Guide to starting Warma/Hordes

Warmachine: How to Choose A Faction - Part I
Posted by Lux at Wednesday, December 01, 2010


Link: http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2010/12/warmachine-how-to-choose-faction-part-i.html


There are many ways to pick a faction when starting a new army: background, aesthetics, playstyle. Now I can't tell you which design styles you should like, and we've already written a bunch of articles detailing the backgrounds of the major Warmachine and Hordes factions, so this one will focus on the playstyles of each of the main forces.
So you want to start playing Warmachine, but you aren't sure which faction is for you. I realize that most of you reading this will be coming from a Games Workshop background, probably 40k. When most of us think of playstyles in 40k-land, we think of the shooty factions (IG, Tau, Necrons, etc), the close combat factions (Orcs, Nids, DE....), the fast factions (Eldar, DE.....), and so on. While most factions will have a few units that break from that overall style, for the most part the armies will play a certain way. There aren't many people who can turn IG or Tau into a fully close combat force.

Warmachine and Hordes armies don't work that way. I see numerous posts around the internet asking for advice on which faction is best at running Warjacks, for example. The nice fact about the game is that there isn't one answer. Every faction has shooting, and can play a solid shooting list. Every faction can do well with lots of beasts/jacks, or lots of combat infantry. The trick is that they all do it in a different way.



Warmachine versus Hordes aka Fury versus Focus
If playstyle is your only consideration, then you need to decide whether you prefer Warmachine or Hordes. Warmachine is the older game by several years, and so the factions have a few more casters, and a few more options in units, solos, and Warjacks. Warmachine also uses Focus, which makes it more of a resource management system. You'll need to carefully decide each turn where and how to use your limited Focus points to get the most from your force.

By contrast, Hordes utilizes the Fury mechanic. Fury is a lot more flexible than Focus, since you can effectively make more of it as needed, however, you are essentially required to run multiple Warbeasts in order to keep your Warlock fully fueled up with Fury. But, the flexibility of Fury means many Warbeasts are 1-2 points more expensive than their Warjack counterparts. As you lose Warbeasts and access to Fury sources, your Warlock loses power, whereas, a Warcaster in Warmachine will always generate Focus. Additionally, Hordes forces tend to have more all-terrain abilities than Warmachine factions and the Warbeasts tend to be faster than Warjacks. I find this gives a slightly larger element of maneuver warfare to a Hordes faction than to a Warmachine one. Lastly, except for a couple special exceptions, Hordes has no Arcnodes, meaning the Warlocks will have to stay closer to the front in order to use their spells, and that means a greater risk of assassination. So if keeping your caster in the back slinging spells is more your style, you may want to look towards Warmachine.




Warmachine: More options. Warcasters maintain their power even without Warjacks. A resource management system. Warjacks are often tougher than Warbeasts.

Hordes: Fury is more flexible. Tends to be faster and more mobile. No Arcnodes.

Breaking Down the Factions

Cygnar: Is good at lightning and long-ranged direct-fire weapons (think rifles). Infantry tend to be a little slower (SPD 5) & need a little buffing from the Warcaster in order to get the most out of them. Otherwise, Cygnar is pretty solid at every type of play. It can take some time to get the most out of your units and Warcaster. Note- Cygnar is often considered the "good" faction in Warmachine.

Menoth: Likes fire and buff's. Warjacks and infantry are comparably weaker on paper, but can be made fantastic with a bit of help. Shooting tends to be either very short ranged with high POW, or very inaccurate long ranged AOE's, with flaming spray attacks on several units. The trick is learning how many points and effort it's worth spending on the support units versus your main units. Can be either an elite force of excellent troops, or horde of cheap guys, or a mix. The slower speed on most of the 'jacks, along with all of the aura buffs mean this faction tends to brick up more than most others.

Khador: Ice Ice Baby! Cold is everywhere in this faction with lots of ice effects. Tends to be more of a melee faction with heavily armored infantry and Warjacks. Ranged weapons are a mix of everything- long ranged AOE's, medium ranged rifles, sprays, and short ranged No light Warjacks and no Arcnodes mean the Warcasters have to play farther forward. They make up for this by having some of the highest statlines in the game. Infantry tend to be self-sufficient and on the faster side, with lots of all-terrain. The Warjacks are all SPD 4, however most of the Warcasters have some means of increasing the speed of one or more 'jacks in their control.

Cryx: Who doesn't like evil undead pirates?! This faction features slower infantry with fast Warjacks (SPD 6 heavies!). Higher defenses and lower armor values are common. Many units have either Stealth or Incorporeal. The Warcasters are fantastic at de-buffing the enemy, and great attack spells along with cheap, fast Arcnodes mean magical assassination is a go-to tactic. If the faction is weak at anything, it's long ranged shooting attacks.

Retribution: Angry, pissed off elves. Retribution is a bit between Cygnar and Cryx. Lots of magical attacks, with good shooting and higher SPD 'jacks. This is the newest Warmachine faction, so it doesn't have all the unit options available to the other factions. The infantry is awesome, but tends to need help from support/buff spells to get the most out of them. Nearly every Warjack has a ranged attack.

Mercenaries: Depending on the route you go, they can do a bit of everything! Dwarves are slow and heavily armored, with great shooting. Pirates feature lots of solos and shooting. Steelheads have solid cavalry and infantry similar to Cygnars. However, the available mercenary contracts will limit what you can take with certain casters, and that means you'll have fewer options available to you than a "standard" faction. The plus side is that even more than every other faction, by simply switching out your caster, you have access to an entirely different playstyle.

Ramone: Try to quote or weblink the original poster from the blog, at least to give him credit.

The original link is :
Warmachine article

Hordes Article

Right..sorry i forgot to do it...

Link: http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2010/12/hordes-how-to-choose-faction-part-ii.html

Following up on yesterday's Warmachine post we review the five Hordes factions for those who need help choosing a place to start.


Trollbloods: Trolls are the "good guys" of Hordes. They're nearly all SPD 5, with lower defense and higher ARM. Medium bases and Tough are everywhere, making these guys great at taking and holding ground in scenario play. However, the slower speed isn't for every player, and I've seen a number of people abandon this faction in favor of something more "dynamic". Ranged attacks are a mix of medium ranged direct fire weapons and short ranged sprays, and serve mainly to supplement the awesome melee capabilities of the army.

Legion of Everblight: Mutated evil draconic elves. This is an alpha strike faction with lots of glass cannons and direct fire ranged attacks. SPD 6 or even 7 is the norm with high DEF and low ARM. This faction has many means of managing Fury, meaning they can run lots of Warbeasts with little or no infantry support. Magical attacks are sparse, though the faction is currently the only one in Hordes to have something akin to Arcnodes. The Warbeasts are all fast; most have a shooting attack, and most are all-terrain. One other defining characteristic is Eyeless sight, and ability which lets the affected model see through cloud effects and forests. Combined with their mobility through terrain and solid ranged ability, there is almost nowhere to hide from a determined Legion army. The weakness lies in weak armor and the need to strike first and strike hard. Legion forces rarely win an attrition game.

Skorne: Skorne is often considered the most "Warmachine-like" of the Hordes armies. With less all terrain, lots of SPD 5, and lots of self-buffing aura's, the faction tends to brick up in a manner similar to Menoth. As with Trolls, what shooting exists is more of a compliment to the melee abilities of the army. Skorne also has several Warlocks who gain power through the death of friendly models, meaning that an attrition strategy can work well with the right list build. As with Menoth, working out the right mix of main-line units and support models is the key, though with many of the solid buffs coming from Warbeast animi, it's not as hard as you'd think.

Circle Orboros: High SPD, high DEF, low ARM, and lots of all terrain and teleportation effects make this a true ambush army. You get a nice mix of outstanding Warbeasts along with some solid infantry choices to choose from. What you don't have much of is long ranged shooting or AOE's. However, plentiful magic attack spells on the Warlocks and the high speed of the army (to engage the enemy quickly) go some ways towards making up for this. This is another army that relies on striking first and striking hard. An opponent who denies them this ability can really throw a wrench into their game.

Minions: Minions are still being fleshed out as a faction. Right now, you've got Farrow Pigs, and Gatormen as the two main groups from which to choose your Warlock. The Farrow are a mix of ranged infantry, with great melee Warbeasts. SPD 5 on nearly every model is average, but means they'll often get charged first. Fortunately, Tough means they can often withstand the initial onslaught....so long as the dice are decent. The Gators are a melee army with next to zero shooting, but have several abilities which let them be almost completely immune to ranged attacks. However, magic can still get to them, and faster melee armies can often out charge them. As the newest faction in Warmachine and Hordes, Minions have the fewest options available of any faction.