The Shire Rises On Pannithor As Mantic Showcase New Halflings
July 29, 2021 by avernos
Mantic Games are shaking up Pannithor with a new army for Kings of War as the Halflings have left the League of Rhordia and will be getting their very own Shire Defence League.
Halfling Starter Army // Mantic Games
Hinted at in the 3rd edition rulebook we knew that there were changes coming for the League as the Halflings withdrew and set up shop on their own and in doing so this has allowed Matt and the team at Mantic to put their own stamp on the pint-sized pugilists and with the reveals of the renders in April we could already see that they were going to be something unique and now we can see exactly what to expect from an army that is so new it doesn't yet have an army list!
Halfling Stalwarts // Kings of War
Halfling Braves // Kings of War
Plastic Infantry
First up let's just talk about the plastic infantry they can be armed in one of three ways, above you can see the spear and hand weapon armed infantry and below the rifles. It shows both the technological level of the halflings, they are engineers and tinkerers after all, and at the same time, we can also see that the makeup of the force is men and women giving the impression that they are not an aggressive standing army but instead a conscripted militia defending themselves. It is further reinforced by the occasional top hat amongst the crowd.
Halfling Rifles // Kings of War
I'm also a big fan of the rifles, yes I am sure that there are stealthy woodsmen who have bows, but honestly, I just like this Victorian feel instead of another rehash of Tolkien or Italian Wars silk-clad warriors.
Medium Aralez Cavalry // Kings of War
Plastic Cavalry
Likewise the cavalry can be outfitted in the same fashion allowing you to make the medium cavalry above for some shock and awe, or as below fast-moving rifles to pin your target in place and harry the flanks. Also yes, they are riding giant dogs, actually, if you want to be technical they are riding a wingless Aralez, a flying dog that had already been introduced into the lore and world of Pannithor, so I have high hopes of some flying cav in my future!
Doggo Cav, Are you happy I said it?
The most interesting thing for me is that these are not separate kits. Instead Mantic are releasing a single hard plastic box that will allow you to build ten infantry and five cavalry models. Kyle and Matt have stated that the ratio will also feed into the playtest army list that will be released at the same time as the army becomes available. Obviously, a big thing about Kings of War is the balance not just of armies, but of builds within armies allowing people to put what they want on the tabletop and still be viable, but I'm definitely interested in seeing the direction they take the halflings army.
Halfling Mounted On Forest Troll
Resin Kits
Apart from the plastic set there are also a variety of support coming in the form of some resin kits. My favourite being the Forest Troll with his wicked looking cutting machine and Halfing herder! We've also seen a regiment of Forest Trolls with halfling sharpshooters mounted on their backs which is an excellent way to go to war. I'm also a fan of the Halflings having a peaceful relationship with these trolls and using them for the heavy lifting so to speak.
Aralez With Spellflinger // Mantic Games
As some needed spell support there will also be a mage included in the army set, to aid you in either bane chanting your units or upsetting your opponent with a well-timed wind blast into some hindering terrain. I think this army is looking terrific and although I don't need any more halflings I will be buying a lot more halflings.
The blend of serious and quirky encapsulate what I want to see with the diminutive fighters and at the same time they are wholly Mantic's own, plus none of them are morbidly obese, so here's hoping we can move away from fat halflings and make people fear a sword being stabbed up from below waist height! Mantic are expecting to launch the new army in late August so keep an eye out for pre-orders appearing soon.
Will you be joining the Shire?
"The blend of serious and quirky encapsulate what I want to see with the diminutive fighters and at the same time they are wholly Mantic's own"
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Fabulous looking figures and they are having a battle on that poor trolls green when he’s trying to keep the grass nice?
yes, in fact it’s modified from a lawnmower, they showed it off in a piece of artwork and it could be seen in the background
Forest troll doing heavy gardening!
How do we think they’ll scale with the Wargames Atlantic halfling box? It’s never been a better time for variety in halflings. Warlord did a load of Halfling bits for Warlords of Erehwon didn’t they?
warlord resold TT combats fat halflings from their KSer.
I think everyone is waiting to see how they compare to WA, based on the League of Infamy ones I think they’ll be fairly close.
Nice minis, really like the Doggo cavalry.
These come up a bit short for my liking …
Fantastic-looking figures with some great character.
we could get them stilts, or platform shoes
Woah… they look F***** amazing. I wish their human range looked this good. Keep up with the awesome work Mantic!
I’m really liking the look of the sculpts. If I had any gripe, it’s that they are all wearing shoes. I wish there were some barefoot variants. Maybe we’ll see some unshod thief characters in the future?
nope, and I’m glad they’re not barefoot. there are plenty of hobbit minis out there with no shoes, finally someone has had the common sense to go to a cobbler
Ha, to each their own. I think it would be neat if they had some kind of chuck wagon to act as a support unit. They say an army marches on its stomach. I think this would especially be the case with a hobbit army. They’ll have to get the fighting in sometime between breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper. Lol.
Those are some good looking halflings.
The cavalry looks a bit RUFF … heh heh heh …. No, it’s okay. I will see myself out.
Nice job Mantic, very nice job.
Abyssals….KILL!!!!
no! bad nighthaunter!
mwah hahahahahaha!
I’m definitely going with these as my Kings of War army now that I’m interested in the game. I don’t know why but I love them.
If I have one complaint it’s the lore. The League of Rhordia was just so interesting of a mix for typical fantasy races that it grabbed my attention immediately. And now they took one of those intriguing aspects away. Just a bit of a shame.
they’ve not taken it away, in fact there are stories coming regarding what is happening since the teaser in the 3rd edition book. So the League is still around and some halflings have stayed, the new list is just more halfling goodness
Im not really a fan of the dogs themselves but everything else here looks very good. Definitely tempted to pick some up as a side project
this got my daughters attention as her 2nd kings of war army
The forest troll isnt for me but the rest of the army is looking cool. Great sculpts on the faces