# What are the best WHFB armies?



## Drakken

Hi guys, me and my friends are WH 40k's player, but we want to start plaiyng WH fantasy.

We know nothing about WHFB so we need your help, can you tell us what are the best WHFB armies and maybe their strategies?

We want to know this to balance our matches (after this we'll choose what we like more) .

Thank you once again guys!


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## Abomination

First off, let me say welcome to Warhammer Fantasy. It's a brilliant game. I hope you enjoy it.

Each army is unique and so has it's own playstyle and tactics. On the whole they are all well-balanced (in part due to the warhammer ruleset). Like 40k however, the oldest armies do tend to struggle more (Brettonia & Wood Elves).

It could be argued that Vampire Counts are the best army alongside Warriors Of Chaos as they are extremely well-written.


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## Drakken

Thank you guy, i red a lot of articles about new VCs and WoC and OK so are these top armies?

I think in WH 40k top armies are (for me) GI, SW, BA, DE and GK so i want to know what about WHFB.


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## Tim/Steve

WFB is quite balanced, with any army able to beat any other... unlike some 40k combinations.

Generally I would say to avoid bretts and wood elves but then to go for whatever you like the look of.

My 2 min guide:

Armies I would recommend:
High Elves- magic heavy but good all round... very squishy. Comes in the starter box. Easy to use.
Skaven- good everything but often blow themselves up. Comes in starter box but can be tough on a nooby since they have a lot of special rules to learn.
Dark Elves- the best of pretty much everything, but squiashy and if you don't have your army work in concert they'll just get munched... get it right and you steamroller enemies.
WoC- Strongest combat army in the game, very easy to play good magic but can be outmaneuvered relatively easily.
Tomb Kings- tricky to play, but solid everywhere.
Vampire Counts- no shooting, crap infantry... but billions of them, and they only increase. They just mob people. Vampires are also just about the coolest guys ever.
Ogres- big and smashy. Fast moving, very strong but can't take the hits in return and suffer from low leadership.
Daemons- you can pretty much do what you like but they suffer from a lack of cheap lords.
Dwarves- very slow but can do guns like no-one else. Very tough to actually beat. Can shut down enemy magic if you pile points into doing it.
Empire- massed crappy infantry, massed guns/artillery and the best magical defence in the game if done right (to rival dwarves). You won't have the strongest unit(s) in the game, but you'll have lots of options.
Orcs & Gobbos- 'fun' army. They either work for you and you are laughing, or fall flat on their face and you cry... but its amusing to see either way. Orcs bring the smashy, goblins bring half-decent shooting/artillery, but either way you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Lizardmen: 'Solid' army. Very hard to shift, quite hard hitting with excellent magic and awesome shooting, albeit very short ranged.


I wouldn't recommend:
Beastmen- huge massed infantry with pretty rubbish monster support. Can be fun, but not one I'd recommend.
Wood Elves- fragile and can't deal out much in the way of damage, especially to high T or good armour. But they are awesome at outmaneuvering enemies. I love mine, but wouldn't recommend for a beginner.
Brettonians- Incredibly nasty if used right, but a bit of a one trick pony. I find them a bit boring and god help you if the opponent can deal with a 2+ save.


Might have missed something out... just shows how many armies there are that I'm not entirely sure I can anme them all off the top of my head.


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## arlins

Excellant , im a 40k player and im drifting over to fantasy as well.
Im starting with skaven , more due to the fact i like the mini,s morethen anything else


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## Drakken

Tim/Steve always cathes the point!

Thank you a lot for your 2 min guide, i like (and i must take a choise) VC because they seem like zombie's Apocalypse bringers, Ok's for they big size models and LMs because i play Nids and they seem to recall them!

I think my friends'll like DE beacause he like elves too much (he plays DE in 40k)!

My other friend i don't know!


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## olderplayer

Tim/Steve did a great job of distilling the armies down. I think that there are enough competitive army builds in 8th edition to play what fits your style. I'd favour the armies with books not likely to change for a while that are more competitive (lizards, skaven, dark elves were three of the last books in 7th edition: orcs asnd goblins, Ogres and Vampires all have new 8th edition books and all three armies are competitive but Ogres if played well can be a top army and vampires look like they will still be a top tier army with more options to play now, O&G is under-rated in my opinion). Wood Elves and Bretts have actually proven to be quite competitive in our regional Indy GT tourneys but their books are old and viable 8th edition options and unit selections are limited as a result/GW has simply neglected these two armies. Empire is rumored (lots of confirmation from reliable sources) to come out in May or June with a new book that I would expect to make that army very playable in 8th edition with war machines, magic offense and defense, and lots of cav and infantry options and specials like steam tanks, war alter and Possibly the war wagon. 

High Elves need points cost revisions for many units (archers, spearmen, sea guard, and repeater bolt throwers are over-priced, as are nearly all the cav units), especially in core and in the cav units, and need more rare options in a new book but are still competitive and fun to play.


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## The Son of Horus

Tim/Steve really nailed it.

The thing that's kept me into Fantasy where my interest in 40k has really wavered is that the armies really are balanced against one another. The newest book isn't just mechanically better than anything that's come out before. So in choosing an army, I'd honestly look at the miniatures, and the whole "feel" of the army, and not worry too much about how good mechanically they are, since at the end of the day, they all are actually solid choices.


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## Farseer Darvaleth

Abomination said:


> It could be argued that Vampire Counts are the best army ...


It _could_ be argued, but seeing as the book has barely been out a week I don't think there's much strong grounding behind such an opinion.

In 7th ed, true, Vampires were horrifically unbalanced and essentially could win with their army list. 8th ed chewed them up and spat them out; VC players all had to scrape by with essentially the same list reproduced with tiny adjustments, and certain options simply were unusable. 

Now that we have been fixed, sure, we have a massive power-boost, but considering the depths we had fallen to before this book, I wouldn't say that makes us OP.


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## bobahoff

I am also a 40K player moving over to fantasy and have narrowed it down to either lizardmen warriors of chaos or vampire counts if any one can help I'd be much obliged. Leaning more toward warriors but love new VC minis


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## Turnip86

Well both of those are pretty much magic/combat oriented armies. The difference is WoC tend to be small elite armies with few models and VC is a massive horde so it depends if you want to paint a lot really. 

The new VC do have some nice new additions but your core is still skellies, ghouls and zombies which after painting a 100 odd might have turned you into one by the end. Then again marauders are the most boring thing in the world to paint in my experience so both armies have their painting drawbacks


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## ExtraCrew

I Like to look around at what armies are being played in my area. I then look at the armies that aren't being played or that very few people play. In my area WOC, Lizardmen, Orcs, are the most played. So I play empire I'm the only one and it adds variety. I did really want to play orc, so I looked for a list that no one plays. I created a Night Gobbo list. Just something to look at. Armies that aren't being played or army variations that are't being played.


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## bobahoff

Well I have to say I'm a sucker for small elite forces I just love the vampire lord on zombie dragon


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## gop

Just play what turns you on. Take a chance to check out all the armies at stores or clubs before deciding. No matter what army you choose, you'll probably lose lots at first, but if you play it enough and fine tune the list, you'll start to win more and more.


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## Vrykolas2k

Farseer Darvaleth said:


> It _could_ be argued, but seeing as the book has barely been out a week I don't think there's much strong grounding behind such an opinion.
> 
> In 7th ed, true, Vampires were horrifically unbalanced and essentially could win with their army list. 8th ed chewed them up and spat them out; VC players all had to scrape by with essentially the same list reproduced with tiny adjustments, and certain options simply were unusable.
> 
> Now that we have been fixed, sure, we have a massive power-boost, but considering the depths we had fallen to before this book, I wouldn't say that makes us OP.


VC were fixed all right... taken to the vet and spayed.


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## KarnalBloodfist

Vrykolas2k said:


> VC were fixed all right... taken to the vet and spayed.


I'm not so sure about that. I don't know to many armies where a kitted out lord can do more damage than a greater daemon.


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## Tim/Steve

Crypt ghouls alone make them epic- they are cheaper then ogres (with any decent equipment), tougher then ogres, has as good a save which is harder to remove (5+ regen compared to 5+/6++ best) AND then have poison and unbreakable on top. Damn they're awesome.

Only problem VC have is a crap core selection... but its not _that_ bad and you can still do something with your 25%.


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## KarnalBloodfist

Tim/Steve said:


> Crypt ghouls alone make them epic- they are cheaper then ogres (with any decent equipment), tougher then ogres, has as good a save which is harder to remove (5+ regen compared to 5+/6++ best) AND then have poison and unbreakable on top. Damn they're awesome.
> 
> Only problem VC have is a crap core selection... but its not _that_ bad and you can still do something with your 25%.


I'm assuming you meant crypt _horrors_ instead of crypt ghouls?


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## Tim/Steve

ah yes, that's the badger... dem fings do good


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## misfratz

bobahoff said:


> Well I have to say I'm a sucker for small elite forces I just love the vampire lord on zombie dragon


Warriors of Chaos are just about the most elite force you could build in Warhammer, assuming that you stick to the Warriors of Chaos and stay clear of the Marauders. I also think the Chaos Lord on Manticore compares well as a model to the Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon.


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## Masked Jackal

Drakken said:


> Tim/Steve always cathes the point!
> 
> Thank you a lot for your 2 min guide, i like (and i must take a choise) VC because they seem like zombie's Apocalypse bringers, Ok's for they big size models and LMs because i play Nids and they seem to recall them!
> 
> I think my friends'll like DE beacause he like elves too much (he plays DE in 40k)!
> 
> My other friend i don't know!


If your friend likes Dark Eldar, he should like Dark Elves. Both are fragile and rely on skill, but if pulled off are devastating. But, there's even more reason to pick them. Dark Elves look great kitbashed with Dark Eldar! ^.^


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## Drakken

Thank you guys for all your replays!

So i started a VC army (zombies and skully heavy) and my friend DE one!

We are painting our units for the incoming first match!


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## stalarious

Wow talk about your loaded question. I hope you choose wisely because you may walk away with some enemies here.

IMO I would have to say that VC, skaven, High elf, and Chaos warriors are about on par with each other.
Different playstyles mind you but as close to equal as you can get.(AGAIN IMO.)


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