From LOS Warmachine University

Welcome to Warmachine University



Warmachine University Mission Statement



What's on this website

Model Entries

Warmachine University is perhaps best known for having an article for every model in the game. Each article has 3 distinct sections:

A copy of the model rules, as word-for-word as we can possibly make it. Tactical advice on how these rules translate into what the model really does in a game, its combos with other models, and so on. Trivia, Rules Clarifications, and other Miscelleanous info

The tactical advice is of course user-edited, and may not be up-to-date with the latest erratas and/or model releases. The advice especially does not hold up well for the higher levels of competitive play, mainly because that style of play evolves quickly as new models are released and strategies are developed. The tactical advice is great for beginners and more casual players.

To get to these model entries, click on the relevant Faction in the left-hand sidebar or click here.

Newbie Guides

We have dozens of newbie-friendly guides on everything from what Warmachine is to Cygnar for beginners to How does Cavalry work? to ...

And more

Poke around in The Vaults and you'll find lots of information that doesn't easily fit anywhere else.

New (or returning) Players - Start Here!

We've got articles to help you whatever stage you're at:

Training Articles



Glossary

Basic Training for brand new players. It goes over the key parts of the core rules.

Intermediate Training for new-ish players. It goes over complex bits of the core rules.

Advanced Training goes over nebulous stuff like list design and outmaneuvering your opponent.

As of 2020.08 the Intermediate and Advanced series are still a WIP.

Creating/Editing Content

Who writes Warmachine University?

Warmachine University is a public wiki, which means anyone can edit it.

Historically this meant everything was written by volunteers of varying skill levels, experience, and writing ability - but as of May 2018 the reins were taken over by the Line of Sight team who are putting together a team of writers to do the lion's share of writing. But still, if you have something to add, feel free to add it!

Check out the guides in the Contribute section before diving in to editing willy-nilly.

Talk to other Warmachine University editors on the Facebook group page





Warmachine University is not a source of Official Rules

Warmachine University (WU) is not officially endorsed by Privateer Press (PP).

Historically this meant we could not give readers exact stats/rules (because of Copyright and Intellectual Property issues) and had to give more vague 'pseudo-rules' instead. However, this all changed in 2016 when PP announced that they were going to go fully digital with their rules and provide all their rules for free and allow third-party websites (like WU) free reign to share exact copies of the rules.

Since that announcement we have edited nearly all our pages from 'pseudo-rules' to exact copies, but we don't always get it right (for various reasons).

What this all adds up to is simple: We try our best, but there are mistakes on this website. Don't trust everything you read on the internet, and always play the game based on the official rules. Meanwhile, if you see a mistake, go ahead and fix it!

If you need to contact an admin, refer to the Talk:Main Page#Contact Us.

If you want to talk to other Warmachine University editors, use the Facebook group page.

Rules and Rules Clarifications

At the top of every model page you will find a Rules summary. These rules used to be "pseudo rules" to avoid copyright, but are currently being changed over to exact copies (as mentioned above).

At the bottom of most model pages you'll find a list of Rules Clarifications. These clarifications are typically unofficial, except those with an Infernal Ruling. However each and every clarification attempts to "use the rules to explain how this works" rather than just "it works this way because I say so."

The clarifications are from discussions on the official Rules Questions forum, and can be considered the "communally accepted proper way to play the rule."

Warmachine University - A brief history

The beginning

Warmachine University started life as Battlecollege.com way back in Mk I. It was a non-wiki wesbite run by a single person, Ringsnake. Unfortunately, when Mk II happened (2010) Ringsnake did not feel he could maintain or update the site.

The wikispaces era

The site would have died then, but for the efforts of StJason who archived and transported the content to the "wikispaces" website (wikispaces.com/battlecollege) which, at the time, was a free service sort of like 'wikipedia lite'.

As a wiki it lets everyone have a say, rather than just showcasing the opinions of one individual. As the games grow and evolve, so does the wiki. By letting a more general consensus appear, not to mention the voices of dozens of you mad tactical geniuses, we can get a more accurate, more inventive, and more dastardly tactica set up for the beginner. Who will turn around and invent something even more nasty?... Sharing is caring!

In 2014 juckto came into the picture and basically said "Battle College has gotten a bad reputation for giving bad advice more often than it gives good advice, so let's restructure how we're giving players info." He drew a line in the sand between the fact-based 'Basic Info' section vs the opinion-based 'Thoughts On' section; introduced standardised templates for abilities; and expanded the 'Thoughts On' section with sub-headings such as 'Combos & Synergies' and 'Drawbacks & Downsides' so that each model got a more holistic review.

The dot org era

Near the end of 2015 the Monocle Society company generously offered to take over the running costs of the wikispaces host software (which by then had not been free for several years) and also purchased the battlecollege.org domain name, and their offer was happily accepted. Also around this time the website had grown to the size and complexity that it the underlying wikispaces code was struggling and glitching quite often. So when Mk3 was announced (mid-2016), the decision was made to leave the old wikispaces site behind completely and instead run modern wikipedia software engine on a new server (battlecollege.org).

The LOS era

In early-2018, after the site went offline a couple of times, the CEO of Monocle Society announced that he needed to pass the torch of hosting over to someone else. He didn't have the time to manage it anymore and, asides from the cost, it really does need better love and attention. The CEO gave the other admins the password for the server account and then went almost completely incommunicado. Unfortunately an extra layer of security implemented by the server host service meant the other admins were unable to gain access even with the password.

After a month or two of trying to contact the server host and/or the CEO and getting nowhere, juckto decided the best way forward would be to create a brand new account with another server host and manually copy the site content to a that different server host. juckto didn't have the technical expertise to do any of that himself, so he made a public plea for help. This was answered by many players, but the most organised bunch were the Line of Sight team who did a fantastic job of setting up the server you are currently reading and copying everything across.