Xirkaali advice

Kings of War Army lists and Tactics
1

Hi all,

My son is slowly (but excellently) painting his xirkalli.

He will have (when he is done):

Xirkaali [1160 / 2300 (1140 Remaining)]

~ List Valid ~

Battalion 1

Witch Hunter [2] (Hero (Inf)) 1 [160]

Xorxoi Prowlmaster [U] (Hero (Lrg Inf)) 1 [165]

Brotherhood of Yan (Inf) Regiment [85]

Spearwardens (Hvy Inf) Regiment [195]

Warrior Pack (Hvy Inf) Regiment [140]

Plainstalkers (Lrg Inf) Troop [145]

Wildfangs (Lrg Inf) Troop [140]

Witch Cage (Mon) 1 [130]

Any tips on things to make a well rounded 2300 from here? Note he likes painting the dogos, not so keen on the yan. Also, he hasn’t played much so an “easy to use” list would be best!

Thanks.

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2

Not specifically commenting about the above list, but this was a bit of reflection having played against them (with AD) for the first time.

Competed in a 20 strong event yesterday and the first two armies I played were xirkaali.

Both lists were formed around 3 reg Spearwardens, 2 reg lionsnarls, beastmaster and a yan hero.

First then went matriarch, 3 troops of chakrams and 2 soul cages. Think there was a 4th Spearwarden unit?

Other ran warlord with vicious aura, chakram horde, 2 yan reg, monk reg and the monkey.

Second list went 3/0 and came 2nd overall.

Chatting post game both players seemed to feel that you either need to go dog-boys and max out on auras/commands etc; or go shooting heavy with a bit of punch behind it.

The Lionsnarl + strider aura hero is a horrible combo and unless maxed out on Phalanx or sp10 stuff is really hard to stop.

Spearwardens look really good. Fast enough to charge most things before you do, and with Phalanx negating most things quicker than them.

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3

Thanks, all useful stuff! My only issue with lion snarl is how bloody expensive (in money) they are!

Noone using goklu dragon thing? The model is ace.

More spear wardens is definitely doable - I think dogs and commands would be my son’s choice!

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4

Think at the (in game) price point you either take gokluu or lionsnarls - and you get twice the attacks from the cavalry and with the seemingly mandatory beastmaster they’llkeep their TC when they need it?

Ironically, it’s probably a great counter TO a xirkaali list - faster than the Lionsnarl and can ignore Phalanx from the Spearwardens as it’s just a very fast titan!

Do agree that the Lionsnarl are ÂŁ pricy - although chunky enough that 2 boxes will cover 3 regiments (or a single set as the reg and use the 3rd as the Hero(Chariot) character?).

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5

OK, so, building on what you have said BUT knowing that my son will probably want to paint a Gokluu because it’s cool AND trying not to spend a small fortune, how would this list be to build towards?

Xirkaali [2275 / 2300 (25 Remaining)]
~ List Valid ~

Battalion 1
Beastmaster [2] (Hero (Inf)) 1 [80]
Witch Hunter [2] (Hero (Inf)) 1 [160]
Xorxoi Prowlmaster [U] (Hero (Lrg Inf)) 1 [165]
Brotherhood of Yan (Inf) Horde [150]
Spearwardens (Hvy Inf) Regiment [195]
Spearwardens (Hvy Inf) Regiment [195]
Warrior Pack (Hvy Inf) Regiment [140]
Plainstalkers (Lrg Inf) Regiment [180]
Wildfangs (Lrg Inf) Regiment [215]
Lionsnarl Cavalry (Lrg Cav) Regiment [270]
Shaoquan (Mon) 1 [140]
Witch Cage (Mon) 1 [130]
Gokluu [2] (Ti) 1 [255]

It’s basically two battalion boxes minus one regiment of warriors and the doubled up heroes (he has one battalion already), plus the lionsnarl, Shaoquan (because cool but could be dropped for other stuff), Gokluu (because cool), and Xorxoi (already bought and because cool!).

Beastmaster will be kit bashed, but could also kitbash different warlords / champions if that’s sensible.

It does seem very “core” heavy, but the spearwardens seem pretty good to me.

Whilst definitely not an optimal list to thrash all comers is this usable and decent enough to have fun? Any changes that could improve (apart from swapping Gokluu for more lion snarl, which i will suggest if he wants to). All comments very welcome :slight_smile:

2 Likes
6

Awesome variety! Most Xirk lists I see are very very spammy, so the variety of units is really appreciated. I do think the list needs a warlord - it currently only has 1.5 inspiring sources and the Xirkaali commands are superb, so getting that extra command die would be grand. The Matriarch is well priced and possibly the best warlord, as her aura is always relevant (compared to Khulan’s slayer aura). Also I don’t think Plainstalkers really get there. Nice models but so few shots at no piercing. They’re better used as more Wildfangs (maybe a troop? or dropped? gets you a little closer to unlocking that Matriarch). I’m also not sure about the Beastmaster - I think he needs the inspiring talisman, at which point is he doing enough for 110 points? You could just give the Lionsnarl boots at that point and let the Gokluu roam.

Speaking of the Gokluu, I’m a fan of the big guy and found him super fun to play with!

Final thought, shout out to the Witch Hunter on Lion, that +40 points gets you soooo much. I ran two of these when I was messing with Xirkaali and they felt amazing. I’m currently struggling to want to run the Witch Hunter on foot. I’d rather the Yan Lt (fast non-yielding heroes are great) and I’d almost rather the Beastmaster w/ inspiring, since being pure support isn’t so bad, and keeps you from getting into combats and getting punched down, which I worry is the infantry Witch Hunter’s fate … Hell, the Siegemaster is more interesting, even in a list without war engines (I’m tempted to give him inspiring in that case, even if he’s 170 points. Great mini as well!)

2 Likes
7

Ok, so taking all that’s been said into account, I have this list:

Xirkaali [2270 / 2300 (30 Remaining)]

~ List Valid ~

Battalion 1

Matriarch (Hero (Inf)) 1 [210]

Xorxoi Prowlmaster [U] (Hero (Lrg Inf)) 1 [165]

Yan Lieutenant [2] (Hero (Cav)) 1 [150]

  • Banner of Command [20]

Brotherhood of Yan (Inf) Horde [150]

Spearwardens (Hvy Inf) Regiment [195]

Spearwardens (Hvy Inf) Regiment [195]

Warrior Pack (Hvy Inf) Regiment [140]

Plainstalkers (Lrg Inf) Regiment [180]

Wildfangs (Lrg Inf) Regiment [215]

Lionsnarl Cavalry (Lrg Cav) Regiment [285]

  • Sir Jesse’s Boots of Striding [15]

Witch Cage (Mon) 1 [130]

Gokluu [2] (Ti) 1 [255]

Trying to balance a good list with being affordable, fun to paint models. The shaoquan could potentially come back in later. The plainstalkers remain as he has painted some and they are cool models.

There is still 30pts for items.

This list can be made from:

2x battalion box

1x Gokluu

1x Xorxoi

1x lionsnarl cavalry

1x yan lieutenant

The matriarch is represented by the witch hunter model, the yan lieutenant could be kitbashed fairly easily too.

There is a spare regiment of warriors / spears, a spare witch hunter and a spare witch cage.

Thoughts?

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8

Feeling good to me! I don’t personally like the monkey in game, I think you made a good decision cutting him for character support. With the extra points, maybe Blessing of the Gods on the Wildfangs and Fire Oil on the Plainstalkers? Puts a little shine on those stat blocks.

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