Like a lot of people, I started with the starter set when the game first launched. I was really excited to look into the side of Chaos that Games Workshop had forgotten about a bit and the stuff that wasn't necessarily aligned to any specific god, and Warcry was all about that. I'm also a really big fan of tribal/caveman aesthetics, so seeing the Untamed Beasts get announced meant I was already going to be interested in the game. Once the starter came around I sold off the Iron Golems but kept the rest, built it all day 1 and then sat on it for a while, doing the same with Monsters and Mercenaries and the Chimera. Lately though I've been more keen on getting into the game and actually playing cause I have everything I need for it, so I started by painting up the Chimera purely on a whim (I wanted to paint a monster, so I did) and then this week the Untamed Beasts themselves. I can't really get a game in given the circumstances, but I'm working on setting up my terrain so I can play a few quick games of Beasts vs Chimera to get the hang of how the game works before I can put it into practice (because I am likely the one who will be teaching my group how to play, so I want to make sure I'm not doing it wrong).
The game itself is really quick and pretty intuitive IMO, with a simplified combat system (not dissimilar to Batman 3rd edition but even simpler) but not so basic as "hit stat and wound stat" like the mainline GW games (I personally prefer a bit of variance based on the opposing models' skills). The scenario generation reminds me a lot of Malifaux or Batman in that it is randomly determined based off of flipping different decks, and although some of the win conditions are really unbalanced playing with the Matched Play cards only makes for a deep experience that most players can adapt to in order to get success. I've found that the cards are of varying usefulness though as I don't use terrain cards at all (instead just agreeing on a layout with my opponent) while the victory and deployment cards are vital to the game and I love the silly variables the twist deck throws into the game and the narrative feel they add (plus they give an extra angle to play towards which rewards a cunning player).
The later release waves brought more warbands for the AoS armies (and with them some new boogeymen- looking at you Skaven) but also far more interesting is the monsters and allies that got added. I have my Chimera as a monster option to add flavour to pickup scenarios and give some variety, but I'm also seriously considering the newer kits for the ally creatures as they are beautiful sculpts. To me the worldbuilding that comes off of adding brand new warbands (like the newer Scions of the Flame, they're amazing looking) and new creature options is far better than adding in options that already exist from AoS, because it has more meaning for the setting and adds to the lower levels of the world instead of being the same big armies appearing all the time. I'm primarily a Matched Play person because I really dislike one sided games on principle, but the narrative aspect of Warcry is still the main draw to me because it really is interesting.
In general Warcry is another game I've added to my stable of quick and just all around fun games which are qualities that I find myself gravitating towards more and more (Batman and Arena Rex are the same kind of thing in that they're done in less than an hour). I love skirmish level games because it's low model count and a new purchase can be an entire faction instead of a small part of a full army, and that I can paint an entire warband or crew in a relatively short amount of time and get them done. I'm planning some more in-depth looks at Warcry warbands in the near future as well as a solo battle report or 2 (making the most of monsters for solo games!) once I get my terrain painted up.
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