The best thing about Clash of Kings 2022 is that every single army receives numerous improvements to their existing roster. A truly impressive number of completely new units, buffs to existing units, formations and a slew of new artefacts and spells available to every faction means the possibilities are endless no matter what army you play.
It is also true that some armies benefitted more from the changes than others. Whether given powerful new units in a purposeful effort to level the playing field between the ‘core’ lists and the traditionally more limited ‘theme’ lists, a result of new synergies stemming from new spells and artefacts, or certain armies benefiting more from global rules changes than others, a couple armies stand out as the biggest winners of the 2022 edition of Clash of Kings.
Here in reverse order are my top three most improved armies of Clash of Kings 2022:
3. Ogres
The Ogres are a faction that benefits greatly from the change to the Inspiring special rule in Clash of Kings ‘22. Overall, there are 60 units that are affected by the change across all armies. The Ogres have three of them: the Ogre Warlock, the Berserker Bully, and the Red Goblin Biggit. This puts them decidedly middle of the pack–Trident Realm and Northern Alliance are tied for the top spot at six units affected each–but two of the Ogres’ units are scoring units (only 18/60 units affected are scoring units) and one of those two is also an inspiring wizard (only 15/60 units affected are wizards, and none scoring except for the Warlock).
The beneficial effects of this change for Ogres really cannot be overstated. Unquestionably, the largest beneficiaries of the Inspiring rule change are wizard heroes that can now also Inspire all. The Inspiring wizard is one of the most powerful types of characters in the game, access to which is purposefully limited in the army lists–and now the Ogres get one that also has Unit Strength! Expect to see multiple Ogre Warlock lists get a lot more popular.
The next significant change is kind of a big deal, pun happily intended. The Big Deal unique upgrade is a powerful boost–as discussed in my last article about the Halflings army list, special abilities which attack an enemy’s Nerve value directly (i.e. Brutal, Dread, and Cloak of Death) are the most powerful ones in the game. Thus, the ability to gain Brutal (2) for two units per combat phase through the Mammoth’s Call to Greatness rule will be used to great effect by Ogres players everywhere. I expect to see at least one Mammoth with The Big Deal Upgrade in 80% of Ogres lists.
The trifecta for Ogres in Cok ‘22 is the decision to give Ogre Boomer Chariots the Aura (Stealthy) special rule. Because it’s not a unique upgrade (like it should have been?) you can take as many Boomer Chariots as you need to cover your entire army in a Stealthy bubble. Army-wide Stealthy in Nightstalkers is balanced by the average Defense values for most of the units in that army. No such counterweight exists in the Ogres list, which can now boast Stealthy Defense 5/6 units like Siege Breakers, Ogre Chariots, Giants, and Mammoths. Even if the upgrade is only taken once, a single unit of Boomer Chariots with the Sacred Horn item can create a 20-inch bubble all by itself. For an army that already needs to deploy together and in layers, this will often be enough. The Ogres list was definitely vulnerable to War Engine lists before and this change will be welcome to that faction’s players.
Speaking of filling holes that perhaps were best left unfilled, the Crocodog Wrangler gives Ogres a serious combat Individual they previously lacked, with all the uses a unit of that type has. Anti-flyer defense in Ogres isn’t just for Ogre Boomers anymore, which is a good thing, but the Wrangler ignores basic rules of the game and just might be the hardest-hitting Individual for the points in the game. Another must-take unit for most Ogres lists.
And finally, the most under-the-radar buff is the Ogre Sergeant receiving both the Elite and Steady Aim rules, turning it from a discount Ogre Warlord into a strong character in its own right, essentially a mobile artillery piece with five Piercing (2) shooting attacks with 30 inch range, that also scores, fights, and inspires.
All in all, the Ogres both boosted their biggest strength (armywide Brutal) through The Big Deal upgrade while freeing up an unlock for another hero character that makes the Ogres army go. The army also gets new tools to cover many of their weaknesses. Not too shabby for a single edition of Clash of Kings.
2. Twilight Kin
Formerly a poor man’s Nightstalkers list dragged down by subpar Elf unlocks, Twilight Kin in Clash of Kings ‘22 is an example of an army list buoyed in its power almost solely by the incredible strength of its new unit options.
Both of the Twilight Kin’s new unlocking units, the all-offense Blade Dancer Neophytes and the kill-anything Twilight Gladestalkers, will be heavily featured in many Kin lists this year. The Neophytes are not exactly point-and-click as they lack any Crushing Strength, but all their points are in their offensive power and they will happily blend all but the toughest units through sheer weight of Melee 3+ attacks. Their 200-point price point in the Horde size (the only way to take them) provides Twilight Kin with the efficient yet effective unlocking unit the army craved. And many of its weaknesses are somewhat negated by Kin’s support options (most notably Drain Life and Aura: Stealthy from the army’s new Living Legend discussed below).
The Twilight Gladestalkers win the award for CoK ‘22’s Most Spammable Unit due to the fact they are good at killing any and every unit type in the game. Lower Defense units will be shredded either at range with the Gladestalkers 24-inch bows or in melee now that the unit hits on 3s (both of which benefit from the Elite special rule). And higher Defense units aren’t safe either when they close the gap because of the Dreamslayer Venom special rule, essentially a built-in Hammer of Measured Force. When looking at spamming units, the trick is to find the ones with no downsides so that you aren’t punished for skewing–I think the playtesters and Rules Committee did a great job of balancing this time around, but the Twilight Gladestalkers might have slipped through…
What really makes the new units work, however, are the new Heroes the army gains. The Soulbane on Dreadfiend is an incredible new unit that plays off the theme of wicked Elves using their power to dominate their Nightstalker allies. It also just so happens to give Twilight Kin access to one of the most ‘meta’ unit types in the game right now–the fast, Nimble Large Cavalry hero that is almost impossible to block up and stop from going exactly where it wants.
La’theal Bleakheart is a Living Legend Summoner Crone that is probably my favorite new character because of the sheer amount of support she can provide in a single turn with Drain Life (7), Aura (Stealthy), Inspiring and the Eye of Valak special rule. In a six or seven turn game where caster action economy is so key, Bleakheart’s ability to do four different things in one turn is amazing. And the Stealthy aura is particularly helpful in protecting the low Defense Elf units like the Twilight Gladestalkers you are definitely taking from early-game shooting.
I could go on and mention the price reduction received by Mikayel, who is probably the most frightening target for the new Host: Shadowbeast spell in the game, Impalers receiving the Fury special rule, the finally-worth-taking Cronebound Archfiend (but did it really need Stealthy?..), and other buffs the Twilight Kin received, but suffice to say the new-look Kin have flown up the army power rankings.
1. Order of the Green Lady
Before Clash of Kings 2022, The Order of the Green Lady was a top half faction with significant access to strong Forces of Nature units like the Naiad Heartpiercers, Beasts of Nature, Pegasus, and Winged Unicorns to combine with Human mounted cavalry. At their best, Green Lady lists are better Herd armies–the same terrain-ignoring abilities on its hammers but on Defense 5 versus Defense 4 units and a strong Ranged phase versus the typically-nonexistent Ranged phase of the Herd. At its worst, Green Lady suffered from the same problems as any other knightly faction: an inability to grind after the initial charge and vulnerability to factions bringing Phalanx units, both problems a consequence of the army’s need to rely on Thunderous Charge hammers.
To mitigate those weaknesses, almost every Green Lady player built in two hordes of Water Elementals to provide some Phalanx-ignoring medium hammers that could grind somewhat with Crushing Strength (1) and Regeneration (5+) while keeping the Speed theme of the army. But relying on a unit that hits on 4+ with only one point of damage modifier meant the Water Elementals often failed to win their fights in the center even if the army won the flanks.
The great news for Green Lady players in CoK ‘22 is every problem laid out above has been solved for them through a series of straight buffs to every important unit without any tradeoffs. Both the Order of the Forsaken and Order of Redemption units trade out a point of Thunderous Charge for the all-important Crushing Strength (1), with the former becoming regular as well for good measure. It really cannot be overstated how much of a significant change this is for those units. Access to Crushing Strength is the dividing line in Third Edition between Cavalry/Large Cavalry units that work and those that don’t. It makes Phalanx much less of a concern since the cavalry can grind out those and other units with their native Crushing Strength plus a Bane-Chant after the initial charge.
Speaking of Bane-Chant, the newly-buffed Devoted now has access to Bane-Chant (2) for 20 points. Although the Druid could and often did provide Bane-Chant support before, now the Green Lady player does not need to settle for the Druid when you really want to take the Devoted.
And remember those two hordes of Water Elementals that everyone was already taking? Well, Green Lady gets the only “Elohi” formation in CoK ‘22 (i.e. a formation that buffs units that were already being taken in every list, a reference to a Second Edition Basilean formation that was widely regarded as the wrong way to do formations). The Lurkers of the Lake formation gives Water Elementals Wild Charge (1) and access to additional damage modifiers from the Devoted’s Thunderous Charge aura and her Bane-Chant (2) spell–hitting on 4’s gets a lot better when the attacks that hit are going through at Crushing Strength (2), Thunderous Charge (1).
Those changes alone would be enough to bump Green Lady up the power rankings. But the army also gets a great combat character in the Champion of the Green Lady that will be in most armies and two effective new units: the Brotherhood Centaurs provide a cheap unlock with Speed instead of having to unlock with Order of the Brotherhood knight regiments, and the Order of the Thorn is a medium anvil that is one of the few units in the game that can combine the Phalanx special rule with Defense 5 (really the only combination in which Phalanx is effective).
In sum, although the Green Lady army plays the same as it did previous to the Clash of Kings 2022, the effectiveness and efficiency of that build has gotten better in every way. Green Lady already boasted scoring units with long-range shooting with Piercing, good Wound recovery, the best medium Flyer in the game, the best chaff unit in the game, and an uber-hammer knight horde. Its hammers now hit harder and are more reliable in the grind–there is no limit to how good this faction can be.
Conclusion
To be sure, there are other armies in the game that improved significantly with the Clash of Kings 2022 changes. The Order of the Brothermark received a new lease on life with a strong formation and new units that give you a reason to play the army. Forces of Nature and Forces of the Abyss are two already strong factions that received awesome buffs.
But I think the three factions above had a lot of their problems solved that were holding them back from true competition for the top tables. I’m excited to see these new-look lists in action!
