Hobby Update: KoM Pikes

Up now is a unit that is at least a year too late! Way back in 2020 I did up my first unit of human Pikes with a basic conversion. The unit was fun (and good!) and back in 2022, I had hobbied up the third regiment. At long last, we now have a fourth regiment of KoM Pikemen ready for the table!

The fourth regiment.

It was a different game back then. Pikes were an upgrade to the basic Spear Phalanx infantry unit for the very basic Kingdoms of Men. While just Def4, Phalanx was more potent than it is now in 4E, and the cheap Pike upgrade gave them Ensnare as well. They weren't around to deal any damage, but in the right situations, they could be very tough to cut through rapidly. I very much liked the unit, and sometime in 2023 I bought another Fireforge Cavalry box to get enough lances for what was going to be the final unit of Pikes... and then just never sat down to do this. Four regiments would be strong, but it was also a bit spammy, and I guess I was apparently was not motivated enough to get this last unit done. 

At an angle.

While attempting to clean up and reorganize the garage over the summer, I happened upon my little storage container with the lances. I also found an old, poorly painted regiment of Spearmen readying to throw stuff, with most of their throwing arms already broken. I already have two hordes worth of very old spearmen I do not use, so decided this stand-alone regiment would be repurposed. 

The bodies are Warlord Games Romans, and the pikes are Fireforge Cavalry Lances. Like many of the latter's infantry kits, which reuse some bits, most of their cavalry (Teutons, Templars, Albions, etc.) reuse the same lance sculpts. I got my lances from an Albion kit, but I had options. To disguise the join, I used a variety of tricks before, but went with the easiest solution: a single, thin styrene / plasticard to make a shoulder band reminiscent of the lorica segmentata of the main model, and then just glued it on.

From the other side.

As mentioned, Pikes have changed in 4E. They still grant Phalanx and Ensnare, but now are a rather expensive upgrade for the Dogs of War, a special, mercenary-themed unit for the Kingdoms of Men, and only available as a horde. The latter part is the kicker. Having 3 regiments was thus awkward, so after repurposing that old regiment, we've put ourselves in a position to be able to run two hordes, and really explore the reimagined unit.

Paired with another regiment.

I am not sure how the new Pikes will do. Infantry hordes seem nicely positioned in 4E, with limits on how many units can hit a given frontage. After some surprise showings at UK's Clash (breakdown from Data and Dice here), offensively-orientated infantry hordes are in vogue. We've seen CS2 Tribesmen from Trevor and Grant, CS2 Abyssal Guard from Rob, CS2 Black, and CS1TC1 Dwarf Shieldbreakers from me have all seemed to do well. 

Down the line.

I think the basic Dogs of War are well-positioned. We've seen Will's Abyssal Dwarf Blacksouls do well in their own right, (having just CS1, and the Brew of Sharpness to hit on 3's), and a cheap horde like that should be able to find use. The Def 5 version, backed with the Hammer of Measured Force, with Bane Chant support, or even naked should also be ok in a lot of lists. I am not sure how the Pikes will do. It is a very expensive upgrade, and going all in on the defense, which could backfire, if you are unable to take off units. 

This is a meandering post, and we'll call it here before we lose our way! A fourth regiment's worth of Pikes are ready for the table, and we'll try to get both horde's worth of units on the battlefield some time soon! I am long overdue for testing this unit out.