# Need help choosing a Fantasy army



## Hellhammer (May 1, 2011)

I've been playing 40k for about 5 years now and I want to try Fantasy. The problem is that there are too many frickin armies to choose from. I have narroweed it down to High Elves, Ogres, Wood Elves, and Lizardmen. Suggestions?


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## Daemon Prince Paintbox (Feb 21, 2011)

Hey, that is the eternal question. What army to choose? When I started I chose High Elves as I love anything from the fantasy world and just love elves, dragons and magic. So it wasn't much of a question for me. I'd say maybe have a look at what models you like the look of best and if there's a unit you like best, build an army around that.

For High Elves, they're a good all round army; martial prowess, awesome magic, shooty and big dragons!

Not sure that helps. Let us know what you choose in the end.

All the best


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## GrizBe (May 12, 2010)

Really it depends on what you want from your army... 

Personally, out of those three, I'd not recomend Wood Elves. Out of those four, they're the weakest army there. They're good at skimishing and shooting, but suffer a little with magic and close combat.

Now... what do you want? A brutal army thats really tough? A band of elite? An unstomaple magic weilding force?

High Elves are good all rounder, and have some of the toughest elite out there. However, many people will scream cheese at you for picking them. Teclis is the most broken character in the game and he's banned from tournaments and stores alike as he's deemed so unfair to play. Decent at shooting with some great models, these are probably the best beginers army out there. Plus, you get a great starting army if you buy the Ilse of Blood starters boxed set. 

Lizardmen are also formidible at magic with their Slann, but no-one shouts cheese if you use them. Stick on in a unit of Temple Guard and its notorious for bieng one of the hardest to shift blocks in the game. These are another good all round army there are pretty easy to pick up. A little tougher tactically then the High Elves.

Ogres are pretty much your blunt force trauma army. They are the cheapest to start with as they require the fewest number of models on the table to play with. However, aim a big enough block of bulls at anyone, and it'll mince through almost everything. Unfortuantely, they really suffer with magic. Low initiative means you'll tend to always hit last, and many spells are army killers with them. Also, their gut magic is rather lacking and too easy to dispell with the new edition. That said, they make up with it with one of the best artilaries in the game, and one of the toughest characters in the Tyrant. Properly gear, that guy can smash anything you aim him at. Few models that are large means theres less to paint, and they're easier to, so if you hate or dislike painting, they're a good choice. But, they can be made to look awesome very easily.

However, a disclaimer with them is that they really need an update as they've sufferd with the horde rules of 8th ed and rumour is, that will happen in October.


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## Hellhammer (May 1, 2011)

I just looked at the Ogres book and it seems that they will really suffer against swarms of goblins or skaven, and I have seen quite a few Skaven and Goblin players at my hobby store. So it's down to 3.


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## GrizBe (May 12, 2010)

Yeah, combat resolution against hordes can be a bit iffy... but as said, they're most likely getting updated soon, so who knows what'll change with them.


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## Pathfinder201 (Jun 26, 2010)

I vote Lizardmen., The slann are amazung magic users and they are pretty good in close combat. They don't have much long ranged weaponry but they have a bunch of beast like stegadon which do alot of dammage. Plus they are lizardmen can it get any better?


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## Hellhammer (May 1, 2011)

Hmmm...starting to lean toward the Lizardmen. They have a good, balanced force and awesome special characters. Still not absolutely sure yet.


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

Ogres- I learnt to play with ogres and love them dearly... I also wouldnt recommend them to a new player. They're very hard to use (ok, they've gotten much easier in 8th) and they have some of the biggest flaws in the game (pit of shades/purple sun can pretty much kill your army in a lucky hit).

Wood Elves- again another army I have and love... but wouldn't recommend. They are very difficult to play and one of the weakest armies around. It makes winning with them much sweeter, but if you are learning chances are you'll almost never win.

High Elves- my 3rd army, beginner friendly and give you access to everything except good artillery. Excellent magic, good combat ability, pretty manouverable and with ok shooting... but I find them a bit dull to play and just can't get my head around building what I see as a 'good' army list with them. Its not that its hard to write a good list, it just tends to lack a certain something that I feel I have with ogres/WE.
Many people love HE and with them having models in the starter set its a brilliant place to start WFB...

Lizards- a great army, especially for beginners. Hardy units that you can make mistakes with and survive (unlike any elven or ogre units), supurb magic in the shape of a frog (Slaan), great shooting from skinks, razordons and salamanders and excellent monsters in the stegadons (which unlike the HE dragon will see a lot of use). Has the potential to get a little repetetive, but nothing by 40k standards.


Personally I think that both lizards and HE are great places to start. HE are probably betterif you are getting the Island of Blood starter set (certainyl recommend it), while lizards are just a great choice in general.
If you are an exceptional 40k player then ogres/WE might be ok choices, but even then you'll struggle with them (and some matches can be auto-loss for ogres unless near miraculous luck interceeds).


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## Hellhammer (May 1, 2011)

Okay, it's between Wood Elves and Lizardmen. High Elves seemed too hard to paint, and Ogres are bad against horde, which seems to be the meta right now. Wood Elves don't seem THAT weak, they are the Fantasy equivalent of Tau, they can shoot but are weak in CC. Lizardmen seem to be the exact opposite they can assault, but they can't shoot well. I think it's going to come down to price because I cannot choose for my life.


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## coke123 (Sep 4, 2010)

Your comparison between Wood Elves and Tau is fairly apt- however, shooting in fantasy means way less than combat. The best shooting army is probably Empire, followed by Skaven, and they have access to insane war machines and the like. Wood Elves just don't have this. And Lizardmen can shoot reasonably well, but at a shorter range; They are primarily an assault army, but have a bit more balance between range/assault than the hardcore assault armies like Greenskins, WoC and the like. Seriously, if you want to win games, take Lizards. Normally I'd say to pick what you like thematically, but since we're tiebreaking, I'd wholeheartedly suggest Lizardmen.


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## Diatribe1974 (Jul 15, 2010)

ANYTHING but Elf. Seriously. Fekk the Elf World.


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

Hellhammer said:


> Okay, it's between Wood Elves and Lizardmen. High Elves seemed too hard to paint, and Ogres are bad against horde, which seems to be the meta right now. Wood Elves don't seem THAT weak, they are the Fantasy equivalent of Tau, they can shoot but are weak in CC. Lizardmen seem to be the exact opposite they can assault, but they can't shoot well. I think it's going to come down to price because I cannot choose for my life.


Ogres and hoardes is a complicated one... they're both briliant and rubbish. Simplifying it down though: they are the best anti-hoard army around, as long as they can survive long enough to do it. They are without doubt the best army against hoards that cannot break (VC/daemons)... but something like HE or WoC hoards are incredibly tricky, if not impossible for ogres to deal with.


As for a choice of WE vs lizards: lizards are a nice simple army to learn, with options to help you deal with anything and a solid core. WE are tricky with only a couple options if you want a 'solid' core to your army (I go the other way and just have a fully fluid army with no 'core'). WE are a lot of fun, but are much more involved then lizards: you have to think much more carefully and mistakes can be catastrophic (always the case in WFB, but moreso then normal for elven races, and WE in particular). This isn't necessarily a bad thing; for me it makes them much more interesting to play


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## Hellhammer (May 1, 2011)

Whoa, just saw the Vampire Counts rule book, they look pretty awesome. Any thoughts on them? The only real problem I saw was the army disintegrating when your general dies thing.


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## coke123 (Sep 4, 2010)

Yeah. the whole disintegration thing is a bitch. Not to mention they get bitch slapped by just about every superspell around... If you like them, go ahead, but they are one of the tougher armies to play nowadays.


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## Orochi (Jan 28, 2009)

VC's aren't so good under current edition. There's only one build that's much use. And there is only one tactic with it...so It's a little dull and repetitive.

I am an Elf player, of both High and Dark. So my recommendation is to go with HE. There's plenty of ways to play HE. Not to mention the Models are definitly good looking and quality. 
Yes, you will be avoided should you take Teclis, but that's because he IS as good as everyone says he is. However, an Archmage with the Book of Hoeth inherits Teclis's strongest special rule (In my opinion), and is incredibly powerful.
HE, weirdly enough, have access to the best defensive infantry in the entire game in the form of Phoenix Guard. 
Army wide ASF is brilliant too.
They are nice and easy to get the hang of, and you can pursue combat, defense, magic or massed bow fire. It's entirely your call.


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## Acid Trip (May 2, 2011)

Pick whatever army u like the models from...thats really all that matters


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## Akatsuki13 (May 9, 2010)

If you want to go undead, I'd actually choose Tomb Kings over the Vampire Counts, and not just because they're getting a new release in a couple of days but rather because they are the more all-round undead army. Unlike the VC, they have a proper Shooting Phase with archers, mounted archers, chariots, catapults and the Casket of Souls while the VC have... well nothing for shooting. Plus I love their 'It Came From Below' units (which is returning with a different name and more units with this rule). Having Tomb Scorpions rise up from within or behind enemy lines to tear open those pesky warmachines, wizards and other shooters.


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## Hellhammer (May 1, 2011)

Okay, I have decided to do Lizardmen because they seem like a good army to learn the game with, and there are a lot of ways to play them. Thanks for all of your help guys!


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