Meet Kings of War – Again!
Mantic is relaunching an all new updated version of Kings of War and laying out thier plans for the other Game of Fantasy Battles coming out of Nottingham.
It’s time for war…
This is the slogan for the re-launch of KoW – a grown-up system and unapologetically a tabletop wargame. None of that skirmish nonsense – a game for men and women with big cojones who like lining up armies and battling their opponent to the death 😉
We hope the effort and clarity we are bringing to the game will mean you can go out and bring new people into this system – the key to this growing is lots more people giving it a go. It is a truly fantastic game (well I would say that, but really it is!!) and we just want people to give it a try – it won’t be for everyone, but most people who do play it really enjoy its quick, balanced rules, how accessible and affordable it is, and enjoy being part of a global community that shapes the game and the universe it is played in.
THE BOOK
… will be shipping to Kickstarter backers in July and to retailers in August. It is now nearly out of layout and into proof reading, then off to print.
The rulebook is hardback, and as well as the rules it has a big new background section, all the army lists, and some excellent new art for the cover.
In addition we will have the Gamer’s Book with just the rules and the army lists. It will be softback and designed to be more portable (while the other stays on the book shelf looking nice). It’s perfect for reference at one of our many exciting tournaments. This book will also be packed in the new two-player starter set – Dwarfs vs Undead.
We will also launch two other books in time – one with crossover army lists from other miniatures people might have in their collections, and a historical one. We are announcing these with the launch but will take some time to get made. We think it will be fantastic for these to be community friendly-led projects – there is so much excellent painting and hobby activity going on out there that we aren’t showcasing, and this is the perfect opportunity to get some people’s painted armies into print!
There will of course be an updated free rules set to download so people can give the system a try.
Work In Progress Kings of War Cover Art.
What you see above is a mock-up of how the book might look, but thanks to the generosity of the Kings of War II Kickstarter Backers, we’ve gone back and worked with Ralph Horsley to produce a new frontispiece. This has the added benefit of linking Kings of War with Dungeon Saga, which are both set in the same fantasy world.
GLOBAL CAMPAIGN
We will run a global campaign with a narrative storyline where every game you play the result will count towards the outcome. The campaign will feature the Abyssals and the Undead (led by Mortibris from Dungeon Saga) vs. an alliance of Elves, Basileans and Dwarfs. We will set up a web site and app to support this, launching with the release of the Abyssals around October, and we’ll have this running for a good few months so those armies can get built and ready for battle. After the campaign the map of Mantica will be updated with the result.
Work in Progress Cover Art for the Global Campaign Book, with Mortibris at the head of a combined Undead and Forces of the Abyss army.
TOURNAMENTS
There is an active tournament scene already and that will continue.
The numbers are rising steadily both sides of the pond and down under. With the launch this summer of German, French and Spanish editions we hope it will go global.
THE ARMIES
Each army is getting a new starter force that has been designed to fit perfectly alongside the rest of our range on the shelves – this will give Kings of War much more impact in the stores, and the new boxes show that they are clearly the way to start building an army. The rest of the range will then neatly allow you to select additional unit choices as you expand your force.
As each army is released we will add a new unit or two, and some excellent new hero figures. The long-awaited Abyssal army will be on shelves in October or November this year.
THE RELEASE PLAN
Right now we are going to tell the world that KoW is coming – we’ve had plenty of cool pictures come through in reveal week, and there are more to come! In July we will kick off with the repackaged Abyssal Dwarfs and Elves (who have totally sold out their previous army deal!), followed at the end of August by the book along with the Dwarfs and Undead. Later in the year come the Ogres and Orcs, then we’ll delve into the Abyss, and the Basileans and Goblins come charging in not long after. There’s loads to come – something for everyone!
Every army is getting at least one new unit, like these Ogres!
At the end of this we will have a great quality, well-packaged range for a mass battle fantasy wargame. We know the game has a long-term appeal and it is this that we are going after – not a here-today-gone-tomorrow but a steady and forever gaming system. We will continue to invest in the plastics and metals in this range and will support it indefinitely.
I hope that sounds fun – so make sure you have some armies ready and have fun playing.
cheers, Ronnie
