Greetings dear reader, it's time for my once-in-a-blue-moon blog post. And naturally it's about a different game, in this case Kings of War. So we've been playing (on occasion) Kings of War for about a year or so, and in that time I've been very restrained and only got one army for it: my anthromorphic Kingdoms of Men list.
As a result it was time for a new army (or three), and so it began...
Firstly there was the small matter of choosing an army, and for once this was simple, and not a choice people would associate with me... Orcs.
So why orcs? Well, I haven't played orcs in a fantasy setting since I was about 16 and fancied trying them again. Also, I am pledged to Artisan Guild's tribe and really wanted to use their models, as well as the Yedharo files I'd pledged to on Kickstarter. I had the original orc set from AG (6 troops, two leaders, two mounted options, and a pin-up) which gives a surprising amount of options given the modular weapon choices. AG also have the Frostfang orc set which I intended to buy. Yedharo gave me boar riders, infantry with various weapons, monsters, and characters. The Yedharo orcs are a bit slimmer than the AG ones, so decisions about units would have to be carefully made, using AG models as the tougher, more elite versions. Both ranges have male and female models, which breaks things up nicely and gives the army a different look.
Then, of course I hit a stumbling block. I'd planned the army on Easy Army (best $2 I've spent) and was starting to plan the print queue when Ben mentioned the Rift-Forged Orcs as he was looking at Storm in the Shire. I had no interest in buying the models but thought I'd had a look at the rules. Soon I was working out a new force, using the Rift-Forged list. There were two reasons for this (maybe three): firstly the Rift-Forged Orcs have less troop options meaning that my range of models were more likely to cover all bases. Secondly: the list is newer, and just a bit 'tighter' with more tuned units, less 'dud' options in it. The units you aren't likely to use are actually the orc ones from the main list, whereas the orc list has a few that just won't make the cut. It looks like it might have some variation in how it can play, whereas the orcs very much feel like they can only be effectively played in one fashion. Thirdly: there are articles about the Rift-Forged on sites like dash/28 that give some information about them, whereas there is very little about the orcs themselves, which is crucial for someone who's only got limited experience of KoW.
The danger of course in reading about an army that you've no knowledge of is that you are likely to take what you read as gospel. This can seriously skew your view on units and lead to them being discounted for reasons that you don't fully understand. This initially happened to me with the Unforged Orcs unit, which was not rated well on dash/28 and consigned to the 'won't be chosen' bin. However after reading some more about the list and looking at points values and thinking about how the game works they were moved back into the 'going to important ' pile instead, due to being a cheap horde that I'd need to unlock things. It is important to remember how a game plays when considering things, especially characters, as units/models will often have a use that is not immediately apparent. Keywords like Nimble can turn a very average unit into a serious threat to opponents flanks/rears, individual characters can prove to be problematic speedbumps, and units with disproportionate unit strength can be game-changing when objectives are concerned.
I started printing on the Elegoo Saturn, a beast of a machine with a massive build-plate that could allow for a unit at a time. The AG Frostfang Clan Orcs were my Rift-Forged Legionaries (hand weapon and shield) and the Reborn Legionaries are made from the same models but with two-handed axes. My thunderseers are the ogres from the Frostfang set; I know they aren't cyclops but I will paint them to be blinded in one eye, as though it was payment for their powers, a la Odin. There was a false start with my Hellstriders whom I originally was going to just use the AG Frostfang wolf riders for, but they just didn't have the presence I wanted, so I replaced the wolves with the winged lion from the AG Requiem Brotherhood set to use as the manticores. I planned to take a Storm Giant but that was replaced with a Winged Slasher for the maneuverability and reliability that the dragon gives. This is the AG manticore (a beast of a model) with the original AG orc beauty model standing beside it as my warlord. My Unforged Orcs are the Yedharo orcs, a mixture of males and females, with a few Legends of Signum and other orcs added for good measure. These are a bit slimmer and less muscular-looking than the AG ones which I feel fits the Unforged as they aren't rift-touched and have received the power of the Abyss as yet. I'm using the Frostfang scenery piece as my Shrine with the Frostfang pin-up (a blacksmith lass) on it. It printed particularly well, and I'm really pleased with it.
I am beyond delighted with how they've turned out. There are some character models too, but I think they'll be addressed in a future entry. The printer gave me fantastic models, although it has since been replaced, but with an upgraded model!
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