New player advice

[Rarenomad]

I am not new to miniature gaming but lately my local meta is abuzz with everything DA. I did have a few questions I hope people wouldnt mind filling the gaps.

First, I come mostly from a WM/H background, what I am currently struggling with is what each factions "schtick" is, meaning their playstyle. How does each faction play in relation to WM/H?

I like the Skarrd models alot, but also am thinking of picking up forsaken. What would be a good start aside from picking up the starter boxes (which I intend to do with the Skarrd Warband)?

I do intend to play in tournaments but I am not a power player, my focus when outside of a tournament setting is fun comes first, not steamrolling across the board. IMO that makes for a dull experience and a wast of my opponent and my time. Suggestions on recommended models would greatly be appreciated!

Thanks in advance and look forward to your responses!

[cerealkiller195]

Forsaken has good armor and relatively good weapons, though they don't have THAT many ranged options they have more than the other factions at the current moment. Even if it is just having pistols on some of their troops they have that slight advantage. Usually have better armor on their core/front line troops than the other factions.

Skarrd tend to vary wildly but usually seen as having more expendable troops than forsaken. They can run well with a handful of good models surrounded by average meat shields. They can have large high point models trudging along with the cheap ones so their style varies.

I tend to run skarrd mostly because I like a bunch of average/cheap troops bolstered by a few individuals making them better or delivering the killing blow to the enemy. My St. Mary force tends to run on the melee side of things with high armor backing them up.

Dark age has never been boring playing as with most alternating activation games it keeps you in the action and you will create a bunch of memorable gaming moments. hope that answered your question somewhat i tend to go off topic at times. if you have any more questions feel free to ask.

[wulfbein]

I don't know much the other factions than my dragyris yet, but I can say that: there are subfactions for the two factions you are considering and the subfactions will really define the play style. Though Pretty much all subs of Forsaken are high armored and Skaards are pretty much all very aggressive, the subs have small schticks.

[Repeter]

First, welcome aboard!

You're group has stumbled upon my favorite miniatures game (and I've played a lot of them). I used to play some WM, so let me just tell you, the faction fluff/breakdown/playstyle is very different in Dark Age. The alternating turn system is also very different from WM, mostly in that it is difficult to create layered, bonused-up-the-wazoo alpha strikes. Also, Dark Age has MALs, or critical misses, where one's ancient tech or difficult 'spell' can really turn around on you.

It's funny, I just wrote a long email to my buddy about this very subject. He knew I played and asked me to breakdown the factions. Here is most of that email (please forgive me if I've missed some 'email-ish' language in my edit):

Forsaken: These are some post-apoc, religiously inclined humans. The generic troops are, like the others have mentioned, mostly well armored and fairly specialized as ranged or melee specialists. There are some notable exceptions, like the Warwind, who is a tough-as-balls leader type and can do both.

The sub-factions are the different Saints. Each of them has special troops which only they can take.

Skarrd: My favorite models, for sure--they drew me into the game. Desert-dwelling mutants bent on revenge? Yes, please!

I haven't run them in the new edition, but they aren't too much different than they've ever been: Aggressive!! With some low-cost shock troops, and some nasty tricks (in the right hands, they are a deployment nightmare for an opponent), they tend to run hard and fast, looking for a little luck, of course. They have their ranged options, but they tend to be in the form of spray templates and such. Aside from the low-cost troops, the Skarrd have a number of large point choices that do their job well.

The sub-factions are the Toxic and the Blood cults. Fairly self-explanatory names, yes? Most of the Blood Cult hasn't been released yet. The artwork looks sweet though.

Brood: Genetic experiment gone horribly wrong, or wildly succesful, depending on one's perspective. This is a swamp full of monsters being created and controlled by the Brood Mere. Rule-wise, they are one of the most unique factions you'll find in any game, imo. They are mostly fast, strong, expensive, and also, imo, take a lot of finesse to run well. I've mostly played against them (again, in the old edition), and was always interested in trying them out myself. The time I did, I got my ass handed to me due to low activation numbers and stupidity on my part...

They currently don't have any rules for a sub-faction, but I thought there was going to be something...

Dragyri: Big Dragon-men (and women!); the original aliens of Samaria, who've lived underground for thousands of years, warring amoungst each other in melee battles. They are very much melee badasses. Rules require one to bring three little slaves for each Trueborn, although it is fine to bring tons of the suckers if you want. It is also a viable tactic, game-wise.

The sub-factions are the Ice and Air Castes. Ice Caste are the males, big brutes with an 'ice' themed spell list. Air are the fast ninja chicks. Each sub-faction has access to some ice and air elementals.

Outcasts: These are the humans who live on the fringes of the religious society, but haven't been mutated by ancient labratories. They are the newest faction and I have never played as or against them. As such, I don't know crap about them.

Hope this helps--now go buy some stuff!!

[Rarenomad]

@ Repeter

Sorry for the super late reply, thank you very much for the rundown, I think thus far Skarrd is my favorite faction and I may dabble in the Air Dragyri (since noone at my LGS is fielding them). Generic Skarrd is probably going to be my modis operandi until I get a better feel for either Blood or Toxic. ATM im leaning towards blood since we have 1-2 people doing toxic.

Any thoughts on the Air Dragyri and blood cult? Air Dragyri seem somewhat fragile but I did notice that some of them have RE(4) WOW!!! Even with a 2"move, move 3 times and you can still CA someone from 4" away, thats better then many other models/factions!

[DA_Grafter]

Air caste is super fast moving with some really good foci (spells) but they are not very heavily armored, so kind of glass cannon, they can deal it but not take it. So, it all depends on what style you play. If you are a tactical player, you will find Air caste very interesting to play.

[Rarenomad]

so forgive the reference, but they sound like Legion (from hordes) yes?

If it makes any diff, I already grabbed a bunch of skarrd and foresaken. My favorite faction in warmahordes is Skorne, if there is anything you would suggest id be appreciate it!

[DA_Grafter]

Unfortunately I don't play Warmachine, but I am sure other on here can answer that.

[Repeter]

In purely Warmahordes terms, although keep in mind huuuge differences exist, Air Caste is more Legion/Cryx (speed and alpha strikes) while Ice Caste is more Skorne/Khador (more armor and great follow-up abilities). The slaves in each list can be used almost like Mechithralls or the like--speed bumps that both lure in the prey and block it from getting too far into your lines.