# Newbie here: Help with army choice



## Raizer Sabre (Nov 8, 2010)

Hi, newbie here  

I've been popping in and out of Games Workshop over the last few weeks trying to decided between Warhammer Fantasy, 40k or LOTR and decided I'd like to go for Fantasy given that I prefer the fantasy element to the sci-fi of 40k and less restrictive colouring of LOTR. Now I'm stuck for a choice of army. The thing is I'd like a nice, well balanced army, good for points and numbers but doesn't do too bad on range, attack and defence either. 

I'm told in my local GW, games are usually 1000-1500 points or so and my general strategy (even in PC games) is attempting to balance strength and numbers. Hopefully I've been specific enough with play style, but with all that in mind, which do you think would be better for me?


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## VeronaKid (Jan 7, 2010)

The best advice that any newcomer can heed when selecting an army for the very first time is: do your homework and go with what you like. I realize that it sounds like over-simplification, but the simple fact is that this hobby requires tremendous investment of both time and money. If you end up picking something that isn't "you," you're not going to stick with it and you are going to end up wasting your time and cash.

Watch some games. Talk to gamers. Read the posts here. Go to the GW store website and read the "Getting Started" section under each army there. You will magically find yourself drawn to a specific set of miniatures, background, and rules that best match your own personality. That's the army for you.

I have probably said it a dozen times in these forums, and I know I'll say it again, but choosing an army is something that can only be done by you.

O.K. All that being said, based on your desires to match numbers with abilities, I'd say the first armies to look at would be the Empire (if you want to play as a human general) or Orcs (if you want to play as a non-human). Those two armies are the best balance of average-statistics vs. large numbers as far as armies go. Both of those miniature lines are very well supported, so you'll have LOTS to choose from when you're coming up with your initial army list, and you'll really be able to tailor that list to your desires. Many of the armies are really only suited to one particular style of play, and require a very in-depth knowledge of the game to get the most out of, so I don't normally advise beginners to go for them. Of these, Wood Elves, Ogres, and Brettonians come to mind first.

Look at the mini's, read the backgrounds, and ask more questions. Whatever you do, don't let someone tell you what will be best for you, though.

Good luck. And welcome.


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## Raizer Sabre (Nov 8, 2010)

Thanks for the advice and the welcome  

The guys at GW also said at the end of the day, it's my decision and they said it the same way one of the threads did: you can either do it by look or stats. My initial appeal was to the High Elves, Lizardmen and Tomb Kings, though that was mostly aesthetic appeals rather than functional ones. 

As you say, I will have to do some more homework, but at least that gives me some idea on what to have a look at


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## Flindo (Oct 30, 2010)

welcome to Heresy you little Heretic you!

now on to topic, Id say if you want a fun playing, and fun painting race, think about what type of unit your most interested in, do you like animals? do you like dwarves? dp you like good? do you like evil? you should put all concideration into deciding YOUR army, its your army, your gunna wanna love it and feel like its personal to YOU.

Hope I helped

-Flindo


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## GrizBe (May 12, 2010)

Raizer Sabre said:


> Thanks for the advice and the welcome
> 
> The guys at GW also said at the end of the day, it's my decision and they said it the same way one of the threads did: you can either do it by look or stats. My initial appeal was to the High Elves, Lizardmen and Tomb Kings, though that was mostly aesthetic appeals rather than functional ones.
> 
> As you say, I will have to do some more homework, but at least that gives me some idea on what to have a look at



You should go with part of that initial appeal. A big part of the hobby is painting your models and then gaming with said models. If you don't like the look of your models, or painting them, your not going to enjoy the hobby as much as you might have done otherwise. 

That said, also with painting, is do you want to paint only a small number of models, or vast hordes of them? A Horde army will take you longer to paint then a smaller, more elite one. Also, a horde army will tend to cost more to buy in the long run.

Follow Verona's advice though, can't really tell you more then to think about what your going to enjoy painting and gaming with, and what will be your style of play when choosing an army.


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## Raizer Sabre (Nov 8, 2010)

Well in regards to painting, I'd like to be creative and try to come up with my own colour schemes so my army has a unique look to it. 

Normally, my preference would be close combat, though since we're talking about armies, this is where I'd try and balance a bit of everything (comes from being a gamer I guess). Again, this is where I would have to delve deeper and do more research.


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## squeek (Jun 8, 2008)

Try these two threads: 

Choosing a Warhammer Fantasy Army

An Introduction to the Armies of Warhammer

They were written when 7th edition was in force so you may find the odd niggle, but the general information will help you get a better grasp of what each army is about. Then you may have more idea what you like, or at least have some further questions to follow up.


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## Flindo (Oct 30, 2010)

Raizer Sabre said:


> Well in regards to painting, I'd like to be creative and try to come up with my own colour schemes so my army has a unique look to it.
> 
> Normally, my preference would be close combat, though since we're talking about armies, this is where I'd try and balance a bit of everything (comes from being a gamer I guess). Again, this is where I would have to delve deeper and do more research.


Sounds like lizardmen are your choice then, they are fun to paint, cool looking, and very well balanced


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

I would also agree that the Lizardmen do fit your general breakdown of how you see your play style. Lots of skinks with poisoned attacks, hard core saurus, and the ever awesome Slann priest, are all very visually appealing models that all perform well on the table. My pops has been playing them for a while and has been very pleased with them as an army.


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## Raizer Sabre (Nov 8, 2010)

I have to say, I do like the look of the Lizardmen, and reading up on them, as you say, they do seem to fit my play style of hard up close combat and yet not as frail as the High Elves would be with some range in the blowpipes and what-have-you. Will probably pop back into GW tomorrow (already been once today after dropping my gf at work) and see what's kicking


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## sybarite (Aug 10, 2009)

l would say HE or Lizard men, Tomb Kings are a bit old and need an update before jumping in to them (l am hoping there the next one)


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## Flindo (Oct 30, 2010)

sybarite said:


> l would say HE or Lizard men, Tomb Kings are a bit old and need an update before jumping in to them (l am hoping there the next one)


yes and I heard that apparently you HAVE to have 1500+ to have a decent tomb king army, or else youll be wrecked.


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## mynameisgrax (Sep 25, 2009)

All in all, you should definitely use an army that you enjoy the look and playstyle of, because warhammer is a complex game, and at first you'll probably lose a lot more than you win, so you need an army you'll enjoy playing as, even if you're losing.

All in all, the best armies to start with are balanced ones, that give you a good feel for the game overall. I'd say the best armies to start with are:

Lizardmen
High Elves
Dark Elves
Empire

Warriors of Chaos, Skaven, Daemons of Choas, and Orcs & Goblins aren't bad either, but they can be a little weird to play and learn, since Warriors have no shooting, Skaven rely heavily upon disposable slaves, Daemons have strange units/abilities, and Orcs & Goblins have animosity.

I wouldn't start with Tomb Kings. They're a fairly underpowered army right now that's very difficult to learn.


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## bishop5 (Jan 28, 2008)

Raizer Sabre said:


> ...The thing is I'd like a nice, well balanced army, good for points and numbers but doesn't do too bad on range, attack and defence either.


Dwarfs.

Good at range with some of the best warmachines & ranged troops in the game.
Good up close with almost everyone able to hit hard & take great weapons.
Reliable with a flat LD9 across the board.
Excellent defence with heavy armour, shields & lots of anti-magic.

You will not be the fastest army on the table by a long shot, but there are ways to get around that (scouts, anvil, miners, gyrocopter)


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## VeronaKid (Jan 7, 2010)

bishop5 said:


> Dwarfs.
> 
> Good at range with some of the best warmachines & ranged troops in the game.
> Good up close with almost everyone able to hit hard & take great weapons.
> ...


A few things I'd caution a newcomer about choosing dwarfs, though:

1.) No magic. One of the most interesting things about the new edition of WHFB is the way the magic system works, along with all of the new spells. The magic phase no longer feels tacked-on or like a mini-shooting phase; now it has the potential every single turn to completely change the game around. Dwarfs don't get to participate in that. Their magic phase is pretty much limited to: Dispel. Dispel. Dispel.

2.) Limited numbers. Yes, you are good at almost everything (HTH, Leadership, shooting). That comes at a steep cost. Especially for someone who said that they wanted a balance of numbers and abilities, dwarfs ain't gonna cut it on the numbers part. You will be outnumbered in every battle.

3.) Movement 3. Again, like the Magic phase, dwarfs are badly crippled in the Movement phase. Dwarfs move in response to the enemy; they rarely get to initiate the conflict. True, 8th edition has DRASTICALLY improved their ability to get in a charge, but dwarfs are meant to defend, not attack, and their movement rate reflects that.

Just some thoughts.


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## Raizer Sabre (Nov 8, 2010)

Thanks guys for all your thoughts and opinions 

It's been a long and rather hard decision, as I'm sure most of you can relate, but in the end, I decided to go with the Lizardmen. Not only are they very visually appealing and offer a very creative canvas in terms of painting, but also are rather good at movement, magic and close combat as I found by re-reading squeek's thread on choosing an army for the umpteenth time. It's likely I won't be getting started til after Christmas but I'll certainly be showing off the fruits of my labour when I do.

Thanks again : )


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## VeronaKid (Jan 7, 2010)

Very nice choice. Frogs and temple guard and massive saurus-with-spear units for the win!

There are some really fantastic Lizardmen models available, Chaqax being my personal favorite, both from a minature and a fluff standpoint. Honestly, the pictures on the GW website don't do the mini justice. In WD about a year or so ago, they did a really good Masterclass on painting him up- if you're interested in doing a bluish skin tone, it's a fantastic article and gives some really good techniques. I went for more of a red tone when I painted mine up (which I did just because I like the miniature so much- not because I have any real desire to play LM). Looks so good I am tempted to do a whole unit of Temple Guard with a Slaan the same way just to give him something to lead.

Keep us posted as the army grows. If you haven't heard about it, there's a painting project thread on here somewhere where you paint a unit a month during 2011 and post your progress. Could be something to look into.

Best of luck and welcome to the fold.


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## Raizer Sabre (Nov 8, 2010)

Awesome, I'll definately look into that. For my colour scheme, I was originally thinking something along the lines of a dark grey for, at the very least, my main Saurus units with maybe some blood red thrown in somewhere, though I did want to try and make them all different colours but that might be a bit ambitious when I'm still a newbie lol.


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## Zorcoth (Mar 24, 2010)

lizardmen are great fun to paint, you can be really creative and get away with having different coloured units

for example i have blue skinks, a green stegadon and an orange slann (or ubber toad as i like to call them)


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## Raizer Sabre (Nov 8, 2010)

I think what I meant was each individual mini a different colour from each other rather than having say Saurus one colour, Skinks another etc


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## olderplayer (Dec 11, 2009)

Excellent choice. Lizardmen are one of the best armies right now in 8th edition and have all the facets of the game in terms of magic, shooting, hardcore fighting models/units, skirmishers, scouts, and monsters. The variety of options available make lizardmen a fun army to play. There is an excellent dedicated "Lustria" web site to consult on building and playing Lizardmen armies that is a must read for a new player.


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## Flindo (Oct 30, 2010)

I personally like to pick a team color, not several, but your army would look awesome if they were all diffrent, I found a really cool thing to do wich chameleon skinks is to paint some parts on them the same color as your base, so it looks like they are fading in/out of stealth,
heres an example of my skink priest.


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## Raizer Sabre (Nov 8, 2010)

That's a damn good idea, I'll remember that when I have some Chameleons


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## Flindo (Oct 30, 2010)

well post your guys when your done painting them


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## Raizer Sabre (Nov 8, 2010)

I most certainly will. Might be a bit of a wait, in fact I'm actually rather excited and can't wait to get started myself but I'm going to wait til after Christmas and see if I get either any of the army I asked for or even some GW vouchers lol


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## Flindo (Oct 30, 2010)

yes I find myself very excited to get new guys, well its good that you are joining the ever growing hobby , plus you live in UK, the hotspot of all things warhammer.


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## Raizer Sabre (Nov 8, 2010)

Indeed  I bought the army book today, was very tempted to buy an Oldblood and some glue for it and paint it at a later date, but I resisted the urge. Even so, the whole Lizardman history is massively interesting which makes me want my army even more lol


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## Gromrir Silverblade (Sep 21, 2010)

Lizardmen are bad ass! Every fight that I have against Lizardmen is a close one. They look great and play great. As a dwarf player there are very few things that go toe-to-toe with our heavy units but Lizardmen always hold their own. I would say once you get really into it and realise that Workshop owns your soul (and wallet) buy a stegadon as those things are a bloody nightmare to fight against.

Love the Warhammer shop in Guildford, used to live there and they were the guys that got me interested. They don't try and push things on to you and actually have some really good advice. It's also a little bit tucked away so you only ever get real players coming in.


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## Raizer Sabre (Nov 8, 2010)

Yeah, they're ever so helpful in there. When I went in to buy my army book, I ended up having a huge chat with one of the guys who also has a Lizardman army which included his tactics of surrounding his slann mage with Temple Guard and how beastly Chakax is and everything. Then I get yet more insight into the game by witnessing a debate between him and one of the regulars regarding Lizardmen vs Skaven. Like I said, it's mind boggling how much there is to learn, but the hobby overall seems like so much fun, very much a labour of love


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