Thinking of Starting the Game...

[Joasht]

At this current point in time I haven't really read the rules, so I'm only going by aesthetic preferences etc haha...
I'm torn between Outcasts, Forsaken and Dragyri, although Core seems right up my alley (yeay, robots!) but it seems like they are going to be quite some ways away......

What are their playstyles like? And what is a good way to start the game? Whats the usual game size? And how is the balance of this game?

Thanks!

[McNs]

Hey Joahst:

Welcome to the boards!

One of the best ways to start Dark Age is grabbing a starter box of the faction of your choice and having several buddies do the same. The starter box armies are roughly the same point values and play nicely against each other.

As for the usual game size, 500 points is a normal sized game and 750 is about the high end of normal games. To give you a sense of scale, the starter armies are roughly 300 points. Suffice to say, you don't need dozens and dozens of models to play this game.

As for the armies you listed, here's a general sense of what they can do (though, as always, certain lists can buck the norm):

Outcasts - Generalists between melee and ranged, they don't tend to have the best stats in the game, but they're flexible. Not quite as maneurvable as Brood or Air Caste Dragyri, but they tend to be a little faster than Forsaken.

Forsaken - Also generalists, though depending on which Saint you play (Saint present sub-factions within the Forsaken) they can have vastly different play styles. In general, I'd say Saint Mark tends to play more of a ranged game with a strong counter punch, Saint Mary tends towards sprays and multiwound models, Saint John tends towards high armor heavy hitters in melee, and Saint Luke tends towards low defense (that's good), smoke, and AOEs.

Draygri - Both Dragyri factions tend to have lots of slaves (low cost grunts that die to a stiff breeze) and a focus on using Foci (magic) to support their army. Ice Caste generally is a slower faction of "tanks" (high armor high damage output slower models) whereas the Air Caste focuses on ranged and magic attacks. That said, both Castes have a lot of build flexibility.

Just out of curiousity, what are the models you like the look of? If I knew that, I could tell you what they work well with.

Cheers, and best of luck!

- Owen

[Joasht]

Thanks for the reply!

Just out of curiousity, what are the models you like the look of? If I knew that, I could tell you what they work well with.

I'll separate each faction into the stuff that appeals to me the most, and those that appeal to me the least. I don't mind having the models that I don't like if it fills in some holes in my lists, but ideally I'd like my lists to be centered around the stuff I like aesthetically haha

Outcasts:
I like: Brute Pusher, Mongo.
Don't particularly like, but don't really mind having: Scuts

Forsaken:
I like: Saint Luke and the smaller guys labelled with his name (The Stingers and Arsenals), Banes, Faithful, Saint Mary
Don't particularly like, but don't really mind having: Most of the female models. I'm a fan of robots, things with big weapons and heavy armor :P

Dragyri:
I like: Arbiter of Fate, Frostbite, Ice Elemental
Don't particularly like, but don't mind having: The slaves and the female models.

[McNs]

Great! You're in luck that the models you like all tend to play nice together and the models you don't like generally aren't necessary to play the ones you like.

Outcasts: You can easily put together a very smash mouth list with Mongo, Brutes, and Pushers. Consider adding a few of the Wasteland Warriors, a Fixer, and maybe a Warlord.

Forsaken: Saint Luke and his boys (Stigners and Arsenals) play very nicely and need minimal support. Banes play with everyone (and would go decently with a Saint Luke/Arsenal base). Faithful are a Saint John unit, but could be used with nothing but generic Forsaken (Banes, Strikes, Firestorms, Coils, Warwinds, Weaponsmiths, Sisters of Compassion, Field Medics). Saint Mary - see above.

Dragyri - All the models you like are Ice Caste and would make a great, smashmouth Ice Caste list (with some slaves and a Soul Warden). Unfortunately, you've gotta take slaves in a Dragyri list (its a list requirement), though you can minimize their number by taking Elementals.

****

Let me know what of the above interests you and I can give you a decent "starter" list not based upon the Starter Box.

- Owen

[Joasht]

Hmm its hard to make a decision between the three, because aesthetically they all appeal to me. My decision would however be influenced by the local community (I'm trying to get into contact with them, but its a tiny community and hard to reach) since I don't want to play something everyone already has, and the other part of my decision would be based on their playstyle. I might be wrong, but do the lists play in a similar way? They all seem rather beefy hahaha.

Lastly it would be somewhat influenced by model availability. If a certain model I like is difficult to obtain for some reason (as has happened to me in some other games) I will probably pass on it.

EDIT:
Just realized the Arbiter is resin, and the Ice Elemental comes in clear resin o_O
I might just go for the Dragyri, because of this....

[Mananarepublic]

(note: you have to have a unit of wasteland warriors to include a unit of brutes, with an optional pusher as their leader)

I play a brute heavy 500pts army with mongo at the helm - lovely guys!

/M