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I was wondering if there are any good brief faction synopses available. Not quite as brief as the one listed in the newbie thread, but perhaps a paragraph or two about the different factions in WM/H. I'm thinking of putting together an army for the game, and having a good handle on what the different options can do will probably save me from going through multiple armies before finding something I like. I did that with 40k; I don't need to do it again with this.

Look on the last page of the fluff thread someone went through them all and did just that


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I suppose i could give it a shot though.

Cygnar: Your typical good guy nation, they're wealthy and currently have the best tech of the human nations. For all its worth however they're fighting wars on almost every border against Khador's expansion south, the skorne Invasion from the east, the Trollblood uprising and the holy war started by the Procterate of Menoth to return Cyganar to its old faith and they're slowly failing. Then you add in the fact that the old king that was exiled by his brother for crimes against the state has returned and has many supporters loyal to him and desperate to fix their current situation puts Cygnar right in the middle of everything.


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Khador: The idea is Russians Basically rebuilding their empire to what it was during its height before "Cygnar and her allies" made them sign a treaty giving up their land to nations like Lael.Khador's Empress has completely rebuilt their military to stand up against the powerhouse that was Cygnar and in the opening exchanges of the war manage to drive Cygnar back and actually annex Lael back into the empire. However like Cygnar, Khador has to deal with political infighting from Kayazy( think wealthy merchants or outright mafia type guys that Lent the Empire money to revitalize itself), supporters of old Noble bloodlines like that the tezcepi( may be misspelled) that have a legal claim to the throne of just animosity from the different ethnic groups that compromise the Empire period. Khador may come of as Evil at first but after seeing how devoted they are to rebuilding their empire and how honorable they can they definitely live deeper in the grey zone.



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Procterate of Menoth: A nation of zealots basically. After having their religion replaced as the state religion of Cygnar a few violent riots turn into a massive uprising after a treaty is signed giving the procterate control over a piece of Cygnar Menites form a pilgrimage to their new land and settle. Fast forward a few decades or years the procterate has grown and and has begun to amass large supplies or armaments including their owns Jacks to launch a crusade to unite all menites. With initial conflicts with Cygnar coming to stalemates the Procterate launchs armies north where the second largest population of menites lives, Khador. While the Procterate May come off as overzealous crusaders you should take into account in Warmahordes Fluff the gods are real and Menoth, the god of man is actually fighting off a primordial being who has the power to destroy the world and needs the souls of his faithful to help him.


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Retribution of Scryah*: This is one of two factions that feature elves. The Iosans or Retribution have a problem with their gods namely they can no longer return to heaven and are dying. The Iosans are namely one of the oldest factions predating the nations of man and with the guidance of their gods reached their zenith, they were so advanced they built a bridge to heaven that allowed their gods to travel to earth with ease but naturally this bridge explodes destroying a large portion of the Iosan empire( turning it into what is now the bloodstone dessert that separates the western and eastern parts of the continent, yeah that big) and trapping their gods on earth. Fast forward a few hundred years and only two gods remain alive Nyssor who moves to the far north with a sect of followers and scryah who remains in Ios. Without their gods the Iosans notice many of their number are being born without souls and try their best to keep scryah alive but she seems to be dying faster and faster to which the Iosans notice a trend based on the amount of magic users found in the human nations. There the Retribution is born dedicated to stopping the other factions from using their magic and keeping their gods alive for as long as possible .( including Nyssor but I wont spoil that)

*not sure about spelling really


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Cryx: The only really "evil faction" among warmachine fluff. Cryx is basically a nation of pirates, cutthroats, cultists and yeah zombies. Built by a Dragon named Toruk( Dragons are basically gods in the setting especially Toruk who sired all the other dragons present in the Iron kingdoms) to help capture and destroy his progeny although the infighting between his generals seems to be slowing him down considerably. After running sideline on the war between Khador and Cygnar for years a temporary truce is established just to drive the Cryxians from the mainland with the opening battle firmly a cryxian victory.

Convergence of Cyriss: arguably could be the most advanced faction. Here we have a faction of machine cultists who believe mankind can ascend past the flesh and into the immortal body of a machine. These cultists worship a Goddess of science, mathematics and engineering known as Cyriss the maiden of gears.Not much I can really tell you about them as they've just been released.

I made a post sort of like what you are looking for a few months ago on a different site. I haven't updated it for gargantuans or convergence yet but it should still be 95% accurate.

I apologize for offering only a link rather than a copy & paste but it is a very long post.

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

Skorne: a faction the doesn't believe in gods and so believe hard work is the only way to earn the right of immortality on earth as a living statue watching over your descendants because the alternative is literally hell. Highly disciplines and by far the largest Hordes Faction the Skorne us pain and suffering to get the most out of their warbeasts and their soldiers. After having their empire united for the first time in centuries by the ambitions of the disposed old king of Cygnar a campaign is launched across the Bloodstone dessert and into the west to fight and "Conquer " Cygnar. When it is revealed that this was not the real plan and they were being used the skorne revolted and retook their empire and now are fighting the forces of Cygnar, their ancient enemies the Iosans, and the Trolls that inhabit a great forest the skorne are abusing for resources to support their war.

Trollbloods: An army of displaced people who have had their land taken by once ally Cygnar, skorne incursion forces and Cryxian raiders Trolls are the good guys of the Hordes factions ( despite some terrible things done in vengeance). After being pushed from their homes the trollkin ban together under strong chiefs and call upon the strength of their primal cousins. Now the Trolls are split in two one group attempting to Show Cygnar that the Trollkins will not be pushed around and one group defending the homes that would otherwise be razed by the skorne, the Cygnar Fourth or captured and experimented on by the Cryx. Despite this separation the main goal of these United Kriels (tribes) is to build a new nation for the Trolls.

Circle: A druidic faction dedicated to keeping civilization at bay to appease their primordial god The devourer Wurm who would destroy the world if he's pushed too far. They protect the magic life blood of the planet so that it isn't corrupted by the magic used by mankind and similar damaging factions. They seem to have a distinct hate for dragons who emit a type of mutating radiation known as blight that can corrupt the ley lines that allow life to flow through earth and menites who worship the god of man. In recent years they've also come into conflict with the trolls who they believe should be subservient to them.

Legion of everblight: A dragon leading the second elf faction in the setting. Everblight was the runt of Toruk's brood but he just happened to also be one of the smartest as he is the only dragon alive capable of actually manipulating blight to create new life. After getting into a conflict with Toruk and then an army of Iosans Everblight is nearly destroyed with the exception of his heart which is transferred to the top of the world . there he manipulates the surrounding sentient life into freeing him and comes up with an idea to make himself harder to kill by splitting his heart amongst his generals and leading a army of blighted creatures south looking for ways to grow stronger to fight his dragon brothers and eventually take on Toruk himself.



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 Dais wrote:
I made a post sort of like what you are looking for a few months ago on a different site. I haven't updated it for gargantuans or convergence yet but it should still be 95% accurate.

I apologize for offering only a link rather than a copy & paste but it is a very long post.

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

I thought he meant just the fluff otherwise I wouldn't have wrote all that gibberish and would have just googled and copied and pasted.

I think Vomkrieg has the best summaries of the various armies. Not only do they give a bit of fluff but also their play styles.

http://vom-krieg.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/picking-faction-noobs-guide-to.html

Circle wrote: Circle Orboros
Vicious Druids leading armies of feral monsters

Why would I play Circle?

If you like the idea of a hard hitting, fast moving force the Circle Orboros could be perfect for you. Also, if you like pagan blood rites and/or Morris dancing these guys could be right up your alley.

What do they look like?

The imagery for the Circle Orboros is made of a mixture of Celtic Druids, Werewolves, Barbarians, Tree Monsters, Hunters and Miniature Stonehenge’s.

They are pretty much medieval eco-terrorists. If you like your models looking feral and barbaric, these guys are the way to go.

How do they Play?

The Circle is all about speed and controlling battlefield terrain. Many of their troops have pathfinder, which allows them to move through rough terrain quickly. The Circle has ways to create forests on the board, slowing down their opponents but not themselves. They also have some ways of quickly moving troops around the board, such as teleportation stones.

Circle beasts fall into two categories, fast and deadly (living) or slow and tough (constructs). Their infantry focuses on speed and accuracy over heavy armour and firepower.

Cygnar wrote: Cygnar
Honourable do-gooders with cannons and lightning.

Why would I play Cygnar?

If you like ranged firepower and high tech weapons, Cygnar is the faction for you. If you ever think “this unit would be much better if it had more guns… and lightning”… then Cygnar is the one for you. Also, if you like putting your fingers in electric sockets and have a picture of Nikola Tesla on your wall…. You’re probably a Cygnar player.

What do they look like?

Cygnar troops are a mix of Gritty World War I style ground pounding infantry, pistol wielding trenchcoat wearing Gun Mages, medieval knights and dudes wearing electrical power armour. That sounds like an odd mix but it does work. Just think of technology as another form of magic and its fine.

Cygnar Warjacks have similar themes, ranging from gun platforms through to shield carrying/spear wielding melee monsters. Cygnar jacks tend to be quite mobile and moderately armoured. Their best traits are usually high tech kit, like massive guns or electrical projectors.

How do they play?

You can play a Cygnar army full of melee troops, but it would be non-typical. Cygnar’s strength is with its guns. The key thing to understand is that you probably won’t shoot anyone off the board. Your firepower should be used to whittle down the opponent and snipe out the key targets. The key is to inflict enough damage with your firepower to win the assaults that come after.

Cygnar tends to have expensive units too, guns come with premium pricing and you will almost always be out numbered. Cygnar are also pretty good at killing opponents Warcasters, as all that ranged firepower can easily be brought to bear on one target. (Note, this is how I win all my games as Cygnar, seems I suck at scenarios with complex rules but can kill casters)

Cryx
Evil techno-necromantic undead with a side helping of piracy

Why would I play Cryx?

Are you a ruthless evil bastard? If you answer YES, YES I AM, AND I HATE PUPPIES! Then Cryx is certainly a faction for you. Cryx is a high risk/high reward faction with a list of dirty tricks as long as your arm. If Resurrecting forces, making them invisible and incorporeal, launching magic attacks from any angle, cursing and using people souls and corpses against them sounds like a good time, then Cryx should appeal.

What do they look like?

The undead of the Iron Kingdoms are a little different, there’s a lot of steam powered necromancy, big dark gothic soul engines and undead with mechanical parts. They also have a good number of nautical themed units to appeal to those of you who wish to play “Ghost Pirates”

There is a Gigeresque biomechanical feel to most of Cryx. Machine and dead flesh merged into horrid monstrosities.

How do they play?

Cryx can play many ways and have many many options. Speed and numbers are two major strengths and Cryx can overwhelm with hordes of undead that refuse to stay down. They also have a lot of stealth and ghostly (incorporeal) units that are incredibly hard to deal with for some armies.

A lot of Cryx powers are fuelled by corpses and souls; the more the kill the more powerful they become. This can lead to some devastating combos and Cryx Warcasters running around with godly amounts of power.

They also have these fast moving annoying little Warjacks called “bonejacks”. A lot of bonejacks have these things called Arc Nodes that allow their Warcaster to cast spells through them. This allows casters to sit back and use their bonejacks to attack from any number of annoying angles.

Khador
Imperial Russians with REALLY BIG WARJACKS

Why would I play Khador?

Consider the following scenarios and contemplate your response.

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1.) Your opponent is dug in on a hill with long ranged weapons
2.) Your opponent has a fast moving force and will try to outflank you
3.) Your opponent has a horde of melee troops and is rushing at you
If you answer “I SMASH THEM WITH MY IRON FIST” to all scenarios, then Khador is the faction for you. Subtlety is not Khadors strong point, they are all about big Warjacks and steam powered infantry. Also, if you like wearing little fur hats and have a thing for communist imagery… you’re gonna love Khador.

What do they look like?

The Warjacks are big hulking slabs of metal, the biggest and baddest machines in the setting. Khador doesn’t have light Warjacks, only super heavies. They are supported by men in “manowar” battlesuits, so their heavy infantry is almost the size of a light Warjacks.

In addition to the battlesuit infantry they have a great range of other troops, including the winter guard (soviet peasant soliders), Widowmakers (Soviet peasant snipers), greylords (Mages with furhats and massive beards!) and Reavers (masked maniacs with enchanted swords).

You really have to like big armour and fur hats is all I’m saying.

How do they play?

As described above, Khador is the Iron fist faction. The great thing about this is you can set your battle plan (March forward, stop when you reach the other guys) and your opponents have to counter it. Very few armies look at a Khador wall and think “I got this sorted”, if you lose it will probably be from being outmanoeuvred, you will be unlikely to lose a slugging match.

Many of their Warcasters allow their otherwise slow Warjacks to move with disturbing alacrity. Very few things are as unsettling as a fast moving wall of Khadoran Steel.

Of course your Warjacks will need to be supported by infantry as you can easily get outnumbered and taken down with superior numbers if you are not careful.

Legion of Everblight
Bioengineered and corrupt dark elves and dragonspawn

Why would I play Legion of Everblight?

Ask yourself, who would win in an arm wrestle, you or god. If you answered you, WELCOME TO THE LEGION! Everblight is an evil Dragon with a massive god complex, who corrupts everything he touches and loves bioengineering new and interesting forms. His followers are all mutated in some way and his beasts are his spawn.

If you really like creepy looking monsters covered in spikey bits, you’re gonna love the Legion. If you also like creepy dark elves you’re also gonna like them. And if you’re the guy who cheers for the serial killer in horror movies …. well enough said really.

What do they look like?

Kind of horrible really: The beasts are all giant eyeless monsters with very big fangs and claws. Some are built very solidly, like walking biomechanical warmachines, whereas others are lithe and nimble. Some of them slither like snakes and some fly. All in all, the unifying theme is creepy dragon monsters.

The infantry fits into three major categories:


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· Corrupt Dark elves; wearing light armour, moving quickly and carrying deadly weapons,
· Corrupt Ogres; wearing heavy armour, moving slowly and carrying really deadly weapons.
· Really Corrupt things. Creatures that are so deformed and mutated you don’t really know what they started as….. carrying a range of weapons.

How do they play?

The Legion are fast moving and have very good ranged firepower. Their signature power is eyeless sight, which allows them to ignore smoke/forests and other forms of concealment. So if your opponents thinks cowering in trees or behind smoke grenades will keep them safe, they are very much mistaken.

The Legions beasts have some devastating ranged attacks, but they can also back that up in melee quite well, not the toughest beasts in the game but the combination of speed, ranged firepower and melee strength more than compensates for their average toughness. They also have access to cheap tiny warbeasts that can swarm and are annoying hard to kill for very cheap models.

The Legion hits hard and plays dirty. They also have a lot of fury management skills that mean they can run more warbeasts than other factions. In fact, some people play with only a handful of troops and all beasts.

Mercenaries and Minions
War pigs, Sell swords, renegades, rogues, pirates, dwarves and Voodoo Gatormen

It’s pretty much impossible to do justice to both mercenaries and minions in a few paragraphs, just because of the variety of models and units. What I will mention is some of the themed forces available, and let you dig deeper if any of them appeal

Steelhead force - Prototypical mercenaries, hardened soliders fighting for coin
Highborn Covenant – Displaced nobility fighting to reclaim a homeland
Magnus – Rogue Cygnar warcaster on a crusade against his homeland
Privateers – Pirates, complete with nautical warjacks and deck guns
Searforge – Power armoured dwarves with mining warjacks
Thornfall alliance – Pig men and biomechanical pig monsters
Blindwater – Voodoo gatormen and swamp monsters


If any of these weird and wacky themes touches you in that special place, look into it more. One cool thing about mercenaries and minions is they can be used in other forces as supplemental troops. Mercenaries tend to work for Warmachine factions and Minions for Hordes factions.

Protectorate of Menoth
Religious zealots with a thing for suffering and fire.

Why would I play the Protectorate?

Is your back covered in welts from where you flagellate yourself? Does smiting infidels fill you with intense pleasure? And do you consider fire a close personal friend? If you answered yes to any of those questions, pick up a Protectorate of Menoth battlebox on your way to the asylum.

What do they look like?

Well, to put it bluntly, the protectorate look like crusaders in power armour carrying massive icons and plenty of napalm.

There are numerous orders of knights within the Protectorate and they wear different suits of ornate armour. The warjacks are solid looking and tend to be decorated with religious iconography.

Plenty of the models carry censers, tomes, banners and icons. There are a lot of cool details to paint if you are inclined to.

How do they play?

The Protectorates strengths are their holy magic, solid warjacks, units of knights and ridiculous amounts of fire throwing weapons. They can be the most resilient force in the game, using their combination of hardy armour and defensive magic to create a solid block that is difficult to budge.

The Protectorate has interesting effects within units. For example, one unit can share damage amongst themselves, and another gets tougher for each one of its members that die. There are also buff units like the choir that can make warjacks immune to ranged attacks. Your statlines tend to be quite low, but this is more than made up for by special effects and buffs.

As pointed out by AnaSu "I would also say that one of Menoths strengths is denial. They basically shut down other factions abilities, reducing their capacity to hurt the menoth army. A well played menoth army is very frustrating to play against."

Retribution of Scyrah
Xenophobic warrior elves who hunt mages and use power fields

Why would I play The Retribution?

If you have a thing for elves, and I understand a lot of people do, then this is your faction. That being said, these guys aren’t your prototypical elves. They are on a crusade to wipe out humanities mages and are really good at doing it. If you like high tech weapons, cool armour and elves being ninja assassins, then the retribution should work for you.

What do they look like?

There are two major themes in the models for the Retribution. One is the mage hunters and other sneaky units, they tend to wear long flowing coats and carry an assortment of sharp stabby things and crossbows. The other theme is the dawnguard, and they wear big suits of high tech looking armour and carry weapons like gunblades.

The warjacks (or Myrmidons) of the Retribution have a lot of smooth lines and look very high tech compared to the steam belching monstrosities of the other factions.

How do they play?

The Retribution is a pretty elite force, you’re almost always going to be outnumbered. Their infantry is pretty solid and can multi-role quite well, but they tend to be quite expensive compared to other factions. Your solos are quite good as well, many fast moving hard hitting units that are hard for enemies to hit.

The warjacks are on the expensive side for what they do, but they do have some impressive armaments and powerfields which can regenerate during battle. That being said, the strength is in your units and solos and the Warjacks should be complimentary to these guys…. Also, most of your casters excel at assassinating the other players casters.

Skorne Empire
Inhuman and vicious sadomasochists from the east

Why would I play Skorne Empire?

If you have a thing for brutality and pain then Skorne is for you as these guys are nasty pieces of work. Its all about pain and suffering, cutting yourself and blood/death/pain magic. If you like a faction with an incredibly brutal play style that says “I’m gonna mess you up” then Skorne could be for you.

What do they look like?

The Skorne Empire looks like an organized martial force, albeit an inhuman one. Their soliders are well armed and well equipped and they can carry some of the heaviest armour in the game. Other units look like sword wielding maniacs who cut themselves. All in all they have a very “middle eastern” look to them. They also have units that are golems animated by the souls of dead warriors, these things look like giant killer statues.

The beasts are wild animals that the skorne have trained (abused) to fight for them. They have basilisks, Cyclops and Titans (like 6 armed elephants). Their beasts are armoured and most have been taught to carry weapons. Some, like the Cyclopes, look like super heavy infantry models with their heavy armour and big swords.

How do they play?

Brutally! Well, I’ve seen two major themes with the Skorne. One is the Brick of doom, where the Skorne force is made up of the toughest nastiest units they can field. This massive wall of meat and steel implacably advances towards the enemy and just wears them down in a battle of attrition.

The other approach is to be more mobile and to create a fast moving strike force that hits incredibly hard. Skorne have many tricks that allow their other ponderous Titans to move with distributing speed across the battlefield.

One thing is sure, the Skorne empire is unlikely so just sit back and wait for the enemy. This is a faction that loves getting its hands dirty. They also have many effects that are powered by death, so getting stuck in helps fuel their power.

Trollbloods
Trolls of all sizes fighting for their freedom and a homeland.

Why would I play the Trollbloods?

If you really like the idea of downtrodden people forming together to create their own homeland in the face of horrid oppression, then the trolls could be for you. Also, if you like the idea of giant slabs of flesh and rock who eat people, then you will also like the trolls. Practice singing the line “I get knocked down, but I get up again, you aint never gonna get me down”.

What do they look like?

Trollbloods are a grouping of peoples. They start with very small pygmy trolls, who possess low cunning and rifles. The core of the force are trollkin, who are slightly larger than humans, and equally intelligent. The Trollbloods are an interesting mixture of Scottish themes and Cygnar guns. In the story Cygnar gave them some left over weapons, crud they didn’t want. What Cygnar didn’t expect was for them to don their war kilts, crab the bagpipes and carry in their arms weapons normally reserved for gun emplacements.

The hard hitting part of the force are the full blooded trolls and dire trolls, and these guys can get pretty big. Trolls come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are rather intelligent and have learned to wear armour and carry weapons. Others have changed and warped based on their environments…. For example a troll who lives on volcanic rocks changes over time to be immune to heat and can belch fire.

How do they play?

Trollbloods are tough, tough as nails. Every single unit has someway of healing damage or recovering from being killed. THIS CAN ANNOY THE STUFFING OUT OF OPPONENTS! Nothing is more frustrating that shooting the same guy 10 times while screaming “WHY WONT YOU DIE”. Of course, the reverse can happen and none of your guys will make regeneration rolls. Its very hit and miss.

Dire Trolls are as nasty as anything in the game, they hit like mack trucks, have massive strength and can regenerate. Normal Trolls are also very hardy for light warbeasts.

The troops are a mix of magical buffs guys (FROM MAGIC RUNES DAMMIT) , melee guys (Think braveheart… if they were all 8 foot tall trollkin) and guys carrying army surplus (More 8 foot guys…. Carrying really big guns). Most models are medium base sized, which means your forces take up a lot of space.

I was more looking for gameplay information than fluff (I'm going through the books to get fluff,) but the summary was an enjoyable read regardless so thanks. Going through the Vomkrieg stuff now, and I'll take a look at Beasts of War when I get home. (It's work blocked.)

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Finished reading the Vomkrieg article. It seems like the particularly tough and durable factions would be Khador, Menoth, Skorne, and Trollbloods. While I really like the looks of Cryx and Everblight, it sounds like they're both relatively fragile armies... and considering I tend to have a hard time resisting rushing in to smash face, fragile doesn't work so well for me. Does that sound about right?

Don't discount those factions outright if durability is your concern. Cryx and legion are indeed frail but they can both field highly evasive models that crumple when struck but are difficult to hit. The truth is, in this game, there are some charges you can't expect anything to survive (a bronzeback titan and the deathjack come to mind.) Offense generally outweighs defense in most situations.

Thinking on this for a bit, I'm not sure that durability is really my main concern. I mean, heck, I love playing Orks in 40k and those buggers die plenty fast. I should probably be looking more for either a relatively straight-forward play style, and plays fairly aggressive. As much as I'd like to claim otherwise, I'm a pretty lousy tactician. In 40k I tend to go about as far as 'Stand some guys on objectives, send the rest in to smash stuff up.'. If I ever get to the point where I play more than a dozen or so games in a year maybe that'll change, but for now, simple is the way to go.

I'd stay away from trolls and menoth then. Both require synergy between their various models to work correctly. For example Menoth jacks without a choir are arguably the worst in game, and without proper support your heavy jacks will probably fall to things that normally wouldn't scratch it.

Lansirill wrote:I was more looking for gameplay information than fluff (I'm going through the books to get fluff,) but the summary was an enjoyable read regardless so thanks. Going through the Vomkrieg stuff now, and I'll take a look at Beasts of War when I get home. (It's work blocked.)

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Finished reading the Vomkrieg article. It seems like the particularly tough and durable factions would be Khador, Menoth, Skorne, and Trollbloods. While I really like the looks of Cryx and Everblight, it sounds like they're both relatively fragile armies... and considering I tend to have a hard time resisting rushing in to smash face, fragile doesn't work so well for me. Does that sound about right?

"fragile" is irrelevant when they've killed what they charged, and the other guy has nothing to strike back at them with.

Lansirill wrote:Thinking on this for a bit, I'm not sure that durability is really my main concern. I mean, heck, I love playing Orks in 40k and those buggers die plenty fast. I should probably be looking more for either a relatively straight-forward play style, and plays fairly aggressive. As much as I'd like to claim otherwise, I'm a pretty lousy tactician. In 40k I tend to go about as far as 'Stand some guys on objectives, send the rest in to smash stuff up.'. If I ever get to the point where I play more than a dozen or so games in a year maybe that'll change, but for now, simple is the way to go.

Yes and no and maybe, and kind of. nothing is really that simple in warmachine. the sheer depth of this game means you simply cannot pigeonhole Khador (we'll say) as the "hard" faction. also, terms like "durable", "fragile" and "aggressive" are misleading in a game where everything can be brought down by something, and aggressive play is simply how it is done. aggressive is simply another way of saying "i play warmachine". there are no tau in this game. there is no hanging back out of arms length.

I'll show you what i mean. you mention Khador, menoth, skorne and trollbloods as tough and durable. Now, yes, you are correct. they are. but thats not to say the others arent either. i can bring a cygnar army up to ARM21 against ranged attacks, making them, essentially immune to most small armed ranged weapons. I can make cygnar into a tank the khadorans would be envious of, with effective use of cygnaran mercenaries, like boomhowler & co., the piper and horgenhold forgeguard. take a caster, and the junior warcaster, and youre spanning 2 +3ARM spells on top of this on stuff. Look at circle. Often touted as the "slightly pillowfisted hit and run faction". Well, my warpwolves can one-turn anything in this game. my stalker took down a collossus in one turn once. as for fragile, meet skinwalkers, and ravagers. meet constructs. it might not be the premier built, but circle can do it, and it is quite effective.

what you need to realise is all factions are capable of all manner of plays. what is vital is the warcaster. swapping out a caster (even if everything eise in your list is identical) utterly changes how your army works.

you say you want simple, straight forward and aggressive. sounds like khador, but then again, this can also apply to trolls, cryx, legion, skorne, etc etc. Be more specific. Do some reading. tell us are there any casters, any factions whose look or feel grabs you.