Best size of game for 8th Edition?

[Scorch]

Goatboy's post in relation to Warhammer 40k 6th ed today got me thinking... Is there a 'best' game size for 8th edition fantasy?
By best, I mean along the lines of a good size to allow a variety of options, and lasting about the same time as a 1500-2000pts game of 40k would.
Thoughts?

I should also mention I've barely played 8th edition yet.

[Chronowraith]

I would say the best I've played was between 2250 and 2500. You miss out on some of the really ridiculous things that can happen at the higher point levels but still have enough points that lists aren't predictable. Really though, I enjoy playing games in the 1500-3000 point range. 1500 for smaller skirmishes and 3000 for some Storm of Magic beer and pretzel moments.

That being said, in a competitive environment, many armies are always predictable regardless of point limits. For instance, take Dark Elves.. in a tournament you will almost always see two hydras, a large unit of corsairs (with a shadowmage for mindrazor) and probably the reverse ward save magic item.

[TheCastigator]

I agree that 1500 is good for skirmish games, though I prefer 2500 for bigger games as it clamps down on some of the insane builds you get as percentages scale up. The other thing I would say is that you will likely see a wider variety of opponents in a competitive environment amongst armies with 8th ed books. Dark Elves/Lizardmen/High elves have books that have limited choices to begin with, making the combos more obvious. Vampires and Empire, on the other hand, have a huge number of options and can present a wide array of builds.

[Wildeybeast]

That being said, in a competitive environment, many armies are always predictable regardless of point limits. For instance, take Dark Elves.. in a tournament you will almost always see two hydras, a large unit of corsairs (with a shadowmage for mindrazor) and probably the reverse ward save magic item.

Sounds just like my DE army (minus the Hydra's because they are 40 quid a pop). It's really the best foundation to any DE army, there is no point taking anything else.

On the OP, I'd recommend 2500 points like others have. Big enough so that you can take some of the funkier stuff in your army list without getting too big or too silly. You'll still get that done in about 3 hours, smaller points cost will give you quicker but still balanced games. I would be wary of going under 1500 points though. We had a day of 1000 point games and they were really unbalanced. Skaven and Ogres dominated (because they massively outnumbered everyone and because no one had stuff to hurt them respectively) while our HE player (who is the best player in the group) got tabled every time out because HE are simply too elite to be competitive at that level.

[Chronowraith]

Sounds just like my DE army (minus the Hydra's because they are 40 quid a pop). It's really the best foundation to any DE army, there is no point taking anything else.

I agree on the Corsairs entirely. They are the best core choice by a longshot for DE. I'm just tired of mindrazor spam with every DE list I play against. I've seen many DE players run successful lists without dual hydras though. Good blocks of Cold One Knights or Executioners with the ASF banner are really a pain to deal with.


We had a day of 1000 point games and they were really unbalanced. Skaven and Ogres dominated (because they massively outnumbered everyone and because no one had stuff to hurt them respectively) while our HE player (who is the best player in the group) got tabled every time out because HE are simply too elite to be competitive at that level.

I play Skaven and I support this message.

Certain armies are completely unbalanced at low point levels, Skaven being the beardiest of the bunch. Slaves can tarpit an entire army on their own while the rest of the skaven army (all 800ish points of it) runs amuck.

At least it's not as bad as 7th edition. I remember back then playing a 500 point game with only a Warlock Engineer, 2x units of 30 Slaves, and 2 Doomwheels.

[Wildeybeast]

I agree on the Corsairs entirely. They are the best core choice by a longshot for DE. I'm just tired of mindrazor spam with every DE list I play against. I've seen many DE players run successful lists without dual hydras though. Good blocks of Cold One Knights or Executioners with the ASF banner are really a pain to deal with.

The problem is it's the best lore they have access to. Pit of Shades, mind Razor and pendulum dohicky compensate brilliantly for their lack of high strength stuff.




I play Skaven and I support this message.

Certain armies are completely unbalanced at low point levels, Skaven being the beardiest of the bunch. Slaves can tarpit an entire army on their own while the rest of the skaven army (all 800ish points of it) runs amuck.

At least it's not as bad as 7th edition. I remember back then playing a 500 point game with only a Warlock Engineer, 2x units of 30 Slaves, and 2 Doomwheels.

Yeah, they are a nightmare at low points level. So many troops backed up by nasty killy stuff. You can get a surprising number of rat ogres and weapons teams in at that price.