FORSAKEN

Rising from the ashes to become a mighty religious theocracy, the bloody Crusades of their Saints touching all corners of the globe, The Forsaken are determined to bring religion to Samaria or die trying. The Forsaken are religious fanatics, worshipping those who call themselves Saints and killing those unfortunate souls deemed unworthy of God’s grace. After purging their own society, the Forsaken soon set their sights on the rest of the inhabitants of this godless world. Now the earth itself trembles as the mighty armies of their Saints surge forth to bring bloody justice to the heathen. Unbelievers beware! You will field far less models per point than any other faction with Forsaken. The trade off is that they are perhaps some of the most survivable models with lots of healing options and very high armor to negate wounds. They are very straightforward. Thier models are specialized, as in their shooting models shoot, their healing models heal, etc. without much versatility. They have 4 factions, "the Saints," each with a few unique models with a lot of crossover. The playstyle of each is fairly similar. They have a decent amount of range for gunlines or high armor melee for marching up the field but are fairly slow with few Special Abilities meaning their playstyle is usually to slowly march up en mass or control a certain area forcing the opponent to deal with them.

Strengths: -The highest overall armor in the game. The best defensive model in the game. -More healing than most factions -Very straightforward play with the strength to dictate the field, forcing opponents to react Weaknesses: -Very high points, on average they will field less models than any other faction -Each model tends to be good at only one thing, meaning many models are required to build well (meaning they do better in higher point fights). -Not very good at reacting to other factions, forcing the opponent to react is crucial

SKARRD

Banished by their Forsaken brethren, warped body and soul by toxic mutagens, displaying terrifying psychic powers, the Skarrd hunger for human flesh. Living in tribes led by the psychogenic Fathers, The Skarrd are cannibalistic nomads lurking in the Northern Wastelands. Exposure to radiation changed them, some devolving, others mutating, yet others displaying strange psychic abilities, but all sharing the same gibbering madness. Their forces bolstered by the Heretic Saint Johann and his blasphemous Grafters, the Skarrd will never forgive nor forget their treatment at the hands of the Forsaken and yearn for the day of their bloody reunion. The day of reckoning approaches! The Skarrd make use of "forbidden" technology of grafts and mutations and mind-ability, psychogenic "spells." Each of the 3 sub factions get's it's own set of Psychogenics and each Subfactions plays very differently, each with a decent amount of unique models as well as a ton of crossover. Their psychogenics are not quite as powerful as other factions. This diverse "Generic" models means, unlike perhaps any other faction, you could build a completely effective army using just Generic models; adding on a Cult that you like later. Since the Skarrd have few ranged options, above all else they need to figure out ways to close the gap on the enemy, protect their front lines, or otherwise prioritize marching up the field. Above perhaps any other faction, the Skarrd have many models that either enhance other friendly models or diminish enemy models around them.

Strengths: -Have a number of versatile choices when building a forcelist (as well as Generic/3 Cults to choose from) -Have a good range of low point to high point models, perhaps atypically strong for their cost -One of the best at preventing Malfunctions Weaknesses -Very few ranged fighters -Each Cult has an exploitable weakness -Mostly Below-Average armor

OUTCASTS

Eking out a bare existence in the brutal Wastelands, pressed between a pair of hostile nations, the Outcast live harsh, often short lives. The Outcast lack a central leader or warlord, instead organizing themselves into gangs led by Warchiefs whose reign can easily be cut short by a bullet or the thrust of a knife. Surviving by scavenging and theft, some Outcast hire themselves out as scouts, soldiers-for-hire and bounty hunters. Others work as slave traders, parasites feeding on human misery. Living in a land that punishes and kills the weak, the Outcast must stay strong in order to simply stay alive! The Outcast is a great well-rounded faction. They are aoverall fairly cheap point-wise and, on average, will field more models than just about any faction except Dragyri. They have no Pychogenic "spells" but have a lot of range models meaning their playstyle has a lot of run-n-gun to them. This also means that close range is not ideal for many of them. Each model can have a little bit of everything and an entire list covers all the bases of anything you may want or need better than any other faction. Since you cannot take multiples of "Character" models and since they have above-average character models you will notice that, as they get higher in points, they can't simply do what other factions do in taking "more of the same" to keep themselves strong and instead must diversify; not necessarily to their advantage.

Strengths -Jack-of-all-trades models specialize in a little bit of everything, making model selection fairly easy -Very able to adapt to enemies, pick them apart, slow them down, etc. -More range options than any other faction Weaknesses -Many character 1/per models make them best in lower point fights, thin out a bit and weaker in higher point matches -Tend to die easily, especially in melee

BROOD

In the murky swamps of the south the Brood Mere has spent centuries watching the development of her children. Now they find themselves at war, drawn into a conflict she has long planned but could never prepare for: The Creator Gods have returned, and they have come to bring death to her offspring. Already the Forked-Tongue River is choked with the corpses of her children and the Creator Gods a like, and yet it there seems to be no end to the waves of invaders pouring in from the north. Ever planning, however, the Brood Mere readies her children to cross into the Greenbelt in force- to strike against the heart of the adversaries that would destroy them. They have 3 sub-factions: Guile, Eradicate, and Terrorize but are unique in that they are the only faction - to date - that can field different factions in the same army. Admittedly this is rare as it is usually far better to use a pure sub-faction to receive the benefits. The sub-factions play fairly similarly with a lot of crossover models. The Brood have Bio Gens - similar to how some units can cast "spells" - which are, overall, less powerful and versatile than Psychogenics but still very useful (and more thematic). The Brood have high life and Regen, so though they do not field a lot of models they are hard to take down Main playstyles of Brood include creating swarms of Puds for the opponent to have to deal with, dictating play and controlling the board with Bio Genic "spells," or overall closing the gap with the enemy and engaging in melee as quickly and as often as possible.

Strengths: -Every Brood has "Regeneration." That is to say, each model is capable of healing itself once each round. -"Puds." Some models come with 3 free models, easy to kill but fairly dangerous and very annoying. -One of the faster factions, able to move around the board very effectively. Weaknesses -On average, it will be fielding some of the fewest models per point. -Models are slightly easier to hit with less average armor than most. -Very few range options.

DRAGYRI

Combining vast mental disciplines with a mastery of hand-to-hand combat, harbingers of fire, ice, and air, the Dragyri are emerging from their underground caverns. The Dragyri are massive aliens whose culture is based on etiquette, personal honor and dominance through single combat. Divided into castes based on the very elements they worship, the Dragyri use their mental disciplines to harness the forces of nature, summoning forth lightning strikes, hail storms, tornadoes, and pillars of fire to annihilate their enemies. Deeming man to be “Those-Without-Honor”, the Dragyri will not rest until they purge Samaria of all those they view as unworthy. The Dragyri are the native "alien" species on the planet that are broken into Castes of very skilled "Trueborn" models that are very good at the specific skill they might have and the common "slave" that can be fielded by the dozens and flung into the fray as fodder. They can field by far the most models per point, second to none. This doesn't necessarily result in a ton of little models (in fact this is restricted a bit) but also they have quite a few good models that are cheaper point-wise than average. The trade off is that they are usually over-specialized in one area while weak in another. The Dragyri are also probably the most powerful casters. Most of their spells have devastating or game-altering effects and are unique to their element. There are 3 sub factions, Fire, Ice and Air none can be fielded with the other with very little crossover. The trade off of these spells is that the Dragyri have few-to-no options of preventing malfunctions causing their spells and attacks to hurt themselves, creating an interesting risk/reward faction.

Faction Strengths: -Cheap Slaves and lower-than-average points means this is the horde/swarm faction of Dark Age -Also the "caster" faction of Dark Age, wielding some of the most and most powerful Psychogenic "spells" -Wide range of models to choose from but each also very straightforward Faction Weaknesses -The worst faction at mitigating "Malfunctions," random critical failure rolls that hurt themselves -Each subfaction built with a specific extreme strength and weakness

KUKULKANI

Descending upon chosen planets and slaughtering the inhabitants like cattle, their Tecpatl blades slick with gore, the Kukulkani have returned to Samaria to settle an old score. The Kukulkani, far flung ancestors of the Mayans, were taken to the stars countless eons ago by their ancient alien masters. Their bodies reconfigured with technomantic surgery, chemical conditioning and DNA splicing, they are now the perfect killers. Led by their fanatical warrior priests the Kukulkani eagerly await the final battle, longing for the day when their thirsty blades drink their fill and they tear the still-beating heart from the chest of their final foe. The Kukulkani get stronger by killing off enemy models. There are two ways in which this goes down. First there are models with the Bio-Enhanced ability. This allows a model to increase its stats after killing. he other models to benefit from enemy deaths are those with the Technomancy ability. Models with the Technomancy ability can cast Kukulkani rituals. Kukulkani have a lot of Spray/Stream "template" weapons - weapons that are very powerful and capable of hitting multiple models at a time. They can mass-enhance many of their models at a time as well as gain benefits when certain models kill enemies. Theme-wise, their playstyle fits them very well. Kukulkani cannot cast Pychogenics and instead can cast 1 of each "Ritual" at the beginning of each round, but each requires paying a cost. These are very powerful and unique.

Strengths -Very powerful ritual "spells" capable of above-average effects -Many template weapons -Powerful combos and synergy between models Weaknesses -Priest "casters" are very fragile and easily killed -Model combos require some finesse playing to maximize potential

CORE

The modern CORE is a strange hybrid between the cold logic that forged it and the fiery madness that infected its code during a costly invasion into the central hive facility. With every repair or rebuild, the corruption in the processors of every robot worsens, furthering the central AI’s descent into what can only be called madness. Yet, if anything, the spread of this corruption has made the CORE more dangerous and voracious than ever before as it grows fiercer with its coded violence while losing none of its capacity for logic, split-second statistics, and mapping of tactical probabilities. Combined with the CORE’s growing desperation for more organic material to fuel itself the enemies of this horrific mechanical monster will soon learn that the nightmare has only just begun The CORE cannot cast Psychogenic "spells" like some other factions but instead get customization "upgrades." One such upgrade is Combat Drones which can bolster their numbers a bit, another is alternative weapons. While not necessary, those who enjoy "kit bashing" may like this aspect of the CORE.

Strengths: -All models are "built" very tough and resilient -Each work very well as "pieces of a machine" fulfilling a purpose, making those around it better, or have the versatility of upgrades -Many "Panic" inducing models

Playing the CORE, you will notice most models have incredible strengths matched by gaping weaknesses. However, one model's strength will often negate another model's weakness as is the most common case of models with "Alpha Programming" which cancels out "Gamma Programming." In this way, a group of CORE traveling through the battlefield together can become greater than the sum of its parts; very powerful and very effective.

Weaknesses -If not played carefully, the "machine breaks down" as loosing essential models at bad times can be devastating to strategy -Many enemy models will be immune to panic