The Kingdoms of Men provide a versatile mix of units with a notable focus on melee combat and cost-effectiveness. With the Clash of Kings 2025 update now out, and a nudge from TastyBagel on the KOWforums, I will try to be more diligent in getting out some quick army summaries. Here’s a concise breakdown of key statistics that shed light on the faction’s overall structure and strengths.
- Total Units: 43
- Units with Crushing Strength ≥ 1: 15
- Units with Piercing ≥ 1: 6
- Average Points per Unit: 147.4 (compared to Global Avg: 157.6)
- Average Defense: 3.9 (Global Avg: 4.2)
- Average Melee: 3.6 (Global Avg: 3.7)
- Average Speed: 6.3 (Global Avg: 6.4)
- Unique Keywords (count): 21
- Top Keywords: Crushing Strength (12), Thunderous Charge (11), Brutal (7), Piercing (7), Nimble (5)
Note: This summary only includes non-individual units.
Most Cost-Effective Units
In the KoM, some units shine especially bright in terms of delivering value for their points. Below is a list of the five most cost-effective units, comparing their combat efficiency and points value. For more details on how I calculate cost-effectiveness and Elo ratings, you can check out my comprehensive analysis here: Evaluating Unit Cost-Effectiveness in Kings of War Using Elo Ratings for the CoK 2025 Updates. Additionally, the ‘% Kills’ columns indicate the effectiveness of these units in a charge scenario versus different defense levels—specifically against Defense 4 (with 13/15 nerve) and Defense 5 (with 16/18 nerve). This gives a sense of their ability to take out opponents in a single charge, which is crucial in determining their battlefield impact.
| Unit Name, Size | Speed | Shots to 6 Nerve | Avg Hits | Points | Elo | Cost Effectiveness | % Kills vs Def 4 | % Kills vs Def 5 | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Militia Mob, H | 5 | 22 | 9.4 | 105 | 1575 | 1.42 | 19.0% | 0.8% | |
| Foot Guard, H | 5 | 51 | 18.9 | 225 | 2774 | 1.23 | 91.7% | 38.5% | |
| Foot Guard, R | 5 | 30 | 10.3 | 135 | 1734 | 1.11 | 41.4% | 4.5% | |
| Pole-Arms Block, H | 5 | 24 | 14.2 | 175 | 2228 | 1.11 | 71.3% | 16.8% | Crushing Strength(1) |
| Foot Guard, T | 5 | 18 | 9.0 | 90 | 1169 | 1.03 | 29.4% | 2.0% |
Key Takeaways
The Kingdoms of Men represent the generic, basic army in Kings of War. This characteristic is both their strength and their weakness. Their units are standard and uncomplicated, with fair but not outstanding stats, as they form the baseline for calculating points across other factions. This means they are often a jack of all trades, but master of none. They are versatile, adaptable, but lack significant specialization.
Before diving into the unit breakdowns, it’s worth noting a few key highlights from the KoM. Their units are flexible and cost-effective, but each has its own strengths and limitations that require careful planning to fully leverage.
Key Units
- Militia Mob: Dirt cheap (65 points for a US 2 regiment, 105 points for a US 3 horde), the Militia Mob allows you to flood the board with units that will undoubtedly die, but not before they serve their purpose. This unit is a fantastic way to outdrop opponents and win the objective game. While they lack any offensive prowess and can’t kill much of anything, they also don’t die easily, making them excellent for scenario play and holding objectives.
- Foot Guard: Unlike the Militia Mobs, Foot Guard units are not irregular, which makes them more versatile in list building. At Speed 5, they are unlikely to get the first charge, but they have decent offensive output with 10, 12, or 25 attacks hitting on 3s. Potentially, you can swap their defense to 4+ and add Crushing Strength (1) at no additional cost, making them even more formidable offensively. The troop size is vulnerable and can be shot off easily, but a horde of Foot Guard can deal serious damage and maintain staying power on the battlefield.
- Pole-Arms Block Horde: At 175 points, the Pole-Arms Block Horde is significantly cheaper than the Foot Guard Horde (225 points). They have Melee 4+ and Defense 3+, along with a 20/22 nerve, making them a bit squishier compared to Foot Guard. However, their inherent Crushing Strength (1) is a strong counter to high defense armies, such as Dwarfs, Abyssal Dwarfs, or Elemental builds, which can be common in some metas. If you anticipate seeing a lot of high defense units, the Pole-Arms Block can be a great value option to bring some offensive power without breaking the bank.
Overall, the cost-effectiveness rating of these units underscores the versatility of the Kingdoms of Men—most notably the ability to field solid, diverse infantry formations without overextending on points. While I don’t include any of the flying heroes (particularly the General on Winged Beast) from an Elo/Cost-effectiveness standpoint, on the actual table, they can be annoying harassers who threaten flanks and project threat. Given their generalist nature, the Kingdoms of Men excel at adaptability. Their units can form defensive lines, push for objectives, or engage in flanking maneuvers depending on the opponent’s strategy. This flexibility allows players to adjust their tactics on the fly, making them highly unpredictable and versatile.
My most regular opponent, TastyBagel who posts at Regnum Aeternum, often runs Kingdoms of Men, giving me plenty of practice against them. The tricky thing about KoM is that they typically don’t have any single unit that stands out as fantastic. What makes them effective is their ability to field a lot of decent units and win through smart piece trading and effective positioning. I highly recommend checking out TastyBagel’s blog for his insights on unit testing and how he approaches building and playing Kingdoms of Men.
Historical Tournament List Analysis for Kingdoms of Men
This analysis is based on 4 tournament lists. This section analyzes historical tournament lists for Kingdoms of Men from major events. The statistics below represent an “average” list, scaled to 2300 points for consistency.
Key Statistics (Scaled to 2300 Points):
Most common offense rating: A
Average points spent on items: 70.6
Average number of units: 14.7
Average unit strength: 25.6
Average number of scoring units: 11.0
Average power concentration (Gini): 46.6
Average defense concentration (Gini): 33.4
Average speed: 6.7
Average number of units with Nimble: 2.7
Average number of units with Shambling: 0.0
Average defense: 4.2
Average total nerve: 229.9
Average shots to reach 6 nerve: 327.5
Average number of units with Regen: 0.0
Average number of units with Heal: 1.2
Average number of units with Iron Resolve: 0.0
Average number of units with Lifeleech: 0.2
Average number of units with Stealthy: 0.0
Average total number of attacks: 166.1
Average total number of ranged attacks: 29.8
Average expected damage against Def 4+: 68.9
Most common objective rating: A
Most common movement rating: B
Most common defense rating: C
Most common offense rating: A
Conclusion
The Kingdoms of Men are the quintessential jack-of-all-trades faction, making them ideal for players who value adaptability and want an army that can pivot between different strategies as needed. Their straightforward units and fair stat lines make them easy to understand, but mastering them requires using their versatility to full effect, ensuring the right units are in the right places at the right times.
Additional Resources
- Death by Dragons (3rd ed) Army Primer on the Kingdoms of Men
- Battle Report: Kingdoms of Men vs Kingdoms of Men – Two Great Players (Death by Dragons)
- Battle Report: Kingdoms of Men vs Ratkin (Death by Dragons)
- Battle Report: Kingdoms of Men vs Basilea (Death by Dragons)
- Battle Report: Kingdoms of Men vs Orcs (4up Gaming)
