Kings of War - Initial Thoughts
So I’ve become interested in a new miniatures game, Kings of War, by Mantic. It’s a fantasy based game so elves, dwarves, goblins, etc. I have always preferred to play the path lesser taken with armies and since and I don’t want to have a gazillion armies, I’ve been studying the rule books’ army lists. Here’s what (I think) I’ve decided to put together; *only* four armies. :-)
ELVES:
My residual WFB collection is High Elves. (Over the last 25+ years, I’ve dumped my Empire, Vampire Counts, Beastmen, and Chaos Dwarves armies.) So, I pulled it out and (literally) dusted it off. Normally, I wouldn’t field this army I think. Elves seem to be common and the Internet seems to think it is a power-list (at least as far as KOW has power lists) which are both strikes to me. However, it is the army I actually *have* so it will get use, and you can build a nice balanced force with elves. Unfortunately, my predisposition towards troops creates a problem in that it seems to set me up to do a lot of shooting, and shooting plus lots of flyers is a WaAC/Twink build. You’ll see what I mean.
Here is my current stock, more or less:
I’ve decided to make it a Southern Kindred force, and that means desert elves. So I’m going to paint them in tans, browns, and bronzes – they probably look vaguely like Jedi. However, the fluff dictates that Southern Kindred like chariots so I may add a second chariot regiment and maybe a lord on a chariot. That would be all for this army; I don’t want to put money here; I want to put money in my other armies. The downside is that chariots are like weak heavy cavalry whose only benefit is that they shoot which makes my shooty army even more shooty. I’m not liking that because it seems like a trick, not a balanced, list. This is compounded because I’m sorely tempted to make the 16 spare guys Sea Guard instead of plain spearmen. Not only is that more shooting, but it also seems to me to not be very desert-like. Not sure how that debate will work out.
LEAGUE OF RHORDIA
I first noticed these guys when someone said “halfling army” and I wanted to see how they point spec’ed the halflings. But that is not what really got my attention. I got grabbed by the fluff. This is a nation that I actually like. They have free thought and independence and a desire for balance. Things and ideals worth fighting for. The halflings are kind of a bonus.
However, I don’t think I really understand how the list works. The halflings are in some ways similar to goblins – I think you’ll see a lot of large footprint hordes, but there are some key differences too. Halflings can have inspiring easily and are almost all stealthy, making them harder to shoot. They are slow as well, which means I can’t use a maneuver style of play – big learning curve for me there. And the halflings are only errrr half the army. The rest are humans – spearmen, foot knights, knights, knights on min-monsters, crossbows, and handguns. I think this force, while it can be themed, calls for a combined army – at least that is how I read the fluff. The list seems very lacking in heavy stuff though. There are a couple cannons and one halfling tank, but the heros are not as stat packed as say an elvish or ogre hero. I think this army will have to rely on its troops and the benefit they get from all the inspiring they have to avoid being routed easily. Finding the balance will be tough.
Also, unfortunately halflings seem to be shooty which means this army may play like the elven one. I’m not too fond of that – I want each army to have it’s own “flavor.”
It was also really tough to find miniatures. People seem to like to sculpt halflings to have potato noses, buck teeth, and things like turkey legs in hand, all while dressing them up as farm rubes. That is not the image I’m going for. But luckily, I found a set of miniatures for Halfling mercs. I already know I’m going to want more cavalry…. Damn it.
FORCES OF NATURE
I have to say that I really like these guys. Partly, that may be because they don’t seem to be played (at least not that I’ve seen around here – plenty of Herd, not much Nature), but partly it’s because they have druids. (Blame Allenon.) I also think that the pathfinder on all units means that they will be surprisingly maneuverable, and I know I like that in a tabletop army. I also think there is a LOT of variety in the army making list building more interesting and less repetitive. Looking at them, I see there are no war machines, so that slot in a build with Hordes will go unfilled. On the other hand, there are a LOT of monsters and most seem really good. I think picking the right monster unit(s) will be key for this army. Likewise, they have no good “chaffe” troops. The best I can find is a Pegasus. It’s 80 points and can fly. But it also a hero, not a unit, so it does not block LOS as well AND, since it does not have inspiring means you can end up in trouble for your hero count unless you opt for more regiments and fewer hordes. I foresee some tough choices in that department.
ELVES:
My residual WFB collection is High Elves. (Over the last 25+ years, I’ve dumped my Empire, Vampire Counts, Beastmen, and Chaos Dwarves armies.) So, I pulled it out and (literally) dusted it off. Normally, I wouldn’t field this army I think. Elves seem to be common and the Internet seems to think it is a power-list (at least as far as KOW has power lists) which are both strikes to me. However, it is the army I actually *have* so it will get use, and you can build a nice balanced force with elves. Unfortunately, my predisposition towards troops creates a problem in that it seems to set me up to do a lot of shooting, and shooting plus lots of flyers is a WaAC/Twink build. You’ll see what I mean.
Here is my current stock, more or less:
- 24 spearmen (potentially 2-4 troops, 2 regiments, or 1 horde)
- 40 archers (potentially 1 horde+ something; 3 regiments; lots of troops; or some combination thereof
- 22 Sea Guard
- 16 elves who could be either spearmen or Sea Guard
- 2 regiments of Palace Guards (33 models)
- 11 Gladestalkers
- 2 War Chariots
- 2 bolt throwers
- 14 heavy cavalry
- 1 mounted archer
- 1 lord on a dragon
- 2 foot mages
- 1 foot prince/king
- 1 foot standard bearer
- 1 mounted mage
- 1 mounted prince/king
I’ve decided to make it a Southern Kindred force, and that means desert elves. So I’m going to paint them in tans, browns, and bronzes – they probably look vaguely like Jedi. However, the fluff dictates that Southern Kindred like chariots so I may add a second chariot regiment and maybe a lord on a chariot. That would be all for this army; I don’t want to put money here; I want to put money in my other armies. The downside is that chariots are like weak heavy cavalry whose only benefit is that they shoot which makes my shooty army even more shooty. I’m not liking that because it seems like a trick, not a balanced, list. This is compounded because I’m sorely tempted to make the 16 spare guys Sea Guard instead of plain spearmen. Not only is that more shooting, but it also seems to me to not be very desert-like. Not sure how that debate will work out.
LEAGUE OF RHORDIA
I first noticed these guys when someone said “halfling army” and I wanted to see how they point spec’ed the halflings. But that is not what really got my attention. I got grabbed by the fluff. This is a nation that I actually like. They have free thought and independence and a desire for balance. Things and ideals worth fighting for. The halflings are kind of a bonus.
However, I don’t think I really understand how the list works. The halflings are in some ways similar to goblins – I think you’ll see a lot of large footprint hordes, but there are some key differences too. Halflings can have inspiring easily and are almost all stealthy, making them harder to shoot. They are slow as well, which means I can’t use a maneuver style of play – big learning curve for me there. And the halflings are only errrr half the army. The rest are humans – spearmen, foot knights, knights, knights on min-monsters, crossbows, and handguns. I think this force, while it can be themed, calls for a combined army – at least that is how I read the fluff. The list seems very lacking in heavy stuff though. There are a couple cannons and one halfling tank, but the heros are not as stat packed as say an elvish or ogre hero. I think this army will have to rely on its troops and the benefit they get from all the inspiring they have to avoid being routed easily. Finding the balance will be tough.
Also, unfortunately halflings seem to be shooty which means this army may play like the elven one. I’m not too fond of that – I want each army to have it’s own “flavor.”
It was also really tough to find miniatures. People seem to like to sculpt halflings to have potato noses, buck teeth, and things like turkey legs in hand, all while dressing them up as farm rubes. That is not the image I’m going for. But luckily, I found a set of miniatures for Halfling mercs. I already know I’m going to want more cavalry…. Damn it.
FORCES OF NATURE
I have to say that I really like these guys. Partly, that may be because they don’t seem to be played (at least not that I’ve seen around here – plenty of Herd, not much Nature), but partly it’s because they have druids. (Blame Allenon.) I also think that the pathfinder on all units means that they will be surprisingly maneuverable, and I know I like that in a tabletop army. I also think there is a LOT of variety in the army making list building more interesting and less repetitive. Looking at them, I see there are no war machines, so that slot in a build with Hordes will go unfilled. On the other hand, there are a LOT of monsters and most seem really good. I think picking the right monster unit(s) will be key for this army. Likewise, they have no good “chaffe” troops. The best I can find is a Pegasus. It’s 80 points and can fly. But it also a hero, not a unit, so it does not block LOS as well AND, since it does not have inspiring means you can end up in trouble for your hero count unless you opt for more regiments and fewer hordes. I foresee some tough choices in that department.
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