Models
I can only speak for Shael Han here but personally I love the models. They come ready to assemble and, while they certainly need glue to stay together, most go together pretty easily. Some of them need a little more force or a little more finesse but overall assembly went easy.
The plastic to me seems a little on the cheap side. However it is a durable plastic that balances flexibility with firmness. It’s not rigid GW plastic where narrow bits snap easily nor is it Reaper Bones spun plastic where a warm fart causes the models to bend. Mold lines happen but they aren’t out of control and are easily cleaned prior to assembly.
If I have one complaint with the models, it is the packaging. So. Many. Plastic. Bags. Each miniature comes in its own plastic bag. So buying a starter means you’ll have a bunch of plastic bags to cut open before assembly ever begins. Maybe I’m impatient but it’s an unnecessary step for assembling miniatures.
Rules
I am inexperienced with the ruleset. I played two games to date against actual people and most of my interaction with the ruleset consists of me running trials in my basement. So I’m not the best person to comment on rules… yet. I’ll try and give a brief overview of the rules, but if you are curious, you can download the rules for free at the Wrath of Kings website.
Unlike a number of other tabletop games, the reliance on hardcoded attributes is relatively slim in WoK. Each model only has four attributes: Movement, Willpower, Resilience, and Wounds. Movement is straightforward and dictates how many inches a model can move in a single activation. Wounds is simple as well in that if a model is reduced to 0 wounds, they die. Resilience is essentially how difficult it is to wound something (I’ll explain further below). Willpower finds a use in magic (both offense and defense) and protecting from possession and other states.
Basic combat works by moving a model into range (dictated by the attack on the card) and rolling a number of dice indicated for the attack. The results of those dice are compared to the defense chart of the defending model. Results of Overpower cause two strikes and Strikes cause a single strike. A model takes damage each time it takes a number of strikes equal to its resilience. So if a model has resilience 1 and takes two strikes it will take two wounds while a model with resilience 2 will only take a single wound. There are several modifiers for attacks that can cause the defender’s defense chart to change and make it easier or harder to hit. The above explanation is overly simplified as it doesn’t include resonance, inspirations, or other special rules which WoK has in spades.
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| Defense Chart is to the right of the artwork |
The game itself is decided by Morale. You start with a set Morale value determined by the size of the game and that can go up based on motivations achieved (objectives) and reduced by casualties and other factors. When Morale reaches 0, you lose.
Because many rules give bonuses for being close to friendly models or multiple enemy models, the games devolve into incredibly bloody ordeals where a massive brawl occurs in in the center of the field and then small skirmishes occur on the fringes with players trying to flank and find advantageous ways for striking at important specialists and leaders.
The Background
The basic premise behind Wrath of Kings is a fantasy setting where an Ancinet King ruled the continent of Arikania for centuries. Eventually he passes without naming an obvious heir and the world is torn asunder as his five children and their supporters vie for power and ultimate control. These five children of the ancient king are the founders behind the five houses that comprise the Wrath of Kings factions.
Goritsi
Goritsi means, "Haunted Mountain" in the native tongue of Telloria and it is an apt term to describe this cursed faction. The heir to the ancient king embraced the darkness he long fought against and his bloodline is now tainted. This is the land of vampires and werewolves and monsters that lurk in the shadows.
The Goritisi are the glass cannon faction. They rely on their mobility (note, mobility =/= speed) to perform hit and run actions and can perform devastating attacks. When able to exert this control over the battle and where pressure is applied Goritsi perform exceedingly well but they fall apart wuickly if cornered or unable to remain mobile.
The Goritisi are the glass cannon faction. They rely on their mobility (note, mobility =/= speed) to perform hit and run actions and can perform devastating attacks. When able to exert this control over the battle and where pressure is applied Goritsi perform exceedingly well but they fall apart wuickly if cornered or unable to remain mobile.
Hadross
The scion of Hadross is Oserkar who saw the darkness of his eldest brother and who saw that his rise to power would see all of Arikania plunge into an age of blood, fire, and death. He bargained with the alien power of the deep ones of the sea and has become a sort of prophet of doom.
Hadross is the most resilient of all factions. They rely on other forces breaking on their wall of defensive units and the more damage dealt to Hadross forces makes their remaining models stronger. The resonate mechanism is the main factor here with certain hadross figures able to put resonance markers on enemy models (through actions or deaths) and those markers allowing Hadross forces to cause extra damage or increasing the hit chances.
Hadross is the most resilient of all factions. They rely on other forces breaking on their wall of defensive units and the more damage dealt to Hadross forces makes their remaining models stronger. The resonate mechanism is the main factor here with certain hadross figures able to put resonance markers on enemy models (through actions or deaths) and those markers allowing Hadross forces to cause extra damage or increasing the hit chances.
Nasier
The eldest son of the ancient king was Nasier who clearly created house Nasier to support his efforts to claim the throne. Nasier embraced the powers arcane and blasphemous to grow in power and has spent generations preparing to inherit the throne from his father. He is strong and forceful but also merciless and uncaring about anything that doesn't benefit him or grow his power and influence across Arikania.
Nasier is an balanced but aggressive faction. Apart from higher access to flame attacks they don't benefit from any particular special rules but rather offer a balanced approach.
Nasier is an balanced but aggressive faction. Apart from higher access to flame attacks they don't benefit from any particular special rules but rather offer a balanced approach.
Shael Han
Shael Han is the only daughter of the ancient king and she was the only of his children beside him when he passed. He gave her great insight into his grand plan and her kingdom has been restructured around what she learned from her father. House Shael Han relies on the inspiration of the celestial gods and draws power directly from them to imbue their warriors with powers.
On the field Shael Han rely on their specialist and leaders to pass buffs, called inspirations, to nearby models. These inspirations cause simple line troops to perform heroic feats of attack and defense. Of course this leaves an obvious weak point. If the leaders and specialists can be taken out the line troops will often fold pretty easily. Fortunately the leaders and specialists are competent troops on their own and also benefits from inspirations (sometimes multiple ones)
On the field Shael Han rely on their specialist and leaders to pass buffs, called inspirations, to nearby models. These inspirations cause simple line troops to perform heroic feats of attack and defense. Of course this leaves an obvious weak point. If the leaders and specialists can be taken out the line troops will often fold pretty easily. Fortunately the leaders and specialists are competent troops on their own and also benefits from inspirations (sometimes multiple ones)
Teknes
Teknes spent years carrying out his father's plans and is the only faction to throw off the superstitions of the elements and gods and adopt technology as the standard. More than anything Teknes wanted to see a world where humanity was unbound and could stand alone, not tied down by elementals, gods, or blasphemous powers. This humanistic approach is the ultimate goal of Teknes and they work effortlessly to free the rest of Arikania from the shackles of superstition.
Teknes is the most balanced faction in the game. Their models have a good mixture of defense and offense. They have some of the only ranged attacks in the game (by design the developers wanted to avoid massed ranged combat).
My Motivation
So why did I pick up WoK? Why did I choose Shael Han? Well, ever since the implosion of Warhammer Fantasy I wanted something to scratch that Fantasy itch. Warmhordes almost works but I’m put off by the seriousness of most players in the area. Don’t get me wrong, I like to win too but I hate how rules lawyering the local Warmahordes community has become. So WoK helps me scratch my fantasy itch since, even though I play a lot of Sci-Fi games, I’m far more of a Fantasy kind of guy. I’d take Lord of the Rings/Game of Thrones/Dragonlance over Star Wars/Star Trek/40k any day of the week.
But why Shael Han? Well, I’ve always loved the ancient Chinese aesthetic. I love the straight edged swords with the half-moon guards and I can get a dragon! Honestly, Deathbloom and Red Willow are two of the most amazing miniatures ever. Rules-wise I like the idea of inspirations.