Where do I start?

[Lasraik]

I've been playing MTG for years but I've become interested in playing Warmachine.

My question is: Where do I start? Do I pick up a battlebox? If so, do I need to get two so the two factions can play against each other if I don't already know anyone who plays? I read in this thread that it's recommended picking up a Battlebox, but should I pick up two boxes if I'm going to play with someone else who has not played before?

Is there a difference between the Warmachine battleboxes and the Horde boxes?

Been searching through the store on the Privateer Press site, but I'm not sure what to buy to get started. Something that will serve as a good starting point and that will last for a month or so while I learn to play.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

[The_Bionic_Labrat]

I've been playing MTG for years but I've become interested in playing Warmachine.

My question is: Where do I start? Do I pick up a battlebox? If so, do I need to get two so the two factions can play against each other if I don't already know anyone who plays? I read in this thread that it's recommended picking up a Battlebox, but should I pick up two boxes if I'm going to play with someone else who has not played before?

Is there a difference between the Warmachine battleboxes and the Horde boxes?

Been searching through the store on the Privateer Press site, but I'm not sure what to buy to get started. Something that will serve as a good starting point and that will last for a month or so while I learn to play.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

welcome to the hobby! welcome to warmachine! welcome to the forums! have a juggernaut plushie!

Battleboxes are the best places to start, and learn the game. if you dont know anyone who plays, it might make sense to pick up two, or else go with the 2-player starter (khador + menoth) as a basis for 2 armies. After all, you dont want to be playing with yourself, do you? are there any factions that appeal to you from what youve seen/researched?

Warmachine and Hordes are 2 sides of the same coin. technically, they're two separate games, but they're not, not really. Warmachine and Hordes armies can and will fight each other, and overall, they're quite well balanced against each other. they're set at the same time, in the same place, in the iron kingdoms. 90% of the rules are exactly the same. only difference is in warmachine you use warcasters and warjacks, whilst in hordes you use warlocks and warbeasts. also the magical energy to "fuel" your jacks and beasts and cast spells is different in warmachine and hordes - the former uses focus, the other uses fury. its used differently, and generated differently.

overall though, i would try not to get hung up on it. best thing to do is pick 2 warmachine factions, or 2 hordes factions if you insist on picking up 2 starters. I find Cygnar, Protectorate and Khador are on a very level playing field against each other. Cryx, at this battlebox level, whilst not OP has too many abilities that either say "you know the rules you just learned? yeah, well, unlearn them." also, the cryx caster deneghra's power level is quite scewed on this scale (she's much more nasty at smaller sized games than normal sized games).

I'd recommend either of these routes:
picking 2 warmachine starters (protectorate, cygnar, khador).
picking the 2-player warmachine starter (Khador+Protectorate)
picking 2 hordes factions (trolls, and skorne, possibly circle as choices)


regardless, use the battlebox games to learn the game. dont take it too seriously. dont think "this is it". this is the learning curve.

anyway, have fun! drop a post or two in the factions forums if youre looking for more info.

[Stuh42l]

Just to add to what Bionic Labrat said. The two player battlebox for WM is great, but you can only get it with those 2 factions. While hordes and warmachine are compatible and very balanced to play against. The hordes warpacks and the warmachine battleboxes are not really designed to play together fairly.

What I am saying is that a 35pt warmachine army is very balance against a 35pt hordes army, but the starter boxes are not balanced across games.

So if you want to pick up a box from each game, go ahead, but know that it might be lopsided until each army is fleshed out.

[Michael]

Bionic_Labrat and Stuh42l cover a lot.

I would like to add: find a game shop near you (hereafter referred to as your "local game shop", or LGS) with Warmachine players and get someone to give you a demo game.

With any luck, your LGS will have a Press Ganger present. A Press Ganger is sort of an unofficial official representative of Privateer Press. They do not work for PP but volunteer to organize the local Warmachine/Hordes community. They are (generally) responsible for hosting tournaments, running leagues, giving demo games (though they're certainly not the only ones who are "allowed" to give them! Any player can give a demo!), and so on and so forth. Press Gangers are your local "official word" on things, as they have more direct access to the Privateer staff than us regular folks have.

If at all possible, I highly recommend that you find a shop with a Press Ganger and get in a good demo game. It'll make things much simpler for you!

Beyond that...Labrat makes a lot of good points. I'd say that your first purchase should be the Warmachine Prime MK II (or Hordes Prime MK II) rule book. (Picking Warmachine or Hordes essentially boils down to "Do I like giant robots or raging monsters better?", but yes, the differences between the two are a bit deeper than that.) The core rules will really help you more than anything else. I promise!

You also ought to feel free to poke around the various faction forums. Lots of folks will be happy to give you an introduction to how each faction works and whatnot.

You should also post your (general) location, so any enterprising folks who browse the forums can help direct you to good local stores.

I hope this helps!

[Dacian]

All of this is excellent advice, im not sure if it was mentioned but take into consideration that each of the batlebox/warpack (warmachine/hordes respectivly) includes a starter rules set, wjich also has on it thcards for each factions miniature in their respective battlebox.
If your not liking how a particular faction is playing try to proxy them out to try out another faction.

Written from my phone so may not make sense.

[Lasraik]

Wow, lots of great information here!

I haven't tried to find a local place yet, my 6 year old son has been watching youtube videos on Warmachine since I've been looking into it and he's pretty excited about it. My wife and I are going to play and include him, I think he'll enjoy the hobby probably more than I do. So it will be a cool family activity

I'm more into raging monsters than robots

Would you guys recommend me start out with Horde or Warmachine? Or is it just a preference thing? Is one more noob friendly than the other?

In regards to paint and other materials, do the battleboxes come with that or is that something I pick up separately?

[Dacian]

Neither warmachine or hordes is really against the noob player, some factions have inherently more tricks etc toget your head around but the choice is primarily of preference.

Paints etc will have to be purchased seperatly, they are not included.
Basic breakdown of a battlebox:
A number of miniatures, either in plastic or metal (dependant on faction/age)
Same number of bases for each miniature.
Stat cards listing abilities statistivs spells etc for each miniature in the battlebox
Quickstart rules(WM/H respectively)

Hope this helps

[Lasraik]

Sure does, thank you

Any suggestions on what kind of paint to buy or where to buy it other than a hobby store?

[Stuh42l]

Sure does, thank you

Any suggestions on what kind of paint to buy or where to buy it other than a hobby store?

The easy way is to buy into the Privateer Press line of paints, P3. Then all of your colors will match their painting guides. However, if you think you can handle color on your own, then ask around and see what paints that you like the best that will match your price point. I only use one P3 paint myself, as no one else has a color quite like Skorne Red.

I personally prefer Vallejo paint. I think they are outstanding quality and come in droppers as opposed to jars. They have a really wide range of colors and can get really detailed in the military color department (they support a WW2 table top game). They also use color names like, 'yellow' and 'gray' as opposed to other lines. Mine have lasted years in storage while my Reaper paint pots did not. I like some of the Reaper colors but it is a cheaper paint, and that can be noticed at times.

Citidel is coming out with a new line as well, though I have no experience with the new line or the older ones.

When it comes to brushes, etc. I would honestly stay away from any brush marketed by a game company. If the brush says 'fine,' or 'detail,' or 'character,' it is a beginners brush. Look up a guide on what the actual brush sizes mean (the difference between size 3-0 and 0-3) and get the ones you need. I personally use a 3, a 3-0, 5-0, 15-0, 20-0, and a good quality dry-brush regularly. If you spend money on anything, it should be the brushes, and learn how to properly care for them. Buy from a real paintbrush company. This doesn't mean you can't find good brushes at the hobby store, but you may not.

Take this with a grain of salt of course, my best painted models are slightly above par.

All the paint lines mentioned can be purchased at a hobby store that carries them. Most wont carry more then 1-2 lines of paint, so look around. You can go and buy them online, but you don't get to really see the colors in person though. Still a valid option for buying 'packs' of colors.

[Dacian]

The easy way is to buy into the Privateer Press line of paints, P3. Then all of your colors will match their painting guides. However.

I personally prefer Vallejo paint. I think they are outstanding quality and come in droppers as opposed to jars. They have a really wide range of colors and can get really detailed in the military color department (they support a WW2 table top game).
Citidel is coming out with a new line as well, though I have no experience with the new line or the older ones.

When it comes to brushes, etc. I would honestly stay away from any brush marketed by a game company. If the brush says 'fine,' or 'detail,' or 'character,' it is a beginners brush. Look up a guide on what the actual brush sizes mean (the difference between size 3-0 and 0-3) and get the ones you need. I personally use a 3, a 3-0, 5-0, 15-0, 20-0, and a good quality dry-brush regularly. If you spend money on anything, it should be the brushes, and learn how to properly care for them. Buy from a real paintbrush company. This doesn't mean you can't find good brushes at the hobby store, but you may not.

Take this with a grain of salt of course, my best painted models are slightly above par.

All the paint lines mentioned can be purchased at a hobby store that carries them. Most wont carry more then 1-2 lines of paint, so look around. You can go and buy them online, but you don't get to really see the colors in person though. Still a valid option for buying 'packs' of colors.

I gree with this, personally i use p3, GW, and vallejo, im not a fan of the p3 metallics i havnt found one that im paryicullarly impressed with the consistency of.
I recommend sticking with an acrylic based paint rather than oil based, which a lot of model plane etc paint are. But saying all this im not a great painter, my stuff is pretty much a decent tabletop quality.
A good point on both vallejo and p3 is that they are cheaper than GW. Vallejo has a large range of colours to choose from, whilst p3 does have a colour set designed to match pretty much each factions studio colour scheme.

Good luck

[Stuh42l]

And nothing says you have to only use one paint line. If you use colors from different lines, the only real drawback is that some paints cover and thin differently.

About the metallic. I have not seen a metallic better then the Vellajos, but I am not a top tier painter by any means.