First Warhammer Army, is This a Godd Start?

[Bodhi]

Hello,

I am thinking of starting my first GW game with Warhammer Fantasy, and as an army I’m going with Empire. Hochland province to be more precise, my budget without Rulebook and Army Book is about 350-375 USD, but I figure with eBay / Batertown and discounts from online stores I can get it for at least the cost from GW without tax or shipping so that’s what I’m going after. So far I was thinking about 2 battalion boxes which would give me:

40 State Troops
20 Hand Gunners / Crossbow Men
16 Knights
20 Greatswords

After that I have about 140 dollars left was thinking of getting the following:

2 x State Troops
1x Free Company
1x Battle Wizards
2x Cannon / Mortar
1x Warrior Priest

I already have the Elector Count model for Hochland and an Empire General set along with my Warrior Priest so those would be my leaders that I would run the rest like this:

25x Spearmen (Warrior Priest)
--10x Hand Gunners (Detachment)
--10x Freecompany (Detachment)

25x Spearmen (Wizard)
--10x Swordman (Detachment)
--10x Freecompany (Detachment)

10 Handgunners
1x Cannon
1x Mortar
8x Knights (General)
8x Knights
20x Greatswords

Please tell me if this would be a good way of doing my first army given that I have never played the game and just read the rules. I don’t know the points cost of what I’m trying to build nor the magic items or anything. If you have any suggestions of how to make it better, or what to buy different please let me know.

Thanks,
Bodhi

[bonertron]

Hey Bodhi,

I think it looks not too bad. From my experiences in WHFB, against Empire, Steam Tanks scare the poop outta me. You might consider tossing one of those in. In my opinion, instead of one of the knight blocks.

What you can try (which I knowwww sounds lame) is you can try proxying in models. Borrow a friends army, pretend they are Empire, and give things a whirl. I know its not quite the same, but in the end, it can really save you a pile of cash. There is NOTHING worse than going out, and spending a whack of money on an army, just to find out that you made a grave error. In the end, its not other peoples strategies that will win you the game, or provide the most fun list, its your own.

The only other advice I might give you is that you should up at least one of your spearmen blocks. The horde rule really makes spearmen awesome, because if you go 10 wide, you can attack in 4 ranks! Thats a LOT of spears!

[Aluinn]

Once you factor in the cost of characters, that is really a pretty large army; I'm guessing it would weigh in at about 2,000 points. Now, that's (debatably) average army size in Fantasy, but you don't have to start there. What I would recommend is planning out a 1,000-point list with your army book, then buying only the necessary models (probably incorporating a battalion box, because it is a fairly good deal) to build that. A cannon or mortar is a nice thing to add in addition to the battalion + characters, because artillery are the one main unit type used by the Empire that you aren't getting in the battalion.

The reasons I advocate this are: 1) You get to try out different units and see which ones you like best; 2) You get to develop a preferred style of play, which can help you decide whether you want a more specialized or generalist army overall, as well as what you would like to specialize in, if you go that route; and 3) It is a more manageable chunk of models to paint.

The only components that are absolutely necessary for success in 8th Ed. Fantasy are a solid anchor of about one block of 25-50 Core infantry per 1,000-points (very roughly, varying based on points cost and the composition of the rest of the army) and, IMO, a level 4 wizard. After that I believe you can viably go in any direction you like.

[Phaedrus]

The list you have given sounds quite reasonable. You are core heavy but there isn't anything wrong with that per se. If you want to add some flavor you may consider a unit of pistoliers or perhaps a helstorm rocket battery. I would not recommend a Steam Tank for a few reasons but chiefly because it is cost prohibitive.

Personally, I am a fan of huntsmen and they have a nice new box. Additionally, for your State Troops I would be inclined to go for swordsmen rather than spearmen for the main unit(s) and halberdiers rather than swordsmen in your detachment.

I also love flagellants, but I am wary to recommend them because I haven't seen enough to measure their performance in 8th yet. Though I believe if you give them some magic support (specifically light and shadow) they can be well worth their cost.

Beyond that, use proxies, play some smaller games 500 or 1000 points, and see what style you like then add to it. The Empire is nothing if not full of choices.

[Rajhald]

I agree with Phaedrus, go with swordsmen and then halberdiers. Free company were great in 7th but loose some of that punch in 8th. I will say that if you don't expect big monsters (such as in 1000 pt games) take a mortar, if you expect monsters definitely take a cannon.

The two battalions would be a great start, I can speak for flagellants and they are great. Probably 2 wizards if you are over 2k pts, a lvl 4 and a lvl 1-2, one of them with the rod of power. Love the priest, put him in the great swords give them hatred and they are destructive.

most importantly, go slow. I recommend getting the battalion box and going from there. You will play with the things you enjoy, might not always be the most effective.