By Steve Forster
Greetings! As this is my first attempt at getting something published on Dash28 and being that my skill as a tabletop general is middling at best, I can only ask that you find my ignorance charming. To go along with the multitude of similar ranking articles, today I will attempt to rank the top 10 “Living Legend” units in Kings of War! Just so everyone is on the same page, “Living Legends” are marked with a [1] behind their name and come with a few additional restrictions:
- Only 1 can be taken per army
- Cannot be given Magical Artifacts
In cultivating my rankings, I have taken several things into account:
- Points cost
- Inclusion in most army builds- the “Auto-Include Factor”
- Utility in their respective army lists
- Access to multiple Special Rules
Note: I am including “Living Legend” upgrades in this list (ex- Golloch’s Fury, the Wiltfather)
Now, let’s get into it!
10) Uplgar the Mad
One of the Halpi’s Rift additions, Uplgar can be found in a myriad of Orc lists. Firstly, he’s a caster that comes with base Inspiring, which is great for those other Hero unlocks. He comes with base Fireball 7 and Bane Chant 3, but his “Magic of the Bloody Knife” special rule can increase the casting number for each Heavy Infantry Regiment, Horde, and Legion within 6” up to 11 additional dice! The other special rule states that for each successful “hit” on Uplgar’s Bane Chant, the targeted unit gets Life Leech +1, up to Life Leech 3. Those points of damage back each turn from the Life Leech keeps those valuable Orc Hordes going an extra turn in the grind.
9) Esenyshra, the Wailing Shadow
Or as she is better known as Shakira, Colombian pop star. For 160 points, you get a Speed 10 Individual with Stealthy, Strider, Mindthirst, Dread, Fly, Mighty, and CS3. She also has the Enthrall 7 spell and a nifty rule which states that an Enthralled unit can be brought into base contact with Esenyshra, and if it does, Ensenyshra can attack in the ensuing Melee Phase. Nightstalker-enthusiast Joey Greek has called Esenyshra the best flying individual. No arguments here.
8) Moonfang
He’s a tad pricey at 210 points, but you get a Speed 9 Large Infantry Hero with Nimble, 6 Attacks, Melee 3+, Defense 5+, Crushing Strength 2, Vicious (Melee), Pathfinder, and Regenerate 4+. Old Moonpie is a tough cookie to crack. His “Primal Savagery” gives all friendly units in the same combat with him Vicious (Melee) as well. This guy is a force-multiplier.
7) Hrimm, Legendary Ice Giant
Hrimm is an example of the Living Legend variant just being better than the standard unit entry (Frost Giant). For 260 points, you get Speed 7, Melee 4+, Defense 5+, D6+10 Attacks with Crushing Strength 4, Strider, and Very Inspiring for Frostbound units. Let’s not forget the -/20 Nerve value either or Icy Breath 12. Hrimm is a great value for everything he brings to the table.
6) The Empire of Dust Quadruplets: Idol of Shobik, Sebek-Rae the Accursed, the Soul Snare, and the Monolith
First off, I get that this is 4 separate units, but the “Top 14 Living Legend Units in Kings of War” just doesn’t have a nice ring to it. You would be hard-pressed to find a competitive Empire of Dust army that does not include these 4 units. First off, the Idol of Shobik: this dude is a beast. 10 Crushing 3 attacks that hit on 3s, Defense 6+, Strider, and Fearless 18 Nerve, Shobik is a hammer and anvil all in one. Next let’s add an Iron Resolve Aura and the fact that he can be Surged on a very handy 50mm square base. Throw in a bonus Heal 5 (that he can always cast on himself), Shobik is worth every bit of his 290-point price tag.
Next, we have Sebek-Rae, the Accursed, who makes the list because he’s just a better Cursed High Priest. A CHP with Heal 5 and Surge 8 is 150 points. Sebek-Rae is 155 and gets the “Glory to the Mighty Dead” special rule, which allows him to immediately cast Heal 5 on the same unit he just cast Surge 8 on. Not too shabby for a 5-point premium.
The Soul Snare is next. A 150-point Stealthy War Engine that boasts an 18” range Drain Life 9. The pause most players give to Drain Life is the short 6” range, but the Soul Snare throws that right out the window. Whenever your start a new Empire of Dust army of EasyArmy, the Soul Snare should just auto-populate.
The final triplet is the Monolith. For 120 points, you get a Unit Strength 1 Titan that Inspires and can cast Surge 8 on any friendly unit anywhere within 24 inches of it, which it can always do, since the Monolith can’t be disordered. It’s a perfect token-carrier as well.
5) The Battle Shrine
One of the main reasons players select League of Rhordia over Kingdoms of Men: The Battleshrine. For the low cost of 140 points, you get a Monster (Chariot) with Lightning Bolt 6, Inspiring, and Rally (2). The Defense 5+ and 6 Crushing Strength 1 attacks can chip in some melee damage in a pinch as well. Like many of the entries on this list, League of Rhordia armies come with one of these auto-populated in their Easy Army list.
4) Magnilde of the Fallen
One of the main reasons competitive players choose to run Varangur over Northern Alliance: Magnilde of the Fallen! Magnilde has so many rules that comes with that 175-point price tag: Speed 7, Melee 3+, Defense 5+, 7 Attacks, -/15 Nerve, Crushing Strength 2, Elite (Melee), Individual, Iron Resolve, and Inspiring. Oh, and once per game, she gets to increase her speed to 10 and gain the Fly special rule. Ms. Auto-Include when it comes to Varangur.
3) Manifestation of Ba’el
My personal favorite, and my heart wants to rank him higher, but my brain has the Manifestation of Ba’el at Number 3. One of the main competitive themes of Kings of War 3rd Edition is the popularity of the 50mm square mini-dragon, and Ba’el ranks up there as one of the best. For 265 points, you get Speed 10, Melee 3+, Defense 5+, 7 Attacks with Crushing Strength 2 and Vicious, Stealthy, Regeneration 5+, and Brutal. Throw in Lightning Bolt 7 and you can see why Archfiends of the Abyss don’t see a lot of play.
2) Nomagarok
Mr. Auto-Include himself, Nomagarok. Every Ogre player was overjoyed to see their boy come back in the Halpi’s Rift supplement. Like all Ogre Warlocks, Nom-Nom gets up to 3 additional dice for his Lightning Bolt (4), Bane Chant (2), and Heal (4) spells for Regiments and Hordes of Large Infantry around him. Additionally, units hit with his Heal spell gain Vicious until the end of turn. Throw in Inspiring, sit him behind a wall of Siegebreakers, and ta-da!
1) The Wiltfather
Not many will be surprised to see this guy as #1 on this list. As of the writing of this article, Wilt the Stilt can be allied in every army of Kings of War. For 300 points you get: Speed 6, Melee 3+, Defense 6+, Crushing Strength 3, 10 Attacks, Pathfinder, and Cloak of Death. He also brings a Vicious aura to everything with a “Verdant” keyword. I would expect there to be something in the upcoming Clash of Kings that restricts Wiltdaddy to his main lists, but until then, he sits atop my list of best Living Legends in Kings of War.
Honorable Mentions: The Wonder Twins: Julius, Dragon of Heaven and Samacris, Mother of Phoenixes, Kuzlo and Madfall, Kapoka, the Hidden Saviour, Magwa and Jo’os
I am *so* hoping the Built-daddy becomes a true living legend in COK21, endlessly strange to me that he can be – and is – allied around so often. I’d actually be fine if he was restricted to Sylvan Kin, nice boost to the reasons to play the sub-faction (and I say this as a player with a Herd army with double Tree Herders in it!)
On the list, I might have put Kuzlo at #10 for pure ubiquitous-ness and competitive relevance over Ulpgar, but otherwise I totally agree. Also pouring one out for Agnih-Bhanu, with dreams of her glorious and inevitable return 🔥