Switching from Warhammer 8th edition to Kings of War 2nd edition

With the release of the rules and starter lists for Kings of War 2nd Edition (if you dont have these you
can download them at Mantic web site), as well as the release of Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, many
people are looking to try Kings of War with their existing Warhammer armies.
This post will attempt to describe the differences between the games. The list may seem large, but in
practicality it is quite an easy switch from Warhammer 8th edition to Kings of War 2nd edition. Plus
there is nothing stopping you from playing both games, or using your miniatures to play any games you
want. I will be posting more a tutorial on how to play Kings of War later, this however is just the
differences.
First Kings of War is NOT Warhammer Light. It is not based on Warhammer. It was written by
Alessio Calvatore, who wrote Warhammer 7th edition and many Warhammer army books. But Alessio
also writes historical war games, and the idea of ranked of units has been around since H G Wells
published Little Wars back in 1913.
One major point is you can use ANY models you wish to play Kings of War. The only restriction on
which models you can use is in official Mantic sponsored tournaments (such as the Clash of King
championship), you must have a majority of Mantic models to win "Best Mantic Army" and "Best
Mantic Hero" awards. Otherwise - use the models you want.
A major difference between the systems is in KoW there is no model removal - units stay intact until
they are routed. This makes the game faster, and allows you to multi-base your models as well. Most
WFB players have seen armies with cool 'unit filler' such as skaven warriors with huge chunks of
warpstone, or drunk dwarf warriors with dancing girls on a table
This is not only legal, but often encouraged. The unit is defined by its footprint, so long as that is correct the actual number of models doesn't
matter. This also means that models are not hit points in Kings of War. You can actually never destroy a unit by killing all the models in it - you
must ALWAYS rout them.
KoW is a unit based game, while WFB is model based. You can think of each unit in KoW as a multi-wound monster (with potentially infinite
wounds (more on that in a bit)). Units are bought as such, not as models. You cannot add an extra model or two to a unit, nor can you change a
units formation - they are all standardized and set.

The following table shows the unit sizes and footprints for all unit types

Unit Type

Model base Troop

Regiment
(mm)
Infantry
20
10 (100 x 20 (100 x 80)
40)
Infantry
25
10 (125 x 20 (125 x
50)
100)
Cavalry
25 x 50
5 (125 X 50)10 (125 X
100)
Large Infantry40
N/A
3 (120 x 40)
Large Cavalry50 x 50
N/A
3 (150 x 50)
Large Cavalry50 x 100
N/A
3 (150 x 100)
Monsters
50 x 50
N/A
N/A
War Engines 50 x 50
N/A
N/A

Horde

Legion

40 (200 x 80) 60 (200 x 120)

40 (250 x 100) 60 (250 x 150)
20 (250 X 100) N / A
6 (120 x 80)
6 (150 x 100)
6 (150 x 200)
N/A
N/A

12 (240 x 80)
12 (300 x 100)
12 (300 x 200)
N/A
N/A

Most infantry is on 20mm bases, though there are a few (orcs, gargoyles, salamanders). Most large infantry is on 40mm bases, though Lesser
Obsidian Golems and Molochs are on 50mm. Large cavalry is on 50mm or 50x100 mm bases. For monsters and war engines, they are on
50mm bases - though you can use larger bases if necessary (larger bases are more a disadvantage however).

If you use a larger base for war engines, then you MUST mark the 50mm frontage on the model, as this is used for line of sight when firing the
model (war engines DO NOT have 360 line of sight), and larger frontage would mean larger firing arc, so this must be marked.

Heroes are separate units - they do not join other units.

There are some very similar stats between the systems. Every unit has a type:

Warhammer
Infantry
Cavalry
Monstrous
Infantry
Monstrous
Cavalry
War Machine
Character
Monster
The stats for units are similar to those for models as well:

Kings of
War
Infantry
Cavalry
Large
Infantry
Large
Cavalry
War Engine
Hero
Monster

Warhamm Kings of
er
War
Mov
SP
WS
BS
ST
T
W
I
A
Ld

ME
RA

Meaning
# inches unit can move in a
turn
roll to hit in close combat
roll to hit with ranged
weapons

DE

roll to wound when hit

AT

number of attacks for the

UNIT
combined
LD/wounds/morale

NE

Yes, there is no imitative in Kings of War. You only fight on your turn. The game is designed so that you can play with chess clocks - you do not
touch the dice when it is not your turn (this also means there are NO SAVES - sorry). While the stats are similar, they work slightly different.

ME & RA do not depend on the target unit - so goblins hit everything on 5+, while ogres hit them on 3+. No more table looks ups, or double +1 the value is set.

DE is like Toughness - but it also includes armor (you will often see that options to exchange hand weapon and shield for two handed weapons the DE goes down one and Crushing Strength goes up by one.
There is no ST stat - you can thing of every model having ST 3. A model may have Crushing Strength(n) - this mean modify the would roll by n.
In WFB terms - add n to the st of the model. So CS(1) -> ST 4, CS(2) -> ST 5. Piercing works the exact same way but is for ranged attacks,
while Crushing Strength is strictly close combat. In addition certain unit, mainly cavalry, have Thunderous Charge(n). Think of this a strength
bonus when charging (i.e. lances). It is lost when counter-charging, as well as when charging units behind obstacles or going through difficult
terrain.

There are no Wound limits on a unit - this is part of the NE stat. Same with Leadership. Attacks are for the entire unit, not per model in base to
base. This is also used for range attacks, if the unit has them. You always roll this number of dice when attacking.
There are some penalties to ME or RA. ME can take a -1 penalty during a hindered charge (which is going over an obstacle or through difficult
terrain). RA has a -1 for moving, -1 for target in cover, and -1 if the target is an individual. There are also some special rules that can modify
these as well (for example, a unit with "Stealthy" is at an additional -1 to hit with ranged weapons). If the modified value you need to hit is
greater than 6, you then halve your number of attacks (rounded down) and hit on 6's.

At the end of the shooting phase, and after each close combat, instead of taking a break check for your units, your opponent rolls a nerve check
for each unit that suffered a wound in that phase. This is 2D6 + # accumulated wounds. This value is compared to the NE values for the target.
Each unit has two NE values - wavering and routed. (If a unit has a ' - ' for wavering value then it cannot be wavered - think of these units as
unbreakable). If the nerve check equals or exceeds the wavering value, then the unit is wavered. This is similar to fleeing (but there is no

running away in Kings of War). Wavering lasts for the next turn - a wavering unit can only change facing or back up, and cannot shoot. If the
nerve values meets or exceeds the rout value, then the unit is routed and removed from the table (it has broken). Units with the "Inspiring"
special rule are like Battle Standard Bearers - if one is within 6" of a unit that is routed (9" if the unit has very inspiring) then your opponent
MUST re-roll the nerve test. This only applies to rout results, not wavering.

In addition, if you roll snake-eyes ( 1 - 1 ) then the unit is always steady, regardless of any modifiers. This does mean (and I've had it happen)
where a unit can take more wounds than it has models and still not be routed. There is no automatic routing EVER.

On the other hand, if you roll boxcars ( 6 - 6 ), then even if the unit is not routed (hordes have very high nerve values - often in the 20 - 22 range,
with a zombie legion being 28 nerve!) it is AUTOMATICALLY wavered (unless it can't be, of course).

People often ask how magic works. Magic is a shooting attack - sometimes the target is a friendly unit with it. A wizard can cast a single spell
each turn. Each spell has a number with it - such as Lightning Bolt (3). That number is the number of dice you roll to cast the spell - you get a
success on each value of 4+. The spell description then says what happens for each success. Again, using Lightning Bolt - each success is a
hit on the target unit with Piercing (1). There are a total of six spells in the game, and each wizard will get one for free, and may purchase
others. These are all listed in the units profile. (So Elf Mages get heal(3) for free, and may purchase Lightning Bolt(5) for 45 points (as well as
other spells), while a Goblin Wiz gets Lightning Bolt(3) for free, and can purchase other spells (but does not have the option to purchase Heal at
all).

The spells are summarized below:

Spell
Lightning
Bolt (n)
Fireball (n)
Heal (n)

Ran Effect
ge
24 Roll to damage as normal with Piercing(1)
12
12

Bane-Chant
(n)

12

Wind Blast
(n)
Surge (n)

18
12

Roll to damage as normal

Friendly units only remove a point of damage for
each success
Friendly units only if at least one success, target
gains Piercing(1) and Crushing Strength(1) for this
turn
Move target unit 1 away for each success
Friendly shambling units only. Move 1 forward for
each success

Terrain in Kings of War is broken into four categories.

- Decorative terrain has no impact - it is just there to make the battlefield look cool
- Blocking terrain - this is impassable in warhammer terms
- Obstacles - just like obstacles in warhammer. These count as blocking terrain for war engines and units moving at the double.
- Difficult terrain - This counts as blocking terrain for units moving at the double. It also provides cover.

Line of sight in Kings of War is based on height, which is defined by the unit type:

Unit
Infantry, War
Engines
Cavalry, Large
Infantry
Large Cavalry
Monsters

Heig
ht
1
2
3
4

Some units have exceptions to this, in which case it is listed in the special rules for it (i.e. orclings are height 0, and Lesser Obsidian Golems are
height 3)
A unit can see over anything that is shorter than it. It can also see units that are taller than any intervening units/terrain. (i.e. cavalry can see
over infantry but not over other cavalry. However they can see over another unit of cavalry to a large cavalry unit behind them). If a unit is at
least half obscured by anything that is 3 levels smaller (or higher) then it has cover. So cavalry will get cover from infantry, but monsters will
NOT.
Terrain should all have a defined height. Generally forests are height 4. Obstacles are height 1 (but do not block line of sight). Hills generally
should be as high as they are in inches. So a 2" high hill would be height 2. Units of hills add the hills height to their own for line of sight
purposed.
The center of the front of each unit is called the Leader Point (because units often have a leader in the center). This is where most measuring
and line of sight is taken from.
Measuring can be done AT ANY TIME during the game. In almost all cases, you measure distance from the leader point of the unit to the
closest point of the target (inspiring is an exception - it is from closest point to closest point).

Each turn has three phases - movement, shooting and close combat.
Movement is similar to WFB - however there are not separate phases. You do not declare nor move chargers first. You move each unit in any
order you wish. This means you won't have a unit blocking a charge, because you can always move them before your charge in (this is a
common mistake made by warhammer players - but usually only once).
Units do not wheel when moving, they pivot (again. like multi wound monsters) around the center of the unit. This pivot does not cost
movement, but a unit is restricted in how many times and when it can pivot.

Order
Halt
Change
Facing
Forward
At the
Double
Back
Sidestep
Charge
Counter Charge

Do not move
Pivot to face any direction (like
reform)
Move SP, can pivot once at any time
Move SP x 2, cannot pivot (i.e. march
move)
Move straight back 1 / 2 SP
Move straight left or right 1 / 2 SP
See below
See below

If a unit has the "Nimble" special rule, then it can ADD a pivot to any order except Halt.
Units can move through friendly units except when charging. They must, of course, end their move clear of other units. Units must stay 1" away
from enemy units at all times except charging.
When pivoting, a unit can pivot through anything (other units, blocking terrain, even the table edge) so long as when the pivot is complete, the
unit is clear. So you cannot move a chaff unit up to block a unit from moving - they can just pivot through them, so long as at the end of the
pivot, they are clear of the chaff unit.
Charging is how you get into combat. The charging bonus is getting to fight, since you only fight on your turn. To charge you need to meet the
following conditions

target unit MUST be in your front arc before you move

distance from charging units leader point to closest point of the target must be <= SP x 2

must have line of sight from leader point to target

must be able to physically fit the unit into base to base contact with the target.
If these are all met, then you move the charging unit by the shortest path into contact with the target. You are allowed 1 pivot at any time during
this move to go around any intervening units / blocking terrain. You cannot use the pivot to avoid obstacles or difficult terrain however. After
contacting the unit you then align the charging unit with the side of the unit, and shuffle it sideways to center the units up.
Multiple units charging a single unit move a the same time, but cannot cross paths. The split the frontage on the unit as evenly as possible.
Corner to corner charges are NOT allowed.
A unit MUST charge the arc (front, flank, rear) that their leader point is in before moving. Charging a flank doubles the number of attacks against
the unit. Charging the rear triples the attacks. The bonus for flank or rear does not apply if the target or charging unit is an individual, unless the
target is a war engine - in which case EVERYTHING triples its attacks against war engines)
If a unit was charged in the previous turn by their opponent (and is not wavered (unless the unit has the Fury special rule)) then the unit can
always counter-charge ANY unit that charged it, even if they cannot see the unit (they know they are there). If counter-charging to the flank or
rear, simply pivot your unit and charge the target. The restriction here is the unit MUST be able to fit after pivoting - so a horde charged in the
front, rear and flank can counter-charge the front or rear, but not the flank because it cannot fit.
If the unit charged through difficult terrain, or over an obstacle, then it is hindered. It is -1 to hit that round, and loses Thunderous Charge. When
counter-charging - all terrain is ignored, however you never get Thunderous Charge when counter-charging.
After all moving is shooting. Again there is no magic phase, magic is a shooting attack. A unit can shoot if it has a ranged attack (RA value, or
special shooting attack (like a spell, or breath attack)), unless

the unit moved "at the double"

the unit is disordered (it was charged in the previous turn AND suffered at least 1 point of damage)

the unit moved and has the "Reload!" special rule

Targeting a unit for shooting is much like charging now

the target is in the front arc of the shooting unit

the distance from the leader point of the shooting unit is <= weapon range

war engines - 48"

long rifles, heavy crossbows - 36"

bows, crossbows, rifles - 24"

harpoon guns, carbines, firebolts - 18"

pistols, javelines, thrown weapons, breath attack - 12"

exceptions will be listed in the special rules for the unit (i.e. dwarf organ gun 24", not 48"

target may not be in melee, unless specifically mentioned that it is allowed (i.e. some spells)

must have line of sight from leader point to the target

As mentioned before, there are three modifiers for shooting - target in cover, target is an individual or shooter moved. Roll your AT dice and
each success based on your RA with modifiers hits, then roll to wound against the targets DE, modified by any Piercing value. Add any new
wounds to the accumulated wound total on the unit.

At the end of the shooting phase, take nerve test against all units that were wounded. (see the section on nerve checks above)

The final phase is close combat - all units that charged now fight in combat. If they were hindered they take a -1 penalty - otherwise they roll
their number of attacks against their ME value. Successful hits then roll to wound, modified by Crushing Strength as well as Thunderous
Charge (unless hindered or disordered). Again add any new wounds to the accumulated wound total on the unit. If multiple units charged a
single unit, all of them fight.
After each combat roll against the target nerve. If the nerve check does not rout the unit, then all chargers move straight back 1". If the target
unit took any wounds, it is now disordered (i.e. it cannot shoot next turn, and loses thunderous charge (if it had it) next turn).
If the target is routed, then each charging unit can do one of the following

nothing

pivot to face ANY direction

move straight forward D6" (no pivoting allowed)

move straight backward D3" (no pivoting allowed)

After all combats are complete, it is then the opponents turn.

Games last for 6 turns for each player. At the end of the last turn, the player rolls a D6 - on 4+ you get an optional 7th turn each.

There are six scenarios in the rule book - the kill scenario is in the free rules - which is to rout 10% more than your opponent.

Army composition rules are simple. For each regiment (see the unit size block above) in your army, you can take two troops and one hero or
war engine or monster. For each horde (or legion) you may take four troops and one hero, one war engine AND one monster. Each army has
an alignment - you may take allies (up to 25% your total army value), but good may not align with evil (everyone can align with neutral). Main list
regiments do NOT unlock allies units, nor do allied units unlock main list units - if you want an allied hero you must take an allied regiment (or
horde or legion) to unlock him. Also you may not take allied living legends (special characters - marked with a [1] on the army lists).

Units (except for Monsters and war engines) may each take a single magic artifact. Some are restricted to only heroes.

One thing Mantic is doing to encourage everyone to play Kings of War is creating a supplemental army list book for armies that Mantic does not
make models for. These cannot be 1-1 mappings (and play style can be completely different), but will allow you to use the majority of your
models in Kings of War. In addition, so long as the unit footprint is correct, "counts as" units are always welcome (so while there is no entry for
something like an Aracharnok Spider in the orc list, you could use it to "count as" a krudger on slasher). Here are the warhammer armies than
their Kings of War equivalent. The ones with Mantic models are in the main rule book (available as a softbound gamer's edition with rules and
army list (no background), or the beautiful full color hardback book).
Mantic is also currently playtesting an additional book that will contain army lists for those armies they do not make, a book of historical army
lists and another supplement for three new armies (though this is the furthest off). In addition there will be a world-wide campaign this summer,
and Mantic promises that the results will affect the world of Mantica (so does the Abyss spread further as evil takes over, or is is even more
contained with the forces of good triumphant. The players and games will decide!). (Note - The first supplement - Uncharted Empires, was
released 11/23/15).

WFB Army
Beastmen
Bretonnia
Daemons of
Chaos
Dark Elves
Dwarfs
High Elves
Lizardmen
Ogre Kingdoms
Orcs & Goblins

Mantic Army List

The Herd
The Brotherhood
Forces of the Abyss

Twilight Kin
Dwarfs
Elves
Salamanders
Ogres
Orcs / Goblins (two
separate lists)
Skaven
Ratkin
The Empire
Kingdoms of Men
Tomb Kings
Empire of Dust
Vampire Counts Undead
Warriors of
Varangur
Chaos
Wood Elves
Elves
Chaos Dwarfs Abyssal Dwarfs
Forces of Basilea
Forces of Nature
The League of Rhordia
Night-stalkers
Trident Realms of Neritica
Twilight Kin (Redo)
Northern Alliance
Ophidians

Status
Uncharted Empires
Uncharted Empires

Main rule book

released online - see below
Main rule book
Main rule book
Uncharted Empires

Main rule book

Main rule book
Uncharted Empires

Main rule book

Uncharted Empires

Main rule book

Uncharted Empires

Main rule book

Main rule book
Main rule book
Main rule book
Uncharted Empires
Uncharted Empires
Uncharted Empires

Supplement book - TBD

Supplement book - TBD
Supplement book - TBD