When I started out playing Kings of War I had a very regimented view of the game. Movement phase was for moving, Ranged phase for shooting, you charge the stuff in front of you and other limiting ideas. As a result my Ice Elementals just weren’t performing the way I expected. Fortunately the Kings of War community is full of helpful players willing to offer advice and answer questions. Here is what I learned and how it expanded my understanding of the game…
Key: Blue rectangles represent our heroic blocks of frozen water, red rectangles the evil hordes of our opponents. The rest you can probably figure out yourselves.
1: Move, Shoot, Surge!
The first trick someone showed me. It blew my newbie mind and opened up a whole new way of playing. Step 1 you move your Icy Boi’s like normal. Step 2 they let forth a howling gale of ice based halitosis. Step 3 you cast surge on the unit and (hopefully) send it smashing into the unit they just blasted which counts as a charge.
Fire and Brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Dogs and cats living together! Getting to shoot and charge in the same Ranged phase! What sorcery was this? I’ll tell you what sorcery it was, it was awesome and suddenly the rules of the game became a little more flexible. So began my journey into the wonders of the Ice Elemental.
2. Step back, shoot and get stuck in again…
Our next trick depends on your opponent being spectacularly unlucky in the preceding combat. Remember a unit taking damage in the previous Melee phase is Disordered and cannot make ranged attacks. If your Elementals are Disordered it’s better to just counter charge and use your Ice Queen to heal them.
So for Step 1 our unit disengages in the movement phase which places it 1″ away from the enemy unit. Step 2 you unleash hell with Icy Breath. Step 3 you cast Surge on the Ice Elementals, sending them back into the enemy for another round of melee. With a Horde that’s 18 breath attacks followed by 18 fists to the face. A terrifying prospect for any enemy.
3. A sneaky side charge
Let me finish with this little trick that blew my mind. After asking for advice from a Northern King on a charge he revealed to me a secret drawn from the depths of arcane trickery. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed to silhouette the frame of one so versed in ancient lore, reality itself changed around him to make every moment drip with atmosphere. Kinda like that old board game with the video and the spooky music. Errrr, I digress. Absolute top geezer he was.
Where were we? Oh yes, its kind of obvious now I know but to think laterally is a skill in itself. Step 1 you move up as if to go past the target unit and at the end of your move turn so moving directly forward will make contact with the flank of said enemy unit. Step 2 cast surge so the unit moves forward to touch the flank, thereby getting a lovely, lovely flank charge. Step 3 your horde gets to roll 36 cubes of devastation.
In conclusion
Experienced players won’t be surprised by any of this. If you are still developing our skills I hope this article highlights the potential of the game. These tricks aren’t limited to Ice Elementals but any shambling unit working in conjunction with a spellcaster using the Surge spell. Breaking the usual order of play by moving in the Ranged phase opens possibilities for all sorts of shenanigans. So when it comes to regimented thinking, Let it go, let it go…
