8th Edition Collecting Tier List - Beginner's Guide
Oct 3, 2022 22:21:50 GMT
KevinC, nallsy, and 5 more like this
Post by mcnuggs on Oct 3, 2022 22:21:50 GMT
Hello everyone! I am a long time lurker and first time poster here on EEFL. As a (relatively) recent convert to WFB, I have helped several of the members of my local gaming group start their journeys into collecting/playing WFB 8th Edition. As such, I thought I would write a small Tier List/guide detailing the “collectability” of the armies of 8th Edition, based on my experience.
The details are as follows: these rankings are based on the ease at which you can purchase and play an army based on models available from the GW webstore as of October of 2022. Everything detailed within is subject to change, based on new kits replacing old ones, or old ranges being discontinued in the future. I will also include details in my writeups below. Happy reading, and please feel free to note anything that I have missed!
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S:
These are armies that are extremely easy to collect, with a majority of their original range still existing. There are a few notable exceptions for a few of the books, but those are detailed below. Still, any of these armies would make an excellent choice for a newcomer, or a veteran looking for a second army.
Lizardmen:
For the most part, all models available in the original Lizardmen range remain available to purchase from Games Workshop. Note that the Lizardmen have been rebranded for AoS under the new moniker of Seraphon.
Your Lords, Heroes, and many Named Characters (including the BSB!) are still available save for a few named characters. For example, Lord Kroak received a new model, which may be too over-designed for square bases. However, other named characters such as Kroq-Gar are still available as generically named kits.
For Core, your Saurus Warriors and both types of Skinks are still available to purchase. In Special, you are lucky enough to have almost everything available: the Bastiladon, Chameleon Skinks, Cold One riders, Kroxigors, Ripperdactyl/Terradon Riders, and Temple Guard are all available on the GW page. The only exception in this group are Jungle Swarms, which will require a trip to EBay. All of your Rare choices remain available as well. This is not only the easiest army to collect (in my experience,) but also a great choice for a beginner player. The army plays all phases (Movement, Magic, Shooting, and Combat,) with forgiving-but-fun-rules, and has access to many lores of magic. Hard to go wrong here.
Beastmen:
Much like the Lizardmen, most of the Beastmen range exists under a new name, and are still available from GW. When browsing their products, look for the new title, Beasts of Chaos.
All Beastmen Lords and Heroes (except for named characters) are here. Beastlords, Doombulls, Shamans, etc. The only issue that you may run into is the lack of a dedicated BSB model. For this, I would recommend kitbashing a Doombull/Beastlord model with an extra banner from one of your Bestigor kits, or search for a third party solution.
Luckily, Warhounds, Gor, Ungor of both varieties, and Tuskgor chariots are still in production, meaning you will have your choice of optimized Core for your list.
Bestigors, Centigors, Harpies (from the AoS Warcry game,) Minotaurs, and all of your monsters are all still available online. Oddly enough, the only unit that appears to be missing are Razorgors. This is an incredibly easy army to collect, and I would recommend them to any veteran player, those who adore the models, or those looking for a serious challenge. While easy to collect, Beastmen will be a much more difficult army to succeed with for newcomers.
Ogre Kingdoms:
An army notorious for being noob-friendly, fans of the fat bastards will be happy to know that most of the original Ogre line is still available, being sold by GW under the name Ogor Mawtribes.
Slaughtermasters, Tyrants, Butchers, Firebellys, and Hunters oh my! All characters save for some named fellows remain in production to this day. Like every other army sans-Lizardmen, you will have to convert up a BSB if you wish one of your characters to be so, but this should be relatively simple.
Gnoblars, Ironguts, and Ogre Bulls are all still available, as are signature units such as Leadbelchers, Mournfang cavalry, Cannons, and monsters such as the Stonehorn and Thundertusk. Additionally, even the smaller, lesser known units, such as Yetis, Gorgers, Maneaters, and Sabretusks are all still available. This is an army with an entire range still available for purchase, and is an excellent place for newcomers to begin.
Dark Elves:
The Druchii, besides being a fantastic army in 8th, are incredibly easy to collect, thanks to the Cities of Sigmar and Daughters of Khaine AoS armies. Daughters of Khaine contain your units such as Witch Elves, Sisters of Slaughter, Warlocks, Hags, Cauldrons, etc., whilst Cities of Sigmar contains many classic Dark Elf units.
It is very lucky for Dark Elf players that so many of their units have been retained, unlike their Asur and Asrai cousins (more on that later.) All Dark Elf Core units, Chariots, Cavalry, Monsters, Elite Infantry, and even your frickin’ Dragons are still available to purchase from good ol’ Games Workshop. In fact, the only units that I could not find were Bolt Throwers and Shades, which, again, are probably easy to find/replace. Even your more niche units such as Black Ark Corsairs and the associated Hero are still in production!
If you are a fan of elves equally and are unsure which to go for, I cannot with a pure conscience recommend either of the other armies over this one. Not only are Dark Elves easy to collect, but are also considered to be one of the best armies in the game by many. For the true High/Wood Elf fans, such as myself, who would never be seen dead leading a Druchii force, we will touch on those armies further in.
Warriors of Chaos:
Yet another army that got the “rebrand for AoS” treatment, this time under the title Slaves to Darkness. You may also be able to look for the Chaos God-specific armies for kitbashes or particular kits, such as the Khorne Juggernaut units or specific characters.
For Lords and Heroes, almost all units in your book are available for purchase, but it may be difficult to optimize mounts for some characters. The named characters from this book are also still available, but you will have to look for the God-specific armies, rather than the Chaos Undivided section that is Slaves to Darkness.
When looking at Core, know that all choices are available for purchase, but be wary of the shiny new Chaos Warriors contained within the Start Collecting box. These new models, while dynamic and beautiful, will not easily rank up on 25mm square bases! If you want to utilize Chaos Warriors (and let’s be honest, you do,) then look for the older rank-and-file kits, listed under the title “Chaos Warrior Regiment.” If you really like the new models, I have seen them work by utilizing cork bases of different heights to prevent all of the spikey bits from bumping into each other. To each his own, but be warned. All other Core is available, with the exception of Forsaken. If you choose to implement Forsaken into your army, I would find some suitable freaks to use as proxies, such as the Warcry warbands (which conveniently are listed on the Slaves to Darkness page.)
There are a TON of units contained in the book, and most are still in production. These models include: Knights, the Warshrine, the Chimera, Chosen, Dragon Ogres (under the Beasts of Chaos army,) Chariots, Hellstriders, Blightkings, Skullreapers, Wrathmongers, Giants, Spawn, the Mutalith Vortex Beast/Slaughterbrute kit, and Khorne Skullcrushers.
Sadly, this means that units such as Chaos Trolls/Ogres and the Hellcannon are unavailable. While it is easy to convert up some regular Ogres or Trolls, the Hellcannon is fairly elusive, both online and in conversions. Overall, WoC remains a top choice for beginners and veterans alike, as a bit of searching online and some light conversion can make it easy to have the rip-and-tear army of your dreams. Very strong and forgiving for new players.
Skaven:
Ah, the Skaven. This will be one of the easiest armies to plan out and purchase, given that most kits are still in production, AND are sold under the original name. Look for Skaven on the GW webstore.
All of your Lords and Heroes are available, with one of the Clawlord models being sold with a BSB attachment. Additionally, several named characters (such as Thanquol and Boneripper) are up for sale. Look for the Screaming Bell kit if you wish you put a Grey Seer upon one. The greater demons/Verminlords will also make a fine addition to your list, even if they are much larger than the original ones sold for older editions of Fantasy. If it fits on the base, it’ll work!
Much like the other armies in this tier, you will for SURE have your choice of Core units, with one glaring issue that may turn off veteran rat generals. Clanrats, Stormvermin, Night Runners, and the Special-units-turned-Core-by-named-characters are all available, but NO SLAVES. I repeat, Skavenslaves are no longer available, and the unit that forged the foundations of thousands of WFB Skaven armies will require third party solutions or a trip to Ebay. Fortunately, there are many STL file solutions available to those who would go that route, or you can grow up and have less rats on the board. Either way works for me, but it should be noted that Slaves were conisdered to be the most important part of a Skaven army for many players.
On the upside, all Special/Rare units, including Weapon Teams, the Nurgle Range, your Warmachines, Hellpit Abomination, Doomwheels, Stormfiends, etc. are all available under the original names on the GW webstore. Plan out your list, find a solution for a lack of Skavenslaves, and have at it! They are very strong, a TON of fun, and can make most battleplans work, even without Slaves.
A:
These are armies that are slightly more restrictive with the types of lists you can employ, but still exist in their majority. With a few Ebay/third party inclusions, many of these armies would be considered S-tier. Still a wonderful place to start for anyone, but may require some forethought.
Daemons of Chaos:
(Quick note: These models have been separated into four separate armies: Blades of Khorne, Hedonites of Slaanesh, Maggotkin of Nurgle, and Disciples of Tzeentch. Search within these armies under the Daemon tag, and you will find what you are looking for.)
The Daemons of Chaos would be much higher on the list, given that EVERY unit in the book is still available, save for one (incredibly important) category. Lords. All of the old, metal, 50mm square base toting Greater Daemons have been replaced by massive plastic centerpiece models. As such, they will no longer fit on acceptable Fantasy squares, leaving Daemons of Chaos armies with one option from GW- the Daemon Prince. That’s right, unless you take a trip to Ebay, your only choice for an army leader is the Daemon Prince.
In contrast, your heroes, such as the Heralds of Nurgle/Khorne/Slaanesh/Tzeentch and the specific named versions are all still available. Additionally, every other unit in the book is available for purchase, under the original name. All of your Heroes, Core, Special, and Rare units are still in production, but your Lord choice is restricted to a single option, without a third party intervention. Still, this is a very fun army that is relatively easy to collect if you simply field the Prince.
Vampire Counts:
Much like Daemons, this is an army that has most of its book selections still in production, with a few key missing ingredients. The first thing to note is that units from this book have been split up into three separate armies: Soulblight Gravelords, which contain your usual undead and vampires, Nighthaunt, solely comprised of ghosts/ethereal units, and Flesh-Eater Courts, containing your Strigoi units, such as Ghouls, Horrors, and Strigoi vampire.
Your unnamed Lords and Heroes are all available, with several different choices of Vampire still existing on the GW webstore. The lack of a BSB model is less impactful here, as that has rarely been taken by VC generals in my experience. Crypt Ghouls are your only core that exist in their original iteration, with Dire Wolves and Zombies receiving new models that will still work with 20mm squares. Additionally, every other unit in the book (except for two) exist as either original kits from WFB, or new designs that will work with squares (such as Blood Knights.) These two “stinker” units are the Black Coach (meh) and Skeleton Warriors. The most glaring issue that I see for new VC players is the fact that the 8th edition plastic Skeletons have been retired, instead seeing new, dynamically-posed goons that will not easily work in a rank-and-file system. Luckily, this is an army of undead, and limitless third party options will fit in quite nicely as a replacement for official GW plastic.
B:
These are armies that have many of their units available, but lack variety in build or certain key units. Still a very strong place to start, but are more limited than the armies above.
Orcs and Goblins:
O&G still have many models available to them thanks to the Gloomspite Gitz and Orc Warclans AoS forces. This is another example of “almost everything is still available except for some key pieces that really defined the army in a competitive sense.” More on this later.
To start, almost all Lords and Heroes, except for named characters, still exist across these two armies. This will give you a solid foundation to plan your list, as you can employ a character of any type to match your units. The only exception is the lack of Black Orc characters, who have been replaced by the Ironjawz Megaboss, who is almost certainly too big for a 25mm square base. The man comes on a 60mm round base, and he looks HUGE. Very cool model, probably impractical for a rank-and-file game such as WFB 8th. Named characters such as Skarsnik and Wurrzag are still here, however, which is pretty cool, considering most other armies lost their named characters first.
For the rest of the book, almost all profiles have an associated model available for purchase, with a few notable exceptions. The first thing an O&G player might notice is that they have removed all vanilla/forest goblins, with only Night Goblin units being available online. This allows you to take things such as Night Goblin hordes, Fanatics, Squig units, Spider Riders, and the big ol’ Spiders, but no Wolf Riders or generic Goblin units. The other most notable exclusion from the original Greenskin range is the distinct lack of ALL warmachines. That’s right, no Doom Divers, no Rock Lobbers, no Spear Chukkas, nothing. This is a huge issue, as a large amount of the competitive drive behind Orcs and Goblins involved Warmachine spam to compete with stronger armies. If you are making an Orcs and Goblins list, you will still be able to make a complete army without these Warmachines, but it must be noted that they were considered to be integral to your gameplan. They can still be found online as well.
Empire:
While not everything is still available, aspiring Empire players will be happy to know that a majority of their models have been preserved within the Cities of Sigmar range. The Empire retains all of their Core, except for Archers and Knights. The Knights are a huge missing factor, and will prevent you from using your core for a mounted Character delivery system, but hey, you can’t have any mounted characters anyway, so that’s… also quite sad. Still, You have a large selection of Core to choose from, with Halberdiers/Spearmen/Swordsmen all being contained under the “Freeguild Guard” kit.
In terms of Lords and Heroes, your only choices are a Wizard on foot, a Guy on foot, or Wizard/Guy on a Gryphon. Yup, you’re either infantry or on the largest monster available to the army. Not much variety or choice there, but it’s cool that they’re there at all. Special units such as Demigryph Knights, War Machines, Flagellants, and Gun Cavalry are still here, as is the Steam Tank, the Celestial Hurricanum, and the Luminark of Hysh. Overall, this is an easy army to collect with many of its options still present, but you may feel limited in the type of list you can create given the lack of character choices compared to what is in your book.
C:
These armies are critically lacking choice or a key part of their identity.
Wood Elves:
The Asrai have many kits still available to them through the Cities of Sigmar and Sylvaneth AoS forces, but are lacking access to the units that actually made them powerful.
The tree units have been repurposed into the "new" AoS force, the Sylvaneth. Within this army, Dryads, Treemen, and Branchwraiths/Drycha have been preserved. This means you have access to a Treeman, the Treeman Ancient, and named character Durthu from the Treelord kit. While the old Treekin models are gone, I have seen some nice conversions from the Sylaneth Kurnoth Hunters.
On the Elven side, Eternal Guard are still in production, but you lack access to Glade Riders and Glade Guard, which are generally regarded as your best Core units. This also means you cannot access Glade Scouts, which also remain one of the best profiles in your book. Special Units such as Wardancers and Warhawk Riders also remain critically unavailable, which lowers the overall variety of the lists that you may be able to field. The icing on the cake is the lack of Waywatchers, which remain a stand-out choice amongst Wood Elf generals. On the other hand, access to the precious Wild Rider/Sisters of the Thorn box from Cities of Sigmar ensures that key pieces of your army are still accessible, for new and returning players alike.
The main problem that I face when looking at the remaining Wood Elf range is the lack of bows. The key feature that defined the army, in fluff and (oftentimes) in crunch as well is completely absent. Even though there are many units available to emerging Asrai generals, the lack of key, defining units, as well as all elven characters make getting into Wood Elves an uphill battle. Still, if you like the army, it is easier to collect (officially) than the armies below.
Dwarves:
The Dwarf Army has a notable lack of models available. Most of the original range was squatted to make way for two "Dwarf" armies: Kharadron Overlords, and Fyreslayers. While Kharadron do not have any kits that would work in 8th (unless you plan on some serious conversion/a Steampunk theme) the Fyreslayers contain many kits that could be converted to Slayer units or characters. For the bulk of your Throng, we will be looking at the Dwarf section of Cities of Sigmar, which contains a whopping 8 selections. For characters, you only have the choice between a Runelord or named character King Belegar Ironhammer, both on foot. For Core, you only have access to Longbeards. Gone are the humble Dwarf Warriors, Quarellers, Thunderers, and all other characters. When it comes to Special/Rare, you have access to the flying machines (Gyrocopter/bomber,) Hammerers, Ironbreakers, and Irondrakes. Gone are the Warmachines, Miners, Anvils, Rangers, and most of the things that made Dwarves so special. While it is not impossible to begin a Dwarf army given the models available, it will be very difficult to employ a list that you truly enjoy in 8th, and will most likely require 3rd party/Ebay support.
**Sidenote: The "Start Collecting! Greywater Fastness" box for Age of Sigmar contains 10 Ironbreakers, a Gyrocopter/Gyrobomber, King Belegar Ironhammer (Warden King,) and Grimm Burloksson (Cogsmith)- a named character who was removed from the webstore, but is still available in this box set!**
D:
Bare minimum. Barely considered to still exist. Created an extra tier for this army solely because it has two kits available.
High Elves:
Depressingly, the High Elves have been almost thoroughly discontinued. Only two kits still remain in official production: Phoenix Guard, and the Phoenix kit, from which you can get a Frostheart/Flamespire Phoenix and an Anointed of Asuryan character. Obviously this means that it is impossible to field a complete WFB army of High Elves without relying on a third party solution or Ebay. I cannot recommend beginning a High Elf army to most people, unless you are a diehard fan such as myself.
**Side note for those who are looking to start HE, you can usually find Ellyrian Reavers/Lothern Sea Guard from the Isle of Blood set on Ebay for relatively cheap. These are easy Core, and tracking down individual units/characters can be doable as well. You can also use the Great Eagles from the Middle Earth SBG as, well, Great Eagles, given that you equip them with proper 50mm bases. Just know that in order to properly field a High Elf army, you must scour the internet, and prepare for the costs to accumulate much quicker than they would buying directly from GW. Somehow.**
F:
RIP.
Tomb Kings/Bretonnia:
Sadly, for newcomers and oldheads alike, both of these ranges have been COMPLETELY discontinued. Not a single kit still exists on the internet in official production. The only way to field a TK or Bret army is to completely source your army from a third party (such as 3D printing or alternative miniatures,) or to scour the depths of Ebay and Facebook forums, collecting your army piece by (expensive) piece. I cannot in good conscience recommend these forces to anyone, and I sincerely applaud those that keep the memory of these fellas alive to this day.
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S:
Lizardmen
Beastmen
Ogres
Dark Elves
Warriors of Chaos
Skaven
A:
Daemons of Chaos
Vampire Counts
B:
Empire
Orcs and Goblins
C:
Dwarves
Wood Elves
D:
High Elves
F:
Tomb Kings
Bretonnia
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Thank you for taking the time to read, and please point out anything that I have missed or advice for how to format these sort of posts more efficiently. If this is not the first post of this type/I am being unoriginal, please let me know!
The details are as follows: these rankings are based on the ease at which you can purchase and play an army based on models available from the GW webstore as of October of 2022. Everything detailed within is subject to change, based on new kits replacing old ones, or old ranges being discontinued in the future. I will also include details in my writeups below. Happy reading, and please feel free to note anything that I have missed!
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S:
These are armies that are extremely easy to collect, with a majority of their original range still existing. There are a few notable exceptions for a few of the books, but those are detailed below. Still, any of these armies would make an excellent choice for a newcomer, or a veteran looking for a second army.
Lizardmen:
For the most part, all models available in the original Lizardmen range remain available to purchase from Games Workshop. Note that the Lizardmen have been rebranded for AoS under the new moniker of Seraphon.
Your Lords, Heroes, and many Named Characters (including the BSB!) are still available save for a few named characters. For example, Lord Kroak received a new model, which may be too over-designed for square bases. However, other named characters such as Kroq-Gar are still available as generically named kits.
For Core, your Saurus Warriors and both types of Skinks are still available to purchase. In Special, you are lucky enough to have almost everything available: the Bastiladon, Chameleon Skinks, Cold One riders, Kroxigors, Ripperdactyl/Terradon Riders, and Temple Guard are all available on the GW page. The only exception in this group are Jungle Swarms, which will require a trip to EBay. All of your Rare choices remain available as well. This is not only the easiest army to collect (in my experience,) but also a great choice for a beginner player. The army plays all phases (Movement, Magic, Shooting, and Combat,) with forgiving-but-fun-rules, and has access to many lores of magic. Hard to go wrong here.
Beastmen:
Much like the Lizardmen, most of the Beastmen range exists under a new name, and are still available from GW. When browsing their products, look for the new title, Beasts of Chaos.
All Beastmen Lords and Heroes (except for named characters) are here. Beastlords, Doombulls, Shamans, etc. The only issue that you may run into is the lack of a dedicated BSB model. For this, I would recommend kitbashing a Doombull/Beastlord model with an extra banner from one of your Bestigor kits, or search for a third party solution.
Luckily, Warhounds, Gor, Ungor of both varieties, and Tuskgor chariots are still in production, meaning you will have your choice of optimized Core for your list.
Bestigors, Centigors, Harpies (from the AoS Warcry game,) Minotaurs, and all of your monsters are all still available online. Oddly enough, the only unit that appears to be missing are Razorgors. This is an incredibly easy army to collect, and I would recommend them to any veteran player, those who adore the models, or those looking for a serious challenge. While easy to collect, Beastmen will be a much more difficult army to succeed with for newcomers.
Ogre Kingdoms:
An army notorious for being noob-friendly, fans of the fat bastards will be happy to know that most of the original Ogre line is still available, being sold by GW under the name Ogor Mawtribes.
Slaughtermasters, Tyrants, Butchers, Firebellys, and Hunters oh my! All characters save for some named fellows remain in production to this day. Like every other army sans-Lizardmen, you will have to convert up a BSB if you wish one of your characters to be so, but this should be relatively simple.
Gnoblars, Ironguts, and Ogre Bulls are all still available, as are signature units such as Leadbelchers, Mournfang cavalry, Cannons, and monsters such as the Stonehorn and Thundertusk. Additionally, even the smaller, lesser known units, such as Yetis, Gorgers, Maneaters, and Sabretusks are all still available. This is an army with an entire range still available for purchase, and is an excellent place for newcomers to begin.
Dark Elves:
The Druchii, besides being a fantastic army in 8th, are incredibly easy to collect, thanks to the Cities of Sigmar and Daughters of Khaine AoS armies. Daughters of Khaine contain your units such as Witch Elves, Sisters of Slaughter, Warlocks, Hags, Cauldrons, etc., whilst Cities of Sigmar contains many classic Dark Elf units.
It is very lucky for Dark Elf players that so many of their units have been retained, unlike their Asur and Asrai cousins (more on that later.) All Dark Elf Core units, Chariots, Cavalry, Monsters, Elite Infantry, and even your frickin’ Dragons are still available to purchase from good ol’ Games Workshop. In fact, the only units that I could not find were Bolt Throwers and Shades, which, again, are probably easy to find/replace. Even your more niche units such as Black Ark Corsairs and the associated Hero are still in production!
If you are a fan of elves equally and are unsure which to go for, I cannot with a pure conscience recommend either of the other armies over this one. Not only are Dark Elves easy to collect, but are also considered to be one of the best armies in the game by many. For the true High/Wood Elf fans, such as myself, who would never be seen dead leading a Druchii force, we will touch on those armies further in.
Warriors of Chaos:
Yet another army that got the “rebrand for AoS” treatment, this time under the title Slaves to Darkness. You may also be able to look for the Chaos God-specific armies for kitbashes or particular kits, such as the Khorne Juggernaut units or specific characters.
For Lords and Heroes, almost all units in your book are available for purchase, but it may be difficult to optimize mounts for some characters. The named characters from this book are also still available, but you will have to look for the God-specific armies, rather than the Chaos Undivided section that is Slaves to Darkness.
When looking at Core, know that all choices are available for purchase, but be wary of the shiny new Chaos Warriors contained within the Start Collecting box. These new models, while dynamic and beautiful, will not easily rank up on 25mm square bases! If you want to utilize Chaos Warriors (and let’s be honest, you do,) then look for the older rank-and-file kits, listed under the title “Chaos Warrior Regiment.” If you really like the new models, I have seen them work by utilizing cork bases of different heights to prevent all of the spikey bits from bumping into each other. To each his own, but be warned. All other Core is available, with the exception of Forsaken. If you choose to implement Forsaken into your army, I would find some suitable freaks to use as proxies, such as the Warcry warbands (which conveniently are listed on the Slaves to Darkness page.)
There are a TON of units contained in the book, and most are still in production. These models include: Knights, the Warshrine, the Chimera, Chosen, Dragon Ogres (under the Beasts of Chaos army,) Chariots, Hellstriders, Blightkings, Skullreapers, Wrathmongers, Giants, Spawn, the Mutalith Vortex Beast/Slaughterbrute kit, and Khorne Skullcrushers.
Sadly, this means that units such as Chaos Trolls/Ogres and the Hellcannon are unavailable. While it is easy to convert up some regular Ogres or Trolls, the Hellcannon is fairly elusive, both online and in conversions. Overall, WoC remains a top choice for beginners and veterans alike, as a bit of searching online and some light conversion can make it easy to have the rip-and-tear army of your dreams. Very strong and forgiving for new players.
Skaven:
Ah, the Skaven. This will be one of the easiest armies to plan out and purchase, given that most kits are still in production, AND are sold under the original name. Look for Skaven on the GW webstore.
All of your Lords and Heroes are available, with one of the Clawlord models being sold with a BSB attachment. Additionally, several named characters (such as Thanquol and Boneripper) are up for sale. Look for the Screaming Bell kit if you wish you put a Grey Seer upon one. The greater demons/Verminlords will also make a fine addition to your list, even if they are much larger than the original ones sold for older editions of Fantasy. If it fits on the base, it’ll work!
Much like the other armies in this tier, you will for SURE have your choice of Core units, with one glaring issue that may turn off veteran rat generals. Clanrats, Stormvermin, Night Runners, and the Special-units-turned-Core-by-named-characters are all available, but NO SLAVES. I repeat, Skavenslaves are no longer available, and the unit that forged the foundations of thousands of WFB Skaven armies will require third party solutions or a trip to Ebay. Fortunately, there are many STL file solutions available to those who would go that route, or you can grow up and have less rats on the board. Either way works for me, but it should be noted that Slaves were conisdered to be the most important part of a Skaven army for many players.
On the upside, all Special/Rare units, including Weapon Teams, the Nurgle Range, your Warmachines, Hellpit Abomination, Doomwheels, Stormfiends, etc. are all available under the original names on the GW webstore. Plan out your list, find a solution for a lack of Skavenslaves, and have at it! They are very strong, a TON of fun, and can make most battleplans work, even without Slaves.
A:
These are armies that are slightly more restrictive with the types of lists you can employ, but still exist in their majority. With a few Ebay/third party inclusions, many of these armies would be considered S-tier. Still a wonderful place to start for anyone, but may require some forethought.
Daemons of Chaos:
(Quick note: These models have been separated into four separate armies: Blades of Khorne, Hedonites of Slaanesh, Maggotkin of Nurgle, and Disciples of Tzeentch. Search within these armies under the Daemon tag, and you will find what you are looking for.)
The Daemons of Chaos would be much higher on the list, given that EVERY unit in the book is still available, save for one (incredibly important) category. Lords. All of the old, metal, 50mm square base toting Greater Daemons have been replaced by massive plastic centerpiece models. As such, they will no longer fit on acceptable Fantasy squares, leaving Daemons of Chaos armies with one option from GW- the Daemon Prince. That’s right, unless you take a trip to Ebay, your only choice for an army leader is the Daemon Prince.
In contrast, your heroes, such as the Heralds of Nurgle/Khorne/Slaanesh/Tzeentch and the specific named versions are all still available. Additionally, every other unit in the book is available for purchase, under the original name. All of your Heroes, Core, Special, and Rare units are still in production, but your Lord choice is restricted to a single option, without a third party intervention. Still, this is a very fun army that is relatively easy to collect if you simply field the Prince.
Vampire Counts:
Much like Daemons, this is an army that has most of its book selections still in production, with a few key missing ingredients. The first thing to note is that units from this book have been split up into three separate armies: Soulblight Gravelords, which contain your usual undead and vampires, Nighthaunt, solely comprised of ghosts/ethereal units, and Flesh-Eater Courts, containing your Strigoi units, such as Ghouls, Horrors, and Strigoi vampire.
Your unnamed Lords and Heroes are all available, with several different choices of Vampire still existing on the GW webstore. The lack of a BSB model is less impactful here, as that has rarely been taken by VC generals in my experience. Crypt Ghouls are your only core that exist in their original iteration, with Dire Wolves and Zombies receiving new models that will still work with 20mm squares. Additionally, every other unit in the book (except for two) exist as either original kits from WFB, or new designs that will work with squares (such as Blood Knights.) These two “stinker” units are the Black Coach (meh) and Skeleton Warriors. The most glaring issue that I see for new VC players is the fact that the 8th edition plastic Skeletons have been retired, instead seeing new, dynamically-posed goons that will not easily work in a rank-and-file system. Luckily, this is an army of undead, and limitless third party options will fit in quite nicely as a replacement for official GW plastic.
B:
These are armies that have many of their units available, but lack variety in build or certain key units. Still a very strong place to start, but are more limited than the armies above.
Orcs and Goblins:
O&G still have many models available to them thanks to the Gloomspite Gitz and Orc Warclans AoS forces. This is another example of “almost everything is still available except for some key pieces that really defined the army in a competitive sense.” More on this later.
To start, almost all Lords and Heroes, except for named characters, still exist across these two armies. This will give you a solid foundation to plan your list, as you can employ a character of any type to match your units. The only exception is the lack of Black Orc characters, who have been replaced by the Ironjawz Megaboss, who is almost certainly too big for a 25mm square base. The man comes on a 60mm round base, and he looks HUGE. Very cool model, probably impractical for a rank-and-file game such as WFB 8th. Named characters such as Skarsnik and Wurrzag are still here, however, which is pretty cool, considering most other armies lost their named characters first.
For the rest of the book, almost all profiles have an associated model available for purchase, with a few notable exceptions. The first thing an O&G player might notice is that they have removed all vanilla/forest goblins, with only Night Goblin units being available online. This allows you to take things such as Night Goblin hordes, Fanatics, Squig units, Spider Riders, and the big ol’ Spiders, but no Wolf Riders or generic Goblin units. The other most notable exclusion from the original Greenskin range is the distinct lack of ALL warmachines. That’s right, no Doom Divers, no Rock Lobbers, no Spear Chukkas, nothing. This is a huge issue, as a large amount of the competitive drive behind Orcs and Goblins involved Warmachine spam to compete with stronger armies. If you are making an Orcs and Goblins list, you will still be able to make a complete army without these Warmachines, but it must be noted that they were considered to be integral to your gameplan. They can still be found online as well.
Empire:
While not everything is still available, aspiring Empire players will be happy to know that a majority of their models have been preserved within the Cities of Sigmar range. The Empire retains all of their Core, except for Archers and Knights. The Knights are a huge missing factor, and will prevent you from using your core for a mounted Character delivery system, but hey, you can’t have any mounted characters anyway, so that’s… also quite sad. Still, You have a large selection of Core to choose from, with Halberdiers/Spearmen/Swordsmen all being contained under the “Freeguild Guard” kit.
In terms of Lords and Heroes, your only choices are a Wizard on foot, a Guy on foot, or Wizard/Guy on a Gryphon. Yup, you’re either infantry or on the largest monster available to the army. Not much variety or choice there, but it’s cool that they’re there at all. Special units such as Demigryph Knights, War Machines, Flagellants, and Gun Cavalry are still here, as is the Steam Tank, the Celestial Hurricanum, and the Luminark of Hysh. Overall, this is an easy army to collect with many of its options still present, but you may feel limited in the type of list you can create given the lack of character choices compared to what is in your book.
C:
These armies are critically lacking choice or a key part of their identity.
Wood Elves:
The Asrai have many kits still available to them through the Cities of Sigmar and Sylvaneth AoS forces, but are lacking access to the units that actually made them powerful.
The tree units have been repurposed into the "new" AoS force, the Sylvaneth. Within this army, Dryads, Treemen, and Branchwraiths/Drycha have been preserved. This means you have access to a Treeman, the Treeman Ancient, and named character Durthu from the Treelord kit. While the old Treekin models are gone, I have seen some nice conversions from the Sylaneth Kurnoth Hunters.
On the Elven side, Eternal Guard are still in production, but you lack access to Glade Riders and Glade Guard, which are generally regarded as your best Core units. This also means you cannot access Glade Scouts, which also remain one of the best profiles in your book. Special Units such as Wardancers and Warhawk Riders also remain critically unavailable, which lowers the overall variety of the lists that you may be able to field. The icing on the cake is the lack of Waywatchers, which remain a stand-out choice amongst Wood Elf generals. On the other hand, access to the precious Wild Rider/Sisters of the Thorn box from Cities of Sigmar ensures that key pieces of your army are still accessible, for new and returning players alike.
The main problem that I face when looking at the remaining Wood Elf range is the lack of bows. The key feature that defined the army, in fluff and (oftentimes) in crunch as well is completely absent. Even though there are many units available to emerging Asrai generals, the lack of key, defining units, as well as all elven characters make getting into Wood Elves an uphill battle. Still, if you like the army, it is easier to collect (officially) than the armies below.
Dwarves:
The Dwarf Army has a notable lack of models available. Most of the original range was squatted to make way for two "Dwarf" armies: Kharadron Overlords, and Fyreslayers. While Kharadron do not have any kits that would work in 8th (unless you plan on some serious conversion/a Steampunk theme) the Fyreslayers contain many kits that could be converted to Slayer units or characters. For the bulk of your Throng, we will be looking at the Dwarf section of Cities of Sigmar, which contains a whopping 8 selections. For characters, you only have the choice between a Runelord or named character King Belegar Ironhammer, both on foot. For Core, you only have access to Longbeards. Gone are the humble Dwarf Warriors, Quarellers, Thunderers, and all other characters. When it comes to Special/Rare, you have access to the flying machines (Gyrocopter/bomber,) Hammerers, Ironbreakers, and Irondrakes. Gone are the Warmachines, Miners, Anvils, Rangers, and most of the things that made Dwarves so special. While it is not impossible to begin a Dwarf army given the models available, it will be very difficult to employ a list that you truly enjoy in 8th, and will most likely require 3rd party/Ebay support.
**Sidenote: The "Start Collecting! Greywater Fastness" box for Age of Sigmar contains 10 Ironbreakers, a Gyrocopter/Gyrobomber, King Belegar Ironhammer (Warden King,) and Grimm Burloksson (Cogsmith)- a named character who was removed from the webstore, but is still available in this box set!**
D:
Bare minimum. Barely considered to still exist. Created an extra tier for this army solely because it has two kits available.
High Elves:
Depressingly, the High Elves have been almost thoroughly discontinued. Only two kits still remain in official production: Phoenix Guard, and the Phoenix kit, from which you can get a Frostheart/Flamespire Phoenix and an Anointed of Asuryan character. Obviously this means that it is impossible to field a complete WFB army of High Elves without relying on a third party solution or Ebay. I cannot recommend beginning a High Elf army to most people, unless you are a diehard fan such as myself.
**Side note for those who are looking to start HE, you can usually find Ellyrian Reavers/Lothern Sea Guard from the Isle of Blood set on Ebay for relatively cheap. These are easy Core, and tracking down individual units/characters can be doable as well. You can also use the Great Eagles from the Middle Earth SBG as, well, Great Eagles, given that you equip them with proper 50mm bases. Just know that in order to properly field a High Elf army, you must scour the internet, and prepare for the costs to accumulate much quicker than they would buying directly from GW. Somehow.**
F:
RIP.
Tomb Kings/Bretonnia:
Sadly, for newcomers and oldheads alike, both of these ranges have been COMPLETELY discontinued. Not a single kit still exists on the internet in official production. The only way to field a TK or Bret army is to completely source your army from a third party (such as 3D printing or alternative miniatures,) or to scour the depths of Ebay and Facebook forums, collecting your army piece by (expensive) piece. I cannot in good conscience recommend these forces to anyone, and I sincerely applaud those that keep the memory of these fellas alive to this day.
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S:
Lizardmen
Beastmen
Ogres
Dark Elves
Warriors of Chaos
Skaven
A:
Daemons of Chaos
Vampire Counts
B:
Empire
Orcs and Goblins
C:
Dwarves
Wood Elves
D:
High Elves
F:
Tomb Kings
Bretonnia
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Thank you for taking the time to read, and please point out anything that I have missed or advice for how to format these sort of posts more efficiently. If this is not the first post of this type/I am being unoriginal, please let me know!