I enjoy spending my time chatting with everyone on the 3++ chat box on and several times I've noticed chatters talking about how they aren't sure what faction to pick or what each faction does as a whole. Using my amazing psychic powers I took a hint and decided writing an article about the factions and how to pick which one you like would be a good idea. (See what I did there?)
Now the first thing I always tell players when they want to start up is to go with what you like. If you look at a Cygnar Warjack and think its the coolest thing in existance then go for it. If you like the look of Khadors infantry then start up Khador. Play something you think is cool and will be proud to assemble and paint.
Of course this doesn't always work out since some people find the models of many factions to be amazing and or they want to go by playstyle and care less about looks. So in an attempt to help out I have created a general guide that explains what each faction does (in general, can't get too specific).
Cygnar: The boys in Blue are famous for two things - Guns and Lightning (and yes, there are lightning guns). You will be hard pressed to find an army that doesn't include one, if not both of themes. Many of their casters are capable of increasing their armies ranged abilites, increasing their defense at range or stopping the enemy from using their guns effectivly. Cygnar is also the elitist faction and as such, has some expensive infantry and to a minor degree expensive Warjacks. Their Warcasters are extremely varied and allow for them to play a "jack of all trades" approach since they are capable of handling any situation.
Protectorate Of Menoth: "Can we light them on fire? Let's find out." That pretty much explains the PoM in a way. They have several themes in their army including, fire, support, spell denial and AOEs. When the Protectorate starts to layer abilites it can become impossible for their enemies to unravel the string of buffs and counter spells they have created and by the time they do, it might be too late for them to win the game. Another powerful ability of PoM is their ability to deny the enemy their support by stoping spell casting as well as getting rid of the spells already on the board. It is also important to add that many of their casters have a high focus count as well as the ability to sling spells at the enemy to light them on fire. I wasn't joking about them liking fire.
Khador: The drunken crazy Russians as they are commonly known. Khador is an interesting faction that I think is best known for two things - High Armour and high damage output. These are the keystones of many Khador lists. Khador is a faction that plays with a very simple theory - "Wars are won with boots on the ground". Many of Khador's casters support infantry and take them from the level of great to excellent. Khador is unique in the fact that they lack light jacks. With the exception of one caster none of them are capable of fielding light jacks and in turn bring the hardy and high ARM Heavy Warjacks instead. Be careful not to overload on these though!
Cryx: The Nightmare Empire. There is a quick and easy way to descibe Cryx - a massive offense of zombies. Cryx is an interesting faction because overall, they lack defense. Their casters are based upon the use of offensive spells and attacks to either cripple or kill the enemy while reanimating their own troops through various abilites. They are a glass-cannon faction with their low ARM and high DEF as well as the high damage output they can create. Many Cryx armies are going to have at least one unit that can be brought back to life by either a spell, ability or Feat. Cryx warjacks are some of the fastest in the game with the mass of cheap arc nodes they can field or fast heavy hitting Helljacks
Retribution of Scyrah: Angry, angry elves. Now I'm sure when you think of elves you think Wood Elves or Tolkien. Well you're wrong. This faction is pissed off and ready to kill some humans. Being the newest of the factions they have less options than say Cygnar but they are no less potent. These elves bring Magic and ranged attacks to the field but are no less capable of playing with a foward melee army like Khador. Many Retribution lists will be developed upon excelling at a specific task, whether it be it denial or ranged attacks. These lists are still be capable of dealing with unexpected threats though. While they only have six warcasters to choose from, each caster is still at a top level of power and capable of winning games for the genicidal elven maniacs.
Mercenaries: Now I couldn't write an article about the Warmachine factions without mentioning the true underdogs of the game. Mercs aren't normally seen as a uniformed army and to a degree are lacking many of the answers that the other factions have built into them. Mercs however, are capable of playing the same game as the other factions despite what they lack by making up for it with the amount of utility solos they have acess to as well, as casters designed to support them. They also have the most varied of warjacks from Dwarven built Jacks to retired Cygnar Jacks which still serve the purpose they were built for. While one of the most difficult armies to use they are by far one of the most rewarding and entertaining to use. Mercs are also capable of being incorporated into other armies and this is often seen with specific solos to cover weaknesses in the parent list.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Keep in mind that this is just an overview of each faction and I am not able to go over all of the various combos and unique abilites that each model has that results in defining the faction as a whole. More information can be found around on the Privateer Press forums or by other authors on 3++ - more will be added to this as it unfolds obviously! Hordes also has it's own set of factions that I will describe later on.
