Tactics Tuesday: The big winners from Clash Of Kings 2022
14th Dec 2021
Jonny Mann
Hello and Welcome to Tactics Tuesday!
This is the number one place to find the tips and tricks to master your favourite Mantic system. Hopefully over the coming weeks you will learn how to deal with that one pesky unit that has been giving you trouble or find some insight into better ways to play and enjoy your most loved game.
This week Kyle, Mantic’s US sales manager and host of Master Crafted, gives us his expert opinion on his top five updated units that really stand out in Kings Of War since the release of Clash of kings 2022.
While you read this, I’ll be frantically trying to work Scorchwing Regiments into my Salamander army!
It’s safe to say that Clash of Kings 2022 was a big shakeup for Kings of War. Each faction was given a plethora of both direct and indirect updates to units that provide new tactical depth and gameplay opportunities. Some of these are incredibly fun and reinforce a certain style of gameplay. While others are straight statistic buffs that just take the unit from undesirable, to suddenly needing to find a place for them in your list. Here are five units, I think really benefit from the changes in CoK2022.
1. Forces of Nature Gladewalker Druid
The Forces of Nature are an army that plays excellent in a grind. They’ve got some of the best access to fearless units, radiance of life, and high defense stats in the game. There are proper surge tactics to be used, as well as an abundance of access to the Heal spell. In order to take advantage of those, you really need a proper spellcaster. That’s where the Gladewalker Druid comes in.
In Clash of Kings ’22, the Gladewalker Druid gains several fun new mechanics to play on. A number of units in the list were given the Elemental keyword. At face value, this doesn’t mean much. Once you combine it with the new Nature in Balance rule though, this spellcaster stands in a league of their own. It allows 1s that are rolled when casting specific spells to be re-rolled, as long as the Gladewalker Druid is within 6” of a friendly core Elemental unit – which is great on its own! However, combining this with the Ring of Harmony upgrade, and suddenly your sole hero unit becomes a living battery of spellpower. You are now able to cast two spells (the same or different) onto two friendly Elemental units.
As the Ring of Harmony is an upgrade and doesn’t restrict you from taking other magical artefacts, this makes the Gladewalker Druid a prime target for items such as the Shroud of the Saint or the Tome of Darkness. Shroud will take their innate Heal 4 to Heal 6, that can be cast twice, and if you’ve positioned it cleverly, re-rolling failed 1s to hit, that can be cast TWICE. Conversely, with something like the Tome of Darkness granting Surge 4 (+3 if you’ve already have the spell) you get either a discount Surge option, or the potential for a long bomb cast. Imagine setting up an Elemental unit on the other side of a forest where your opponent doesn’t think it has line of sight. Move the Elemental unit in, cast surge on it, moving through the forest, and then potentially casting Surge a second time to complete the move through the forest and right into the unsuspecting enemy!
2. Salamander Scorchwings
A rather simple unit, the Salamander Scorchwings come with incredible flexibility in their profile. They’re able to threaten at range with some decent shooting that comes paired with Steady Aim. The 18” range on Firesparks has an effective range of 28” thanks to the Scorchwings’ spectacular speed 10. This means that you’re able to kite around the battlefield staying safe from dangerous cavalry or pesky gargoyle charges. The bump to Defense 4+ in Clash of Kings means they’ve now got a decent edge against other chaff units and are a smidge more survivable against counter shooting. They can move 5” backwards and still put shots down range.
But it’s not just their light shooting that makes these units shine. They have a Melee stat of 3+, Pathfinder, Nimble, and Thunderous Charge 1! When you’re ready (or forced) to commit to combat, they’re no slouch and the opponent has to be careful as it’s hard to defend from a 20” Nimble charge.
They’re a supremely efficient harassment unit that can keep their distance by doing the ‘shoot n’ scoot’ all while continually moving down field and facing back in to threaten a very long and dangerous charge at all times.
3. Goblin King
First, I have to come clean about this. Rob asked me to feature this unit. He threatened my children, held my paychecks hostage, and told me he’d make me eat pigeon again if I didn’t. All joking aside, the Goblin King went from zero to hero in one very specific way: Groany Snark.
The Goblin King was rarely seen in competitive Goblin lists. When you’ve got a highly contested hero slot with units like the Banggit and the Wiz, there wasn’t much to make it stand out. Now, with a Mini-Winggit Flight Suit, Groany Snark behaves like the unit Goblin players love and the rest of us love to hate. Blast D3 on 5 attacks is laced with extra Thunderous Charge and the potential for scary combos like Host Shadowbeast.
A Goblin King with this upgrade becomes a threat all on its own, but it now serves as a great support option for those of you who want to take the Ramming Speed Winggits. Imagine a full air force division of those screaming down your flank. Another option I think would be great fun is to simply use it as an assassin unit. While unable to take artefacts, (wouldn’t the Mournful Blade be delightful?) a unit like this running around the backfield hunting down enemy spellcasters and other inspiring heroes just sounds like a nightmare.
[Rob’s extra note – now that I’ve released Kyle’s family members, I just wanted to stress how good the combo of Groany, plus the Ramming Speed Winggits is. Now you’ve got a couple of units that can really start harassing your opponent’s backlines or war machines, while the rest of your army grinds through the Rabble marching toward them. Don’t be sad about the split stats for the Winggits because I actually think the Winggits have been given a boost.]
4. Forces of the Abyss Chroneas
The Chroneas is one of those models I think everybody likes, but prior to Clash of Kings 2022, it just didn’t have the most competitive place in a Forces of the Abyss army. One of the goals of the book was to really develop the flavour of armies. Like the other selections in this article, the Chroneas takes advantage of some already great synergies in the faction and just got better on its own! Moving to Melee 3+ means those 6+D6 attacks with Crushing Strength 3 are going to really leave a mark on whatever unit you put it into.
The Melee stat upgrade would be enough to make most players happy. But why stop there? The new ability, Temporal Ruptures is where the Chroneas really begins to stand out. This ability functions a bit like Lifeleech, except for every point of damage the Chroneas does in combat, it is able to remove damage from a Core Friendly unit within 6”, to a maximum of 3. This is a ton of fun when you consider the Well of Souls’ similar ability to pull wounds off friendly units. Now you have two units that can functionally heal other units in a faction that has abundant Regeneration and decent Lifeleech options for when the damage gets moved around. It’s incredibly flavourful and allows you to really buy into this type of playstyle.
5. Ogre Mammoth
(Artist’s impression)
My good friend Jesse Cornwell spent half a decade campaigning for the Mammoth unit in Ogres. It started because he simply wanted it to stand out from the Giant option more and be a bit more unique. His original idea was to give it Strider, which ironically the Giant also has, but nevertheless its inclusion was a first step in differentiating it from the monster slot competition.
Jesse often referred to himself as, ‘kind of a big deal,’ mostly due to his minor internet celebrity status. In his honour, the Ogre Mammoth was given this unique upgrade in Clash of Kings 2022. With it, the Mammoth gains Brutal (2), Very Inspiring, and Call to Greatness. Even without this upgrade, it still gained Rampage (D6) which is a great separator from the Slayer (D6) in the Giant profile.
But the ability for a monster unit to inspire in Ogres is huge. It means you are able to use those incredibly offensive heroes, such as the Berserker Bully, all on their own, safely inspiring itself downfield while The Big Deal anchors your main battle line.
It also plays on one of the better special rules in the game, with Brutal being bumped to 2. Even someone like me who loves to roll a 3 on rout checks can see the value of adding 2 to a Nerve Test. Don’t get me started on the potential to combine this with Kuzlo & Madfall’s ability to reduce enemy nerve by -1 while within 6”. This, unlike Dread, does in fact stack with Brutal modifiers. Thankfully, the Ogres don’t have Cloak of Death in their list!
Jesse and I filmed a lot of battle reports where he would often call upon a certain deep dish deity. In those moments, his Nerve Tests would always be the exact number he needed. While it’s impossible to really put that type of mechanic in the game, The Call to Greatness is about as close as it gets. The Big Deal Mammoth can reach out to a key combat within 12” and grant Brutal 2 exactly where it’s needed. This means any unit can get a piece of the Brutal 2 pie. Their attacks are sure to bite into enemy armour most efficiently this way. This leaves no doubt they’ll be slicing up the opposition in no time. Now, if only we made a nice mammoth model… hmm, perhaps one day…
