Mantic Create New Free Army Lists For The Abyss & Forces Of Nature
March 18, 2016 by brennon
Mantic Games have now added two more Free Army Lists to their website for download to support the Forces of the Abyss and the Forces of Nature in Kings of War. You can check out both of them as PDF downloads as well as a whole range of new Kings of War releases...
The Monstrous Undead
Leading the way for the Undead in Kings of War we have the Wights which we've really taken a shine to. They are a vast improvement over the previous sculpts and look like they would be a terrifying foe to face.
I like that these are characters that actually look like they could do some damage on the battlefield. I could imagine older Wights dwelling in graveyards but these are proper ghostly warriors.
Following on from them we have the howling of the Lykanis...
These monstrous werewolves are the biggest, strongest, and quickest of the pack; the Alpha if you will. You get a rather massive metal model to play around with that looks like it would be great for a warband to take on as well as an army.
Elves
Riding into battle for the Elves we have their new Silverbreeze Cavalry. In the past I have mentioned that I don't particularly like the style of the Mantic Elves - far too lithe and willowy for my tastes. However, the horses are looking good here for sure.
You'll most certainly find a place for these kind of models amidst your army with their ranged weapons allowing you to pick at the flanks of enemy units.
Abyssal Dwarfs
Whipping your army into shape and sending the slave Orcs onwards to their doom we have the Abyssal Dwarf Slavedriver. He looks like he means business.
When the whip misses its mark I think that that brutal looking blade of his will prod you forwards and make you yearn for the blades of your enemies rather than the whips of the master. A dangerous army with a neat new dark Dwarfen addition to the clan.
Orcs
Sometimes when the enemy lines just won't break you need someone to wade in there and shatter the defenders resolve. In those cases the Orcs send in a Troll Bruiser with one hell of a weapon held high ready to smash aside ranks of the enemy.
While some people don't like the top heavy nature of the Trolls from Mantic I don't actually mind it. I think it lends them a Fantasy look which appears individual from other ranges. I could imagine them almost running on all fours before they get up close and start swinging.
Army Lists
Come and check out the PDF downloads and consider how you're going to build your next army. Remember that the Forces of Nature are neutral forces as they fight for no-one but the wild itself.
Forces Of The Abyss
Forces Of Nature
Download both of them and give them a go. I really like the idea of making a Forces of Nature army which is packed with forest creatures and treemen. Centaurs are cool and such but the living wood is certainly something that appeals to me.
Which army will you be playing as?
"I really like the idea of making a Forces of Nature army which is packed with forest creatures and treemen..."
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the figures look good.
Those are some good looking models and those army lists look interesting.
That troll is weirdly (and dare I say, unnaturally) proportioned but I am really liking the wolf
Mantic need to stop failing with their weird unrealistic proportions.
I’m not the biggest fan of their Abyss but for £80 you can basically buy a full army forever so they’re going to be part of my Khorne army, for my fantasy wargame :p
Mostly nice but that troll is godawful.
I’d happily pick up the wolf but the rest just don’t do it for me.
The Kings of War line really has some stylistic and proportional inconsistencies.
Look how when Mantic makes minis that stylistically would have fit straight into Warmahordes (wraiths and lykanis), they seem to be universally praised to high heaven, yet when they make somehting that fits into their own style, it is greeted with “meh” (elves and troll).
Maybe mantic should take that hint and make larger, more heroically proportioned minis over all?
is there a “mantic style” their undead are probably they’re greatest faction and a lot of those models are are amazing and in-proportion. The elves above are just average models, they’re not even bad, they’re realistic but lack love or art. The troll is great if not for the stupid small legs.
I can appreciate the idea of cheap alternatives for models that are priced higher from other games. But for me I must like the sculpts if I’m to invest into buying them. At the moment I can’t see myself getting any of Mantic’s models, with the wolf above being the exception.
I’m generally not a huge fan of KoW’s sculpts individually but I do think they will look good ranked up and as an army. If I’m faced with painting dozens of models to make up one unit then really I don’t want masses of detail on each model, I want something simpler that will look decent as a set and not make me cry at the thought of getting through it all.
That all said, massed battle games are not my thing these days so I’m speaking very much as devils advocate!
The Abyssal Dwarf looks really cool