New player could use some advice (Trollbloods)

[Arcadia]

First of all hi everyone.

After getting abit bored with my usual games of 40k i felt it was time for something new and seeing that 3 of my friends had always played some warmachine i thought it would be fun to join.

I am however completely clueless about how the game works and my friends have never taken a glimpse on the horde part so arent of much assistance...

What i could use some help with is creating a solid 15pts army preferably using the warpack box.

I know the Trollbloods warpack has 10pts of content (right?) i dont know what to add however or even change. Im deeply in love with the dire troll resin sets and have read that the Bomber compliments an Impaler quite well and so does the Earthborn dire troll along with an Axer. Another easy add on would be a min. unit of Fennblades but the problem is i dont know how to mix and match it all together to create a nice solid list using pMadrak and as much as the warpack as possible.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Jinxies]

I'm fairly new myself but I'll answer what I can. First up the rules for Warmachine and Hordes is virtually identical so your friends should be able to explain the basics to you. The differences are in Warbeasts/Warjacks and in the Focus/Fury system.

Bombers love the Impaler's Animus to help with it's terribly short range. Anything that wants to get into meele likes Axers because of the speedbuff Animus :3

Fennblades seem like a good addition since they benefit both from madrak's feat and carnage

[Jerrus]

Unfortunatly the Earthborn isn't a part of the Resin kit, you get the mauler/bomber/blitzer. The Dire Troll Mauler and Axer work well together as the Mauler buffs strength and the Axer buffs speed.

[Arcadia]

Ahh thanks for the quick replies guys!

@Jinxies: I should have explained it a little better... They can teach me the basics but they cant really guide me into making a solid Hordes list as they have never played with or against a hordes list so its the list building im terrible confused at. and seeing that i dont have any models yet and a fairly strict economy i wouldnt wanna buy to many units that i will regret straight after. (its not a problem buying the expensive kits as long as i can enjoy them and they work well with what i have)

@Jerrus: Your right the Earthborn is not part of the resin kit... i thought so /sadface but would it be very wrong to convert a mauler abit? dont know how conversions are taken in Warmachine/Hordes... Only ever played 40k...

All in all would the Warpack work perfectly well with the fennblades as only addition or should i switch around something or even drop the fennblades and an impaler or axer for either a Mauler or a Bomber? both should equal 15pts as combo if you know what i mean?

Impaler + Bomber = 15pts
Axer + Mauler = 15pts
leaving 6 pts as pMadrak is +6 if im not terribly wrong (Could he be played as a eMadrak with some conversion and the card on hand?)

Thanks in advance

[Mr. Mayhem]

Well the first thing to consider is that the number of beasts a warlock can manage is largely determined by how high (or in this case low) his/her fury stat is. This determines how far away from your warlock they can function at peak efficiency as well as (more importantly) how easily they can be kept under control when they start generating fury. The best way to circumnavigate this slight weakness of his is with Whelps, who provide an excellent way to manage your beast's fury, though you probably don't need them when taking 2 or less beasts.

You're right that PMadrak is +6 beast pts, so I suppose you'd need to decide what point level you're looking to make a list for at the moment (and as long as the people you're playing with don't mind you can use him as the epic). It depends what the others in your area play more often, but I'd suggest starting with a 25 pt list, though 35 is also a good goal. The Dire Troll kit you mentioned is a great idea, as are the Fennblades. You probably don't need to limit yourself to a minimum unit, as you buy the enitre unit together. Other recommendations are signature Troll pieces you can't go wrong with, like a minimum Kriel Stone Bearer unit, a Fell Caller and a Chronicler. A solid 25 pt list could be:

PMadrak
Mauler
Axer
Max. Fennblades
Min. Kriel Stone
Fell Caller
Chronicler

The combos are pretty straight forward, but here are some anyway.

- As you've undoubtedly noticed strength buffs add to thrown weapon damage, so Madrak could throw his axe at POW 18 with the Mauler's animus, Rage.
- Carnage cast by Madrak + the Fell Caller using Warcry on the Fennblades makes them effectively MAT 10 (or on Madrak himeslf to become MAT 11), great on the feat turn.
- If the Chronicler uses Charge of the Trolls on the Fennblades and, say, the Axer runs/charges up to engage their target, they'll be MAT 8, P+S 14 without any of the above mentioned buffs (P+S 17 with Rage).
- If you have something large and resilient (the Mauler for example) in the midst of the Fennblades with Sure Foot cast on it and then have the Chronicler use Tale of Mists on them as well, most of them will effectively be DEF16 from ranged and magic attacks and hopefully ARM 16 via the KSB.

[Arcadia]

Wow thanks for taking your time writing all that Mr. Mayhem!

I will probably be running him as intended (pMadrak) to avoid any problems if i were to play other than my friends.

The friends i play with are all playing 25pts normally but lowered it to 15 as im on abit of a budget so can only afford a kit or 2 per month.

The list you came up with made alot of sense (although i havent really looked at the solos as my friends told me to wait till 25 with those) the thing i always thought was important however was to have a good amount both melee and ranged units (sorry for the general description but im not down with all the correct terms yet) but the list you listed seems to be all melee or am i wrong?

In either case then how would this look as a 15 pts starter list?

-pMadrak
-Troll Axer
-Earthborn Dire Troll (Could i convert him from the mauler set?) (Would he bring the same effects as the mauler?)
-Min unit of Fennblades

Would this be a solid 15pts list or would you point me towards another direction for 15pts? and how could i later bring that up to 25pts in the best way?

Thanks in advance

Edit: I just found out 1 of my friends had an Axer model he never got to paint that i can have. Would it be stupid having 2 of 1 in such low pts? seeing the other warpacks they all seem to have 2 of the same light beasts and then 1 biggie? maybe pMadrak, Mauler and 2 Axers? or is that a waste? just thought i would add the extra mini that became available.

[Jinxies]

The thing is Rush is the main draw of the Axer and you don't need his animus twice since you can cast it with your Warlock. You could consider not buying the box at all if you could get the axer from a friend. sure the box is super cheap but you'll rarely want multiple lights and since you don't seem to want to use them that much anyways tou might as well put the money into models you actually want :3

[Keravin]

The mauler and the Earthborn have fairly different uses. The Mauler gives you the strength boost, whilst Eartborn are more maneuverable plus other effects that are more situational. For PMadrak I normally go for the Mauler myself.

Certain warlocks do favour multiple lights. Madrak in either form isn't really one of them, but I do use them with Calandra, Jarl and sometimes Grim.

[Jinxies]

I'm almost finished with my three Skorne lists now and I'm planning on going Calandra and Grim Angus next(I use a lot of minions) And the idea is to run two Impalers with both of them. I'm more skepical towards twin Axers though :P

[Mr. Mayhem]

Wow thanks for taking your time writing all that Mr. Mayhem!

I will probably be running him as intended (pMadrak) to avoid any problems if i were to play other than my friends.

The friends i play with are all playing 25pts normally but lowered it to 15 as im on abit of a budget so can only afford a kit or 2 per month.

The list you came up with made alot of sense (although i havent really looked at the solos as my friends told me to wait till 25 with those) the thing i always thought was important however was to have a good amount both melee and ranged units (sorry for the general description but im not down with all the correct terms yet) but the list you listed seems to be all melee or am i wrong?

No problem, happy to help. And you're not wrong about wanting both melee and ranged, but I'm of the mindset that you should decide what you want your force to be able to do and focus on doing it well, rather than (what can often times happen) spreading it too thin by trying to have a balanced list. This is especially true at 15-25 points where your options are fairly limited. As a VERY general rule you want a list that can handle an opposing list with lots of heavy/high ARM stuff as well as a flood of infantry. If it can do both it can handle anything in between, which most lists are. Depending on your faction, at 35 point you can have a greater variety of tools in your toolbox (and at 50 it's much easier), but if you're playing 25 points or less and are shaping it around the starter box (PMadrak especially), I would recommend focusing on making a solid melee force.

In either case then how would this look as a 15 pts starter list?

-pMadrak
-Troll Axer
-Earthborn Dire Troll (Could i convert him from the mauler set?) (Would he bring the same effects as the mauler?)
-Min unit of Fennblades

Would this be a solid 15pts list or would you point me towards another direction for 15pts? and how could i later bring that up to 25pts in the best way?

You might be able to convert a Mauler to an Earthborn (I wouldn't recommend it), but they're quite different models and the Mauler (esp in smaller games) can be quite good. I would even use it in your starting 15 pt lists over an Earthborn, as if you bring the above list the only thing that can reliably handle enemies heavies/high ARM is the EB, but the Mauler's animus can turn any of the other models into heavy hitters. You can almost think of it as adding an extra, average die roll (3 of course) to all your damage rolls and after getting 3-4 games under your belt you'll notice yourself or your opponent saying "If only I'd done another point or two of damage to your beast/jack/caster/etc. things would've been totally different." Another plus is that the Mauler has a great chain attack that you can get off much easier if Madrak has cast Carnage. If you're attacking, say, a rival heavy you go from needings 6's to hit on average to 4's, leaving you with a lot more fury with to boost damage or buy attacks that's normally used to boost.

I think that list would be fine, though I'd swap the EB with the Mauler, at least at 15 points. I think it would fit better, even though you'd be 1 point down (though Swamp Gobbers are an excellent 1 point filler for Hordes). As mentioned above, this list would have the means to take on heavies/high ARM (Mauler, Rage on the other stuff, even Madrak) and certainly the means to handle lots of troops (Carnage + Thresher and Carnage + Madraks feat).

Thanks in advance

Edit: I just found out 1 of my friends had an Axer model he never got to paint that i can have. Would it be stupid having 2 of 1 in such low pts? seeing the other warpacks they all seem to have 2 of the same light beasts and then 1 biggie? maybe pMadrak, Mauler and 2 Axers? or is that a waste? just thought i would add the extra mini that became available.

Actually, two Axers and the Mauler with Madrak could work well. Of course fury will be an issue with all beasts and no Whelps, but again, if Madrak casts Carnage the Axers will have MAT 8 Thresher attacks with reach to handle troopers, as well as potentially at P+S 17 with rage to handle hard targets. I'd much have prefered if the start came with two Axers rather than two Impalers, as I haven't used more than one Impaler per list since MKI.