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Just would like to hear thoughts and opinions on the subject. keep in mind I mean legal warbands under gw, not shadow warriors and the like.

my opinion is constantly shifting between skaven and possessed, with undead taking a 3rd place slot.

my reasoning is that skaven can take max heroes from the initial 500gc and still have throwing stars and weeping blades on the adept and both black skaven, but in the later portion of the game possessed have elite stats, with multi-wound models and beastmen/darksouls which have great combat potential when matched up against other warbands.

another thought is the ridiculous mutants I once made: sword, tentacle, black blood. this effectively means that I pick the weapon they hit me with (no sigmarite hammers, thank you god!) and have a chance to parry it, if not i squirt my blood in their face and can potentially kill them. later on lucky charms, unholy relics, armor, and more defensive stats/skills make them a block to hold an enemy in place while i charge with either a possesed or darksoul.

Skaven, anything with throwing stars or a sling works wonders in a list, the threat range means turn 1 you can run/sprint up, shoot and next turn charge with whatever (typically a sword + club/weeping blades)

anyone have another thought or idea?

I think Skaven have it, really. The high number of heroes mean that soon even Marienburger warbands look cash-strapped in comparison to your income, and the sheer number of slings you can take from the off mean you have a high chance of dominating the field from the start.

But that's just one man's opinion

Undead can also be powerful at the start of the game and by spamming dire wolves can be a problem to beat for any of the human warbands.
Skaven also, for reasons already discussed. But they can melt away quickly if they start taking all alone rolls.
Dwarf Treasure Hunters start out weak but after a few games when their warband grows and they start arming themselves with more pistols and a few shooting skills and helmets they become a tough nut to crack. In a campaign, destroy them early on if you ever hope to destroy them at all.

Skaven might be the all-around best, although I'll say they're stronger at the outset of a campaign than later, when other warbands start to close the gap.

Dwarfs are funny in that they're very strong in many aspects but can struggle with certain scenarios. You're not going to out-tough Dwarfs, and outshooting them is hard just because of said toughness...but you can out-maneuver and out-general them.

I'm gonna add that Human Mercs (various varieties) are very good. They have specialized warbands (Reiklanders, Averlanders for shooting, etc.) that still retain unequaled flexibility compared to other warbands. In a long campaign, a good player can get a lot of mileage out of Mercs. In our long-running MH league, there was often a Merc warband in the finals.

Skaven. Easily IMHO the best of the official warbands.

However, FWIW, I'm banned from running Witch Hunters anymore whenever we do Mordheim. They really can get to kick-ass status very quickly. Dogs for rout checks, Flagellants for awesome (especially when they get their 2nd attack), and small warband size means you've often got lots of gold. Easy access to academic skills, and once you've got the ones you want, go crazy with the shooting skills on your heroes, to back up your ground troops.

Always hire the Elf - the +1/-1 is fantastic.

Funnily enough Im not allowed to use Undead anymore at my club. They say Im too 'beardy' with it.

Well thats was untill they experienced my Skaven Slings warband...

Most of the time though I play Rieklanders as its a nice balance.

I'm running skaven and lizardmen, but skaven are really fun. and ninja stars are a MUST on black skaven IMHO throw'n starts at S4 man thats bad.

I find that Reiklanders are the best range army especially when they get Handguns for their Marksmen.

Undead have the strongest heroes in the game imo.

Skaven are also extremely good.

From my long ago Mordheim campaign, I would say Skaven.

Not the best in combat; not the best at "winning" any particular scenario, but definitely the best at succeeding in a campaign. Large numbers of henchmen give you tons of options for grabbing valuables, maneuvering around the board, taking key heroes out of action, and protecting your own heroes with a wall of meat.

Success in Mordheim was often, at least in our group, about minimizing losses and maximizing gains. If you can sacrifice cheap Rats while your heroes grab loot (and xp), or take downed heroes out of action (also for xp), that puts you in a good position. Skaven high movement also means you can often fight on your terms, flee on your terms, and claim key resources early. In addition, your henchmen were often very inexpensive (rats) or able to have missile weapons (a limitation that didn't help some other henchman groups).

I think dwarves probably had the best chance to create the most powerful heroes, as they had skills/talents which helped ensure that you were less likely to go out of action and less likely to die, but toughest guy doesn't equal best warband.