Introduction
I moved to playing Kingdoms of Men after experiencing what I like to call ‘army fatigue’ from playing Ogres exclusively for a long time. Kingdoms of Men brought me a new way of playing the game, with infantry hordes and a terrifying 3 giant combo, that has become a staple in my lists. Let us explore some of the changes that came to this wonderful army in 3rd Ed.
New things that are immediately new, are the addition of theme lists (duh), so KoM is now the main army for the League of Rhordia theme lists. I won’t be exploring them here as they deserve their own article.
Army Special: Indomitable Will
3rd Ed brought us this amazing army adds ons, and wow, Indomitable Will is just, wow… It can be argued that some units in Kingdoms of Men are out matched by other armies’ units when looking at value (looking at you palace guard..). However, I see the addition of Indomitable Will as something that not only fits the fluff of the army, but as something that gives the army an edge. Being able to just remove a waiver; game changing.
How many times have you just been wavered? Your opponent rolls an 11 and crushes your dreams? It’s a critical combat, that you knew you were going to win through the grind, but now your mind is going in to ‘damage control’ mode. I mean you probably wouldn’t be able to survive another round of damage and you are low on options. BUT, you remember that you paid that 10 points to take an Indomitable Will, and haven’t used it yet this game. A sly smile passes over your face and when your turn comes around, you break your opponents heart. You are no longer wavered, instead you go on to smash some face and it feels so good. You are filled with that same self inspiration that your unit feels.
Units that can add this to their arsenal include: Shield Wall, Pole-Arms Block, Spear Phalanx, Foot Guard, Knights, Hero, Assassin.
Fluffy Lore
Where some of the other articles covering army changes and overviews touched on the fluff and lore, I won’t. Why? Because I am lazy. And because I feel as though you are familiar with it if you have seen “humans” in any fantasy setting. This isn’t necessarily a negative critique to Mantic and their fluff for this army. For me, it simply feels as though you can’t make humans new and interesting. It is the army we can feel the most connected to as it is mirrored after our species (obviously). Humans are diverse and can be different depending on the region. They may be evil or good or somewhere in between. They are unpredictable.
See everything I just said doesn’t feel new to you does it? The world of Panthor feels unique and brings its own diversity, however the humans in it feel like what we have seen before.
Now with that being said, Kingdoms of Men does offer a bit of a ‘clean slate’ when it comes to building a theme around your own list. If you can think it up, you can probably pull it off with KoM. My list has a Lord of the Rings theme to it (thanks Brindley Smith for putting that together). Sure, it isn’t the most creative thing ever done, but having Tree-men as giants and Giant Eagles as Heros on Pegasus is pretty fun. Some photos are scattered throughout this article.
Units That Are No More
Break out the tissues folks, some units are gone. Some units have told us: “It’s not you, it’s me” and have moved out of our army lists. BUT we can survive, because really things have just been cleaned up in the army options.
Pike Blocks and Heavy Pike Blocks are no more, but not really. In 2nd Edition KoM had 3 very similar unit options in the Pike Blocks, Heavy Pike Blocks and Spear Phalanx. All three units filled similar roles. In 3rd Ed, things are much more stream-lined. Only Spear Phalanx are available but with an added option. Spear Phalanx now have the option to change Spears for Pikes to gain Ensnare. Now don’t get too excited as nothing good comes for free. It will cost you 20 pts on your regiment and 30 pts on your horde. Still cheaper than Heavy Pike Block I was using in 2nd.
Arquebusiers have also made their exit stage right. As someone who plays a much more “SMASH” type of list, I would not have noticed without writing this article. For those that did use these, if you exist, you can still take something similar by adapting your Crossbowmen. The Crossbowmen can exchange their crossbows for rifles which increases piercing from 1 to 2 and tacks on pot shot. The points it will cost you are: 10/15/25 pts respectively for troop/regiment/horde.
With what was done with the Spear Phalanx and the crossbowmen, we have seen 5 units become 2, but with adaptability to play what you want. I find this to be a great change as it streamlines things and makes it more simple to follow.
Units That Are New
The Assassin
New to the scene is the Assassin here in 3rd Ed, and all I got to ask is: “Why did it take men so long to train and recruit an assassin?!”. Honestly. Stats wise… He carries throwing daggers, has the Duelist special rule and comes in at 80 pts. I see value but will I see him in my lists? Will have to find some unlocks as I keep filling mine up with Heros.
Units That Have Changed
Change is good. Right? RIGHT?! Nothing to fear here folks, a number of the changes were already discussed with the units that are no more.
The Captain
The Captain has been a staple in my army for a while now, and why wouldn’t he be? In 3rd Ed we see a points reduction from 150 pts to 120 pts, and with that brings a decrease in Rallying down to (1). BUT nerve goes up and nothing else really changes. Initially I cried inside about the loss taken to Rally but with the point reduction, I don’t really mind now. The Captain fills a unique role in the lists with his: Master Tactician, Rally(1), Very Inspiring AND 5 Attacks with Melee 3+. UGH, so good.
Master Tactician really helps when your opponent has more drops than you, or when you just want to move that giant to support the opposite flank at the last second. Those 5 attacks shouldn’t been shunned away either, I have had the Captain deal the killing blow on many occasions. If you want to see more of my captain obsession, go check out The Captain’s Men in the Dash28 Campaign.
Sample List
Point total: 2000
Horde Spear Phalanx w/ spears + Indomitable Will + Hammer of force
Horde Foot Guard + Indom Will + Blessing of Gods
Regiment Fanatics
Regiment Bowmen + Fire Oil
Regiment Knights + Indom Will + Strider Boots
Giant x 2
General on Winged Beast + Staying Stone
Hero on Pegasus + Indom Will + Blade of Slashing
Hero on Pegasus + Indom Will + Mace of Crushing
The Captain
Well folks that is all from me. What things make you excited for Kingdoms of Men in 3rd Edition?
