I got back into Warhammer Fantasy after a twenty year break simply for nostalgic reasons. At the point when WFB ended, I had a small, but complete Beastmen army and a half painted Dwarf army. I had played about thirty games of 8th edition and was just starting to get a good feel for the Hobby as a whole. I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me.
Over the past year, three games have emerged as viable options (in my opinion) in order to continue playing a Fantasy Wargame. Age of Sigmar as the direct replacement and new game from Games Workshop, Kings of War, a very similar game to WFB from Mantic Games and The 9th Age, a community created game based on WFB 8th Edition.
Here's my opinion on all three and why I feel all three have something to offer.
Age of Sigmar
Age of Sigmar seems to be very divisive and a lot of ex-warhammer players seem to dislike even the mention of it. The main reason for this seems to be that Age of Sigmar is responsible for the death of WFB. However, I feel the game deserves to be assessed on it's own merits and without bias.
AoS is the only game on this list which is not a rank and file wargame. The miniatures are individually based on round bases and are all moved independently. The basic game is simple to learn with the ruleset being only four pages long. However, this hides the games true depth, which is achieved by each miniature type having it's own special rules, which are found on Warscrolls.
Pros
- Company support with regular new releases
- Growing player/community support
- Good quality hard plastic miniatures
- Offers an alternative style of play to other fantasy games
- Relative freedom regarding army construction
- Free downloadable rules
- Lower model count games are possible
Cons
- Expensive (per miniature)
- Not intended for players wanting rank and file gameplay
- Ruleset not as tight and balanced as other games
- Background/Fluff not to everyone's taste
My Opinion
The aesthetics and background of AoS are not exactly to my taste, but I find some of the miniatures to be interesting and well designed. I prefer rank and file unit based gameplay over skirmish style gameplay, but fantasy miniatures do look good on round bases. In general, I hope AoS is a success and finds it's audience.
To date, I have rebased one of my armies onto rounds (Skaven) and I may collect a second AoS army in the future. For me, it is not my 'main' game, but I do enjoy it as a light-hearted secondary game, where I feel it is best positioned. It is the Nintendo Wii of fantasy wargaming, not the main console, but a great second console.
Kings of War
Kings of War is a mass combat, rank and file fantasy wargame from Mantic Games. It is currently on the 2nd Edition and has recently seen a large growth of players - mainly ex-warhammer players migrating over from the now defunct WFB. This migration has been helped by the release of the supplement, Uncharted Territories, which offers suitable army lists for many WFB races.
Although Mantic does not currently have miniature ranges to cover all army lists, the company allows miniatures from other manufacturers to be used (also in official Mantic supported tournaments). The ruleset is simple to learn, but difficult to master and places more emphasis on strategic play on the tabletop, rather than on list building. The game is unit based, rather than miniature based and as such multi-basing (multiple miniatures on one base) is a practical and attractive basing option.
Pros
- Multi-Basing
- Fast Gameplay
- Easy to learn, difficult to master
- Free choice of miniatures across manufacturers
- Emphasis on strategic play rather than list building
Cons
- Limited miniature range from Mantic
- Cheap, but debatable quality of official miniatures
- Relatively undeveloped background/fluff
- Not ideal for players who enjoy complicated, in depth list building
My Opinion
Kings of War has fast become my main Fantasy Wargame (which by definition, makes it my main game overall). I love multi-basing so much that I find it really hard to even consider playing a rank and file game with individually based miniatures. It speeds up the gameplay no end and looks simply awesome on the tabletop, offering players freedom to create either beautiful dioramas or simply to use less miniatures.
One of my pet hates from WFB was ugly movement trays. At the beginning of the game all the units looked lovely, but as the game progressed and casualties were removed, other miniatures would fall over, become spaced out or simply become somewhat disorganized. This then left behind a half empty, ugly looking movement tray. Thanks to KoW this problem is no more and the game remains attractive throughout.
Of course, a beautiful tabletop is somewhat devoid of meaning if the game itself is lacking, luckily KoW plays quickly, is very engaging and offers enough tactical opportunities to challenge even the most hardened of players.
I really hope KoW doesn't lose momentum and continues to grow it's player base, because it's an excellent product and easily the best wargame I have ever played.
The 9th Age
The 9th Age is a community created game, designed to appeal to ex-warhammer players, with a ruleset based on 8th Edition WFB. The game is being developed by a very committed set of players and community members who place particular emphasis on the quality of the ruleset and game balance.
The game is a rank and file fantasy wargame in the same vein as WFB. List building plays an important role, as well as a good understanding and knowledge of the very in depth rules. Much like in WFB, casualties are removed as individual miniatures and gameplay is based around the exact amount of miniatures that can fight or shoot.
The ruleset is free to download and although no official miniature line exists, players are free to use whatever miniatures they wish and several companies have already come forward to offer miniatures support.
Pros
- Game balance
- Complex but well considered ruleset
- Free choice of miniatures
- Free downloadable rules
- Natural progression for players coming from WFB
Cons
- Generally slower gameplay
- Complex rules opens up possible ambiguity
- Large amount of miniatures required
- No company support
My Opinion
The 9th Age is a fun game, being a revised and improved version of WFB. Whenever I want to play some Warhammer for nostalgic reasons, The 9th Age will be my choice. It offers the same game I have always loved, but with added balance and a cleaner, better ruleset.
I plan on following the development of The 9th Age with interest and as the rules are all free, I look forward to downloading some interesting army books and supplements. It's nice to know that if someone wants to play WFB with me, I can suggest The 9th Age as a modern take on the format.
Overall Conclusion
The 9th Age is an excellent game and I can see why it appeals to a large group of players. It would have become my main game if I hadn't discovered Kings of War.
I am very much a hobbyist rather than a hardcore player. That does not mean I am all about painting, although I do really enjoy the creative aspect of the hobby. I consider myself a hobbyist, because I enjoy all aspects of wargaming and not just gaming. I paint, model and play, and when I play, I play for fun rather than for the tactical challenge. I enjoy, above all else the aesthetics of the game and my aim is always for a beautiful table of miniatures, fighting a glorious fantasy battle.
As such, Kings of War's speed of play, simple rules and wonderful multi-basing opportunities makes it my game of choice. This does not mean I will never play The 9th Age, because it is without doubt an excellent alternative, but if given the choice, I would rather play KoW.
On the other hand, AoS is a very different type of game and I plan on playing it as a secondary game. I do think it has received unfair treatment from disgruntled WFB players, because it is actually fun to play with excellent miniatures. I like the fact that it is attracting a lot of new players and it also seems to attract a lot of hobbyists who enjoy painting, with some excellently painted AoS armies appearing on forums and social media.
As stated earlier, I feel this is a golden era, with three great, but very different, games to choose from. Whichever way you choose to go, I hope you have a lot of fun and maybe we'll meet on the tabletop soon.
Ghorros.
Really nice reviews!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your opinion regarding the three game systems. In my gaming group we used to play WFB, but we embraced 2ed KoW since it was published.
WFB (and 9th Age) demands a lot of effort from the players reading a pretty dense rulebook and armybooks, aswell as remembering a lot of rules and exceptions during a game. If the players involved do not want to take the hobby so seriously it can get very frustrating. On the other hand, KoW's rules are easy enough to learn and remember, but also giving enought depth to feel the challenge every time you play. OF course, in order to achieve that you must sacrifice some things, like more customitzation options on army lists, for example, but I am more than happy with the trade.
Recently, one of my friends has started diving into the hobby, and he has bought a couple of plastic boxes of Dark Elves and a heroe to start with AoS, and when he musters some more models he will prepare a 1000 points KoW list. I think AoS is an excelent way to start into wargaming.
p.s.: excuse me for any blatant english mistake!
Kings of War really does have wonderful rules. Streamlined, easy to learn and teach, but difficult to master. I really hope Mantic can keep the momentum going.
DeleteThanks for reading!
Ghorros.