The Brothermark appeared as a theme list for Basilea in third edition, just as I had started to build my Basilean army. At the time of building the army its fair to say the Basileans and I weren’t getting along for various reasons and the Brothermark list looked like a way of fixing that, so I started to play around with possible lists.
It didn’t really come to anything, because as much as I liked the idea of a knight army supported by some angry villeins and interesting characters, the lists I put together never quite finished up like that. I found myself seeing the Brothermark list more as an alternative Basilean list that allowed the option of tooled up mounted paladins instead of angels, which didn’t massively appeal.
The biggest smallest winner?
When COK 2022 landed I was absolutely amazed by what had been done to the Brothermark. COK 2022 has given so many more units a chance of getting to the table, but in the case of Brothermark I think it’s given the whole army an improved chance. On that basis I think its probably the army that’s benefited the most from the changes.
The best things in life are often the smallest and making Villein Penitents regular was probably the best change that could have happened to this army in my view. It gives it a really characterful, not to mention, cheap unlock. And this is really the key for me to wanting to play this force.
Choosing the look
I normally try to include as much Mantic stuff as a I can in a Kings of War army, but there are quite a few holes in their ranges when it comes to supporting the Brothermark. I know its possible to convert, and much finer hobbyists than me have done so, but I just want something a little more straight-forward. So I opted to make the main body of the army from Fireforge Tuetonic Knights, Mounted Sergeants and Tuetonic Infantry.
They have a great range of plastics and some nice resin character models as well. I was particularly impressed with the “special bits” sprue in the infantry box that had some cloaks with wolf pelts that will help deliver a bit of monster hunting je ne sais quoi.
There are options in Fireforge’s wider range to cover off the villein infantry, however, after a bit of thought I decided to try out some Oathmark human warriors. I’m glad I did. The models are great quality for a box of 30 for £25. They have loads of options but retain a beautiful simplicity. What’s best though, is that all the options allow me to use them, not only to throw together some penitents, but also for archers and men-at-arms. There are also a number of character models that will happily cover off wizards and exemplars. The only option the set doesn’t provide is for are crossbows, but if I really feel the need the Tuetonic infantry set can provide those.
Aims, timeframes and next steps
As I write I’m currently umming and ahhhing over army lists ahead of my first game using the single-model-blue-tacked-to-a-base school of Kings of Warring. The plan is though that this year Brotherhood will be my tournament army (until I get cold feet and go back to rats). On that basis, I’m aiming to have a full 2k ready to go for the end of Feb for their first outing, which also makes choosing army mainly clothed in two colours (metal and dirty linen) appealing. Despite that it still suddenly feels like a tall order!
The Wizard's Bookshelf 