Considering we have a few other threads in this discussion subforum so far, how about the noblest of the armies of the Old World? Bretonnians were my second army after Lizardmen. While is sad that the Round Table of Bretonnia is no more I have posted my Lustrian Bretonnians in the paint thread before. Someday I may return and paint some more of them.
Brettonia has always had a special place in my heart. If I had the money, I would put together an army just out of pure admiration.
Agreed. They are hard to come by nowadays; I am happy I bought two "start collecting" battalion boxes way back before they went extinct.
I may actually start on the long project of putting this army together. It's a funny lore. They've mixed French names with Arthurian legend. But they definitely have the knightly honor thing much more than the empire which I really dig.
Agreed 100%, Bretonnia will far and away always be my preferred human faction of the two that were ever made official, and I was really annoyed when GW ditched them in favour of the Empire (who in my opinion actually went a step backward with their newer miniatures which were all hunched over and looked either gaunt or constipated, and gave the impression of a load of squabbling bureaucrats compared to Bretonnia’s truly chivalrous and heroic look). Certainly if I had the house-room for an army from another Warhammer Fantasy Good Faction, Bretonnia would be my pick. I’ve seen a load of second-hand plastic 5th Edition Knights at one of my favourite hobby retailers that I keep getting tempted to grab, and Bretonnia is actually one of the easiest factions to find non-GW alternative models for thanks to companies like Fireforge so it would be pretty affordable to buy a good-sized army.
Hey @Warden ? How have you found the Brettonians to play with? Middle tier? Lower tier? I'm looking for an army I can start putting together for my wife (as covered elsewhere she is learning 8th Edition) and, being a strong independent woman herself, I'm trying to find which army would fit her best which preferably has a bunch of female characters. She doesn't want bad guys so (sorry @NIGHTBRINGER ) so I'm kind of down to High Elves, Wood Elves and Brettonians... As gone over previously, I have a massive soft spot for Brettonia but I don't want to start getting an army that will give her a handicap. What's your experience on this?
So I have only played Bretonnians a handful of times, unlike my Lizardmen, and considering how old there codex was (6th edition) they are a little behind most of the other factions in terms of power level. In fact, there was an epic thread started by the mighty @NIGHTBRINGER where multiple forum members talked about tier lists in 8th edition a while back; I put down my extensive notes on where I put all the factions. Across the board Bretonnia is put squarly in the lowest tiers of factions; still well above Beastmen but they struggled mightily against hordes in 8th. Since most of Bretonnia's strength came in the form of long, thin blocks of cavalry that really needed to charge to make their impact felt (one trick ponies, that joke is still funny ), they would often get stuck in combat against greater hordes, and then overwhelmed with flank charges That being said, I loved playing them the few times I did. It always felt so glorious lining up my Bretonnians on the field in their vibrant colors and banners, then charging off against my enemies front lines and going down in a blaze of glory I might suggest researching Warhammer Armies Project on the internet for their updated 8th-edition Bretonnia codex. I have no experience actually playing with it but they did make some tweaks to allegedly bring the codex on par with the rest of the 8th edition armies. Might be worth a try, they got a few new units in there like foot knights I believe. If I were to play 8th edition again I would use this codex to test it out, the book is just as beautiful as the classic book I love ... also High Elves are boring and Wood Elves are evil. Bretonnia Lives!
You would not recommend Bretonnia as your wife's first army. bottom tier in terms of power level (TK, Beastmen and Bretonnia are typically considered to be the weakest armies) singular play style with very little room for flexibility limited unit options and unit types models are difficult and expensive to come by Bretonnia is a better choice for a more seasoned player. So if your wife doesn't wish to field an evil army and you don't want to double up on any of your armies that leaves her with: Wood Elves Dwarfs High Elves Empire Which of these does she find most appealing aesthetically? Personally I think Wood Elves are a finesse army, so I'd recommend one of the other 3.
Yeah, fair enough. Currently she's quite attached to my Lizardmen ( ) but we'll see what happens. She's learning to play with them and I think I'll do a survey with her once she's more conversant with the rules.
It turns out I have that Warhammer Armies Project rulebook and didn't notice! It has the foot knights, priestesses of Shallya, etc. Anyways, thanks for the data. I don't think this will be the one for her.
@NIGHTBRINGER is right of course... reviewing my previous post I may or may not have been wearing my nostalgia glasses that messed with my critical thinking skills and ability to make a good recommendation As a first army? No. As a second army? Do you like heraldry and knights? Then absolutely, just prepared to loose (a lot) and always be fighting an uphill (albeit heroic) battle! Obviously Lizardmen are the best choice... can't be too many Lizardmen players out there!
Perhaps Dwarfs might be a good option for your wife to try @Lizards of Renown ? I know, I know, I’m taking every opportunity to sell my favourite army, but hear me out. Firstly, Dwarfs are pretty easy to learn how to use - all you really need to think about is the shooting and close combat phases, which is good for a new player because they’re the most fun phases where you roll loads of dice Secondly, an all-female Dwarf army is certainly a possibility. Valaya is the Dwarf Ancestor Goddess of hearth and home, and an all-female Dwarf army could represent an Amazon-like clan that worships her as their chief goddess, or an army based around her high priestesses. Also Dwarf women would certainly be strong and independent lasses, and unafraid to get stuck in against their Greenskin, Elf and Skaven enemies! But then all the other armies have possibilities for a female force too - Empire have the Sisters of Sigmar (Fantasy Sisters of Battle), High Elves have Avelorn and Alarielle (who has all the personality of a plank of wood but is still a strong independent female) and Wood Elves have a lot of female characters (Ariel and the Sisters of Twilight are the ones that already come to mind even though I’m not a Wood Elf player).