Hordes/Warmachine Advice

[magicpockets]

After some demo games I've finally decided to take the plunge and get into a new gaming system (nothing against Malifaux of course!), trouble is the advice I'm getting is "pick an army you like the look of and start with them"

What I'm hoping is that someone can recommend a faction based on my play style/preferences for Malifaux. I love synergies/interactions amongst models and building a list with a lot of strategy behind the selection (Pandora, Zoraida, Hamelin) rather than "stand a shoot before they get to you" or "run into melee before they shoot you" play styles - does that fit any particular faction in Hordes/Warmachine?

I've read up on the various factions etc and have an "idea" of where I should be heading, but rather than hoping I get it right I'd prefer someone with experience of both to go "xyz faction is what you're looking for".

Any help would be massively appreciated.

[Of course I realise this is a Malifaux forum and hope my post is okay with the powers that be]

[edonil]

What's your preferred style of combat? Magic, shooting, combat? Because it sounds like, in a lot of ways, Circle might be a good fit for you. Their troops are pretty glass cannony, but (aside from Cryx, also look at them) they are very synergy heavy with their beasts.

[Chucklemonkey]

If you are looking at the building of synergies then I feel Menoth is the faction for you. I have just switched from them to legion but wouldn't have a bad word to say.

Menoth have some of the best support units in the game and a lot of their units receive buffs from the deaths of grunts in their units etc.

Will try to put together a more functional post when not in work, and if you do end up going menoth feel free to pm

[edonil]

The one difficulty I found playing Menoth is that their synergies are, more often than not, defensive based. Which isn't a bad thing at all...just for me, I found them an incredibly difficult faction to work with, drawn only to Feora and Epic Feora (and a dalliance with Epic Kreoss that resulted in me being more hated than Cryx for a short time...that was entertaining in some ways)

[Chucklemonkey]

The one difficulty I found playing Menoth is that their synergies are, more often than not, defensive based. Which isn't a bad thing at all...just for me, I found them an incredibly difficult faction to work with, drawn only to Feora and Epic Feora (and a dalliance with Epic Kreoss that resulted in me being more hated than Cryx for a short time...that was entertaining in some ways)

I was a dyed in the wool testament player so was generally double dipping by taking the souls and resurrecting knights in the backline etc.

I kind of agree with your point though in that the popular casters though having advantages elsewhere really do tend to use those synergies for defence only.

Of course there is always amon who's very feat is called synergy but that's a different matter.

[edonil]

Amon, the Feoras, and eKreoss are all primarily offensive synergies...and most of those tend to be with their jacks, or saying 'screw you all' to the rest of their army (pFeora in particular has very little to say to her army beyond 'get me to the target intact and then get out of my way)

[Stonedog-7]

I'll throw my two pence in on this one by suggesting Trollbloods as well as the already being discussed Menoth

Trollbloods have loads of both offensive and defensive buffs available to them as long as you don't mind the relatively "in your face" playstyle

[Chucklemonkey]

Yes, in truth synergies are there for every faction so choice of playstyle still needs to be considered outside of that almost.

although I would still say menoth

[edonil]

Druid power! (yes, I play Circle...)

[ukrocky]

I'd reccommend trollbloods or Menoth for synergies.

And they look cool.

[magicpockets]

Play style wise I tend to lean towards using masters over minions in Malifaux (most of how I play is buffing the master or using the master to setup easy wins for the minions) and I prefer magic/talents over shooting or melee. I also like formless armies - in WFB I used to play Wood Elves and by the end of turn one would have troops left, right, behind and in front of my opponent. Anything to screw with their plans or thinking or that causes confusion/makes them second guess what theyre doing is fun to me

[Chucklemonkey]

Cryx and legion tend to mess with the enemies plans. NOt sure they fit the formless ideal but they tend to have a lot more stealth etc and can ignore a fair number of rules which can result in the opponents conventional plans needing to be reconsidered.

[Shae-Konnit]

Personally i use Cryx because I like to keep my warcaster out of combat as much as possible, and with the abundance of Arc Nodes and 'casters with high Focus they can do this pretty well. Their units are also pretty speedy and highly cost-effective.

If you really like getting your master stuck in then maybe you'd like Khador?

They have some of the most individually powerful 'casters i'd say. Guys like The Butcher who could obliterate any warjack he comes up against or even Karchev the Terrible if you like a good laugh.

[Sk3mo]

Menoth and Trollbloods were already mentioned (they both tend to brick, due to how much models rely on one another), but Skorne is also very synergy based as well. I joking call the guys with whips the Skorne equivalent of Menoth's Choir - they just get the warbeasts to scream in pain while harmonizing.

[dunce002917]

I currently play Legion of Everblight and have Cygnar and Cryx armies.

If you like synergies rather than melee/shooting, I would suggest getting a Hordes army.

The Hordes FURY system is based on Risk management and warbeast Animus gives your warlock/master more choices for buffs, debuffs and spell casting. The Warmachine FOCUS system is based on asset allocation. The Warjacks don't have animus spells but they tend to hit hard and take more damage (although this can be debated). Your warjack selsction will be based on combos your warcaster/master can execute during your game.

With that brief intro, if you pick Warmachine, I suggest getting Cryx. It focuses on spell casting and swamping your enemies with a horde of undead infantry (great for table coverage and scenario wins). They're the glass cannon of Warmachine but with the right combo, you can win decisively and make your opponent squirm (damn you eSkarre!). If you pick Hordes, I suggest taking a look at Legion. The dragonspawn ignores most terrain and stealth units and having your beasts frenzy might not hurt your warlock/master.

for beginners, it might be hard to get started with Cygnar... but don't get me started with that.

A little of topic, I'm doing a reverse of what you're doing... I'm a WM/Hordes player looking in trying Malifaux... I'm starting to like the look of the Guild but would listen to Faction suggestions.

[diehard]

I play Legion but also collect Circle as I love a lot of the miniatures, but don't get to play as much as I'd like so it's usually Legion. But as a long time player and a PG I'd say proxy some games with Circle cause I think they're closest to what you're looking for (but, if you liked the looks of the Legion models more, they'll do for you too, maybe just as much.) While there have been many good suggestions with intelligent reasoning behind them, the best thing to do is play a couple small games and get a feel for it. Any other questions feel free to ask.