Warmachine Renaissance: Part 3

So you've read a few accounts of getting into Warmachine / Hordes by some of my comrades here at Fresh Coast 40k. Most of us have really delved deep into the game and rules and are taking it as a nice break from a long period of 40k-only gaming.

I started Warmachine way before most of the others - probably last fall or so. I bought a ton of models for it (when I do something, I usually go whole hog, which really doesn't work well for me sometimes). I bought pretty much 1 of every Khador warjack (a lot of them used models) and a ton of units - I didn't really touch the Winterguard, the Assault Kommandos, or Man-O-Wars, however. I really love the Uhlan cavalary so I purchased a full unit of those and the Kovnik.

I didn't really paint any of the models as I was also getting into Chaos Space Marines at the time, and the Warmachine models intimidated the hell out of me. The amount of detail and all-pewter models and different aesthetic just seemed to really scare me.

I played about a dozen games last fall. I went to the Warmachine Invitational tournament that Gamers Sanctuary hosted and had a ton of fun. I brought Epic Vlad with Uhlans and some jacks and just jammed the field. I went 2-1, narrowly losing my last game. Vlad had personally assassinated two casters before that.

Over the winter and this early spring I didn't really play much. WH40k was (and still is) growing huge at GS. During late spring I started playing a few games with Bill (Geneguard) and about that time our 40k campaign was wrapping up. Some of the 40k players were interested in a new game; we showed them Warmachine and we're now well into a pretty great local scene of cogs and steam.

GS has a wealth of really great players and painters when it comes to Warmachine. Chad, the store owner, is a huge WM / Hordes advocate. We're learning now about the game, the rules, and the strategy and mostly playing each other before we take our first steps into the world and get annihilated.

That is a short history of my WM experience. I've played GW games and historical games for about 20 years - so I'm not new to the hobby overall. Anyway, my answers to the questions:

What got you into Warmachine?
I was mostly looking for a new game. I believe firmly that when players settle themselves into one game and only one game, they can become narrow sighted and lose the idea of what that game is all about.

You'll see it on message boards. The dudes that argue for pages and pages about some crappy rule that GW wrote up. Is it really worth the time? Or the constant hyper-competitiveness that some GW players bring out to what is essentially a beer-and-pretzels game. There are other games out there that would suit it better!

Sorry about the diatribe. I play tons of games, and after having been anti-Warmachine for some unknown reason for a long time I tried it out and figured out I love the game, the fluff, and the hobby.

What has been the biggest adjustment from 40K / Fantasy?

The assassination victory objective is really tough for me sometimes. In 40k with some armies you don't have to push forward every single turn. You can be cautious and not want your units to die. In WM, you HAVE to be aggressive. I learned early on that worrying about your caster or not taking chances will mean you don't ever win or have fun.

What do you think of the fluff and artwork?
I love the art. I play Khador, and the icy north snow-world theme is extremely prevalent in the art and even makes you get chills sometimes. The fluff is pretty good; the stories are all connected and I LOVE how it seems that they're advancing the fluff.

I really like in the art when the casters are casting spells how it shows the spell effects in word form around their hands. I just think it is the coolest thing in the world.

 

How about the price?
I think a lot of the prices are better, but a lot aren't. The overall price to get into the game is really nice. The price of the rulebook (full color! 250 pages!) is amazing, and almost ludicrous compared to GW.

One thing I find especially playing against younger players is that they never buy a rulebook because it costs $90 for other games. A cheap rulebook means they get the rulebook easily and all the fluff. The price of the upcoming box set really is also great.

Some of the models still in pewter are mind-boggingly expensive. Any of the cavalry models are nigh unobtainable for the current price. Plus pewter horses just seem dumb to me, I don't know why.

After playing eVlad for a while, I chose to start trying out Zerkova. I really like her fluff and her model. She is apparently the worst warcaster in the world. Sometimes I like to be different I guess!

Are you using P3 paints (Privateer's brand)?
I have the P3 Khador starter box. I really like the paints and it is nice to use different colors. I'd love it if GS could carry the whole line, but I don't know the logistics.

What do you think about the models themselves? Packaging?
Missing parts are a really annoying thing. When I impulse buy a model I want to go home and clean it up and put it together that night, sometimes even start painting it right away! Not having pieces and having to wait weeks is awful. I do like the models quite a bit. They have their own aesthetic. Some of the models are so old - they really need to be re-done. Case in point: Kayazy Assassins.

Remember the X-Files episode that got banned? "Home"? Remember what the boys did with their own mom? Kayazy Assassins are part of that family

 

What do you think about the rules?
I like how each force has pretty universal special rules between most forces. I love the tight set of rules. I love not having true line of sight. TLOS is the worst sometimes.

Where do you see it going from here?
I can see us playing a nice campaign this fall, learning a lot of the different casters and the strategies. I do have some Gatermen models so I'll be painting those when my 400 lbs of Khador pewter are painted.