New to miniature gaming and in need of help

[Athrenax]

Greetings, oldbloods! I am new to miniature gaming and need some help in getting started. I have not yet decided which army to start with, and I have some questions that I hope you can answer that hopefully will leave me better equipped to make a decision. Lizardmen/Seraphon is of course one of the armies I am considering, along with Dark Elves and High Elves. If this is the wrong place to ask this, please feel free to point me to the right place!

There are three major points that are important to me in my choice of army, which I will describe in more detail below. What I am wondering then is how lizardmen compare to my other options on these points, and whether they would be a good choice for me with these requirements in mind.

One important thing to note is that I want to dabble in multiple editions, including 6th, 8th and Age of Sigmar, without having to use a different army for each edition. Wanting to play multiple editions influences more than one area, but the main thing this affects is the models available. While I am not averse to buying some models online, I would like to be able to get most of my models in stores, especially when starting out. From what I've gathered so far, all the models from previous Lizardmen army books are still available as Seraphon models in Age of Sigmar, either in local stores or the official GW webstore. Additionally, I understand that the High Elf core units from previous editions are no longer available with the switch to AoS. Am I correct on these two points (Lizardmen are safe, High Elves core units are trickier), and are there more units/models for either of these armies (Dark Elves included) that have been discontinued? Of course, I realize I will have to get square bases for my units to play them in Fantasy, but can I still use them in Age of Sigmar without rebasing them?

The second major point is that of play style and strength. I am not planning on playing this competitively, but I do want an army that won't just get destroyed by every opponent. More importantly, I want an army that offers varied gameplay and can play different strategies. This could be achieved by having a wide selection of units to choose from to deploy in different games. Even better would be if the standard units were versatile enough to be able to pivot to a completely different strategy in the middle of a game! I don't know if this is something that is possible with any army, but if there is one that is capable of this, it would be perfect! The strength of the army compared to others is something I could see easily changing between editions, so I hope there is someone who have experience with both newer and older Warhammer that can answer this.

My last major requirement is that I need to be happy about the aesthetics of my army. There isn't really any objective answer that you can give me here, but this is what has led me to exclude the human, dwarven and ogre armies, because I find them rather dull. I have also more or less excluded Vampire Counts because I don't want to paint and play ranks upon ranks of skeletons. I want units with some strong colors, either through their skin/scales like the lizardmen or ornate armor and weapons, and I want my models to look menacing, again either because of impressive armor or because they are bad-ass monsters. I am not a fan of the straight-up hairstyles of the Dark Elves, but if I can choose heads with either other hairstyles or helmets for all or most of my models, that is not a problem.

Lastly, a minor point is the price. I realize this is not a cheap hobby, and I expect to have to spend quite a bit on it. I would however like to limit the spending to a degree, so if any of these armies are significantly more expensive than the others on average, that is also something I would take into consideration. I don't know what causes a certain army to be more expensive than an equivalent one from another faction, other than needing more different kits of models, but if someone has some insight here it would be more than welcome!

I think this should cover most of my thoughts and questions, and I hope that there are some more experienced players than me here who can answer some of them! Any answers or other tips are most appreciated!

 

[n810]

You can use an old square based 8th ed Lizardmen with Aos or 9th ed no problem.

Lizardmen/Seraphon are a decent army, it's kinda of an army of diverse specialist, that work well together.
The only thing we lack is massed long range shooting, but we make up for this with excellent magic.

Lizard are unique as they look good in just about any color.

e-Bay and patience is probably your best bet at getting a cheap army.




ps. welcome to Lustria.

 

[Athrenax]

You can use an old square based 8th ed Lizardmen with Aos or 9th ed no problem.

Great! No reason not to just place them on square bases, then?

Lizardmen/Seraphon are a decent army, it's kinda of an army of diverse specialist, that work well together.
The only thing we lack is massed long range shooting, but we make up for this with excellent magic.

Sounds pretty good to me! Is this true for all versions (or the relevant ones at least - 6th, 8th, 9th and AoS)

Lizard are unique as they look good in just about any color.

Yes, I do like a lot of the lizardmen models, although I am not a huge fan of the various skink models. They are not the worst I have seen, though, and perhaps with the correct colors they could look pretty cool as well

e-Bay and patience is probably your best bet at getting a cheap army.

I don't really need it to be cheap, I was mainly wondering whether any of these armies was significantly more expensive than the others. I would rather spend a little more money than use lots of time to search ebay and wait for shipping, as long as the models are actually available in the stores.

ps. welcome to Lustria.

Thanks!

 

[Bowser]

With AOS you could go both Dark elves and Lizards, but as you want to play 3 different games, then there is no appreciable difference in price to field a competitive army. The difference between editions is quite large. I can't speak for 9th age but in 8th edition Dark elves played a much faster game. The Lizardmen played somewhat slower and for the most part favoured skink armies. Though if you go through the old tactica you can find some effective saurus armies.

The square bases work with all of the game systems. Though for AOS tournaments you may not be able to field square bases, dependent on the organizers of course.

So it really comes down to how you want your army to play and which game system you will likely play most often.

 

[Athrenax]

With AOS you could go both Dark elves and Lizards, but as you want to play 3 different games, then there is no appreciable difference in price to field a competitive army. The difference between editions is quite large. I can't speak for 9th age but in 8th edition Dark elves played a much faster game. The Lizardmen played somewhat slower and for the most part favoured skink armies. Though if you go through the old tactica you can find some effective saurus armies.

The square bases work with all of the game systems. Though for AOS tournaments you may not be able to field square bases, dependent on the organizers of course.

So it really comes down to how you want your army to play and which game system you will likely play most often.

I think I've decided on going with the lizardmen now, as getting they seem like a more cohesive army in AoS and the "Start Collecting" box feels like a good starting point. I will order some square bases, but what sizes am I going to need?

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

I think I've decided on going with the lizardmen now, as getting they seem like a more cohesive army in AoS and the "Start Collecting" box feels like a good starting point. I will order some square bases, but what sizes am I going to need?

Saurus Warriors = 25x25mm
Cold One Riders = 25x50mm
Skinks = 20x20mm
Carnosaur/Troglodon = 50x100mm

 

[Athrenax]

Saurus Warriors = 25x25mm
Cold One Riders = 25x50mm
Skinks = 20x20mm
Carnosaur/Troglodon = 50x100mm

Thanks! I ordered some for my Saurus Warriors and some for my Cold Ones since that's what I'm going to need initially for the Start Collecting box (which I've started assembling and painting now, btw), but I suppose I should just order some for skinks right away since I probably will be including some in an army of any reasonable size anyway. I assume the Chameleon Skinks use the same size as the regular Skinks?

Now comes the issue of army books. Since the original WHFB has been discontinued, I'm not able to get any of them through the official stores. I tried looking on ebay, but I'm a little confused because the labelling seems to be a bit random. Am I correct in the following?
6th edition is the one with the Slann, 8th is the one where the Saurus is coming straight at us, and 7th is the one where the horde of Saurus are charging to the left?

 

[Bowser]

This one is 8th for sure, couldn't tell you about the other two though.

 

[Jorgik]

That above was the current one when Fantasy died (was killed)

 

[Athrenax]

Ah, yes, that was indeed the one I was referring to! With FB being discontinued and the book no longer being printed and officially sold, am I allowed to ask whether someone has a PDF version of it, or is that still out of bounds? If so, feel free to remove this reply!

 

[Jorgik]

Ah, yes, that was indeed the one I was referring to! With FB being discontinued and the book no longer being printed and officially sold, am I allowed to ask whether someone has a PDF version of it, or is that still out of bounds? If so, feel free to remove this reply!

I have a PDF of the 8th edition rulebook, but not the lizardmen AB . If you want it I can try to upload it

 

[Athrenax]

I have a PDF of the 8th edition rulebook, but not the lizardmen AB . If you want it I can try to upload it

Thanks, but I actually have the rulebook for 8th already, as well as the Lizardmen army books for 6th and 7th. Just missing the army book for 8th and possibly rules for 6th (although a list of the differences would be more useful)

Edit: Actually, turns out I already have the rules for 6th as well, so really just missing the 8th edition army book. I found the Warhammer Armies Project which had something for Lizardmen for something called Unrelenting Hordes, but I assume that's something other than WHFB?

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

I assume the Chameleon Skinks use the same size as the regular Skinks?

You are correct, they are both based on 20x20mm.

This one is 8th for sure

Yup... that's the good stuff!

 

[Crowsfoot]

Thanks, but I actually have the rulebook for 8th already, as well as the Lizardmen army books for 6th and 7th. Just missing the army book for 8th and possibly rules for 6th (although a list of the differences would be more useful)

Edit: Actually, turns out I already have the rules for 6th as well, so really just missing the 8th edition army book. I found the Warhammer Armies Project which had something for Lizardmen for something called Unrelenting Hordes, but I assume that's something other than WHFB?

I have the 8th edition book and I'm willing to sell it to you if you still need it, my feet are firmly planted in Kings of War and I have no need for the book for my gaming.

 

[Athrenax]

I have the 8th edition book and I'm willing to sell it to you if you still need it, my feet are firmly planted in Kings of War and I have no need for the book for my gaming.

I might be interested I sent you a message, as I figure a sales discussion isn't very relevant for anyone else

 

[Athrenax]

Ok, so I've assembled the first eight of my Saurus Warriors and started painting them. I noticed that painting the back of the shield (and the arm behind it) was very difficult, and was wondering if any of you have any experience with painting the model and shield (or other parts) separately and then gluing them together later? I imagine using the plastic glue doesn't work well if I paint everything because it can't get through the paint, but I guess there are two options:
1) Leave the areas that will be glued unpainted and use plastic glue - might be difficult, especially with the primer.
2) Use super glue - no idea how effective this is in the long run, or if the paint makes it hard to get it to stick?

 

[Bowser]

Normally I leave the areas to be glued unpainted. Or scuff them up with a soft sanding block.

 

[n810]

Ok, so I've assembled the first eight of my Saurus Warriors and started painting them. I noticed that painting the back of the shield (and the arm behind it) was very difficult, and was wondering if any of you have any experience with painting the model and shield (or other parts) separately and then gluing them together later? I imagine using the plastic glue doesn't work well if I paint everything because it can't get through the paint, but I guess there are two options:
1) Leave the areas that will be glued unpainted and use plastic glue - might be difficult, especially with the primer.
2) Use super glue - no idea how effective this is in the long run, or if the paint makes it hard to get it to stick?

paint the backs first, and don't worry about getting paint on the other parts.

 

[Athrenax]

paint the backs first, and don't worry about getting paint on the other parts.

Do you mean before gluing it on or before painting the arm holding it? I suppose it doesn't really matter whether or not it's perfect back there, since if it's hard to paint there because I can't really see what's going on, you probably can't see it when looking at the model either

 

[Athrenax]

Normally I leave the areas to be glued unpainted. Or scuff them up with a soft sanding block.

How do you do it with primer? Do you cover up the areas with something, or do you always sand off that paint?