The Road to 7th Edition

Episode #1: Ratboy’s Big Mistake…

WARNING: This article and the associated articles are not directly related to Warhammer Online, and are instead more geared towards Warhammer Fantasy Battles. So if you are not a fan of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, this may not be the article for you. Of course you’re still going to read it… come on… chicken…

Da Cunnin’ Plan:

A new edition of Warhammer Fantasy is on the way, and up until recently I didn’t have any special plans aside from picking up the new rule book and going by that. Of course plans have this weird tendency of changing almost immediately and by some strange force I have decided that with the new edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battles I need a new army. So here begins the quest.

With almost a full year before the release of Warhammer Online, I think it will be an excellent opportunity for me to start working on a new Fantasy army to replace my current one. Having played Skaven in the past (where did you think Ratboy came from) and more recently collecting a Mortal Chaos army, I think it’s time for some change. Plus there are a bunch of other people in the area who are looking at getting into Fantasy with the new edition, and now seems a good time as any to “start from scratch”.

To set this plan in motion I will need to think of a few things, mainly what army I want to play. As I can be very indecisive at times I think it a good idea to give myself some time before choosing an army. Another tricky plan I’ve decided on going with is listing the armies in this article and setting up a pro/con situation where I can debate in written form what I like/dislike about the armies. As readers I would expect some input from your end as well.

So off to the armies!

Armies to Choose From

The Empire

• Da Goodz’: Right now I already have a sizeable force of unpainted Empire models sitting in my painting Den just waiting to be readied for gaming. The regimented style of the Empire also lends itself well to painting a cohesive army and having it look good on a table. Also there’s a new army book coming out in December!
• Da not so Goodz’: A lot of the current Empire model range is “bland” not lending itself well to conversions and detailed painting. The army itself is also bland in how it plays since it seems to be a “shooty” list with hold back combat.

Bretonnia

• Da Goodz’: A nearly all mounted army just has a certain appeal to it, and Bretonnia is quite capable of being all mounted. The model range for Bretonnia is also rather new in the scheme of things and there is a lot of conversion work that can be done on individual models or entire units.
• Da not so Goodz’: Painting knights can become tedious after a while, especially if they all have different schemes or even if they are somewhat uniformed. A lot of the Bretonnian army is centered around cavalry and doesn’t lend itself well to other styles of play such as shooting or magic.

Dwarves

• Da Goodz’: Recently the entire Stuntie line was redone and along with a new Army Book they seem one of the best armies geared towards Seventh Edition. The army itself is a good combination between shooting and hand to hand with enough toys to deal with those pesky magic users.
• Da not so Goodz’: The new line of Dwarf models don’t really appeal to me, however this may be because the dwarf army is fairly static. Along with a slow moving army, the dwarves just don’t seem to have any special or rares that make me go “ouuuuu shiny”.

Wood Elves

• Da Goodz’: For another newer army, the Wood Elves also boast an impressive model line. The new Dryads, Glade Guard and Glade Riders are all very appealing models and have a lot of good character to them. The army itself seems to have a lot of options with magic, shooting and close combat.
• Da not so Goodz’: Much like the Dwarf line, one thing about the new Wood Elves is the lack of ‘coolness’ in their special and rare choices. None of the models in the Wood Elf line aside from the Eternal Guard really appeal to me. Also I’m not sure if I could get the playing style of the Wood Elves down as it seems very strange to me from what I’ve seen from other players games.

High Elves

• Da Goodz’: I’ve always liked Elven models from GW and their associated armies, so not much changes with this army. I really like the sheer amount of magic control that a tooled High Elf army can throw out as needed. I am also a fan of the various different special and rare units in this army such as Swordsmen and Pheonix Guard.
• Da not so Goodz’: If I were to do High Elves I would likely go with a single path army (shooting, combat, or magic) and since magic seems overdone and someone in the city already does combat… I might just need to go with a heavy shooting High Elf Army. Which I’m not sure I’m too keen on.

Dark Elves

• Da Goodz’: The Dark Elf line has some cool things mixed in with some “not so cool” things but a lot of their infantry choices are excellent models. Much like the High Elves I enjoy some of the bigger infantry units with this army like the Blackguard and Executioners. Plus some of their magic is just RUDE, and I like evil magic.
• Da not so Goodz’: A lot of these models are older and don’t lend themselves while to a good painting style (*cough harpies*). There is also the issue of how to play the army, which for the most part I like but it seems a bit more of a point/kill army then most I’ve seen in Fantasy. Admittedly 4 repeater bolt throwers in one army is just NASTY.

Lizardmen

• Da Goodz’: First off this army is composed of Lizards, and that is cool in and of itself. The models are still in the ‘newer’ category and for the most part are all pretty well done. There’s also nothing like having strong as nails infantry teamed with a lord that can spew out some of the most ridiculous magic in the game.
• Da not so Goodz’: The army has a lot of bland choices for what one can and cannot take. Sacred spawnings and even some of the bigger dinosaurs all seem pretty basic as compared to some of the other models in other lines. Also the Lizardmen army has some almost “required” magic items that are taken by every player.

Orcs & Goblins

• Da Goodz’: I love Greenskins. They’re green and capable of such hilarity. That’s all I’ve got to say on that front.
• Da not so Goodz’: There are going to be a lot of Greenskin players starting up soon with the new Army Book coming out in just under a month, and I’m not sure how the army will come out in that time. Also most of the new models I’ve seen are pretty basic since they come in the new box so I am unsure as to how they will be with the army.

Vampire Counts

• Da Goodz’: There is a huge amount of conversion work that can be done in a Vampire Count list as well as a huge amount of options available to a player who plays them. Zombies, Skeletons and Wraiths oh my! There’s also a lot of room for expansion with the list as painting skeletons and zombies can be pretty quick.
• Da not so Goodz’: Skeletons can be pretty bland, and having to own/paint large amounts of them is never fun. Some of the special and character models are pretty old and outdated, so they don’t stand up as well to some of the newer armies.

Tomb Kings

• Da Goodz’: Another good army with plenty of possibilities, along with an updated model line compared to Vampire Counts the Tomb Kings lean more into cavalry and fast movement then their other skeletal counterparts do. Plus who doesn’t like the idea of an entirely chariot filled Tomb King Army?
• Da not so Goodz’: Not too big on the Egyptian theme for an undead army (though watching The Mummy might change that). Overall thought the Tomb Kings big thing that irritates me is the standard army build I see out there a lot of the time. If there is an army that seems “static” to me it is the Tomb Kings.

Skaven

• Da Goodz’: My name is Ratboy?
• Da not so Goodz’: Played them before… Not too much of an option now are they?

Ogre Kingdoms

• Da Goodz’: Big Ogres as an army, sometimes I wonder about this one. I like the new ogre models and they seem to be quite a strong force that probably plays differently then almost everyone else. From what I’ve seen of their play style it can be pretty direct with some hard hitting models in the army. Plus there’s the option of basing my lord off of Fat Bastard…
• Da not so Goodz’: Because I haven’t really read their book I don’t know a lot about the Ogre Kingdoms, nor do I think I could fit their playstyle that well. Plus I’m not too sure how fun assembling and painting such large models would be…

Hordes/Beasts of Chaos

• Da Goodz’: I play them.
• Da not so Goodz’: I play them. That was easy

Final Thoughts

I’m really not too sure what I’m going to go with on this one, but I think there’s a lot of options available to me. So right now if anyone out there has some suggestions as to what I should play, or what they think might be interesting to see, please send me an email: [email protected]

I’ll post in a few more days about what option I will pursue…