We’ve brought together seasoned Kings of War commanders and the Kings of War-curious for a look at the latest previews of Mantic’s upcoming Kings of War: Champions. Dan and Andy over at Mantic Games kindly took some time to answer our questions for this one, and we’ll be sharing our thoughts and hopes for Champions.
The Generals
Brin: I’ve liked rank and flank games before but since returning to the hobby I’ve yet to dive back in on the tabletop, instead scratching that itch with the likes of SOVL. I’m hoping this game/format gives a reasonable way to get back to the table.
Cronch: I’ve been delving back into rank and flank games in the past couple of years, mostly with Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings. I’ve always had half an eye on Kings of War, up to and including painting some models for it, but I’ve never actually played. The Champions format looks like a great way into the system whilst keeping it contained (initially, at least!)
JP: You know me, I’ve been breathing rank and flank fumes for the past 4 years. What I am excited about is having this means through which I can easily introduce friends to the genre. Before, if I wanted to have an introductory game, I had to curate a whole experience and inevitably overwhelm the prospective player. Now, I can just grab two companies and have a game. It’s like the preconstructed Magic: The Gathering decks but for rank and flank.
Urr: Like JP, it’s all been Kings of War around here for me for the last few years, and it’s good to finally see an specifically designed into game, something that not quite as intimidating as saying “Welcome to the hobby, before we play a game, paint 120 models”
Sero: I love the potential spectacle of rank and flank but my hobby butterfly nature means the likelihood of me ever getting a full army painted for such a game is low. I’ve dabbled a lot in the past with rank and flank especially with Historicals, and did at one point in Kings of War 2nd edition buy an army, which I ‘found’ last week while tidying up. Still mostly unpainted. A low model count rank and flank game feels very appealing to me.
Battlefield Reconnaissance
Goonhammer: Will the Champions have rules in 3rd/4th edition Kings of War?
Mantic: Champions is all about the stories behind the characters and bringing those personalities to life both on the battlefield and within the wider reaches of Pannithor. I’m sure we’ll see them making an appearance in the future.
Mike: This seems like a no brainer to me, and makes Champions are even more appealing on ramp to the full size experience. Who wouldn’t want to take the Champion that’s carried them to battle in the early skirmishes on to a full sized battlefield?
JP: I’m interested in the fact these Champions have nice big bases – I want big bases for all my heroes!
GH: Will more factions be added to Champions once the first nine are done?
Mantic: There are plans for more beyond these initial 9 Company boxes, but it really depends upon the success of these first 9 and how much folks enjoy it and want more. If people are enjoying it we’d be mad not to keep growing the options!
JP: Give me some new Orc sculpts! A crazy Godspeaker or Krudger… OK, now I am just wishlisting.
Sero: Liking what I’ve seen of these boxes so far and excited for painting a weirdo faction. Those Void talon look right up my street.
GH: Is Champions going to be an avenue through which plastic kits can be introduced without having to do a full range refresh?
Mantic: It certainly could be. We’ve introduced the new plastic Basilean Cavalry in our first Champions box and all of the Champions are new sculpts so there’s always potential to bring new things to life in this way.
Cronch: As with any minis manufacturer with a large range, the gulf in quality between the newest and oldest models in the Kings of War range is quite large, so it’s great to have another avenue for things to be updated! Perhaps in the future this could be a fun way of introducing completely new factions, too.
GH: Can we use our own terrain in Champions games?
Mantic: You absolutely can. In the rulebook there’s some examples of what would work in terms of size and type of terrain.
JP: When I saw the Deluxe Terrain Pack I was worried it would only be one kind of terrain allowed, so this is a relief. Especially for fun events and tournaments of Champions.
Brin: This seems like something that would always have been the case, as long as you have the right amount of roughly the right size pieces for what the game expects but it’s good to have it properly confirmed.
Sero: The card terrain and placement rules remind me of A Song of Ice and Fire, and it works really well there so I’m happy either way with card or going all in with 3D terrain.
GH: How much rules overlap will there be between Kings of War, Ambush and Champions?
Mantic: Whilst Kings of War is the basis of Champions (in terms of it being a Fantasy Rank and Flank game), Champions does streamline some things so that it makes it easier to get on board with, if this is your first rank and flank style game. Things like only one unit being able to charge a flank at any given time just simplifies things for this smaller, faster game. If you play Kings of War or Ambush it will feel familiar and if you start with Champions and want to increase the scale of your gaming into Ambush or Kings of War, you’re well on your way with understanding the bigger games’ rules. There are things in Champions however that makes it stand apart from its bigger sibling and makes it a fun and exciting game in its own right.
JP: It definitely feels like the game has been nicely curated to streamline the beginner experience. I can envision running Champions events once a year to get people into the game (maybe more if they are popular).
Sero: As my grey beard gaming group has got old and greyer, weirdly, time has become more of a factor for our gaming than cost, so quick play games are going down extremely well for us. AOS Spearhead has had a lot of table time due to this, and I suspect us being old grogs who love rank and flank will find Champions very appealing.
Urr: Now this is where things get interesting; How much of the design of Champions is a reflection of 4th edition Kings of War? Kings has always been a streamlined game, but more and more things are starting to creep in. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
GH: Will Ambush be sticking around next to Champions?
Mantic: Yes it will. Champions is it’s own game and Ambush is very much a smaller sized version of Kings of War where list building and access to a wider range of units is possible. We see them as scratching different itches for different types of gamers.
Brin: This definitely seems like a good ladder to climb from Champions to Ambush to full games if this pathway is properly supported with things like Ambush and Champions starter sets designed to be meshed together.
Cronch: Ambush feels like a great opportunity to take the units from your Champions box and add an extra kit or two that you have your eye on, getting to use them straight away rather than having to jump straight to a full-size KoW army.
GH: How do you see players scaling from Champions to a full size KoW army?
Mantic: We think Champions can be a route into Kings of War, but it doesn’t have to be. For some folks, they will be more than happy to only play Champions and collect the different Company boxes as they release. The ability to just build and play what’s in the box and not have to agonise over what’s the best way to build a unit, what should I have in a list etc. will be a big draw. For others they may really get the bug for fantasy gaming and want to add to their Company, in which case moving their Champions force over to Ambush/Kings of War and adding more units will be the way to go.
JP: I’m actually tempted to use this to try an army I wouldn’t normally get into, like Twilight Kin.
Brin: Much like Spearhead in AoS this seems like a good excuse to start a small force and then expand it if you fall in love without feeling that spent cost forcing you onwards.
Sero: I’d definitely be tempted down this route, but whether I actually manage to do more than it become another doomed project remains to be seen.
GH: How hard was it to retain that tactical rank and flank feeling when working with much smaller unit counts?
Mantic: Rob Burman did a fantastic job of treading that line between going in a new direction but whilst making sure the game feels like Kings of War. We play tested lots of different versions of movement, how hard things should hit, how resilient things should be and how to make sure you don’t just get locked down in combat and I think he absolutely nailed it. You want things to be tactical and have that movement that is synonymous with rank and flank games, but you also want it to be fast and not get bogged down. We’re sure folks will enjoy what we’ve created.
JP: I just want to play it right now!
Brin: I’m definitely jazzed to try it out, a rank and flank game with 4 pieces per side feels like a hard thing to juggle, but if it really does capture the fun in that smaller format it will be a great gateway
Sero: The previews so far have me hopeful. A Song of ice and Fire made rank and flank gaming with 4 or 5 units work well so its definitely possible and Champions looks very promising to me so far.
Cronch: I’m definitely excited too! A company box, or maybe even the starter, is going to make its way straight to the top of my hobby wishlist I think.
Urr: I’m very interested to see how Champions plays, and I’ll be grabbing a box or two, for those sweet new models for my factions.
Keep checking in with us, as the team start getting to grips with Kings of War: Champions and continue to share their experiences taking to the battlefield.
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