G’day Goonhammer readers! It’s an exciting time with Kings of War Champions, getting all sorts of people introduced to rank and flank wargaming. The whole idea of bespoke boxes for set armies is catching on in all corners of wargaming; the perfect means for people to get into the gameplay without needing to figure out army building. 

But what about those people that want to take it to the next level? How does one move on from their Champions company to a Kings of War army; be it for Ambush or full-strength Kings? Allow us to make some suggestions on the next steps.

The Big Differences

Before jumping in, it’s important to outline the primary differences that come with the larger-scale game of Kings of War. We won’t go into great detail of rules minutiae, but here are some major differences between the games. Some of these are obvious, but for those completely new to wargaming, they won’t be!

• Army Building: The most obvious difference is that armies are not set to certain units, but rather open to a selection of a staggering array of units. Games typically have a pre-arranged points limit (1250, 2000 or 2300 points), and one creates an army up to that limit. Later in this article we will make some helpful suggestions about which units to go for, but really, it’s up to you! Check out the Mantic Companion for free to see the rules and army lists.

  

• Heroes, Not Champions: There are no Champions in Kings of War (yet), but there are heroes. Anything from a Goblin King all the way to fearsome Archfiend of the Abyss, there’s a lot of choice. While it’s not mandatory to have a hero in one’s army, it is usually recommended (for Inspiring sources).

• Bigger Boards, Bigger Terrain: Bigger armies need more space, and more space needs bigger pieces of terrain to fill it! While the terrain used in Kings of War Champions will be useful, bigger forests, some hills, and bigger blocking terrain is necessary for a fun and tactical game at the larger scale.

  

• Bigger Units: Kings of War Champions’ units are almost entirely Troop sized or smaller. While Troop sized units are also used in Kings of War, it is common to see Regiments and Hordes as well. These aren’t too confusing – Regiments are twice the size of a Troop, and Hordes are twice the size of a Regiment, and four times the size of a Troop. It might seem like a lot of models, but once you get those 35 Spearmen on a Horde-sized base, they will look epic!

• Multibasing: Multibasing has already been introduced in Kings of War Champions – all the models for the unit go on a single base representing the size of the overall unit. But this means that the number of models on that base isn’t strictly important, just make it look like a real unit and not three men and a dog pretending to be a horde of barbarians. So although a Regiment of Goblins should be 20 models, 12-15 will certainly still suffice!

• Magic Items and Upgrades: Units often have upgrades to choose from, such as unique upgrades or alternative weapon options. There’s also a whole slew of magic items to enhance units yet further. 

Expanding on Kings of War Champions: First Steps

The easiest recommendation for anyone looking to expand their collection beyond the Kings of War Champions company is to buy an Ambush Box, Army Box or Mega Army Box, because each of these options offers great value and provides plenty of unit options right away for a new army. 

But that would make for a very short article, and perhaps for some new wargamers this is a bit too vague. For instance, what units should they build for multi-purpose kits? How big should the units be? Read on, dear reader, for advice on every single company in Kings of War Champions.

Building Basileans from Alanis Sallustis’ Company

The Alanis Sallustis’ Company from the two-player starter set Faith and Fury comes with one troop each of the Men-at-arms Spearmen, Men-at-arms Crossbowmen, and Paladin Knights and of course Alanis herself. The good news is that all of these units are useful in Kings of War, but generally we want units in larger sizes such as Regiments or even Hordes.

The best box to directly expand all the units in the Company come with the Basilean Army Box (2025). It has enough Men-at-arms to make a Horde and Regiment – we recommend aiming for a Horde of Men-at-arms Spearmen and a Regiment of Men-at-arms Crossbowmen. The box also contains five Paladin Knights, which combined with the Company makes for a Regiment of Paladin Knights. 

In addition the Basilean Army Box (2025) will provide a Troop of Paladin Footguard, a Regiment of Elohi and a Dictator. These are all excellent additions to the army, but multibasing will get some extra value out of the box.. For instance, those Paladin Knights are supposed to be 5 models per Troop or 10 for a Regiment. What about 3 for a Troop and 7 for a Regiment? Suddenly with just the Company and Army Box contents, a new Basilean collector has a Troop and a Regiment of Paladin Knights! Apply this kind of thinking to the globally and soon the army will truly be sizing up to something impressive!

The final trick to expanding the collection is with the Paladin Footguard. There’s only 10 models in the Army Box – but a few extra Men-at-arms at the back of the unit will likely go unnoticed, which means a Regiment of Footguard is very much in reach (and much more useful in Kings of War).

Unfortunately for now there is no Alanis Sallustis to take in the army, but a High Paladin is a good stand in. This unit can fight in combat and do a little healing. The base size that Alanis comes on is bigger than a High Paladin’s, but that’s not a major issue when it comes to this particular unit type.

With that in mind, here’s the army you can make with just the Company and Basilean Army Box (2025):

This army is what we would call a “Mixed arms” type of army. It can shoot a bit, it can fight, it has fast units and slow units. Perfect to get the feel for Basileans in Kings of War, and this is without any fancy upgrades or magic items. After this, a few more Elohi would be excellent to turn them into a Horde, and the Basilean Phoenix is an excellent centrepiece model that will also act as an incredible source of Heal and shooting.

Assembling Abyssals from the Bloody Cardinal’s Company

Also from the Faith and Fury two-player starter set, the Bloody Cardinal’s Company features the Cardinal alongside a single Nagarri, a Regiment of Abyssal Berserkers and a Troop of Lower Abyssals. All these units can be directly used in Kings of War with the exception of the Nagarri, which currently are not usable as single models in a Forces of the Abyss army.

To make an army out of the Bloody Cardinal’s Company, the best first purchase is the Forces of the Abyss Army Box, and then the Forces of the Abyss Ambush Box. This will double down on the units in the Company, while expanding the army in other directions.

The Army Box will add in a lot of Lower Abyssals which are a dual-purpose sprue that can make Flamebearers as well. We recommend making two Regiments of Lower Abyssals and one Regiment of Flamebearers. In fact, a trick is to make a whole lot of Troop-sized units that can be put together to make Regiments and Hordes like LEGO, and simply assemble the unit required from the Troops. This is the most flexible approach, but I have rarely done this myself because I like making big scenic dioramas with my Horde bases.

The Abyssal Berserkers are a fantastic unit in both Hordes and Regiments, so getting them in both the Army Box and the Ambush Box is no problem. The Ambush Box is important to get some extra Nagarri so that a functional unit of Nagarri can be made for Kings of War. This leads me to my first gripe with the Champions Companies; there are some models that just cannot be used as is. This isn’t a problem if they add them to Kings of War, and a Nagarri Hero unit that is a single Nagarri would be a perfect fix. Until then, you’ll need to get some more Nagarri to make a Regiment, which is typically 2-3 Nagarri models. 

With all these Nagarri and Berserkers, the “Cult of Ba’el” formation is a great inclusion in any Forces of the Abyss army. For those not familiar, a formation is a set of units that are grouped together and when taken in this format have some enhancements. It’s a way to get units to be taken together that might not be, but it’s more recently something that matches the Ambush Boxes. In fact, with four Nagarri models, two Regiments is perfectly fine (the models are massive!).

The Bloody Cardinal is a fantastic model and is perfectly usable as a Despoiler Champion. This unit is a great addition to an army, especially for beginner players as its main job is to give Inspiring and hit things. Simple.

On top of this, the Army Box will give you enough to make three Troops of Succubi and an additional hero in the Seductress, which is one of the best combat heroes in the entire game (especially when equipped with the Gnome-Glass Shield magic item!). 

So with all of these things combined here is a pretty good starting list.

This is a much larger army than the Basileans, but it’s all about making sure the Champions Company is usable. For those not ready to jump in so deep, simply get the Army Box and leave the single Nagarri at home, and get the Ambush Box later.

For even more value, consider using an Abyssal Berserker model or two to make Berserker Apostates – hero-level Berserkers that give Vicious to nearby Berserkers! I made some by using Nagarri heads and weapons, which fit perfectly to these models and give them a slightly more stately look.

Tweaking Twilight Kin from La’theal Voidheart’s Company

Coming in it’s own Company box, La’theal Voidheart’s Company contains a bunch of extremely useful units in Kings of War; a single Corsair Void-Skiff, a Troop of Voidtouched Weavers, a Regiment of Impalers, and the half-monster, half-elf La’theal Voidheart. With just the Twilight Kin Army Box, this army can be readily expanded into a force that taps into a lot of what makes the Twilight Kin fun.

First up are the Impalers – these mean-looking chads sporting massive shields are perfect anvils in a Twilight Kin force. With generous multi-basing, two Hordes of Impalers can be made from the total nine obtained in the Company and Army boxes. One Horde of four models and another Horde of five, all split into Regiments of two to three models each for flexibility of use. 

The Voidtouched Weavers that come in the Army Box are perfect to add to the Troop that came in the Company Box if a block of shooting is desired, otherwise they can be built as the alternative unit, the Voidtouched Mutants. Mutants are fast, and represent the cavalry of the Twilight Kin. Which way to go is up to the gamer, but we recommend Mutants if only to try them out.

The infantry elves in the Army Box can be built as either Corsair Fleetwardens or Corsair Voidwalkers, the former being more offensive with spears and the latter defensive with hook swords. Making theFleetwardens  as Troops rather than Regiments keeps your options open for using the “Crew of the Heart Seeker” formation, so keep that in mind. Otherwise, both are good.

The single Void-skiff that comes in the Company Box can easily be a Captain on Void-Skiff. Just spruce it up perhaps with a few spare infantry models, making it look capable of the considerable damage output a Captain on such a vessel can do.

The Void Captain that comes in the Army Box is a useful combat character, but works well with all Keyword: Corsair units thanks to her Rallying (1 – Corsair Only). Keep her next to the Corsair infantry and even the Void-Skiff, and you’ll have a decent battlegroup of deceptive durability.

La’theal Voidheart herself is perfect as a Summoner Crone (which indeed she is… or was!). Her base is a bit big and her legs are somewhat more numerous, but she will work well as a Crone. This type of unit is all about weakening (literally) the enemy, making your already tough elves even tougher.

From this starting collection, the best additions to a Twilight Kin force are Regiments of Void Skiffs and more Voidtouched units, either Weavers or Mutants depending on how shooting or combat-heavy you want your army to be. More Summoner Crones are never a bad choice to bolster the support for the army, as is a Navigator. Above all, enjoy the fact that a large portion of the army is hard plastic!

Nudging Northern Alliance from Jorden Talensen’s Company

The Jorden Talensen Company Box might not be the most exciting of the boxes, considering it has mostly just Tribesmen models, but it is probably the easiest to upgrade to Kings of War. It has two Troops of Tribesmen, one Frostclaw Rider and the stately Jorden Talensen. Add to this the contents of the Northern Alliance Army Box and very quickly a considerable infantry-based force of Northern Alliance will be had.

Both the Company Box and Army Box of the Northern Alliance come with Tribesmen models, 40 in total. The ones from the Company will already be assembled as a troop with hand weapons and the other with javelins. These can be combined (by sliding the bases together) to make a Regiment of Tribesmen, an excellent close combat unit in the Northern Alliance. The rest of the Tribesmen models should be equipped with bows to make two Regiments of the Pack Hunters (with judicious multi-basing). These are a bit worse in melee, but they have bows, making them a dual-purpose unit.

The Frostclaw Riders are easy. The single Frostclaw from the Company can be used as a Frostclaw Champion, and the two in the Army box can be a Regiment of Frostclaw Riders. While I haven’t included it, these can and should be upgraded to have the shooting attack Ice Bombs, because it’s a very useful attack to have on such a fast and mobile unit.

The 20 Ice Kin Hunters/Half-Elf Berserkers in the army box should be used to make a Regiment of Ice Kin Hunters (Elves with bows) and a Troop of Half-Elf Berserkers (Half Elves with axes). This will bolster the ranged output of the army yet further, and the Troop of Berserkers will be perfect as a second line punishment.

Finally there’s the two heroes on foot; the Ice Blade from the Army Box and Jorden Talensen. The Ice Blade is a fine combat hero that will make short work of most enemy Individuals thanks to Duelist. Jorden Talensen is perfectly usable as a Lord, another combat hero that also can take a hit or two.

Here’s the list:

The next steps are really up to you. The Northern Alliance can play all kinds of army styles; invest in Snow Trolls for a punishing army that can take some punishment, or go full Ice Elementals for an army that shoots as well as it fights. Frost Giants are considered some of the best Giants in the game (although everyone says that about their favourite Giant), and Lords on Frostfangs are no slouch either. 

Regardless of direction, getting an Ice-Queen or two is definitely recommended. They have a rare source of Heal, which no matter the army is a useful spell to have. These and Snow Troll Primes are the key heroes in the Northern Alliance.

Growing Goblins from Grunk Blackclaw’s Company

Grunk Blackclaw is one of the most characterful Champions released thus far, and is accompanied by a Troop of Rabble, a Troop of Sharpsticks and a Mincer. These are all useful straight away in Kings, the only downside is that Goblins are a horde army, so one will need a few more models than the other Company Boxes to become a Kings of War army. So get your green paint and get ready, because we recommend that TWO Ambush Starter Sets will be the perfect addition to this company. Sure, it’s a lot of Goblins, but what else did you expect when collecting Goblins?

The first thing to know with this expansion strategy is that the Company Box and two Ambush boxes will give you ONE HUNDRED Goblin models. A century of Goblins at your command. You already have a Troop each of Rabble and Sharpsticks, so make another Troop of each of those so they can become Regiments. Regiments of Goblins are fantastic because they are so cheap (in terms of points). Then with the remaining sixty Goblin models make one more Regiment of Sharpsticks and three more Regiments of Rabble. More than Goblins enough (for now).

The Mincers are great units, either alone or packed together into Mincer Mobs. We recommend making a Troop and a Regiment of Mincer Mobs, in addition to the single Mincer from the Company Box. While a Troop of Chariots should have two models and a Regiment three models, the size of these Mincers means that putting just two on a Regiment base along with perhaps some extra Goblins is perfectly acceptable. A Regiment of Mincers is truly something to put fear into the enemy.

The two Regiments of Sharpsticks can combine with the Troop of Mincers from the Company Box to make the “Ricco’s Spearhead” formation. This formation looks lackluster, but the fact they all gain Ensnare adds considerable durability to these units.

What about Grunk Blackclaw? The awesomeness that is a Goblin inside an appropriated Steel Juggernaut is yet to be a unit in Kings of War, but you can be sure it will be soon. Until then, the best unit in the army to represent this mechanical beast is Magwa & Jo’os. This is a Living Legend unit, meaning that there can only be one of it in an army. This unit is supposed to be a Goblin hero, Jo’os, and his prized Mawbeast, Magwa, together on the one base. This unit can shoot Lightning Bolt and punch very hard in combat – an appropriate representation of Grunk Blackclaw for the time being.

Here’s the Goblin packed list!

This is a perfect army to play scenarios and just get in the way. A lot of other, more elite armies will struggle to kill this many Goblins. To back up this army we recommend getting some War Trombones and Sharpstick Throwers for close and long range shooting respectively. On top of this, a Troll Bruiser and even a Giant are all good options. 

Navigating Nightstalkers from The Void Talon’s Company

The last of the Kings of War Champions Companies released at the time of this article are from the Nightstalkers: the Void Talon’s Company. This consists of a Regiment of Butchers, a Troop of Scarecrows, a Troop of Reapers and the Void Talon. This set features some great plastic models and a great starting point for Nightstalkers that only gets better with the addition of a Nightstalker Army Box.

With the combination of the Company and Army boxes, there will be a total of nine Butchers. These can also be built as Ravagers, if you want the shooting alternative, although with the Regiment of Butchers from the Company Box, might as well go all in and make them all Butchers. With suitable multibasing this will easily stretch to four Regiments of Butchers, which can be combined when required to be two Hordes – a frightful line of butchery for a Nightstalker army.

The Scarecrows are some of the cheapest units in the army, and so are useful for just getting in the way and holding objectives. With the 30 Scarecrow models we recommend making another Troop and a Regiment, so all in all there’s enough to make two Regiments (by combining the two Troops together), and even a Horde of Scarecrows (by combining the Regiments together).

The last of the units from this set are the Reapers, which now number up to 30. These can be built as Tormentors, which are a very useful unit to threaten the opponent. They can jump over units of Height 2 or less, and they are reasonably fast. With multibasing, these models can be made as two Troops of Reapers (including the troop from the Company) and two Troops of Tormentors. These are perfect units to keep behind Scarecrows, and jump out when they spot a flank!

The Mind-Screech and Banshee from the Army box are the best support units the Nightstalkers can have, and the Banshee can be used as the Living Legends unit Esenyshra, The Wailing Shadow. This special Banshee is a real pain, hitting hard and casting spells that literally can move the opponent’s units around.

The Void Talon has no comparable unit that really matches a flying monster on a 50 mm base. Either it can be something that doesn’t fly, like the Dread-fiend or it has to be something much bigger, like the Void Lurker on a 75 mm base. Like all of the Champions, there will eventually be profiles for these in Kings of War, but that probably won’t happen until the next major release (either Clash of Kings or the next edition). Let’s use them as a Dread-fiend, which is powerful monster with Dread.

Here’s the list:

This is actually a fearsome list, and part of the reason is we don’t need to worry about heroes. Nightstalkers don’t rely on Inspiring but instead use Mindthirst to take advantage of Inspiring from the enemy. The next thing to add to this army are some faster units like Soulflayers, Phantoms and a Void Lurker, and it’s good to go at any local tournament.

Final Thoughts

This guide is just offering what we think is the simplest example. One or two purchases to get to something that closely resembles a full on Kings of War army and builds on the contents of the Champions Companies that you already have. There’s plenty of other ways to build these armies, but it’s good to start simple, get an idea of how the army works and see then which way you want to take it. Ultimately, everything in Kings of War is good, but not everything will match each player’s personal playstyle, so finding out what that is is the first step.

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