# Basic advice on each Warhammer army



## Ultra111 (Jul 9, 2009)

Hey guys.

I'm looking in to starting a WHFB army, and I was just looking for information regarding each race (I don't even know the names of all the factions lol.

So what can you tell me about the races? I would use Lexicanum but I've found you guys providing me with info is more reliable. 

Oh, and what are the main differences in the rules?


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## Hammer49 (Feb 12, 2011)

It may be better if you mention how you would like to play or want to play e.g heavy close combat, Heavy magic , shooting. This is because not all of the different armies can be used in the different styles effectively.


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## Ammit Brando (May 25, 2009)

As a Vampire Counts player (if you choose this army)

I have found that you have to choose either magic or combat. Mixing the two doesnt give you too much of an advantage. Not saying you cant.

Make sure you can make your core units survivable and support them with specials and rares. I have found that a 2:1 ratio of combats helps you to do well.
ie. core+1 other unit fighting vs. unit of enemy.


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## Ultra111 (Jul 9, 2009)

I don't really have a preference, with my marines I play more gunline, so close combat may make a nice change. I think my mate plays tomb kings and orcs (are they a race in WHFB? Such a noob...lol) 

So close combat I guess. No idea how magic would work lol


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## increaso (Jun 5, 2010)

http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20695


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## Ultra111 (Jul 9, 2009)

Cheers for the link.. There's a lot more armies then I thought lol


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## Akatsuki13 (May 9, 2010)

Go to this link here. It's a section within the GW site that has pages on each WFB race with general overview of what the race is like (both fluff and on the TT), their strengths, their weaknesses. Read it all and it should give a good idea what what race(s) you would want to play as.


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## Ultra111 (Jul 9, 2009)

From the (out-of-date) thread, I'm liking Druchii, although I did only have a light skim. And I loved the Malus Darkblade books, so I know I like the fluff.

I'll have a look at the GW link, thanks.


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## Hammer49 (Feb 12, 2011)

Do you have a particular budget in mind as some of the armies need many troops, while other not so many due to higher points values.

Chaos warriors would be a good choice for an army with few models, and plenty of CC ability. They also have some very nice models in my opinon, which I think is an added bonus.


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## Ultra111 (Jul 9, 2009)

Well I don't have a lot of income to cheapest is best really lol.


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## Hammer49 (Feb 12, 2011)

High Elves and dark elves would be two other good choices as they have lots of plastic models in there range, and they have high points value for the models.
Another added benefit is that they can be used with different play styles in the future, if you want to try something different.


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## Ultra111 (Jul 9, 2009)

Hammer49 said:


> High Elves and dark elves would be two other good choices as they have lots of plastic models in there range, and they have high points value for the models.
> Another added benefit is that they can be used with different play styles in the future, if you want to try something different.


That puts dark elves (Druchii right?) higher up my list. They are similar to Dark Eldar right?


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## Hammer49 (Feb 12, 2011)

THey are quite similar to DE. Can give out alot of damage but cant really afford to take it in return.
Though I would stay away from wood elves for the time being, due to the rules changes when the last rulebook came out, which made them very hard to use in this edition of the game.


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## Ultra111 (Jul 9, 2009)

Wood elves never really appealed to me. I like the menace of the Druchii, plus they are the first race I ever read in to


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## Akatsuki13 (May 9, 2010)

Ultra111 said:


> Well I don't have a lot of income to cheapest is best really lol.


That shouldn't be a problem really unless you want to jump into competitive right off the hop. My Tomb King army I started about two, two and a half years ago. I started just with a Battalion Box, an extra 3 chariots, a King and two Liches. For like four-five months I played with just them (and occasionally paper proxies for other units in games with my friends) then over time (namely around my birthday and Christmas) I got more units, a Catapult, Tomb Guard, more Core units, a Casket. If money is tight then do like I did. But the Battalion, some characters and another box or two (unless you roll Skaven then you probably just pick up two Battalions and some characters) that will give you a nice 1.5K starting force and core for your future, larger army. And it gives you a chance to experiment with paper proxies to help decide on future purchases.


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## Ultra111 (Jul 9, 2009)

Akatsuki13 said:


> That shouldn't be a problem really unless you want to jump into competitive right off the hop. My Tomb King army I started about two, two and a half years ago. I started just with a Battalion Box, an extra 3 chariots, a King and two Liches. For like four-five months I played with just them (and occasionally paper proxies for other units in games with my friends) then over time (namely around my birthday and Christmas) I got more units, a Catapult, Tomb Guard, more Core units, a Casket. If money is tight then do like I did. But the Battalion, some characters and another box or two (unless you roll Skaven then you probably just pick up two Battalions and some characters) that will give you a nice 1.5K starting force and core for your future, larger army. And it gives you a chance to experiment with paper proxies to help decide on future purchases.


Sounds good mate. My problem comes from wanting too many armies at once, as at the moment I want to expand my Iron Snakes army, I wanna start a converted pre-heresy astartes legion, I wanna expand my ork army and now I wanna start a WHFB army...lol.


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## Akatsuki13 (May 9, 2010)

I know that pain well. I have a Tau and TK armies but I want Lizardmen, VC, CSM and Skaven too. But I've told myself 'No! You're expanding your TK this summer, new army after Christmas.'


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## Hammer49 (Feb 12, 2011)

I think everybody has the problem of having too many armies on the go.


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## Troublehalf (Aug 6, 2010)

I shall post my old break down on the WHFB armies:

Below is a list of the armies in my view, please don't flame me, this is just my opinion, where I mention "skill level" I mean in terms of a brand new player. I don't mean if you use them you are a "noob" or don't have skill, because all armies require skill, I just meant that to a new player to get into, it is slighty easier for some armies to get into.

Here is a break down of the armies (in my view):

Beastman: High Strength and Toughness, use brute force and flanking to destroy armies. Weaknesses are Heavy Armoured Elite units (Knights and so on) and shooty units, mostly guns/cannons.

Skill Level: Medium/High

Bretonnia: Fast, heavy cav. Armoured, main attack is smashing into units are high speed and doing major damage, flanking and out running your opponent. Weaknesses are weak core units made up of Peasants, Men-at-arms are best in big groups, which are expensive. Forces you to use rules and stuff to make them worth fielding. Also, Steadfast rule means you can no longer crash headlong into a unit and make them break, once you've done lancing them, you loose strength bonus from charge and have to fight hand to hand. Best to run away or flank.

Skill Level: High

Daemons of Chaos: Variesd, strong, Immune to Psyc, so they won't run, ever, from a fight. Weaknesses, if they get charged in a isolated position against a stronger unit, they will stand and fight till they die or win.

Skill Level: Medium/High

Dark Elves: Fast, Hates everybody (re-roll missed attacks), high initative, plenty of attacks and strong cav. Amazing magic power. Weaknesses are they are very weak, lightly armoured, in a long drawn out battle against tougher opponents, they won't last long. You could go over the top when casting magic, thus making a mistake.

Skill Level: Medium

Dwarfs: Strongest units in the game in terms of toughness. In lots of ranks they are unlikey to run. Not to mention powerful war machines and such. Weaknesses are enemy mages turning dwarven armor to molten slag and such. Taking out large amounts of models in one go. Dwarves are short. Meaning they move slowly. This means they can be flanked very easily and can get into sticky combats. Solved by putting powerful war machines on the flank, blowing flankers to shreds.

Skill Level: Medium/High

Lizardmen (my army): Very verstile, mix of tough warriors (2nd best in the game) and nimble skinks. Coupled with amazing monster models and some great leaders. They also have arguably the best mages in the game. The Slann are simply amazing. Weaknesses, they don't really have one, the only weakness is fielding an army which is pretty specific, such as mostly range/melee, if you are not verstile, you run the risk of being beaten by the other side if they have such verstility. In my opinion, Lizardmen need more models, need a buff up and need rethinking on skills. They are the first Warhammer race to exist in the lore, yet they are left out of nearly everything nowadays.... I always rant about them

Skill Level: Medium

Orge Kingdom: Huge brutish units, high toughness, high strength and high attacks. They can rip anything to shreds. They are not all slow either, some can run extremely fast. Weaknesses, they don't wear armor, thus if they don't finish the attacks off quickly, they can be sliced apart through their fat and muscle. They also are weak to multi wound attacks, while they have high wound count, they can be eaten through by multiwound units.

Skill Level: Medium/High

Orcs & Goblins: Huge array of units to choose from, if you like lots of choice, choose these, while this is really expensive, it is pretty nice having such a wide choice. They are brilliant in hordes (new rule in 8th) meaning they can dish out dozens of attacks. They also have strong units such as Giants and Trolls. Not to mention the most expensive model in the game, Azhag (£50!!). They also have war machines of great fun! Weaknesses, Orcs & Goblins may be strong and tough, but they are stupid. Really stupid. They suffer from this and Animosity meaning they often don't attack at all, or suddenly start fighting each other, meaning you can loose units even before they get into combat!

Skill Level: Medium/High

Skaven: They excell in mass formations, just like real world rats, there are lots of them and they carry disease. They can overrun fortifications and formations and while the enemy is busy slicing down these weak expendedable units, the stronger, tougher units of the Skaven can march forward and flank the bogged down units. They also carry devastating weapons like Ratling Guns and Warpfire Throwers, which can deal serious damage. However they have weaknesses, while Orc's are stupid and use lots of troops, Rats do the same, except they are very cowardly. They have the lowest Leadership in the game, thus can easily be routed by flanks and huge charges. They also are scared by Fear inducing units, thus costing you time and damage output while trying to over come it.

Skill Level: High

The Empire: Great allrounder army, has a wide selection of dependable units which can do everything you need, magic, melee and range. They have powerful Elites which can break holes in lines and range units which can soften up other targets. They also carry great looking war machines such as the Great Cannon and Hellblaster Vollygun. They also are extremely potent. Weaknesses, none really, but they are just men, most things are bigger and much more scary than a man in armour. However, lots of armies can't field such a wide range of units like Empire. You must look out for panic and leadership tests, not all men are couragage as others.

Skill Level: Low

High Elves: Great all-round army. Not only do they have stupidly powerful mages. They also have the best spellcaster in the game in the form of Teclis. Their "Generic" Heroes/Lords can ride mighty dragons which are a force to be feared on their own. They have great bow units (like all elves) and a great war machine in the form of the Bolt Thrower. They also have super core troops, all of which have great universal rules. They also have superb Elites in the form of Swordmasters, White Lions and Dragon-Princes of Caeldor. Weaknesses: They are not tough and core units don't wear heavy armor. Other than that they can pretty much do everything.

Skill: Low/Medium



Tomb Kings: An awesome army IMO, and I wish I could make them and paint them. They are great because they cant be broken by any form of combat, no matter how many they loose. Furthermore, they have the awesome power of being able to raise units, to their side, from the bodies of slain foes. Thus, while you opponent may kill 10 units, you might be able to bring 5 back. Thus meaning they have to keep on fighting. Furthermore they have powerful Elites which can dish out lots of damage. Weaknesses, their units are mostly dead bodies, and don't wear a lot of armour, therefore they are easily slain against powerful units like Chaos Warriors. They are very unskilled, since they are dead bodies reanimated, they don't keep their martial skills intact. Furthermore, you have a major weak spot in the army, the Lich Priest, which is use to raise the armies to life to fight the opponents, this means if the Priest is killed, he cannot raise any back to life, and as such, the remaining undead can be slain by skilled warriors.

Skill Level: High/Very High

Vampire Counts: Another awesome army, like the Tomb Kings. Their power is the ability to raise the dead back to life, it seems killing things once is never enough against Vampire Counts. They can raise even more than Tomb Kings. They are so good at this ability, you could field two units of 20 models, and halfway through the game have four units of 20 models. You can basicly, bring more models and such than you started with! Thus overrunning your foe with huge amount of numbers. Which is awesome, there are great tactics out there to maxamize this pretty unique ability (Tomb Kings can do it, but nowhere near this scale!). Weaknesses are pretty big ones, firstly, if you loose your Vampire General, your army will start to fall apart, the Vampire is probably your best spell caster and is probably the only one who can raise the dead(undead? new alive?) back to (life? undeath?) and so, with him gone, your units can be wiped out by stronger units and such. Another weakness is the fact that non-Vampire units (Zombies, Ghouls; the ones you raise from the dead and such) cannot move unless they are within 12" of a Vampire General (6" from a Vampire) if there is none, they cannot move, thus you are forced to keep them in the same place and close together this means 1. You can be outflanked and 2. Enemy spellcasters can wipe out dozens of units per turn. However, being outflanked can be solved by raising a unit of zombies to block the flanking units path or have your own flanking units intercept.

Skill Level: High

Warriors of Chaos: As I mentioned, super strong, very powerful models, can do multiple things, such as shoot and melee with great skill. Weakness, very very expensive, you'll end up being outnumbered most of the time. Meaning being outflanked, but you have strong units, you can always go down fighting (or win!).

Skill Level: Very Low

Wood Elves: Amazing range power, they can match any other range unit in the game. They can deliver a powerful knockout blow. If you are smart you can use their agility and powerful long-bow fire to defeat the opponents. Weaknesses, like their other Elven Cousins, they are weak and lightly armoured. Meaning when they get into combat, most won't be able to stand up to strong melee units. Furthermore, they are also expensive, very expensive. Meaning you'll be outnumbered and outflanked, however you can cause the foe major panic tests with your bow fire.

Skill Level: Extremely High

Again, these are my views, trying to help somebody out, jumping into some armies could be very scary, but some armies are simiplier to get into due to their "power" or main "tactics". Some armies, like Vampire Counts, require knowledge of spells and how to boost the units size. Where a Chaos Army is kind of just, jump in, pick units, learn basic rules, go. Everything is there, they are pretty amazing at everything. Empire have a lot of varied units to practice with and such. Horde units require more knowledge of the rules and such. There we go.


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## Ultra111 (Jul 9, 2009)

Wow, great for the post mate. +rep.

I think I have decided with Druchi as my army. Love the look look and the fluff, plus I'm strangely drawn to their menace...


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## Durzod (Nov 24, 2009)

If you're going Dark Elf, you should also check out

http://www.druchii.net/

It"s a site devoted to the Dark Elves and can give you a different viewpoint. Not that HOL is a bad site. Quite the opposite. But these are folk who concentrate primarily on the one race. And getting multiple viewpoints can't hurt. 

A word of warning, though. As with most of the elven sites I've chanced upon, they cultivate an air of civility. If you're a potty mouth or rude be prepared to be chastised. And not only by the mods.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Warhammer Fantasy.


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