Like many years before it, this year has also been very tumultuous and stressful at times. While I have tried to block off more regular time to relax in my schedule this year, unfortunately even pastimes like hobbying generally, and Kings of War specifically, have gotten in on the upheaval action lately. The new edition was announced a few months back, but the information released has been a bit haphazard and sporadic, and release dates have been quite fuzzy.
While it feels weird to hobby without the rules in-hand, I've still needed escapist moments, and have been sneaking some hobbying in, wrapping up old projects and getting organized as the house shifts into winter and space becomes a little limited. Among other things, I ended up with an assortment of Undead on my desk. So up now, are an assortment of heroes Champions to get me running with the new edition, whenever it drops.
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| My main ASBs each get a helper. |
The first units are my trusty Undead ASBs. These ended up being really great for me in 3rd Edition, as I like ASBs with items, and the Wild Charge 2 aura for Skeletons the Undead ones got was amazing, and while it seemed targeted for normal skeletons, it really shined with other units, and enabled some nifty plays and surprisingly long charges with with Revenant Cavalry, and both the flying and terrestrial version of Undead Wyrms. Long, long ago I picked up some Skeleton bits online and kitbashed some Skeletons. Most were used for my initial Skeleton Warriors Regiments way back in 2016, but I still had two loose bodies out and about, and it felt good to finally use them up.
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| And a fully-Mantic ASB. |
I snuck in a third ASB. The icon-bearer has been around, but I haven't really needed a third ASB very often. I had a single spare Mantic Skeleton mini around too, so this was a great use for them both, and I can finally clear him out of my bits box, along with the extra guys helping the other two ASBs.
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| And even a mounted Mantic ASB! |
I then have a mounted ASB, which is even from Mantic Games! I believe it is an old reward from mailing in Mantic Points, but I picked mine up second-hand via Noble Knight Games. Heroic unlocks in the Undead army were highly competitive in 3rd Edition. There were a few times I would have liked one, so I'm glad to finally have the option now.
We'll see how ASBs do in 4th Edition. I have not kept up with spoilers, but by all counts the auras have gone away, making them less impactful and less attractive, but we've yet to see full rules, so maybe they can fight a bit better, or have something else going for them now? They are still a cheap way to keep things Inspired, and should still be able to hold some supporting items well, so even without knowing the full rules, I'm happy to have these all done and ready and waiting.
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| Revenant Kings, now with spooky fog! |
But I didn't stop with ASBs. I then rebased some Revenant Kings on Foot. The Revenants have been fine performers in my lists, able to take Surge, and hold an item, and can still add a damage in most combats too! When I had the points, or didn't need to support Skeleton units with the aura, these were great takes and functioned similar to upgraded ASBs, and were just a nice, rather cheap support unit to have around, and able to do a bit of everything for me. Given the newer, larger base, these can now get the army's fog effect as well, which is nice!
Additionally, I tried out a newer base for them. Our clubmate Rob is a carpenter, and when the change to individuals was announced, showed up at the next meetup with a number of 40 and 50 mm squares cut by him. I snagged some, intending to use the thicker bases for specific armies, and/or for combat characters, but man, I really like these. Typically these individuals have been very light, and can be knocked around the table accidentally, but the heavier base feels really nice and solid. We'll definitely be using some thicker bases in the future!
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| A kitbashed, mounted Revenant King. |
And the last entry here is a new unit, a Revenant King on undead horse! I picked up a Tomb Kings Chariot box years ago to use for Chaos Chariots on the cheap. The horses have been in storage for years, but while doing some organizing, I finally bit the bullet and sat down to kitbash this. I used the more gothic armor from the Perry Mounted Men at Arms (last used with the Soul Reaver Cavalry), and then a rider with a hand-swap and head-swap. A trophy rack from a Cryx Warmachine unit, and a few extra bits to fill the model out, and we had something I really liked!
The painting here was a bit experimental. Typically, for anything resembling a skeleton, I slap a bone color on the whole thing, and then hit it with a wash. That can look really messy at the end though, so here I went with an approach using layering. We started with a brown, then a bone color as a bit of an overbrush, trying to keep those recessed areas dark. I only used a wash around the teeth and skull, where some of the detail got covered up. Overall, I like this. Not sure how many more skeletons I'll ever paint up, but this worked nicely. The armor was a newer color for my (Sycorax Bronze). It's a little brighter and lighter and really pops, and I think it is a good look overall. I can't wait to get this guy on the table.
Plenty is changing for the Undead, but they rely on their units, and I think they'll be strong in the new edition, especially early on. We'll get them on the table as soon as we can!
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