Warmachine experiences so far

[DoctorScientist]

Hi everybody, I figured that as a newer player I'd just sort of let everybody know how things were going so far, in case anyone's interested. I also see a lot of "new player" threads so maybe this can offer a different perspective, coming from a new player. Anyway, I've been collecting models for a while now, but have only started playing games fairly recently. Why the delay? Well, I've been funding the hobby with store credit prizes from Warhammer 40k tournies, so it has sort of been a "one box at a time" sort of thing. But anyway, just a couple things I've learned:

Warmachine in General
-Well, for starters, it sure as hell ain't 40k. Activating units in the wrong order has repeatedly come back to bite me, and I'm sure it will continue to do so.
-Much like activation order, the "bell curve" nature of the die rolls takes some getting used to as well, and since stats interact differently (ie RAT vs DEF and POW vs ARM) it can be tough to tell at first what numbers a stat needs to be considered "good." I think I'm getting the hang of it, but it was a bit strange coming in.
-I knew this game was advertised as being "fast paced," but man oh man. There's very little ramp-up to the game, and you really need to make sure you come out swinging. This game heavily favors aggressive playstyles. I've only had one game go to 4 turns, all my others have been over in 3. And even the game that went to 4 was ended on the very first activation of turn 4.
-The flow of the game can shift drastically, especially form a well-timed feat. For example, I was in the process of trouncing someone using Kreoss1, but then he feats and suddenly everybody except Ossyan and Sylys is knocked down. Conversely, I remember 1 game where I was on the ropes, Ossyan was down to 2 life, but after feating, I just went for the throat and was able to bring down his caster, who had to come forward after I destroyed his arcnode the previous turn.
-Speaking of which, balancing out playing aggressively with not over-committing is pretty tough. You don't want to play too passively, but you don't want to leave yourself exposed by pushing to hard.

Retribution
-Mage Hunter Strike Force. Holy crap, I love these guys! My originaly plan was to take Houseguard Riflemen cause I thought the minis were cool, but I completely failed to realise just how awesome phantom seeker is. So thank you, Ret forums, for talking me into MHSF. When I collect new factions, models and units need to earn their paintjob. These guys are gonna be the first things I paint.
-I'm still learning unit combos, but my default assassination run with Ossyan is Arcane Secrets from Sylys, Feat, Chronophage cannon, Arkantrik Bolt, MHSF. That minus 2 DEF from Ossyan's gun is critical, especially since his feat buffs damage rather than the attack roll like Ravyn's. You need all the help hitting you can get.
-I've heard people call our warjacks "pillow-fisted." I assume they weren't talking about the Banshee, because he has been wrecking enemy Warjacks like nobody's business. Incidently, he's getting painted right after the MHSF.

Today I made some special orders at my store (2 units of Stormfalls and a 2nd MHA) and when they get here I'll be able to make up the 50 point list I've been wanting to use (been doing mainly 35 point games). I'll also be doing my first tournament in a couple weeks. It won't be steamroller style, cause they are just doing one 50 point list and aren't using the Deathclock, so I figured why the hell not?

[joelker41]

That's the beauty of Retribution. You oftentimes get into it thinking assassination is your primary victory method, but I feel this faction really can out attrition most factions. Its a fine line.

Ossyan can be a rough caster to learn with trying to find that balance between offensive pop and keeping Ossyan alive.

[Xarian]

When people talk about Ret jacks being "pillow fisted", they are generally comparing to Khador, who hit the hardest and have the highest ARM. My Banshee also carves up many warbeasts.

[Lord Sessadore]

If you compare to factions like Khador, Menoth, Trolls, or Skorne, our jacks are (or were, before Vyros2 and synergy)a little pillow fisted. Even P+S 19 has trouble killing a lot of heavies in one turn by itself, though with all the ranged stuff in our faction you can usually soften them up first.