Hi all, I'm a bit of a newbie - only played a couple of games. As I am still getting my head around the general rules, I find it quite difficult to keep track of my specific armies abilities along with the realm rules & what spells each unit has. Then there is keeping track of quantity of spells/command points/summoning points. I currently have three books that I flick between for the different bits of info. I wont my last match but by the skin of teeth, however if I didn't keep forgetting that I had certain buffs/spells etc. I think I would have had more than just my Slann left on the field at the end. So what I am asking is, is there an efficient way of keeping track of stuff while I am getting the hang of the game so I am not fumbling around through books and causing a 1000 point game to last a lot longer than it should? The models I have (if this has any baring on this) are: 1x Oldblood on Carnisaur 1x Engine of the Gods 1x Slann Starmaster 1x Astrolith Bearer 2x Skink Starpriests (one was given to me) 24x Saurus Warriors 24x Skinks 8x Saurus Knights 5x Chameleon Skinks If anyone also has any advice on what models will work well in my army, i'm open to that. I started collecting them just because I thought the models were cool, so my army may be a bit mis-matched but now I have started playing, I think a more effective units might be worth considering.
What I usually do (I am able to remember most of that stuff, but sometimes I get distracted or I am stressed and then I forget stuff) is this: After you have made your list, go through your special abilites. That means - Allegiance abilities - artefacts - spells - abilities on warscrolls Use a sheet of paper. Write the phases on there, and below each phase write a short sentence about an ability that triggers in that phase. Mark the abilities that can trigger in enemy phases red or something, so when your opponent plays through the phases you can look at your sheet and raise your hand to interrupt him if something triggers. Something like: Before fight: - Slann Pick Constellation Before every round: - move predatory endless spells Hero - command trait does xxxx - artefact does xxxx - Command abilities - check bataillon abilites - LoSaT - Plant Astrolith - EotG roll - Steggy can move Skink unit 1d6 - cast spells (remember constellation) - unbind (Slanns unbind on whole table! Troggy can unbind too) Move - Shooting - if Slann used his command ability, reroll saves - Astrolith rerolls Charge - Razordons might fire at attackers - Constellation Combat - Bastiladon Snakes first! - Skinks wary fighters Battleshock - if Slann used his command ability, roll three dice In your own turn just look at the sheet at the start of each phase, and look what you shouldn't forget there.
This is a tough one, you will always look something up, you will learn what each unit does and when you look something up you just get better at it. AOS2 is new so we are all looking/flicking, spell markers help. On your army it all depends on what you like to play?
Fun fact: I even keep my friend's abilites in mind as well, so I can tell him if he missed something when we play as a team, and sometimes even when we play against each other as I want a fair fight.
This is really helpful! I'm going to put something like this together for me next game, thank you I think i'm playing a nasty skaven horde next at 1000 points.
I actually started with such a thing a while (almost two years) ago, but it was based on units, not on phases. Lately I also had the idea that you could use cards like in a card game. They would have a letter or two for the phases in one of the corners, perhaps also color coded, and then you could basically have a deck of cards in front of you to help you remember your abilities/artefacts and so on. You could even lay aside the cards that are one-use, or one-use per turn/round. When building your army you would basically build your deck of ability cards. But the tick sheet seems to be more practical because you don't need to manufacture the cards. I will do a rough sketch soon I think, maybe we can find a way to make it as easily useable as possible.
You have received a lot of good advice so far. @Aginor in particular gave wonderful tips with his checklist. The other things I might suggest is to write up some quick flash cards for your units. Maybe make a mini warscroll to reference. This will do two things for you. It will help you remember the units rules just by the act of writing it down. And it will give you a quick cheat sheet if you need to examine the exact wording of a rule when resolving conflicts. As for how to best expand your army I would research some battalion formations. Find one that best fits your desired models or tactics and collect around it. Thunderquake Starhost, Shadowstrike Starhost, and Fangs of Sotek are probably the most tournament worthy battalions at the moment and worth a study. Welcome to the hobby.
I actually used your list and put together a document myself. I am yet to play since making it so I don't know how effective it will be but any thoughts would be appreciated - Its only based on the units I currently have, not the full seraphon lineup. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-0BiCH34b8aiZAT_U5JxMzbQoA4EScm5/view?usp=sharing
Nice! I hope this works well for you. When my Clubhouse travels for large tournaments we try to carpool. While on the way to events we will quiz each other about unit rules. This helps us learn other armies synergies, become aware of potential traps, and solidify our own army's rules. If you have a Warhammer buddy then I suggest trading books for a weekend. Make a few short quizzes based off of each other's battletomes. Include questions about statlines, specific rules, what part of each phase their core abilities trigger, what FAQ's have had impact on their list, ect... This will help both of you learn your army better and allow you to be better prepared to face whichever faction they play.