Warmachine/Hordes by Privateer Press
 

I've recently started playing the miniature game Hordes since the game store that holds our weekly Dreamblade sessions also has a large group of Warmachine/Hordes players. I've always loved the Steampunk concept but never got into Warmachine. Hordes is an interesting game and is compatible with Warmachine (i.e. players can use Warmachine armies vs. Horde armies...most units are not usable in the different gamesets mainly due to how some of the game mechanics work). The players around here didn't seem to use the Skorne faction much so I decided to investigate that one and really liked the look and idea behind the army (mainly an Oriental looking army mixing Arabian and Far East looks). The starter box set comes with the following 4 figures:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...des/skorne.jpg

The small, clawed individual in front is the warlock, Morghoul. Warlocks are vital to the army since they are the commanders and control/use the warbeasts (another type of creature in the game). The two figures off to the sides wielding falchions (the huge sword) and wearing sashimonos (the back banners) are light warbeasts called Cyclops Savages. They are extremely useful in that they can roll to hit/damage before choosing to increase their chances to hit or do damage (others creatures have to decide before rolling). The big pachyderm in the middle is a heavy warbeast called a Titan Gladiator. Let's just say you don't want to make him angry...you wouldn't like him when he's angry :D .

The picture above shows the standard paint scheme for the army and I decided to stick with similar colors but hate painting a lot of red on figures so I flipped the scheme somewhat. Here are the two painted and based Cyclops:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...s/100_2925.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...s/100_2918.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...s/100_2932.jpg

I'm currently working on Morghoul and will attempt to finish the Titan Gladiator by the end of this weekend before some other Skorne figures arrive. I'll post some pictures of the army as the units are completed.

Just curious if anyone else plays Hordes or Warmachine? Post some pics of your armies and why you chose the army.

Newb.

You painted those, NewB?

I've never heard of the game, but was looking on BGG right after reading your post here.

How many figures compose a standard army?

Thanks for sharing your pictures!

Yep, I painted those Sunday and Monday night and finished them up on Tuesday night.

The number of figures in an army varies depending on faction and selection but the average for a 350 point army is about 10 to 15, a 500 point army is about 15 to 25 and a 750 point army is around 25 to 40ish. The game supports larger battles up in the 2000+ points but those can take a long time to play. To have a decent figure selection available for most armies will run about 40 to 50 miniatures. The cool thing is that they sell the units boxed as the minimum needed to field the unit and then sell separate figures in boosters to fill the unit out if so desired. Most units start at 4 to 6 figures and can be increased usually by 2 or 4 figures for an additional point cost per extra figure.

Newb.

I was (and still am, to some extent) very interested in Warmachine and Hordes but I absolutely suck at painting and the rules looked fairly complex when I paged through both rulebooks.

Still, it's a nify-looking game. You did a wonderful job with the painting. I'm super jealous!

I've been eying Hordes for a while. I love the models, although I've never looked at the rules.

Grade A paint job Newb. :up:

Thanks, Wytefang and Uprising. I like how Hordes plays since it really feels like a skirmish game should where squad members can do different actions and individual figures are really independent. You only need about 25 to 30 figures to have a decent army which means less painting time and more table time. :) The game is a good replacement for the dead but great game, Chronopia.

Newb.

Newb those figs are sexy. You've got some chops!

When I saw that picture with Skorne on it, my first thought was Gauntlet Legends.

I don't have the time, money or inclination to get involved in a new miniatures game, but I sure do like the way those look. If I was going to start dumping money into a new game, I'm pretty sure I would start with Warmachine. The Privateer booth at GenCon last year was a constant zoo of activity, so I know they're making more stuff all the time.

Thanks, IMax! Privateer Press is doing some amazing things like taking a lot of business from GW (but that's not difficult these days), running quarterly leagues with prize support and actually listening and responding to their customers. Hordes takes a lot from Warmachine Prime:Remix and changes how the game handles spells and warcasters (now called warlocks) so what you get is a different way to play yet still compatible with the original. I stayed away from Warmachine for several reasons mainly due to having few opponents but now that there is a core group of 10 to 12 dedicated players it seemed like the right move. And after playing a few games of WFB the past few weeks, I've been reminded why that game is not as appealing as it used to be (though still fun it has some serious balance issues). The new Horde/WM league starts up next month so it was the right time to jump in and start building an army. I will eventually move to building a Warmachine army but that will be down the road and will probably go for a Dwarven Merc army (stunties and warjacks!).

Newb.

I have a Skorne box that I never got around to painting, but I did paint a couple of armies for Warmachine and played about 3 games. It is fun, but I don't have time to dedicate to figuring out all the "killer-combo's" that so dominated the game (the Sorcha "windrush assasin" comes to mind :roll: ) and led to my getting my @$$ handed to me. The game is fun, but some abilities have definitely got the edge over others when it comes to synergy.

Wish I had as much time to play as I'd like, but HS, Battlefield Evolution and a couple others really take it all up.

I think Warmachine has more of the killer combos since it's been out for 4 years although they did fix some of the issues in the new Remix rule book. Hordes seems balanced still since it only has one book and PP has applied what they learned from Warmachine and generated a more balanced game with Hordes. There still exists a learning curve for the game and I expect to get pwned for the first couple of games till I catch up. The look of the Warmachine game is what has always intrigued me. Huge magic and steam driven machines and now, with Hordes, fury driven monsters facing off on the field of battle just makes it doubly good.

I can understand the situation of too many games and not enough resources (time/money) to go around which is why I decided to go the Horde route after being reminded about all the issues surrounding WFB. WFB can be fun but has huge balance issues (more than WM, imo).

Newb.

Yeah, what those bums said, I'm saying too!
Didn't know you were a skilled miniatures painter!
Very, very nice!

~

Confound you!
:evil: