Slow Grow Challenge Week 18: End of Stage Three!
17th Jun 2026
Alex Gordon
Stage Three Check-In: How Have Our Challengers Been Getting On?
We’ve reached the end of Stage Three in the Kings of War Slow Grow Challenge. At this point, the target was to have 1,500 points painted, with one final stage left to push everyone up to a full 2,000-point army.
For Team Mantic, Stage Three has been a mixed one. Tobias has absolutely stormed ahead and already finished his 2,000-point army. Alex and Dan are still making progress, but haven’t quite hit the Stage Three target. Ross, meanwhile, has had to step back for now due to work and family commitments.
That’s the honest update. Hobby challenges are great for motivation, but real life still gets a vote. The important thing is that the brushes are still moving, the armies are still growing, and there’s one final stage left to go.
Before we dive into the individual updates, let’s give Tobias the kudos he deserves. Finishing a full 2,000-point army by the end of Stage Three is a big win, and the amount he’s added to his Xirkaali force during the past six weeks is seriously impressive.
We know that there are others like him out there in the community, who have already completed 2,000 points or more WAY ahead of schedule. Well done everyone - truly excellent work!
Tobias - The Hobby Dynamo (Xirkaali)
TW: I’ve already finished my 2,000-point Xirkaali army, which to be fair, is not a sentence I expected to be writing at the Stage Three mark. But I’m very happy with how it’s all gone!
Since the last check-in, I’ve added Xorxoi Prowlmaster, a regiment of Lionsnarl Cavalry, a Gokluu dragon, several war engines, and another regiment of Spearwardens using the alternate dog heads. I’ve also upgraded my troops of Plainstalkers and Wildfangs to regiments.
Xorxoi Prowlmaster
That gives me a finished 2,000-point army, but rather than doing the sensible thing and stopping there, I’ve decided to keep going.
Tobias's Xirkaali Army So Far
My new aim is to reach 2,500 points by the end of the challenge. That should give me a few more list-building options and a bit more flexibility on the tabletop – all ready for getting some games in during the Siege of Samarik summer campaign!
Alex - The Reformed Perfectionist (Trident Realm)
AG: Sadly, I haven’t quite hit the 1,500-point target for Stage Three, but my Trident Realm army is still moving forward.
I’ve got plenty of work-in-progress minis, but haven’t quite managed to fully finish any new units recently. I’m working on more Riverguard, as I’d like to upgrade the troop I’ve already painted to a regiment. I’ve also got some Placoderm Defenders in the works – I love the miniatures, and their combination of Defence 6+ and Phalanx should give my army some much-needed staying power.
Placoderm Defenders and Riverguard with Javelins
I’ll have some catch-up work to do in Stage Four, but I’m still plugging away and am certainly not ready to admit defeat just yet!
Plus, let’s be honest: getting behind schedule and then trying to pull it all together before the deadline feels like a very traditional part of the wargaming hobby. Lagging behind? No, I'm merely upholding a fine tradition!
Dan - The Lore-Led General (Xirkaali)
DM: With so much going on at Mantic right now, hobby time has been in short supply for the last few weeks. However, I did plot out the next stages of my army and was pleased to work out I could squeeze in a mix of fantastic and characterful Xirkaali models into my next block of 500 points.
So here are the Siegemaster (yet to meet the business end of a paintbrush, but his time is coming), Gokluu dragon (which will be in a blue and yellow scheme to match the main colours seen in the rest of the army), and finally my Hwathca.
Wildfang/Hwathca kitbash, Gokluu and Siegemaster
With the latter I wanted to try something a bit different, and also to find another way to communicate 'something' about part of the army. There didn't seem any better way to show just how tough and fearless the Wildfangs were than to have one hefting a rack of alchemical rockets onto the battlefield!
Stage Four Ahead - The Final Push!
So, that’s where Team Mantic stands at the end of Stage Three.
The three-quarter mark of any project is often a time when things can feel a bit tough - community member Stephan said as much when we interviewed him about his Xirkaali army back in January. But we’ve got one stage left, and The Siege of Samarik campaign coming in August is a great incentive for us to keep building and keep painting. We all want to get our armies ready to battle for the fate of Pannithor this summer!
For everyone following along – hang in there, and do keep sharing your own slow grow hobby updates! We’ll be back soon with another instalment of the slow grow challenge blog.
