KoE_snapshot

Greetings Noble Knights, the time has come for what you have all been patiently (some not so patiently) waiting for, the KoE sneak peek. We know a lot of you were a little put off that our 'review' was last, but we have to say we think it was the right call as we think we needed the extra time. There were a lot of suggestions, rejections, counter proposals, and, unfortunately, some things that were not able to be changed in time, but we have no doubt these will be addressed in the future. We hope that we have a more workable, balanced and viable book than we previously did. However we won't know either way until we have done extensive playtesting, which is where the feedback of the community becomes important. It's important to remember that both the ABC and RT have spent an enormous amount of their free time working on this book, so please respect the process.We think first and foremost the intention was to scale the power of the Grailstar down as it has been made clear for a long time that death stars are not something the team wants to encourage, but also to hopefully bring some more variety and viable list options in competitive play. However before you get too crestfallen about this, we're excited to share what I think the biggest, and best change for us this release will bring: The Blessing : Whether the Lady has realised how devout we really are, or our noble knights have just become a little more intelligent regarding warfare and have decided to pray the night before a battle- no longer must we give up first turn to receive benefits from the blessing . We do, however, gain no bonuses to the roll deciding who goes first.We no longer have to suffer a massive disadvantage just so we can benefit from our AWSR. Until now, we were the only ones suffering from this. However, we do still have to decide something (in list-building, not at the start of matches).. Would you prefer to receive a stronger ward save against AP attacks, or high strength attacks?After much discussion between the RT and ABC, where it was basically split on what the blessing should give, they came to the conclusion that each should (theoretically) be as balanced as the other- so why not give the player the choice? As for why we no longer have to give up first turn, we think that's quite obvious, we can now play the deployment game just like any other army. We think this change can be really interesting especially in team tournament scenarios.One change we believe nobody really understood in .11was giving our horses stomp , but only when we don't charge. It didn't really make any sense, and frankly was quite useless for the most part. It's gone. However, our horses have gained thunderous charge to bring them back to S4 when charging.Peasants: As we are certain you are all aware of, one of the main problems with running peasants in a cavalry army is keeping them in the battle. Our nobles have been beating and chastising the peasants for this very reason, and as a result, they're quite motivated to move a little quicker under the watchful eyes of their betters, and now receive +1M when marching while under the inspiring presence from knights.Questing Knights no longer have T he Blessing , as they have a different rule to fill a niche - they have a flat 5+ ward in close combat, and as a result, both the oath and questing knights have seen a price reduction. They have also received something many of you have been asking for in this army - the option to scout ! (and vanguard ). However, they no longer have skirmish . As you all know one of the many difficulties in an army full of cavalry options is differentiating the units and giving them different roles, we hope that these changes can help questing knights find that roleIn the interest of allowing a peasant or making mixed army more viable, peasants have also seen a price reduction, and the reliquary grants nice buffs, but has become a rare unit . It now grants an aura to insignificant units that grants T he Blessing , FiER, and rerolling 1's to wound.The price has been adjusted for many magical items, particularly in regards to taking them on hero level characters. While the T alisman of Roland has been changed to a max of 4+ as a result of item combinations/death star lists, and T he Oriflamme is cheaper, but now only removes Hold Your Ground Characters themselves have been seen as over costed ("finally", we can almost hear you all say..), and as such have seen some reductions. While the C astellan has been hitting the gym and can now match the goblin chief in strength and toughness, for no change in points, this should help him survive a little better in combat. Previously he tended to be targeted and killed quite easily, this will also allow his unit buffs to be utilized a little longer. With that change he can also be a better redirector.The option to create a 'Green Knight' lord is no longer there, however there is now a one of a kind rare unit to the same effect. It really didn't make sense that a duke paladin became so devout he turned ethereal . So the army basically received a new unit that doesn't eat into your character allowance.This change will also give us better diversity in rare to choose from, which was previously either war machines or grail knights.Forlorn Knights have seen some changes, with the most notable change being the option to Ambush . This should help differentiate them even further from our peasant crusaders & peasant militia, and help them get into the fight much quicker Grail oath no longer grants divine attacks, just magical attacks - as it did in an older world.. However, grail knights will have the option to purchase them if you so choose. In the interests of scaling down the Grailstar, Grail Knights can now only be joined by insignificant units (I.E, damsels).To summarize; for the most part our knightly units were deemed to be quite balanced and required little adjustment, while our infantry was a little lacking, so they received some boosts and a price reduction.We're hoping these changes can help to see some more creative and varied builds, with the most obvious being the Grailstar is no longer available. That's not to say the Grail Knights are not still extremely powerful in their own right (and can still see a little more toughness through item choices on damsels). However, with both the reliquary and the new ambushing knight options both in rare, there's a bit more to choose from. There are obviously many more changes coming as this is just a sneak peek, however we think these are the highlights and most important changes. We're excited to having an extra roll off at the start of the game to see if we get to move before our opponents!Feedback and constructive criticism is obviously as always welcomed,however please keep it civil and be aware that the thread will be closely watched (as all the other sneak peeks have been), and hold off any comments being too harsh without both seeing the complete review, and at least a couple of playtests.That's all we have for you now, hopefully this left you with some excitement and ideas for new builds which we are looking forward to hearing aboutFor the Lady!If you wish to listen to the review click the media link below:Please keep in mind that the issues and proposals discussed in those recordings may not always reflect the latest rules update you will see when we finally release the armybook, but we hope it will give you nevertheless an interesting sneak peek