Making a full, 2300 Kings of War army is hard. Well, sure. With that attitude.
Making a Kings of War army is a fun, and rewarding project. The trick, dear listener is
learning how to do things simply and efficiently, and knowing when and where to just
stop worrying about things.
A couple of years ago, I wrote an article for Dash 28 on how to finish a Kings of War
army. The editor removed my many jokes about Wesley Crusher. Some things I
cannot forgive.
With 4 th Edition dropping, it is time, Dear Reader, for me to slide down the banister of
my Ivory Tower, and give you some tips on how to not only get an army ready to play
this fantastic game, but also how to really enjoy the process while you are at it.
I am not particularly good, or talented at this, but that is exactly my point. I can do
this, and you can do this too.
Which Army do I pick?
This is not my first rodeo (albeit, I have never been to an actual rodeo). I already
have a LOT of Mantic Kings of War armies, and with a new edition, I am always very
tempted to do the new shiny army. Having said that, in Kings of War just use the “rule
of cool”. The game is so well balanced that it is far more important that you pick the
army you love the look or theme or lore from, rather than picking an army because
they are strong rules wise. If you are coming from 40k or Warmachine, this is going to
be a tricky transition. You can win with whatever army, just get good at playing your
chosen army and you will know what is best in life. Crom will smile down upon you,
whether you play as the Trident Realms or the forces of the Abyss.
No Xirkaali, no Party
The Xirkaali Empire might be a Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf metajoke. I read that
novel whilst at university. Because I am pretentious. Either way, they are the sane
man in the room, the designated driver. The drunks are all going nuts and setting off
fireworks in the Airbnb, and it is up to the Xirkaali to come and take everyone’s
matches away. Dogmen puns are funny. Witch Hunters sound cool. OK I am in.
Planning
This is the most important step. You need to have a good idea what you are like, and
what strategy for making the army will best stick with you. Are you a slow grow type,
who likes to do a unit a Month? personally, I get obsessed with my projects, and get
them done very quickly. However my good friend Stephan is the King of this, and he
has some great tips for you here-
Either way. Get over to the Mantic Companion App and use your free membership to
create several lists. You will want a 750 Ambush rules list (to get you playing quickly)
then a 2000 or 2300 points list (which is the tournament standard where you are, not
sure? ask).
Ask friends or experienced players what they think of it, before you proceed. But
generally, you just want to make sure you have a balanced army, which is pretty
much a given, given the new list building rules for 4 th . Sorry Clem. Your Salamanders
army is no longer valid. Tears in the rain, and all that.
The Kings of War Fanatics Facebook group is where all the really experienced
players hangout, and they will be happy to give you feedback on your lists. Don’t
forget to mention to them what your goal is, i.e. are you planning on winning every
game you play, or do you want a lore driven bit of fun with your friends. But getting
some feedback either way is always reassuring.
At this point, we can buy some Mantic models. Remember to look at the Mega Army
boxes, and where available the old / new Ambush! Boxes, for value for money. If you
are not sure, feel free to ask members of the Community.
Totally Addicted to Base
What will your brain find easier? Doing all the bases at once, in a Waterfall project
management approach, or does your brain prefer the iterative Agile approach?
Maybe it prefers somewhere in between. Either way, get a test base (e.g. a regiment
base) and plan out your basing. This will vary, depending on your theme but these
are the things I recommend –
- A Green Stuff World Texture Roller
- Modelling clay (e.g. DAS)
- Folio Magnetic roll
- Sand
- PVA Glue
- Super Glue
- Flock
- Tufts (e.g. Army painter, but whatever brand is fine)
- Cheap brown, white & black acrylic paints (generic ones)
- A Stanley knife, a file, some clippers
Firstly. Super glue your magnetic Folio onto the bottoms of your bases. You can
(carefully) use a Stanley knife to tidy this up and make sure your edges are smart.
Once this has dried, you can move onto the fun bit. My Xirkaali are from the
Euroasian Steppe, but I have gone for a cod-Asian theme, and just cherry picked
cool themes, hence my bases are quite Japanese. I imagine the Xirkaali invasion
massing along the old silk roads, cutting through the Steppe. I then imagined they
would likely have shrines and statues along the way to stand out among the endless
Steppe. Perhaps these mark where there are wells? I have also added trees (in
reality there are no trees on the step, but this is a fantasy world, and it’s my army, so
rule of cool wins again). 3D Printing is your friend, however you can also just take
some modelling clay, roll it out into a worm and boom, you have fallen pillars, from a
long forgotten civilization.
Tip. This is going to be a horde unit base. However, it is 2 troop, and 1 regiment
bases sat next to each other. This means I have flexibility, and as I get my army
ready, I can play smaller games.
The Models
Knowing what you are like is key to this step. Do you like to build a handful of
models, then paint them, then build a few more? Do you like to build all the models
for the whole army in one huge batch, then prime them and start painting? Have a
think as to what approach best suits you. Many people get overwhelmed if they work
on too many models at once, while others find it relaxing to paint 20 models with the
exact same steps. Whatever approach you try (and remember, you can always
change, if it is not working for you), it is important to remember that progress does
not need to be linear. If your brain likes to make a tiny bit of progress in 10 different
ways, then that is absolutely fine. As long as you are happy and enjoying what you
are doing, it doesn’t matter.
I like to aim to get my first 750 points done, as a first goal. This means I can start
playing the army quite early in the process, plus being able to see progress like this is
a huge boost.
You might also find that using the hero models as a “treat” after a big batch paint also
helps. If you are struggling with batch painting, maybe simplify your approach on the
rank and flank models, and just give a few extra details on the front rank. A lot of
people hit a wall with the rank and flank troops, so just bear that in mind and
remember they don’t need to be painted to the same standard as the heroes. The
eye is always drawn to centre piece models, and you will find, even if you haven’t
painted your rank and flank troops perfectly, once you rank them up, they will look
cool on your lovely base.
Whatever approach you pick, going unit by unit, or mass batch painting just make
sure it is a style that works for you.
How many models per base? Rule of cool my friend. The generally accepted level is
about 2/3s of full model count. Put that on a lovely looking base, and your army is
going to look brilliant. Ironically, full model count will look cool with so many models
but it can also completely obscure the cool theme of the base. so, experiment and
just make sure you are happy. You can always add more models later, if you wish.
Sometimes I like to pile the finished models up, and glue them all to the multi-base
once they are all ready, sometimes I like to glue them on, as I finish them. Whatever
works for you, and honestly whatever you feel like.
Colour / Color
If you are not sure how to paint your models, copy the style on the box. Professional
painters know what they are doing. For my Xirkaali, I took the basic theme from the
box and tweaked it. I know how I like to paint, and I am slowly but surely finding my
own “style”, so I know how I enjoy to paint. If you want to do your own thing, have a
look at a colour wheel (I go into more detail in my Dash 28 article above).
Tip – For highlights that look natural, mix a tiny bit of beige into the colour you want to
highlight. This will create a very realistic looking highlight colour, rather than the
headache of trying to colour match expensive model paints.
The Horde Grows
Follow these steps, and you will end up with something that looks like this. Maybe
yours looks better than mine, maybe not, but remember we are all on our own hobby
journeys. Be proud of what you can achieve today.
Now you can play this incredibly cool game. Every now and again, as you are having
fun, someone will cross the room and whisper “cool army”, and it will feel really good.
I am only a short way into my Xirkaali project, but I am comfortable doing it, I have
my style and my colours locked in. At this point I am just having fun painting models
and relaxing while watching Bojack Horseman for the 4 th time.
Kings of War is a fantastic game, with a really cool community.
Conclusion
Multi-basing creates a unique opportunity for creative hobby projects. You do not
have to be a great painter, or hobbyist to make a great looking Kings of War army.
Take some advice, follow your instincts and remember to have fun, and worship
Crom.