It's worth pointing out that the game does have both a random mission generator mechanic (where you pull a terrain card, a deployment card, a mission card, and a twist card) which can create some pretty unbalanced missions.
There are also pre generated missions which are used for matched play or teaching and are a bit more balanced.
Overall, the game is probably best played for campagin/narrative. If you're measuring by 16ths of an inch, you're probably going to be unsatisfied with the game.
One thing I do recommend is for all players to either play the warcry specific warbands and go super casual, or know that the
AOS warbands just have deeper unit rosters.
The bespoke warbands pretty much all follow a simply pattern: you get a leader, a bruiser, a spellcaster, a specialist figher, and then veteran and rookie troopers with a range of weapon options. If you buy one box/sprue of a bespoke faction, and build it straight up, you'll be damn close to 1000 points. Two boxes, and you'll have all nearly all the options. Some bespoke are more elite, and some are more horde, but all can be built either more or less elite if you have the options.
The
AOS warbands can really be built to taste. A bespoke warband might have six different units, with some having weapon options, for 8-14 total options. A warband like beastmen might have twice that, and can also range from very ligtht forces seamlessly up to and including orge sized models.