I first started playing Warhammer back in 3rd edition where I often fielded Skaven with Chaos allies (back when warriors and beastmen were one army). I also dabbled a bit with High Elves and Goblins but when the 3rd edition of 40K was released I devoted myself totally to it and pretty much dropped Warhammer. From my point of view 40K had become a vastly more engaging game and until now I’ve never really felt the compelled to return to Fantasy.

I had no intention of really paying much attention to the 8th edition release but something piqued my interest and after really delving into it I find my self yearning to to start playing with square bases again. I get the impression I’m not alone either as from what I can gather the gaming community as a whole seems to be showing a lot of renewed interest and I imagine a lot of 40K players will be venturing into fantasy for the first time.

The thing that impresses me most is that the game and its setting feels magical again, in the same way it did 20 years ago. On top of this the improvements to the rules are very impressive. On the whole I’m very impressed and I really want to start a new Fantasy army.

As I say this, I’m fully aware that I probably don’t really have the spare time or funds to start a new (probably large) army especially as the game system I’m developing is really going to need most of my time.

Anyhow, lets pretend I do have some extra spare time. What army should I collect and what am I going to do to make it cool and unique?

I’ve narrowed the choices down to Skaven, Warriors of Chaos, Daemons or Beastmen. Whilst there are appealing things in other armies these 4 have always been my favourites and I can’t see that ever changing. I’m not overly concerned about using the most competitive lists, strong themes and cool conversions are my priority.

Skaven

One of the most compelling ideas for a Skaven army for me would be a pure Clan Moulder army with a large number of Rat Ogres. With the current Rat Ogre plastic kits I wouldn’t touch this army build with a very large stick but the Rat Ogres in the new Island of Blood box look phenomenal. Yes there’s only two but I reckon I can convert them well enough to create large enough variantion to field large units of them.

Warriors of Chaos

Whilst I like the Warriors list I don’t find the models particularly impressive. However, this isn’t a bad thing because it provides the perfect reason for some major conversion/sculpting work. Add to this the fact I prefer find sculpting armour plating fairly straight forward now and that the imagery of the Raven Host from Warhammer Online (which I used to play a lot as a Chosen) is a perfect guideline and inspiration.

Daemons

I only include Daemons in this list because I’m so impressed with the Slaanesh plastics especially the new riders. Other than Daemon Princes and Keepers of Secrets I can’t see much need for conversion work, and on the whole they would be a particularly unique collection of models to put down on the table. They would however allow me to field them in 40K too

Beastmen

I gotta admit I really like the Beastmen plastics, well except for the Crap-otaurs. I guess they could be improved upon but I’d be tempted to not field Minotaurs at all, even though the new edition makes them pretty formidable on the table. I’d probably be inclined to field as many ambushing units as possible and a couple of strong Bestigors as the core of the army. I’d be tempted to convert the Bestigors to make them look a bit more mean looking, but otherwise I’m unsure how I’d proceed with the Beastmen.

These are my ideas and I hope I manage to try one of ‘em. What about you? Interested in the new edition? Planning a new army or some crazy conversion?

As a sidenote I’m hoping that GW’s October mystery box this year will be Warhammer Quest as it would tie in nicely with their increased support to the Fantasy range.