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KoW Armada: An Interview with the Ultimate Armada Fanatic

Have you ever wondered how much Armada is too much Armada? Personally I used to go about my hobby life without a care in the world, collecting Armada fleets one after another. Just when I thought I was the one at the very pinnacle of Armada excitement I met Krzysztof – probably the most Armada hyped person in the entire world (Including the fine folks at Mantic Games)!

Today I present to you an interview (translated from Polish) with Krzysztof Grosiak, a passionate hobbyist, miniatures collector, successful gamer and most importantly – acclaimed Armada Admiral.

Scarhandpainting: Krzysztof, we have known each other for some time now and I was there when you set sail onboard an Armada ship for the very first time. Now, a few years later, you have won more than a few tournament trophies and are in possession of an impressive Armada collection. It is pure joy to witness first hand how you grew as an Armada fan, but I have always wandered how you got into Wargaming?

Krzysztof: A few years back I accidentally stumbled onto a Deadzone review. I was a big fan of board games at a time with zero knowledge of wargames. The game made a big impression on me so I got it only to be shocked, realizing the miniatures must first be built by hand! It proved to be challenging but also a very rewarding experience.

Scarhandpainting: Why Armada? What was the trigger that got you into this particular game?

Krzysztof: I played a lot of Deadzone events at a hobby store run by a good friend of mine. At one point he was running an Armada demo game and the game’s simple but rewarding mechanics and amazing visuals hooked me up instantly.

Scarhandpainting: Any other miniatures wargames you’re into?

Krzysztof: These days I play a wide range of games, including Deadzone, Kings of War, Firefight, One Page Rules and Frostgrave. I am a man of many wargaming passions.

Scarhandpainting: Back to Armada, you have over a hundred fully painted ships in your current collection. Many might wander if it was difficult to paint such quantities and how did you manage to keep your motivation up?

Krzysztof: I believe there’s actually close to two hundred ships in my current collection. Painting such quantities is tedious, but I don’t want to find myself unable to field a certain combo or archetype because of a lack of a few painted ships. I’d rather put the work in beforehand. And I never play with unpainted miniatures, so one just leads to another.

Scarhandpainting: It’s definitely easier to count the fleets you are missing rather than the ones you own already. What fleets are still left to go for?

Krzysztof: I am still missing the Kingdom of Men and the Salamander, although both are already printed. You play the Salamanders so I was reluctant to jump onboard, but now when it’s one of the only two fleets left I am that much closer to sitting down and getting them done – probably soon.

Scarhandpainting: Speaking about the fleets – you are a jack of all trades when it comes to tactics. What is your collecting strategy for particular fleets though?

Krzysztof: I do my best to optimize the collection towards all available archetypes within up to 300 points. I bounce between elite and spamy lists (often gravitating towards the latter) and I’d hate to be locked in a particular list due to lack of sufficient ships in my collection. I love to test things on the board, finding interesting combos and the borderline configurations. If I break the game at any point – you’re there to patch it up before the next event.

Scarhandpainting: Let’s talk about the Armada gameplay and especially the ‘competitive play’. You are a successful and undisputed Armada champion here in Poland. How does your typical tournament prep routine look like? Do you test your lists concepts beforehand?

Krzysztof: I tend to follow my guts. I like to surprise my friends with something new and exciting and I hate boredom. I never bring the same fleet two times in a row. Testing ideas is a mixed bag. Sometimes I have a few games before events, other times I don’t. One thing I try not to do is drink (alcohol) the day before. The previous experiences showed me it is not worth it.

Scarhandpainting: You’ve successfully played so many fleets. Is there a particular fleet that you might consider your favorite?

Krzysztof: I do like Elves. Fragile, but fast and nimble. I love to spam the $t of them and see my opponents fleets squirm before the Elven might. Seven Elven ships throwing themselves at an Orc Ripper Hulk? Easy! One mistake and a ship is gone. I love this. Fast & Furious!

Scarhandpainting: Speaking of which, is there a particular fleet you don’t like to face against?

Krzysztof: Not really. Each fleet offers a different experience and I gladly take on any challenge.

Scarhandpainting: How about our local Armada scene? What cen you say about Polish community, our events and how we play Armada, compared to the rest of the world?

Krzysztof: It’s difficult to compare our scene to different countries without gaming there beforehand. Judging by the online activity I feel like our scene is more aware of the rules exploits. Fortunately we are very friendly and welcoming. Whenever one of us finds a way to legally abuse the rules, we keep it lighthearted and find a way to (home rule) patch any exploits and ‘feels bad’ mechanics in a timely manner. It feels like we’ve been playing ‘Armada 2.0’ for some time now.

Scarhandpainting: Trying to gaze into Armada’s future, are there any specific fleets or rules you’;’d like to see added to the core game?

Krzysztof: Maybe a balancing sweep across the board? Things like Ocarina of Korgaan, Jyinn Grethunder are brutally good for the points cost. On the other hand there are a lot of useless items that could use some balancing love. Other than that, more interesting stuff is always good, just keep it balanced. The latest fleets seem on point, keep up the great work Mantic!

Scarhandpainting: Thanks for the interview my dude. Before we wrap things up, is there anything you would like to tell/ask Mantic Games? Who knows? They might read the article at some point.

Krzysztof: Bear with me Mantic Games – Deadzone style game but in the Kings of War setting. Tiny Armada ships board game on a hexagonal board. This is something I would throw my cash at instantly!

Here it is – a little peek inside the head of an Armada maniac 🙂 I hope you enjoyed this short interview. If you have anything to ask Krzysztof, or just want to comment on some of the stuff – I invite you to leave a comment below and I will be sure to let Krzysztof know.

I hope you find this article interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below, or at Facebook or Instagram. If, by any chance, you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.

KoW Armada: Unofficial Errata

Ahoy Sailors! As you know I am most and foremost a passionate hobbyist. That being said I am also a pirate, a scoundrel and a fanatical enthusiast of Mantic Games Kings of War: Armada – a naval strategy game set in a rich world of Pannithor, pitting multiple wonderfully crafted and strongly themed factions against one another. Today I’m here to share some of my maritime experience.

Why Errata, why unofficial?

In my opinion the Armada is as balanced and close to being perfect as a miniatures game can be. That being said, there’s always room for improvement. In my opinion it lies within the responsibility of the local game animators to adjust any game to better suit their community. On top of being a member of the Mantic Rules Committee for Armada, I have been running successful Armada Events for years now. Being so invested in the game I am constantly at the hobby frontlines, talking game balance with players, resolving rules issues and more. This led me to pinpoint a few neuralgic areas that might unintentionally lead to a slightly worse game experience. Below is an Unofficial Errata, very well received by my community, that I am using at local events. Some of these might or might not find their way to the official Mantic Games errata, nothing is certain. For now you are welcome to use these rules changes in your local games of Armada.

Collissions

Throughout my personal Armada experience the Collisions is the part of the rules that both my community and the players online seem to have the most problems with. Resolving Evade/Collision related movement might at times be unintuitive and when abused, by more experienced players, allow to set enemy ships on a Collision course on purpose (As described in the Collisions Baiting article). Because of that I tidied up the ruleset to resolve most issues:

Collisions – Evading (p20RB): Replace the second paragraph with the following:

However, if the ship doesn’t have the Movement value to clear the other ship in the current Move Step, it must instead stop just short (a few mm) of actual contact with the other ship. The Activating ship must now turn the smallest amount possible, and enough to just clear the other ship and any other obstacles with the remaining movement value in its current Move Step, even if this means turning further than would normally be allowed and through the bases of the other ship and the obstacles themselves. It can then continue the rest of its Activation as normal.

In a rare scenario when it is clear that no amount of turning will see the active ship clear of the other ship and all potential obstacles, the initial Collision cannot be Evaded.

Collisions – Colliding (p20RB): Replace the fifth paragraph with the following:

The Activating ship must now turn the smallest amount possible, and enough to just clear the other ship with its next Move Step, even if this means turning through the base of the other ship. The activating ship does not continue any further movement for this Move Step.

In case the turn to clear the other ship is blocked by any obstacles from both sides, do not turn the active ship and set its Speed to Anchored instead.

Examples:

Example A – Current Ruleset:
Active ship X passed a test to Evade and stopped short right before the other ship. It then turned left, the shortest possible* route to clear the other ship.
*Following “Ships cannot normally move or turn through other ships or
terrain (see Collisions on page 20).” from page 16 of the Rulebook.
Same result if the test to Evade was failed.

Example A – U.Errata:
Active ship X passed a test to Evade and stopped short right before the other ship. It then turned RIGHT, the shortest possible route and through the other ship to clear it.
Same result if the test to Evade was failed.

Example B – Current Ruleset:
Active ship X passed a test to Evade and stopped short right before the other ship. It then turned right, the shortest possible* route to clear the other ship. There is another ship in the way. What happens? Another test to Evade? If passed, is the Active ship bumped back to the previous course, the shortest possible route to clear the second ship?
*Following “Ships cannot normally move or turn through other ships or
terrain (see Collisions on page 20).” from page 16 of the Rulebook.
Same question if the test to Evade was failed.

Example B – U.Errata:
Active ship X passed a test to Evade and stopped short right before the other ship. It then turned LEFT, the shortest possible route and through the other ship to clear it and any surrounding obstacles.
Same result if the test to Evade failed.

Example C – Current Ruleset:
Active ship X passed a test to Evade and stopped short right before the other ship. It can barely turn left and right as both sides are blocked by other ships. How should this be resolved in accordance to the rules?
Same question if the test to Evade failed.

Example C – U.Errata:
Same as B after the change.
If the test to Evade was failed, after a Collision the activating ship is left in place and its speed set to Anchored.

Example D – Current Ruleset:
Active ship X passed a test to Evade and stopped short right before the other ship. It then turned right, the shortest possible route to clear the other ship. There is a Sandbank in the way. What happens? Another test to Evade? If failed, does the ship roll to Cross the Sandbank?
Same question if the test to Evade failed.

Example D – U.Errata:
Same as B after the change.
Same result if the test to Evade was failed.

Example E – Current Ruleset:
Active ship X passed a test to Evade and stopped short right before the other ship. It can then turn either right or left, the shortest possible route to clear the other ship. One side is blocked by another ship, the other by Rocks. What happens if the active ship turns into rocks? Would assume a Collision. If turned left to another ship, another Evade test then if passed bumped back?
Same question if the test to Evade failed.

Example E – U.Errata:
Same as B after the change, except due to same distance the active ship can choose direction.
If the test to Evade was failed, after a Collision the activating ship is left in place and its speed set to Anchored.

Example F – Current Ruleset:
Active ship X passed a test to Evade and stopped short right before the other ship. How to turn it to clear the other ship?
What if the test failed, a Collision ocured and the active ship must be turned to clear the other ship with any future Move steps? There’s no room to do that.
How to even resolve this?
Same question if the test to Evade failed.

Example F – U.Errata:
There is no way for the active ship to turn, ignoring the other ship and any obstacles to clear them. Test to Evade automatically fails. Collision occurs, after which due to all sides being blocked the active ship is left in place and its speed is set to Anchored.

Gunnery Skills

Sometimes, because of multiple negative To-Hit modifiers, stacked on top of one another, it is impossible to hit a closest ship. The rulebook does not allow to ignore such targets, resulting in situations when Inexperienced and Regular crewed ships can be completely blocked from shooting at an entire enemy fleet, because of a single Small target in the way. With fleets such as the Twilight Kin and the Trident Realms introducing additional negative To-Hit modifiers it seems important to resolve the issue…

Gunnery Skills (p22RB): Ships with Inexperienced and Regular crews, must target the closest available enemy ship in each fire arc (that is at least Partially Visible – see opposite). If the closest enemy ship is a Squadron (Tiny), has Surrendered or is Grappled with a friendly ship, or requires a roll of “11” or more to-hit, it can be ignored however, and the next closest enemy targeted instead.

Veteran crews may target any enemy ship in range in each Fire Arc (that is at least Partially Visible) if they successfully pass a Skill Test (for each Fire Arc being used). If the test is failed, the closest enemy ship must be targeted as described above.

Ghost Fleets Spectral Form

In order to level up the playing field for the Ghost Fleets I have added a small change to the Spectral Form rule. Previously the rule allowed for the enemy ships to move through the Ghost Fleet ships freely, all the while banning the Ghost ships themselves from doing so. Additionally it was too easy to set up a line of ships to sling shot enemy ships into Rocks or through the board’s edge (As described in Movement Slinghshoting article). Now neither Ghost Fleets nor any other fleet can set up a collision course on purpose, unless RAM (x), and both will have to pass a Skill Test to Evade before passing through one another.

Spectral Form: If a ship from this fleet Surrenders, is Grounded, or its SPs have been exceeded, remove the model from the table. Ghost ships do not suffer or inflict collisions with other ships. Instead, if the Evade test is failed, the activating ship completes its move as normal. If the activating ship would not end clear of the other ship, add enough movement until it does end clear, and then continue with the Activation. Each ship passed through (including the Ghost ship) will cause damage equal to a D10 plus its own CS to the other ship. e.g. An Elohi with CS 4 collides with a Spectre with CS 6. The Elohi inflicts 1D10 + 4 damage to the Spectre, and the Spectre inflicts 1D10 + 6 damage to the Elohi. Tiny ships take and inflict half damage (rounding up). Note that Ghost ships cannot deliberately ram/pass through an enemy ship. Ghost ships can never be set ablaze. Ghost Fleets always have Regular Crew, and this cannot be changed.

Oars/Engines

Got expanded in order to remove some bad game experience shenanigans from the game. No more “Dwarf Hunter Torpedoes” previously allowed by the rules as written.

Oars/Engines (p.36RB): Add the following paragraph:
Please note the Oars/Engines turn, at the start of a move step, cannot be used to set a ship on a Collision course in its next move step (unless another rule allows for a second turn between these move steps).

Q: Is it obligatory to use Oars/Engines before the move step if it allows to avoid a potential Collision?
A: Yes, unless another rule such as Ram (X) allows the ship to collide on purpose, it is obligatory to use the Oars/Engines if it allows to avoid a Collision. 

Balancing Changes

Addressed a few Fleet/Ship Rules and Upgrades that required attention. Done in a way that does not meddle with points values.

Elohi’s “Halo of Light”: If upgraded with Aegis Shield, add +1 to the amount of Damage that is reduced and lower the Damage requirement to use the reduction to 5 or more Damage.

Yinn Greythunder: Once per game, this ship may fire twice from one of its gun positions, but with an additional -2 to-hit modifier.

Kopeshii’s “Terror”: Enemy ships must re-roll successful Curse of Undeath Skill Tests when involved in Boarding Actions with this ship. This Ship has Ram [1] special rule and Grappling Hooks for free, not counting against the normal upgrade limit.

Baanshe’s “Banshee’s Wail”: Enemy ships suffer a -1 to-hit modifier on any Boarding Action attack rolls they make, while within 3″ of this ship.

Neddlefang’s “Attrition”: Friendly ships add 1 damage (to a maximum of plus 3) to any normal Shooting attack (from a Weapon Position) for each other Friendly ship with this rule within 6” (the attack must cause at least 1 damage itself for this to count). Extra damage is not added to results on the Critical Hit table. Add extra damage after any multiplication (such as Point Blank and Raking fire).

Ocarina of Korgaan (p.43RB): Once per game, instead of Rolling for Wind, so long as the ship with this Upgrade is still in play on the table, the owning player may choose to use the Ocarina of Korgaan. If so, first pick the clockwise or counter-clockwise then roll a D10 and Move the Wind Rose that many compass positions in the chosen direction. This may be done from Turn two onwards (unless the scenario being played has other winds rules in place for that Turn). If both players have this upgrade and want to use it in the same Turn, roll a D10 each. The player with the highest score gets to choose this Turn. The losing player may then use the upgrade in any following Turn.

GAME MODS

Contrary to the above, this section presents the ideas of rules updates that can be used to modify your games, similar to Full Wind Rules (Rulebook), Night Fighting (Seas of Dread) or Random Winds (Seas of Dread). The rules that got changed are working correctly and as intended, but can be adjusted for a more smooth gameplay and a slightly different tabletop experience.

Alternative Indirect Weapons

The Indirect Weapons missing and then scattering seems like a cumbersome, time consuming and rarely effective ruleset. It takes a lot of effort to implement and rarely produces any real impact on the game state. Still, it is a major component of the Indirect Weapons identity and for this purpose, instead of removing it completely, I have decided to rework the rule. 

Indirect Weapons (p.25RB): Replace the first paragraph with the following:

If an Indirect Weapon misses on a natural roll of “1” it will scatter towards another close target. The Indirect Weapon will then hit any ship within 3” from the initial target (chosen at random in case of multiple ships within that range). If there are no ships within 3” of the initial target ship, or the only ship within 3” is the firing ship, the shot misses instead.

Additional notes: Even though it might seem like the Indirect Weapons got straightforward better with the additional 10% to-hit chance, when there’s a viable secondary target in range – it can easily be played around by keeping ships in a wider formation. Moreover, getting close to enemy ships seems like a viable tactic to protect against Indirect Weapons and creates an opportunity to ‘score’ extra hits against the enemy fleet with their own guns. Furthermore this change incentives Regular and Veteran crew IDW platforms, above quantity. 

Alternative Ships on Fire

Ships on Fire is a rather contentious part of the Armada ruleset. In some situations the game forces players to choose between two bad outcomes, by either crashing into terrain, or risking an expensive ship being removed from play due to a bad roll of “1” on a D6. At the same time risk adds excitement and provides a memorable cinematic moment. To mitigate the impact, but keep the spirit of the rule in place I have made the following change:

Ships on Fire (p.28RB): Replace the fourth paragraph with the following:

If the test is failed, the ship will suffer D3 Damage if Tiny or Small, D6 Damage if Medium, and D10 Damage if Large or Extra Large. In addition, if the Skill Test rolls a natural 1, the fire reaches the ship’s ammunition and the ship is immediately Crippled (suffer additional Damage to reach the Nv), or if already Crippled it explodes instead! All other ships within 4” of the exploding ship suffer D10 damage (roll separately for each ship). The exploding ship is destroyed, remove it from play.

Alternative Fliers

The Fliers is a mostly forgotten addition to the game brought in with Seas Aflame book. Because of a rather strict movement ruleset combined with a movement related attack requirement, the Fliers struggle to deal consistent damage and follow up their targets. The below change is meant to add movement flexibility and skirmish opportunities more in line with Fliers fluff and role they are meant to fulfill on the gaming board.

Fliers Movement (p.6SA): Replace the second paragraph with the following:

To change direction, once during their Activation the fliers turn on their centre point in the same way that Squadrons do. However, they must move at least 4” forward in a straight line before they can execute a turn.

Hover (p.6SA): Replace with:

If a flier has the Hover special rule, it can turn at any point during its move and can ignore the requirement of a minimum of 4”, moving anything between 0” and up to its full Movement value.

Cursed Charms (MOD)

A fun way to mitigate luck factor and give players a batt to bonk lucky opponents with…

Whenever a player scores a Critical Hit / Crushing Blow on an unmodified roll of “10”, they take one of the Cursed Charms and add it to their pool, up to a maximum of ten Cursed Charms held by each player at any given time. Cursed Charms can then be spent by the opposing player to pay the cost of the following actions:
3 Cursed charms: Force the opponent to re-roll a single die.
5 Cursed charms: Cancel one opponent’s re-roll ability (such as Master Gunner, or Mastery of Flame).
7 Cursed charms: Force an enemy ship to automatically Fail a Skill test roll (Including Nerve Tests).
10 Cursed charms (held by the opponent at the end of the game): Earn 1VP

Ghost Fleets 2.0

A tool to mitigate the Ghost Fleets low interactivity based playstyle and provide incentive for a more aggressive play. A nod towards beginner players who oftentimes jump into the game with a Ghost Fleets only to find themselves fielding one of the most skill dependent fleets. Finally a fix to the Wards of Binding, making this 5pts. cost upgrade actually worth the points.

Add the following Fleet Special Rule to the Ghost Fleets:

Shimmering Specters: If a ship from this fleet is destroyed, except if either Surrendered or Grounded, roll a D10. On a roll of “9” or “10” do not remove the ship from the game. Instead the ship remains in the game with half of its starting SP rounding down, Crew Level reduced to Inexperienced and Speed set to Steady. This ship then counts as Activated until the end of the next Turn.

I will keep the above list up to date, adding and removing things if they happen to show up in future Errata so stay tuned and remember – this is all Unofficial, to use at your discretion.

I hope you find this article interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate it if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional Warhammer miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.

KoW Armada: Movement Slingshooting

Ahoy Sailors! As you know I am most and foremost a passionate hobbyist. That being said, I am also a pirate, a scoundrel and a fanatical enthusiast of Mantic Games Kings of War: Armada – a naval strategy game set in the rich world of Pannithor, pitting multiple wonderfully crafted and strongly themed factions against one another. Today I’m here to share some of my maritime experience.

Introduction to Slingshooting

Armada is a fast and relatively simple game to play. So far the Mantic games have done an amazing job keeping the rules mostly smooth and the faction balance in place. Still it is a wargame with (as of today) rules spread across three books and fifteen factions. With such a wealth of rules there is no way to avoid a few niche rules interactions that might feel a bit unintuitive to newer players, such as Baiting Collisions and awkward Visibility cases to name a few. This is also the case with ‘Slingshooting’ – an interaction allowing players to increase movement of their ships by leveraging Move based rules to sail through friendly ships.

There currently are two fleets capable of Slingshooting: the Tridern Realms (Fully Submerged) and the Ghost Fleets (Spectral Form). They both follow a similar slingshot mechanic, but with its own set of pros and limitations.

The Trident Realms

Fully Submerge, the Trident Realms faction rule

“Trident Realm ships can automatically Fully Submerge to avoid other ships that they would otherwise collide with during their own activation, as long as the Trident Realm ship can be placed with its rear base edge a few mm clear of the other ship, following the same initial trajectory. This completes the movement of that Move Step, and the ship continues with its normal activation. Any Shooting attack during this activation will be with an additional -2 to-hit modifier. This modifier is not cumulative with the -1 to-hit modifier for having rolled to evade during the activation. If the ship cannot be placed with its rear base clear of the other ship, the normal evade procedure must be undertaken. A Trident Realm ship may only Fully Submerge once during its activation.”

Fully Submerge Breakdown

The Trident Realms ships are allowed to completely avoid one Collision per Activation, but going under and effectively moving to the other side of the obstructing ship instead. The procedure works as follows:

• The Trident Realms ship Activates, declares speed.
• Move is measured, there’s an enemy/friendly ship in the way.
• The Trident Realms ship is picked up and placed at the other side of the obstructing ship (in a straight line), adding any necessary Move to do so.
• The Move Step is finished. The ship can Turn and/or Shoot as normal, but with a -2 To-Hit to own Shooting attacks.
• The Trident Realms ship continues the Activation as normal, but with a -2 To-Hit to own Shooting attacks.

Although the Fully Submerge rule allows to avoid collisions, the Trident Realms ships are still a subject to the Avoid Collisions While Moving rule (Rulebook p.16) stating as follows:
“If it is not the last Move Step in a ship’s activation, ensure its forward movement in the next Move Step will not result in a potential collision (with terrain or another ship). If this would result in a potential collision, alter the ship’s turn to avoid this as much as legally permitted.
Sometimes however, due to forward momentum, lack of turn angle, poor planning or just bad luck, collisions will be unavoidable (see page 20).”

What this means is, even though the Trident Realms ships have a tool to “avoid other ships that they would otherwise collide with“, Rules as Written, they are still not allowed to set themselves for a “potential collision” during Move Steps other than the “last Move Step”.

The Trident Realms Slingshooting in Practice

Trident Realms painted by Michał “MiSiO” Ciemniewski

Example A: During Activation a Gun Turtle (Main Battleship M) sets itself up 4,5″ directly in front of a Giant Squid (Main Battleship L). When activated, during first Move Step the Giant Squid is on a collision course with the Gun Turtle, elects to Fully Submerge and moves behind the other ‘fish’ adding the length of both the Gun Turtle’s and its own base to the movement, effectively doubling the movement in this Move Step. It then continues the Activation as normal. 

Trident Realms painted by Michał “MiSiO” Ciemniewski

Example B: An enemy Abess (Main Battleship L) is positioned so that the Giant Squid (Main Battleship L) will inevitably end its first Move Step within the Basilean ship’s Broadside Arc and possibly trigger a Fire as She Bears salvo. The Wyrm-Drawn Sloop Squadron (Support Ship T) Activates next. To avoid the Basilean trap the Trident Realms player moves the Squadron 4,5″ in front of the Giant Squid. The Giant Squid Activates next and elects to Fully Submerge moving behind the Squadron and finishing Move Step outside of the Basilean Broadside Arc.
Even if the Basilean player decided to use Fire as She Bears against the Squadron, the Giant Squid would end up safe.

How to effectively use this?

The Fully Submerge Slingshooting is free of any downsides other than planning ahead of time and setting up miniatures to be able to benefit from the extra movement. Depending on situation you can set up a fast smaller ship ahead of a heavier, much slower and much more melee capable fish, such as a Lieviathan, to close the distance in a single rapid hoop. What if it allowed the Larger ship to attempt a Grapple after an extended Battle Speed, when it would otherwise be unable to reach near the target? Or, when threatened with a Fire as She Bears, move chaff in the way to Slingshoot a more expensive ship beyond the enemy Broadside Arc. Sleazy fish tactics, or just naval superiority of the Trident Realms?

The Ghost Fleets

Spectral Form, the Ghost Fleets faction rule

“If a ship from this fleet Surrenders, is Grounded, or its SPs have been exceeded, remove the model from the table. Ghost ships do not suffer or inflict collisions with other ships. Instead, the activating ship completes its move as normal. If the activating ship would not end clear of the other ship, add enough movement until it does end clear, and then continue with the Activation. Each ship passed through (including the Ghost ship) will cause damage equal to a D10 plus its own CS to the other ship. e.g. An Elohi with CS 4 collides with a Spectre with CS 6. The Elohi inflicts 1D10 + 4 damage to the Spectre, and the Spectre inflicts 1D10 + 6 damage to the Elohi. Tiny ships take and inflict half damage (rounding up). Note that Ghost ships cannot deliberately ram/pass through an enemy ship. Ghost ships can never be set ablaze. Ghost Fleets always have Regular Crew, and this cannot be changed.“

Spectral Form Breakdown

The Ghost Fleet ships do not suffer Collisions with other ships, but pass through one another by adding movement necessary to do so. The procedure works as follows:

• The Ghost ship Activates, declares speed.
• Move is measured, there’s an enemy/friendly ship in the way.
• The Ghost ship is picked up and placed at the other side of the obstructing ship (in a straight line), adding any necessary Move to do so.
• Both ships deal 1D10 + CS damage to one another (unless Tiny then halves damage rounding up instead).
• The Move Step is finished. The ship can Turn and/or Shoot as normal.
• The Ghost ship continues the Activation as normal.

On most occasions this will happen naturally on a Ghost ship’s Activation – an Enemy ship is in the way, Ghost ship moves through, they both deal damage to one another, end of story. To avoid dealing devastating damage to the enemy fleet there’s a limiting factor in place in the form of “Note that Ghost ships cannot deliberately ram/pass through an enemy ship.”, similar to “Players must avoid deliberately ramming or colliding with other ships and terrain, unless a rule says otherwise.” from Collisions section in the Main Rulebook. Note the Spectral Form’s choice of words, that refers to “enemy” ships exclusively. This means that although passing through friendly ships will still cause damage to both ships, the Players are allowed to deliberately position their ships and move through friendlies.

The Ghost Fleets Slingshooting in Practice

Example C: With its second Move Step a Phantom (Main Battleship M) sets itself up on a ‘collision*’ course with a Spectre (Main Battleship L) at a distance of 4,5″. On its next Move Step the Phantom will move 4,5″ and through the Spectre adding the length of both the Spectre’s and its own base to the movement, effectively doubling the movement in this Move Step. Both ships will deal damage to each other.

*Ghost Fleets ships are unaffected by Collision rules with other ships. I used ‘collision’ for a lack of a better term.

Example D: With its second Move Step a Spectre (Main Battleship L, base length about 4″) sets itself up on a ‘collision*’ course with a Shadow (Support Ship T) at a distance of 3,5″. On its next Move Step the Spectre will move 3,5″ and through the Shadow adding the length of both the Shadow’s and its own base to the movement – BUT – there is another Shadow in the way (further 3,5″ away) and then a Wight (Support ship S) another 3,5″ further. The Spectre would effectively multiply its movement exponentially, but will damage and in return be damaged by all three friendly ships. 

*Ghost Fleets ships are unaffected by Collision rules with other ships. I used ‘collision’ for a lack of a better term.

Why would any Ghost Fleets player use this?

Although much more risky than the Trident Realms Slingshooting, the Ghost Fleets mechanic has some niche uses. For starters let’s say that in the last turn of a seemingly lost game of ‘sink and survive’ type Scenario, the Ghost Fleets player may want to sacrifice some chaff (T ships are usually worth 0 VP when destroyed in such scenarios) to position the active Large / Extra Large ship in range of all weapons and try to sink a barely afloat enemy ship/s. Or in a ‘area control’ scenario friendly ships can be used as a springboard to Slingshot the active ship into the VP worth area on the board. Niche? Yes! But can it be meaningful? Definitely, to a point of winning the game with. Food for ghostly thoughts.

I hope you find this article interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate it if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional Warhammer miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.

KoW Armada: Collision Baiting

Ahoy Sailors! As you know I am most and foremost a passionate hobbyist. That being said I am also a pirate, a scoundrel and a fanatical enthusiast of Mantic Games Kings of War: Armada – a naval strategy game set in a rich world of Pannithor, pitting multiple wonderfully crafted and strongly themed factions against one another. Today I’m here to share some of my maritime experience.

Introduction to Collisions

Brutal naval warfare of Armada is pure chaos. Ships colliding with one another is a common sight on the gaming board. Even though the rules forbid colliding on purpose* there are ways to exploit collisions for an advantage. This strategy is known as Collision Baiting and I will show you how to execute it, as well as what is and is not permitted by the rules.

*Unless special rules allow it like RAM (x) etc.

Avoid Collisions While Moving, Rulebook p.16

“If it is not the last Move Step in a ship’s activation, ensure its forward movement in the next Move Step will not result in a potential collision (with terrain or another ship). If this would result in a potential collision, alter the ship’s turn to avoid this as much as legally permitted.
Sometimes however, due to forward momentum, lack of turn angle, poor planning or just bad luck, collisions will be unavoidable (see page 20).“

Collisions Rulebook, p.20

“Players must avoid deliberately ramming or colliding with other ships and terrain, unless a rule says otherwise. Orcs for example, delight in the carnage caused by ramming their ships into the enemy!
However, on occasion, a newly Activated ship may have no option but to collide (perhaps due to poor planning!).
Only consider the bases of the ships (or terrain features) involved when checking for collisions.
If faced with more than one accidental collision target, the player using the Activating ship can choose which one to hit.”

Can and Can’t do

Rules out of the way: During ship’s activation and when moving a ship, a player is not allowed to set a collision course for the NEXT MOVE STEP on purpose, unless there is no other choice or the ship has a special rule that would otherwise allow it. This does not affect the last Move step.

Some basic examples below.

The Gur Panther, moving at Battle Speed, just moved it’s first Move step. With a 30* turn the Gur Panther is capable, and so it must set a course to avoid a collision before it’s second Move.

The Gur Panther moving at Full Speed, that had just made it’s first Move. There is no immediate collision threat for the next Move, thus the Gur Panther does not have to turn and is allowed to maintain it’s course. It is legal to stay on course, even though, due to lack of other options, the ship will be forced to collide during third Move step.
After second Move the Gur Panther find’s itself in a position where it cannot avoid a collision. It is forced to stay on course and suffer the consequences.

The Monolith made a final Move of it’s activation. During final Move the ship is not forced to avoid potential collisions and can instead ‘prime itself’ for one. With favorable winds and failed Evasion tests the Monolith will crash into the Gur Panther on it’s next activation.

This example shows an “honest mistake” referred to by the rules. Let’s say the wind blew from the North. Gunbrig moved Full Speed to set itself between the Soulhunter and the Gur Panther. Being a small (priority) target makes it more difficult to hit by the Soul Hunter and with wind blowing from the North the plan is to activate right after and move out of the Gur Panther’s way. But oh no! The wind changes direction to North/East. This means the Gur Panther is to activate first and the Gunbrig is in it’s way. A potential collision is imminent.

Collision Baiting in Practice

We now know that under normal circumstances a ship is not allowed to deliberately move to collide during it’s activation. Still this leaves the doors open for a little exploitation. Players are allowed to set up their ships in the way of incoming enemy. This strategy is called Collision Baiting and apart from potential damage and negative mods dealt to enemy ship, it can also prematurely end it’s activation!

The basics is simple: End your ship’s Move upfront and close to enemy ship in a way that will force an Evasion test. If both ships fail their tests – CRASH!

This can be used to deal damage to enemy ships, but also disrupt (end) their next activation. More so, even a passed skill test to Evade will stack a negative -1 To-Hit mod on the enemy ship and can result in course alteration, forcing it to head out for another potential collision! Furthermore a ship cannot shoot throughout the Move step when it Evades.

Few examples below.

The Gur Panther finished it’s Move in front of Drake. Drake activates next and is forced to Evade and risk a collision. The Drake will suffer a -1 To-Hit for all it’s shooting and potentially suffer damage wasting it’s entire activation.

A Sloop Squadron finished it’s Move in front of Drake. Drake activates next and because Sloop Squadron is a Squadron, the Drake can elect to auto fail it’s Evasion test. If the Sloop Squadron fails as well, the resulting collision will not end Drake’s activation, but will still deal some damage and a -1 To-Hit mod.
Collisions with Squadrons do not force enemy ships to alter course, deal only half the damage and do not end ship’s activation. Still the -1 To-Hit mod can make a difference and the enemy ship will not be able to shoot during this Move step.

The Gur Panther decides to implement some nasty tactics. It ends it’s final Move step in front of Drake and in a way that will force the Extra Large ship to Evade. If any of the two succeeds Evasion Skill Test, the Drake will turn the minimum distance to clear the Panther – and as a result head straight for the Rocks. Rocks cannot be Evaded and apart from dealing damage and ending Drakes Activation, they will also ground the ship for good. Just brutal!

Now you know the variety of Collision Baiting tricks. Set sail and make enemy ships suffer. Just make sure not to set up in front of enemy ships with RAM (x), as the result might surprise you… in a bad way.

I hope you find this article interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional Warhammer miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.

KoW Armada: Visibility Breakdown

Ahoy Sailors! As you know I am most and foremost a passionate hobbyist. That being said I am also a pirate, a scoundrel and a fanatical enthusiast of Mantic Games Kings of War: Armada – a naval strategy game set in a rich world of Pannithor, pitting multiple wonderfully crafted and strongly themed factions against one another. Today I’m here to share some of my maritime experience.

Visibility

Visibility rules in Armada are pretty straightforward, still every now and then I meet new players that get confused. In this article I would like to provide a little breakdown with solid examples. Hopefully this will help everyone to understand how Visibility and Partial Visibility works in Armada.

Visibility, Rulebook p.23

“A target must be at least Partially Visible in order to fire upon it.

Taking a bird’s eye view, if no line can be drawn in the Fire Arc from anywhere on the base of the shooting ship to any part of the target’s base without crossing another ship, model or terrain feature, then visibility to the target is Blocked and the ship may not shoot it.

When shooting, if either or both the following conditions are true, the target is Partially Visible to the weapons firing from a position/Fire Arc. The target may be fired upon, but it will be more difficult.

• If a clear, unobstructed line can be drawn to some, but not more than half the target’s base (from any part of the shooting ship’s base in that weapon position).
• If less than half the target’s base is within the fire arc.

When checking Partial Visibility in other situations (e.g. Nerve Tests, see page 29), only consider the first condition above.
In all other cases, there is Full Visibility to the target.”

Right off the batt the Visibility rules focus on Partial Visibility and when it occurs, rather than the other way around. Allow me to provide a different approach to explain the rules.

If you CAN’T draw an unobscured line from any point of your ships base to any point of enemy ships base there is NO visibility.

If you CAN draw an unobscured line from any point of your ships base to any point of enemy ships base there is PARTIAL visibility.

Furthermore, if you CAN draw an unobscured line from any point of your ships base to MORE THAN HALF enemy ships base AND MORE THAN HALF enemy ships base is WITHIN your ships Fire Arc, there is FULL visibility.

In short: In order to achieve Full Visibility you have to be able to ‘see’ more than half enemy ships base and more than half of enemy ships base must be within Fire Arc of your ship. For anything else than Shooting you only need to ‘see’ more than half enemy ships base to achieve Full Visibility.

Take note that in order to shoot at an enemy ship, it must first be within the Weapon Position’s Fire Arc at least partially.

Examples

Now’s time for some in-game examples.

Example A: Monolith vs Boomboat
One condition met.

• MORE than half of Boomboats base is within the Monoliths Arc of Fire.
• The Monolith CANNOT draw a line from any point of its base to more than half the Boomboats base.

Result: Partial Visibility.

Example B: Monolith vs Boomboat
Both conditions met.

• MORE than half of Boomboats base is within the Monoliths Arc of Fire.
• The Monolith CAN draw a line from any point of its base to more than half the Boomboats base.

Result: Full Visibility.

Example C: Monolith vs Boomboat

One condition met.

• LESS than half of Boomboats base is within the Monoliths Arc of Fire.
• The Monolith CAN draw a line from any point of its base to more than half the Boomboats base.

Result: Partial Visibility.

Example D: Boomboat vs Monolith

One condition met.

• LESS than half of Monoliths base is within the Boomboats Arc of Fire.
• The Boomboat CAN draw a line from any point of its base to more than half the Monoliths base.

Partial Visibility.

Example D might seem a bit counterintuitive. Both ships are broadside to broadside and it might feel odd for the Boomboat to be shooting at a -1 To-Hit, but this is how the rules work. In the other hand this approach simplifies things for general gameplay and works well within the core game mechanics.

I hope you find this article interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional Warhammer miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.

KoW Armada: Expanding Collection Guide

Ahoy Sailors! As you know I am most and foremost a passionate hobbyist. That being said I am also a pirate, a scoundrel and a fanatical enthusiast of Mantic Games Kings of War: Armada. The latter resulted in a few gaming/strategy related articles, one of which you found yourself reading right now.

Kings of War: Armada is a naval strategy game set in a rich world of Pannithor, pitting multiple wonderfully crafted and strongly themed factions against one another. Divided between a Fleet Starter, a Fleet Booster and multiple individual sets, each faction comes with a range of ships and units to choose from. It is quite common for new players to ask what to purchase next in order to expand a collection. Today I would like to present to you a quick guide to Kings of War: Armada purchases. 

Collection Tiers

Although each Armada fleet differs from one another, they all seem to follow a similar path from first purchase up to a complete collection. To keep things easy I have divided collection sizes into tiers, each of which represents a certain milestone allowing for more list building flexibility and in-game shenanigans. When considering how to expand your existing collection, treat tiers as casual guidelines. If for example you own a Fleet Starter and a Fleet Booster, consider adding anything missing from tier 2, preferably in order it is presented. This should, in theory, expand your collection in a way that offers new playstyles, diversity and a power boost.

Tier 1: Basic

• One Fleet Starter,
• One Fleet Booster,

This tier represents the usual entry point into Armada. A relatively low price start, allowing for a number of builds within a 150-250pts. range.

Tier 2: Standard

• XL Ship*,
• Second Fleet Starter,
• Second Fleet Booster,
• One Fliers Booster,
• Armada Magic Deck,

This tier, once achieved, is a golden tournament standard. An XL* Main Battle Ship, along with a pair of L and multiple M, backed with an array of Support Ships allows for flexible list building, enabling different playstyles and archetypes within a faction. Some players will stop right here, all tools already available.

* if available to your faction.

Tier 3: Advanced

• Support Ships up to a total of four each, (single ship packs)
• Second XL Ship*,
• Second Fliers Booster,

Last tier is a complete collection including everything that you will ever need to build a wide range of 150-250pts. lists honed for specific scenarios and/or archetypes. Four copies od each Support Ship and a second XL allows for some edge case combo lists. Second pair of fliers, while not necessary, is always good to have, just in case of local meta going flier heavy in the future.

* if available to your faction.

Secret Tier X: Beyond

• Whatever floats your boat,

There’s no real gameplay advantage of adding more sets after tier 3, unless you plan on playing some huge climactic naval battles. Armada miniatures are truly beautiful and full of detail, thus I won’t judge you for further expanding your collection. 

I hope you find this article entertaining. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your hobby buds, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service be sure to contact me via this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.

Cheers!