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Data and Dice > Blog > Tournaments > Clash of Kings Australia 2024: Analyzing the Meta
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Clash of Kings Australia 2024: Analyzing the Meta

By Trevor
Last updated: 2024-06-13 5:49 pm
By Trevor
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Welcome to ‘Data and Dice,’ where we delve into the heart of Kings of War tournaments. Today, we’re dissecting the Clash of Kings Australia 2024, armed with comprehensive data and insights. With the excitement palpable, let’s plunge into the data-driven depths of this grand event. If you haven’t already listened to them, please check out the latest episodes from Direct Misfire (Direct Misfire – a Kings of War Podcast | Direct Misfire Podcast (podbean.com)) and Counter Charge (Counter Charge (ohiohammer.com)) where they discuss the CoK 2024 lists.

Contents
Faction BreakdownUnit Composition BreakdownMagic ItemsStandout ListsConclusions

Faction Breakdown

A total of 24 factions made the cut, with a fairly strong balance across the lists. Here is the full table:

FactionCount
Abyssal Dwarfs5
Empire of Dust5
Goblins4
Nightstalkers4
The Herd4
Kingdoms of Men4
Undead4
Dwarfs3
Ogres3
Elves3
Northern Alliance3
Varangur3
Trident Realm of Neritica2
Free Dwarfs2
Forces of the Abyss2
Basileans2
Halflings1
Salamanders1
Forces of Nature1
League of Rhordia1
The Order of the Green Lady1
Noble Undead1
Ratkin1
Orcs1

In my army review about the Abyssal Dwarfs, I expected the CoK changes would be good to them–and I’m not surprised to see them top the list here along with EoD. This is a good mix of factions overall and will give an early look at the effectiveness of the CoK 24 changes.

Unit Composition Breakdown

Our analysis begins with a broad overview of the unit compositions. Players are bringing a lot of unit strength: the typical army brings close to 14 drops (of which 11 are scoring) and 24 US. As expected, the Goblin lists bring the most, with Christopher Willcox sporting 18 drops (15 scoring) and 35 US. On the low end, Dan Harwood (Herd), Ed Hamacek (Rhordia), and Luke Shafer (KoM) all manage just 20 US, while Kathryn’s uber-elite Basileans bring 21 US on just 10 drops.

The most popular units? No surprises here, given the makeup of the lists.

Unit NameCount
Forest Shamblers14
Giant11
Fleabag Riders10
Beast Cavalry10
Warriors9
Skeleton Spearmen9
Ravagers9
Gargoyles8
Abyssal Grotesques8
Soulflayers8
Hunters of the Wild8

Magic Items

45 different items were taken! Here are the top few:

Magic ItemCount
Sir Jesse’s Boots of Striding23
Brew of Strength16
Blade of Slashing14
Lute of Insatiable Darkness11
Fire-Oil11
Blessing of the Gods9
Brew of Sharpness8
Mace of Crushing7
Mead of Madness7
Staying Stone6
Inspiring Talisman6
Orb of Towering Presence6
Hammer of Measured Force6
Brew of Haste6

If you’ve been following KoW for awhile, none of these come as a surprise. The Orb of Towering Presence, in particular, makes a routine showing on these lists. I’m a bit surprised to see the Hammer of Measured Force, which many players think is a points trap. I guess we’ll see how it performs!

Standout Lists

Every tournament has its surprises. Here, we’ll examine a few lists that stood out, either through unconventional choices or through exemplifying current trends. There’s a lot of data to parse, but I’ll provide the full html file here that has army lists:

Faction Name Pts Item Pts Objective Movement Defense Offense Total Units Unit Strength Scoring Units Avg Speed Nimble Shambling Avg Defense Nerve Pool Shots to Six Nerve Regen Heal Iron Resolve Lifeleech Stealthy Total Attacks Total Ranged Attacks Expected Damage Leader Grounder Buffer Missile Shock Anvil Plinker Pest Diver Flanker Anchor Chaff Deck Chair Battleline
Abyssal Dwarfs Evan Ferris 2300 30 C C A B 16 21 9 5.2 1 3 4.8 230 453 3 0 0 0 0 167 167 57.9 3 1 3 1 4 4 5 1 1 2 0 1 8 6
Abyssal Dwarfs Andrew Goodman 2300 60 C B B B 15 20 9 7.1 4 0 4.5 206 314 8 0 0 0 0 143 152 58.3 3 2 1 3 5 3 3 4 3 7 0 3 4 5
Abyssal Dwarfs Joshua Angel 2300 85 C+ B C+ B 13 23 10 6.8 3 0 4.2 201 302 6 0 0 0 0 147 158 64.2 3 0 2 0 4 5 3 2 3 5 0 3 3 7
Abyssal Dwarfs Luke Loseby 2300 40 B+ C+ A B+ 15 28 12 6.0 3 1 4.4 233 399 6 5 1 0 0 182 193 66.9 3 0 2 1 2 3 2 3 2 4 1 2 4 7
Abyssal Dwarfs Michael Douglas 2300 115 C C A+ C 11 22 8 5.2 0 3 5.4 184 486 4 6 1 1 0 124 145 56.2 3 1 2 1 5 6 3 3 0 1 0 0 1 7
Basileans Kathryn 2300 130 C A C+ B 10 22 9 8.7 5 0 4.8 164 296 1 11 10 0 0 123 131 62.1 5 2 3 2 6 1 1 0 4 8 0 0 1 8
Basileans Trevor Younghusband 2300 50 A A+ C+ C 13 27 13 9.4 8 0 4.2 197 287 2 10 9 0 0 130 130 58.8 5 2 2 2 3 0 2 4 7 13 0 2 0 5
Dwarfs Adrian Scott 2300 80 B D A A 15 23 12 4.6 3 0 5.2 236 597 0 0 0 0 0 186 186 73.8 5 0 2 3 3 7 5 1 0 0 2 0 6 7
Dwarfs Jeffrey Traish 2300 75 B C A A 16 26 11 5.1 0 0 4.7 251 485 0 0 0 0 0 201 201 67.2 3 0 2 0 3 3 2 2 0 3 0 2 8 9
Dwarfs Dale Hastings 2300 25 A D A B 17 26 13 4.2 1 2 5.1 243 538 0 0 0 0 0 144 153 61.2 3 0 3 1 0 6 4 2 0 0 0 0 9 7
Elves Matt Curtis 2300 85 C B C B 14 19 10 6.6 2 0 4.4 209 320 0 0 0 0 0 142 146 65.3 4 2 3 3 3 2 6 4 0 5 1 5 2 5
Elves Lachlan 2300 80 C+ A C C 13 23 10 7.9 3 2 4.5 199 303 0 0 0 0 0 132 133 57.8 3 3 1 2 2 1 4 4 4 6 1 3 0 3
Elves Glen Porritt 2300 55 C B B C 11 22 10 6.3 1 3 4.4 182 352 0 4 0 0 1 137 146 57.3 3 0 3 2 1 2 4 9 0 1 0 0 0 6
Empire of Dust Antony Pedersen 2300 65 B C A D 15 27 11 5.5 0 12 4.4 238 427 3 10 0 11 0 143 143 45.4 4 0 3 2 1 5 6 1 0 2 2 0 6 8
Empire of Dust Nick Prosser 2300 45 C B+ A C 12 19 10 7.6 3 5 4.8 191 388 0 22 0 9 0 121 121 56.0 5 2 4 1 5 4 0 3 3 2 0 4 0 8
Empire of Dust Chris Harper 2300 15 B B A C 14 27 12 6.1 2 9 4.5 230 399 2 19 0 11 1 152 161 47.2 3 0 3 1 2 4 1 2 2 0 2 2 2 8
Empire of Dust Rob 2300 20 C B B+ C 11 22 10 6.7 2 8 4.7 195 376 1 14 0 9 1 121 130 50.3 3 1 3 2 3 3 0 3 0 3 1 0 0 10
Empire of Dust Daniel Glenn 2300 15 B B A C 16 23 12 6.1 3 10 4.5 234 383 3 19 0 11 1 141 150 50.8 4 1 4 2 3 1 2 1 2 1 3 2 8 5
Forces of Nature Alex Sobinoff 2300 105 B B A C 15 24 13 6.1 3 3 4.9 221 440 0 10 0 0 1 149 149 57.1 5 0 5 3 2 2 0 15 2 2 0 3 4 7
Forces of the Abyss Ken Ferris 2300 60 A B B C+ 15 26 13 6.7 4 0 3.8 224 262 10 12 0 2 1 147 172 57.1 5 0 5 4 2 0 5 0 4 4 1 3 0 4
Forces of the Abyss Adam MacAskill 2300 20 A B B B 14 28 13 6.9 3 0 3.9 216 276 7 0 0 2 4 150 156 64.3 6 1 4 4 2 0 3 0 4 4 3 1 0 5
Free Dwarfs Robert Sadler 2300 120 B B B+ A 13 27 11 6.2 3 2 4.7 215 444 0 0 0 0 1 190 190 68.7 4 1 2 2 3 4 3 9 1 5 0 0 2 9
Free Dwarfs Stephen Tuck 2300 95 B+ C+ B+ A+ 14 28 12 5.7 3 1 4.5 230 438 0 0 0 0 0 188 190 82.0 5 1 3 3 4 6 1 10 2 2 4 1 5 7
Goblins Stephen Devenish 2300 45 B B B B 17 24 12 6.4 4 0 4.2 253 349 2 0 0 0 0 188 188 61.8 4 2 3 4 1 2 5 3 2 3 2 1 5 5
Goblins Antony Lee 2300 30 A A C A 18 32 12 8.6 9 0 4.1 266 344 0 0 0 0 0 184 184 69.2 4 1 1 4 0 2 8 2 2 12 0 2 2 3
Goblins Paul Collins 2300 55 C+ C+ C D 19 19 9 6.2 4 0 4.0 268 308 1 0 0 0 0 170 180 44.1 3 1 4 2 0 0 10 1 4 2 0 1 9 5
Goblins Christopher Willcox 2300 0 A+ A C+ B 18 35 15 7.8 7 0 4.0 287 350 0 0 0 0 0 240 240 55.1 3 2 0 3 0 0 10 0 4 7 4 3 2 4
Halflings Daniel Bird 2300 95 B B B B 13 27 11 6.8 4 0 4.5 205 354 1 0 2 0 0 155 155 59.9 4 1 1 1 2 2 4 4 2 5 0 1 1 3
Kingdoms of Men Henry Lukin 2300 10 A B C+ B+ 18 24 13 7.1 4 0 4.4 250 355 0 0 0 0 0 158 158 67.7 4 3 1 3 4 1 4 1 3 9 0 3 7 5
Kingdoms of Men Lyle Marsden 2300 75 C C C A 12 24 8 6.4 1 0 4.2 208 305 0 0 0 0 0 150 154 71.0 2 0 3 0 5 4 5 1 3 3 0 0 4 6
Kingdoms of Men Luke Schafer 2300 50 C B+ D B 11 20 8 8.3 2 0 4.5 160 252 0 0 0 0 0 113 115 65.1 2 3 6 1 5 0 3 0 6 6 0 2 3 6
Kingdoms of Men Gregory Turkich 2300 10 B B B B 12 25 11 7.6 2 0 4.8 211 396 0 0 0 0 0 150 150 61.3 3 2 3 2 3 5 0 3 5 5 1 0 1 8
League of Rhordia Ed Hamacek 2300 190 D C B B 11 20 8 6.5 2 0 4.6 183 317 0 9 5 0 0 132 140 62.4 2 2 4 2 5 4 0 0 2 3 1 0 3 7
Nightstalkers Andrew Whitehead 2300 90 B B B A 13 27 12 7.5 5 0 4.0 212 289 2 0 0 0 13 179 179 68.8 0 1 2 2 5 2 0 3 4 7 0 1 0 8
Nightstalkers Lindsay 2300 50 A C+ B C 16 28 15 6.2 5 0 4.1 247 337 1 7 0 0 16 167 168 55.1 0 0 4 2 1 2 2 2 2 3 0 0 2 3
Nightstalkers Jason Miszczyszyn 2300 15 C+ B C C 12 23 10 7.2 2 0 4.0 189 234 0 0 0 0 12 138 140 52.7 0 0 7 0 0 0 5 0 5 3 0 0 0 5
Nightstalkers Matthew Trewella 2300 55 B+ B C C 15 24 13 7.1 4 0 3.9 221 257 1 0 0 0 15 160 162 55.7 0 0 7 1 0 0 2 2 7 6 1 0 3 3
Noble Undead Simon Gilbert 2300 130 B B B B 15 23 11 6.3 3 9 5.0 218 418 0 3 0 11 0 150 154 64.9 3 0 4 0 4 0 0 3 0 2 0 1 2 6
Northern Alliance Eric Caramancion 2300 20 B B B A 14 24 11 6.8 4 2 4.5 208 330 4 0 0 0 0 159 159 70.1 4 1 1 3 4 2 7 2 2 4 1 2 0 7
Northern Alliance John McGarry 2300 45 C+ C B B 13 24 10 6.2 2 0 4.3 207 325 1 10 1 1 1 168 168 67.4 5 1 3 2 3 2 1 5 0 1 3 3 0 7
Northern Alliance Brendan Cousins 2300 85 C+ B C B 13 23 10 7.0 5 2 3.8 199 272 0 5 0 0 4 151 151 60.2 5 1 4 1 4 3 6 5 2 4 1 3 1 5
Ogres Bruce Tobin 2300 80 C C C C 11 22 11 6.1 3 0 4.5 181 285 0 10 0 0 0 136 142 56.6 3 0 2 1 2 1 4 1 0 0 0 2 0 8
Ogres Trent Walker 2300 15 B C B B 14 25 13 6.1 4 0 4.6 218 353 0 9 0 0 0 148 151 65.0 4 0 2 3 3 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 5
Ogres Yan Zhi Lai 2300 20 B B C B 14 22 13 6.6 6 0 4.5 207 305 1 4 0 0 0 138 138 67.7 4 3 2 5 4 0 4 2 0 4 1 0 1 4
Orcs Walter Dirix 2300 5 B C C A 16 25 12 6.1 2 0 4.2 230 313 1 0 0 0 0 168 180 75.1 3 1 3 1 7 2 0 0 1 5 0 0 6 5
Ratkin Oswald Wendt 2300 55 C+ B C+ C+ 13 23 11 7.4 5 0 4.5 208 326 0 5 0 0 1 168 172 56.9 4 1 4 2 4 1 0 0 1 5 2 3 0 6
Salamanders Damien Madigan 2300 40 C B B B+ 11 23 10 6.5 3 4 4.7 195 365 0 3 0 0 0 165 165 68.2 4 0 3 0 4 6 3 5 2 2 1 1 1 9
The Herd Ben Rantall 2300 155 C+ A C B 13 21 11 8.1 7 0 4.2 206 301 2 0 0 0 0 151 151 65.9 3 0 1 2 3 2 1 12 3 7 1 3 1 8
The Herd Dan Harwood 2300 55 B A C B 14 20 12 7.4 6 1 4.5 206 322 3 0 0 0 0 142 142 66.7 3 2 5 2 2 0 2 14 2 5 0 4 0 8
The Herd Patrick Williamson 2300 75 B A C B+ 14 27 12 7.5 7 2 4.4 207 307 3 0 0 0 0 162 162 69.1 4 1 3 3 3 0 1 14 2 6 0 4 1 8
The Herd Tony Winmill 2300 35 B A+ B C 14 21 12 8.2 8 3 4.2 203 325 3 8 0 0 0 133 133 51.2 4 2 3 2 2 1 0 14 3 8 0 5 1 7
The Order of the Green Lady Adam S 2300 15 C A+ C B 11 22 10 10.0 4 0 4.8 170 300 2 6 0 0 0 125 127 68.4 3 2 2 2 6 0 0 4 11 10 0 2 0 6
Trident Realm of Neritica Age Zae 2300 65 B C+ B B 15 26 11 5.9 5 0 3.9 231 311 1 0 2 0 7 162 162 68.1 6 0 2 6 2 2 1 6 0 0 13 3 1 6
Trident Realm of Neritica Jon Turkich 2300 40 B B B C+ 15 25 12 6.3 2 1 3.7 231 281 5 0 3 0 3 138 138 57.8 3 0 1 0 4 3 3 7 0 2 11 2 2 3
Undead Mitchell Millington 2300 75 B B B B 12 26 11 7.3 5 6 4.9 195 372 0 4 0 11 0 154 154 67.2 4 2 3 2 4 2 0 1 2 5 1 0 2 7
Undead Scott Marshall 2300 75 B B B+ C+ 12 26 10 6.8 2 6 5.0 204 396 1 10 0 11 0 149 155 58.7 3 1 2 0 3 4 2 2 1 3 0 1 0 10
Undead Matthew Sellick 2300 85 B B B B 13 27 11 6.6 4 8 4.4 223 368 1 7 2 11 0 179 185 60.9 3 1 2 1 4 0 0 2 0 3 2 0 2 6
Undead Craig Smellie 2300 65 B B B B 14 25 11 6.6 2 7 4.3 238 402 0 3 2 13 0 187 187 61.7 4 1 2 3 1 2 0 1 1 2 2 4 0 6
Varangur Michael Clarke 2300 15 B B B A 14 24 11 6.4 3 0 4.4 222 354 0 6 0 1 5 161 166 73.1 3 1 1 2 4 3 4 7 0 4 0 1 2 5
Varangur Steve Houghton 2300 45 A C B A 15 29 14 5.9 4 0 4.1 234 357 5 0 2 0 5 179 179 70.3 3 0 1 3 5 3 3 5 0 2 0 1 3 8
Varangur Owen Jones 2300 95 B B B B 14 25 13 6.9 8 0 4.1 215 337 3 0 5 0 5 160 160 67.1 5 0 1 4 5 1 2 5 1 5 0 2 2 8
AVERAGE 2300.0 59.5 82.9 83.0 83.0 83.0 13.9 24.3 11.2 6.7 3.6 1.9 4.4 215.5 351.4 1.6 4.1 0.7 1.9 1.6 155.4 159.0 62.2 3.5 1.0 2.8 2.0 3.0 2.3 2.7 3.7 2.1 4.0 1.1 1.6 2.3 6.3
STDEV 0.0 38.8 6.8 7.0 7.0 7.0 2.0 3.1 1.6 1.1 2.0 3.0 0.4 24.8 69.8 2.2 5.5 2.0 4.0 3.7 22.9 22.1 7.5 1.3 0.9 1.5 1.3 1.7 1.9 2.5 3.8 2.2 2.8 2.3 1.4 2.6 1.8

What do I think of these? A few notes: Traish’s Dwarf list is tough. Everyone expects Dwarfs to have good offense and defense, but he somehow manages to mitigate some of their weaknesses by having a list reasonably tuned for speed and scenario play (from a Dwarf perspective). Stephen Tuck takes a similar approach with his Free Dwarf list. Note that in the US Masters, many Dwarf lists looked great on paper, but they’re prone to bad match-ups. Will Ordered March change that for scenario play?

A number of Goblin lists look great as well. It’s tough to pick against Stephen Devenish, but Antony Lee brings a fun mix: you get all the drops and US of a goblin list, but with plenty of speed 10 fleabag riders to force the issue. I’m curious to see how it performs, but on paper it’s a scary mix.

On a pure damage standpoint, Stephen Tuck should do 82.0 expected damage per turn (anticipated output if all units hit at the same time against a def 4 opponent), leading the way. Walter Dirix has a punchy Orc list that comes in second with 75.1, and Adrian Scott is third with 73.8. Steve Houghton’s Varangur list could be a surprise: high damage, decent scenario play (29 US, 14 scoring drops), reasonable survivability between stealthy, regen, and iron resolve, and some moderate speed.

Finally, I really like the EoD lists. I can’t wait to see how they play, but they should be strong enough to out-grind most opponents and still have the US and drops to compete with the rest of the field (sans goblins). Nick Prosser’s list has the most grind ability with avg defense of 4.8, 22 heal, and 9 lifeleech. That’s a tough match-up that can out-grind most opponents.

Conclusions

What do you think? Any lists you particularly love or hate in the field?

Below is the Excel file with all the data supporting this. As you note errors, please let me know so I can fix them going forward!

armiesDownload

The Clash of Kings Australia 2024 is a testament to the dynamic and strategic richness of Kings of War. As we’ve seen, data not only tells the story of this tournament but also hints at the evolving nature of the game. Stay tuned to ‘Data and Dice’ for more in-depth analysis and passionate discussions about all things Kings of War.

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