Greetings readers! We have another exciting guest article for you, written by none other then the terror of the North himself, Brindley Smith. Brindley is a long time and very successful Varangur general, reviewing the new army itself! While I know we already had one article doing this, Brindley’s article is filled with such excitement that I couldn’t help but share it.
Introduction:
Varangur have always been the army I’ve used most in Kings of War, and I played the faction almost exclusively in the 2019 season. The resilience and hitting power of the faction is something I really enjoy, and in the last year I managed to take best in faction at the US Masters with them, as well as averaging one loss per event in several regional GT’s. I’m sure everyone has an army that “clicks” with them, and for me it’s these guys.
Naturally, I have been very nervously awaiting the release of Varangur in 3rd edition to see what changes have been made to my favorite army. Right off the bat, I noticed that there has been a reduction in nerve across the board for the entire faction, which I think will cause a few issues, but hopefully be balanced out by the general reduction in hitting power and shooting for many armies. Overall, however, I think the army has kept the same thematic feel and, depending on what units you used in 2nd ed, has actually seen a variety of improvements!!
Upon writing this article, I have not yet played a game with the new Varangur, so please take that (and that this is my personal opinion) into account when reading it.
Lore:
The history of the Varangur has been expanded upon in the new Uncharted Empires book, and follows each of the major stages of their development.
In the 4 pages of text allotted to the them, I think the writers did a great job of summarizing the faction’s history up to this point, as well as incorporating the new units and world developments. Something I appreciated was how each of the unit names from 2nd edition was mentioned in the short description or history of each unit type. For example, while we have the unit profile for huscarls, to the shattered clans they are known as Sons of Korgaan.
Korgaan is described as an ancient dark deity that had remained forgotten for millenia, and in a bid for returning to power, latched onto the will of the isolated northern clans. He approached them in three aspects: the Warrior, the Reaper, and the Deceiver, and has gained strength through the fervent beliefs of his followers. By encouraging constant conflict, Korgaan has ensured that the northern clans become ever more battle-hardened in their bid for his bestowed gifts. One of my favorite passages described how Korgaan has a deep-seated hatred for dragonkind, and not only enjoys torturing and twisting them into jabberwocks, but employs the use of frost giants for their abilities to beat down dragons in single combat. Awesome.
Some of the new lore resembles that of the vikings, wherein warriors seek glorious death in battle with weapons in their hands and emanating battle cries. Those that fall disarmed are disgraced, and cannot enter “Valhalla”, so their spirits wander the frozen North until the Deceiver finds them. Korgaan then lures them back into their frozen bodies, and these frozen zombies (aka “Draugr”) rise again to atone for their failures. This alone would make me want to play them in Kings of War, before even seeing their unit profiles.
Analysis:
As a quick preface, to prevent myself from writing far too long I will limit discussions to the unique Varangur units that have undergone major adjustments or transformations. As I mentioned earlier, there is a faction-wide drop of 1 point of nerve, or 2 points in the case of human clansmen (or “bloodsworn”). That last change hurt the most, and will prevent me in the near future from using clansmen unless I need a horde that can really take a hit and swing back. As a whole, elite units have now lost the ability to gain Fury through Guise of the Deceiver as well. A big loss in my opinion, because fury saved me in a dozen games. I was happy to see how cool and thematic our new mark options are though.
Infantry:
Immediately, there is a contrast with Northern Alliance in the infantry section, mainly in the reduction of potential unit options (8 to Varangur’s 5). In my opinion, this is not much of a drawback, as each of the infantry options for Varangur has a very defined role, and we get more unit options elsewhere. In the NA list for example the dwarven clansmen, human clansmen, and ice naiads have somewhat similar roles as resilient anvils.
I can’t wait to paint up these wildlin…err human clansmen for my armies.
Draugr
This unit has replaced thralls, and still fulfills the same role as a cheap chaff or a way to get more bodies on the board. Compared to their previous unit, draugr dropped one point in speed, but have gained iron resolve, wild charge d3, and fearless! The loss of speed is something to get used to since it slows down the battleline, but I couldn’t be happier with this unit. Varangur typically have a good number of expensive options, so if you want more drops these guys are a must! Also, they’re freaking draugr!! Rule of cool demands I have at least 2 of these guys in any of my armies.
Reavers
This unit was considered by many that couldn’t get them to work as underpowered, and this was something that I used to my benefit in 2nd ed. I’ve had a troop of these lunatics wipe out Ba’su’su and an Archfiend in back to back turns before! The new reavers have swapped out their 2nd point of Thunderous Charge for Crushing Strength 1, but unfortunately lost Vicious. While they can now grind better due to CS1 and a potential upgrade for Lifeleech 2, the loss of vicious really stings, and they probably won’t survive much of a hit anyway with their reduced nerve values. The troop still seems like a viable option at 135 points, but the regiment will take some finesse to earn its value back. I think this unit is perfect for hunting low hit count, high Crushing Strength targets such as greater elementals or dragons. In these cases, their Lifeleech and magus heal transfers can really kick in.
Night Raiders
While irregular, night raiders are one of the army’s main ranged options, and in typical varangur fashion, can hit hard in melee! They’ve been merged somewhat with the raiders and Snaaer Clan Poachers of 2nd ed. The troop option is cheaper than before at 105 pts, but much more fragile, while the regiment has slightly more staying power at a slight points hike. With Stealth, Pathfinder, and Scout, you can stick these guys into terrain and survive anything but magic attacks. Lastly, they now get the neat option for a unique wolf handlers upgrade, where you can gain a Vicious Aura for tundra wolves for only 10 points.
Large and Monstrous Infantry:
Not too much to say here. Fallen are still great, but no longer undercosted. Snow (cave) trolls are a good deal faster than they used to be, and hit just as hard with trading one point of crushing strength for vicious. They are more expensive, however, and the loss of the headstrong formation makes them a no-go for me personally.
The Fallen
To be honest, I’m fine with the points readjustment to fallen to bring them closer to their original unit profile. At def5 15/17 Ne, the horde can still take a good hit, and now that Pathfinder is included they can go wherever you need them. The unit is now Irregular, but in my experience Varangur don’t struggle much for unlocks. Where brew of strength was nearly an auto-include upgrade for this unit, I am not so sure I will utilize it anymore, since the total cost would now jump up to a hefty 295 points!
Cavalry and Large Cavalry:
This is where Varangur excel over the Northern Alliance faction. They have 3 options between tundra wolves, mounted sons, and horse raiders, and each has a unique role. Frostfangs from the master list are amazing, and despite being a bit more fragile make the old stumpy-legged direfangs resemble dwarves.
Mounted Sons
The unit I’m sure some people used control+F to find in this article. To say this unit was the core of varangur lists in 2nd ed would be an understatement, because they were simply better than sons of korgaan on foot (now huscarls). Like their elite counterparts, the soul reaver cavalry, mounted sons have seen a reduction in their Thunderous Charge, as well as a loss of 2 attacks and the 1 point of nerve. This means that they can no longer be relied upon to crack the toughest units in your opponent’s list, but they are 35 points cheaper for a regiment at least! Another nerf comes in the form of the options for Marks of Korgaan options. Where previously you could take Fury, Lifeleech 1, or Brutal for 10 points, that has now been replaced by Brand of the Warrior (brutal) or Guise of the Deceiver (stealthy) at 5/10 points for troops and regiments, respectively. The loss of Fury is big, as this was also an auto-include, but I like the new thematic options. I will still take 1-2 regiments of mounted sons in any list I make, because they’re still a great unit.
Heroes:
Like most factions in 3rd edition, we are spoiled for choice in selecting heroes!! As expected for Varangur, most of them are best at punching things in the face. The Lord on Frostfang (or chieftain on direfang) is so much better than his old stunty counterpart that he’s nearly unrecognizable. As someone that used the old one anyway, I couldn’t be happier. It goes without saying that the Lord on Chimera is still amazing, and skalds even got better with an extra throwing axe.
Cursed Son
This fella has skyrocketed from nigh unusable, and never seen in any list, to a great potential option for hunting chaff, heroes, or war engines. For the same cost, the cursed son went up to def 5 and actually GAINED 2 points of nerve! Give him a horse, the mournful blade, and Mask of the Reaper to have your own pseudo-vampire.
Lord
The lord, like the cursed son, has become FAR better. For losing Elite and 1 pt of Nerve, you not only gain very Inspiring, but a reduction of 50!?!?!!!? points. Have the lord walk up with your formation, or give him wings and throw him at problems you don’t want to deal with yet.
Magus
We now have one of the coolest and most thematic rules i’ve ever seen in kings of war with the magus. His new ability is transfusion, once per turn any keyword, bloodbound unit within 6” can have D2 wounds transferred to a draugr unit within 6” of the magus. This helps against shooting, and can give you a slight edge in grinds. I don’t even care if it’s good, i’m using it damnit! On top of that, he now automatically has the Elite ability from his familiar and a great spell selection.
Out with the old, in with the new:
In all, the units Varangur effectively lost coming out of 2nd ed were the warband, devourer, and Orlaf. I have not been broken up by this because we still have great options for infantry and monsters, and if I want to use Orlaf (who’s a niche pick anyway) I can simply play Northern Alliance. Gaining the options for Thegn, Thegn on Frostfang, and Snow Foxes in return is a wonderful tradeoff!
Praise pizza jesus that Magnilde was not nerfed or removed. Her once-per-game fly is one of my favourite abilities in the game for the choices it forces you to make.
Conclusion and List Example:
If you can’t tell from this article, I am VERY excited to try out the new Varangur. They’ve seen a mix of buffs and nerfs, but still feel like they can be competitive as well as fun to use. I am planning to play both Varangur and Northern Alliance in 3rd ed, as they have pretty unique playstyles. This is likely also due to my enjoyment of armies that really know how to smash things, as anyone that has played against my 2nd most commonly-used army (ogres) is all too familiar with!
Here’s a starter list for 2200 Points:
- Human Clansmen Horde
- Draugr Regiment
- Huscarl Regiment – Elite
- Mounted Sons Regiment – Brand of the Warrior, Caterpillar Potion
- Tundra Wolves Troop
- 2x Snow Fox Regiment*
- The Fallen Horde – Brew of Haste
- Frostfang Horde – Staying Stone
- Lord on Frostfang – Blade of Slashing, Snow Fox
- Magus – Banechant, Mount, and Inspiring Talisman
- Magnilde
The first thing to note about this beginner’s list is that I tend to take a balanced approach very seriously, and typically never take more than 2 of any unit entry. Your slower core consists of the clansmen, draugr horde, and huscarls. These units will hopefully take the brunt of enemy shooting, take objectives or push tokens, and potentially act as a refused flank. This core can be inspired by any of the three heroes, depending on your opponent’s army setup, but here we’ll take Magnilde to shut down shooting.
You can then work with either one super heavy flank, or break it up into two sections. For example I could have the magus with the fallen, mounted sons, and a snow fox regiment on a flank that essentially ignores any difficult terrain. My other flank would then consist of the frostfang horde, tundra wolves, a snow fox regiment, and the Lord on Frostfang. All 3 battlegroups has some form of chaff, inspiring, and hammer units. The main drawbacks to a list like this is you’re only shooting is lightning bolt 4 from the magus, and you have no backfield units to hold objectives.
