We've already got a thread looking at our favourite Warhammer armies, but the focus of this thread is a bit different. As this is a multifaceted hobby (and with those facets being highly different from another), I thought it would be fun to explore which armies prove to be your favourites across the different aspects of the hobby. Just because you like one army in terms of one element of the hobby, doesn't mean that you like it equally across the other aspects. So, which army is your favourite in terms of each of the following aspects of the hobby?... Gaming / Playing - ignoring everything else, which army do you most enjoy in terms of playing the game? This might be due to any combination of the army's flexibility, play-style, power level, tactical challenge, fun factor, etc. Model range (aesthetics) - ignoring everything else, which army do you like the most purely in terms of their (official GW) model range? Which model range looks the best to you? Which do you find most fun to paint? etc. Fluff - ignoring everything else, which army's fluff (background, characters, setting, motivations, etc.) do you find most intriguing? Terrain Potential - ignoring everything else, which army-themed battlefield appeals to you the most? The key word is "potential" meaning you are not confined to official GW released terrain kits. Scratch builds are just as viable. Imagine a battlefield themed entirely on one army, which army's battlefield would you prefer? Which would look the best and be the most fun to set your games in? Which would be the most fun to create/build? Feel free to choose the same army across multiple aspects of the hobby (if applicable) or pick different ones for each. The key point is to consider each aspect of the hobby on its own, fully independent from any other factor. @Lizards of Renown @Killer Angel @Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl @Imrahil @The Great White Lizard @Knoffles @ASSASSIN_NR_1 @Explodingzeb @BrotherSutek @Neersh @Lord-Marcus @Blastoize @Warden @Erta Wanderer @Padre @pendrake @Imrahil @Scalenex @Karnus @WildColonial Boy @Neersh @Charlemagne @Phaeron
Oh my. I have been tagged. OK. This first post will serve as the spot to list the armies I have collected.
For the record, your picks for your favourites needn't necessarily be from armies that you have collected (though they most likely will be).
I think I've got mine nailed down too. I just want to think it over before doing a writeup. A slight hint: all four of my hobby aspects are topped by a different army. No duplicates.
Interesting, I might be able to get answers for 3 of the 4 categories. I will take a look into it. Grrr, !mrahil
Gaming / Playing - Lizardmen. There are so many different builds and playstyles you can adopt with them. They have movement (and i like it), they have short range shooting, they have melee, the have maic (and that alone with such a flexibility of approaches that is just too good). I always had a lot of fun playing them and making lists, they never bored me. Model range (aesthetics) Lizardmen. dinosaurs are so cool, and the army itself got a HUGE variety of units, each one with its own visual style (so different from, let's say, dwarfs) honorable mention: Tomb Kings love to paint them and the egyptian aesthetics is something i'm really fond of Fluff - Harder choice Wood Elves: so different from all their long eared cousins, i like their departure from all the other elves and their bond with the spirits of the forest. However, great background, little development. Lizardmen: My first love, a society so different from all other warhammer races. Tomb Kings: Not only a unique story of greatness and doom, but also a very "vital" current background, despite their undead status. Dwarfs & Chaos Dwarfs: both fascinating in their own right Skaven Last but not least. So entertaining and fun evil schemes, and clans with so distinctive features... a rich treasure of ideas. Terrain Potential Tomb Kings, hands down.
The Lizardmen and Tomb Kings dominate your list... as expected. Even a mention of my beloved Chaos Dwarfs. Great list!
Okay, here goes my list. I've re-ordered the categories to represent their relative importance to me: Model range (aesthetics) Winner: Chaos Dwarfs (Legion of Azgorh) - What really separates the Chaos Dwarfs from other armies is that the entire FW range is stunning. There isn't a single model that doesn't look great. With every other army, there are some models in the range that simply don't do it for me. Moreover, the Chaos Dwarfs' Infernal Guard are my favourite core unit in terms of model aesthetics, edging out the Witch Elves and Chaos Warriors. That's a big deal, as every army needs core and lots of them. On top of that they have the best looking War Machines, an awesome train, a cool looking monster riding lord, monstrous stuff and one of my all-favourite classic models; the Hellcannon. The only criticism I can think of is that the range is smaller than that of other armies. Gaming / Playing Winner: Warriors of Chaos - My preferred "playstyle" is based around defense, epic characters and mobility. The WoC have all three of these in spades. The army is extremely spoiled for choice, maybe even too spoiled at some points, but you can always make a strong army weaker but not so much the other way around. Creating an army list is a pleasure as the choices on the page just invite being selected. Aside from extremely minimal shooting, the army has it all. Infantry, chariots, cavalry, monstrous infantry, monstrous beasts, monstrous cavalry, monsters, "war machine", flying elements, cheap chaff, etc. And that's before you even begin to consider the marks of chaos that can be applied to many of the units. There are also a whole list of great special characters to top things off. As a bonus, it also has one of my favourite magic lores (Slaanesh). Terrain Potential Winner: Tomb Kings - no contest here, I absolutely love the Egyptian aesthetic. Sand dunes, desert oasis, pyramids, ruined half buried temples, sphinxes, etc. I love the warmth and brightness of it. Fluff Winner: Skaven - Who saw this one coming? The Skaven lore is brilliant. Backstabbing, cowardice, shifting of blame and self promotion are all so deliciously Skaven. They manage to straddle the line of being both extremely powerful and weak. It provides such a fun backdrop for the army. Their lore also benefits from a healthy dose of variation due to their great Clans. Clan Skryre with their crazy ramshackled gadgets, Clan Eshin with their sneaky assassins, Clan Pestilens with their plagues and Clan Moulder with their mutated beasties. Add in the whole lore around the number 13, bells, their obsession/utilization of warpstone, them living under the noses of the Empire, their impact on the lore in general (forging Fellblade that slew Nagash, the war with the Lizardmen) and you've got a real winner on your hands. Moving into the sphere of extended lore, Thanquol has stolen the show in a few Black Library novels.
Army Lists?! With points and what all? (I started trying to list the models I had to choose from in my initial post. But I switched tabs. To look something up. And when I returned to the tab where I was posting somehow everything I had typed was all gone.)
Not army lists. No points. Your favourite army for each of the four categories presented in the original post: models gaming lore/fluff terrain making potential Take a look at @Killer Angel 's and my lists a few posts above.
Model range (aesthetics) Winner: Regiments of Renown / Dogs of War You can get a little bit of everything with these guys. Gaming / Playing Winner: Skaven I had a lot of fun that one time I took a Skaven army to a tournament. The Doomwheel circling the central well in the village in game three was priceless. Terrain Potential Winner: Warriors of Chaos / Other Chaos Unlimited possibilities here. Anything could be found out in the chaos wastes. Build whatever you like. Painting Potential (ease of completion) Winner: Warriors of Chaos Prime black; dry brush metallics; highlight silver. And that is good enough to done. There more models that can have near monochrome simple paint jobs in the list. I like that in an Army. Fluff (back story) Winner: Bretonnia Fifth Edition. (I detest grimdark. Horrid greebly cross-eyed fascination with all that is foul.**) So I like the lighthearted tone of the Arthurian by other names Brets from 5th. Plus I just like King Arthur and all…
Where is the son of Grimnir ( @Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl ) ? I would not think such a noble dwarf would be shy to have his voice heard.
How about a round of dishonourable mentions: Model range (aesthetics) Loser: Beastmen - There isn't a single model in the range that I like. Even in armies that I generally dislike, there are usually at least model or two that I would like to own. I can't think of a single Beastman model that I'd like to have in my collection. Gaming / Playing Loser: Dwarfs - Extremely limited movement and they forgo my favourite phase of the game, magic. While they are a very powerful army, I think their playstyle is rather boring and one-dimensional. Terrain Potential Loser: Daemons of Chaos - I want my games set in the Warhammer world, not the realm of Chaos. It's too far removed from the natural world. Fluff Loser: Beastmen (again) - I find them uninteresting. A poor man's Orcs & Goblins. The worst of the Chaos factions.
Beastmen Bretonnia Chaos Dwarfs Daemons of Chaos Dark Elves Dwarfs High Elves Lizardmen Ogre Kingdoms Orcs & Goblins Skaven The Empire Tomb Kings Vampire Counts Warriors of Chaos Wood Elves I thought there were 17 armies ??? Found it: Dogs of War was left out. I needed the list to consider this new question. Model Range - Aesthetics of: Loser: Daemons of Chaos - It is hard to think of any model in the range that I like. Plus there are many that I detest. I do like those Sky Shark things, but they should just be part of the regular Chaos Army. Gaming / Playing Loser: Dogs of War - So many different special rules, So hard to remember or coordinate. They are fun to collect up and build but very hard to win with because they are just uncohesive. Terrain Potential Loser: Ogres - I am not thrilled with yurt-like tents, and various Pit enclosures, nor the ramshackle-ness of it all. Lore-Background (Fluff) Loser: Ogres Kingdoms (again) - I hate the whole great maw, biggest gut rules, it’s all about gluttony, silliness. Also, detest the way they were retconned into the overall setting.