KoW Gaming terms!

[Crowsfoot]

The ideal use of chaff is when they rout after being charged, thereby allowing a hammer unit behind the chaff to charge the opponent's unit now in front of the hammer. If chaff's Nerve is too low they will rout from a few ranged attacks, opening up the hammer too early and allowing the opponent to attack them. If chaff's Nerve is too high they might not break when charged, holding up your hammer. 12/14 seems to be the average sweet spot between these two extremes - against heavily ranged (dwarf gun line) armies they will still get killed in turn 1, and against low melee (goblin) armies they still might not break when charged, but on average it seems to be there or there abouts. If you're aiming to play in tournaments you need to set up an army that will be able to deal with a wide range of armies and styles because you won't know what armies you are facing until they are on the board.

Hi guys after reading the above by @BAE I was totally confused why?
Answer, I have never really gamed and all the terms used mean nothing too me "Chaff", "Hammer" etc

So this thread is a plea for help can you explain all the terms used for me?

Thanks in advance

Crow

 

[Itepixcauh]

• More than happy to compile some of the most usual terms:
  
  Chaff
  A unit whose primary role is to protect other units till they get into combat. This is done by blocking LOS or giving cover from ranged attacks, or by taking the first charge, or by disordering a unit by charging them. They are there to die, but die in an useful way.
  
  Anvil
  A unit meant to hold the enemy in place whilst other units maneuver to attack that enemy.
  
  Hammer
  A unit with high damage output
  
  Glass Hammer
  A unit with high damage output, but very low defensive capabilities.
  
  LB
  Lightning Bolt
  
  BW
  Breath Weapon
  
  Tarpit
  A cheap unit the purpose of which is to slow down and tie down your opponent's units. Typically like an Anvil, except the unit has likely a zero percent chance of ever actually WINNING a fight against pretty much anything. Like zombies or other cheap, high nerve units. Difference to chaff is that with chaff you kind of WANT them to die in a turn or two, only bringing them there to hold off the opponent so that the sequence of combats (and units dying) is in your favour. Tarpits are units that are there to last forever, holding off opponents while you deal with the rest of their army.
  
  Support
  A unit that by itself is rather non-awesome, but is very useful when it gets to interact with other units. Typically sources of Inspiring fall in this category, as well as some other units that have "aura" effects that give benefits to nearby units. Also troops of infantry are often in this category, as alone they can't really do that much, but by combo charging they can become very, very nasty indeed.
  
  Skewed list
  An army that is powerful in one aspect, but lacking in others, attempting to achieve victory through overpowering opposition in that one strong area. Typically an Orc list is an example of skewing a list through going all-out on combat power. Other types might be shooting heavy lists, flyer heavy lists or some forms of spam. Note that all skewed lists aren't spam. Skewed lists tend to be very powerful in beginner groups, and fall in favor as people get more skilled at playing against an opponent's weakness.
  
  MSU List
  A list that consists of multiple small units, typically spamming troops of fast heavy hitters. These lists are difficult to play, but in the hands of a skilled player can be very effective. These lists rely on outdeployment and outmaneuvering an opponent.
  
  Elite List
  A list that consists of few units, each of which is very powerful. These lists rely on being so tough that a larger number of weaker enemies can't overpower them. These lists are very powerful against beginners, who have trouble coordinating their units into supporting each other.
  
  Spamming
  Taking multiple units with similar skills, typically Lightning Bolt or Breath Weapon. These lists seem very powerful in theory, but I have personally yet to see one fielded against me and I don't really believe they are as tough as they seem, as I don't think concentrating Breath Weapons is really as easy as many people seem to think.. I might be mistaken on this point.

 

[Bowser]

• More than happy to compile some of the most usual terms:
  
  Chaff
  A unit whose primary role is to protect other units till they get into combat. This is done by blocking LOS or giving cover from ranged attacks, or by taking the first charge, or by disordering a unit by charging them. They are there to die, but die in an useful way.
  
  Anvil
  A unit meant to hold the enemy in place whilst other units maneuver to attack that enemy.
  
  Hammer
  A unit with high damage output
  
  Glass Hammer
  A unit the high damage output, but very low defensive capabilities.
  
  LB
  Lightning Bolt
  
  BW
  Breath Weapon
  
  Tarpit
  A cheap unit the purpose of which is to slow down and tie down your opponent's units. Typically like an Anvil, except the unit has likely a zero percent chance of ever actually WINNING a fight against pretty much anything. Like zombies or other cheap, high nerve units. Difference to chaff is that with chaff you kind of WANT them to die in a turn or two, only bringing them there to hold off the opponent so that the sequence of combats (and units dying) is in your favour. Tarpits are units that are there to last forever, holding off opponents while you deal with the rest of their army.
  
  Support
  A unit that by itself is rather non-awesome, but is very useful when it gets to interact with other units. Typically sources of Inspiring fall in this category, as well as some other units that have "aura" effects that give benefits to nearby units. Also troops of infantry are often in this category, as alone they can't really do that much, but by combo charging they can become very, very nasty indeed.
  
  Skewed list
  An army that is powerful in one aspect, but lacking in others, attempting to achieve victory through overpowering opposition in that one strong area. Typically an Orc list is an example of skewing a list through going all-out on combat power. Other types might be shooting heavy lists, flyer heavy lists or some forms of spam. Note that all skewed lists aren't spam. Skewed lists tend to be very powerful in beginner groups, and fall in favor as people get more skilled at playing against an opponent's weakness.
  
  MSU List
  A list that consists of multiple small units, typically spamming troops of fast heavy hitters. These lists are difficult to play, but in the hands of a skilled player can be very effective. These lists rely on outdeployment and outmaneuvering an opponent.
  
  Elite List
  A list that consists of few units, each of which is very powerful. These lists rely on being so tough that a larger number of weaker enemies can't overpower them. These lists are very powerful against beginners, who have trouble coordinating their units into supporting each other.
  
  Spamming
  Taking multiple units with similar skills, typically Lightning Bolt or Breath Weapon. These lists seem very powerful in theory, but I have personally yet to see one fielded against me and I don't really believe they are as tough as they seem, as I don't think concentrating Breath Weapons is really as easy as many people seem to think.. I might be mistaken on this point.

I knew some of these, but now I have learned even more! Great write up!

 

[Itepixcauh]

I knew some of these, but now I have learned even more! Great write up!

Thanks! It isn't really mine, I've just compiled it from different sources in the Mantic Forums. I guess I thought it could be useful at some point.

 

[BAE]

Hi guys after reading the above by @BAE I was totally confused why?
Answer, I have never really gamed and all the terms used mean nothing too me "Chaff", "Hammer" etc

So this thread is a plea for help can you explain all the terms used for me?

Thanks in advance

Crow

What @Itepixcauh said!

And on spamming - looking around for my next tournament it is quite interesting to see how the rules set by the TO (Tournament Organiser) can affect builds. For example, I was looking at one which stated that no hero, monster or war machine could be taken more than twice - which stops traditional spam builds like Goblin War Trombones (which I can testify are rather OP!).

 

[BAE]

I was just flicking through posts (I've been unforgivably absent since pivoting my focus towards the Brotherhood army) and came across this again. Thought I'd fill in some numbers to judge each unit / description by. These are by no means law, and will differ from opponent to opponent (e.g. chaff vs dwarf gunline would want higher Ne than I will put below), but assuming you don't know an opponent I think these should be about right:

Chaff

• Ne 12/14
• De 3+
• ≤ 120pts

Anvil

• ≥ De 5+
  
• ≥ NE 16/18
• Regeneration / Iron Resolve / Lifeleech
• Fury

Hammer

• ≥ CS/TC (2)
• ≥ At 15
  
• Brutal / Strider

Glass Hammer

• ≥ CS/TC (2)
  
• ≥ At 15
  
• ≤ De 4+
• ≤ Ne 14/16
  
• Brutal / Strider

Tarpit

• ≤ 180pts
  
• ≥ NE 20/22
  
• 200mm unit width
• Regeneration / Iron Resolve / Lifeleech

Elite List

• ~12 drops / 2000pts (Av. 167pts per unit)

If anyone more experienced than me would like me to correct any of the above, post and I'll update it!

 

[Crowsfoot]

I was just flicking through posts (I've been unforgivably absent since pivoting my focus towards the Brotherhood army) and came across this again. Thought I'd fill in some numbers to judge each unit / description by. These are by no means law, and will differ from opponent to opponent (e.g. chaff vs dwarf gunline would want higher Ne than I will put below), but assuming you don't know an opponent I think these should be about right:

Chaff

• Ne 12/14
• De 3+
• ≤ 120pts

Anvil

• ≥ De 5+
  
• ≥ NE 16/18
• Regeneration / Iron Resolve / Lifeleech
• Fury

Hammer

• ≥ CS/TC (2)
• Brutal / Strider

Glass Hammer

• ≥ CS/TC (2)
  
• ≤ De 4+
• ≤ Ne 14/16
  
• Brutal / Strider

Tarpit

• ≤ 180pts
  
• ≥ NE 20/22
  
• 200mm unit width
• Regeneration / Iron Resolve / Lifeleech

Elite List

• ~12 drops / 2000pts (Av. 167pts per unit)

If anyone more experienced than me would like me to correct any of the above, post and I'll update it!

This is brilliant info for a newbie, I've been reading quite a bit on the Mantic forum and it's unbelievable how simple but yet complexed KOW is.

 

[BAE]

It's why I enjoy it so much - as with any game there is a compromise between complication and balance. Complication allows for far more intricacies and interesting rules but makes it harder to keep balance, not only between armies, but also units within those armies. It was why WHFB tended to towards everyone having the same army lists in competitions - there were definitely better and worse factions in each edition, and within those factions a certain setup was indisputably the most likely to win. KoW hits the compromise perfectly - simple enough rules to keep balance, but enough complication to make it thoroughly interesting!

P.s. glad you liked the extra info!