Hey everyone,
we’re still on vacation, but after going to bed at a reasonably civilized hour for once yesterday, I woke up right on schedule for my usual working hours today. And before I do something completely unreasonable like actually getting some work done, I might as well write about the new Orders for the Hundred Kingdoms.
The Hundred Kingdoms recently received a pretty substantial update. Alongside changes to the Supremacies, Dynastic Alliances, and Spell Lists, the biggest addition was three new Regiments for the Orders.
There is also a new special rule called Sacred Relics. If you use exclusively [The Orders] Characters, you gain access to these Relics. And the interesting part is that they cost nothing and come in addition to a Mastery or Heirloom.
The new Regiments can also be upgraded with additional options. However, each bonus can only be taken once per Regiment type.
What makes all of this particularly interesting to me is that it could make pure Order armies considerably more appealing. Infantry lists in particular stand to benefit from these changes, and perhaps you no longer automatically have to reach for an Imperial Officer when you want to play such a list.
That is exactly what I want to take a closer look at in this article. So, what can the three new Regiments do, which options are worth taking, and what kind of army can you actually build around them?
Since this article is about pure Order armies, let’s start by looking at the Characters. There are only two models that are really relevant here: the new Priory Commander Sword and the Errant of the Order of the Shield, who also received a few changes with the update. After that, we’ll look at the Sacred Relics, which both of them can get for free in a pure Order army, and then move on to the Regiments and their Relics.
Yes, I know these are Ashen Dawn, but I don’t have any pictures of the newly painted 100k infantry yet. So for now, this article contains plenty of pictures from Nauth’s gorgeous 100k army as well as some photos of my old 100k.
Errant of the Order of the Shield
Many of you will be familiar with my article on the Hundred Kingdoms, where I gave the old Errant of the Order of the Shield, whom I’ll simply refer to as the Errant from here on, a rather mixed review. And looking back at my conclusion at the time, that assessment wasn’t entirely unjustified. The profile was solid, and he had a few nice rules, but overall he simply lacked the direct impact needed to justify a permanent place in most lists.
That has changed quite significantly with the Orders Update. The Errant doesn’t just receive a few minor tweaks, but several changes that make him interesting for both Order and non Order lists. His points cost and solid combat profile remain unchanged, but he trades some of his rather unnecessary special rules for much more interesting ones.
Raise the Levies allows him to give a friendly non Veteran, non Monster Regiment within 8 inches Regeneration (4) until the end of the round. Free healing for Regiments such as Crossbows, which are rarely Veteran, or Men at Arms is obviously pretty solid. There is a bit of anti synergy here, though, because in a 100k army we generally want to have as many Veteran Regiments as possible.
Drive for Justice, on the other hand, is my personal “Fuck you, Old Dominion” button. All Infantry Regiments within 8 inches simply gain Fearless. And with that, we have finally arrived at the whole “Brave Humans with Sticks” theme. Do I think this is too good? Absolutely. Does it speak to my soul on a thematic level? Even more so.
I have to admit, though, that this special rule is probably more interesting outside of Order lists, since Order already comes with Fearless by default. Thematically, however, the rules fit even better. In the lore, the Order of the Shield is described as protectors, teachers, and supporters of the common people. And with the new Errant, that feels much more like the Order I know from the background.
As a Warlord, he continues this trend. The name of his Supremacy alone, For All Mankind, is enough to make my hobby heart beat a little faster. On top of that, his Regiments cannot become Shattered and he ignores the Memories of the Red Years rule. I personally find that almost a little sad, because I really like those little bits of flavour in the rules. On the other hand, several people have since sent me some really cool Theist and Order lists that gain Divine Purpose through the Crusading Noble Lord, with an Archangel somewhere nearby smiling approvingly.
There is one important detail here, though: the Regeneration given to Infantry by the Archangel does not stack with Raise the Levies. Both grant Regeneration (4), so you don’t suddenly end up with Regeneration (8).
On top of all that, there is the old Order Supremacy, but better. The activated part of the Supremacy gives all friendly Regiments +1 Attack and Hardened (1). That is a pretty serious boost and makes the Errant considerably more interesting as a Warlord.
Whether a Theist and Order list like this will actually establish itself as a tournament viable option remains doubtful for now. But that isn’t necessarily the point for me. At least we now have the option to build lists like this. And considering how many people have been asking for exactly that, I think that’s pretty damn cool.
Priory Commander (Sword)
After that wall of text, we get to the next one: Sir Igor the Hunchback.
Seriously, Para Bellum regularly fails to take proper, good looking pictures of their models. Sometimes I genuinely think they do it on purpose.
The Commander of the Order of the Sword has a similar profile to the Commanders of the other two Orders, only with even more hitting power. For a mere 120 points, we get one of the best melee profiles in the game. C4, 7 Attacks and Cleave 1. On top of that, he gives the Regiment he joins Counter-Attack and has Parry himself. He also has Resolve 4 and, should he somehow find himself in a duel, 5 Wounds, Hardened (3) and Fearless.
With Eccentric Fighting Style and Caledburn, things get downright ridiculous. 9 Attacks with Cleave 1, rerolling all failed rolls, while the opponent has to reroll successful Defence saves. That was already strong on the other Characters, but giving it Cleave makes it even more absurd here. With a Relic, you can even get this guy up to Cleave 2. At that point, the Commander officially becomes a monster.
His Warband is slightly different from those of the other Commanders. He can take Men at Arms, Militia and the new Penitents of St. Lazarus as Mainstay, while the rest of the Order roster becomes Restricted. That doesn’t sound particularly exciting at first, but when you look at his Supremacy, some truly horrible things start happening. Very horrible things.
His Supremacy, Lead by Example, allows us each round, after activating an Order Regiment, to activate another non Veteran Regiment, provided it happens to be the next card in the deck. That Regiment immediately rallies, meaning it performs a Rally Action, gains +1 Clash and gets an additional +2 to its Charge.
The first thing that stands out is that we don’t actually have that many useful targets. Household Knights would obviously be nice, but they can’t be taken as non Veteran, and that’s not something you really want anyway. Household Guard and Mounted Squires could still be used effectively, though. The most common target will probably be Men at Arms. They are extremely cheap, can be fielded in large numbers and suddenly become pretty unpleasant when led by a Commander who hits like a truck.
But even smaller units can suddenly hurt a lot with this. A Charge with Crossbows or Bowmen is normally something the opponent just smiles wearily at. With this Supremacy, things suddenly look very different.
And yet, I wouldn’t focus too much on the actual bonuses. The mere fact that you permanently have the possibility of such a double activation opens up an incredible number of options. An Order Regiment might, for example, destroy an enemy Regiment and suddenly allow a unit of Bowmen to run straight in front of the enemy knights and protect them with their bodies. Or you can use the additional activation to pin an enemy unit with a Move and Charge, setting up a Counter-Charge for the following turn.
To me, the real strength lies in the fact that the opponent constantly has to account for the possibility that something else will activate after an Order Regiment. And depending on the situation, that additional activation can be used in completely different ways.
The second part of the Supremacy, giving all Characters Impact 3 once per game, is nice and certainly something you’ll happily take.
All in all, the Priory Commander is therefore a very interesting and definitely tournament viable Character for me. He brings plenty of hitting power himself, has a strong Supremacy, and opens up a lot of possibilities through his Warband.
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Relikte für Charaktere
Now we come to the part of the update that probably has the most potential for me: the Sacred Relics.
As mentioned before, in a pure Order army, every [The Orders] Character gets a Sacred Relic for free. And this comes in addition to any Mastery or Heirloom they might take.
That combination is exactly what makes the Relics so interesting. We aren’t just getting a small bonus on top. Some of them can completely change the role of an entire Regiment.
Let’s take a look at the individual options.
Lathander Sacrifice
This is the option for everyone who enjoys removing things from the table.
Once per game, during its activation, the Regiment the Character is attached to may perform a Clash Action outside of the normal sequence. The Regiment is then immediately destroyed.
That initially sounds like a pretty absurd trade, and honestly, it is. You sacrifice an entire, very expensive Order Regiment, but in return you get two Clash Actions and can potentially take a decisive enemy unit down with you.
I think this one will probably be seen rather rarely.
First to Answer
Much simpler and pretty much an auto pick: the Regiment gets Vanguard (5).
There really isn’t much more to say. Vanguard is always good, and especially for Regiments that want to apply early pressure or reach important positions on the battlefield, it can make a huge difference.
With a unit of Sealed Temple, for example, that means they can move a whopping 21" onto the battlefield.
Sword of the First Order
The Character gains Cleave (+1) and Flurry.
This is pretty much exactly what you would expect from a Relic called Sword of the First Order: the guy simply gets better at killing things with a sword.
Second best ability right after First to Answer. Combined with Eccentric Fighting Style and Caledburn, it gets pretty ridiculous.
Oathstone
Both the Regiment and the attached Character ignore Hits or Wounds caused by Lethal Demise, Decay, or Aura of Death.
Situational and very dependent on the opponent, but definitely nice to have.
Hammer Drill
The entire Regiment gains Impact (2).
Yes, this is obviously only useful for Infantry, and I already know how many people are going to look at this and see very little value in it. But simply having the option to remove Objective Markers more easily with Infantry makes it interesting to me. Especially in scenarios with a lot of Objectives, this could make a real difference.
On top of that, you can give the Character the Lance. This allows him to reroll his Impact Attacks and gives him Brutal Impact (1).
Will we see this one often? I don’t think so. But in scenarios with a lot of Objectives, it can definitely be useful.
Oath Unbroken
Once per game, you can use this Mastery after a Defence Roll. The Regiment automatically passes its Resolve Test.
Wow. Along with First to Answer, this is definitely one of the best options. Simply being able to automatically pass any Resolve Test is incredibly powerful, especially when Knights or a large block have taken a lot of Wounds and are then attacked in the flank or rear. The automatic success also overrides things like automatic failures.
Like Gods Among Men
If the Cavalry Regiment the Character is attached to successfully performs a Charge Action, a friendly Infantry Regiment within 8 inches immediately heals 4 Wounds.
The Errant used to have this as a special rule when nearby. It’s a very nice ability, since it allows you to heal St. Lazarus or Order of the Sword Regiments. The problem is that they will usually be out of range...
Overall, I don’t think any of the Sacred Relics are actually bad. Some are really strong, while many are more situational and will become more or less interesting depending on your army concept or opponent.
And honestly, that’s perfectly fine. But there is one thing we shouldn’t forget: they cost you your second Supremacy.
Order of the Sword
Now let’s get to the Infantry units and the best Infantry in the game: the Order of the Sword.
So far, W’adrhŭn Infantry was mainly known for having extremely high points costs, but the Order of the Sword are anything but cheap at 220 points. They are priced in the same league as the Crimson Tower. If they weren’t a Medium choice, they definitely wouldn’t be a particularly interesting option. But that is exactly the Elite slot for a Medium choice that the Hundred Kingdoms have been missing.
By Hundred Kingdoms standards, Movement 6 makes this Infantry pretty mobile, and with Fluid Formation and Unstoppable, they have a realistic Charge of 8.5" + 1D6. And once they get there, they hit like a truck.
With Clash 4, 5 Attacks and Cleave 1, they are already solid, but Masters of the Sword is what makes them really interesting. For every point of difference in Clash, they gain one of three effects. Either +1 Attack, which will probably be the most common choice, Flawless Strikes, which means they ignore natural 1s on Defence Rolls, or Relentless Blows, which makes rolled 1s count twice.
Mathematically, +1 Attack and Relentless Blows are pretty much equal. I’m not someone who likes building a strategy around rolling 1s, though, so I prefer the additional Attack. With Clash 4, they get just under 16 Hits with Inspire, although here it only gives them rerolls on 6s. You can even charge them into Hindering Terrain or Water without too much concern, since they still produce a pretty respectable number of Hits.
And if something does manage to hit back, they can defend themselves reasonably well with Hardened (1), Parry, Resolve 4 and Fearless. But the best part, the really best part, and probably what most Hundred Kingdoms players have been waiting for, is the 5 Wounds.
For those who have read the lore, it’s also clear why their left arms are free of armour. If you don’t like the look of that, the Crusader arms can also be fitted to the Order of the Sword with a little cutting and gluing. The helmets from the Crusader and the Sealed Temple work as well. The Crimson Tower helmets are a little oversized, but they still work and make the unit look quite a bit cooler.
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Penitents of St Lazarus
The Order of St. Lazarus was cast out by the other Orders in the lore. Dark magic and other unpleasant things have left these guys looking appropriately messed up today. And on the tabletop, the Penitents also bring something to the Hundred Kingdoms that has been largely missing so far. Just like their brothers, they have Lethal Demise (2) and Aura of Death (2), which opens up some new ways to play them.
The Penitents are first and foremost a classic anchor unit. With Defence 3, Shields, Oblivious and Resolve 3, they do that job pretty well. Essentially, they are expensive Men at Arms who are better armoured and can deal damage simply by being there or through the Character attached to them. With Clash 2 and 4 Attacks, they certainly aren’t designed to tear the enemy apart in melee.
The complete package costs a modest 155 points, with each additional Stand costing another 40 points. Four Wounds per model obviously isn’t a lot for human Infantry, but overall the Penitents are simply solid and cheap. They aren’t overpowered, but they are good enough.
Larger blocks of five or seven models in particular are pretty unpleasant to deal with. They aren’t easy to kill, they deal damage back through Lethal Demise and Aura of Death, and they can be healed at the same time. This gives the Hundred Kingdoms exactly the kind of role that has been missing in some areas until now.
You don’t necessarily have to do this through the Errant. The Chapter Mage is another option, and that’s also where we obviously need to consider the buffs from Imperial Officers, because Defence 4 and Hardened (1) is a nasty combination.
On top of that, they have Movement 6, making them faster than the usual Hundred Kingdoms Infantry once again. And they are a Medium Regiment.
Martyrs of St Lazarus
If the Penitents are the tough anchors of the Order of St. Lazarus, then the Martyrs of St. Lazarus are their much more aggressive brothers.
The points cost and defensive stats are identical. The difference is that they are a Light Regiment and, of course, much more offensive.
The profile is already pretty absurd on its own. Six Attacks on a 100k Regiment are exactly what you want to see, and with Cleave, Linebreaker and Terrifying, the Martyrs simply deal too much damage for their weight and price class. On top of that, they have Movement 6 and Unstoppable.
Things get downright silly when you add Aura of Death (2) and Lethal Demise (2). The Martyrs don’t just want to run into the enemy and roll six Attacks. They also deal damage simply because the enemy activates near them or attacks them. And with D3, Resolve 3 and Oblivious, they are surprisingly durable on top of everything else.
And this is the point where I start wondering what exactly went wrong at Para Bellum. 155 points.
Honestly, I think 170 or even 180 points would still be a fair price for them. The only thing that keeps them somewhat in check is the fact that they are Restricted. But seriously, what is wrong with these guys?
As a Light Regiment, they hit more than hard enough, they are fast, and they are surprisingly durable. Give them an Imperial Officer as a Warlord and use the one time Fluid Formation, and things start looking like actual war crimes.
I consider the Martyrs one of the best Light Units in the game and definitely an S Rank choice that you can take multiple times without much hesitation.
I’ve played several lists with an Imperial Officer and four units of Martyrs myself. They simply run over a surprisingly large portion of whatever the opponent puts in front of them. And if you also put a Sword Commander into the Martyrs, which isn’t necessarily my preferred option, you can even pretty comfortably ignore Flurry Regiments.
The Orders Regiment Upgrades
Alongside the Sacred Relics for our Characters, there is a second new toy for pure Order lists: Orders Regiment Upgrades.
And once again, the first thing to note is that the upgrades themselves are really cheap. We’re talking about 5 to a maximum of 10 points. At the same time, there is one important restriction: each Regiment type can only receive an upgrade once.
What this means in practice is that I can’t simply take two Order of the Crimson Tower Regiments and give both of them Oathsworn. If, however, I take one Regiment of Order of the Crimson Tower and one Regiment of Order of the Sword, both can take Oathsworn because they are different Army List Entries.
Laurel of Triumph – 10 Points
Once per game, after an Attack Roll or Defence Roll, the Regiment may completely reroll that roll.
For 10 points, this is pretty strong and is what my Crimson Tower will always get. They fail their 15 Impacts often enough that having a second chance is genuinely useful.
Banner of Wrath – 5 Points
The Regiment gains Fury.
For five points, there really isn’t much to discuss. +1 Attack on the Charge is great for pretty much everything. Sealed Temple with a Commander and Vanguard will be particularly happy about it. But the Martyrs and Order of the Sword also get another boost to their damage output.
My favourite option.
Disciplined Advance – 5 Points
The Regiment gets +1 Charge Distance.
To me, this is one of those upgrades that looks rather unimpressive on paper but regularly makes you think on the tabletop: “Good thing I spent those five points.”
Oathsworn – 5 Points
The Regiment’s Command Stand gains Die Fighting.
This can be pretty nasty on a Regiment of Ashen Dawn or Order of the Sword, but most of the time, I think the other options are more interesting.
The effects are nice and the costs are very low. My biggest problem so far, especially when running multiple Regiments of the same type, has been keeping track of which Regiment has which special rules. My opponent and I have both struggled with that. I usually mark them with a little note, which isn’t exactly pretty.
I think this is where we’ll have to get a little more creative with our conversions in the future.
An Order Army: Light Rush
Let’s finish with the part I personally always find the most exciting: what do we actually do with all this new stuff?
If I wanted to build a competitive 100k list, I honestly wouldn’t try to cram all three new Regiments into the same army. Just because three new units have been released doesn’t mean you have to play all three at once.
So far, I’ve had the most success with lots of Martyrs and an Imperial Officer giving them Fluid Formation and Vanguard. Add a Crimson Tower Commander so I don’t have to rely on Reinforcement rolls, and you already have a pretty fast and unpleasant list.
At the club, however, I also tested the Order of the Sword Commander against W’adrhŭn and found a cooler build that includes all three new Regiments. And naturally, that fits this article much better.
The whole thing relies more heavily on Reinforcement rolls than the Imperial Officer and Crimson Tower version, but it basically plays the same way. A lot of players simply don’t really know how to deal with a Light Rush. When several fast Regiments suddenly come charging towards them at the same time and start applying pressure in the first few rounds, many armies quickly find themselves on the back foot.
Normally, these kinds of Regiments also tend to be rather poorly armoured. That isn’t really the case with the Martyrs, though.
At the top tables, things obviously look a little different. You actually need to know how to play the rush. A Light Rush is by no means an auto win, and good players know exactly how to keep their distance, deny Charges, and pick apart individual Regiments. But that’s exactly what makes it so interesting.
If, on the other hand, I wanted to build a themed list that showcases as much of the new Order stuff as possible, I’d go roughly in this direction:
Martyrs reine Order [2000/2000]
The Hundred Kingdoms
== (Warlord) Priory Commander (Sword) [170]: Caledburn, First to Answer, Eccentric Fighting Style
* Order of the Sword (3) [220]:
* Martyrs of St Lazarus (3) [155]:
* Martyrs of St Lazarus (3) [155]:
* Men at Arms (7) [265]: Seasoned Veteran
== Errant of the Order of the Shield [100]: Oath Unbroken
* Penitents of St Lazarus (5) [235]:
* Militia Bowmen (3) [90]:
* Order of the Sword (3) [225]: Oathsworn
== Errant of the Order of the Shield [135]: Mask of Eaklides, Sword of the First Order, Art of War
* Militia Bowmen (3) [90]:
* Martyrs of St Lazarus (3) [160]: Banner of Wrath
What I like about this list is that it does a pretty good job of showing what I imagine a pure Order army to look like. We have the fast Martyrs, which can apply pressure early, the more durable Penitents as a solid block, and the Men at Arms as a larger Infantry block that can become surprisingly unpleasant to deal with.
Thanks to Vanguard, the Commander can quickly follow behind the Martyrs and use Lead by Example to repeatedly activate wherever the Martyrs have cleared the way. So far, the Commander’s nine Attacks have accounted for roughly a third of all the kills in my test games with the list.
The two Errants, on the other hand, have different jobs. One joins the Penitents and supports the Infantry core, while the other, equipped with Mask of Eaklides, Sword of the First Order and Art of War, is much more focused on his own combat power and is meant to apply pressure early.
I like the Imperial Officer and Vanguard version even more, but this setup at least avoids the risk of accidentally overextending yourself. In most cases, you’ll still force the opponent to activate in the first two rounds and can use Move and Charge to send the first Martyrs crashing into the enemy.
The list isn’t without its problems, though. We only have four Medium Regiments here, so that’s something you really need to keep in mind while playing. The list has plenty of Lights, but that is also exactly why you can run into problems in certain scenarios or against certain opponents once the Mediums have been removed from the table.
Fortunately, with the exception of Flames of Conquest, the new scenarios are generally quite friendly to this type of army. Even Cursed Sanctuaries works pretty well thanks to the healing and the Resolve 4 to 5 on the scoring Regiments.
Would I actually take this to a tournament in the end? A pure Order Infantry list with brave humans flooding the battlefield armed with very pointy sticks in the form of swords?
Definitely.
I hope you enjoyed the article despite the sheer amount of text, and I’d be really interested to hear about your experiences with the new Order models.
Cheers,
Hanna
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