Starting points level

[dreadnaughtguy]

I am a 40k player and was looking at starting a cynagar army. What is a good starting point value to invest in. I was looking at kara sloan and doing a shooting heavy army. I have studied up a bit on the game, but have yet to play a game.

[Kilcin]

I would suggest anywhere between 15 and 35 points to start; 15 points tends to be a caster and a couple of jacks, a good way to learn the game and would be my main suggestion. If you want to try out troops though, I would say 35 points so you have enough room for caster, jacks and a couple of units to get a feel of how they interact.

[DarkLink]

I started with Sloan and only have maybe ten games in, since I mainly play 40k, and 35 is pretty easy to get to with a couple jacks and a squad of infantry or two.

Sloan is a bit trickier to play at low point levels, as her feat gets more powerful the more jacks and shooty models you have. At 15-25, it's a little bit weak, since you're only getting 2-3 extra shots from your jacks. The order of activation for her feat is pretty complex, too, so don't be discouraged by it.

[Mdw005]

35 is a healthy point level that doesn't require a significant investment, but gives you a good feel for how a faction plays. 50 points is a good playing level, and in established areas, 50 points tends to be preferred.

-MW-

[possiblyarowbot]

Start with the plastic Cygnar battlebox for three reasons:

1. The sculpts are better than the metal sculpts
2. Lighter to carry
3. You will still save money versus buying those jacks individually

Kara will be an extra purchase, you you're looking at around $60 (monetary cost tends to be around 3x the point value) to start out. Then, I would just buy the models you want and figure out how to make them work. You could buy "the best" and "most powered" but that will get you a lot of annoyed looks from vets and really, who wants to be forced into getting models.

Find a good slow grow league in your area, everyone will be starting off at the same point values, and typically are trying models they are not used to playing.

A lot of people start with cygnar. A lot of people move to a different faction. By starting low you can decide if it really is what you want.

The cool thing about warmahordes is that you can swap out the caster/lock and completely change how the army plays. Nemo/Constance lists tend to play completely different than Stryker/Caine/Kara lists.

[Drakkan Vael]

To learn the game stick to the battlebox to start with. Slowly increase the points to 25 and 35 maybe to 50 or 75 in the end (that is a very large game in Warmahordes), with 35 being the standard game size.
When you know your 'jacks, units and solos inside out, buy different casters. They will change your style of play completely.

[Jack-Hammer]

I suggest starting with a 15pts list. Play it at least a dozen times so you know the mechanics of the game and what you like/don't like; then build on it in 10pt chunks. The reason I suggest this rather than going straight to 35 is that I believe it makes you a better player. Initially with fewer pieces its easier to learn the rules and then see the synergies.

My 2 cents.

[dreadnaughtguy]

so it sounds like 35-50 pts is the 1500-2000 range in 40k. I should start with around 15-25 so i can learn the basics. The battle box is a good investment.

thanks for the advice.

[dreadnaughtguy]

what will the points cost for the collossals be. ... thinking a small force .... do they count as jacks with reguards to casters jack points?

[under]

what will the points cost for the collossals be. ... thinking a small force .... do they count as jacks with reguards to casters jack points?

There has been very little offical word on them, they will be 'jacks but with some specific restrictions and bonuses, e.g. can not be made stealth, be in the 18-20 point range, 120mm base. Do not waste your time on them, if history serves they are far far more likely to be under whelming on the table and a poor choice in the list except with a few casters and at certain point levels.

My advice would be, as cynar to build a balanced melee/ranged force where you can swap 2-3 casters do not build to optimize the feat turn, that is a poor way to play if you care even the slightest about playing skillfully. Take a serious look at mercenaries. Your faction is anything you can run, not just stuff from the Cygnar book.

[Swifter66]

I'd recomment 25. I feel 15 is a fine level to learn the basic rules, but that it doesn't give you a sense of what the game is really like. 25 is about the smallest you can play and have a decently rounded out force, granted your model choices are not deliberately bad.

[thebarbalag]

There is really no need to go past the battlebox to start. It has everything you need to learn the rules and get the experience required to make informed choices about future purchases. Past that, if you're interested in another caster, like Sloan, picking her up, and a plastic heavy, which can be magnetized for maximum cash and bag-space efficiency will make the path to the more frequently played 25-35 point games much easier. Once you've gotten the practice in with the caster you want, you'll have a much easier time figuring out what you want to use moving forward.

[Ironwolf]

Kara sloan was my first caster when I started WH. She brings a good shooting game but doesn't have alot of synergy with the Cygnar BB. But I know when I bought khador BB I got parts for 3 different heavies can't say they did the same for the ironclad.

This was the list I used when I started with her.

Kara +6 WJP
Defender 9
2x hunters 12

Good start takes advantage of feat turn and she makes these good shootie jacks better. To add more units you this list up to 25/35.

25 list

Kara +6 WJP
Battlegroup
Defender 9
2x hunters 12
No battlegroup
Arcane tempest gun mages 6
Captain strangeways 2
Reinholdt gobber speculator 2 (kara's new best friend:D)
1 point left :cool:

ATGM give you some good anti infantry and other tricks, Strangeways fixes 1 WJ a focus point if it didn't get focus. Reinholdt gives you a range check, 1 reroll to melee/range attack and gives kara a second shot a turn regardless of RoF.

35 List

Kara +6 WJP
Battlegroup
Defender 9
2x hunters 12
No battlegroup
Arcane tempest gun mages 6
-ATGM officer 2
Boomhowler & co min unit 6
-Captain jonas Murdoch 2
Captain strangeways 2
Reinholdt gobber speculator 1
1 point left over :cool:

ATGM officer gives the unit true sight(ingores stealth clouds LoS) he is also a jack marshal and really a must have from the unit. Boomhowler is a tough melee unit that gives kara much needed attrition so you can line up the kill shot. Murdoch makes Boomhowler infaction instead of merc so kara can use her feats and feat on them her spell deadeye combined with murdochs assault order is sick.

I know none of these are in the battlebox but if your serious about kara this is a good start hope it helps.

[Corax.69]

35 points and 50 points tends to be the regular game size, but I think 25 works fairly well too. It lets you use the battlebox, a full unit, and then maybe a solo or two to bring things up to the full 25 points.

I also think 20 points is a good size for teaching the game. Playing with only warnouns means you're leaving out an important element of the game.