Image from Mantic Games Website’s 4th Edition teaser page
By Troy Hill
I began to write this a week ago, on 7 October. But new bits of information were trickling out of Mantic HQ so fast, the trickle was more of a typhoon. Or, at least, it was “Blowing a Hoolie” with news from Nottingham UK.
Now that Ronnie, Matt, and Kyle at Mantic have the information deluge at more manageable levels, let me recap the last several weeks for those living outside the world of Pannithor.
Mantic Games flagship game, Kings of War (KOW) is on the road to a new edition! And it’s been designed by one of the grand masters of the fantasy gaming genre, Alessio Cavatore. The reigning King (of Wargaming Rules) is back, baby!
Even though he’s been busy recently, ushering one of his other flagship designs, Bolt Action, by Warlord Games, into their 3rd edition, Alessio is recharging another game (KOW) he hasn’t touched since it came out back in December of 2010.
In the following article, I’ll share what a broad overview of what we know about the new edition at the time of this writing. Most of the images link to pages on the Mantic Website, so be sure to click them to learn more.
I’ve written previously about Kings of War, and why it’s one of my favorite games. You can find the first of these pieces here. Then take a trip up to Hamilton Ontario for my first ever five-round tournament in Kings of War as a total Noob with only a few demo games behind me. And finally my trip to the Michigan GT for one of Mike Carter and Blake Shrode’s five-round events.
In a nutshell, what is KOW?
KOW is a rank-n-flank game of 28mm scale fantasy miniatures. Since the game features a damage vs Nerve stat mechanic, no “wounded” models are removed. Instead each unit fights on, until if fails a nerve check and flees the battlefield.
This leads to “multi-basing” with each unit occupying a set footprint (regiments of man-sized troops take up an 80×100 mm base). And that is one of the key selling point for me. I love the ability to create a diorama on each troop or regiment’s base. You can see that in this image:
My “Nighstalkers before Xmas” army loosely based on a Tim Burton theme.
And another when my Nightstalkers took on some halflings:
One of my opponents fielded Halfling aeronauts, appropriately based using house roofs as the structural base below the flying balloons.
The game plays fairly fast. Armies of 2300 points each can face off in a tournament setting of about two hours, or two-point-five hours for the less competitive, more friendly games. A lot of dice are rolled for attacking. Best of all, the active player rolls ALL the dice in the turn. They roll the attack dice to score hits. They then roll the defense penetration rolls to cause wounds. If wounds are scored, they then roll the Nerve check. Add up the wounds on that unit, roll 2d6, add the wounds and the nerve roll together. Equal or exceed the nerve check and the unit is wavered or gone.
Fortunately, the basic “bash face” scenario, Kill, is the least loved of all the scenarios in the game. There is a lot of maneuver, objective taking and constesting, and other various game shenanigans that players can have at during a fun go.
The New Rules
A new edition? Is this a total revamp? A completely new game? Or just fixing the loopholes?
My first step was to look at Kings of War through fresh eyes. I wanted to understand where the game stood today, what players loved, what they struggled with, and what new players might find daunting. I studied the latest rulebooks, army lists, and community feedback, and attended Clash of Kings 2024 to see first hand how the game had evolved.
The challenge was clear: refine and modernise the rules, introduce new tactical depth, and improve clarity, without losing the essence of what makes Kings of War so beloved.
Image from Mantic Website
The idea of “refining” and “modernizing” the system sounds great. I’m looking forward to seeing what he has in mind. Based on how Bolt Action became somewhat more streamlined in 3rd Edition under his guidance, I’m hoping for the best in KOW from Alessio’s magic touch.
I was in gaming burnout when Mantic brought out their last Clash of Kings book which refreshed the rules and army lists. This revamp was handled by the Rules Committee (RC) comprised of both Mantic Staffers and KOW players from around the world.
For that update, the RC one bowed to the pressure of some of the players of Mantics other games, and included Command Dice. In a nutshell, command dice and points were one more thing to keep track of in a game that utilizes a chess clock to keep turns even between players.
That was one of the main factors to me dropping the game for over a year. I didn’t need one more step to manage, and more things to track in a game where I felt the pressure of father time ticking off the seconds every time I tried to think.
Fortunately, while Alessio has said that while some command orders are in the mix for fourth edition, the command dice are not. Hopefully, that means the bookkeeping is extremely minimal. Adding extra things to track during a tight turn as the clock ticks is a recipe for frustration on all but the most astute players. And I’m far from astute.
Over on the Kings of War 4th Edition teaser portal, the wizards of PR in the company spent the last week dribbling out secrets at a far faster pace than I expected. The game world of Pannithor is about to meet upheaval, with the addition of a new faction for players to collect and play. Meet the Xirkaali.
The new Xirkaali Faction, featuring East Asian inspired Gnoll warriors with human servants! Photo by Mantic Games.
In addition the the core rulebook, Mantic will be releasing a narrative supplement detailing the Xirkalli and it’s lore along with the 4th Edition rulebook. Models for the new range are also to be released for the premier. What you need to know in a nutshell about the Xirkaali are they are big mad that the other races allowed the rift and the abyss to grow through the wanton use of magic. The Xirkaali are against magic, and are now invading the continent of Mantica to shut down the rift. They’re issuing offers to join forces_and stop using magic–to the other factions, or face war with the Xircaali.
Yeah, that’s going to go over real well with races like the Halflings, Elves, etc. Sounds like more war for the Kings of War world.
Mantic staffer, and all-around ambassador of Kings of War, Kyle Pretzel-twinkie was the major force behind designing the new faction. You can read his blog about it on the Mantic website. Here just a bit of what he says about the design of the new faction:
There’s so much just in the nature of dogs that lends itself to creative lore and design. We had always known the Xirkaali would be invading Pannithor seeking to snuff out the threat of magic. What immediately comes to mind is that they would be the perfect hunters that could smell the magical residue and track it down to the source. Not only that, but they are also creatures who could stride effortlessly through terrain and make for an impressive invasion force. It was starting to feel like we were…barking up the right tree.
But how do you personify these ideas into design briefs? I knew we wanted them to have the demeanour of a trained police dog. A calm, focussed expression that denotes intelligence instead of a feral frothing-at-the-mouth beast. You should know immediately that despite being a dog, you could have a conversation with a hemicyon. At any moment, a simple command could turn it ferocious and precise; but a well-placed scratch behind the ears would present you with a wagging tongue and a lifelong friend.
In addition to the new faction, Mantic is releasing a supplement for the KOW world, Invasion.
Releasing along with the new 4th Edition Rulebook is the first of six narrative expansion books, Invasion.
The new lore and faction update book, Invasion, is the first of six such tomes planned by Mantic. Here’s what Matt Gilbert said on the blog about the new books:
Each book will focus on 3 to 4 factions, with their stories told through the lens of the latest in-world events.
Here’s what to expect:
A lead “A” faction with the most new releases and narrative focus.
Supporting “B” , “C”, and “D” factions with their own developments and updates.
Revised army lists featuring some new units, command orders and unique spells. (Any additions will be costed using the same points formula already applied across the game to other armies.)
And here’s where it gets exciting: global campaigns may shape parts of the story for future books. Your games will once again help steer the fate of Pannithor!
In addition to the game specific tome, Mantic’s team up with Winged Hussar publishing for their line of fiction is bringing out a new story, Stand at Callenspire, by Joshua Reynolds. Here’s the blurb from the webstore about the plot:
The new book from the Mantic Webstore.
The Xirkaali invasion of Vieshlar has begun.
As the elves of the southern kindred retreat to the city of Callenspire, the halflings of Ej, led by Aeron Cadwallader, come to their aid. Will his strategic genius be enough to counter this dangerous new foe? Or will Aeron and his allies succumb to enemies without, as well as within?
Elsewhere, though the amphibious tribes of the riverguard stir to readiness deep in the humid jungles, their allies, the Neriticans, remain strangely silent. Can the gillkin mage, Axel Tricklebrook, rouse the armies of Medu’Syth to war against an invader who threatens all the folk of Mantica, or are his efforts doomed to failure?
For if not, the fate of Vieshlar, and the rest of Western Pannithor, is surely sealed…
I’ve read several of the Tales books (some are Tales of Mantica, and some are Tales of Pannithor), and found them enjoyable reads. I hope this one opens the new era of the Xirkaali invasion like a horde of goblins fielding a battery of Mawpup launchers as only Rob Phaneuf can do.
If you’d like to find out more about the community of gamers in the world of Pannithore, the best go-to source out side of the mantic website is the Counter-Charge podcast. But there are many other podcasts and blogs and vlogs to fill in the information gap. I’ll list some of my favorite resources below:
I invite players new to the game to check out the resources above, including the various interviews with Alessio and Matt from Mantic, where they chat about some of the changes and refinements to the game.
