Since we've had our "dislikes" thread...

[Deadnight]

And I would disagree and point especially to the No Quarter tier lists such as Zerkova and Magnus Bad seeds which represent certain campaigns rather than just a set battle.

I really can't see Butcher and the Assault Kommandoes spending a lot of time out in the field for example

And Caine's theme force doesnt gives bonuses to sentinels (and gives them to lancers instead. wtf?), despite every piece of fluff involving him and a chaingun toting sentinel. Sorscha had an Uhlan heavy campaign, yet they're not in her theme force. How about Kromac? he's a high king of the tharn, and yet only takes ravagers in his theme force. no wolf riders, blood trackers etc. despite Jarls "against the tharn" fluff in Domination being entirely against kromac and every kind of tharn there was...

assault kommandos? yup, i could see it happening. an aggressive trench sweeping force used for offensive operations tied with an aggressive full on "into the breech" warcaster typically best used for offensive actions? Butcher assaulted ravenguard and while the keep fell to him and his doom reavers, i guarantee you the assault kommandos had a hand in clearing the trench network outside it. So yeah, perfectly fluffy.

[Keravin]

At no point was I arguing all tiers are fluffy. Just some of them.

[loveless]

One of my most memorable games ever was a Hordes round - warpack battle, Legion v. Skorne in Mk. 1. My opponent was so concerned with the big Carnivean and what my other friend called "the damn ripper things that ate my Warpwolf" that he didn't notice Lylyth creeping around behind his battleline. His titan dispatched my Carnivean while a Savage swung away at the last Shredder, just to have Lylyth plug Morghoul full of arrows, ending the game in my favor. There I was...all but tabled, and still pulling out the win. I like that - I never feel completely doomed so long as I can find an assassination vector.

I also like that most models have an active role in the game. It's not WHFB, where half or more of my unit serves as really expensive wound counters. It's also not 40K, where the majority of my army is hidden away in points-cheap dollar-expensive transport vehicles. I get to play with all of the models I want to see on the table and each one has as much potential as his fellows to do damage or otherwise serve his purpose. Standards are a bit of a low point, as they tend to be more passive, but at least they come with an officer who tends to be more active than the rest of his unit.

The elf distinction in WM/H is fun for me as well. I like the "wild dark elf" style of the wintery Nyss and the "technomagickal xenophobe" style of much of the Iosan race. Probably my favorite elf-types from the TTG world (though Dark Eldar come close).

[Deadnight]

At no point was I arguing all tiers are fluffy. Just some of them.

they're no more "fluffy" than non-tier lists, which was my point.

but to bring it back to the optimism:

I love the excitement this game brings to people. so many times in the huge amount of demos ive done, i've seen what i didnt see in years of 40k. people's eyes lighting up. wonder. amazement. freedom. joy. warmachine seems to be "that breath of fresh air" that a lot of people, once they experience it, is what they've always been after, without ever knowing it.

I like the community. this is a personal viewpoint, but i was at ground zero when this game took off. heck, i was there back before ground zero, when this game was mk1. i remember vlad having eSorschas feat as a spell! (against 1 model though) :P i remember epic vlad and the flying drakhun, and the legion flying circus. Its a great feeling to be part of a game that generates so much good feeling and positivity, and at the same time, is on the upsurge and expanding all the time. its new ground. this is a game that is going somewhere. its great to run demos, to see the interest people have in this game. Its great to bring people into the game, and see the player base grow and expand. it makes you feel like you're a part of something.

[Max_Killfactor]

The elf distinction in WM/H is fun for me as well. I like the "wild dark elf" style of the wintery Nyss and the "technomagickal xenophobe" style of much of the Iosan race. Probably my favorite elf-types from the TTG world (though Dark Eldar come close).

I agree 100% with this... even about the Dark Eldar.

The two main things I like about WM are:

1) The way the company is run.
2) Caster kills.

It's so refreshing to see what PP are working on, I hate all the secrecy GW has. On PP's main page they are showing previews for models coming out in July and beyond, while GW only shows what is coming out in two weeks. I come here and see what MIGHT be coming out in April. It's insane. PP's releases also make much more sense, every faction gets new models every year. There's no 12 year waits for your army to get something new. It also results in a much more balanced game. Dark Angels and Chaos Marines have been suffering because they were released at a time when GW was simplifying the rules... the philosophy changed shortly afterwards and DA and CSM codices aged very poorly.

I just enjoy caster kills. In WHFB and 40k, I'd always build my lords/heroes expecting that I'd have a showdown with an opposing lord/hero. It rarely happened and when it did, it just didn't feel very epic. In WM/Hordes, seeminly epic finishes happen almost every game.

[Havock]

Doom Reavers.

[HRM]

I also like how, when you get a little better at the game, it's a real "A-HA!" moment.

[Dais]

I like basically everything not mentioned in the dislike thread. There is much more to like than to dislike for me.

[paddyalexander]

One word: Pirates!

Dragon Worshiping Zombie Pirates

[Deadnight]

Dragon Worshipping undead necromancer Zombie Ghost Pirates with fire And affiliated thieves, murderers, mercenaries and assorted scum of the earth

there, fixed that for you

[HRM]

I like all the goggles the Cygnarans are rocking, too. Hilarious.

[Gunless Ganger]

Wow - this made me stop and really think about what I like... the one word that I keep thinking of is "Vibrant".

Here's my short list with that theme in mind:

1) The books

When I decided to take the plunge I picked up the Cryx box and the Faction book. I remember being totally floored by all this full page, gorgeous, full color art. I kept waiting for the book to turn into some black and white scribbles and it never did. There was so much energy and delicious evil packed into each picture. I loved it.

2) The Faction Stories

The bad guys aren't ALL mindless drones and the good guys aren't inevitably doomed! I love it - it just feels like such a vibrant and promising story. Nothing is more depressing than painting 200 guys just to be told by your own army book that it's all hopeless and you're all doomed anyway.

3) The Control

I like the control you have over your units, how they move and spread out - how control areas work and how you can manage and spend your resources to execute a plan.

I'm unlucky with dice - I know it and have come to accept it. To be able to spend resources to mitigate that luck factor is just so refreshing. After coming from a game where you randomly determine your spells, randomly determine how many dice you get to cast them, then randomly determine if you DID cast them... Wow... well it very refreshing to know that my centuries old Necromancer actually KNOWS what spells he woke up with that morning and can actually cast them competently...

[Oguleth]

But you ARE doomed! Unless you play Menoth, of course.

[SanguinaryDan]

The sheer flexibility of each faction. If you want something different in feel you change casters, or jacks, or infantry, or solos and it's a whole new army. I love my Blood Angels, but I can't make them "feel" different just because I bring a Captain instead of a Librarian.

That, and caster kill. Nothing more satifying than snatching victory from the jaws of defeat with a well placed Heavy Barrel shot.

[mdiscala]

I like how it feels like an actual game, instead of a roleplaying session with toysoldiers that has some game play elements.

[Havock]

The sheer flexibility of each faction. If you want something different in feel you change casters, or jacks, or infantry, or solos and it's a whole new army. I love my Blood Angels, but I can't make them "feel" different just because I bring a Captain instead of a Librarian.

That, and caster kill. Nothing more satifying than snatching victory from the jaws of defeat with a well placed Heavy Barrel shot.

Indeed, the casters are just so... Different. I can take the exact same setup with eSorscha and eVlad and it will play completely differently. Likewise: Saeryn versus eThaggy.

[paddyalexander]

What I love about Warmachine & Hoardes in no particular order -

->The company, open beta testing of their rules, great communication with their community trough their website, forum & contributions to podcasts & blogs.

->The background. The game has a rich and very deep background thanks to its' rpg origins but what I love most about it is that it is constantly progressing and that progression is reflected in the game. Combined with what I feel is a very solid writing style in the books' background sections it is one of my favourate aspects of the game.

->The game. It is designed to be a game, not a marketing tool for selling toy soldiers to children. It is well balanced and the rules are very clearly writen so that there is only one possible inturpretation. I can't remember a game of 40k over a decade of playing that system over 3 different editions were I didn't end up having a rules debate/disaggreement/arguement. Have yet to have one in Warmachine that hasn't been solved by opening the rules book.

->The card system. I don't have to go searhing trough an army book for a models rules, then get told inthe entry to go to a different page in the book for the other half of the rules or to the main rulebook. All of the info I need is right in front of me. One of my most frequently heard critisms of the system from people who haven't played it is that there are to many special rules in the game. They don't understand that it doesn't matter when the all of those rules that you need to know are at your finger tips.

-> I love the asstethic style of their minis. There are very few models that I dislike and those are getting updated/replaced.

[Sparowl]

I like that individual Models have serious impact on the game. In other words, the skirmish style of the game.

On the other had, the warband and tier system works out well as well. Lots of fluff and character related synergy is great.

[Aladin_sane]

Game mechanics, 100%

This game got me hooked just on the way it plays, I simply love it. Coming from a long time 40k and Fantasy background, WM/H was something new new and interesting that has kept me glued ever since.
I also really like a lot of the themes running through most factions, and I'm a big fan of the new and large models PP are introducing, sure they are expensive... but what isn't in this hobby? The price is representative of the model's size and awesomeness.

[Xenthick]

I too am a person who has come from the warhammer worlds, and all I see when I look at warmarhordes is improvements over the GW games. The only thing GW has going on over privateer press is their model quality is spectacular, and not by much especially as PP models are getting better all the time while it seems that the only place GW models are going up in is price.

As for what specifically I love about the PP games, theres so much. The ease of adding variety to youre army by buying a single model or unit, it completely changes the game around.

Casters kills are great fun and make for very interesting tactical and strategic options in playing.

The fact that theres no such thing as codex creep, and no army feels broken or overpowered.

Not being kicked in the pants for taking an aesthetic choice. I like being able to field something purely because of how it looks and not being overly punished for it.

There are so many other reasons but I'll stop there I guess. Those are the main ones.