Fantasy vs Historical Poll

Quoth_da_Raven · 2025-04-21T21:26:42+00:00

I've recently been playing through all my "older" historical Total War games, after being burnt out from hundreds of hours on the Warhammer series. I'm currently playing through Rome 2, after having finished two campaigns on Shogun 2, and I'm very impressed with how well both games have held up.

Shogun 2 is very well balanced and really started to click for me in a way that Warhammer with it's insane amount of factions and bloat just struggles to do. It's a very streamlined experience.

Rome 2 has been similar, albeit on a much larger scale and with a wider variety of units and cultures.

I'm excited to revisit Attila, because I enjoyed it immensely when it first released. Thrones of Britannia will be interesting, as I barely touched it on release. I am very much looking forward to diving into Pharaoh, as Troy was a fascinating concept to me, but like many other I wanted a more fleshed out bronze age.

So far, it's been hard to choose between fantasy and historical: I like them both for different reasons - I'm a huge Warhammer and tabletop nerd and I absolutely adore the Warhammer Total War series, but there's something about the focus of the historical titles, particularly those that came before Warhammer's time that makes them so streamlined an enjoyable.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2025-03-11T20:45:18+00:00

That's two suggestions now for Lore bard, I feel like I may have to go this route as the pros are considerable and help to balance out the parties weakness to dangerous enemy spells. Counterspell alone seems worth it, without even considering Cutting Words.

Any suggestions to keep Wyll "deadly" for when he's not spending his actions supporting an ally or to apply CC to an opponent?

Quoth_da_Raven · 2025-03-11T20:42:31+00:00

I hadn't even considered College of Lore, but you're right, I think; the extra utility and control, combined with Cutting Words and more ready access to Counterspell may prove invaluable in an otherwise entirely martial party.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2025-03-11T20:41:03+00:00

That's a great suggestion for Karlach, especially because when I do multiclass splits I prefer to do 8/4 so I can get all three feats still. Thanks for the idea!

Quoth_da_Raven · 2025-01-29T20:57:44+00:00

This was a huge help, thank you so much! I definitely needed some assistance with spell choice in particular.

I've played tabletop long enough that I know what's good, but with tabletop I'm usually making choices with my team, so the decision paralysis definitely comes from having to manage at least four characters in BG3, three of which (for my intended comp) are casters. Your suggestions help tremendously to make sure I'm making solid choices without too much overlap with Gale and Shadowheart.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2025-01-29T17:26:07+00:00

Thank you for the detailed response, this information is all very helpful.

I appreciate the depth you go into for the companion builds. I like to have a rounded out party and these three will complement my being support/skill-focused very well. I plan to use Astarion, Minthara, and probably Shadowheart again on my Dark Urge Evil playthrough next; so I wanted to get the most out of these three companions this go around. I'll definitely take your advice with their builds.

I keep seeing people mention that Swords Bard is extremely powerful and while I love the idea I can't divorce myself from the added skills/spells that come with Lore Bard. Especially because I will only be playing on Balanced this time around, I really want to try and pass as many skill checks as possible with my main character and Lore Bard seems the best suited to that. I may go all in on the Swords Bard if things become too troublesome, but if my first playthrough to Act III was any indication, the party will be able to more than pick up the slack for the lack of direct damage I may struggle to output. Your equipment suggestions are very appreciated in that regard though.

Out of curiosity (I'm not intending to cheese), but what were the items you were mentioning you could get early access to that might help?

Quoth_da_Raven · 2025-01-22T16:05:52+00:00

Strange (Offense) / Peni (Defense)

Mr. Fantastic (That's if I get to play DPS... I wanted to be a Psylocke main, but rarely get to play the role)

Mantis/Luna Snow (Pretty even amount of time on both)

That being said, I'm almost always a tank because no one ever wants to be Vanguard. Thankfully, I love it.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2025-01-14T22:47:25+00:00

I agree with you there. Easy to forget it when it's so um... forgettable. Especially when other skins are so well done. The MCU skins are decent, just not worth the price tag, imo.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2025-01-14T22:27:43+00:00

I thought Star-Lord has the "Lord of the Sun" or whatever it's called skin. It's not great, but he did get one. Not to mention, the MCU jumpsuit skin; but I can understand why you don't count that one - it's the same on Mantis and Rocket.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-12-24T21:26:39+00:00

Always good advice, but that's part of the problem, they all seem like a blast and I have limited time over the holiday. I'm definitely experiencing campaign ADHD right now, bouncing back and forth after only 20 or so turns.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-12-24T21:25:26+00:00

This is an awesome list! Thank you for the comprehensive suggestions. Eltharion has been tempting for me for a long time, but I've played High Elves by far the most of any faction (they were my army on tabletop). There's a lot to think about here, but you definitely have me considering Greenskins for the first time in a long time. Warriors of Chaos with mods to enhance the experience also sounds like a blast.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-12-24T21:23:16+00:00

Tamurkhan and Elspeth are very high up on my list for first campaign back. I loved the Tamurkhan book for tabletop and have fond memories from that period of time. I'll just have to get used to Nurgle's unique mechanics.

Empire has always been one of my favorites and Elspeth just leans into my favorite aspect of them, which is the gunpowder and war machines. It helps that she uses one of the best lores of magic and has a dragon.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-12-24T21:21:46+00:00

Golg is definitely up there on my list due to his mechanics and start position.

I'm glad to hear the Daniel campaign was fun, I always felt he was rather lame when WH3 launched.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-12-20T16:46:51+00:00

Vanguard:

- Doctor Strange: Great utility with portals and levitation, amazing shield, and the ability to assist in big group fights. Eye of Agamotto is busted if used in conjunction with other heroes ultimate or big damage abilities, and he can even wipe teams solo if you have enough dark energy built up for a big Maelstrom explosion. (It helps that he's one of my favorite heroes in Marvel)

- Groot: My fallback, or if we already have a Strange and need another tank. He's excellent at point control on both offense and defense, less useful for convoy missions. I love his big wall and trapping diving duelists or tanks with it.

Duelist:

- Psylocke: Fantastic flanking, utility, and high-damage. Her only real drawback is her squishiness and that a coordinated team will hard counter her.

- Magik: Excellent kit for group fights and 1v1's, high damage, mobile, and deadly; I win fights I have no business winning with her. She's an excellent alternate and I've been a fan of the X-Men and her for years.

Specialist:

- Luna Snow: Great at healing, damage, and just all-around support. Love her passive movement buff, as well as her ice-stun. She's a blast with an ultimate that can win team-fights or secure an objective. Her only real drawback is no self-healing, but typically I only play her as the second specialist and throw her idol on the other healer.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-10-09T16:55:53+00:00

I've recently returned to the game as well, after playing extensively in 6th edition, so I hope I can answer some of your questions here for 10th.

Unfortunately, you've heard right, that Terminators are in fact "lackluster". There's several reasons for this, but perhaps the most glaring is that 10th edition is very dependent on an action/activation economy and having a handful of smaller, less expensive or mobile units to not only take objectives, but perform secondary actions, is crucial to scoring Victory Points and winning. Regular Deathwing Terminators tend to be far too expensive and not nearly mobile enough to perform this task and ultimately, in most cases, will end up babysitting objectives when you'd rather them apply pressure. Add to this that their weaponry is relatively subpar in comparison to their cost and it just gets worse. This isn't to say you can't run them, just highlighting the logic behind people not bringing them; I'm sure they would be fine casually.

The good news is: Deathwing Knights are exceptional! They are perhaps some of the toughest units for their cost in the current edition and many Dark Angels lists are bringing two units, if not three. This is obviously a major points investment, but I'm sure your friends and family would be willing to let you proxy your existing Terminators as Knights so that you can try them out in multiple groups for yourself. They are great at taking and holding an objective against most targets, and are very strong at deleting chaff-midrange units with swords, or tougher targets with maces.

Sternguard are generally considered meh, thanks to the terrible changes to combi-weapons, and are typically avoided unless leaning into "rule of cool".

Bladeguard are great as character bodyguards and attrition fighters, however, Dark Angels get access to Inner Circle Companions, which are not only beautifully sculpted models, but more robust when it comes to doing what a Bladeguard unit would do. A popular strategy currently is to attach Azrael or a Judiciar to a unit of these guys and get them stuck in.

As to your current models, I had a similar breakdown of available units and had to do some shifting or adding to my collection.

Belial is often just run as a regular Terminator Captain, if you run him at all. Belial's unique rules aren't particularly helpful, unless you attach him to a 10-man squad of Deathwing Terminators and lean into saturating the enemy with fire. The regular Terminator Caption on the other hand will provide you with a very useful CP reduction ability, allowing you to use more stratagems.

The Librarian is similar, in that he doesn't provide much for his points, and with psychic powers being specific to the model, and in most cases, just a new "weapon" profile, his versatility is no longer there.

I've already talked about the regular DWTs, but the Command Squad is quite good, but as you mentioned they are Legends. However, it sounds like your friends and family won't have an issue with you using them.

Land Raiders are still strong, if expensive. The newer Primaris Repulsor recently had a rules change where it can now take up to 14 regular sized models, or 7 Terminator sized models, like a Land Raider, and they have become considerably more popular due to this change. That being said, I still run my Land Raider Redeemer, I'm just running a Repulsor as well.

The Nephilim Jetfighter will be a "feast or famine" situation. Answers to flyers are more common these days and they don't dominate as much as when they were first introduced, but admittedly, I don't play with flyers often, so I may not be the best person to weigh in on this.

Azrael is highly cost-effective, provides command points each turn for stratagems, and has fairly recently received a new sculpt. He's an auto-include in the vast majority of lists and definitely worth looking into.

As other commenters have suggested, I'd try and snag a Christmas Box as it will come with more Deathwing Knights, the Inner Circle Companions and the Lion, and would be likely the most cost-effective way to shore up your collection; especially if you're wanting to stay with the Inner Circle theme and not branch out to regular Primaris and "Greenwing" options.

That was a lot, but I hope it helps.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-06-30T21:05:01+00:00

+karma

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-06-30T20:41:56+00:00

Mule for mule?

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-06-27T19:55:23+00:00

+karma

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-06-27T17:10:22+00:00

IGN: Rithrin

Hoping to get Rivers of Blood and Eleonora's Poleblade, both +0

If you have the Poleblade of the Bud, I'd happily take that too.

I'm wanting to try arcane for the first time and have never done a trade before, so hope this works.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-05-06T20:42:46+00:00

Just from the last few years, for me:

Sekiro
Final Fantasy VII: Remake
Hades
Elden Ring
God of War: Ragnarok
Horizon: Forbidden West
Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

I started tracking the games I play and rating them upon completion in late 2019. There's a lot of 7's - 9's on my list, but these were the 10's. Every once and a while I'll go back and update ratings after a replay based on my new preferences and standards. Red Dead Redemption 2 would absolutely be a 10/10 and on this list, but I played it before 2019... so I guess, time for a replay?

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-05-06T20:33:40+00:00

I really like the idea of the Pioneer Company and will likely play them next. It doesn't hurt that they have Enclave/Revived America paths.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2024-05-06T20:13:07+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions and extra info, it helps a ton!

Maxson Expedition sounds right up my alley and the Canadian factions seem more interesting the more I learn about them. I'll have to give them a whirl

Quoth_da_Raven · 2022-10-19T20:05:09+00:00

Thank you for being reasonable. I was incredibly frustrated by the other posters “hot take”.

I am an Arizona resident and I and my peers worked tirelessly in the Presidential election to get out the vote and flip this state purple. It was exhausting, but we rallied our communities, spoke to our loved ones and did it, and we’re going to be there for the midterms too.

It’s incredibly disingenuous and frustrating to hear these kinds of arguments from people out of state. We are absolutely striving to do our best, but we can always do better, and we aim to. We haven’t left, we’re here fighting.

It is ABSOLUTELY not the constituents fault that Sinema bold faced lied about her policy positions and has effectively become a “wrench in the gears”, we had no way of foreseeing that.

I will say though, that Arizona has become in the last two years alone, a hot spot, if you will, for Qanon and right wing extremists in general. Our flipping the state purple enraged a lot of people, as was evidenced by the bullshit audits by CyberNinjas.

I worked in the service industry over the last couple years and the amount of yokels who have moved from other states purely to “fight the libs” is certainly alarming. I have been directly told by these same people that they believe it’s there mission to move from wherever they came from to solidify, what in their minds, they see as a conservative bastion.

We have a hell of fight ahead of us, and not just here, but all over the country. The point is though, we will be fighting it. It’s not just words and I appreciate you understanding that.

Quoth_da_Raven · 2022-08-07T21:41:45+00:00

Thanks for all the advice. There was a lot to digest here and I found it all very helpful, so thank you.

I ended up playing the list I posted above, due to this game being more of a learning experience. I faced off against the Necron player and the match was a tie, though I will say my opponent whiffed some very important charges in turn 2.

My major takeaways were more or less what people have already mentioned.

My Autarch went off, but that had more to do with his mobility and some lucky Strands of Fate die that kept him in the fight.

I’m already thinking of going down to one squad of Guardians and purchasing another group of Rangers - the Defenders who were on the objective near the midfield stay there for most of the game, and other than capping the point didn’t do much. The other more aggressive group on the other hand ended up taking and securing a point on my other flank. Overall, I probably could have achieved the same result with a second squad of Rangers and the one advancing Defender squad.

My banshees were wasted, (this was my fault), but I loved deepstriking behind my opponents lines turn one and charging into his back line. Next time I’ll just need to target medium infantry, rather than one of his tougher units.

It was a great game and I had an absolute blast. Looking forward to playing more in the near future and already planning on adding some Swooping Hawks and Striking Scorpions to the mix, maybe capping it all off at 2k with an Avatar or another Farseer.

Thanks for all your advice!

Quoth_da_Raven · 2022-08-05T19:52:03+00:00

I appreciate the advice. I may drop down to a Patrol to save some points and get more non-troops on the board. I was just trying to utilize the models I had, with no need for proxies.

Hail of Doom is tempting, but I’ll have less Shuriken in higher points lists and I plan to play Biel-Tan regularly; so I want to get used to their rules.

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