Continuing from yesterday, I am going to look at the remaining Prime-legal legacy armies, and try to figure out where I stand with each of them. This will help guide my purchases before the rules come out, and give me some idea of what to expect.
One thing to note is that when I count units, I'm really counting MK3 units- sometimes this will actually translate to more MKIV units than I have listed, but I can't know that for sure until the rules come out.
Mercenary (Blindwater, Cephalyx, Farrow, Privateer, Rhulic, and Steelhead):
Quite a lot of armies here! Blindwater I am well set on- I own plenty of beasts, units, warlocks, and solos. I expect I will be able to be able to put this army on the table from day one.
For Cephalyx, I have one warcaster (Exulon Thexus), a unit of Mind Benders, a unit of Overlords, an Agitator solo, and a Dominator UA. Depending on how the Dominator ends up, maybe that will become another unit. Clearly, I need some Monstrosities. Even with them, it would be a stretch to play this army for a bit.
I had been slowly getting into Farrow, but my collection is pretty sparse. I should have most of the warlocks, at least, as well as five beasts (although two are Razor Boars), a unit of Brigands, a unit of Valkyries, and a good number of solos. Honestly, I might just be a few units away from this being playable.
I own almost nothing for Privateers. I would have to buy this army from scratch.
I think I should be well set up for Rhulic at least. Two warcasters, ten warjacks, five units, and almost all of the relevant solos. I might actually be close to full Field Allowance for Rhul, honestly.
Finally, Steelheads are not in a great place. I assume Damiano will be one of the casters, and I own him. I can only guess on the warjacks. I own a unit of Heavy Cavalry and a Mortar, and I'd have to guess on the solos (I own no solos with 'Steelhead' in the name though). Not quite starting from nothing, but I'm not very far along, either.
Protectorate of Menoth (Exemplar and Flameguard):
Based on the current beta rules for the Exemplar army, I can field 75 points. If that ends up being the standard point level, great! If the standard is 100... well, I'll have some buying to do (although Mercenaries and Cadres may help me out here).
For Flameguard, I do not own a relevant unit or solo. Yet another army I would have to build from scratch if I wanted to play it :(.
Retribution (Dawnguard and Mage Hunter):
I do own two units of Dawnguard Invictors (which will become 3-4 units in MKIV). Hard to say which jacks will make the jump, although I expect Imperatus will, and I do own him. Therefore, at a minimum, I expect I will be able to field a small, very specific, army for Dawnguard.
The story for Mage Hunters is much worse. I own a couple of relevant solos, but I don't own any of the units. Yet ANOTHER army I would have to build from scratch, sadly.
Skorne (Immortals and Praetorians):
I own a minimum unit of Immortals, most of the Immortal related solos, and likely, whatever beasts and warlocks they decide to include. So this would involve just a few unit purchases.
The news for Praetorians is better- I own a unit of Swordsmen, a unit of Keltarii, a minimum unit of Ferox (which will likely just be a unit in MKIV). Solos would be a guess, along with beasts, but I strongly suspect I can play the Praetorian army the day they release rules for them.
Trollbloods (Northkin and United Kriel):
I own almost nothing for Trollbloods, so unfortunately, both of these armies would involve significant purchasing to become playable.
There is a chance I will see at least some of my collection become cadres that some of these armies can take, so there is hope that I'll have a bit more flexibility than I've listed.
In summary, the news is not as good as I would like (the result of spreading out how I purchased things over the last couple of years instead of focusing), but I will have plenty of choices going into MKIV, at least. In addition, since I will buy into a few of the new armies, I won't have to worry about when things rotate into Unlimited.