8th Ed. Main difference between 8th edition and 9th age

So I am a relatively new player to warhammer. That being said, I have, together with a friend, chosen to play 8th edition or 9th age. And I don't really know the differences between them. So I would like to hear from some more experienced player what some of the biggest chances are.
PS. I play Lizardmen and he plays Skaven

 

8th edition = previous official Games workshop edition
9th age = fan made edition that's still in beta testing

Haven't played 9th age yet,
but from what I hear there
was a large roll back on the
power level of everything.

 

Sounds sad :/ was Lizardmen really strong in 8th?

 

Nope... we were a mid-tier army at best.

Lizardmen (Saurian Ancients in 9th Age) got beat down very badly this past update. I think it would be best to wait until April to make a final decision... that's when 9th Age releases its 1.0 non-beta edition.

 

Are there any big changes to the general rules? Or are they mostly the same as in 8th?
Hmm, then that might be the best thing to do

 

On most parts the general rules stayed almost the same. Biggest difference is in magic which was toned down and most of the biggest hobby-ruining #6 spells were removed/toned down/changed completely.

Otherwise there are some tweaks, streamlining and making things a bit more logical. If you have read the 8th rules. I'd suggest to take a look at the 9th also and after that decided what you want to do.

 

Okay probably gonna do that then.

When you say hobby-ruining spells, is it like the purple sun of xereus? I have heard it was really good against lizards.

 

Yup... Purple Sun, Dwellers Below, Final Transmutation, Mindrazor.

 

TRIGGERED

 

As a small addition to this, the other spells have also been changed up. Heavens is now really cool, and Wind Blast is a spell that you want to have, Metal has some great spells now, and 4 out of 6 spells will be useful every game. They also re-worked the attributes so they are more interactive, in a word.

I think the re-worked magic phase is one of the better versions of the magic phase for a long while. It will still have the power to swing the battle's balance, and I have seen it in my games, it just wont have those 6 dice spells that became the only/easiest path to victory.

 

In addition, irresistible force can now be dispelled. It only grants you a casting bonus (and a miscast of course).

 

Are there more good than bad things with 9th age? This looks like a plus, but are the big nerds on the Lizardmen still enough so that I should stay away from 9th age or?

 

That's a tough call because some of it will come down to personal preference and my preferences may be vastly different to yours. If I had to choose today I would go with 8th Edition in a heartbeat because of the sorry state that our 9th Age army book is in. HOWEVER, the 1.0 version is due to be released in April and it is likely that some of the problems will be fixed. It will be interesting to see how many of those problems are fixed and to what degree. I'd honestly wait until the final version is released.

 

I will do that then, hopefully it will be good when it's finally out
And a quick question, are all special characters like Kroak removed from 9th age? I can't find any in the army books, so my first thought was that they would be implemented later. Any clue on when?

 

Yes they have been removed from all armies.

Those characters will likely never be included because they are the intellectual property of GW and I doubt 9th Age wants to risk entangling themselves in legal issues.

I'm not sure if new special characters will be introduced at all down the road. Perhaps someone from the 9th Age crew can offer insight... @Pinktaco @Haemoglobin

 

I know that we won't get the same characters, it could just be nice to have some at least

 

How serious are you? Do you play for sheep stations or do you just put some toys on the table, roll some dice and have some fun?
I'm not a fan of the 9th book at this moment, but it is still playable, just change your list. There are still some cool and fun things in there.

Another reason I would suggest to play 9th, even with the lizards as is, would be to learn the changes that have been made. Actually see the differences for yourself, and get a feel for the "new" game. You would need to do this if you switch anyway, so it could be a good time to bite the bullet.

 

I am in no way a serious player and only do it for fun. Yeah, I am probably gonna play it at some point in the near future, but right now it's gonna be after the final release in April

 

For now Special characters are pretty unsure. The higherups in the 9th Age teams are probably going to consider it somewhere in the future, but they are pretty busy with the balancing of the armies right now. It will definitely not happen before September, perhaps they will announce more about SC's then. I sure hope so

Special characters are inherently hard to balance hence the reason they arent in the books now.

 

9th Age books are still a Beta and they will still change. The first Final version of the book will be released at the end of April. The next update will probably be in September. The rules are written with tournament players in mind so fluff and feeling of the armies are being set to the side a bit in favor of balance.

The Lizardmen book (Saurian Ancients, SA) is not in a very good position now. It is definitely playable but the Internal balance is way off. Couple of weird rules and restrictions aswell. I hope that the guys writing the rules will take a good long look at the Feedback report data I have provided and improve the SA book.

The Skaven book (Vermin Swarm, VS) is apparantly in a pretty good place, be sure to check it out!