though.

Two armies seem to fit your bill though: Ogres and WoC. They're both higher tier armies and are very elite and (especially so in the case of Ogres) have a low model count. Therefore, they're relatively cheap.

WoC? I can't see what that is and can I get a link to the ogres. Sorry I am on my phone

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/listProducts.jsp?catId=cat670005a - Ogre Kingdoms

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/listProducts.jsp?catId=cat440026a - Warriors of Chaos

thanks

Skaven are easily one of the most competitive armies right now, and beastmen are in need of an update.

If you want cheap then definitely go Beastmen.

...not because the models are any cheaper, mind you, but because people have gotten frustrated with their (somewhat underwhelming) armybook and are selling their entire armies on ebay or craigslist on the cheap.

That said, cost is the last reason you should ever get into a fantasy army. If you're not totally into the army you will never be able to power through painting all those damned modes. Especially not an army like skaven or beastmen. I'm sitting on 50 unassembled skeletons right now for my TK and just the sight of that pile of boxes fills me with dread.

I play both ogres and WoC.

Ogres are great because you can keep buying batallions over and over again and the dual kits are easy to finish both models with just a few bits buys.

WoC are great just keep buying MORE warriors and a few support kits and done

Go WOC. Skaven are expensive and require many boxes of models.

 MrCJG wrote:
Ihave been playing 40k and now want to try WHFB so I was wondering which is the the cheaper army and which is the better army beastmen or skaven? I play space wolves in 40k


Automatically Appended Next Post:
By better I mean which one is the more competitive army

As far as a low model count army, neither honestly. Both require more models than armies like warriors of chaos, or demons of chaos, or ogres. The first 2 being more competitive than the latter from my mileage.

If you want a low cost + competitive army I would either look at warriors or demons.

Nurgle demons you could get by cheaply enough if you are willing to give sculpting a go.

But skaven are in the starter box right now. On ebay, you can get clan rats for $0.50 apiece. That same ebay will get you a box of 12 warriors of chaos for $30. That's 16 cents per point for WoC and 10 cents per point for skaven.

That would make WoC 60% more expensive to collect than skaven. That's nearly 2/3ds MORE, not less.

Of course, WoC do have expensive special and rare options, but so do skaven and, once again, some of them are in the isle of blood set, while none of the WoCs are.

PirateRobotNinjaofDeath wrote:
If you want cheap then definitely go Beastmen.

...not because the models are any cheaper, mind you, but because people have gotten frustrated with their (somewhat underwhelming) armybook and are selling their entire armies on ebay or craigslist on the cheap.

That said, cost is the last reason you should ever get into a fantasy army. If you're not totally into the army you will never be able to power through painting all those damned modes. Especially not an army like skaven or beastmen. I'm sitting on 50 unassembled skeletons right now for my TK and just the sight of that pile of boxes fills me with dread.

I hear ya, The majority of my skelllies have sat unpainted since 03 lol though painting any fantasy army to a detailed standard is a brutal task in its self.

Ogres are cheaper in $$ and solid.

Chaos are very powerful and relatively cheap also.

Skaven are very powerful, pricy unless you get lucky on ebay, and require a lot of models.

Beastmen are not very powerful, but have a higher model count and therefore are probably more expensive.

I'd go Ogres.

Isle of Blood clan rats (which can be made into practically ever core choice of skaven) cost 10 cents per model, while warriors of chaos cost 16, while ogre kingdom ogres cost 19 cents per model. And these aren't "getting lucky with ebay" prices these are "ebay stores with buy it now 15% discount and free shipping".

Stop saying that skaven are the most expensive army. They're not. It will cost you twice as much to make an ogre army as a skaven one, or at least somewhere close.

The only problem with skaven is the number of models you have to paint, but it's a plain lie to say they're the most expensive.

 Ailaros wrote:
Isle of Blood clan rats (which can be made into practically ever core choice of skaven) cost 10 cents per model, while warriors of chaos cost 16, while ogre kingdom ogres cost 19 cents per model. And these aren't "getting lucky with ebay" prices these are "ebay stores with buy it now 15% discount and free shipping".

Stop saying that skaven are the most expensive army. They're not. It will cost you twice as much to make an ogre army as a skaven one, or at least somewhere close.

The only problem with skaven is the number of models you have to paint, but it's a plain lie to say they're the most expensive.

Hi, I own a Skaven army. IT is expensive to play them. Clan rats aren't the expensive part. its weapons teams, Stormvermin, Giant rats, abominations, Bells and furnaces, and warp lightning cannons..

 Ailaros wrote:
Isle of Blood clan rats (which can be made into practically ever core choice of skaven) cost 10 cents per model, while warriors of chaos cost 16, while ogre kingdom ogres cost 19 cents per model. And these aren't "getting lucky with ebay" prices these are "ebay stores with buy it now 15% discount and free shipping".

Stop saying that skaven are the most expensive army. They're not. It will cost you twice as much to make an ogre army as a skaven one, or at least somewhere close.

The only problem with skaven is the number of models you have to paint, but it's a plain lie to say they're the most expensive.

It is all good that Skaven might be less $$ per model, but the fact that you need on average 200-250 Skaven models, as apposed to 20-30 Orgers, really makes Ogre far cheaper than Skaven. As Far as the OP is concerned, go with which ever one you like best. Read the Rule Books, then The FAQ, (The Skaven FAQ is just as big as the their rules section.) That being said I really would not recommend Skaven to a new player, as trying to learn all the rules, plus all the skaven rules can really but a damper on game play. I am an experienced player, and I still have issues remembering all of the stuff that has been rewritten about the Skaven. Skaven can be really competitive, but more so than any other army, (except maybe Wood Elves.) you have to know all the ins and outs of the book, as well as what to take. They really are not a beginner competitive army, when you compare them to Ogres and WOC. Buy a couple of Battalion, build paint, create a general. place them on the board and go to town, All you really need to know is the Basics, and you can be just as competitive as someone who has been playing for decades. And once you learn how the army works, you can go on to be a top tier fighter.

cawizkid wrote:It is all good that Skaven might be less $$ per model, but the fact that you need on average 200-250 Skaven models, as apposed to 20-30 Orgers, really makes Ogre far cheaper than Skaven.

No it's not. Skaven are cheaper per model, but they're also cheaper PER POINT. By half.

Put another way, it will cost you less to make that 2,500 point skaven army than a 2,500 point ogre army.

Just because you have fewer models doesn't mean the army is cheaper.

captain collius wrote:Clan rats aren't the expensive part. its weapons teams, Stormvermin, Giant rats, abominations, Bells and furnaces, and warp lightning cannons..

Sure, but other armies have to pay for their fancy toys as well. Toys which are usually pretty decent cost:points-wise.

Furthermore, Isle of Blood comes with various skaven special weapons teams, so they're STILL at a starter box discount.

 Ailaros wrote:

Stop saying that skaven are the most expensive army. They're not. It will cost you twice as much to make an ogre army as a skaven one, or at least somewhere close.

The only problem with skaven is the number of models you have to paint, but it's a plain lie to say they're the most expensive.

I have no idea if they are the most expensive army (I don't think anyone said that) , but they are very expensive. I have a large Skaven army, it was more expensive to build than my Dark Elves.

If you only build from the Isle of Blood set... and make them all clanrats instead of slaves, then it might be cheaper than Ogres and Chaos. I see 20 clanrats on ebay for about $15. If you get lucky you may be able to get it lower. Of course, if you want to use them as slaves then their points to price ratio is halved.

Plus if you are watching ebay for Skaven deals, then it's only fair to compare it to Ogres on ebay.

Yeah, Ailaros, I think you are a bit off the mark comparing Skaven and Ogres price-wise. Most skaven players make extensive use of Slaves, and those mess up your point-price ratio. The weapons teams in IOB are good, but others also get used and they are well overpriced. That said, if I liked the Skaven models more I'd go for them, because they are more affordable than some other horde armies due to being in the starter.

There might not be much in it, but I think Ogres are probably a less daunting force to start with than Skaven, especially if you're not used to painting the squillions of dudes WFB horde armies require.

One point to consider if money is an issue is Mantic- they have some good options for cheap Undead troops, and their Ogres are pretty nice too. They have some dirt cheap Goblins and Orcs, though the sculpting quality is IMO a bit weaker there, and the Goblins are supposedly pretty poor quality in terms of assembly and flash on the sprues (mold lines across faces, that sort of thing). A Dwarf army built via Mantic could be very affordable, as they are an elite army and the Mantic Dwarves are very cheap. The style may not appeal, though. Same can be said for Mantic's Elves, though I think they are awful models.

I've got an Undead army I made from Mantic troops with GW characters and special units, and it looks pretty nice!

Another option is historicals, companies like Fireforge and Conquest Games provide affordable options for making Bretonian forces and Perrys and Warlord have some that can easily be used for Empire.