Some newb questions

[Sebastian]

Hello

I'm just getting into Warmaster and I have some questions:

I own Chaos starter set and two spawns - what should I get next?
Is is still possible to buy Chaos sorcerer for a reasonable price?
What army is easiest to collect at this point? Also, is it still possible to get DE?


I couldn't get into Warmaster before 2013 and then - you know the story. I managed to buy some minis on Ebay and now I'm trying to expand my collection. Buying second army seems like a good idea - I'd be able to get some games with my friends. I also want to own reasonably (considering current situation) sized Chaos force. I would really appreciate your advice

[Aquahog]

I cannot recall the contents of the Chaos starter so I'll pass on answering that.

HE and TK are definitely the most abundant but all the six from the book can be seen at times. DE et al. are more rare and expensive but far from not heard of.

[andys]

Buy miniatures from other manufacturers.

Magister Militum, Polar Fox, Pendraken, Eureka, Copplestone Castings and Warmonger Miniatures are all good places to look.

An Orc and Goblin army is particularly easy to make these days.

[Stormwind]

This is a useful tool for making army lists:

http://wm-selector.appspot.com/army_selector.html?list=chaos

Chaos Starter is:

2 Chaos Warrior units
2 Chaos Marauder units
1 Chaos Knight unit
1 Chaos Hounds unit
+ 1 General figure

+ 1 of your spawn units makes about 900 points.  You need 2000 points to use the second unit.

To answer your questions:

Chaos armies should always max out Chaos Hounds, as they are the sole "cheap" unit they can get.  That means 2 for every full 1000 points.

Chaos Marauder Cavalry are much cheaper than Knights and are a good investment, as are Chaos Chariots. Chariots are only 5 points more and get the bonuse of extra attacks when charging in the open.

Chaos Knights are great but very expensive, almost double the cost of a "normal" knight unit in WM which is 110 points (Silver helms, Empire Knights, Kislev Lancers etc.)

Chaos Dragon Ogres look great but are too expensive to really use in a beginner list so I use the ones I have painted as Chaos Marauder Cavalry proxies.

The Chaos Spawn you have rely on being brigaded with infantry to offer something nasty and a shooting attack.  If you're going to use them you might want to have a larger infantry block.  Marauder Infantry are equivalent to High Elf Spearmen in stats.  Warriors of Chaos are wonderfully tough but 150 points makes them a very pricey option that you can't afford to have out in the open.

A single harpy unit is worth getting as a threat to attack the rear of artillery or immobile infantry blocks.

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As for unit availability, that's a bit of a problem. Chaos, as Aquahog says, is one of the 6 "starting" armies from about the beginning of Warmaster in 1999-2000.  As such it is more common than some others.  That being said, Chaos Chariots seem to be rather rare. Chaos Hounds and Chaos Marauder Horsemen are never present in huge amounts, I think because these units were not in the starter box that you have.

If you post a topic in the trade forum here, you might occasionally snare a unit or part of an army to expand your own!

If you can wait, there are some Chaos proxies coming out of this kickstarter:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/evil-men-fantasy-10mm-miniatures#/updates
He says he'll set up a store in the run up to Christmas.

If you need Trolls, the excellent Polar Fox webstore has suitable proxies that are very good:
http://www.polarfox.info/Taiga_Trolls/p2627799_12488305.aspx

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Dark Elves go for a high price still - but High Elves are Tomb Kings are among the cheaper armies to get on eBay or through trading.