Clash of Kings 2022
The long(ish) awaited moment has finally arrived! With the publication of the Kings of War supplement ‘Clash of Kings’ for the 2022 gaming season the Halfling rules have left beta and entered full release. Alongside the rules release we also have access to full faction lore and a map of the Shires. A trinity of excitement for all Halfling fans or a trio of vague interest for folks of a less discerning nature.
There has already been a great review article of the beta list so I want to avoid repeating the same commentary. I’ll begin by highlighting the main changes in the release version and what that means for the army. Then focus on the stand out units that no self respecting Muster Master should leave home without considering. I’m not so arrogant as to suggest they are ‘must take’ but arrogant enough to stand by my assessment of their worth. Finally I’ll examine what I consider the most interesting parts of the Halfling background and lore.
Full release changes
The vast majority of the Halfling list remains unchanged since beta release. It’s a testament to the skills and efforts of the playtesters that this is the case. Where changes have occurred they are all about improving the play experience rather than major rewrites. At first glance you could be excused for thinking the list remains unchanged so let us get on with our examination…
Relentless
The army upgrade option. Previously allowing you to reroll Damage it now allows a unit to reroll Hit dice. A welcome change as basic statistics mean you are always likely to have missed Hits. With Melee 5+ troops there was a reasonable chance you wouldn’t actually have enough Damage dice to roll (let alone reroll) for Relentless to do anything.
Wild names
The most important update changes Wild Runners (Melee) to Wild Lancers. This makes discussing lists and abbreviated notes so, so much simpler.
Aeronauts
For one shining moment we got to see the Halfling Airforce take to the skies across battlefields everywhere. A victim of their own success; Aeronauts flew too close to the sun and got burnt by a meta game that wasn’t ready for… I think I’m about to mix metaphors here.
Predictably Aeronauts are now irregular unit choices. You can get that glorious airborne army but not without unlocking the unit options first. They have also seen a 5pt increase in cost from the beta list and lost the Brutal keyword.
Iron Beast
Everyone’s favourite War Piggy has seen a +1/+1 increase to its Nerve values. A welcome addition to a unit that offers excellent Aura buffs whilst simultaneously presenting a massive target.
McSween’s Cutthroats
The Halfling Formation we’ve all been waiting for. Not the direction anyone expected but dripping with character. Turning the two units of Poachers it requires into ranged units to be reckoned with. Ally McSween in the mix with a bonus Rampage (Melee – D3) means you’re guaranteed hilarious hi-jinks.
The Loyalists
Hidden in ‘The League of Rhordia’ section of ‘Clash of Kings’ is another Formation you can use if you love Halflings. Be warned this is a different army that doesn’t offer the full range of Halfling units in their main list. This themed Formation represents Halflings that have split from the Shire.
Combining Two Hordes of Halfling Braves, Two Troops of Halfling Knights (essentially Juggers) and a Master Sergeant. You get a nice array of abilities that bring the Rhordia profiles up to their Shire counterparts level. This Formation is a great way to start building a Halfling Army if you have an existing human force.
Halflings on the Table
Shiny unit profiles are half the story. The real joy of a Halfling army is bringing the ingredients together to produce an exquisite dish. Half-baked, too many cooks, watched pot, Gordon Ramsey… it’s easier for me to get the silly references out of my system now and save you the pain of reading them later.
Halfling units are on a knife edge when it comes to Nerve. A wiser player than I suggested the natural state of the Halfling unit is ‘Wavered’. Fortunately the tools are on hand to counter this and hold the line. Our trusty Sauceror can produce a Rally Aura to boost the Nerve value of Ravenous units. She can even ride an Aralez into battle to support fast cavalry units. Upgrading an Iron Beast with the ‘Pride of the Shires’ rule provides a delightful Headstrong Aura to get Wavering units back in the fight, it even Inspires. Your infantry aren’t going to break anything head on but if you support them correctly they’ll hold even the nastiest foe in place. Exactly what we need because…
Here comes the cavalry! With a woof and a bark the goodest boys ever bound into battle. Boasting three flavours of Nimble cavalry units with Iron Resolve the Halfling army list spoils us. Wild Lancers offer amazing points value for a respectable melee profile. Supported by a Mounted Sauceror and Muster Captain you’ll be able to steal the initiative, keep morale in check and threaten enemy flanks from the go. If you fancy a bit more armour or ranged options then Juggers and Wild Runners are ready to mount up and join the fray. Get forward and make your opponent react. Be that drawing off units with a modest cavalry troop or waiting for those delicious flanks to open up.
The true joy of the Halfling list, that secret spice (sorry) is disruption. Your Infantry are holding, your cavalry is moving the battlelines, when out of the skies comes the whoosh of propellant and boom of grenades. Ej Grenadiers and Aeronauts can seriously throw a spanner (or grenade) into the works for your opponent. Whilst not particularly intimidating on their own; the Grenadier’s Brutal (D3) rule can change the course of any fight they support. Should the Aeronauts get a flank charge their Blast (D3) and Crushing Strength (2) are going to hurt. A Greedyguts ready to add LifeLeech to the party or Feast Master threatening to tear Individual characters to shreds should keep any opponent on their toes. Even the Sauceror can get in on the act by attacking enemy Nerve with a Brutal Aura or giving your units some much needed healing with Lifeleech.
In summary: Decent but unremarkable basic units, excellent Aura support, mobility and indirectly attacking enemy Nerve.
Master Chefs – Units to Take
So how do the units stack up? What’s a must take? What is resigned to the Aralez dinner? Honestly? I have no idea. To start placing the Halfling units in a Tier system is perhaps missing the mutual support aspects of the army. It’s also really hard. Instead let me highlight the basic ingredients I wouldn’t leave home without considering…
Sauceror
The crème de la crème of the Halfling Army. Cheap as chips and with the option to mount on an Aralez. In my opinion the basis of all good Halfling dishes with their Gastromancy Auras offering a choice of Wild Charge, Brutal, Life Leech or Rally each turn. If that wasn’t enough their Gastromancy occurs in the Movement phase; so you can even give them a Boom Stick from the magic item list to blast away in the Shooting phase. Just be warned their Gastromancy only affects Ravenous units so Ej Grenadiers, Aeronauts and Trolls won’t benefit.
Braves
One of the cheapest infantry units in the game with the added bonus of Spellward. You can never go wrong with Braves. When supported by the various Aura buffs available to your army they start to get dangerous. Give a Horde a Staying Stone, sit them next to a Iron Beast with the Aura (Headstrong) upgrade and get that Sauceror kicking out a Brutal (n) effect. Personally I’m all about the Spearspikes but I happily bow to players with more experience on recommending Braves.
Wild Lancers
Hitting on 3+, a respectable 4+ Defence and boasting Iron Resolve, Nimble, Spellward and Thunderous Charge (1). A flexible unit that can serve as chaff or threaten flanks as you need. Alongside the support of a mounted Sauceror and Muster Captain this somewhat basic cavalry will find itself punching above it’s weight. Plus their mounts are adorable and wuzzly.
Ej Grenadiers
Jetpack Halflings! They are super fast at Speed 10 and super maneuverable. They won’t do much on their own but hitting an enemy in support of another unit will seriously ruin someone’s day. If the enemy is running war machines or their own fast units you’ll be able to counter with these nippy flyers. If you really want to have fun playing around with Grenadiers you could give them a Diadem of Dragonkind to shoot Fireballs from all angles. Don’t expect such rampant silliness to pay off though.
Troll Gunners
With Movement 6, Pathfinder, Regeneration 5+ and Ranged attacks this is a good all rounder of a unit. Be aware it won’t benefit from Gastromancy but will benefit from an Iron Beast ‘Pride of the Shires ‘ aura. They won’t wow you but the flexibility offered is impressive. A Brew of Haste can allow them to keep up with your cavalry for example. Perhaps the most fun aspect is their Height 3 allowing them to draw Line of Sight over the Halfling Infantry units.
There and Back Again
In a town by a lake there lived the Halflings. Not a nasty, dirty, wet town, filled with feudal humans and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, desert town with nothing in it except undead: it was a Halfling town, and that means Home Counties kitsch.
Tracing their origins from nomadic tribes 3000 years ago, the Halflings of Pannithor didn’t settle the Shires until 2180 at the closing centuries of the Age of Expansion. This change in lifestyle was prompted by their booming population and made possible by a seemingly unnatural affinity for agriculture. Once established at their initial settlement of Yangmere the trend caught on and soon large swathes of (mostly) unoccupied lands were claimed and settled. As infrastructure improved so too did technological advancement, within a relatively short time the already bountiful harvests produced a surplus and invited trade with the neighbouring League of Rhordia.
Some tribes remained Nomadic and eventually settled near the Elven city of Ej following the Time of Ice. These Halflings excelled at engineering innovation and developed Aeronaut balloons and the Grenadier flight harnesses. Eventually reconnecting with their Northern cousins in the Shire. It was the friendship and support of the Ej Halflings that provided the Shires with air superiority during their darkest hour…
Having grown closer to the League of Rhordia in trade and politics the Shires had joined and enjoyed nearly a century of peace. Relying increasingly on the heavy troops of the human armies the Halfling military presence became increasingly militia based. So it was that when outside agents stirred ignorant human populations to racist sentiment, prompting the Shires to secede from the League, the following invasion by a Rhordia threatened with losing their major food supplier was like a hammer blow.
Herein begins the legend of Aeron Cadwallader. Faced with invasion and sieges by a heavily armoured foe the Halflings turned to the young Aeron who had studied military practice in the finest League institutions. Taking advantage of a newly established engineering college to provide Iron Beasts and firearms, the emerging field of Gastromancy pioneered by the renown Mama Beata and recent arrivals of airborne vehicles from EJ; Aeron Cadwallader undertook a counterattack that took League forces by surprise. Eventually the political turmoil was revealed to be an outside plot to weaken the League of Rhordia through internal fighting. The Halflings ultimately stood beside the League to defend from outside invasion and thwart the plan but the damage had been done. The Shires remain independent.
Come the capping of Halpi’s Rift and emergence of the Riftforged Orcs the Shires were once again threatened. Having reformed a standing force of armoured infantry and cavalry the Shires were better prepared for invasion. When the dreaded Abyssal Eyes Legion struck their borders the Halflings once more followed the leadership of Aeron Cadawallader to mount a divide and conquer strategy. Drawing large portions of the Orc forces away from the main columns into ambushes, giving ground until it suited their purpose, making best use of a highly mobile force and unleashing the hapless victims of the Sauceror’s immoral Gastromancy experiments upon the luckless Orcs in the form of ravenous Greedyguts.
As to the future of the Shires? That’s where you come in. Will you field a wealthy muster from the larger towns and cities, resplendent in metal armour and mighty two handed swords? Perhaps the more agricultural militia is more to your tastes with Harvesters and Forest Troll support? Do you want to explore the engineering skills of Tanmill with blackpowder and Iron Beasts? Perhaps the genius creations of Ej are more your style? The possibilities are endless.
