Noob to game, whats the most fun class/race to main?

[Dreadmor Stan (Tomatobud)]

open to discussion, willing to buy any of the dlc :)

[MarleyTown]

My favourite faction is the Rats - but they're not yet in the digital game.

Of the digital factions, my favourite is the Eyrie. I love their flexibility, strength and ability to dominate the board.

But the Riverfolk DLC is definitely worth it- the Lizards and Otters are so much fun too.

[Bad Karma]

For beginners Cats are the most straightforward, if you have played RTS games, but it's quite hard to win with them. Eyrie are probably the most powerful faction and quite easy to understand. I like the Lizards the most, but they are really not beginner-friendly option.

[Bullett00th]

I suggest you start doing challenges after the tutorial to get a better feel of the specifics of each faction, and you'll have a clearer understanding of what suits your playstyle.

Like mentioned before, cats are the most straightforward, but you may like the decree management of the birds like I do, or the individual play of a vagabond.

I have the hardest time understanding how to play the Woodland alliance but at the same time it's the easiest for me to get a win with them

[solarbear81]

Well, that kinda depends on what's fun to you, doesn't it? ;)
The beauty of Root's factions is that they are so fundamentally different that there's always gonna be one that suits your playstyle or current mood.
The tragedy of Root is that you'll have to learn and understand all of 'em to figure out which ones you like and how to win against any of them. So, like Bullett00th mentioned, play the tutorials and at least try the challenges. That'll give you a general idea of how the different factions work and what's the most fun to you.

To answer your question, though:
I love playing as the Lizard Cult, Woodland Alliance, and Vagabond (especially Vagrant and Tinker), since I love their disruptive potential and adaptability.
The Riverfolk Company and Marquise de Cat are ok(-ish) - the latter being possibly a bit boring and definitely not a great "intro-faction" (way too many details and pitfalls).
Personally, I despise playing the Eyrie, mostly because I prefer the programming mechanic (= decree) in more chaotic games like RoboRally, or Colt Express.