Kings of War 4th Edition - What They Didn't Want You To Know

G’day Goonhammer readers! Well, Fourth Edition is finally here. The rules have been out on the companions for almost a week, and the book has even made it to Australia; I’ve already got my copy in hand.

Today we are taking a look at what Mantic didn’t want you to know! Or more accurately, some of the changes that weren't fully previewed, that we now have all the rules for.

I Like to Move It!

Lots of preview content was couched in terms of waiting to see exactly how movement worked. Mantic did summarise it as, essentially, any movement order has an extra pivot in it. And that’s it for the standard movement orders. You now get one pivot, still of up to 90 degrees, when moving sideways, backward, or at the double, and two 90 degree pivots when moving up to your speed.

Charging is only slightly changed, in what conditions you need to meet to make said charge, but most of these will not be unfamiliar. You need to be in range, able to see, and able to fit. The new restrictions are: That your unit is not already engaged (there’s no escaping from one fight to go and start another any more!) and that there are not already two units engaged with the enemy in the facing you would be charging, as two units per facing is a new limit.

The last and best of these charging changes is that you now get to control when/where you make your pivot (or two, if the unit is Nimble). You can finally tell your troops to avoid going through a swamp!

Withdraw and Reform are the new movement orders, to deal with the new sticky combats. Withdraw is to get out of combat, and Reform is to change your positioning while staying engaged. There’s a bit to them, but there are some very nice diagrams in the book to help demonstrate exactly how they work. Along with these, there is a section “Complex Cases and Clarifications”, and this covers many questions that may come up in the game. There are lots of nice diagrams here too.

I’m an Individual!

One thing we noticed from the previews was that all Hero characters have taken a big points hike in the new edition. While they do have new rules like the new command orders, or changes to a battalion’s unlocking system to incentivise taking some of them, they still seemed very expensive for what they brought to the table. There was some suspicion that more of their power was going to be hidden in the Individual rule. That does not seem to be the case. Units with the Individual keyword still get what is essentially a free reform before receiving a movement order. They’re still harder to hit with shooting, and Mantic have now done away with the complicated aligning and shuffling of units to individuals, so now they are almost treated the same as any other unit. The big difference in combat is that Individuals do not get flank and rear combat bonuses, while other units do get flank and rear bonuses vs them, which seems a little wonky to me. Why not let Individuals get the usual bonuses? Combat heroes in particular seem very overpriced, and the chance of getting those extra attacks might make up for some of that cost. It is one spot where the rules have gotten simpler, but didn’t quite make it to, what seems to me, the final iteration; Individuals are just standard units that get an extra pivot (or a keep the free reform) and are harder to shoot.

Who Am I?

Now we come to the unpreviewed factions, and the first thing you notice is that there are a lot fewer of them. We knew we’d be losing a few of our factions, and they’re not necessarily gone forever, but the lack of some of them is clear. Gone are the old theme lists of third edition; now the theme is unlocked through Warlords, changing how units unlock or are unlocked in a battalion. Or, in some cases, the theme list has basically disappeared. The Order of the Brothermark essentially exists only as upgrades for Basilean Knights.

These merges track about as we expected, though there are a few headscratchers in there. I don’t think anyone was surprised at Elves and Sylvan Kin getting merged, but the amount of units stripped out of some factions is pretty harsh. Varangur only exist as Magnilde, two units of Fallen, and two units of the new standard of Knights. The Order of the Green Lady are in the same boat. One character to unlock, two units of (almost) standard knights, and two infantry units are all that remain.

Hopefully these factions will be further fleshed out in the coming expansion books, but we’ll have to wait and see. The main idea to keep in mind here, is the factions that are gone are the non-Mantic IP. If they return, they’ll return as the Twilight Kin did, which means they may not bear any resemblance to their current iteration.

Speaking of Mantic IP, we have the new Xirkaali rules in hand. The models are great, and the rules look very good, but I have not had a chance to play as or against them yet (though I have been tinkering with lists!). We’ll aim to have a faction review out once we’ve got some play time.

Xirkaali Matriarc. Credit: Mantic Games

Quit Ordering Me About!

Now we have the full rules for orders, and how they work, and how they interact with the game.

In the end, it's very simple. A Warlord or Champion can issue an order at any point in the movement phase. It picks one order, and targets one unit within 12”, no LoS needed. A unit can only benefit from one order a turn. The Order lists its restrictions, the value it is successfully ordered on, and what the order does. Warlords roll three D6, and Champions two. There’s even a few magic items specific to ordering, changing the dice rolled or range.

Having looked through most of the new Command Orders, they seem pretty on par across the factions. There are definitely some that are stronger than others. I know I’d much rather Strider than Pathfinder these days, but power level across the board seems tighter. Some are more situational than others, but nothing seems flat out bad. The expansion book factions do get more options, but they seem to be just that, more options and flexibility rather than raw power. There’s also a lot of flavour in these. I really enjoy the Last Breath order from Abyssal Dwarfs. Blowing up your slaves to damage the enemy feels very much in line with the faction to me. Hopefully this is the way it continues.

One Game Down

With the book in hand, I have had the chance to get one game in.

Across the board the game is going to be familiar to returning players. The game really does feel like it’s just been tidied up and tweaked, building upon third edition. The extra pivots open up a whole lot more flexibility in movement, shooting still has a place, and the new “sticky combats” open up an interesting tactical challenge.

Twilight Kin vs Varangur

Can't escape the Mindscreech now. Credit: Urr

Getting the core of the game right is the most important part. Unit stats, points and commands can all be easily tweaked once the community has had a chance to play the game, but the foundations need to be solid, and they are. I can only see the game getting better from here.

And it's that time of year again! Mantic Mania is approaching. Coming up on the Australia Day long weekend, January 24-25, 2026, it is once again time for Australia's biggest Kings of War event. This time we are playing fourth edition, so come along, whatever your skill level, and start playing.Tickets and player pack can be found here. See you there!

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