The Merits of Kings of War

 

 

After reality has set in that Warhammer as I knew it was no more I considered my options. One was to stick with 8^th edition and find like minded people who were ok playing with a “dead” set of rules or I could branch out and try other systems like Mantic’s Kings of War Game. One thing that was appealing about Kings of War is that it was developed by some ex-GW designers that worked on my favorite edition of Warhammer (6^th ed). Another appealing factor is that eventually all of the old Warhammer armies will have a playable list within Kings of War. Having made up my mind I decided to try it out.

 

Turn 2 demo game

 

 

It was easy finding some people at my LFGS to teach my how to play KoW. My first game was more of a demo-style match where I brought my Chaos Dwarves… er, I mean Abyssal Dwarves. It was low points so I can grasp some of the basics. One thing that I had to get used to is that I no longer needed to remove individual models. In KoW your whole unit suffers wounds that stack and you roll a “nerve” test whenever wounds are taken. Sometimes this may cause your unit to route because the more wounds you suffer the harder it is to keep your nerve and stay in the fight. My demo was a win (of course!) as I was able to route the elves off the battlefield mainly due to my most powerful Obsidian Golems (used K’daii models).

 

Turm 4 demo game. Finishing off the elves

 

 

My luck didn’t quite hold up in my second follow up game where I played a larger 900 point game. My opponent was the same, but this time I brought more toys to the battlefield like a Great Mortar (used a Hellcannon) and Slave Orcs (Hobgoblins). I made an early error when positioning my army and paid dearly for it as my slave orcs were overextended and couldn’t quite hold my flank. The elves had superior magic and shooting. I lost my entire army by the end of the match and inflicted little damage in return.

 

After having played two games of KoW I ended up liking it as an alternative to Age of Sigmar. The game is more simplified than 8^th ed which allows for faster games, but still retains some of the tactical elements that I liked from the Warhammer style of game play like unit facing, point costs, terrain inhibitors, and regiments. On top of that the rules are also free! I would suggest giving Kings of War a try if you are seeking an alternative to Age of Sigmar.

If you would like to see some more battle reports for Kings of War check out Jason Zmuda's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCESR150chkbfxXSaWfcl_KQ