Which warband to take first?

I would like to know which starting warband will you pick once the open beta kicks in (assuming they won't change ).

I was thinking that the first requirement to start from the scratch is to take something that "counters" the majority of other bands as in the 200 AP bracket you will probably meet them a lot.

So far, testing the different starting compositions i can say that those i found the most solid are:

Ram

Crane + archer + necro + skeleton warrior (bought in the store) = 200 AP

In my opinion very nice as it allows immediate access to the crane for quests and is an overall balanced build.

Wolf:

i just tested the 4xfang warrior build (200 AP in total - 2 bought in store) and is very effective vs most comps minus the lion one with the knight as you need all your 4 guys on top of him and play with the stances. Probably 3xFang 1xCrossbowmen (contact shot or instinctive fire) could perform better. In case of pre-made wolven comps there aren't very good choice available from the start: Pob and wolven hunter is quite boring to play (2 units only ) and sometimes require some luck to perform. Probably grave guardian + 2x crossbowmen would be my choice but i would replace 1 crossbowman with a fang (as they really shine in low AP brackets) asap.

Lion:

i did not play a lot of them but i would go for the build with the knight just because the unit might be "too much" to handle for certain comps at 200 AP. I had mixed results with the one with the mage and the sparkling as it gets raped by full melee wolven.

All in all i think Ram gives me the best overall starting band. I would put at the second place lion and lastly wolven that need some "adjustment" in my opinion as no starting band is that good at level 1.

1 - I don,t remember starting warbands and can't check them having all 3 used
2 - they can change starting warbands once again

1 - I don,t remember starting warbands and can't check them having all 3 used
2 - they can change starting warbands once again

I've a good memory so they are more or less like this:

Ram:

crane, archer, necro
Priest, paladin, archer, warrior
Warrior x 2 , archer, gargoyle

Wolf:

Lonewolf, fang, crossbowmen
Predator of blood, wolven hunter
Grave guardian , 2xcrossbowmen

Lion:

3x warrior, lion
2x sparkling, mage, archer
sparkling, knight, archer

I doubt they will change them in the short period

I know I'll be going with the pob&hunter. Only 2 at the start, but they do own.

2x sparkling, mage, archer

exping a mage from lev 1 with this - would be hell

warbands that looks promising to me:

crane, archer, necro
Priest, paladin, archer, warrior
Grave guardian , 2xcrossbowmen
sparkling, knight, archer

RAM
crane,necro,archer->gargoyle
3 hero =199AP

1 op melee for front line
1 fast melee for clening enemy supp
2 weak puppets for positioning enemy

its rly nice cause if y dont win y can easly run using gargoyle or necro who using puppets to slow enemy and y have draw

for lions this starting 3xsparling,1xmage,1xvalkiria was realy nice if y change mage for 2 archers. long range dmg, 3 weak stopers and valkiria as melee warior with healing but its for def play cause u poke enemy with range atack and stop them with sparklings and when they have 30-40% of live u atak them using valkiria

I tried three different starting warband:

Wolf:
Graveyard, 2 crossbows
Undead:
Crane, Archer, Necro
Lion:
The one with three warriors

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For the wolf I had many successes at first, then switched a (leveled up) Crossbow for a warrior(?). It proved excellent too. This makes a balanced load which has the initiative over its opponents.

The crossbow forces the enemy to come and get you, allows you to take potshots at enemy wizards/necromancers, and moves fast enough to reposition on engaged enemies to minimise your chances of hitting friendlies.
The warrior is a great mobile bait that can charge at great distances, and disengages quite well. Doesn't hurt much and receives punishment quite severely, but the charge can allow you to tip the odds in your favour
The Grave is the counter-attack thing, monstrous when you master charges on weak enemies to wipe as many weakened enemies as possible.

I found that there were two main ways of working with that warband: Either you weaken a lot of enemies with the Crossbow, damage some more with the warrior, then make a chain of kills with the Grave (works if the enemy stays grouped) or you can charge with both wolves at the same target then re-engage an other one, taking the enemies one-by one.
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For the Lion, I really sucked at it, mainly because I didn't know how to use the skills on top of the screen, and these guys are really dependant on them. WIll try again, but I feel the Warriors were both weak and fragile, the lion gave mobility that is quite lacking but was mostly a finisher/wizard hunter, and the archer had nice range which could annoy quite some people. YOu actually use the spell that gives you +1 attack on her to snipe high value targets.
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For the undead, I immediately bought a warrior since there was room.It is a great warband that can be used many ways. One of my favourite against the Lion is to bait with spawns then counter-charge with the Crane, and against wolves I loved to engage with my warrior, then spawn 2 skeletons to give adjacency bonuses. Proves very efficient. Only problem is the lack of mobility (all pretty slow for my tastes) and the difficulty to time the mana consumption of the Necro.