Warhammer Fantasy -- Army Choice

The end of 2011 was very busy and left me no time for posting new game related information. For that I am sad, however it is now 2012 and I now have the time I didn't during the last parts of 2011. So back to the games.

A game that I have recently starting playing (beginning of 2011) is Warhammer Fantasy. This is a tabletop war game. And although it has some stigma's with it, the game itself is quite enjoyable. Which is probably one of the reasons it is so popular. One of the hurdles I have experienced in playing this game is the lack of understanding that I have of my troops, Wood Elves, and the strategy/Tactics of playing the game. So in order to learn more I am going to write a tactics blog. I am not an expert but over the next couple of weeks I hope to put down what I have learned, and some murmurings from other people who play Wood Elves. The goal, first for me to learn how to play better, and second to share some much needed details on Wood Elves rather than just opinions.

First off the hardest part of Warhammer is choosing an army. So I am going to share the details on Wood Elves to help aide people in their decision of the army they want to field. There are many factors that go into choosing an army that you want to play. And the investment is not cheap, so you want to make the best choice possible. The following is a guide or steps for choosing a Warhammer Fantasy army (although you could use this for choosing any army in any tabletop war game.

1. Step 1: Immerse yourself in the game
1. You need to read about the game itself, is it a fantasy game filled with magic? Or is it a futuristic game filled with machinery and high powered weapons. Or maybe it is a historic army. It doesn't matter what style you choose but you want to know a little about the world you are playing in. So learn the basics. The basics are not the full rules of how to play, but an understanding of the play. In the case of Warhammer fantasy you would want to know at least the following (the more you know the easier it is to make an army choice, so the items below are just a minimum):
• Combat is resolved through using dice as a mechanic.
• Games last on average between 2 to 8 hours
• There are good, neutral and evil armies. 
• The battles have three main combat focuses Magic, Ranged and Close Combat. 
• Magic Combat has a major focus on augmenting (buffing you) and hexing (de-buffing your opponent, weakening them), with a few good damage spells thrown in the mix
• Ranged Combat is stronger against weaker units (I know this may be obvious), and much (exponentially) weaker against stronger units. 
• Close Combat has two parts
• First part is damaging the opponent and hopefully saving against their attacks
• Second part is combat resolution, which is where you calculate who won the close combat battle and if someone may run because the other unit routed them.
• There are many types of units, infantry, Monsters, artillery, mounts, and Calvary to name a few.
• You get to choose your armies:
• Colors
• Composition
• Play style
2. Once you know the basics of the game it is time to look at the individual armies to figure out what army you want to play. 
2. Step 2: Look at the models in the army
1. Go to a game shop or look online at the models. First off you are either putting together and painting these models; you may even display them or at the very least you will be playing with them. You want models that you like looking at, that you can be proud to show off at tournaments or to your friends. Even if you didn't paint them. One of my friends has not painted a single model in his army, and yet we all enjoy checking out the models he has collected. So get out their and narrow the field by finding units that you like and units you don't.  This is the first step because liking your units will make you a better player and make the game far more enjoyable. It will also help you to not be jealous of your neighbors army.
• Games workshops website is good
• Cool-mini or not is even better
• Google images is also useful and looks at lots of pictures
2. ME: I like the wood elf models as well as the dwarves, I am not so fond of the more evil looking undead armies. But that is just my two cents. 
3. Step 3: Learn the basics of the armies that you like the models of.
1. Warning: Reading websites can taint your view of an army.
• This may sound a little bit like calling the kettle black but it is true. Some people are very slanted in their view of specific armies, whether they are for or against them. This view makes it harder for you to make a quality decision. For example you may read (actually I can guarantee that you will if the new army book hasn't come out) that wood elves are at a disadvantage in eighth edition rules. And that Lizzardmen are the best army currently in eighth edition. The truth is that these are just opinions that come from exaggerating the truth. 
• The truth is that the Lizzardmen have more advantages or easier life in eighth edition. This is no different then what life is like in our world. We have world powers, many would say that China has more military advantages than Kenya. That does not mean that China's army is better than Kenya's. What it does mean is that Kenya would have to work harder to defeat China. The same is true in Warhammer, except that the difference is not as great as Kenya's strength vs China's. So just because the Wood elves or Dwarves or any other army is not as strong in eighth edition doesn't mean that they are not the best. 
• When reading websites (including this one) take the information with a grain of salt and don't forget step 2. You want the coolest looking army that fits your play style, not the current top rated army.
2. Play style: Each army has strengths and weakness
1. This may be obvious but if you fall for the information on some websites you would think that your army will dominate every battle or loose every battle. Winning and loosing is more dependent on you than your army.
2. When looking at strengths and weakness you will need to remember that every army has things they are good at and things they are not, so don't try to find an army that has no weakness. Rather look for an army that either has strengths that you feel fit your play style or weaknesses that you feel you are strong at. Below are two examples to further explain play style.
1. For example if you like to rush in and crush a foe then you would want an army that has strengths and variety in close combat and movement. If your play style is the more chaos the better, then you want an army that focuses on lots of variety and some very strong but unstable units. 
2. For weaknesses an example would be if you are good at maneuvers and understanding how to place things in relation to others than you could take an army who has a weakness in maneuvers and make them shine.
3. ME: Wood elves are all about maneuvers, unequal fighting and ranged attacks. Which fit my play style. Although looking back I may have taken an army who is stronger (higher toughness) and is better at close combat, as my weakness is maneuverability.
4. Step 4: Decision making time
1. Read the fluff of the last few armies (hopefully you don't like every armies models, and every armies play style, if you do I would pick one and plan on buying the other's later)
1. The fluff gives you the final insight into what the designers thoughts are on how the army should be played. From reading websites I went in thinking that you had to build a wood elf army with Treekin, just a few archers, and no Warhawks as they are worthless. After reading the fluff more and understanding the units better it is true that in close combat the Treekin will out damage my archers and Warhawks combined. However my Warhawks can hunt spell casters and war-machines faster, and my archers can take down a Hellpit Abomination faster than a unit of Treekin (who may not even survive a Hellpit). In any case read the fluff about the units and see if you like the way the authors thought about using them in the army.
2. Check prices and pick
1. All armies are expensive, however not all units are expensive if you like an army and can build one with a few inexpensive units then you can play while you save up for the more expensive units.

So now you have a basic guide for picking an army. I hope to put more specific information about selecting an army on the site soon but before that is my original goal of creating a wood elf tactics guide. Which will be focused on the strengths, weaknesses and uses for each unit. Then I will write some of my ideas on deployment and play. As this guide is long I may break it up into smaller pieces. Good luck