Revision as of 07:07, 24 January 2021

This article describes the various Factions. Each description is relatively short, and serves more to whet your appetite and help you narrow down your choices, rather than describe the Faction in-depth (in-depth descriptions can be found on each Faction's own dedicated page).

Factions vs Theme Forces

A Faction in Warmachine and Hordes is an army where the soldiers all belong to the same country, culture, or species. When you play a game of Warmachine/Hordes, all the models in your army must belong to the same Faction (although Mercenaries and Minions can hire themselves out to other Factions).

Choosing which Faction you want to collect, before you even begin playing, can be a tough decision! This article tries to give a "broad brush" description of each Faction.

Factions are further subdivided into Theme Forces which restrict which models you can field from that Faction, but give you various theme benefits in exchange. The current edition of the rules was designed around theme forces being the standard playstyle.

Most Factions have one theme which specialises in warjacks or warbeasts, and 2-4 other themes which each specialise in a different genre of troop. Warjacks and warbeasts can be taken in the troop-heavy themes, you just don't tend to get any bonuses for them so players take far fewer of them.

Tip ! There are several themes which blur the lines between Factions, allowing you to take a plethora of models from two or more Factions. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on whether you want to get "tournament ready" as fast/cheaply as possible (which requires two army lists from the same Faction); or whether you prefer to explore models from several Factions before settling down. See the Crossing the Themes article for more info on these blurry themes.

Core Factions vs Limited Factions

Factions are classified as either "Core" or "Limited Release".

    Core Factions    

A Core Faction is one that has been around since the start of the game (or very close to the start). Core Factions have a lot of models to collect, a steady stream of new releases each year, and 3 to 6 theme forces.

There are 6 Core Warmachine Factions and 5 Core Hordes Factions.

    Limited Release Factions    

A Limited Release Faction is much newer. They have a small range of models, an intermittent dribble of new releases, and only 2 (maybe 3) theme forces each.

Although they have fewer models to design a competitive list with, they are more well-rounded (ie they have good synergies) and often have unique rules that alter how the game is played. Some veterans recommend that newbies steer away from Limited Factions because those unique rules make them "harder to learn" but I disagree - they're not that harder if you're learning everything else as well. Also, the smaller range of options makes it easier to plan purchases.

There are 3 Limited Warmachine Factions and 1 Limited Hordes Faction.

Note: "Limited Release" doesn't mean, like, "Limited Edition". They're no harder to find/buy than the core factions.

Core Warmachine Factions

The Kingdom of Cygnar (2003)

Cygnar are often depicted as the good guys who aren't too morally objectionable, though they have picked up a good number of grudges over the years. They are really adept with technology, which has translated on the tabletop to a "shooting faction"; they have many big guns with long range and high power and the support abilities to make them even better. A lot of their signature weapons and spells are themed around lightning and electrical damage.

On the other hand when Cygnar fights in melee they don't deal huge amounts of damage. Instead they rely on weapons with special abilities that damage multiple models and/or stun them, taking the enemy at least partially out of the game for a turn.

Though their troops don't match up to other Factions' elite warriors in terms of resilience, Cygnaran soldiers are highly trained or armed with state-of-the-art weaponry (and in some cases, both).

Cygnar is subdivided into four theme forces:

• Heavy Metal - Warjack spam
• Storm Division - Elite troops with electric weapons
• Sons of the Tempest - Half-wizard pistoleers
• Gravediggers - Highly trained core troops with rifles and sandbags

Cygnar players also have access to 1 "extra" theme force. It is an extra because very few Cygnar warcasters are allowed in this theme:

• Flame in the Darkness - This is the Morrowans and Thamarites from three different factions (Cygnar, Khador, and Mercenary) banding together to fight the Infernal invasion.

The Khadoran Empire (2003)

The nation of Khador fights mostly for its own imperial ends. Their tech isn't nearly as sophisticated as Cygnar's but they make up for it by putting five tons of armor onto anything. They don't have the same flashy infantry equipment as their arch enemy Cygnar, relying instead on their conscripts' number and nationalism, canny assassins of their merchant lords and hulking steam-armored troops. Khador is easy to hit, but hard to hurt, their low basic speed may fool you to consider them slow. However, Khador is neither slow, nor a melee-only army. They actually do a decent job at range - predominantly in the form of AOE attacks. Living in the cold north, many of their spells are themed around cold damage and freezing enemies in place.

Khador is subdivided into 5 theme forces:

• Jaws of the Wolf - Warjack spam
• Armored Corps - Super-heavy infantry
• Legion of Steel - Melee infantry with plate armour and explosive-tipped spears
• Winter Guard Kommand - The core of Khador's armed might. Somewhat poorly armed, but numerous
• Wolves of Winter - Khador's wizards, and the convicts they've experimented upon

Khador players also have access to 2 "extra" theme forces, although very few Khador warcasters are allowed in these themes:

• Flame in the Darkness - This is the Morrowans and Thamarites from three different factions (Cygnar, Khador, and Mercenary) banding together to fight the Infernal invasion.
• Warriors of the Old Faith - This is the Menites from two different factions (Khador and Protectorate) banding together to fight the Infernal invasion.

The Protectorate of Menoth (2003)

A robed, religious and inquisitorial theocracy who seceded from Cygnar after a major sectarian conflict. They are knights templar in word and deed. Warjacks are technically blasphemous under the Menite religion, so the Protectorate has nowhere near as much expertise as the other factions -- something which translates to a generally sub-par stat line. However, they make up for this blasphemy by sanctifying every square inch of their warjacks, something which shows in their fine range of support units and buffs. Put the right buffs on a Menite warjack in the right order and it can brawl with the best of them. There are also numerous fire-based attacks and they have ways to bring back dead warriors (or put their souls to good use). The Protectorate also has ways to field zealous infantry in every size and shape: be it an unstoppable tide of fanatics massed together, a group of swift assassins, or a cadre of a few elite knights ready to defend their faith unto death and beyond.

The Protectorate is subdivided into four theme forces:

• The Creator's Might - Warjack spam
• The Faithful Masses - Civilian militia plus paladins
• Guardians of the Temple - An eclectic mix of specialist troops
• Exemplar Interdiction - Elite troops

Protectorate players also have access to 1 "extra" theme force, although very few Protectorate warcasters are allowed in this themes:

• Warriors of the Old Faith - This is the Menites from two different factions (Khador and Protectorate) banding together to fight the Infernal invasion.

The Nightmare Empire of Cryx (2003)

Cryx is a faction of necromancers ruled over by Toruk the Dragonfather: the oldest and most powerful dragon in the world. Rather than creating warjacks from steel and animating them with coal they instead create Bonejacks and Helljacks from steel and bone, animating them with stolen souls. Cryx is something of a horde army; bonejacks and helljacks are fast, strong, cheap, and good in melee, but fairly easy to destroy. To back up their 'jacks, Cryx fields some of the nastiest warcasters in the game who love to cast spells that debuff the enemy's pants off and absolutely ruin their day. As well as reaving the souls and corpses of their fallen enemies. They really like applying corrosion to enemies. Their infantry is mostly undead that is designed to mess with the enemy: half-mechanical wretches stitched together from corpses, ghostly Bane knights, corrupted Ogruns, and lethal pirates sailing the black waves of the Cryxian shorelines.

Cryx is subdivided into four theme forces:

• Black Industries - Warjacks and steampunk zombies
• Dark Host - Elite skeletons in plate armour
• The Ghost Fleet - Zombie pirates
• Scourge of the Broken Coast - The living forces of Cryx, the pirates of the seas. Trolls, ogrun (ogres), and satyxis raiders mostly.

The Retribution of Scyrah (2009)

The Retribution does not represent a national army, but rather a militant religious sect within the elf-kingdom of Ios. Central to the Retribution's dogma is that humanity's use of magic is responsible for the dying state of the elven gods and that all non-elves who use magic should be destroyed. Officially the rulers of Ios do not endorse the Retribution, but the sect still manages to recruit troops and warjacks from the major noble houses in sufficient numbers to be a serious military power.

The Retribution is a dualist faction; they can be either use top-class tanks or première glass cannons, but never really both in one game. Their choices of warcasters, infantry and solos reflect this duality; either tough combined-arms units, or squishy assassins. They are good at both melee and ranged combat, shoving the enemy around the battlefield and locking down their movement options. Their Myrmidons (the Elven equivalent of warjacks) further strengthen the combined-arms approach by bearing both ranged and melee weapons on themselves. Many of them also sport force fields, a signature trait in this faction.

Retribution is subdivided into four theme forces:

• Forges of War - The Myrmidons (Warjacks) of House Shyeel, all equipped with Force Fields
• Defenders of Ios - Houseguard troops, a high-tech militia
• Legion of Dawn - Elite Dawnguard troops and their specialist weaponry
• Shadows of the Retribution - Mage Hunters, Elf ninjas who hate human arcane users

Mercenaries (2004)

Mercenaries are auxiliary troops that most Warmachine factions have access to. But you can also create a Pure mercenary army if you add a mercenary warcaster and his warjacks. It is hard to talk about Mercenaries in general, they are an extremely diverse faction. The psychically powerful Cephalyx who use mind-control to enthrall their opponents, the Dwarven nation of Rhul with their Ogrun auxiliary forces, and the reckless raiding parties of the Privateers. As well as the remnants of the Llaelese Resistance fond of guerrilla-warfare, or the run-of-the-mill sell-swords of the Steelhead regiments all fall under this category. Various mercenary solo models are often highly sought-after, as they provide efficient ways to fill gaps in your army composition. Mercenary armies have the largest selection of solos to choose from.

Mercenaries are subdivided into seven theme forces:

• The Irregulars - An army of characters which can only take a handful of units. This is something of a catch-all and doesn't have a specific group associated like the other Merc themes.
• Hammer Strike - Dwarves and Ogrun from the nation of Rhul
• The Kingmaker's Army - The rebels that overthew the Cygnaran throne under Magnus
• Llaelese Resistance - A guerrilla force which opposes the occupation of Llael by Khador & the Protectorate
• Operating Theater - Cephalyx, psychic creatures that live underground, and capture surface dwellers to experiment upon and turn into an army of mindless Drudges.
• Steelheads - A well-organised military force which makes extensive use of combined arms
• The Talion Charter - Human pirates bases in the neutral nation of Ord

Mercenary players also have access to 2 "extra" theme forces, with fewer traditional Mercenary models and more non-Mercenary models.

• Flame in the Darkness - This is the Morrowans and Thamarites from three different factions (Cygnar, Khador, and Mercenary) banding together to fight the Infernal invasion.
• Strange Bedfellows - An eclectic mix of Cryx, Convergence, and Cygnar forces teaming up to fight the Infernals. And it's a Mercenary force because... reasons?

Core Hordes Factions

The Trollblood Kriels (2006)

The Trollbloods are probably the least morally objectionable army in the game. They are a people fighting the spread of hostile human civilization. Trolls are depicted as extremely Scottish, with kilts, sporrans, kegs of ale, and a guy named "Grim Angus". One of their battle engines is a huge booze cart, carrying an inhumanly large keg from the finest hooch. They've been shoved around by the human nations for years but have recently learned how to command the truly monstrous Dire Trolls. And they are now on the march. The Trollbloods are a fairly slow army that's easy to hit/easy to hurt but much harder to actually kill. They're excellent at healing and buffing themselves, with Dire Trolls in the habit of eating models they kill for some quick and easy healing. Between self-healing, buffing, and the near-ubiquitous Tough rule, they are quite resilient. Their Trollkin warriors come in all shapes and sizes from man-sized to monstrous.

Trollbloods are subdivided into four theme forces:

• Power of Dhunia - Warbeasts & magic
• Band of Heroes - Heavy melee infantry
• Kriel Company - Shoooty infantry and battle engines galore
• Storm of the North - the Northkin, a subset of Trolls with a strong ice magic theme that plays on the typical Troll options

Additionally they have access to one special theme force:

• Vengeance of Dhunia - A combined Troll/Farrow theme which can also be played in Minions, representing the followers of Dhunia united against the Infernal invasion.

The Circle Orboros (2006)

The Circle is a mostly-human order of druids, charged with protecting the balance between the human god Menoth (Law and civilization) and the feral god Orboros, also known as The Devourer Wurm (Nature, red in tooth and claw). As civilization is on the rise in Immoren, that means the druids act to stop it. Do not think that this makes them nice people; they believe their ends justify their means. The Circle is a maneuverability- and terrain-based faction. Quite a few circle warlocks can create forests and/or teleport themselves and their armies arpund the field. Their warbeasts range from shape shifting warpwolves to the birds of prey of the skies, their druids can summon even the rocks and stones of the earth to do their bidding, and stride forward in the form of relentless wold constructs. Most of their troops are not hindered by forests the way that other factions are. Among the troops you will find druids wielding the powers of the very elements of the nature, merciless hunter tribes of the Tharn, or the de-facto military arm of the Circle in form of the Wolf-Sworn units.

Circle is subdivided into four theme forces:

• Bones of Orboros - Construct Warbeast spam
• Secret Masters - Druids bossing around Minions
• The Devourer's Host - Tharn, the half-bestial humans of the forest.
• The Wild Hunt - Living warbeast-centric, plus Wolf Sworn who are the more militaristic warriors of Circle.

The Skorne Empire (2006)

An honorable but brutal nation of warriors marching into the Iron Kingdoms with conquest on their minds, supported by torturous blood magic and armed with angry pachyderms. Skorne are seemingly the slowest, tankiest army in Hordes. However, with outstanding support tools at their disposal they can make their lumbering warbeasts to run forward from downtown and with the strength buffs available they will hit like a freight train. They have several "retaliation" effects, allowing them to take a hit and strike back afterwards. For this reason they excel at "attrition melee", wherein the longer you fight them, the more they gain the upper hand -- partially through their tankiness, partially due to their special rules. For the infantry you can choose between the venerable Immortals, the elite rank of hulking Cataphracts and the legion-like Praetorian warriors, or lowest rank Venators who primarily wield less honourable ranged weapons. Skorne have five huge bases (one warlock, two battle engines, and two gargantuans) and it is common to find lists that use two or even three at a time.

Skorne is subdivided into four theme forces:

• Disciples of Agony - Warbeast-centric and grants almost complete access to both Minions subfactions. Skorne warlocks can uniquely take both Farrow & Gator beasts in this theme, something no Minion warlock can boast.
• The Exalted - Walking statues, housing the honoured souls of deceased Skorne warriors. An attritiony heavy infantry theme which tends to run minimal warbeasts and multiple Supreme Guardians.
• Masters of War - The Praetorians & Catephracti, the most elite Skorne soldiers
• Winds of Death - Rank and file Skorne infantry called Venators, who wield dishonourable ranged weapons. The best-fit theme for the other Skorne battle engine, the Siege Animantarax.

The Legion of Everblight (2006)

Everblight is one of the dragons spawned millenia ago by the Dragonfather Toruk. Everblight was never the strongest but has proven himself the most cunning, and the most adept at controlling his blight. His physical body was destroyed centuries ago by an elven army, but instead of regenerating it as normal he has managed to spread his athanc through hundreds if not thousands of his blighted followers, controlling their every action.

Everblight has now amassed a Legion of blighted creatures and twisted dragonspawn and uses them to further his own aims: to consume the athancs of his brother dragons and thus become powerful enough to challenge the dragonfather Toruk directly.

Most of the Legion's warbeasts can navigate terrain with frightening ease and are bound to do so in order to make an alpha-strike. They must avoid protracted combat, and to help that they sport outstanding mobility tricks beside their innate abilities. Infantries can be summoned from capable elven fighters, twisted Grotesque herds or brutally effective, wild ogrun tribes. If you look for a fast army of twisted dragon creatures, and a bias toward hit-and-run warfare, look no further. Legion has several character warbeasts, all of which feature heavily in competitive play.

Legion is subdivided into four theme forces:

• Oracles of Annihilation - The magic users of Legion, along with enslaved & blighted minions
• Ravens of War - The flyers, Striders, and more mobile blighted Nyss
• Children of the Dragon - The Nephilim, blighted Nyss who have been transformed into draconic warbeasts
• Primal Terrors - Blighted Ogrun and the other most hideous Legion monsters. A heavy-duty beater list which has a strong attrition gameplan, contrary to typical Legion lists.

Minions (2011)

Minions are auxiliary troops that most of Horde factions have access to. Pure Minion armies can be fielded using monstrous Gatormen and pig-like Farrow. Gatormen can be fielded, along with Bog Trogs & Croaks the other peoples of the swamps, in the Blindwater Congregation led by the living demigod Barnabas Lord of Blood. Farrow, along with bigger pigs, can be fielded in the Thornfall Alliance, led by Lord Carver and the sinister Dr Arkadius. Both sub-factions play hard and fast, with a strong but limited selection of warbeasts and some of the best Lesser Warlocks around. Minions has a model count comparable to other main factions, but because of the divide between Thronfall & Blindwater the actual models available in each theme is substantially fewer than most factions. As of 2021, all other Hordes main factions (Trollbloods, Circle, Skorne, and Legion) have access to a theme which allows for heavy access to Minion models. This makes Minions, especially Farrow, a good stepping top between Hordes factions.

Minions are subdivided into three theme forces:

• Will Work For Food - Allows all Minion Warlocks (although each still has a limited battlegroup), at the cost of most of the unique units & solos of each subfaction. Places a spotlight on the Lesser Warlocks, all of which are available in this theme allowing for ready access to every Minion warbeast.
• The Blindwater Congregation - Gatormen, a brutal & shamanistic race who have enslaved the Bog Trogs & Croaks in service to their living god, Barnabas Lord of Blood. A heavy-infantry plus heavy-beasts theme which buffs Gatormen Posse while also keeping them cheap.
• The Thornfall Alliance - the Farrow (Pigmen), brutal tribesmen united by the charismatic Lord Carver. They use a variety of simple weaponry alongside crude machinery & guns. Thornfall plays hard & fast, and has some of the most complex threat extension capabilities of any theme.

Minions also have access to one special theme force:

• Vengeance of Dhunia - A union of Dhunian worshippers from both Troll & Farrow populations, this list allows for free mixing of Troll & Farrow warbeasts and can be played as either a Trollbloods or Minions theme.

Limited Factions

The Convergence of Cyriss (2013)

The Convergence is a minor warmachine faction. Cyriss is the goddess of science and mathematics, also known as the Maiden of Gears. Inhabiting a celestial realm far from Caen, Cyriss was recently discovered by human scientists. These scientists formed the Convergence of Cyriss, a cult dedicated to changing the very planet so that eventually Cyriss can be summoned to inhabit Caen itself and bring in an eternal age of perfection. Most followers of the Convergence seek to transcend human flesh and live on as a soul inside a machine body, a clockwork vessel. The Convergence has a unique type of warjack, the Vector, which does not have an independent MAT or RAT, and does not Power Up like other Warjacks. Instead, Vectors use the MAT & RAT of their warcaster and can transfer spent focus to other Vectors in range. Their infantry are almost all Living Constructs, clockwork soldiers who house a once-human soul.

The Infernal invasion has revealed some substantial backstory about the nature of Cyriss. Namely, that Cyriss is actually a sentient galaxy on the other side of the universe. A number of human refugees from the Convergence, Cryx, and Cygnar fled through a portal created from the mechanical body of an ascended Nemo. They arrived at this galaxy 5000 years before Privateer Press's sci-fi miniatures game, Warcaster Neo-Mechanika, and are the ancestors of the human factions in that game (this is also why there's no elves in space).

Convergence is subdivided into two theme forces:

• Destruction Initiative - An army of Vectors supported by waves of Servitors. Also the natural home of the Convergence huge bases, outside of the weirdness that is Strange Bedfellows.
• Clockwork Legions - Convergence’s infantry theme, which has plentiful recursion thanks to their Enigma Machines.

They also have access to one special theme which combines forces from other factions:

• Strange Bedfellows - An eclectic mix of Cryx, Convergence, Cygnar, and Mercenary forces teaming up to fight the Infernals. An interesting theme force which relies heavily on donations from the key characters which united to create the portal to Cyriss. As such, this theme can play infantry heavy, vector heavy, warjack heavy, or even run multiple battle engines effectively.

The Crucible Guard (2018)

The Crucible Guard is the military wing of the Order of the Golden Crucible, the largest and most respected alchemy guild in Immoren. The alchemists of this ancient and venerable society used to reside in Llael before Khador invaded. After the loss of their key fortress they had to flee into the Kingdom of Ord, furthering their operation under this - seemingly neutral - state's aegis. They use alchemical drugs to give a normal human arcane powers...but at a great cost to their health. Much like Cygnar, the Order is pretty adept at ranged warfare. Being the masters of the arcane sciences, they rely mainly on fire and corrosion-based attacks, while robbing away the enemy's protection against said weapons. They also have various ways to de-buff the enemy via alchemic substances, especially undead and construct targets.

The Crucible Guard are subdivided into two theme forces:

• Prima Materia - Guard’s armour theme, which allows Railless Interceptors & warjacks but no mercenaries.
• Magnum Opus - Guard’s everything theme, which means lots of Rocketmen & Crucible Guard Infantry.

2021 Note: Crucible Guard are going to get a substantial update this year, which may or may not include a third theme but will definitely involve reassessment of the underplayed Magnum Opus.

Grymkin, the Wicked Harvest (2017)

When Menoth returned to humanity after battling the Devourer Wurm, a few willful individuals led by the one known as the Heretic defied him. As punishment they were cast into the wilds of Urcaen where they have suffered since. Urcaen is an ethereal shadow version of Caen, where unclaimed souls go to be eternally tormented by living nightmres. Now they have returned, and with them are the nightmares and tormented souls of Urcaen. This is the stuff of legend, folk lore and nightmare. This is the Grymkin.

Grymkin are a somewhat slow & plodding force which prefers "bricking" up in the centre of the table while grinding the enemy down with the best value-for-points melee attacks in the game. Grymkin have very minimal ranged options, relying on their warlock and other magic users for substantial ranged threat. Grymkin have a strong affinity for corpses, with their battle engine the Death Knell exclusively dedicated to supplying their frontline beasts with enough bodies. Seemingly contrary to their lore, the Grymkin don't care at all about souls. However this is because the Grymkin know that every wicked evildoer they kill is likely to end up in Urcaen anyway, destined to one day join the ranks of the Wicked Harvest.

The "true" Grymkin warlocks, those who followed the Heretic and are now known as "the Defiers", don't have traditional feats. Instead, they have access to three Arcana cards. One Arcana can be used per turn, and they are almost always triggered on the opponents turn by one of their actions. Two Arcana are drawn from a common pool, while the third is unique to each Defier. Additionally, the Grymkin player selects Arcana before the game starts but after lists are declared, giving them a tactical edge in many matchups.

Grymkin is subdivided into two theme forces:

• Dark Menagerie - A warbeast-focused "brick" theme which relies on Gremlin Swarms to contest objectives and almost always takes a Death Knell.
• Bump in the Night - An infantry-heavy theme which can also run a large battlegroup as it serves as a catch-all theme for the entire faction.

Infernals (2019)

Infernals are evil beings from a mysterious realm that is beyond both Caen and Urcaen. Caen is the world in which the game of Warmachine is set, Urcaen is its shadowy counterpart where souls unclaimed by divine forces go to be tormented by living nightmares.

The inhabitants of Caen lack deep knowledge of the Infernals, only knowing that they are ruthless predators with a thirst for mortal souls. They have moved in the shadows of civilisation for millennia, but they have now come in force to claim the debt humanity owes them for receiving the gift of magic. The Twins, Morrow & Thamar, signed a pact with the Infernals allowing for human manipulation of arcane magic and enabling the creation of warjacks (and probably also allowing humans to become warlocks too). This deal was signed with two-thirds of humanity's souls owed to the Infernals sometime in the future. 300 years before the payment came due, the Old Witch unleashed the Grymkin upon Caen and forced the Infernals to act. They have come with less than their maximum strength, but come they have, come for two-thirds of humanity and whatever mortal souls upon which they can lay their alien hands.

With the power to summon their beasts and warriors right into combat from their own Infernal plane, nothing like these creatures has ever been seen on the battlefields of the Iron Kingdoms before. The Infernals are commanded by Infernal Masters instead of warlocks or warcasters, who in turn use the unique Essence resource. Essence is literally derived from the soul of a human Cultist, one of which must be sacrificed each turn. Infernal Horrors, halfway between a warbeast and a monstrosity, start fully fueled with Essence but slowly drain away as they exist in the mortal plane. Additional Horrors can be summoned once per turn by sacrificing a Marked Soul, all of which are powerful solos who provide unique & useful powers to an Infernal player. Infernals are thus an extraordinarily unique faction in the game of Warmachine & Hordes, an attrition faction which literally sacrifices their own soldiers to keep fighting.

Infernals are subdivided into two themes:

• Dark Legacy is the "pure" infernal force, with the powerful Infernal Masters and their Horrors. There are numerous ways to build lists in this theme, with each Master having an incredibly unique and diverse playstyle which benefits from both battlegroup & army investment.
• Hearts of Darkness is a "corrupted" human force, but only has the lesser Master Infernalist Princess Regna and Lesser Horrors available. Instead of a Master you get a warcaster from another Faction, their warjacks, plus up to two units and three solos from that same Faction to supplement your Infernal units/solos. With six factions to steal troops from it is an incredibly diverse theme that ends up playing uniquely for each "friendly" faction.

You've just finished reading one of the articles in our Introduction series. The other articles are;

• What is Warmachine and Hordes?
• What do I need to buy/borrow?
• Faction Overview
• Starter Products
• Online Retailers & Secondhand trade groups
• Cheat Sheets

Once you've finished those, you may want to check out the Basic Training series.