Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I've been a 40k player for many, many years, but after a demo game of AoS I'm thinking about starting up a Fantasy army. I'm not sure where to start, though - I knew almost nothing about any of the factions when it was WHFB, and now that it's a new system I'm completely lost. Are there any good (free) resources for reading up on where each faction is, maybe a little bit about how they play? (Melee-focused, ranged-focused, fast and mobile, etc.) I'm not really sure what I'm looking for, because I've played a variety of 40k armies and I don't really have a favorite. Also, on a similar (and mostly selfish) note, are there any armies that are...well, bad? Not that I'm looking for the cheesiest, instant-win army out there, but I'm reluctant to start an army where I'm just going to lose most games because they aren't very good.

Thanks for any advice. Really enjoyed the one game I've played of AoS, and I'd love to play more of it.

I would suggest to start with the start collecting you most like the look of. AoS is about having fun with cool models.

Some factions are phasing out and got left behind with the changes, but those don't have start collection boxes.

One easy way to avoid "bad" armies is to limit your choice to one that currently has a battletome, except maybe khorne bloodbound.

I find that 1d4chan.org is more or less quite informative about the factions. Also note that you can mix your armies even in matched play as long as you stay within the same grand alliance.

Every army that has a start collecting box can be built very competitively.

 DarkBlack wrote:
I would suggest to start with the start collecting you most like the look of. AoS is about having fun with cool models.

Some factions are phasing out and got left behind with the changes, but those don't have start collection boxes.

That was the first thing I was going to say. What are the minis you love the look of?

Now just like I tell people in 40K or in The Tyranid Hive on how to start a Nid army is, what is your play style? Are you a horde type player or a few elites kind of player? Do you want a shooty army, or an assaulty army? How about magic to do you want lots of that or none of it? Maybe a combination off all of them?

Is price a factory? What size army do you hope to get? Are you playing for fun, or a competitive player or a person who must win with plastic toy soldiers?

For me I was going to start a Chaos army since I didn't like the Stormcasts Eternals since they were Sigmarines at the time for me. But once I saw Icewind Assault that is what I changed to because I love the winter look on those minis. I didn't care about play style after that.

So how do you like to play?

*edit*

As for free stuff, go on the GW site and when you view the minis there, you can see all there warscrolls/data lates for free and download them. If you have an iPad or I believe Android you can download the AoS app and get most of the warscrolls for free there. Some of them you have to pay for but MOST of the unit rules are free and you can view them that way if you don't want to go on the GW site.

One great thing about AoS is a lot of stuff is free. So you can see how a unit looks on paper now before buying.

I think if I had to pick a type that I really like playing, it's horde. Thematically my favorite 40k army is Orks, I've just never been good at playing them (especially with the latest codex). I've been looking over a few of the armies and I'm really finding myself drawn to the Skaven. I mean, any army that has a model called a "Doomwheel" can't be that bad.

Something that I'm slightly confused about, though, I've been looking through the General's Handbook which I borrowed from a friend, and I want to make sure I'm reading this right. So if I'm presumably making Pitched Battle lists (which is what I'd be playing at my FLGS), it seems like I can only use units from one Grand Alliance, which makes sense. But I also see that some of the battleline units require me to run a particular allegiance (like if I wanted Giant Rats I'd have to run Clan Moulder, or Skaven Acolytes I'd have to run Clan Skryre). So if I'm reading this right, I can only count those units as battleline if I ONLY run, say, Clan Skryre, and not anything else?

Apologies if these are dumb questions, I'm just trying to absorb and interpret lots of things all at once. I like how simplified AoS is but I'm used to 40k, which means I keep thinking that I'm just missing a rule in some other section of a massive rulebook, even if that's not the case.

You've got the gist of it. You have some units that are always battleline (like Clanrats) and some that become battleline if you limit your army to a single subfaction (like the examples you listed above).

Skaven can be awesome to play, with sweet models to boot. Stormfiends and Warp Lightning Cannons are top tier choices. Even lowly Clanrats can be good to taken in big numbers.

I almost started Skaven, the minis look sweet and the big rat guy is just awesome but like I said, once I saw Icewind Assault my calling came.

So go on the GW site or AoS app and look at the war scrolls for Skaven and see if those rules appeal to you. At least now you have a start, look at the rules and see if you like them or not.

I would recommend the starter box, and go from there. Those are pretty straight forward forces and that helps, both are easy to either trade off later or upgraydd if you like

I started skaven myself. Mainly because I had picked up an island of blood starter set a while back and could start quickly with it. And of course I added a doom wheel. I enjoy them, though I have been feeling a real pull towards a death rattle army.

Skaven as a whole are a compete fighting force, and can be mixed and matched and played a variety of ways. However they are further broken down into individual factions.

1. Skyre: possibly the most broken faction in the game. They have everything you could want, all the various unit types are covered. They dish out mortal wounds like candy. Not a lot of fast units, but they make up for it in range and "deep" strike options.

2. Pestilens: Also a complete faction. They are a glass hammer style army. They deal lots of damage but drop fast. Speed is an issue as well, as they have fewer ranged options than skyre, but they are there still.

3. Verminus: Nearly a complete faction, but lacks any ranged options. Cheap troops with great shock troops, they favor hammer and anvil style play.

4. Moulder: Also can be a horde style army with giant rats, and an awesome hammer with the Hellpit abomination. It can even serve up a little range with rat ogres. Leadership is a big issue, even by Skaven standards. They are the only Skaven faction without a Verminlord, and they could really use a strong general and a nice command trait. They are also the only Skaven faction without a caster.

5. Eshin: this army is your scout/infiltrate/alternative army. Fast, sneaky, and a decent mix of short range ability. Their main issue is that they lack punch except for their Verminlord, which is excellent.

6. Master Clan: this faction is basically incomplete and cannot stand on its own. It's the "spell caster" clan, and a fun addition to any list.

Hope that help get an idea of armies. As for myself I play Verminus with a smattering of Skyre weapons teams and a doom wheel for fun. Basically large bricks of clan rats supported by weapons teams and hammer units. It's been a lot of fun and has held its own so far.

Hey, I'm thinking of getting into it too, and I'm interested in the Free People faction, but I couldn't see a Start Collecting set for them. Does that mean they'll be discontinued soon?

 Tiberius501 wrote:
Hey, I'm thinking of getting into it too, and I'm interested in the Free People faction, but I couldn't see a Start Collecting set for them. Does that mean they'll be discontinued soon?

Sadly yes. We can only guess or assume they will be discontinued. Can they come back? Of course. Will they come back in some way or another? We don't know or have a clue. So if you want to start them, either start now and or strongly consider and think what you can buy now, because maybe in a month or even 6 months or a year from now, you will not be able to anything then.

As for someone saying getting the starter set and then trade off or sell what you don't want, I say NO, don't do this. There is no use in getting the starter set if you don't have an interest in Chaos or Stormcasts. There is no guarantee you can get rid of them and then stuck with something you don't like where the money could have gone to starter sets that you actually like and want.

Davor wrote:

 Tiberius501 wrote:
Hey, I'm thinking of getting into it too, and I'm interested in the Free People faction, but I couldn't see a Start Collecting set for them. Does that mean they'll be discontinued soon?

Sadly yes. We can only guess or assume they will be discontinued. Can they come back? Of course. Will they come back in some way or another? We don't know or have a clue. So if you want to start them, either start now and or strongly consider and think what you can buy now, because maybe in a month or even 6 months or a year from now, you will not be able to anything then.

As for someone saying getting the starter set and then trade off or sell what you don't want, I say NO, don't do this. There is no use in getting the starter set if you don't have an interest in Chaos or Stormcasts. There is no guarantee you can get rid of them and then stuck with something you don't like where the money could have gone to starter sets that you actually like and want.

That's a shame. But then, there are so many armies that look awesome, both figure wise and rules. The Stormcast, Khorne, the Tree dudes, the Oruks.

 Tiberius501 wrote:
Hey, I'm thinking of getting into it too, and I'm interested in the Free People faction, but I couldn't see a Start Collecting set for them. Does that mean they'll be discontinued soon?

I've got an Empire army I've been working on (Free Peoples in AoS talk ) and they're a great model line, although without all the bells and whistles some new models get. I got good prices on most of the army by buying secondhand and from discount sellers. The guy who runs my local Warhammer store says they'll be getting an update in the future along with Tomb Kings getting resurrected, but as much as I like the dude I'm not putting too much credence in that. I don't think they'll go away anytime soon, and if they do, GW has shown they're willing to do multiple print runs of old models now so you might see them again. That being said, they're simple, realistic, and grounded human folk - not really the focus of the Age of Sigmar setting. That being said they're in the fluff and they all have rules, so it's not like they're the Squats shortly after getting eaten by the Tyranids.

Collect the army that appeals to you!

I collect Free Peoples. They lost some of their range when Grand Alliance Order came out, and they will likely lose more of their range when it gets updated next. Saying that, they could also get new models too. At the moment there are no human knights on horses in the game. That leaves it ripe to introduce a new range of knights that fit better with the game aesthetic.

I don't think we'll ever see the entire range dropped like with Bretonnia, but we will see it eventually replaced. Humans do have a place in the game but the Empire range is very much tied to the Old World and a German Renaissance aesthetic. So we are likely to see it being replaced over time with more appropriate models. They seem to be increasing the scale of standard humans too if we look at Silver Tower and Blood Bowl.

I would say if you really like the range, go for it! But bear in mind that the range will not be around forever. Something which is true if you choose any faction which hasn't yet been given a battletome.

As the others have said it would be easiest to stick with any faction that's got a battletome as they'll be a 'safe' start. Anything else could be squatted.

Having said that, I'm being drawn towards moonclan grots myself and they're tomeless. So honestly, I say follow your gut and pick a faction that you like the look and/or play style of.

Just don't play dwarfs unless you enjoy torturing yourself.

<- Dwarf player..

I think one day the humans in the setting are going to loose their Teutonic image and have it replaced with something more high fantasy looking. Something more like the Excelsior Priest from Silver Tower.

But, I think there's a way they could save some of their current models. If and when the time comes to do a battletome for the Ironweld Arsenal, take the empire outrider kit and replace the normal horses with mechanical ones! The pistolier heads can represent a basic rank and file unit whilst the outrider heads can represent an elite guard type unit.

A useful thread; i'm also looking to get in to Age of Sigmar. Was looking at getting the 'Start Collecting! Ironjawz' set. Will there be enough models in there to have a game, do i need to buy the Generals hand book as well?

mkalpha wrote:
A useful thread; i'm also looking to get in to Age of Sigmar. Was looking at getting the 'Start Collecting! Ironjawz' set. Will there be enough models in there to have a game, do i need to buy the Generals hand book as well?

Any of the Start Collecting sets are a good place to start, and the General's Handbook will give you everything else you need to get going.

MongooseMatt wrote:

Any of the Start Collecting sets are a good place to start, and the General's Handbook will give you everything else you need to get going.

Excellent, early Christmas present to myself then.

...Oh wait i bought myself an early Christmas present in January....You can carry forward early Christmas presents if they're for yourself....Right?

Sure you can!

The generals handbook is optional but I highly recommended.

 Future War Cultist wrote:
Sure you can!

The generals handbook is optional but I highly recommended.

Brilliant; Might buy the starter pack this weekend then

I believe they are also going to release a much bigger "battleforce" collection soon for ironjawz, that would be bigger than the start collecting boxes but still a good deal. I dont remember the pricing but i think i remember seeing that they were all going to be at least 30% off. Not trying to dissuade you from the start collecting box at all, it would just be sad if you got the start collecting box, wanted more, and then found out if you had gone in a week or two later they would have had what you really wanted

Volund wrote:
I believe they are also going to release a much bigger "battleforce" collection soon for ironjawz, that would be bigger than the start collecting boxes but still a good deal. I dont remember the pricing but i think i remember seeing that they were all going to be at least 30% off. Not trying to dissuade you from the start collecting box at all, it would just be sad if you got the start collecting box, wanted more, and then found out if you had gone in a week or two later they would have had what you really wanted

Cheers Volund Will have a look into this

mkalpha wrote:
A useful thread; i'm also looking to get in to Age of Sigmar. Was looking at getting the 'Start Collecting! Ironjawz' set. Will there be enough models in there to have a game, do i need to buy the Generals hand book as well?

You don't need to, since you can play AoS with just the free rules. That said, you might not get any games since it seems most people want to play it with points. I guess if you are into 40K, it's like saying " "I have an unbound army I want to play" and the response you will get "We don't play unbound". So for the what $40 Canadian for the price of the book it's very well worth it.

Davor wrote:

You don't need to, since you can play AoS with just the free rules. That said, you might not get any games since it seems most people want to play it with points. I guess if you are into 40K, it's like saying " "I have an unbound army I want to play" and the response you will get "We don't play unbound". So for the what $40 Canadian for the price of the book it's very well worth it.

Ah i see, that makes sense

I have a quick question about the Skaven Virulent Horde box. I was thinking about picking it up because it seems like a solid value over the regular starting box, but I'm not really a fan of the Verminlord Corrupter - does what's included allow you to build it into any of the four variant types, or just the one? I was never planning on playing straight Pestilens anyway, so it doesn't matter to me that it'd be part of a different clan.