Brand new player

Kings of War Army lists and Tactics
1

Hey new friends! I just found a first edition book at a library sale and think the game sounds fun. However, I have never played a tabletop wargame, nor have the people I would like to play with.

My uninformed plan is to use cardboard proxies to create a few small, Ambush style armies that would be balanced against each other, preferably with interesting interactions (e.g. thunderous charge cavalry having to avoid a phalanx unit) and could possibly combine for a 2v2 game.

I have a few questions:

  1. What would a good point total be for these small armies? I was guessing around 500, but would like advice since it spunds like thi gs can get unbalanced at that scale. I want to keep the games short to help get my friends to try it though.
  2. Could I get some help with list-building for balance? I could throw some things together that sound good, but I don’t have the perspective needed to be sure it would be close.
  3. Should I just use the 1st edition rules, since I have the physical book for ease of entry, or go for 4th edition?
  4. Anything it seems like I should know about and don’t?
  5. Do corrugated cardboard proxies with printout or hand written names/pictures/stats/rules sound like they would work well for some first timers?

I look forward to your feedback and hope my list-building challenge is interesting or at least a little novel.

5 Likes
2

Welcome.

Kings of War is lots of fun and while it might seem a touch overwhelming, it’s relatively easy to pick up the basics.

To answer a few of your questions (but not necessarily in the same order!).

1st Ed KoW is pretty old now and many current gamers probably never played it, plus it’s quite different to the current rule set.

[it predated Games Workshop blowing up the Warhammer Old World, an event which subsequently sent lots of fantasy wargamers Mantic’s way!].

It’s also not supported and if you can find people to game with might be a hard sell?

Therefore I’d look to use the current rule set - people will be more likely to play it and getting advice etc a lot easier.

There is a free pdf set of starter rules here: Kings of War 4th Edition - Free Digital Starter Rules - Mantic Games

Mantic has an online army builder/rules hub for their games, The Companion, which has some functionality as a free service as well as full access via a subscription. There’s a link to it off the above website and more general info about KoW.

Certainly the game can work with card proxies, made easier as units are treated as a single entity, rather than individual models. Many people use this approach for new armies or when adding additional units etc

The armies are all generally pretty balanced - so just pick something that interests you. There’ll also be an update later this year which should seek to level out any perceived issues with older armies.

There is also a sort of intro game, which Mantic describe as follows:

"Finally, if you’re totally new to the hobby and want the easiest route into rank-and-flank battles: consider Kings of War Champions, a compact and streamlined introduction to this style of game - based around iconic heroes and villains and their loyal warbands, rather than sprawling armies, while still introducing key mechanics of the larger game. "

4 Likes
3

If you have acces to a colour printer, you can put images of the units on the cardboard. I did that once for a unit that wasn’t in yet and then it ‘looks’ like the unit :grinning_face:

1 Like
4

Thanks for all the advice!

I missed Champions option, and that seems like a good avenue, but it looks like I would need a subscription to get access to the army lists for it.

I will go for the 4th edition rules. I did find the army builder and will be sure to make use of it. I suppose, if I don’t get a subscription, I can just try building a couple lists and asking for advice on balancing what I create against each other.
I will be prioritizing “cool,” but if you have any suggestions for armies that are beginner friendly, I wouldn’t mind taking that into consideration.

2 Likes
5

Ogres are a good option as there are fewer models to paint (bigger models and more points per unit) and tactics wise they can be played relatively successfully without lots of tricks and things.

2 Likes
6

I am also a new player of Kings of War and I wrote a set of articles on getting started in the game. You can find them here:

If I have any advice it is buy the models that you think are cool and want to paint before being too concerned about whether they are any good in the game. Everything is okay for beginners. Good luck.

2 Likes