Leaving Second Edition, my collection was just under 5000 points. It's a little lighter entering Third Edition, but not by too much. Most of my units didn't change in cost at all, though the army did receive a number of tweaks.
First, their special rule changed. They keep their Very Inspiring leaders, but many units also get the possible Indomitable Will upgrade. For a cost, a unit can momentarily self inspire, become Fearless, and turn a Waver into a Steady. That seems quite versatile, and I'm really interested to see how it plays.
Second, they got an indirect buff from the measurements change; we tend to take a lot of soldiers, so measuring from corners makes our more numerous units more dangerous and harder for an opponent to avoid or screen every charge. All good stuff so far!
I won't rehash tons of stuff; most of our units do exactly what you'd expect and a KoM general ends up with a wide variety of options. The Wizard even gets to swap out Fireball for Lightning Bolt still. There are some edition changes specific to my collection worth discussing though.
Unit Sizes
The Militia and Pole-Arms lost their troop option, which really stings. The Militia were a fantastic chaff unit (cheapest in the game in 2nd iirc); the Pole-Arms troops were also pretty great, as they were an easy way to get lots of Crushing Strength on the table. Spears also lost their troop option... but for some reason the Shield Wall got to keep theirs. All this jostling around makes Shield Wall troops our best infantry chaff on paper... though with higher Nerve and Defense than their (former) Militia counterparts... I don't know how reliable they will be in dying and getting out of the way; the vital role of chaff. They very well might be too survivable to perform this role, depending on your meta, or it might be worthwhile to dismiss infantry chaff for just taking more regiments to gum up the battlefield. The latter is going to be my approach.
Mounted Scouts
Their special rules have been subdivided a bit, but no biggies there; they can still move and shoot without penalty. They can now be taken as regiments (but are irregular). This is a neat change, and seems to be lifted in some part from the Historical Book. Cool!
Their stats changed slightly, and Scouts now hit on 4's in Melee, making them far more versatile on the field. Very cool! Though this boon comes with a trade; their shooting not nerfed somehow. Their bows have been shorted, giving them a shooting range of 18". Now that charges can measure out from corners, they're going to be vulnerable to a lot of cavalry. Generals will need to be careful!
Ballista
Ranged combat is rough, and I advocated for using Ballistas over most of our other shooting options. They couldn't really hold ground, but most KoM players bring a lot of other units to do that, so these could just sit back and shoot. They hit about as often as my other shooters, but a lot harder when shots actually connected. They were our cheapest shooting option, so point-for-point they were a fantastic pick for anyone looking to do damage at range.
In 3rd, their points have gone up and they've lost a point of Piercing... but have had their attacks boosted from 1 to 2. For a 15 point increase... they still seem like very good takes to me!
Beast of War
This is the biggest change to my army. The Beast was... well... a certifiable beast in my previous lists. Great combat stats all around, a very cheap ballista upgrade, and the Cok2019 buffs of Strider and Steady Aim... this thing was amazing. In Third Edition, it has been re-branded as a Mammoth, and while it kept it's sturdy base stats, it has also lost the ballista upgrade. Both these changes hurt.
The re-branding is an odd decision, given the huge variability of the Kingdoms is supposed to represent in the fluff. The "Beast" was a great nondescript word, which would let folks run wild with their hobby, like I did with dinos. Zeroing in on the Mammoth, and actual animal, as their designation is just an odd decision, and I can't figure out why they chose to go this way.
While the re-branding is odd, losing the ballista upgrade just plain hurts. It gave such great versatility for such a tiny cost! I don't know why they chose to remove it. Again, the Kingdoms are meant to be hugely variable, so I would have rather have seen the price get bumped up to make it more of a commitment to run the upgrade, or better yet, give out several more options (like a howdah for a few bow attacks, or built-in banner for Inspiring or Rallying, or armor upgrades or optional fearless... who knows). It's be harder to balance, but more rewarding for folks I think, as you end up with a very personal model, and a nice centerpiece unit for the army amidst all the cheap soldiers. Alas.
The changes to my trusty Beasts are going to have a huge impact on my army going into Third Edition. Previously my lists functioned a little like carrier battle groups: everything revolved around the Beasts, protecting them in the early turns, and then supporting them when it came time for the big melees. Shelving them will be a bit rough, but I'm excited to get use out of my Roman Giants! We'll see if I can get them on the table again soon.
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