Next week almost 200 Kings of War players will descend on Nottingham in the UK for the weekend. We’ll be playing six games over the course of two days, as well as catching up with friends from all parts of the country, and overseas. This is my second time going, and first in its current incarnation, which frankly is an amazing undertaking given the event is not a Mantic run event, instead its run by a collective of tournament organisers from across the country. Friends who attended last year loved it, and I’m quite excited.
In true Kings of War style the event is not a Mantic miniatures exclusive event. There are however some small incentives to encourage people to bring fully Mantic armies. This year I’ve had a lot going on, so sadly I haven’t quite been able to get the last element of my army that’s non-Mantic replaced. However, two other units have had a Mantic makeover which I really wanted to share.
My Ratkin army has a growing narrative behind it. Earlier in the year a very enjoyable game against Orcs led to the matriarch of the clan being deposed and an ambitious Birthing Daughter taking her place. This change has resulted in a lot of decisions having to be taken both in story terms, what will her reign look like, and game terms, what model should represent her and what stat line should she have.
For Clash of Kings, I’ll be playing her as Mother Cryza (a powerful and multi-faceted living legend), but I think in the longer term she’ll probably err more towards being a brood mother. Either way though the representation will use the same base size and be roughly the same proportions. At first I was going to use the Deadzone Veer-myn Pack Leader. It’s an absolute beast of a model, but didn’t have the feeling of a newly self-promoted leader who is herself one of the regular sized Ratkin.
A couple of thoughts then jumped to mind. I was looking at a number of individuals I’ve painted up. The Mantic resins are beautiful, but rarely make it into my army lists. There is an awesome warlock model wearing a skull for a helmet. In the last narrative I wrote for the clan the new leader wears the old leader’s skull as a sign of dominance and queenship, what a fabulous coincidence. The second jolt of inspiration came from my current proxy for Mother Cryza, the old GW Thanquol and Boneripper. As a new leader, the former Birthing Daughter is likely to feel exposed, and so why wouldn’t she find the biggest brute and make him her bodyguard. I’m really looking forward to getting her on the table.
The idea of using other individuals in units that are going to Clash then spread, and it wasn’t long before I found myself playing with chariot parts to create a replacement for my Tunnel Runners with Brew of Sharpness. Whilst I haven’t got around to replacing everything, I’m super happy these units will be marching to Nottingham as they look fab, showcase some of Mantic’s amazing resins and prepare my clan for the next chapter.
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