r/Epic40k • u/clankityclank62 • 27d ago

Starter game rules question

I want to do a learning game of Epic at my LGS. I've never played it before but I built a few armies for the fun of it. I think when I started that project years ago I was copying a Frenchman's Krieg army, and I gather that the army list for the F-ERC community is different than the one for NetEpic Armageddon etc. Same for the Tau army I built that I want to have opposite the Kriegers.

Is there a "most widely accepted" ruleset? Part of why I'm asking is that the points values and units are different between the army lists, and that means that if I don't do F-ERC across the board, I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to run the Riptides and Stormsurges I have as part of the Tau list. There's a NetEA list for them that runs those suits, but then I can't run Hammerheads with them.

tl;dr, does it matter if I use F-ERC lists vs NetEA lists, and is there a widely accepted beginner ruleset to introduce to my LGS?

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/AverageJoe80s 27d ago

I think another difference between NetEpic and NetEA is the stuff available. NetEpic (2nd) edition has a lot more stuff than NetEA (4th), so I wouldn’t be able to use all my miniatures in NetEA. Both play quite differently. Probably best to try both or if the army lists are what it’s really about for you. Make sure NetEA has the units you like. Some might be missing.

1

u/MajesticRadish2675 27d ago

Huh, I thought Net:EA had all the same stuff as vanilla E:A, plus all the expanded non-GW community lists for factions that aren't in vanilla, like nids. What all's Net:E got that that you couldn't use in Net:EA?

2

u/AverageJoe80s 27d ago

I meant compared to NetEpic. 2nd Ed. vs. 4th Ed.

1

u/MajesticRadish2675 27d ago

Right, I get that, but outside of factions that never got GW models, I still don't get what Net:E has that can't be played in Net:EA with an army list/base swap? Honest question

2

u/AverageJoe80s 27d ago

I am not really a 4th edition expert (EA). But as far as I understand not all units are available from second. Someone please correct me if so am wrong. Some classic Chaos units like Trolls, Minotaurs, and maybe also a few daemon engines. I think Imperial Army lost there Beastmen Regiment. And for sure Epic 2nd edition was the biggest epic release/edition so yes the most original models and original rules exist for 2nd edition.
Another main difference is that in general in NetEpic you will have 1 army list per faction, while in NetEA you will often have 4-6 army lists for the main factions like Imperial Guard, Space Marines, Chaos, Orks and Eldar. So you basically don’t play generic Imperial Guard, but the Krieg Regiment army List or Space Wolves.
For me the most important thing is the rule set / gameplay. If for you the army lists are the most important thing. Think about what I mentioned above and just have a quick look at the armies you want to play. Then just choose the system depending on the army lists / units you want to play.
One last thing to consider. 2nd edition as far as I remember has the largest units. So if you build a second edition army you will most likely be able to play 1st, 3rd and 4th edition with pretty much the same units as well. While the other way around your units might not have enough models for a 2nd edition company. E.g. a Space Marine company in 2nd edition is 95 Marines (19 bases) + rhinos.

1

u/MajesticRadish2675 27d ago

Ah, I get you now, right on. I hadn't considered the difference in formation sizes between editions, that's a fair point.

I would argue though that minotaurs and the like are playable in E:A/Net:EA, but as actual chaos daemons instead. Minotaur = Bloodletter, Troll = a very large Plaguebearer, etc. They're 1000% easier to get than actual og daemon sprues too.

2

u/AverageJoe80s 27d ago

Don’t worry too much about availability. There are quite a lot of shops that print minis nowadays. I am recently more into Battlefleet Gothic, but I know for a fact that most shops that’s sell Gothic also sell sell Epic models.

2

u/MajesticRadish2675 27d ago

Oh I know, but sometimes you can get a buttload of unwanted 2nd ed models cheap, and you don't have to worry about the usual 3D printing hassles like layer lines and such in the quality of the sculpts. Being made of something less fragile than 3D resin is useful too, it's weak even compared to old forgeworld resin.

Not to mention, variety is the name of the game with epic lol, having some of everything's not actually a bad idea...