Considering Coming Back to Fantasy....

[Duke Vorian]

Last edition I played was over 4 years ago. Couldn't ever really decide on an army and just ended up sticking to 40K before I went into the Army.

Lately I'v seen Fantasy being played here and there in my area and getting bored of 40K. Just wondering what has changed. What's Fantasy like now and what can I expect? I see some crazy models and cards now and just want to re figure out what's new? Thanks a lot.

[Chronowraith]

Quite a bit has changed from previous editions.

Here's a quick breakdown of important changes;

*Random charge ranges. Charges are now the units Movement + 2d6.
*Magic. Pretty much most of mechanics of magic have changed. A little too much to list here to be honest.
*Monsters & Large Models. All the 8th edition books have monsters and/or other large models available. Most army books in 8th have the full gamut of unit types (Infantry, Cavalry, Monstrous Infantry, Monstrous Cav, MOnsters, War Machines, etc)
*Combat. Combat works greatly different than previous editions. You fight at full strength in the first rank and then your second rank gets supporting attacks (1 per model). Casualties are pulled from the back ranks. Units that have more ranks than the enemy unit are steadfast and always make break checks at unmodified leadership. More changes as well.

The cards you saw are simply descriptions of the spells like back in 4th edition. GW prints them and many players use them as references rather than constantly flipping through the rulebook. Also makes keeping track of which augments/hexes have been cast on which units.

[Mr Mystery]

For me, 8th Edition is the best yet.

Majority of balance issues are now resolved. Most of the fixes come from the main rules. For instance, Skirmishers are now a lot less flexible, and no longer able to just run around other units with impunity. However, this has had the knock on effect that skirmish heavy armies are very limited, so not a great time to be playing Wood Elves!

Magic and Heroes in particular, whilst still suitably influential, are no longer overpowering. It's now more about bolstering your regiments than anything. There are dreaded combos, but they need the right conditions. Spells for example. Random amount of casting dice mean there is little guarantee you'll be able to cast the spells you want to. Plus, if your caster fail to roll the score needed, they can't cast again that phase, so it's tricky to have a dominant magic phase!

Monsters aren't quite as tough as they used to be, but remain suitably Killy.

Oh, and best new rule? Steadfast. If you lose a combat, but have more ranks than your opponent, then you suffer no negative modifier to your break test. This has reduced steamrollers somewhat, and has made your basic infantry the powerhouse of the game!

[Kirsten]

I have played from 5th edition onwards and this is by far the best edition yet. 5th edition was about characters and magic, 6th and 7th tried to shift the emphasis to units but went too far and stripped out a lot of the fantasy element of the game, 8th has really redressed the balance, so big units are the best way to go, but you can have magic and monsters and the like too. 7th edition was really just a medieval strategy game with the occasional wizard in my opinion, latest rule book and army books have really put the fantasy back into warhammer and made it a unique world again.

[TheCastigator]

8th edition is definitely worth your time. I've played 40k since 2003 and after several years of 5th the group I game with started to play fantasy. All of the 8th edition books are viable, contrary to internet screed, and they are pretty well balanced, save for a few items here and there. The games are tense, and the random elements help keep it very fresh. The Rulebook scenarios are also very good and force you to bring a balanced list. I play vampires and have dabbled with a few other books, but they are all fun and play differently. The variety in the new books is pretty solid and once you settle on what you want, you should be pretty happy. Most of the older books have held up alright, WE aside, though their builds are more limited. I would say you should go for it.