Help picking a faction

[mauler78]

So, I have been reading the force book for a couple weeks now and I can not decide which faction to start with.

Originally I was going to start with Brood, but found out my buddy had already started them. And wanted to avoid overlapping.

So, I have narrowed it down to either Dragyri or Skarde.

I like the fluff on the Dragyri and the models are pretty awesome. Ice caste seems full of I punch you in the face brutality, and Air caste full of fast moving with lots of huge reach weapons to mix it up with out mixing it up.

The Skarde on the other had only appeal to me on the Toxic cult. I have read the Blood cult many times and just does not grab me as being as powerful as the toxic.

Would anyone care to share their insight to the factions and there sub factions.

[ToddMFerrullo]

The Dragyri are a solid choice and I think that you have it nailed down pretty accurately. The Ice Caste is a bit more durable and hard hitting but the Air Caste is more maneuverable. If you usually play just "last figure standing" type battles then Ice will work better for you most likely. If you play varied scenarios (as I would recommend) then Air can really shine. The only disadvantage to Dragyri armies is that you will need to paint a bunch of slaves (which is also an advantage on table since it bulks up your numbers). The Toxic cult is very well rounded and will allow you to tailor a force for your playing style easier than many others (and has lots of cauterize weapons to use against that buddy with the Brood). The Blood cult has one major disadvantage currently in that not all the figures are out yet. Of course you can always get a Toxic force and then add the Blood specific figures later to have both available.

[bj]

The Blood cult has one major disadvantage currently in that not all the figures are out yet. Of course you can always get a Toxic force and then add the Blood specific figures later to have both available.

Which will be rectified here shortly......

[mauler78]

Painting models does not really bother me that much since the bulk of the slaves can be used for either Caste. And the Caste guards can only be taken with the Taskmaster and you can only take 1 per 1000pts, a basic box with 6 guards of each caste should cover most needs for slaves.

[bruiser]

I have had a lot of fun painting my Skarrd. I got a starter set and a warhead plus 3 more buzz blades. Gives me around 500 points.
Nice models but I don't know much re gaming as I have only used them once. I do like the look of Father Curwen a well.

[cerealkiller195]

Both are good in hand to hand though Drags tend to have better stand up fighters for their PV while Skarrd can usually mob people with a bunch of cheap grunts or take a big guy that can dish out the damage. Skarrd also tend to have more "buffs/debuffs" in their options than Drags do. Are there any models in particular that catch your eye?

[mauler78]

Well, all of the Drag models look awesome to me, I think the Ice caste has a slight edge over Air, but both are nice.

I think I like the Drag models over the Skarrd models, but I wonder if Skarrd plays a little stronger then Drag. Since to me the Drag rely on swarms of weaker models to deliver 1 or 2 uber models.

[cerealkiller195]

Ice Caste has more armor and generally hits harder to a degree, Air Caste slings more foci, move faster and are harder to hit. Skarrd style is very varied as you can either come with a bunch of large hard hitting guys, a swarm with a few elite attackers and everything in between. I feel Skarrd has a few tricks to go with their swarm tactics while Drags/Ice Caste can bring more of a straight beat down to most situations.

[mauler78]

Yeah, even though I wanted to avoid high model counts, since it means more to paint. I think fluff wise and model wise I am leaning more and more toward Drag. Maybe I can do Skarrd as a second faction later, or brood.