Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hello all, I'm interested in looking into KOW for a change of pace. The 2 player starter has some interesting models in it, but I'm wondering if I should hold off till the new edition.

Jump in. The core game's unlikely to change much, and you don't need to use Mantic's own models if you prefer others.

Also it won't cost much to start, it's not as if the core rulebook was really expensive compared to a certain similar game, and just buyin uncharted empires and maybe the current Clash of Kings will give you all additionnal army lists.

And even then, you might simply start with the core rules and use http://kow2.easyarmy.com/ for the rest (this army editor include the full army list of all factions, including those form Uncharted empires, and there are also link to alternative versions with the changes from the various Clash of Kings of you wish to use them too)

Avragecommisar wrote:
Hello all, I'm interested in looking into KOW for a change of pace. The 2 player starter has some interesting models in it, but I'm wondering if I should hold off till the new edition.

Kings of War is Fine, it will probably be getting even better.

That said, I'd not invest in the rules or Uncharted Empires during the upcoming 2 months as all rulebooks will (almost certainly) be invalidated at the start of 3rd edition. For that period of time, the free rules (http://www.manticgames.com/free-rules.html) and easyarmy can fill out these holes perfectly.

If you want the buy the starter set (http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/getting-started/product/the-battle-of-the-glades-two-player-battle-set.html) You'd do it for the models. (still a fairly good deal). That said, probably a new starter set will be released at the launch of 3rd edition which may or may not include these same armies. Will you be building two armies (To play with someone else) or one army exclusively? In the latter case, I'd suggest the € 80 army deals instead of the starter set. The starter set is probably 500 points on a side while the army deals are close to a thousand for just one army.

As the starter set offers two regiments and a character for each of two armies, they will still make a nice starter if you want to build abyssals and forces of nature. Also, keep in mind that the forces of nature regiments also appear in two other armies (Salamanders and Trident Realms, respectively), so there's some synergy there. The models will almost certainly be useful in KoW3, as these are mainstay units for either army.

On a completely different thought: You might want to try contacting the Mantic customer support to see if they offer a discount on this starter set, since the rulebooks will be invalidated in 2 months time. I don't know if Mantic does things like that, but the entrepreneur in me would like to try, especially if it's only the models you want.

Finally: might you be going to build an abyssal army: I wrote a "building on a budget: abyssals" a few months ago. (http://kingsofwarvince.business.blog/2019/04/18/building-on-a-budget-abyssals/). Of course, the listbuilding stuff will be invalidated soon too, but the 1,200 points army I built from the starter set will most likely be a fairly significant chunk of an army in KoW3 as it lands. It might need a few tweaks, but you're in a good place to start.

Just use the free rules for now. Vince1248 has some good advice in his post: if you want to buy a starter army, that should not change significantly.

Avragecommisar wrote:
Hello all, I'm interested in looking into KOW for a change of pace. The 2 player starter has some interesting models in it, but I'm wondering if I should hold off till the new edition.

Yeah, the starter set has some nice models (and the naiads come with otters!) and it's not a bad deal, but i imagine there's going to be a new starter soon

. One thing to note from the nature side is that some of them can be used for a trident realms army as well.

You'll not go far wrong with using the free rules, online army builders and hopefully having some local players happy to show you how to play. As others have said, the rules won't change too much, neither will the armies, it'll hopefully be more of a tidy up.

It's a great game system to be into

and if you are not convinced by the forum replies, here is a guy with much insight info:

https://youtu.be/jTyUc9g6KCc?t=3748

+1 to the advice from all supporting the KOW ruleset - it is a very welcome change of pace from the bloated mess the GDub game has become.

And, Mantic makes great efforts to keep the armies well-balanced. That is not to say every army build is equal, but not everyone is forced to run out and buy the latest army because they are the most powerful.

And, I agree the core rule set will not change dramatically, but maybe with the new army lists, magic items, etc. Mantic is pretty good to make the core rule set available for free, so when it is updated you should be able to get your hands on it.

It's a bit of thread-o-mancy, but still:

Mantic has recently previewed their new starter set which will be released in less than 3 weeks:

https://www.manticgames.com/news/kings-of-war-third-edition-shadows-in-the-north/

It contains a small starter for 2 armies (nightstalkers, Northern alliance) with sets of beautiful new Mantic miniatures.
As these 2 are Mantica-exclusive armies, they will not match with anything Gee-dub has released, so if you sit on Warhammer armies which you want to expand, you might want to focus on the rulebook plus a few minis to expand the army.
https://www.manticgames.com/games/kings-of-war/kings-of-war-3rd-edition-rulebook/

Older Mantic minis are of varying quality, but the newer are really nice. (looking at you, Wights and ogre palace guard)

About the models in the new starter set, let's note that the Northen Alliance warriors will also make very nice Varangurs, I expect to see the kit used for both, so somebody with an existing Chaos Warriors army might have some use of them.

Also some nightstalkers models can complement a Warhammer Daemons army nicely.