well all you vets? which is it and why?

:)

i hope to get a decent debate out of this.

That varies on which faction you want to use. So which faction would you prefer? Or are you planning to play the cheesy "rainbow coalition"?

Since you're a new player, you are looking at about two months with the sets "as is" followed by 4-6 months with Falcon's Prey as the latest set, followed by (most likely) a new base set, when we'll probably see the retirement of Dark Age, Fire for Effect, and Death From Above. So you wouln't want to start collecting a faction that stands to lose the use of many of its best units.

Personally, I have chosen to make the Stormhammers my primary faction:
* they have no units in DA and FFE, so they will be minimally effected by set retirement.
* they were not introduced with a huge fanfare like Liao and Jade Falcon, so they still have a small number of units. It won't be hard for you to collect the pieces you need from the older sets (DFA, LI, CA).
* they are likely to get a greater proportion of upcoming sets - they get the most units of any faction from Falcon's Prey, aside from JF of course.
* like many collectible games, MW is experiencing "power creep" where the newer pieces are on average more powerful than the older pieces. Whether we like it or not, WK is doing this to provide veteran players an incentive to keep buying the latest expansions. So a faction that is underrepresented in the older (weaker) expansions is more likely to get more powerful units as its forces are rounded out by newer sets.
* their popularity seems to be growing, not shrinking. (Personally I am sick of Liao, and I think a lot of other players are too.)

You could make just about all these arguments about the Republic of the Sphere faction too, though they have several ultra-rare and powerful LE's in the first few sets, making them more expensive to collect and more affected by set retirement.

Well, I've pleaded my case for the Hammers. Hope you'll let us know what you choose by choosing an avatar!

wolves d best....BLACK BEAR go...!!!!

Here's a shorty of mine...

Spirit Cats - sturdy units, energy based, decent dials.
Dragon's Fury - fairly short dials, fast, high attack
And a couple of Merc units to sprinkle with.

you could find more info at the battle plans forum in their respective 'strategy threads'

Not mine. SS remains an also ran with some nice units, but never a dominating force. The only time we were ever on top was before the our A4 got nerfed (which was actually a good idea).

in my opinion Steel Wolves is the best because well i have been playing since MW:DA came out and have learned to use them but for beginners i would say either SS or SC SS because alot of "cheese" units and SC because ecpecialy now with the 16" range

From a "What cheese can they play" Factor, here's how it goes:

BR:
-Tankdrop: No/yes, nothing Breaking, but they have the capacity
-VTOL Warrior: No
-Warpog (Which is Lame now): No
_Uber Infiltrate: Yes (in spades)
-Cruise-Missle Mechs: Yes

DF:
-Tankdrop: Yes, Heck, They started it...
-VTOL warrior: Yes
-Warpog: No, a resounding NO
-Uber Infiltrate: Yes, and quite effectively
-Curuise Missle Mechs: Yes

HL:
-Tankdrop: No ::Laughs:: ^_^
-Vtol Warrior: Yes, albeit wattered-down
-Warpos: NO, and No
-Uber infiltrate: No (PEASNANTS!!!) LOL! So little Infiltrate!!!
-Cruise Missle Mech: No, wait...wait, oh, thats right, No...

LI:
-Tankdrop: No, not really
-Vtol Warrior: No Not even close
-Warpog: Yes, to a limited Capacity
-Uber Infiltrate: Yes, 3rd only to BR and DF
-Cruise Missle Mech: Yes/No (YuHuangs, Raider MK II)

Merc:
-Tankdrop: Yes/No, Kinda, but only with a few units
-Vtol Warrior: No, not at all
-Warpog: No, allthough the 1 arty unit they do have is ballanced!
-Uber Infiltrate: No
-Cruise Missle Mech: No, (allthough: SheildTurion and Forestry B's)

ROTS:
-Tankdrop: Yes, but only to a limited degree
-Vtol Warrior: Yes/No, as a wattered down HL version, Yes.
-Warpog: No
-Uber infiltrate: No
-Cruise Missle Mech: No

SC:
-Tankdrop: No!!! LOL!
-Vtol Warrior: Yes, to a limited capacity
-Warpog: No ::Laughs again!!!::
-Uber infiltrate: No
-Cruise Missle Mech: Yes (mostly Arnis)

SH:
-Tankdrop: YES! (don't see the Behemoth and Ashirur comming)
-Vtol Warrior: No, but they play Anti-Vtols!
-Warpog: Yes, to a limited Capacity
-Uber Infiltrate: No, Not really
-Cruise Missle Mech: No, Only Watter-to-Watter, no pushing...

SS:
-Tankdrop: Yes/No, a limited form, but not much...
-Vtol Warrior: No, They started it, but can't finish it
-Warpog: Yes ::Duh::
-Uber Infiltrate: No
-Cruise Missle Mech: No, See comment on SH

SW:
-Tankdrop: No
-Vtol Warrior: No
-Warpog: Yes, In their own queer little way
-Uber infiltrate: No, I prefer to call it "Casual Infiltrate"
-Cruise Missle Mech: No, not at all...

CJF/SF: Sence we no nothing about them, I'll say "No" to all of the above...

Well, that's my final word!

MId :)

Venator, dont worry about it too much right now. just start getting together what you have now and play so that you get use to all the rules and how the game plays and just save your money, save every penny that you can my friend.

But, when Falcons Prey hits stores be ready to spend like mad!!! Clan Jade Falcon is the only CLAN (not faction) that you need to get to destroy all those that think that they can hang with the first true clan that is introduced to the MW universe. Cant you tell by the CLAN abilities that we are about nothing else but a complete, absolute, major, throwdown. Man, we mean a complete and total destruction of the enemy every time they think they can mount some dinky force and they try to bring it.

Clan Jade Falcon is not just the right choice, its the only choice.

;)

Highlanders, because we're the good guys. Period.

If the UK Nationals are a good indicator, the factions are fairly well balanced in a faction-pure setting.

Though I personally like the appeal of playing the "good" side, the Highlanders don't have the mechs to compete in standard 450pt games.

Personally, I split time between the Spirit Cats (solid all around, poor transport capacity, garbage artillery, excellent VTOLs), Republic (very solid, rare and hard to collect, expensive) and Swordsworn (best vehicles, above average infantry, meltdown mechs). I play a little Highlanders on the side, 'cause...well...I'm Scottish.

Stormhammers are all about firepower. If you want all out damage capability, and a good chance to deal that damage, you'll want to play as the Stormhammers. We have lots of Armor Piercing, lots of Pulse, and a good deal of Improved Targeting. We have the best tank in the game (Carmen Hern), several of the great tanks in the game (Behemoth, JESII, Galleon), and one of the good artillery in the game (DI Towed Field). Our VTOLs aren't particularly good, mostly due to being slower than others (and thus lacking in Move/Shoot range), but they are among the most accurate (only rivalled by DF, who outrange us in Move/Shoot). However, we have the best VTOL counter in the Aesir.

Expect us to be brought to the forefront of the game in Falcon's Prey, with some really good vehicles, infantry, and 'Mechs. 2004 is the Year of the Steiners.

cats cats cats cats cats!

i love the spirit cats- ive always had a preference for energy weapons...

they have the greatest standing longevity of and faction (i'd even say slightly better than the highlanders), AWESOME heat dials (push push push), the abesolute best quality units per type-infantry(Clan Battle Armour, Salamander Battle Armour, Shock Troopers, Kage Battle Armour), light tanks(Tamerlane Strike Sled), medium tanks(Etan/Mikel Nova Cat), heavy tanks suck, VTOLs(Donar, Crane), and mechs(Janis Nova Cat, Arnis Drummond, Koshi, etc, etc, etc.)

the cats are a good jack of all trades faction. they do not have any major weaknesses (unless you call lack of ballistic weapons a weakness... it isnt really... we have enough ballistic support units to deal with infantry), but some very useful strenghts (longevity, fair repairability, EXCELLENT heat dials).

Like I said, Clan Jade Falcon is not only the right choice, but we are the only choice. You will see when Falcons Prey hits, oh yes you shall all see!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!