Warmachine/Tactics

This page is a general index for Warmachine tactics pages. Tactics for Hordes armies are (hopefully) here.

General Tactics

Starting a Warmachine army

Read up on the factions and find the one that most appeals to you: note that each faction can play multiple army archetypes ('jack heavy, infantry heavy, attrition, etc.), although most factions are better suited to certain archetypes than others (e.g. Protectorate or Convergence for a 'jack heavy army).

Unless you've played before and have a definitive idea of what you want, buy your faction's battlebox (or the two-player starter if you're looking to play Menoth/Khador and have a friend to split it with) and learn the ropes. Once you have some idea about what you're doing, you can start building up to 35/50 points (or whatever your group plays normally).

A common question is what books to buy: Warmachine rulebooks work in an anthology format, which means that every year or two a new book comes out with models and rules for each faction. The current released books:

• Warmachine Prime Mk II/mini rulebook from the two-player starter: Both the original and mini rulebooks contain the basic game rules, while the full-size rulebook also includes some basic background fluff as well as a listing of a number of models/units for each faction. (Note that all the models listed in the main rulebook are also listed in their respective "Forces of" books as well.)
  • Another Note: All units come with a card listing their rules and stats, as such The main rulebook is really all you need if you're not into the fluff.
• Forces of (Your Faction Here): Roughly equivalent to a 40k/Fantasy codex. Contains the faction's background information, model/unit stats, warcaster tier lists and a short story that will probably make zero sense to you if you haven't been following the fluff since Mk I. These books contain the lion's share of a faction's playable models, so if you're debating between this book and the anthology books below grab this one first. The Retribution and Convergence books also have additional rules information that covers the particular quirks of their 'jacks.
• Warmachine Wrath: Introduces Battle Engines and their rules.
• Warmachine Colossals: Introduces Colossals and their rules. Also includes the rules for Unbound, Warmachine's Apocalypse equivalent that no one plays.

The rules in the older books (Escalation, Apotheosis, Superiority, Legends) are no longer applicable in Mk II, but you may want to grab them for fluff purposes if you can find them for cheap. Iron Kingdoms RPG both core and expansions No rules related to Warmachine but had tons of history and lore of the Iron Kingdoms so useful if you're into the lore.

Individual Army Tactics

• Cygnar, because you crave guns, lightning, and lightning guns
• Khador, because Russia
• Protectorate of Menoth, because you like synergy and uncompromising religious fanaticism
• Cryx, because steampunk zombie pirates
• Retribution of Scyrah, because Elf'Qaeda
• Mercenaries. Covers the "general" contracts for mercs (Highborn Covenant/Four Star Syndicate). For the pirate and/or dwarf lovers amongst us:
  • Searforge Commission (Dwarf Fortress, tabletop edition)
  • Talion Charter (Pirates, scurvy optional)
• Convergence of Cyriss, because you like synergy too, but you like it even more when everyone is a robot