Warmachine/Tactics/Differences between Warmachine and 40k

Overarching Differences

In terms of metagame differences, Warmahordes games tend to be much shorter and less time-consuming than Warhammer. It's also much cheaper* to build an army for, and therefore makes you less of a tool for trying to get your friends into it.

• Depending on point goal and army composition, and whether you're buying used or new

As for the game itself, Warmahordes is generally more comparable to Warhammer Fantasy than 40k. The biggest comparison that could be drawn between them is that Warmahordes loves melee. Gunlines exist (see Cygnar), but shooting is generally a supplemental option rather than the bulk of your army. Ranged units exist to soften targets up for the melee heavy hitters, rather than to wipe entire squads from the board. Warmahordes armies also love to charge the enemy, and the game will often swing on one side or the other finding a better time to run screaming into the enemy's face. Aggression is key, to the point that the game's former official tagline was PLAY LIKE YOU GOT A PAIR!

Warmahordes also places a greater emphasis on your command units than Warhammer. In most scenarios, losing your warcaster or warlock means instant defeat, as if your opponent had taken your king in a game of chess. Even in games where it doesn't mean instant loss, it usually means definite loss, because your warjacks will shut down and your warbeasts go crazy if the warnoun controlling them suddenly evaporates. Warmahordes armies have to strike a balance of aggression and defense in order to inflict crippling damage while preventing an embarrassing defeat from an unexpected bombing run on that squishy wizard in the back.

Warcasters and warlocks influence the game even more hugely than that, though. A given army's playstyle is in large part defined by which warnoun is commanding it, since the spell list in play is so vital to which strategies you can expect to execute well. Each warnoun also comes with a "feat" ability, which is a once-per-game super-awesome magical nuke effect unique to them. These range from freezing enemy models in place to setting everything on fire to outright denying your opponent their allotment of focus next turn, and are some of the most devastatingly powerful abilities in play. Warmahordes players must know their warnoun inside and out to make proper use of them, and they'd damn well better know the opponent's, too.

Warmahordes battles also tend to be smaller in scale and more tactically focused than Warhammer ones. There are fewer models in play, and they all have greater freedom of movement than their Warhammer counterparts. Carefully positioning individual members of a unit to block vital charge lanes is a skill that all Warmahordes players must learn pretty damn quick, and it isn't uncommon for different members of a single unit to be attacking multiple different targets.

Cost and Models

A major difference is the model count and real-money cost of the games. Whilst a proactive buyer may be able to get a competitive Warhammer army from eBay for fairly cheap (talking maybe $300), an army that is ready to play can cost as little as $60 for Warmahordes - although a proper 35-point game will more likely set you back around $150-250. Currently most games are at 75 points with tournaments requiring 2 lists of 75 points. At the 75 point level you are going to spend as much or more than your average 1000 point Warhammer army. In Warmahordes, the typical model count can vary between 4-50, whereas, in Warhammer, that could be a single unit.

However, in Warmahordes, there are almost no options for unit customization. A Warhammer 40k player might spend half an hour deliberating over exactly how to kit out a given unit of Tactical Marines, but Warmahordes doesn't have that option. What you see is what you get; units have the weapons and characteristics printed for the point cost listed, nothing more and nothing less.

The only real option for unit customization is the ability to include Unit Attachments, most commonly referred to as UAs. These are a couple of extra models (usually an officer and a standard bearer for infantry) that can be stuck onto the unit for a handful of extra points, and usually come with a couple of bonus special rules for their comrades. Some units also have Weapon Attachments (WAs), which add more firepower or versatility to a unit.

Rolling

One of the biggest differences between the two games is the dice system. In Warhammer, almost all rolls use a 1d6 system, which is an even distribution on each individual roll. This can cause crippling clusters of random number generation when very few dice are being rolled. The system works well with units that have large numbers of dice rolls, such as Ork or Tau rank and file, but becomes risky at best when rolling important things for expensive models - such as losing the blast from a Riptide on the Gets Hot roll, or needing to connect with a single character model's best attack.

Warmahordes has somewhat mitigated this risk (thus enabling less infuriating gameplay with a low model count) by utilizing a 2d6 system on almost all dice rolls, and often having the option to "boost" rolls by adding an extra d6. Using the cumulative total from multiple dice on each roll gives a rough approximation of a normal distribution, making tactics in general more reliable and less vulnerable to bouts of horrible luck. It can still happen, but it's not nearly as common.

Additionally, in Warmahordes, all rolls (ranged and melee) to hit are made against the target's defense (DEF). This is contrast to Warhammer, where the to-hit roll in shooting was made despite the target's stats, taking only the shooter's BS and terrain effects like cover into account. The end result is that, in Warmahordes, a model's survivability is not purely dependent on its heath boxes or armor. Units with high DEF scores can be quite resilient, and require varied tactics to take down; heavy ARM units can generally be taken down by massed fire, but for a high-DEF model, it might be more expedient to find a way to inflict knockdown and remove their DEF entirely.

Wounds/Boxes and Armour

In Warhammer, a typical model has 1 wound, with the toughest of models having around 5-6, and most attacks will only inflict one wound per shot.

In Warmahordes, most light and medium infantry have only a single box (the Warmahordes wound equivalent). Meanwhile, heavy infantry and special characters have between 5 and 8, warcasters/warlocks have between 14 and 20 (with Karchev the Terrible being in a class of his own), and most warjacks or warbeasts have in the range of 25-36. Serious heavy fire can be required to take down one of these monsters, but 'jacks and 'beasts also have "subsystems" marked on their damage tracks, and if these subsystems are destroyed, they might lose the ability to run or become much weaker in combat.

Armor is another thing that works quite differently between the two games. In Warhammer, armor works as a set "save" roll that the model either gets or does not. A success means the model lives with no penalty, and a failure means the model either dies or loses a wound.

In Warmahordes, ARM isn't a save, but a flat reduction to all incoming damage rolls. The attacker must roll 2d6 and add the strength of the attack, then beat the target's ARM in order to inflict damage. This makes taking damage much less binary than in Warhammer, and significantly reduces the chances of something like a stubber taking down somebody wearing three feet of powered armor.

Activation

In Warhammer, all units activate in phases: everyone in the army moves, then everyone in the army shoots, and so on.

In Warmahordes, each unit (or individual model, for those outside of units) takes its full activation individually. For instance, if the player chooses to first activate a warjack, that warjack will take its movement and then its action, fulfilling all of its special rules before completing its turn. If a unit of 10 models is activated, all 10 models will move together, and then all 10 models will take their actions together, completing their turns. This means that the order in which models are activated generally makes a much larger difference than it does in 40k.

Units in Warmahordes also possess much more freedom of movement than their Warhammer counterparts. Warhammer unit members must remain within 2" of a buddy at all times, but Warmahordes unit members only have to stay within a certain distance of their ranking officer. Other than that, they're free to spread out as much as they want, which allows for a much greater variety of unit formations.

Finally, in the absence of special rules, models may only make attacks in their own turn in Warmahordes, as opposed to 40k where all engaged models make attacks in melee combat.

Typical Stats and Gameplay

Please note everything in this section will be horribly oversimplified for experienced players, and is designed to merely give newbies an idea of the gameplay differences. Obviously, all of these stats will vary depending on what sort of niche the unit fills. Generally, you can assume values higher than those shown are above average and those lower are below average.

Warhammer 40k

The typical troop in 40k will have a statline something like this: Weapon Skill 3-4, Ballistic Skill 3-4, Strength 3-4, Toughness 3-4, Wounds 1, Initiative 3-4, Attacks 1, Leadership 7-9, Armour Save 4-5

Whereas a big beasty might have a statline like this: Weapon Skill 3-4, Ballistic Skill 3-4, Strength 6, Toughness 6, Wounds 3-4, Initiative 3-4, Attacks 4, Leadership 7-9, Armour Save 4-5

Vehicles: A vehicles statline works the same except that is has a armour value instead of toughness or an armour save, often has no attack value or initiative and generally moves faster.

A typical range of shooting weapons in 40k is 24".

In the absence of special rules all models move 6 inches.

40k Gameplay

In 40k a model will move in moving phase (generally 6") and then shoot in the shooting phase. The shot will go something like this:

1. Pick a target in range.

2. Roll to hit with a higher chance if the model has a high BS. If the attack misses nothing further.

3. Roll to wound with a higher chance if the strength of the attack was higher than the toughness of the target. If the attack doesn't wound nothing further.

4. The weapon used will either pierce right through the targets armour in which case the target takes a wound and nothing further.

5. Else the weapon does not pierce the targets armour in which case the target rolls an armour save with a higher chance of living if it has a LOWER armour save value. If the the target makes the save nothing further.

6. Else the target takes a wound and nothing further.

7. Depending on how much damage the target unit took it may need to pass a leadership test by rolling lower that its Ld on 2d6 or run away.

Whereas a melee round will go something like this:

1. Two units are in melee.

2. The one with the higher Initiative goes first.

3. Make as many attacks as the models Attack stat.

4. Roll to hit with a higher chance to hit if the models WS is higher than the target. If the attack misses nothing further.

5. Roll to wound with a higher chance if the strength of the attack was higher than the toughness of the target. If the attack doesn't wound nothing further.

6. The attack will either pierce right through the targets armour in which case the target takes a wound and nothing further.

7. Else the weapon does not pierce the targets armour in which case the target rolls an armour save with a higher chance of living if it has a LOWER armour save value. If the the target makes the save nothing further.

8. Else the target takes a wound and nothing further.

9. The unit with the lower initiative makes its attack as described above.

10. The unit that took the most wounds needs to pass a leadership test by rolling lower that its (Leadership - (wounds taken - wounds given)) on 2d6 or run away. Example unit 1 has Ld 8, dealt 5 wounds and took 7. It must roll lower than 6 on 2d6. 6 because its Ld of (8-(7-5))=6.

Against vehicles instead of rolling against toughness d6 is added to the strength of the weapon, if the total is higher than the vehicle's armour the vehicle is damaged.

Warmahordes

The typical troop in Warmahordes will have a statline something like this: Speed 5, Strength 5, Melee Attack 6, Ranged Attack 5, Defense 12, Armour 14, Command 8, and then a couple of weapons with individual POW ratings and special rules.

Whereas a big beasty might have a statline like this: Speed 5, Strength + Power 14, Melee Attack 6, Ranged Attack 5, Defense 11, Armour 18, Command 8, and then their weapons.

A typical ranged weapon in Warmahordes can shoot 10".

It's worth noting that, because Warmahordes uses a 2d6 system rather than 1d6, 1 point difference in stats is a much less dramatic difference than in 40k - but 2 points or more is starting to get impressive.

Warmahordes Gameplay

In Warmahordes a unit will be activated and then takes its full move (generally its speed) and then make its action. A shooting action will look something like this, note shooting attacks just use power (unless it's a thrown weapon, like javelin), melee uses strength+power:

1. Pick a target.

2. Measure range, if out of range nothing further.

3. Roll to hit 2d6+RAT. If equal to or higher than the target's defence; hit. Else nothing further.

4. Roll to damage 2d6+Power if the damage is higher than the target's armour the target takes the surplus in damage, else nothing further.

Whereas a melee round will go something like this:

1. Two units are in melee.

2. The one who's turn it is may attack, units may not attack outside of their turn. (There are exceptions, but those will not be brought up here.)

3. Make an attack with each of the models weapons, usually 1 with smaller models, usually more with larger models.

4. Roll to hit 2d6+MAT. If equal to or higher than the target's defence; hit. Else nothing further.

5. Roll to damage 2d6+Power+Strength if the damage is higher than the target's armour the target takes the surplus in damage, else nothing further.

Summary

In general Warmahordes is a smaller, (in the technical sense) less complex game that requires much less money to start. However, while Warmahordes may have a simpler basic rule set, it has many more special rules, which more than balances this out in terms of depth. Warmahordes is more melee-focused than 40k and games go for a shorter period of time. Finally the 2d6 system allows for a more predictable outcome of any move, which results in a game that often feels less chaotic and random than many Warhammer fights.

However Warmahordes is much less customizable than 40k, so making an army of your dudes is much harder. You can't make your own commander with a history all of his own unless you want to use one of the warnouns that already exist as an identical base. Also, the lack of options for the troops makes making whatever fluff you have for your army more difficult to crunch. Warmahordes feels more like a historical game than a fantasy one in that you're not "forging a narrative" so much as stepping into someone else's. Further, Privateer Press has pretty tight conversion guidelines for its tournaments, (which, to be fair, makes sense because a lot of things like the warjacks share the same chassis and differ only in the arms so making sure no-one is confused is important), limiting how wildly you can convert your models if you want to be competitive.

There are two ways to view 40k VS Warmahordes. If you want a casual game, Warmahordes is far superior for these reasons, but if you are prepared to dump a fair amount of time and money for a larger scale game with a more battlefield commander feel, you may prefer Warhammer. Additionally, Warmahordes' greater predictability places more importance on tactics and is a bit better balanced, with fewer stand-out horrible choices like Pyrovores, making it better for people who want greater tactics in their game. Furthermore, as has been proven with monstrosities like Screamerstar, the Daemon Summoning Tide, and Fish of Fury, 40k is easily broken when taken to high level tournament play with Von, und precisely von vay! to play each of the top level armies.

On the other hand, the 40k ruleset (especially with new Unbound rules) favors "forging a narrative," with players expected to play the army they want with the backstory they want, adding RPG-character elements to the wargame. This is why 40k's plot just keeps treading water - it sets the stage for your dudes to have epic adventures and stories, while Warmachines' plot advances because players want to see what happens next. Historical games like Flames of War or Bolt Action do the same, but as the events are real it's easier to motivate players to play a force from one point of time. If you want to have a good story, go to Warmahordes, but if you want to make a good story, 40k might prove a superior choice.

It's hard to say which is better, since they're trying to be different things, and the answer is very much up to personal taste. Thankfully, because they're trying to be different things and not really copying each other, there's easily enough room for both of them.