Initial Impressions - Daemon Legions 0.99.2.1

It should go without saying that evil is far more fun than good.
Its why preacher’s daughters *will* run away with the bad boy, and why Captain America is so insufferably boring compared to Iron Man.

Logically, therefore, there is nothing more fun than the Demonic – the physical manifestation of the essence of that Big Bad of Judeo-Christian theology (to put a nicely Western lens on things – daemons of course harken back to way before then). Introduced into an otherwise normal setting (be it a book, a film or a tabletop wargame) their very existence puts the world’s disagreements in the quaintly petulant light they belong – there is a Big Bad coming for you, and he’s in a whole other weight class.


The theological juxtaposition, that the Big Bad’s existence is surely proof of the Big Good, always adds an interesting angle – the different ways in which these forces try to influence the mortal realms is at times awesome to consider. A lot of my favourite fiction ties into these themes – be it the guidance of the Tolkien Istari versus Sauron, the Emperor’s mysterious help versus the might of the Chaos gods in Games Workshop’s 40k fiction, and my personal favourite - Jim Butcher’s Knights of the Cross versus the Order of the Blackened Denarius in the Dresden Files.


Being a good Catholic boy, the daemonic has always been fascinating to me - though I stopped short of painting my nails black and sacrificing cats over black-waxed candles, and instead settled for a reading from Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedies at my wedding.


It is not surprising that a demonic presence ended up in the world of tabletop wargames.
When the shadowy Dark Conclave of the Faceless ^{TM pending} set their minions to the task of creating a truly evil power, it shocked no one that something demonic was shortly delivered. One of those universal truths I love so much is that games designers are into metal music - and where can a human being find the greatest concentration of demonically-inspired art, and unknowingly have their brains corrupted? That’s right, Metal album covers.


Inspiration



Somehow surviving the haze of stale ale, overly loud guitar solos and the manliest of man-smells, they set about creating a world were daemons were the vices of man made incorporeal flesh. Being gamers, rather than theologians (though it is hard to tell the difference when the ale is flowing), they divided these into the four great evils (seven is a *lot* more work, and really, who wants to look in the box?!).

Of course, the 9^th Age is a global community project, which explains how some virginal puritan somehow got involved (let’s face it, probably one of those Americans still not over that Superbowl nipple slip) and the hordes of the Big Bad were somehow themed on... M&Ms.

I mean, don’t get me wrong – I have seen those adverts, M&Ms are tarrying! Its just not where I thought they would go…


DAEMON LEGIONS

Army Wide Rules
Daemon Legions get further restrictions upon their army selection for having M&Ms the different colour to their General. Conversely, there are further bonuses that can be gained if all M&Ms are the same colour (I finally see what Van Halen were trying to do all those years…)

Daemons of the Dark Gods come in four distinct varieties, each with their own default bonuses:

• Blue (Change) get to have funky attack types and are more likely to get the spells they want.
• Pink (Lust) get to penetrate (…) armour better
• Green (Pestilence) get to be both Poisonous and have Regeneration
• Red (Wrath) get to be slightly stronger at the beginning of a fight (Daemons wind themselves quickly)

Wrath - bringing the pain!


Aspects are nifty bonuses the army can get, most easily if they are the same flavour as the General.

• Change shoot a bit further
• Lust penetrates more (………)
• Pestilence get to have their posion be super ouchy
• Wrath get devastatingly angry on the charge (still no cardio help for the poor guys)

Characters, being all boss mode and naturally hogging all the good stuff, get access to the Supremes (though with less Diana Ross than you might expect), and help out the posse they are hanging out with:

Change’s magic causes more pain
Lust get to penetrate quickly (...)

Pestilence get to grow back better
Wrath get to be really vindictive in that first turn (seriously, cardio guys!)

Armoury
Making life hard for everyone, those grumpy M&Ms don’t like sharing at all, and insist on having their own entries in the Armoury section:

Change:

Firebolts – S3 pew pew

Lust:
Barbed Claws – plus one to wound (nice!)
Elusive – can flee (such teases)

Pestilence:
Trial of Mucus - No one wants to hug them

Wrath:
Blood Swords – Lethal Strike
Hell Blades – S5 always (this count as cardio?)


Change


Magic Items
True to their (frankly racist) selves, the Daemonic Legions also insist on having their own magic items, and who are we to argue with the scions of the unknowable?

Time to take a forensic look at what the forges of Hell have created:

Weapons:
Eternal Sword – someone order a beatstick?
Mortal Blade – someone want to waste some points?
Dissolving Touch – battlefield body odour
Lash of Lust – sexy Indiana Jones
Aether Wand – charged up shock batton
Heart Seeker – helps you find their heart (see what they did there)
Blade of Grief – I guess the divinity of the blade mades the Daemon sad?
Trident of Torment – Coolest name going – eat that Aquaman!

Talismans:
Iron Hide – guess?
Nauseating Aura – pestilent pillow mist
Shackles of Reality – fancy name for regeneration
Brass Collar – angrily denies magic is a thing, insists it’s a trick
Veil of Shadows – the bearers hides behind a shadowy veil…
Blissful Bindings – it’s hard to hit someone when you are tied to a bedpost
Weaver’s Eye – a lucky charm to have around

Enchanted Items:
Blazing Wings – Guess? No, not tunnelling. You idiot.
Obsidian Horn – how is this not a Lust only item?
Hellish Crown –impressed, they will be
Black Orb – an edition and a game out of place
Token of Change – have a spell
Token of Lust – have a (different) spell
Token of Pestilence – have a (yes, different) spell
Portal Gem – ah, old school Undead BSB
Elixir Stone – I want to know how you store an elixir in a stone….

Arcane Items:
Mirror of Change – brutal daylight robbery!
Seventh Seal – old Swedish film
Soul-Bound Staff – for cowards
Scrolls of the Eight Pact – awesome name, gives access to the a la carte menu
Sorcere’s Lodestone – good for cardio
Skull of Cacophrax – they killed a dude from Asterix?!


Pestilence


So, it seems they have all sorts of toys, but what actual forces and a M&M Daemonic Legion General deploy to bend the mortal realms to his whim?

Lords:
Daemon Princes are a bit boring in all honesty. Its hardly their fault, but the Warriors of the Dark Gods shotgunned them first, so these guys are a walking, talking (and occasionally humming) breach of bro-etiquette.

The Weaver of Change make me think that operating a loom is a real good upper body workout. Four levels of magic (rarely seen these days) combined with a stat-line with, suspiciously, twice the number of 666s you would expect from any self-respecting daemon, this model can bring unit-destroying pain. Unless, of course, you face a lot of artillery and die all the time [let’s just go ahead and assume that last sentence is added to all my paragraphs going forward – artillery was made to kill puppies and ruin threesomes].

The Courtesan of Lust is, I believe, the fastest combat character/monster in the game? If you have a shot, make sure you put here down – I am not sure you will get a second.

The big fat green Father moves deceptively quickly for, well, a big fat bloke (I mean, really – it’s faster than an Elf). Fittingly, its more resilient than the others.

The Scourge of Wrath is aptly named (he, one assumes, spends a lot of his time scourging around the place). A combat beast of few (any?) equals, he is a polite chap and can bring the pain to you if you are feeling slightly lazy.

Heroes:
The Daemonic heroes get a lot less screen time than their big-paycheck lords, which is sensible really – who *really* wanted to spend all that time with Hawkeye in Avengers 2?
The four varieties are as you would expect. They are you flag-carrying subordinates who helpfully buff their units. The one who gets the most screen time today is the Harbinger of Change, because he can ride on the back of a machine gun chariot. And this game does not have enough machine gun chariots.


Core:
The Dark Conclave of the Faceless ^{TM pending} have done a good job of making most core options underwhelming across all armies (unless you like Pyramids or Trees apparently, but that’s for another day). For Daemons, it is as you would expect:

• Horrors are weak wizards that can buy some pew pew
• Sirens are sexy, fast, promise to penetrate a lot (…), but are fundamentally weak
• Tallymen are slow, boring, and owned by everyone because someone in Germany once broke another game
• Slaughterers – cardio-lacking combat troops that hit hard(ish)

Lust - huba huba


Special:
I have grown to see the Special section as the ‘flavour’ of an army, and in this case the Daemonic Legions do not disappoint, the four M&Ms finally diverging somewhat.
Furies are daemonic harpies. Great, but you know, yawn.
For pyrotechnic fun, the Igniters are where its at – in the right army these guys can pump out a lot of 24” S4 shooting (literally no idea if worth the cost though).
Tired of being seen as the “pew pew” guy, Blue M&M also brought Sky Serpents to the party. An effective unit given its speed and durability to small arms fire – it even has pseudo pew pew, but don’t pigeon hole them, they are sensitive about that.
Pink M&M, being all lusty, got their penetrating sirens and put them on steeds with really long tongues (…). The fastest of fast cavalry, yours, for the price of your soul. They also get a chariot along much the same lines.
Sometimes quick and weak does not get the job done, and you have to fast and hard (...). In such times, put a call out for the Clawed Fiends. Stupidly fast but with the ability to actually hurt you, 50 points a model sounds a lot, but am not actually sure it is. Sexy beasts.
Offering a different type of sexy, the Pestilent Breasts are tough little blighters, but they underwhelm me slightly (I come from a generation that was traumatised by something rather similar in a different game).
Want cute little turd-children sneaking up on opponents and running amok? Plaguelings are yours – but remember, they are not just for Christmas.
Hellhounds are what you would expect from big bad Red M&M. Everyone is playing around being all cute, he gets a bunch of angry dogs, and has them ambush all up in your grill. Also being a traditionalist, he has a bunch of dudes riding Crushers. He calls them Crusher Cavalry - and is very proud of the name.


Rare:
In this section I always expect to find the true power of any fully operational battle stations an army may have lying around. Deamon Engines seem to fit the bill – massive monstrosities with decent protection, solid combat output and access to all sorts of weapons (including that most terrifying of things, the Flame Thrower), this boy can be a massive issue for a lot of armies to deal with.

Change gets a bro-nod for having machine gun chariots – this is a Good Thing.
Ever looked a chariot and thought “meh, that’s nowhere near big enough”? Pink M&M had one of those days, and ended up with a Shrine of Temptation. No idea if it’s any good, but playing Mario Kart with models on a table is always good right?


Wrath was never one for subtlety




Is it just me or does a Carnal Chariots sound flat out kinky? Pinky was up to it again, and this time thought a chariot may be cooler if it was the wrong way round. Opinions remain divided.
Not wanting to be left out of the zooming around and having fun game, Green M&M got some really fat flies and told some people to stand on them. Blight Flies are tough little blighters, but in all honesty I am not sure they cause quite enough damage.

Gamer rage is a thing. It’s a funny thing, unless it happens to you (seriously, I can no longer be trusted to play any FIFA game). Poor old Red M&M had the same issue with Mario Kart. He went off in a sulk into his shed at the back of the garden, coming out some time later (long enough to make sure he was missed, but not long enough for his siblings to worry – he’s nice like that) and proudly showed off his new red chariot. He called it the Blood Chariot (yes, he is proud of that name). This bad boy can have a cannon or a Flame Thrower - sod relying on turtle shells!.
Thinking that pew pew may be a bit Blue-ish (and therefore dull), big Red also designed a combat buffing altar to aid with slaughter (you guessed it, he called it the Altar of Slaughter…). Not being remotely scientific, he somehow created a machine with the most situational combat buff ever seen on a tabletop game though…




Daemons need friends too

And there we have it – the mighty warhost of the naughty people.

The issue even trying to make sense of what is good (other than appreciating that their Lords can punch people pretty hard) is that the fundamentals of the book are so good, it skews the whole picture.
It’s hard to quantify the extra layer of effectiveness being unbreakable and having a 5+ ward on every model in the army brings to the party. If you roll a lot of 5+s, this army is brilliant, that's for sure.

The army exists in a weird place – the nature of the various Daemon types is that they are designed to be used in conjunction with each other – there are the pew pew ones, the fast but fragile ones, the hard hitting ones, and the more durable ones. For thematic reasons (and I *always* approve of thematic rules) however, generals are encouraged to take self-restrictive lists that try and excel at one thing above others. This should, hypothetically, result in two things: a rock/paper type army that can run over some things, and secondly, lots of spam. And spam, despite what our American colleagues will tell you, is not nice.

In summation, I am not entirely sure how I feel about the Daemon Legions.

For me, the physical manifestation of the Big Bad should be absolutely terrifying, and this is not an emotion I feel broadly when looking at this army (admittedly with some very notable exceptions). This does not mean that the army itself cannot be highly effective (as mentioned, the fundamentals are good, and little in it seems *bad*).

For me, Daemons fall in that same slightly depressing camp that plays home to my feelings on vampires. I think they should be notably better – and of course appropriately more. It’s a design philosophy not shared by the dark powers that be alas.

On the plus side, it’s a universal truth that quantity is a quality all of its own.

I appreciate that my view of the army being ‘fine’ is rather anticlimactic. But then, I'll be the first to point out, what the hell do I know?

The truth of the matter is that the world is just waiting for a German guy to design a list for the ETC, at which point the world will start screaming at the brokenness of it all (and of course copy it).


After all, if there are any universal truth you can really count on, it is that the Germans make good beer, play football annoyingly well, and get a real kick out of ruining everyone’s fun.




But anyway, how scared should we be, when all you need is the greatest song in the world?


Until next time


Raf

Initital Impressions - Beast Herds 0.99.0

The goat-headed children of the Dark Gods have always appeared to be rather an ill-fitting concept.

 

The physical manifestation of that which goes bump in the night is hard enough, but to also have to represent the threat the bestial fury of nature untamed represented to isolated human settlements is a tough ask (I like to picture it as the set from Sleepy Hollow, but with slightly less Johnny Depp and a dash more naked bipedal goat dudes).

 

Everything has always been problematic for these poor guys – just ask anyone who still remembers the Old Game. In the old background stories there was a lot of what can probably be best defined as Hentai (the writers were, after all, heavy metal dudes (and should therefore be trusted only slightly more than Country fans)) – there was a lot of random mutations, weird tentacles and all that good stuff.

 

At some point it turned out that Beast Herds were actually secret racial supremacists, brutally putting down anything that wasn’t directly related to the Goat, Cow or Pig families. One assumes countless screams echoed into silence as they butchered the mighty Rabbit clans that must surely have existed (philosophers remain divided about whether a hypothetical scream that no one heard in a forest makes any sound). And don’t you *DARE* say that they are the same as Vermin Swarm, but, you know, goats (and therefore more stupid).

[You may think I jest – but seriously, there is a pack of goats terrorising a town in New Zealand – these boys play hard-core.]

 

Pureblood FTW!

 

As things settled down the tentacle goodness became vague memories, and the racial purity became the accepted norm (these goats have good PR), and the approach to using Beast Herds on the table slowly started to stabilise.

 

Putting comparative power levels to one side, the Dark Conclave of the Faceless TM pending (who, it is rumoured, employ the same PR agency as these goats) appeared to have get the flavour just about right.

 

 

Brutal combat power (I have been head-butted by a goat, it was not as funny as it sounds), arguably similar in its application style to Orcs, but with the added dimension of a heavy utilisation of the Ambush mechanic to try and recreate the enveloping nature of hunters closing in on prey. Come to think of it though, two things come to mind:

•             Whoever lets a Giant (even if he is sober!) creep up behind their army needs to fire their scouts; and

•             Seriously – who taught goats to eat meat?!

I have not paid much heed to the various changes leading up to the release of 0.99.0, but my overlying feeling going in is that, fundamentally, Beast Herds may be the single most brutal combat army in the game. An army that has wide access to combat rerolls that combines bulk with teeth will always have the potential to completely remove opponents from the table. They will, of course, have some bad matchups, but the DNA here is impressive.

 

 

BEAST HERDS

 

 

Goats go to war!

 Primal Instinct – a weird combination of the film Basic Instinct and the game Killer Instinct – brutally sexy.

Drunkard – a rule written by people who have played the Irish at the ETC (and proof, (at last!) that Dwarves can hold their drink better than goats.

Pack Tactics – this is a nice touch. You would think this fitting for a sneak attack of a wolf (or velociraptor), but actually it’s always the goat you don't see that gets you…

Looted Booze – thankfully only works one way. If they had a drink that turned you from drunk to sober they could make a nice little profit.

Blood Offering – this is an interesting one. Reroll a panic at the cost of a wound is one of those rules you hope to never have to use, but *could* save you a game. Nice (some other races could thematically have similar come to think of it).

Forest Strider – not listed at the beginning, but strewn throughout the list. A very powerful ability if you think about it for a sec.

Half Horse – ok…

 

Armoury:

So, seriously, these goats could make a killing selling their weapons technology other armies.

A Staff that gives you either the benefit of a Great Weapon or Heavy Armour is some ninja baddassery (eat your heart out Donatello), and an Axe with a shield tied to the end of it has to be a good thing too…

 

Totems:

This is a very cool concept. I approve [sighs of relief all round]. A bunch of bound spell options – all of which are brilliantly synergistic with the “I am going to come over there and do bad things to you” approach to life that these (presumably kiwi) goats hold dear.

 

Magic Items:

Does The Impaler seems tad nuts, or is it just me? A bolt thrower that always hits on 3+ and is also a (foot) lance on the charge? Hard not to like.

Greathorn Helm continues to be a Minotaur Lord’s wet dream

Eye of Dominance is one of those 15 point items I have no idea if will end up in lists, but you will definitely remember the day your opponent had it and ruined your day.

Pillager Icon – 18 vanguarding Razortusks? Why not? It’s not like we are vanguarding goats here, relax people!

Dark Rain is, quite simply, an epic pain in the bum (especially if combined with the likes of the Icon above). In the right matchups it can be game over, pretty quick.

 

Lords

Minotaur Warlord – surely a challenger for the title of “best combat character in the game”? Taking away its ability to make Minotaurs core is a Good Thing. I find it hard not to love this chap – but then cows are notoriously sweethearts, so that’s not surprising really.

 

The term ‘Vanilla’ tends to have bad connotations, which is a pity because, effectively used, vanilla can elevate an entire dish. Either way, the Gnarled Soothsayer and the Beast Lord are the vanilla characters in the book, but with a handful of chilli flakes thrown in the turn up the heat. The ninja-staff wielding Soothsayer can ride a chariot (and thereby officially be boss-mode with goat nads hanging out). The Lord, not to be outdone, allows for Ambush roles to be rerolled, and for them to start coming on turn one. This is big – the opportunity cost of Ambush is something easily forgotten in the fun of freaking your opponent out, this counters that.

 

 

Boss-Mode

Heroes

Minotaur Chieftains, Beast Chieftains and Soothsayers are exactly as you would expect them to be – the hardworking chaps who are tasked with carrying banners, dispel scrolls and (presumably) slop buckets. Notably, the Soothsayer, keen to be noticed and one day become ‘Gnarled’ can ambush. The ability to tote totems around is an interesting option for the non-magical fraternity.

 

I should love the Centaur Chieftain. Its special rules kind of say it all

 

“Special Rules:

Drunkard, Half Horse”

 

Adding to this (as if you need to add anything when you open with drunken half horses – that’s a mike drop moment), is the ability to take Centaurs in core if you want this sobriety-challenged equine-featured chap to be your general (there is even a choice to buy him an extra wound and make him feel more general-like). I’m not entirely sure why I don’t love this idea (I think I may be coming down with a cold or something) I know I *should* love it – so let’s pretend I do.

 

 

Core

Wildhorn are your mainstay cattle breed combat block. 5 points a mode for a M5, WS4, T4 core trooper makes my skeletons exceptionally jealous. Smaller units can now ambush. Expect to see a unit of 50 running at you whilst smaller ones pop up next to/behind you – and then pray that the goats are only hungry…

 

Mongrel Herds are the cute itsy ones ranked up. The sneaky ones are Raiders (who have had their minimum size increased to 10, which is a Good Thing).

Feral Hounds… dogs have to be the most widely available, and least useful unit in the game (though ambushing ones could actually have a place to be fair).

 

Beast Herds having chariots has been controversial for some time - devilishly tricky to navigate forest undergrowth on a pig-pulled chariot one would assume? Turns out we were wrong. It’s so easy to bob and weave between trees in fact, that they can field Chariots in units. Because reasons.

 

 

Special

As is the clear intent in the 9th Age style, the big punch is reserved for this slot.

Minotaurs hit as hard as you wold expect - my Ghasts and Vampire Spawn (not to make this *entirely about me) are rather sad about this whole thing, so I will move one.

Longhorn Herds are hobby-ruining S6 delivery engines made flesh. Brilliantly powerful unit (not done the maths to wonder about if actually worth taking, but their power is undeniable).

 

 

Be afraid... be very afraid....

Centaurs struggle for me because of all the cool other stuff there is in the list. Cool though.

Gargoyles. Because this army needs *more* chaff.

Razortusk Herds are the secret weapon of the book (assuming there is something suitably secret about a pig the size of a Fiat hurtling towards you. 35points per model for a 4 Attack, 3 Wound S&T 5 model with M7 swiftstride (and Thunderous Charge) is flat out INCREDIBLE (and that’s before you factor in the magic support and other threats that the Herd will occupy you with. Possibly the best unit in the book.

Razortusk Chariots. As you would expect.

Briar Beast. YAY! MORE CHAFF! Ahem… Except, this is actually potentially devastating. Being able to bring it on any turn from any forest on the table will give some gun lines (or light bunkers) the absolute fits.

 

 

Rare

Cyclops are interesting. Other than being grumpy Mediterranean builders, they bring a nice mix of shooting and combat effectiveness. I am not entirely sure how it stacks up when the points get tight against the other options, but very hard to kill artillery is always interesting.

Gortachs are not the most subtle of tools. Fast. Very Strong. Very Tough. Self-Healing… I can see why The Powers limited the total number of Minotaur Lords you can have if you bring these boys to the party (though a Minotaur Lord and two Gortachs seems like an eminently terrifying option).

Jabberwocks are arguably the least weird thing about Through the Looking Glass, but I will admit they are slightly weird. An *incredibly* cheap support monster, this thing definitely has potential.

Beast Giants can ambush, and that makes me love them (from a cinematic point of view if nothing else). Otherwise, they are Giants, and therefore will definitely let you down.

 

 

And there we have it.

 

 

 

I must say I am quite impressed with the finished article. There is a lot of power here, that does without saying, but the thing that appeals to be the most is that, if used to this effect, this army can recreate the mad panic you would assume a sudden assault from hungry goats would be.

 

A tide of tough troops and monsters running at you at speed, forcing target priority decisions.

Units coming on from behind you forcing you to split your focus.

And weird things lurking in the forest ready to pounce should the opportunity announce itself.

All very very cool.

 

I think there are some traps here – the army has an overwhelming number of chaff options for unwary generals to throw points away on. Even little things like that very 9th Age fashion accessory, the Throwing Weapons, are potential points sinks.

 

For me this army probably punches people in the face better than any other army out there, and I would focus on that. There will be bad matchups out there (there always are, especially for combat armies), but there is something noble about a goat punching a man in the face.

 

 

Intial Impressions - Kingdom of Equitaine 0.99.0

They say that the best songs (and most Country music (though a Venn diagram of both will have perilously little cross over, it has to be said)), are written about heartbreak.

With this in mind I thought the appropriate thing would be to penning my initial look at the Kingdom of Equitaine book in lyrical form – perhaps a nice A Capella rap, or a stirring sea shanty?

But no, the purer (duller) part of my soul told me– that would be selfish. My love for the Kingdom, for all the unbridled furiously destructive brightness of its heat, was a shallow one. It is not my place to tarnish the true beauty of the love others have for the fair fields of Equitaine with my soul-cracking sobs of despair.

​You see – other than the look of things (depending on where you got models from), there was precisely one things that *really* got me going (and one that I quite liked) from the amassed ranks of the Kingdom of Equitaine’s warhost. It was with grim inevitability that I saw the mighty divine hammer of nerfdum strike down these valorous paladins to the light, casting them down into the muddy shadows - their infamy all the worse for the still-fresh memories of their recent glory.

​For those wondering, my lost love is that cornerstone of Arthurian legend – the Questing Knight.

The old version, with its ability to skirmish and a wide range of threats it caused multiple wounds to, it unlocked a never before understood chamber of joy in my soul. The options offered by the lateral movement speed of skirmishing heavy knights allowed for never-before seen technical flexibility. These were, to me, the single most joyous unit I have had the pleasure to use in this game (or over twenty years of the Old Game). The most beautiful thing about it all was that they weren’t close to over-powered, they were just *fun*.

The loss of them as the unit they were hurts me in a very real way (it has been a very long day to be fair), and I will park it there – no more need be said.

​Knights on a Quest...

 The next source of my affection is an interesting academic study in what I guess we have learnt to call the ‘meta’.

The GrailStar, to me, represented everything that was the noble Kingdom of Equitaine. The mightiest warriors and heroes of that fair land, devout in their holy beliefs, patiently waiting for their general to engineer the true and decisive Alexandrian stroke that would win the day in a thunderous clash of lance and hoof.

It turns out, if the internet (and the mouthpieces of the Dark Conclave of the Faceless ^{TM pending}) see this as a far too powerful tool for the horselords of Equitaine (arguments as to it being ‘boring’ hold less water, as we all find different things boring). I find this fascinating (even more fascinating that I find the view over on the VC forums that Vampire Knights and Varkolaks are the otter’s teeth). The accepted truth in the circles I play (and discuss playing) with could not be further from the truth. It feels that the frontal power of a fully operational GrailStar is rather akin to the Spice Girls – you remember they were a big deal, but upon closer inspection you realise they are not actually that hot and can easily dealt with (the analogy admittedly falls apart at the end there).

 

I can’t really imagine a combat army having a main combat threat that is any weaker than it, and I can’t imagine an avoidance army that would care about it. I will leave it in the capable words of my ever so slightly gruff England team mate who took KoE to an event recently “Grail Star is a f*****g waste of life”.

 

Manfully setting aside these painful wounds, I have to say that the work in v0.99.0 is rather impressive in its scope.

That said from the off as I started reading the book and I was *extremely* puzzled by the design decision taken here.

I have not had a chance to listen to the audio sample provided at the sneak peek stage, but it does appear that the powers that be have decided that they don’t *really* like KoE having knights, and that what they need to do is take a lot more infantry. This is strange for a couple of reasons – firstly (and most importantly), is this is directly counter to the pre-existing views on the matter, and secondly, surely that is the blurring the lines with the dirty Empire of Sonnstahl?

Setting aside this preconceived notion, I thought I would have a closer (if still rather quick) look:

 

THE KINGDOM OF EQUITAINE

​

• The Blessing​ has been changed in a very cool way – no longer costing first turn and being flexible as to its actual benefit is great. It would be better (and thematically make more sense) if you got to choose before each game, but one mustn’t look at that ol’ gift horse in the mouth after all. You also don’t seem to lose it for fleeing or declining challenges (not that any knight would ever do either!)
• Lance Formation and Jousting still allow for a lot of lance attacks. Good. That would have been awkward if not.
• No more stompy stomp for the clipperty clops though.
• Serfs now move quicker when near one of their betters. This is good – clearly all the lower classes need is inspirational leadership.
• The Oaths remain broadly the same, in that they are Fealty, Questing and Grail. Questing knights became tankier but cause less damage to more things now, and those puritanical walking (riding) saints no longer have Divine Attacks.
• Not too much change in the world of Virtues at face value (though the way they will be used does change). Virtue of Piety’s bonus being capped at 5+ for 60 points seems a tad hardcore for me. Ogre players should keep an eye out on the much discussed Virtue of Might and a certain lance a page later.
• Magic Items are still a thing thankfully. Most of the changes are points tweaks – the Dragon Lance seems overcosted to me for d3 wounds (unless used with a certain virtue).
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  Lords
  Points tweaks appear to be the order of the day around here, and who is going to complain about points drops?

• The Grail Damsel ​has got a lot cheaper – but then you notice the army has lost access to the Path of Light – which is frankly bizarre (can make an easy argument they should have it more than anyone else). I don’t buy balancing arguments at all – plenty of other armies that benefit from it even more still have access to it. Unicorns are a lot cheaper. So life is still good.
   
  Heroes

• Paladin spam has been kneecapped, which is probably a good thing. Positive points tweaks for them and their ladies continues this encouraging trend.
• The Castellan ​keeps its impressively cheap cost, but with a notable stat boost. You also see the first encouragement to take a lot peasants. Your 40 hero points gives any low born peasants he joins Weapon Master (which can actually be a pretty big deal), and if you have an army entirely made up of models who don’t know their place in society you can upgrade him to have the same Ld as a Duke… (that doesn’t feel quite right…)
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  Core

• Knights Aspirants now get Frenzy on the charge [cue evil laughter at all the overrun fun].
• It’s around here you notice that Equitainean horses are really angry, and gain Thunderous Charge… yay I guess?
• Knights of the Realm ​can now take Morning Stars or Flails… but at the expense of their shields and at a rather steep cost. Interesting choice though.
• Peasant Levy get a massive discount in cost for starting off. Lose their old Battle Hardened option though.
• Bowmen are now capped to 30 models (fine), and may take Crossbows if your army has Crusaders (which means it doesn’t have Knights of the Realm... I am going to need a chalk board with some flow diagrams to see if that’s worth it).
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  Special

• I have cried my tears for Questing Knights. Let us move on (I should point out they can have scout and vanguard… so there, I have).
• Pegasus are still ridden by your common knight alas, though they are marginally cheaper now. Barding remains terrifyingly expensive (but potentially worth it). If Flying units didn’t count as having zero ranks I would love these guyes.
• Yeoman Outriders exist
• Knights Forlorn are very cool. No idea how good they are, but they definitely are cool. The ability to have a decent combat infantry unit ambushing on the board can make things very interesting indeed. I love everything about these guys (just wish they were mounted).
• Peasant Crusaders gives you a stubborn unit for 6 points a model, which does open up options. You could probably do something with paired weapons on these guys to hit at I5… Sprinkle in some magic buffs and profit?
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  ​Knights Forlorn?

  Rare

• Grail Knights. Well you will have noticed I manfully got over the death of the GrailStar earlier. It should be said you *can* join characters to the unit (they just cant be very good ones). Interesting political viewpoint these Grail chaps have, where it appears that insignificant people are pure enough to ride with them, but anyone significant is impure. The Grails themselves seem fine – I think darts of 3 for 90 points could be a thing. Paying 38 points (42 if you want divine attacks) for additional chaps is extremely expensive.
• The Green Knight sitting in the rare slot is cool. I like the idea of him ambushing around. Unfortunately I think that that points investment for a 4 attack unstable model is *very* painful. Will be very cool in some matchups, and gets a bucketful of Cool Points though.
• Warmachines, we are down to scorpions and Trebuchets. Deal with it, this is a Good Thing.
• Sacred Reliquary is in Rare these days. It has suitably Peasant-buffing abilities – Blessing, Fight in Extra Ranks and reroll 1s to wound (combined with some sort of magic buff) could well be useful with a big halberd unit. Seems cool.
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  So, overall, it all seems rather solid. The designers (evil though they are) seem to have gone for a more historical/Henry V at Agincourt/actual crusades approach to this army than the classical view of KNIGHTS!!! And little else.
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  Peasant Power!

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  Some of the touches are cool (I really do like Forlorn Knights), but I do worry a bit about the differentiation between this army and the Empire – is it just that those imperial guys get gunpowder, better armor and, well, better stuff? I guess I will have to read that book to work it out.

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  The encouragement to go more MSU is cool here, I can picture a nice fully mixed arms force on the table where a good general will get the heavy hitting knights to work alongside the large infantry blocks whilst little darts of Grail Knights, Pegasus and ambushing Forlorn Knights cause all sorts of havoc in awkward places.

  In short, this has the early feel of an army that will not necessarily be easy to use to fantastic success, but that will reward good play in a satisfying way.

  And no, I am not over my Questing Knight pain :(

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  Until next time!

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  Raf