The dust is still settling from US Masters. If you read Tom Annis’ Dash28 write-up Five of the Most Statistically Impressive Performances and want even more numbers to chew on, here’s a quick data dump that zooms in on army construction across the field.
TL;DR
- Regiments still run the show : they make up 28%of all entries
- Individuals are now practically core choices: heroes sit at 24% of the field
- Large bodies rule the type chart: Infantry leads but Large Infantry and Large Cavalry are close behind
- Two-thirds of units swing with Crushing or Piercing: everyone packed armor breakers
- Nimble appears in nearly every army: And fly shows up in seven of ten lists
- Static guns are rare: War Engines drop to just three percent of the pool
(Need a refresher on why concentrated hammer pieces matter? See the Power Concentration post on Data and Dice)
Size first
- Regiments are the cheapest way to score and unlock so no shock they top the list
- Heroes come in hot thanks to aura carriers
- Troops are present but captains clearly prefer hero chaff over traditional cheap drops
- War Engines sit at the bottom because scenarios and line of sight blockers punish static crews, even with the changes in the latest CoK to try to make them viable in scenario play
Relative usage with Regiments set to 1.0 shows Individuals at 0.85 and Hordes at 0.65–a neat snapshot of how list builders juggle unlocks board control and scoring.
Body types
| Rank | Type | Share | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Infantry | 32% | Bread and butter troops that still do the dirty work |
| 2 | Large Infantry | 16% | Many of these are fifty millimeter heroes in disguise |
| 3 | Large Cavalry | 12% | Speed seven plus hammers that also score |
| 4 | Heavy Infantry | 11% | Anvil regiments and aura platforms |
| 5 | Monster | 8% | Mostly toolbox pieces or discount titans |
Hero-sized twist
Large Infantry and Large Cavalry have almost as many Individuals as blocks. List writers love fifty millimeter combat heroes that punch.
Movement tricks
| Keyword | Units | Armies with at least one | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nimble | 33% | 95% | The corkscrew charge still lives! |
| Fly | 21% | 70% | Each list expects at least one flyer |
| Strider | 9% | 56% | More common than Pathfinder thanks to aura stacks |
| Pathfinder | 12% | 34% | One out of three captains planned for woods |
| Phalanx | 4% | 31% | Still a niche counter tool, despite concerns |
| Ensnare | 5% | 27% | Swamp units and trident armies only |
The message is clear. Captains value flexible movement more than raw staying power.
Guns out of fashion
War Engines drop to 3% share and appear in one out of five armies, even after CoK changes to beef up war engines. The meta punishes static tools with dense terrain and aggressive scenario scoring, and the lack of mobility and unit strength makes war engines very situational.
Unit type and size mashup
- Infantry blocks are still the backbone
- Titans are present but far from oppressive
- Heavy Infantry is mostly hero bodies or small regiments
Takeaways for your next event
- Bring tools to peel Nimble screens or bring your own to even the dance
- Pack terrain solutions like Strider auras because one out of two opponents will not
- Assume Crushing two is the norm and plan defense accordingly
- Do not lean on static shooting for primary damage delivery
