It is November 11th and the end of a year long era is upon us with Clash of Kings '25 hitting the shelves and the Mantic Companion being updated today as well. The forces of Kings of War shall never be the same as minor tweaks, some major overhauls and the advent of command dice hit the tables across the globe.
Well, except for this coming weekend on November 17th when a cluster of stubborn fools give the CoK '24 ruleset one last hurrah right off the back of Australian Masters. Northern Inferno is our small 2,100 point tournament which will boast 10-12 players at the lovely Epicly Restaurant in Ipswich and should be a fun time with some good food, good games and a bit of friendly competitive spirit as a final 'Best of the Rest" as the Queenslanders unable to make Masters gather for their first bash of the tournament year.
But enough on the pre-amble, let's talk totally unprofessionally about the surprising variety of lists attending this event.
Alexi M - The Rainbow Brigade
Unfortunately, I did this alphabetically so I guess I'm up first. Bugger. The Rainbow Brigade is the Ogre equivalent of the clever but indecisive rogue in a party that has a tool for every situation, they're just not sure which tool is for which. With not a single repeated unit amongst the army, the Rainbow Brigade breaks away from CoK '24s traditional Warlock battery and Siegebreaker horde centric army with a dizzying array of grey plastic and a smattering of odd units. Crush (2) Hunters, me 3+ Berserkers, The Big Deal, Grokamog and Sacred Horn Boomer Chariots are just a few of the odd soupy units that make up this roster. Heck, even some goblins made it in to get a good kicking and round the list out to a thoroughly miserable 10 units at 2100 points, yikes... All in all, I'll give myself a well earned 5.67 out of 10.00. Original, got some flavour, but mostly unpainted and it is still Ogres. Boo.
Brian M - Riders on the Storm
Riftforged! Now there is something that Queensland doesn't see very often, perhaps on account of the flying heavy meta (pronounced terrors) that pervades our part of the Kings of War world. So what has Brian brought for us? 4 Regiments of Morax. 3 Regiments of Gore Riders. 2 Regiments of Tundra Wolves. 2 War Drums. A Flagger and a Godspeaker. Sorry, I did read Riftforged right? Is this a Riftforged army? Oh wait, there is a Stormslayer hiding in amongst the Orcs there, as well as a Stormbringer on a Gore. Guess they are Riftforged, imagine that. In seriousness though, this army has punch. A lot of speed 8 and 9 across this army, plenty of hard hitters and a decent chunk of rallying with those war drums. However the army is a little light on defence, so it'll have to make those impacts land. 15 units is nothing to sniff at either, small armies beware (uh oh.) Good synergy, good power. Can it come through? We'll see, I'll give it a CHAARGE (7) out of 10 for enthusiasm.
Ed H - Are You My Mummy
Turns out that I had missed a sneaky entrant to the tournament, no doubt hiding beneath the sands after returning home from Australian masters just this week. Ed has brought along an aggresively scouting Empire of Dust army for our viewing pleasure this weekend, repleat with 3 regiments of Mummies, a regiment and a horde of Revenants and 2 hordes of Enslaved Guardian Archers to pair up with a regular combat horde, all led by a Pharaoh and standard bearer and supported by the ever present Soul Snare. Honestly, it is a brutally simple army. Crush (1) or (2) near universally, high nerve points and high defence with reasonable power and a scary host shadowbeast Pharaoh who can lead from the front with his aura elite feeding the power of the mummies. It's a very tough nut to crack and unsettles me a bit that this outnumbers my Ogres. Therefore, I'll give it a lean and mean 8.55 out of 10, the 8 for the army comp and the .55 because I received this list at 5:50am and would have missed it otherwise.
Grayson S - The Monstrous Mash
I'll admit, I'm a little biased on this one as I did help my partner design the army. But at least we can get over with the biases early I suppose. So The Monstrous Mash, well it certainly isn't a graveyard smash. Between these 11 units there is a distinct lack of power, the army being more defensive based. 3 units of Voidwalkers and 2 Bound Terrors results in a lot of ensnare but not a lot of punch back, Impalers and Soulflayers can deal some damage but rarely enough to wipe out a hard target and although the mutants have the charge power they have no staying power. A Goredrake and the dreaded Pride of the Fleet make up for some failings slightly but as a whole, the army is somewhat anaemic. However, despite this the froce has still got potential. Witha smattering of stealthy and ensnare, the army can be annoyingly difficult to remove and with no less than 4 titans at 2100 points it can be a hard contender to deal with easily. Overall, I'll give the army a reasonable 6/10 although it's still a little questionable if they'll make it to the event.
Matthew A - SpringCon II Electric Boogaloo
People tend to overlook Halflings, usually on account on them being so short. Unlike a Dwarf though, if you point this out they won't immediately kneecap you with a hammer. No, instead they'll just break your sanity by murdering your troops a day later on a battlefield whilst somehow still managing to eat a hamburger steak that they pulled out from god knows where. In seriousness, Matthew has refined his Halflings over the last year and it shows. Cavalry with supporting strider auras, gastromancy handing out rally or brutal half the time, Aeronauts just being Aeronauts and the Pride of the Shires being a brick are all nasty units that will be combined together to give you a headache. As the whole the list has serious potential, the question is can Matthew just break his curse of never beating 4th. I'll rate the list a high 8.9 out of 10. I refuse to rate it any higher because I am tired of seeing D3 = 3 in that army.
Matthew C - BrisCon II Electric Boogaloo
Pointy Ears incoming! Credit where it is due, this is an interesting take on Elves. A Hex-King on Dragon, a Drakon Horde and a Drakon Lord make for a different but scary flying battery. An Archmage, a Bolt Thrower, a Sea Guard Regiment and a Gladestalker Regiment make for a reasonably versatile ranged output, if a little light on dice perhaps. Palace Guard, Forest Shamblers, an Elven King with Shardblade and a Standard Bearer make for a reasonably good defensive line as well, although again a little light. Which really is the trick with this lovely Elf army. It covers all of it's bases to be just enough to threaten someone who can't counter them, but doesn't go heavy on any one aspect so that it doesn't get completely rock-paper-scissored into oblivion. Honestly, I like the idea, let's see how ti plays this weekend. I'll give it a good old 6.5 out of 10. Solid capability and can do well but wills truggle with some matchups.
Michael S - Noah's Reclaimed Ark
And then the Forces of Nature descended upon the ark, slaughtering it's inhabitants and taking their place with the water elementals kindly putting out the flames the fire elementals caused in the boarding action. Let's be honest though, seeing such an elemental heavy army is a treat. When it comes to themeing, we clearly have three parts to this list. The Awakened Woods of Forest Shamblers and Hunters of the Wild scouting ahead with a Tree Herder at the helm, with a wave (hehe) of Fire and Water elementals swarming up behind them assisted by a pair of Druids. Push forward, surround and overwhelm with headaches is the play of the game for this force and I look forward to seeing it's power. That said, rating wise I'll give it a 7. Lots of potential with the surge power and it can definitely take a punch.
Neal B - Voted the People's Champion of the North
As opposed to the Forces of nature, we next up have the far more sinister Forces of the Abyss piloted by none other than Pathfinder owner Neal, who loves a good laugh and a fun game. But what has he prepared for us? An Archfiend of the Abyss and the Well of Souls screams out a large start with 590 points dedicated to them, followed along by 2 hordes of Tortured Souls, a Moloch regiment and a mixture of Succubi and Lower Abyssals plus a smattering of support units. It's a fast list with a range of decently punchy units, it certainly has potential. Can Neal pilot it to victory? Better question, does he want to? Regardless, you'll have a wonderful time playing our local pathfinder.10 out of 10 for the rating. I don't know what the plan for the army is, nor does Neal probably, but you'll love playing against him regardless.
Paul VE - The Final Pack
When it comes to the QLD scene, Paul is up there at the top. He may not have been in masters this year, but he could have been. So what is he bringing for us? Northern Alliance? Oh okay, not his Rats, this'll be a little more chill... 4 Pack Hunters... Nevermind, not chill. Stone Cold Evil. Frostclaw Riders, the Half-Elf berserker formation and Hrimm the legendary titan all join the party to make the High temperatures of QLD seem trivial to the sudden onset of frost that will attack his opponents with this terror of a list. Oh also, did I mention the Naiads horde? With the Crystal Pendant of Retribution? Yes. That one. Heavens forbid the poor sod of tries to kill that in melee. (Please not me.) Paul gets a stone cold 9.5 out of 10. I'm sure it could have been tweaked to even more perfection. But the pilot will give you a very tough time. Lookout~
Scott H - Banner Gnomes of King Tiddalick / Hells Bells
Scott is a lovely hobbyist who is currently working hard to get his Forces of the Abyss army completed, so we've let him put in two submissions in case he cannot finish it to his personal standards. Which is making me question why I went with ogres today tbh. I shouldn't have gotten so distracted painting Horus Heresy this last month 
. Anyway, lets start with the Goblin side. The elephant in the room, or rather the missing elephant, is there is only a single inspiring source. Yikes. So what did they bring instead? 3 Winggits, 2 Rock Lobbers, 2 Slashers with Trumpets, 2 War Trombones and a smattering of infantry, a troll horde and some mincers. Just a few things my gods. If you don't have stealthy and this deploys opposite you, cry. It'll help the trauma these gnomes will cause you as the true shooting army this event. 
What about the Hells Bells though? 4 regiments of Abyssal guard, 2 of Abyssal Horsemen, 2 Chroneas, 2 Abyssal Warlocks and the Well of Souls. That's not a lot of units, but that is a lot of concentrated power that if pilotted right will net a nasty surprise for an opponent. Scores wise, I'll give the goblins Gnomes a Weeeeee (8) out of 10 and the Forces of the Abyss a reasonable 6.5 / 10. My knowledge on FotA is relatively poor and this has ironically come back to bite me for these reviews.
Simon G - Court of the Twin Wizard Kings
With a title like that and 2 Liches at the head of this army, the undead may be a threat to reckon with for this event. This undead force has gone for quality over quantity for the most part, with Mummies, Vampires, Wraiths, Wights and Revenants making up the entire troops contingent. 2 Liche Kings and a Revenant on Burrowing Wyrm just add to the power of the force. There's honestly not a tonne for me to elaborate on for this list, it's just nasty. Strong units with surge all over and reasonably good damage output, you need to play your positoning game well if you want to overcome this army and make it out alive. Simon, you get an 8.5 out of 10. You went with power and a fun name, let's see you push it to victory.
Tony L - Frogs & Newts
Now this is a man with vision. He knows what he wants. He wants frogs. And if not frogs, baby frogs. And what he wants even more is frogs on frogs. And that is exactly what the army does. Higher than average speed but slower than cavalry+ armies, almost everything flies throw the power of Power Word: Hop and hits reasonably well across the board. It's an all round effective force with a competent ranged output and a good punch in melee that will let it do well in most engagements. However, I am forced to subtract a point from the list, because somehow a horde of Naiads got in. Yuck, give me more Frogs next time. 8/10 Tony. Do better, more frogs.
Trevor Y - Iron Shot
This one caught me by surprise to be honest. But gods do I love it. 2 Regiments and 2 Hordes of lesser Obisidian Golems, all rocking their 8 shot shotguns via the Charnox upgrade and 2 troops of Abyssal Berserkers. What a front line, I love it. A Hellfane, a Katsuchan and an Iron-Caster with Fireball (18) do a pretty damn good job of supporting that. Rounding out we have my favourite formation in the game, 21 angry orc slaves on angrier boars ready to turn the wrath of unpaid interns into someone elses problem. Honestly this is an army I love, perhaps because I also play AD but mostly because it twists the "usual" list heavily into something comical yet still potentially effective. Therefore I have to give this a solid rating of 8.5 / 10. Looking forward to seeing them gunning for it this weekend.
And that is about it. 14 lists, 13 players, 1 day of fun out of the sun and a good sendout to CoK '24 from Sunny Queensland Australia. I hope you found this a little amusing and please wish some luck (good or funny) to all our players this coming weekend. Have a good day all, happy charging.
~Alexi,
TO & Pathfinder Gaming Assistant.