Over the past few months I have played a lot of games with Kingdoms of Men, somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-35 games. Does this make me a subject matter expert.......not in the slightest! However, I figured I would take you through my perceptions of the army, its units and what I have come to find as routes to victory.
Overview
What do toast with no butter, a cheese sandwich and saltine crackers have in common? They are dry, tasteless but do provide you with sustenance. That is what it is like to play Kingdoms of Men, not a lot of flavor, gives you cotton mouth, but it does allow you to play games!
In all seriousness, Kingdoms of Men is about the most basic army I have played in my 20+ years of war gaming. Everything just feels generic and there aren't too many synergies that you can produce form the core list. Needless to say, I have had some great fun tinkering with the list and the games you win, you really fill like you have won!
Here are a couple of the high points that initial drew me to the list:
- Spear Phalanx w/Pikes
- Cheap Wizards
- The Captain
- Challenge of consistently winning without all the shiny toys
The army does have some strengths in terms of game play:
- SWISS army knife of list building
- Access to numerous ally options increasing our first point
- Numbers, this list can easily get close to US 30 and still be effective
- Strong scenario play
- INDOMITABLE WILL
Weaknesses from what I have experienced are:
- Lack of large infantry for killing support
- Survivable sources of Crushing Strength
- No outstanding units (core or support)
- Hit like a wet blanket
Before we get into the units themselves, lets cover the army special rule Indomitable Will. For those that have not read this rule here it is:
This is a FANTASTIC army wide special rule. Who doesn't want to shake a wavered result, with no roll and act like nothing happened? This guy does.
I can honestly say that I have not used this ability to make a unit Fearless, as it just pays to wait and remove a waver on the next turn. Being fearless doesn't keep you from being routed, so if they can route you then you wont be using it anyway!
For part 1 I will run through all of the infantry as there are quite a few.
Infantry
Lets take a look at the units. I have rated each on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being unusable and 10 being like Superman.
Infantry
Shield Wall 5/10
Used these numerous times when trying our horde style lists as a regiment only runs your 100 pts and give you US 3. They don't have the speed, power or nerve to be used as proper chaff in Troops, and I would just never see the need to run them in hordes. Regiments can provide a decent core center supported with other units, and being able to bulk out US on the cheap is a bonus.
Pole-Arms Block 2/10
Have never used these guys, and for good reason. The lowest unit size is a regiment which runs you 105 pts. They are melee 4+, CS 1 and have a disastrous defense of 3+, for another 30 pts I can get a regiment of Foot Guard (covered next). These may look cool on the table depending on the models you are using, but I just don't see the justification in taking them. If you are being beaten by Goblin Rabble Regiments its best to stay home.
Foot Guard 9/10
Personally I rate this unit very high. Every time I have run them in games they never managed to disappoint. Natural 5+ defense, melee 3+ and have access to upgrade to two-handed weapons for free! Even with dropping to defense 4+ with the upgrade these guys are a go to. Nerve of 14/16 is great and helps them stick around. As I talked about with the Pole-Arms Block, you spend another 30 pts and you have a regiment of Foot Guard that are either Def 5 or CS 1 with Def 4. Really a no contest for me on what I would take.
Running a horde of this guys just as is with Indomitable Will provides an excellent tar pit, enabling you to position the rest of your forces for counter attacks. If you are not using it elsewhere, Brew of Strength provides an increase to their combat effectiveness without loosing the Def 5. On the other hand you can go with Brew of Sharpness and have a unit that hits on 2+ and with Bane Chant support becomes a true meat grinder.
Spear Phalanx 9/10
Might seem odd that I rate this unit the same as the Foot Guard, but they are filling a very different role. Over the course of my games I have never suited up an army without a Horde of these guys, but I have also never taken them without Pikes. Ensnare is well worth the points you pay for it, and becomes a real thorn for opponents to deal with. They will not set the world a flame with their combat prowess, but that is not why you are taking them. With granting -1 to hit them in melee from Ensnare they will grind out combats with almost anyone. Combine that with putting them in difficult terrain, and you have a unit that at best is being hit on 5's (unless Sharpness is involved).
Now we come to the second ability that comes at no extra cost, Phalanx. Stripping thunderous charge completely from your opponent is crazy good. On top of that if you are Cavalry, Large Cavalry or have Flying and make an unhindered charge against them you get an additional -1 to hit modifier.
Protecting the flanks and rear of this unit is paramount. While this concept isn't a novel one, for the Spear Phalanx it completely negates both Ensnare and Phalanx.
Don't count out regiments of these guys either. For a mere 140 pts you have a unit that gets all the benefits of the horde, with a decent nerve of 13/15 and has a much smaller footprint. Being able to better position itself in terrain makes it very hard for your opponent to properly attack them. Against most hordes with 20-25 attacks you are looking at between 3-5 hits, and then only 2-3 wounds with CS1. The likely hood of a regiment being even wavered is slim.
Items are more of a personal preference on these guys. I typically don't add any items to regiments, they are performing above their points as is and adding more to them isn't increasing effectiveness enough to justify. For the hordes I have run a mix of Brew of Strength, Hammer of Measured Force, Staying Stone and Healing Brew, with the first two being my usual choices.
Militia Mob 2/10
Really not much love for me on this unit. First off they are irregular so you are not opening up the really good options of the list in the heroes, artillery and monsters. Their state line is what you would expect from random townsfolk grabbing their random farm weapons. However, when looking at their points compared to the rest of the army there isn't much justification for them. Yes, you can take a Legion of 60 angry farmers, but for a unit that is Def 3, and Me 5 their nerve of 24/27 will quickly be shredded. One element that you would look for in a unit like this is cheap and easy access to US. Militia even fail at this as each of the choices is 1 less than other infantry in the list. Regiments are only giving 2, hordes 3 and legion 4.
There may be a place for these in a list, but I have yet to find one.
Fanatics 7/10
The rating may fool you, but these guys are great. The fact that they are support pieces and need support is what is keeping them from being rated higher.
Best bang for your buck will be in the troop size. At 95pts you are getting a much needed chaff unit that can lay a serious hurt on enemy flanks and rears. Being that they have a fearless nerve of -/11 will keep them from clogging up future movement, and hard for chip damage to consistently remove them. Wild Charge D3 will help keep opponents honest as Me 3+ and have CS1 with 12 attacks is nothing to ignore.
While troops are easily the best choice, I have had some success with regiments as well. They are not irregular and so help with unlocks, but are 145pts. So you again could go back to Foot Guard regiments with CS1 and Indomitable Will for that price.
Bowmen/Crossbow Block 4/10
Very little in game experience with these units. I know that there has been talk of shooting spam, I am seeing few other types of lists that would need these units. Massed shots are nice, and they do provide unlocks, but when you are not fully concentrating on shooting there are better choices we will cover in future parts of this review.
List Variations
Here are some of my most used unit/item combinations from my games. While there may be better configurations, these have served me well.
#1 Horde Focused (11 US and 5 Drops)
Spear Phalanx Horde (Pikes/IW/Hammer)
Foot Guard Horde (IW/Brew of Strength)
3x Fanatic Troops
820 pts
Probably the combination I have run the most. You have a super solid core of two hordes with excellent nerve, and the ability to dish out damage with CS1 on the FG and Hammer on the Pikes. Fanatics are used as chaff, or flankers similar to detachments from Warhammer Fantasy Empire list. Combine this with the rally from The Captain, and Bane Chant from a Wizard and you have a very serious problem for your opponent.
#2 Regiment Focused (19 US and 9 Drops)
3x Spear Phalanx Regiment (Pikes)
2x Foot Guard Regiment (IW and Two-handed Weapons)
4x Fanatic Troop
1090 pts
This combination focuses on high starting US and good number of drops. While not a killing machine, it has done well as a base for scenario play.
#3 Double Pike (17 US and 5 Drops)
Spear Phalanx (Pikes/IW/Hammer)
Spear Phalanx (Pikes/IW/Brew of Strength)
3x Foot Guard Regiment (IW/Two-handed Weapons)
975 pts
Finally we have a mix of 1 and 2. Good starting US with a smaller number of drops. Resilience and counter attack is the name of the game here. Pikes hold up units and the Foot Guard are your flanking/counter attacking support. I have found this to be more forgiving when starting to play the army as there are fewer moving pieces to think about for placement and setting up future turns.
So that is it for Part 1. Remember these are my opinions on the list and would love to hear about others and their experiences!
