WIP
Table of Contents
Opening Notes
Greetings! It appears that you are interested in Kings of War, a fantasy game system created by Mantic Games
. Kings of War is a very easy to understand game system, complete with rules and army lists as free downloadable .pdf files on their website and a wide range of good quality miniatures for a very good price. If you are a fan of WHFB, or even have a WHFB army, then you're in luck, since the models are quite easily interchangeable (subject to your LGS's rules for proxying, of course), and you can use an existing WHFB army to quickly represent a Kings of War army.
Kings of War is focussed around fantasy battles; there are Elves, Dwarves, Abyssal Dwarves, Orcs and Undead currently being produced, with others in the works to add to this rapidly expanding system that only came to be during 2009! Despite some rules eing in beta testing, they are crisp and clean cut, with very little capable of producing the farcical arguments that other systems can cause, which means you spend more time playing and less time squabbling over which of your models does what.
In keeping with other game systems, there is a brilliant value starter set available that can easily get you playing quick games and providing a solid base to build an army upon. The current set is Dwarves versus Undead, and unlike other starter sets for other games, what you get is large enough for a good game, but small enough and cheap enough to purely be there for learning alone, allowing you to go and create a completely new army using your newfound knowledge.
If you're still reading, then I can assume that you're keen to learn, and I can trust you to take a look through the rulebook and the army lists available for free download directly from the mantic games website here.
Once you've done that and got a feel for how the game works and how armies are compiled, we can move on to picking your army and building it up.
Choosing Your Army
With 5 varied armies available to choose from at the moment, I can appreciate that you may be spoiled for choice, perhaps even wondering if one army is more over/underpowered than the rest; but fear not, the rules boffins at Mantic Games have created armies and a ruleset that sees a much tighter balance than other systems. In all honesty, there is no inherently overpowered or underpowered army; you can choose to pit your Undead legions against the savage Orcs or the stoic Dwarves and not suffer from any noticeable difficulty against one moreso than the other. Of course, some builds may be more or less effective against some armies, but it is all about experimentation to find the right balance; after all, an army is only as good as their general!
Safe in the knowledge that you can choose armies for their looks and still be able to field an effective force, it should be easier to choose an army; once you've done this, we can see how to build it up.
Armies
Elves
One of the staple races for many fantasy games, Elves are a present in Kings of War as a playable army. They are noticeably more fragile than other armies, however they are far more adept at the art of ranged warfare and also average in close combat. Elves also sport an army-wide Elite rule and speed of 6 or greater, making them the fastest army (not including cavalry) in the game.
Heroes/Monsters
Their Heroes are more combat oriented apart from the Mage-Queen, who is the only spellcaster but is capable of healing up to 3 points of damage or dealing the enemy up to 5! Combined with the standard bearer, a mage-queen or two can support a steady Elven battle line with a balance of healing and damage, but they are fragile; sporting only a defense value of 4+ and a single attack, combat is not a place for them, and they should be kept out of ranged fire whenever possible.
The only Monster the elves posses is the battle-dragon upon which their lord sits, however it is a devastating beast, sporting a deadly breath attack and solid combat statistics. Coupled with cavalry, he can lead a thunderous charge into enemy forces foolish enough to let him get close.
Spearmen
The core melee unit of the elves, spearmen sport an average statline, but have the Phalanx rule as standard, meaning that they get more attacks in melee, making up for their fragility.
Best used in lower point games as your main combat regiments or supporting troops, in higher points as flanking troops, supporting regiments and solid hordes, or as guard units for your ranged units, an Elven army should never leave home without them!
Bowmen
The core ranged elven unit, bowmen are the marksmen of KoW. Sporting a regular bow (so they can move and shoot, albeit incurring a hit penalty) and also a very reasonable ranged statistic of 4+, they are able to rain death upon enemy units from afar.
Also sporting reasonable combat stats, they can be used as flanking units or to support spearmen, but lacking the Phalanx rule of their stabbier brethren, their main focus should always be shooting.
Sea Guard
A hybrid bowmen/spearmen unit, they have the ranged prowess of Bowmen, and also have the Phalanx rule of spearmen, allowing them to adapt to the battlefield as necessary. They are, however, more expensive than the basic units, so a balance must be found. An army of Sea Guard may look tough on paper, but lack of models and specific roles, it'll be hard to win with.
Best used to form the heart of an army using a regiment (for smaller games) or horde (for larger games) and supported by spearmen and bowmen.
Palace Guard
More elite melee units than spearmen or Sea Guard, they lack the Phalanx rule, but find it easier to strike enemies and use their Crushing Strength to cause more damage. They are, however, only defense 4+, and available only as large as regiments with a nerve of 6, they are glass cannons and should be used with care.
If spearmen will suffice, take spearmen, use Palace Guard only for devestating charges against tough enemy units. Engage enemies with care, you do not want to be bogged down and left grinding against a horde unit.
Scouts
A rarely used unit that is suprisingly effective. They have a speed of 7, making them nearly on par with some cavalry, allowing them to dart up flanks. They are also nimble, allowing for more complex placements.
Whilst they do have a defense of 3, they can be ignored quite easily, but your opponent does so at their own peril. Best used to target smaller units like war engines or to counter enemy ranged troops and whittle down more elite units to make them easier for your main units to cope with.
They are also effective as flank and rear chargers. They don't look like much, but they strike just as easily as spearmen, and hitting the flank or rear they can put out a large number of attacks.
Stormwind Cavalry
Fast units that form the cavalry unit of the elves. Very hardy and a solid strike force when led by a battle-dragon lord, they are more than capable of running down all but the toughest foes, but they are not to be bogged down. Avoid hordes unless you are sure that you can rout them quickly. With crushing strength (1), 3+ Melee stat and 5+ defence stat, they are basically mounted palace guard, and should be treated as such, although they are more survivable.
Running a troop down each flank or a regiment around an undefended flank can pull apart an enemy battle line as they struggle to stop any flanking and rear charges, but at the same time opening themselves up to your main force.
Bolt Thower
Arguably one of the best war engines in the game, it combines the power of a war engine with the accuracy of the elves. Elite units that fire 6 Piercing (2) shots at 48" range and needing only a 4+ to hit make them enemies not to be ignored.
Dragon Breath
Whilst devastating if it can get in range, its meagre defence of 4+ and range of 12" make it very risky. 20 Attacks that hit on 4+ at all times looks good on paper, but relies on the unit staying alive long enough to get there.
The general feeling is that they shouldn't take up a spot available to a bolt thrower.
Undead
Dwarves
Abyssal Dwarves
Orcs
Points Levels
500pts
750pts
1000pts
Over 1000!
Removing the Stabilisers
Credits